Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2015 i History of War

When British troops finally brought the infamous Red Baron’s dominance of the skies to an end, they laid a wreath on his grave that read: “Our gallant and worthy foe.” This was a man who had earned celebrity status from shooting dozens of their comrades out of the sky, but nonetheless it was decided he deserved the utmost respect. Richthofen had to employ simple but brutal tactics to survive, as well as to kill, and soon came to be disillusioned with the barbarity of the war. This issue’s cover feature unravels the myth of chivalrous knights doing honourable battle in the skies over the trenches. The “grim” reality, as Manfred put it, was far removed from people’s idealised imaginings. EMAIL @imagine-publishing.co. FACEBOOK /HistoryofWarMag TWITTER @HistoryofWarMag “I believe that war is…

ALEXANDER’S EARLY YEARS A ROYAL BUT DISRUPTIVE UPBRINGING 356-336 BCE Macedonia The young prince is born to an estranged husband and wife but still manages to obtain different skills from both his father and mother that will help him in his later life. Alexander acquires his father’s military leadership skills but also attains his mother’s ambition and vengeful nature. INVADING THE PERSIAN EMPIRE VICTORY AFTER VICTORY AGAINST ALL THE ODDS 333 BCE Asia Minor With homeland security taken care of in Greece, Alexander turns his armies east against the Persian Empire. Conquering everything in his path, his most impressive victory comes at Issus in 333 BCE against King Darius III. Alexander, fearlessly leading his army from the front, routs his enemy despite being outnumbered five to one. A NEW KING…

WOODEN STAKE AND MALLET When wounded or frightened by the noise and chaos of combat, elephants were known to break ranks and crush their own troops. The mahout carried a stake to drive through the elephant’s spine in the event of that happening. HEAD CAPARISON Also made from thick red felt, the head caparison was essentially a protective hood. Placed over the top of the elephant’s head, it shielded its skull from arrows and other missiles, although it was of little use against javelins. THE MAHOUT Elephants were hired as mercenary troops along with their mahouts, whose job it was to train and maintain the animal as well as ride it into battle. Often Indian in origin, these men wore no armour and were vulnerable to attack from arrows. CAPARISON…

THE IMMORTALS This heavy unit was the core of the Persian army. Its name comes from the practice of immediately replacing any fallen member. The force’s size was maintained at exactly 10,000. Armed with wicker shields, short spears, and swords, they also wore heavy scale armour, which slowed them in battle. SCYTHIAN CAVALRY Darius had as many as 45,000 cavalrymen, many of who were Scythians – a nomadic people from central Asia who were past masters of mounted warfare. Lightly armoured and armed with bows and javelins, they were a highly mobile unit that was used to harass Alexander’s lines and raid his camps. SCYTHED CHARIOTEERS Desperate for a way to disrupt Alexander’s phalanxes, the Persians armed the wheels of their war chariots with metre-long iron scythes, which could then…

21 April 1918 was a Sunday. At about 11am, Lieutenant Wilfrid May of the newly formed RAF found himself high above the shattered battlefields of the Somme. He was a long way from home. The 22-year-old from rural Canada would ordinarily be emerging from a stuffy church service at this time of the week, but here he was searching the blue skies of northern France for men to kill. It was only May’s second combat patrol. His first, the day before, had left his commanding officer (CO) Captain Roy Brown, who’d known May since high school, convinced that the inexperienced pilot wouldn’t last long. If the patrol got into a fight that morning, Brown strictly told May, he was to keep out of it. At the age of 25, Brown…

MAX IMMELMANN The first German ace of the war was South African-born Immelmann, who won the Pour Le Merite – at the time Germany’s highest decoration. He claimed 17 victories before being killed in June 1916. He’s best remembered for inventing the Immelmann Turn – a loop-and-roll dogfight manoeuvre still used today. OSWALD BOELCKE Pour Le Merite-winner Boelcke claimed 40 kills before losing his life in a mid-air collision in October 1916. He left behind a legacy of tactics and techniques that are still taught to modern fighter pilots. Boelcke’s death had a particularly profound affect on Richthofen, who idolised him. HERMANN GOERING Hitler’s future right-hand man was appointed the Flying Circus’s CO after Richthofen’s death. He ended the war with 22 kills and a Pour Le Merite. During his…

