Innholdsfortegnelse for No.32 i History of War

“As the pilot of the aircraft, you must keep cool and make sure everybody else does” – Lawrence ‘Benny’ Goodman, 617 Squadron veteran Few countries in the world have as rich and as old a military heritage as the UK, and this issue takes a look at two of its most prestigious units. Though perhaps most famous for its role guarding the British monarch, the Coldstream Guards is one of the British Army’s oldest regiments and has been in continual service since the 17th century – seeing action at Waterloo, the Crimean War, the Somme, and into the modern day in Afghanistan. Though the RAF’s 617 Squadron is comparatively young, its accolades are no less renowned. The Dambusters’ raid was just the beginning of the squadron’s illustrious service, which like…

1650 FORMATION Formed by General Monck, the regiment was originally intended to defend Cromwell’s new republic. It was renamed the Coldstream Guards in 1670 after Monck died, by which time it was loyal to the monarchy. 1803-1815 THE NAPOLEONIC WARS The Coldstreamers defeated Napoleon’s Grand Armée on numerous occasions during the Peninsular Campaign, and eventually helped to destroy it once and for all at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. 1853-56 THE CRIMEAN WAR The Coldstreamers fought throughout Britain’s two-and-half year campaign against Imperial Russia in the Crimea, winning battle honours at both the Siege of Sevastopol and at the Battle of Inkerman. 1880-1902 THE BOER WARS The fight Britain picked with South Africa’s Boers over the region’s gold reserves was to prove both tricky and costly. The Coldstreamers were…

“HORRIFIC HAND-TO-HAND FIGHTING TAKES PLACE BEFORE THE COLDSTREAMERS MANAGE TO GET THE GATES SHUT AGAIN” 1. BRITISH OCCUPY HOUGOUMONT Wellington, the master defensive tactician, picks his battleground carefully. The evening before the battle takes place, he sends out troops from the Coldstream Guards and the Light Footguards to seize the chateau of Hougoumont and hold it at all costs. 2. FRENCH FORCES PROBE Later that night, French cavalry reconnoitre the area. On approaching the chateau complex, they’re repelled by troops stationed in the wood to Hougoumont’s south. Napoleon realises he must now seize the position or risk his advancing army being split. 3. THE FIRST ATTACK Around 11.30am the following morning, 6,000 French infantrymen hit Hougoumont. Although they manage to drive Wellington’s troops out of the wood, they are cut…

AVRO LANCASTER (1943-46) Considered to be the best British heavy bomber of World War II, the Lancaster could carry 14,000 pounds of conventional drop bombs and the massive 22,000-pound ‘Grand Slam’ bombs. With a crew of seven, eight Browning machine guns for self-defence and four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, the Lancaster was a fearsome aircraft. AVRO LINCOLN (1946-52) The Lincoln was Avro’s post-war answer to the Lancaster, and outwardly appeared to be an enlarged version of its predecessor, with striking similarities including the same number of crew, engines and bomb capacity. However, it had a reduced number of machine guns and increased speed, range and ceiling. ENGLISH ELECTRIC CANBERRA (1952-55) The Canberra was 617’s first jet-powered aircraft and was a strike-minded medium bomber. Initially designed to replace the De Havilland Mosquito,…

The Grande Armée is traditionally seen as being an exclusive French force, but in reality it was cosmopolitan and represented all the European nations that were either occupied by, or allied to, Napoleon’s empire. Consequently, although the majority of troops were French, it also contained soldiers from the German states, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Italian peninsula, Austria, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and Croatia. All nationalities were commanded by French generals and imbued with French military culture, with the exception of the Poles, Austrians and Prussians. The Poles were the largest non-French contingent, numbering 95,000 men, and were enthusiastic allies against the Russians. There were also 81,000 Germans, who were split in their loyalties. None had much love for the French, but the Germans who came from Napoleon’s enforced ‘Confederation of…

