Innholdsfortegnelse for No.30 i History of War

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them” – Extract from ‘For the Fallen’ (1914), Robert Laurence Binyon A century ago this year, the bloodiest campaign of World War I erupted in northern France. After starting with the worst single day in British military history, it would rage for nearly five months, with over a million casualties. Though in the UK the tragedy of the first day and those that followed are still keenly felt, France, Germany, and countries from all over the Commonwealth were no less deeply affected. The memories and experiences of the Somme are important to world history, not…

LIVERPOOL PALS BADGE This battalion was born on the initiative of Lord Derby, who introduced the notion that men of the ‘commercial classes’ might wish to serve their country in a battalion of their comrades. Lord Derby took a personal interest in his ‘pals’, issuing to each one a silver badge bearing his arms. Edward Cole of Bootle wore this one; his brother Stanley was killed on the Somme on 30 July 1916, ‘Liverpool’s blackest day’. BARBED WIRE This has become as much a metaphor for the suffering of World War I as trenches and gas. This twisted, rusty sample is German, and came from Gommecourt, the scene of an ill-fated diversionary attack by the British 56th and 46th Divisions on 1 July 1916. The attack left over 2,000 men…

Although the fighting at Mametz Wood formed only a small part of the wider battle, it came to be well-remembered thanks to the heroism of the Welsh Division and the eyewitness accounts of war poets and artists. The disproportionate amount of memoirs and poems that were written about the forested killing ground sealed its fame for posterity. Robert Graves described the wood after the battle, “It was full of dead Prussian Guards, big men, and dead Royal Welch Fusiliers and South Wales Borderers, little men. Not a single tree in the wood remained unbroken.” He later reworked this description into his 1917 poem, Dead Boche, which included the lines, “Today I found in Mametz Wood/A certain cure for lust of blood.” Siegfried Sassoon was another famous poet who was becoming…

Apart for a few French attacks in early 1915, the German army on the Somme had enjoyed a relatively quiet time before the launch of the Allied offensive in July. The trench systems were deep and well-made and bristled with barbed wire, machine-gun positions, fortified strongpoints and bomb-proof dugouts. Having occupied the same areas since 1914, the German defenders had developed an intimate knowledge of the terrain, which allowed them to stage a highly effective defence. The German armies on the Western Front were highly skilled and excellently equipped for defensive warfare. Many of the field-grey veterans had survived the bitter fighting at Ypres and had repelled Allied onslaughts at Neuve Chapelle, Loos and Champagne. These men now formed the backbone of a resolute and formidable army – an army…

“THE CAPTIVE CRUSADERS WERE OFTEN MUTILATED OR BUTCHERED REGARDLESS OF THEIR SOCIAL STATUS” Throughout the conflict, numerous atrocities were committed by both sides. Due to the extensive knowledge of the terrain, the southerners ambushed the crusaders as much as possible. After winning several of these surprise attacks on the northerners, the captive crusaders were often mutilated or butchered regardless of their social status. However, since the fighting occurred predominately in the south, there were considerably more innocents slain among the southerners that were either burned or slaughtered after their city was taken, no matter if they were Cathar or Catholic. One of the most brutal acts of the crusade was carried out by the northerners after a large contingent of their comrades were ambushed and completely annihilated near Montgey at…

“THIS IS FAR FROM DRY MATERIAL. IT WILL APPEAL MOST TO SERIOUS STUDENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN, OF COURSE, BUT IT REMAINS ACCESSIBLE TO THE MORE CASUAL READER” Editors: William A Griswold and Donald W Linebaugh Publisher: University Press of New England Price: £21 Time has not been kind to the battlefields that made up the critical Saratoga campaign of 1777, the most recognisable ‘turning point’ of the American War of Independence. With the land reverting to agricultural use almost immediately after General John Burgoyne surrendered his army to the Americans, little visible evidence remains of the fiercely contested battles that helped win independence for the rebellious colonists. This collection of essays highlights the attempts to bring those battlefields back into focus. It is a synthesis of work that has been…

The British Civil Wars (1639-51) were among the most devastating conflicts in the history of the British Isles. During this time a greater proportion of the population at the time was lost than in WWI, with casualties being incurred through battle, disease and atrocities against civilians. Families, communities and regions were torn apart by the bitter struggle between King Charles I and the English Parliament; many men served in their respective forces either by volunteering or conscription. Because of the horrendous nature of the wars, desertion was rife on both sides but it was a particular headache for Charles’s Royalist armies whose declining fortunes against Parliament were matched by an inability to pay its soldiers properly. Pay was often two years in arrears and consequently whole regiments would sometimes desert,…