MAJOR LANOE HAWKER VC BRITISH Hawker was the first Briton to achieve ‘ace’ status. He had seven credited victories when he encountered Richthofen on 23 November 1916. After a lengthy dogfight during which Richthofen fired 900 rounds, Hawker, running low on fuel, made a break for his own lines. Richthofen followed, and after having to hit his jammed guns with a hammer to get them working again, fired one last burst at Hawker, blowing a hole in the back of his head. CAPTAIN ALBERT BALL VC BRITISH With 44 confirmed and 25 unconfirmed kills, Ball was, when he died, Britain’s leading ace. Often hunting the skies as a ‘lone wolf’, he frequently took on multiple enemies at a time. On 7 May 1917, his flight jumped several planes of the…

The collaborationist militia, the Service d’Ordre Legionnaire, had been in existence since the initial invasion of France, but by 1943 it had morphed into the more radical Milice. The group was led by Joseph Darnand, who took a personal oath of loyalty to Hitler and received the rank of Sturmbannführer in the SS. By 1944, the initial 5,000 members had swelled to 35,000 as the group helped the Gestapo hunt down resisters. They were known for being ruthless, taking no prisoners, torturing anyone who didn’t comply and even shooting Résistance members who were in hospital. Just one of the counter-resistance movements, but by far the largest, spies from the Milice helped arrest Jean Moulin and several agents from the SOE-sanctioned Prosper Network, whose headquarters was infiltrated by the Sicherheitsdienst (SD).…

POLISH UNDERGROUND STATE Poland was one of the most harshly treated nations of the whole war. The Polish capital, Warsaw, was the centre of operations and had the largest resistance system in Europe led by brave patriots. There was an underground parliament and a home army who constantly struggled with both Nazi and Soviet overlords. NORWEGIAN RESISTANCE With vast swathes of uninhabited rural land and a border with neutral Sweden, Norway was an ideal country for resistance movements. The Norwegian Secret Army, the Milorg, was integral in helping aid the British commando operations in the country and helped bring down the Quislings, who collaborated with the Nazis. BELGIAN RESISTANCE France’s neighbour also had its own resistance movement. Based primarily in the Ardennes, the Allies utilised their regular reports to help…

LIGHT ARMOUR To stay cool and mobile, Muslim warriors wore lamellar or chainmail over loose short robes and baggy trousers called sirwals. SMALL ROUND SHIELD Famous for their mubarizun duellists, Muslim infantrymen carried these small shields to make them more mobile in hand-to-hand combat. DAMASCUS STEEL BLADES Blades forged from Damascus steel are renowned for their resilience, flexibility and razor-sharp edge, far outshining traditional European long swords. “IT IS NOT THE WONT OF KINGS TO KILL KINGS, BUT THIS MAN TRANSGRESSED HIS LIMITS, SO HE HAS SUFFERED WHAT HE HAS SUFFERED”…

CAPTAIN ARTHUR MARTIN-LEAKE Another man involved in army surgery, Martin-Leake won his first VC in 1902 during the Boer War after treating wounded soldiers just 100 metres (328 feet) from an enemy trench. He was shot by a Boer rifle but soldiered on until he collapsed from exhaustion. His second VC was awarded 12 years later on the Western Front as he once again saved many of his comrades while under heavy fire. CAPTAIN CHARLES UPHAM Charles Upham’s first VC was awarded for his outstanding leadership during the Allied defeat at the 1941 Battle of Crete. Already nursing a wound from a mortar shell, the brave captain carried a wounded soldier out of the firing line, and eight days later he singlehandedly killed 22 Germans. Several years later he received…