Hereward’s later fame relies upon stories written a considerable time after the events, with much mingling of legend with the history. What we can say is that Hereward, along with his followers, sacked Peterborough Abbey, ostensibly to save its valuables from the Normans. In 1071, Hereward joined the final spasm of English resistance, led by Morcar. The Earl of Northumbria had taken no part in the rebellions of the previous year but now, with his power greatly reduced, he attempted to make a stand on the Isle of Ely, amid the bogs of Fenland. The accounts vary, but William somehow brought the siege to an end, capturing Morcar and imprisoning him for the rest of his life. Hereward himself escaped the fall of Ely, disappearing into legend.…

When the bellicose Oghuz Turks triumphed over Serbia’s knights at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, a low-hanging fruit had fallen right into their laps. Soon after, the Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians and finally Byzantines in their glorious capital would fall under the crescent. The Ottomans allowed their Christian subjects to live in peace on the condition that they pay an annual head tax reserved for any non-believers. Double standards were imposed on communities when it came to matters concerning the law, education and commerce – Muslims were favoured over others, although different circumstances meant that this wasn’t always the case. Guilds could dominate certain professions, villages elected their headmen without supervision, and Jews in particular were valued as physicians and scholars. The local nobility was often preserved to maintain social…

Writer: Philip MacDonald Publisher: Casemate Price: £9.99 British military fiction has a long tradition and this reissue of a lost classic is worth reading on a couple of scores. Firstly, there’s its story: set in Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) during World War I, it tells the tale of a British cavalry patrol in the desert. The book opens with the patrol’s officer being shot by a sniper. Both the mission’s objectives and the patrol’s location die with him. The unit’s sergeant orders the remaining men to a nearby oasis where its horses are tied up for the night. On awaking the next morning, the troopers find their horses gone (apparently stolen by locals) and the sentry who’d guarded them dead. An unseen sniper then begins to pick the stranded patrol off…

FORGOTTEN HISTORY: UNBELIEVABLE MOMENTS FROM THE PAST Not all history is available at your fingertips, and many of the best stories need some digging. Forgotten History is a collection of these hidden gems that you didn’t learn in school – from the ancient world to the 20th century. Ultimately, some are better than others, but it’s definitely more hit than it is miss. Tales range from the silly (Ancient Greeks putting a statue on trial) to the sinister (Ala ad-Din, the man who dared defy Genghis Khan) and the occasional myth buster (croissants aren’t French). Any fans of Horrible Histories or QI need this. IN BED WITH THE ANCIENT GREEKS The sexual habits of the Ancient Greeks have played a large role in how we have come to understand Greek…

Author: James Aitcheson Publisher: Heron Books Price: £16.99 James Aitcheson made his name with his Sworn Sword trilogy of novels set in the years after the conquest, which followed the fortunes of one of William’s knights. In this standalone novel, he puts previous hero Tancred aside to look at the aftermath of defeat from the point of view of the English and, in doing so, makes a huge step up as a writer. As a scholar of the period, there’s never been any doubting the historical accuracy of Aitcheson’s work, but in the taught prose of The Harrowing, he proves himself completely as a writer. Five refugees from the reviving Normans who are laying waste the north to snuff out any possibility of future rebellions come together, fleeing through a…

 Author: Kate J Cole Publisher: Amberley Publishing Price: £14.99 “THE BRITISH ARE OBSESSED WITH THE WEATHER: SEEMINGLY EVERY POSTCARD INCLUDES A COMMENT ON WHETHER IT IS WET OR DRY, HOT OR SNOWING, WHILE GENERALLY ESCHEWING ANY MENTION OF THE ACTUAL WAR” Postcards were the Snapchat of their day: (almost) instant messages sent with an accompanying picture to reassure the receiver of the good health of the sender. For soldiers serving in World War I on the Western Front, they provided quick communication with home, often scribbled on breaks from marching. Postcards were the counterpoint to the considered letter. Cole shows the pictures chosen by soldiers serving, as well as reproducing the messages, thus serving to confirm the notion that the British really are obsessed with the weather: seemingly every postcard…