TOM GARNER Tom has been mentally entrenched at the Somme this month, conducting interviews and researching his articles for our centenary feature. Somehow he also found time to write the Operator’s Handbook on the F-111 Aardvark (page 86) MICHAEL HASKEW This issue Mike takes to the skies above China during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-45), with the famous Flying Tigers. Find out how these mercenary American pilots dominated the skies, against all the odds, over on page 64. MIGUEL MIRANDA In the wake of the collapse of the USSR, Armenia and Azerbaijan went to war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. As Miguel investigates this issue, it’s a conflict that is still just as heated as it was over 26 years ago (page 76).…

“1.7 MILLION SHELLS ARE FIRED ONTO THE GERMAN POSITIONS, IN AN ATTEMPT TO OBLITERATE THE WIRE AND DESTROY ANY SIGNIFICANT DEFENCES” 1 PRELIMINARY BOMBARDMENT GERMAN FRONTLINE, 24-30 JUNE 1916 For seven days, over 1.7 million shells are fired onto the German positions in an attempt to obliterate the wire and destroy any significant defences. However, the shells fail to make any significant impact on the sturdy German bunkers, dug deep into the chalk ground. 2 BATTLE OF POZIÈRES POZIÈRES, 19 JULY-7 AUGUST 1916 After capturing over half of the village on 23 July, the Australian 1st Division was relentlessly bombarded by German artillery and was forced to fend of numerous counterattacks. Four days later, the division was relieved having suffered over 5,200 casualties. The Australian 2nd Division took over…

Astride the Somme River on 1 July 1916, General Marie Émile Fayolle’s Sixth Army struck the most effective blow yet delivered by French forces on the Western Front. At 7.30am, the first waves of infantry leaped from their trenches with cries of ‘vive la France!’: they were full of confidence after watching the barrage pulverise the enemy’s trenches for seven days. Supported by concentrated artillery fire from heavy guns, which smashed the enemy’s defensive positions, and ‘soixante-quinze’ field guns and trench mortars, which forced the defenders to stay in their dugouts, Fayolle’s five front-line divisions seized the enemy’s first position quickly. North of the river, the XX ‘Iron’ Corps overwhelmed the defenders of the ‘Bois Y’ defensive redoubt, bombing dugouts and bayoneting any dazed defenders who did not immediately surrender;…

“WE HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS THROUGH TO THE BITTER END AND DICTATE OUR TERMS OF PEACE IN BERLIN IF IT TAKES EVERY MAN AND EVERY PENNY IN THE COUNTRY” Out of all the destruction of 1914-18 there was a unique trauma that was borne out of a wave of public patriotism: the formation of the ‘Pals Battalions’. The story of how large groups of men joined up with their friends and family to serve Britain is one of the most poignant of the war. A disproportionate amount of those who volunteered died on the first day and whole communities were devastated. When Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, its army was unique among the European powers for being manned by voluntary professionals, as well as its…

The First World War witnessed a host of technological innovations, but one of the most dramatic made debuted on 15 September 1916. It was on this day, in the middle of the campaign, that the British effectively began armoured warfare with the introduction of the Mark I Tank. Here, TV historian Dan Snow explains the tanks’ impact on the battle as well as their crews, while discussing his latest work with the Royal British Legion to commemorate the centenary. WHAT PROCESS DID THE ORIGINAL TANKS GO THROUGH BEFORE THEY WERE BATTLE-READY IN 1916? The most interesting thing about tanks in 1916 is that [they] went from an idea in the autumn of 1914 of trying to utilise Britain’s advantage in mechanical armoured objects, albeit ones that floated on the water,…

301 The Kingdom of Armenia becomes the first Christian nation thanks to proselytising by St Bartholomew and St Thaddeus. Armenia is soon assailed by the Persian Empire and seeks aid from Byzantium. 1716 Always vulnerable to invasion Eastern Armenia is granted the protection of the hawkish czar, Peter the Great. This momentarily spares the kingdom an occupation by the Ottoman Turks. 1804 The gruelling Russo-Persian War turns the Caucasus into a battlefield. Russia eventually claims parts of Eastern Armenia, which becomes a single protectorate, while the Persians control the capital Yerevan. 1874 The Nobel brothers of Sweden establish an oil refinery in Baku and strike it rich. 135 years later and Azerbaijan is recognised today as one of the oldest oil producing countries. 1905 The Russian Empire is gripped by…