1858 Spurred by commercial and religious sentiments, Napoleon III orders his ships to attack Da Nang. Four years later, Vietnam’s Emperor Tru Duc would concede to French demands for ports. 1887 For the sake of avoiding unnecessary conflict over maritime borders, France and China agree to uphold the Convention On The Delimitation Of The Border Between China And Tonkin. 1910 In 1909, the Chinese published a map that identified the mysterious Paracel Islands as its territory. The following year, the Qing Dynasty attempts to garrison troops there. 1936 Beginning in 1933, Republic of China cartographers draw up new borders for Chinese maps. This may have been in response to French aggression and inspires Bai Meichu’s 11-dash line claim. 1939 To discourage French ambitions over the Spratly Islands, Japan renames the…

As the Romans struggled to maintain their presence in what is now Scotland, a wall was erected to protect the northern border of Roman Britain. After the last legionaries left British shores in about 410, Hadrian’s Wall became one of the best places in the UK to unearth Ancient Roman culture. The nearby village of Corbridge contains a well-preserved list of objects more than 2,000 years old known as the Corbridge Hoard. When the site was first excavated, an iron-bound leather-covered wooden chest was found. Dating from between 122 and 138, much of the organic material had rotted away after being subterranean for centuries, but its contents remain and are preserved in excellent condition. The hoard includes tools and weaponry such as spearheads, ballista bolts and a scabbard, but the…

EDOARDO ALBERT Renowned writer and historian Edoardo is the author of a host of acclaimed titles on the Anglo-Saxon era. This issue he takes us inside the military mind of Alfred the Great, amid his fight to expel the Vikings (page 36). NICK SOLDINGER Nick’s back to delve into the darker side of military history. This issue he turns iconoclast in his feature on the Red Baron, dispelling the myth of the chivalrous flier and exploring the brutal tactics behind WWI’s top fighter ace (page 26). JACK GRIFFITHS In his swan-song issue on the History of War team, Jack takes an alternative look at the French Resistance. On page 44, he explores the untold role of foreign fighters, communists and women in the nation’s secretive struggle for liberty.…

ALEXANDER’S TRUE NEMESIS? A Greek cynic philosopher, Diogenes of Sinope, famously told Alexander to “get out of my sunlight.” Alexander admired his spirit and said: “If I were not Alexander, I would wish to be Diogenes.” HE NAMED MORE THAN 20 CITIES AFTER HIMSELF Alexandria in Egypt is the best known city that Alexander named after himself, but there are others splattered all over his former empire – in Afghanistan, Iraq, Turkey, Kuwait, and beyond. HE NAMED A NEW CITY AFTER HIS HORSE When his horse was killed at the Battle of Hydaspes – the costliest victory of Alexander’s Indian campaign – he founded a city and named it Bucephala in the dead stallion’s honour. HE WENT NATIVE After conquering the Persians, Alexander gradually became more assimilated into their culture,…

Two months after defeating his nemesis Darius III at the Battle of Issus, Alexander turned his attention to the eastern Mediterranean coast. Home to the ancient maritime power of Phoenicia, it was a vital area of operations for the Persian navy. The Macedonians conquered the city-states one by one through a combination of brute force and promises of protection, but one city that didn’t submit so easily was the island fortress of Tyre. A Macedonian victory here could ease the conquest of the remainder of the coastline, but a defeat would be a hammerblow to Alexander’s vision of controlling the seas. “2,000 TYRIANS WERE CRUCIFIED FOR THEIR INVOLVEMENT IN THE SIEGE AS THE MAJORITY OF THE MALE POPULATION WERE PUT TO DEATH AND THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN ENSLAVED” 1. COASTAL…

ALEXANDER THE GREAT YEARS IN POWER: 336-323 BCELOYALTY: MACEDONIAN EMPIRE LEADERSHIP Alexander was renowned for leading from the front and would accompany his men into battle, inspiring them to victory on many occasions. His courageousness meant he received many battle wounds. RESPECT Despite being the undisputed leader of the Macedonians, many of Alexander’s generals were assassinated for treason with reasons ranging from genuine usurpation plans to the emperor’s own paranoia. DIPLOMACY The emperor’s politics were almost solely geared towards his grip on the throne. His right to rule was certain, which added considerably to the infighting after his death in the Wars of the Diadochi. MILITARY BACKING Alexander was fortunate as he inherited a very well trained and disciplined army from his father. He was also a shrewd and brave…