TOM GARNER As well as delving into the story of 617 Squadron (page 26), this issue, Tom has also been getting to grips with one of Napoleon’s bloodiest battlefields, and the fatal undoing of his doomed Russian campaign: Borodino (page 38). GAVIN MORTIMER Over on page 48, Gavin gets to grips with the inner workings of the Afrika Korps, including an interview with German veteran Rudolf Schneider, who was in Erwin Rommel’s personal bodyguard and even served as the Desert Fox’s driver. MIGUEL MIRANDA Miguel has been burning the midnight oil this month, working on his epic account of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 (page 72). On page 86, he delves into Africa’s heart of darkness for the Briefing on the Democratic Republic of Congo.…

“ONCE IN LIBYA, HIS KNOWLEDGE OF BRITISH AND AMERICAN VEHICLES PROVED SO VALUABLE THAT HE WAS SELECTED TO JOIN THE KAMPFSTAFFEL” Born in April 1923 in rural eastern Germany, Rudolf Schneider enrolled at the German Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture in Witzenhausen in the 1930s. His dream was to farm in south west Africa (present day Namibia), but in 1941, shortly after his 18th birthday, Schneider was drafted into the army. He underwent basic training in Dresden before being shipped to North Africa in early 1942 to join the newly formed Afrika Korps. Once in Libya, his knowledge of British and American vehicles – gained at agricultural college – proved so valuable that he was selected to join the Kampfstaffel, Rommel’s reconnaissance/bodyguard force of nearly 400 soldiers. “I was…

1 Gytha, mother of Harold Godwinson, leads Exeter in rebellion, while waiting for Harold’s sons to arrive with mercenaries from Ireland. William besieges the city and, after a bitter fight, it surrenders, but not before Gytha makes her escape. 2 The first major rebellion takes place with Edgar the Ætheling as its figurehead with support from the Earls of Mercia and Northumbria. William’s army devastates the region. The rebellion is rapidly crushed but its leaders escape. 3 Robert Cumin, appointed earl of Northumbria by William, is killed, along with hundreds of his men in Durham. The north revolts and takes York, but William, arriving at speed, puts the rebels to flight. They take refuge in the marshlands to the east. 4 Further rebellions break out. William harries the land and…

 He was probably the finest soldier in Asia. Tough, fatalistic, and a superb marksman, the 19th-century Ottoman soldier wrought sheer terror on the attacking Russians in multiple engagements. Recognisable for his characteristic fez hat and salvar trousers, the Ottoman soldier in the Nizam was a certified menace when equipped with either a standard issue Peabody Martini or a .44 Winchester. “TOUGH, FATALISTIC, AND SUPERB MARKSMEN, THE 19TH-CENTURY OTTOMAN SOLDIER WROUGHT SHEER TERROR ON THE RUSSIANS”…

Writer: Neal Dando Publisher: Helion Price: £35 This book is subtitled The Impact Of Terrain On British Operations And Doctrine In North Africa, 1940-43, which pretty much sums up its main themes and methodology. The author has taken the unusual approach of exploring a conflict – in this case the Western Desert Campaign of World War II – from a topographical point of view. It’s an interesting idea. The war in the desert against Rommel’s Afrika Korps is one of the most written about chapters in the history of warfare, but few – if any – have ever really examined how the unique terrain would have directly shaped both tactics and operations. Neal Dando’s main argument is that in order for the British to triumph in North Africa, they needed…

It is very rare to link a 17th-century military artefact to an ordinary soldier, but this piece of armour is a remarkable survival from the British Civil Wars. In 1643 the war between King Charles I and the English Parliament was in a state of flux and neither side could gain a decisive advantage. Consequently, English towns could change hands several times, such as Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. It was during the siege of this town that a soldier called John Hussey was shot. Hussey was a native of Lincolnshire, from Doddington Hall, and a cavalry officer fighting for the king. He was defending Gainsborough from a parliamentarian army that included Oliver Cromwell among its ranks. A Parliamentarian musket ball killed him on 27 July 1643, when it penetrated the upper…