By June 1916 the French army had been engaged at Verdun for four months. The process of bleeding it white, that General von Falkenhayn had thought would bring the war to an end, had failed. Douglas Haig had seen the French suffer at Verdun, and came increasingly to believe that his army was now the main Allied offensive force. Joffre’s demand that the Somme offensive should begin before Verdun exhausted the French army’s reserves obliged Haig to advance the start date of the campaign, although his own troops were not yet fully trained. Though the number of divisions the French could initially commit to the offensive reduced from 42 to 18, their fighting ability had not been affected as much as Haig believed. General Pétain’s ‘noria’ (waterwheel) system steadily cycled…

“THE VOLUNTEERS WERE EXPECTED TO BECOME OFFICERS IN OTHER REGIMENTS. HOWEVER, MANY CHOSE TO REMAIN AS PRIVATES IN ORDER TO STAY WITH THEIR FRIENDS” 14TH , 15TH , 16TH BATTALIONS, ROYAL WARWICKSHIRE REGIMENT THE BIRMINGHAM PALS FORMED: 30 AUGUST 1914 STRENGTH: 3,000 MEN These battalions were posted to Italy at different times during the war as well as serving on the Somme. 13TH -14TH BATTALIONS, YORK & LANCASTER REGIMENT BARNSLEY PALS FORMED: SEPTEMBER - NOVEMBER 1914 STRENGTH: 2,000 MEN The 13th Battalion was first posted to Egypt before being sent to France in March 1916. On 1 July, the combined battalions suffered 545 casualties, a loss of over a quarter of their strength. 17TH BATTALION, MIDDLESEX REGIMENT FOOTBALL BATTALION FORMED: 15 DECEMBER 1914 STRENGTH: 600 MEN Founded in Fulham, this…

The battles in the Somme region raged for four and a half months and became a killing ground for both sides. However, this was also a time when the British learned new methods for fighting trench warfare, which would come in useful later on in the conflict. Here, Julian Thompson, author of The Somme & Verdun. 1916 Remembered explains how the battle was a baptism of fire for both the common soldiers and the high commands alike and why the Somme broke the back of the German Army and contributed to its ultimate defeat. HOW DID THE FIGHTING AT VERDUN IMPACT UPON THE ALLIED OFFENSIVE ON THE SOMME? Hugely, in the sense that the French were originally going to provide 40 divisions for the Somme offensive. In fact, [in the…

“With the Somme anniversary coming up this summer there’s going to be a thirst for information and a thirst for a background that will allow people to enjoy and get involved with this summer’s activities. With the Royal British Legion we’ve hopefully provided a real timeline with battle maps, accounts, sources, pictures, video etc that people can then build on in their own time and get involved… It feels like an exciting and versatile project and I hope it’s a beginning because I’d love to do things like this in the future.” The Somme 100 App is available for free via the App Store and Google Play. For more information, visit: www.britishlegion.org.uk…

At the outbreak of the war, scores of sisters, nurses, doctors, as well as thousands of civilian volunteers, committed to treating the thousands of wounded that returned from the trenches. The horrors coming home from the battlefields, however, were worse than anyone had imagined, and volunteers were faced with the terrifying effects, both mental and physical, of the frontline. In her new book, Sisters Of The Somme, writer and historian Penny Starns chronicles the little-known history of these nurses and doctors who served tirelessly at hospitals both in Britain and France. HOW DID HOSPITALS PREPARE AND RE-ORGANISE SPECIFICALLY FOR THE OFFENSIVE CASUALTIES? In preparation for the Somme offensive, extensive medical plans were drawn up by the director general of Army Medical Services in the field, General Arthur Sloggett. Field ambulances…

By the summer of 1218, Simon de Montfort and his northern forces still had not captured Toulouse by siege. Since the crusader army could not completely surround the huge fortified city, southern troops continued to arrive to help the defenders. Conversely, De Montfort was struggling to pay his mercenaries, so tensions remained high in the crusader camp. Desperate to overcome the city’s defences, de Montfort ordered his men to construct a huge siege tower that could fit 400 knights and 150 archers. The defenders knew the siege engine was extremely dangerous, so they planned to make a sortie and assault the belfry on 25 June. In response, De Montfort and his brother, Guy, led a group of mounted knights to repel the attack on their prized siege tower. The crusaders…

Brigadier General David Lee ‘Tex’ Hill Tex Hill served as both a flight and squadron commander with the Panda Bears and remained in China to train pilots and lead the 23rd Fighter Group of the US Army Air Forces, ending the war with 15.25 aerial victories. After World War II, Hill engaged in mining, ranching, and oil speculation. He remained in the Army Reserve and in 1946 became the commander of the newly formed Texas Air National Guard. Promoted to brigadier general at the age of 31, he was the youngest general officer in the history of the Air National Guard. Hill retired from duty in 1968 and became a frequent guest at air shows and events commemorating the Flying Tigers around the world. In 2002, he received the Distinguished…