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL GEORGE MONCK YEARS ACTIVE: 1650-61 In 1649, King Charles I was executed and Cromwell took control of the country, but his rule was a fragile one, with support for the Royalist cause still strong – particularly in Scotland. So in 1650, Cromwell raised a new regiment for his New Model Army to challenge Royalist forces north of the border. The regiment’s first commanding officer was General George Monck, who had been imprisoned for fighting for the Royalists during the civil war. While in prison, however, he wrote a book on military tactics that impressed Cromwell so much, he was offered his freedom in exchange for swearing allegiance to the Cromwellian cause. Known as Monck’s Regiment of Foot, the unit spent the next decade quashing the Royalist cause all over…

The Domesday Book, William’s inventory of the country, shows that by 1086, Englishmen owned only five per cent of the country, and this proportion reduced further in the following decades. William of Malmesbury, writing in the early 12th century, said: “England has become the dwelling place of foreigners and a playground for lords of alien blood. No Englishman today is an earl, a bishop or an abbot.” Those who had survived the invasion, and the subsequent rebellions, went abroad, seeking out sanctuary in Scotland, Scandinavia, Ireland and further afield, sometimes much further afield to places like Byzantium. Emigrating Englishmen found employment with the emperor’s elite Varangian Guard, so much so that what was previously a Scandinavian unit became known as a largely Anglo-Saxon one. They left behind a land where…

1. 22 JANUARY 1862 King Alexander Iona Cuza proclaims the Union of Romanian Principalities. A new country is born. 2. JULY-AUGUST 1875 Ethnic Serbs in Herzegovina rebel against the local Ottoman administration. The civil war spreads to Serbia and Bulgaria. 3. APRIL-AUGUST 1876 The Ottoman army, along with militia, crush the Bulgarian revolt, massacring thousands of Christian villagers. 4. 28 JUNE 1876 The 21-year-old Prince Milan Obrenovic raises the call to arms against the Sublime Porte. The Serbian Army marches to Bulgaria. 5. 24 APRIL 1877 Russia’s massive Danube Army uses pontoon bridges to invade Bulgaria. 6. JULY 1877 Small skirmishes take place between the Russian advance guard and Ottoman infantry in Plevna. In one particular battle, the Russians suffer more than 7,000 casualties after being ambushed. Before the month…

1491 Nzinga Nkuwu is baptised by Portuguese missionaries, beginning 500 years of Roman Catholicism in the Congo. Nkuwu’s son Afonso I succeeds him after a brief civil war and strengthens the faith. 1885 The Congo Free State, run by the agents of Belgium’s King Leopold II, emerges as a major exporter of rubber. Natives whose output falls below their quota are tortured to death. 1908 Uproar over the atrocities in the Congo Free State compels Belgium to annex the whole territory and run it alongside racist colonial lines. Improvements to the Congolese’s welfare are the bare minimum. 1960 With Congo granted independence, the Katanga region known for its copper and uranium mines attempts to break away. A bloody rebellion ensues involving UN troops, the Belgian army, the CIA and European…

 Writer: R Sheppard Publisher: Pool of London Price: £8.99 “WHAT THIS NEAT LITTLE BOOK DOES IS ATTEMPT TO PUT THE READER – FIGURATIVELY – INTO THE TURRET OF THE TANKS THAT FOUGHT IN THOSE EPIC CAMPAIGNS” Tanks first appeared on the battlefield during World War I, lumbering into action in September 1916 at the Battle of the Somme. They were to prove so decisive in that conflict that when it came to preparing for the next one, Hitler deemed them a war-winning weapon, rebuilding Germany’s military around more than 40 divisions of mechanised armour. When his armies swept through France in 1940, they did so not on horseback or foot as they had done in 1914, but in hundreds of tanks. The early Blitzkrieg successes his panzer-borne warriors enjoyed were…