ARMENIA & NAGORNO-KARABAKH 70,000 TROOPS + 20,000 (ARTSAKH) 430 TANKS (T-72) 200 TRACKED APCS 400 WHEELED APCS EST. HUNDREDS OF ANTI-TANK MISSILES EST. 100 SELF-PROPELLED ARTILLERY 196 TOWED ARTILLERY EST. 1000 + LIGHT ARTILLERY (MORTARS, ETC) 150 MULTI-ROCKET LAUNCHERS ASSORTED SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES LESS THAN 30 BALLISTIC MISSILES 24 COMBAT AIRCRAFT 15 COMBAT HELICOPTERS N/A WARSHIPS AZERBAIJAN 75,000 TROOPS EST. 500 TANKS 834 TRACKED APCS 1,142 WHEELED APCS EST. HUNDREDS OF ANTI-TANK MISSILES 190 SELF-PROPELLED ARTILLERY 240 TOWED ARTILLERY EST. 1,000 + LIGHT ARTILLERY (MORTARS, ETC) 190 MULTI-ROCKET LAUNCHERS ASSORTED SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES UNVERIFIED STOCKPILE OF BALLISTIC MISSILES 29 COMBAT AIRCRAFT 18 COMBAT HELICOPTERS 31 SMALL PATROL CRAFT…

“THIS PUNCHY BOOK LOOKS AT THE STATE OF INSTITUTIONAL DENIAL THAT HAS ENVELOPED FRANCE SINCE THE FATEFUL DAY IN JUNE 1815” Author: Stephen Clarke Publisher: Arrow Books Price: £8.99 Stephen Clarke has carved a niche for himself in the field of hurling good-natured insults at the French, and he’s in fine form in his latest offering. Following joyfully in the footsteps of 1000 Years Of Annoying The French, this punchy book looks at the state of institutional denial that has enveloped France since the fateful day in June 1815 when Napoleon’s last desperate bid for glory came badly unstuck. Trying to find glory in defeat is nothing new, of course. The 300 Spartans have been immortalised despite an eye-watering casualty rate of 100 per cent, while even us Brits are…

THE LAST DAYS OF STALIN If there ever was a case of poetic justice, it’s that of Joseph Stalin’s death. Unconventionally, this is where Joshua Rubenstein’s The Last Days Of Stalin begins, tracing his past backwards as it follows the Russian premiere’s activities in the years following the end of World War II, charting his activities and examining what might have been. Inevitably, the answer to this question is ‘things would have become a hell of a lot worse.’ More than anything else, this book highlights what a dangerous prospect Stalin’s rule would have been had he survived longer. THE TOMMIES’ MANUAL 1916 For this work, Hannah Holman has searched through hundreds of British army manuals and collated them into a single volume. They give the reader a taste of…

“IT IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE THAT THE LOT OF THE HUMBLE TOMMY WAS NOT A HAPPY ONE, BUT STARNS SHEDS FURTHER LIGHT ON THE MISERIES AND INJUSTICES THEY FACED” Author: Penny Starns Publisher: The History Press Price: £9.99 The Order of St John of Jerusalem Ambulance Brigade Hospital (better known as the Brigade Hospital), accepted its first patients on 7 September 1915. As World War I descended into the muddy nightmare of trench warfare, this hospital would be at the forefront of the struggle to keep pace with the murderous advances in military technology. With 18 wards, housed in prefabricated buildings, the Brigade Hospital became recognised as one of the finest facilities available for the treatment of the most severely wounded soldiers from the Western Front. With an x-ray department and…

“IT’S DOYLE’S DELIBERATELY ECLECTIC MIX OF OBJECTS THAT MAKES THE BOOK SO APPEALING” Author: Peter Doyle Publisher: The History Press Price: £25 Last year History of War reviewed The Battle Of Waterloo In 100 Objects – a beautifully presented collection offering a sobering glimpse into the world of warfare 200 years ago. This is the predecessor to that title, tackling the Great War of a century ago, with military historian Peter Doyle acting as curator of another fine selection of badges, books, uniforms, medals, bayonets and more. The objects tell the story of the war in its entirety, ranging from recognisable iconic images of the conflict, such as a Kitchener poster, to some more-obscure finds – for instance, a badge of the Chinese Labour Corps. It’s Doyle’s deliberately eclectic mix…