After completing military training, Richthofen was commissioned into the 1st Regiment of Uhlans – lancers who specialised in reconnaissance. It was a good fit for the dashing young baron. For hundreds of years the cavalry had enjoyed high status in European armies, and he was almost as keen a horseman as he was a hunter. When World War I broke out, Richthofen was garrisoned in Ostrowo, eastern Germany, and a few days into the conflict led a reconnaissance patrol into enemy territory. He spent several days behind Russian lines and, after narrowly avoiding a confrontation with mounted Cossacks, withdrew. On his return, he discovered that his garrison commander had been wrongly informed of his fate. Richthofen was forced to send a telegram home reassuring his parents that he wasn’t dead.…

In January 878, a band of men made their way through the Wessex countryside. Viking patrols searched for them, but the fugitives knew the hidden tracks and paths: this was their country. The man on the run was Alfred, and he was last king of the Anglo-Saxons. The Viking age had begun in 793 with the sacking of the monastery at Lindisfarne, but by the second half of the ninth century, raiders were becoming conquerors. The Great Heathen Army landed in East Anglia in 865 and, led by the three sons of the legendary Ragnar Lothbrok, it had set about its task. Northumbria fell in 866 and East Anglia in 869; Mercia had been neutered as a fighting force in 867. In less than five years, three of the four…

Hitler humiliated France. Defeat in just six weeks and the establishment of the Vichy puppet state brought the country to its knees and its military reputation to ruin. As the Nazi war machine took its blitzkrieg to the rest of Europe, the French found their society taken over by German soldiers. The sheer ferocity and resounding success of the attack had shocked the French people, and before any thoughts of striking back were even comprehended, civilians had to adjust to the new regime. With the army forcibly reduced to a mere 100,000 men and Marshall Pétain’s Vichy government gradually becoming more unconvincing, pockets of opposition began to appear in many parts of occupied France. Known in popular memory as La Résistance Française, the well-known story tells of the inspirational leadership…

The role of women was essential to the development of resistance movements in France. ‘Madame Lauro’ was one fighter who, working alone through the night, would pour hydrochloric and nitric acid on German food supplies in freight cars on the railroads. There weren’t just lone fighters though. Marie-Madeleine Fourcade became head of the Alliance Réseau and frequently rendezvoused with the British over supply drops. Her codename was Hedgehog, and after being captured, she escaped prison by squeezing through the bars of her cell window. Another important female was Dédée de Jongh, who was part of the Belgian resistance group Réseau Comète (Comet Line). Prior to her capture she was invaluable in creating and maintaining the escape lines constructed for downed Allied pilots. Sadly, the Gestapo soon caught on to their…

ACTION: LEVER ACTIONCALIBRE: VARIOUS INCLUDING .44-40 & .38-40MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 9-ROUND TUBE MAGAZINEBUILT: 1886-1945 LENGTH: 125CM WEIGHT: 4.5KG As the 19th century came to an end, ammunition became increasingly powerful, but Winchester’s iconic 1873 lever-action rifle could not withstand the high pressures the new ammunition created. In 1885, Winchester asked Browning if he could design a stronger action that could fire big-game hunting ammunition. Browning designed the 1886, which fired the hard-hitting.45-70 round that hunters wanted. Six years later, Winchester launched the Model 1892. Slightly smaller but using the same tough action, it fired revolutionary new smokeless ammunition and became an instant hit, with more than 1 million made. Used by ranchers and cowboys, outlaws and lawmen, Browning’s rifles even made it to the North Pole when US Admiral Peary took…

VICTORIA CROSS HEROES OF WORLD WAR ONE Writer: Robert Hamilton Publisher: Atlantic Price: £40 Released: 2 November 2015 A DEFINITIVE LIST OF THE BRAVE MEN WHO WERE AWARDED BRITAIN’S HIGHEST ACCOLADE IN THE GREAT WAR The Victoria Cross has an almost legendary aura to it. First forged from Crimean War cannons, the medal joins the Iron Cross and Medal of Honor as one of the most distinguished accolades in war. 628 VCs were awarded during World War I and every single one is documented in Robert Hamilton’s excellent book. The VC was the first medal that ensured that it wasn’t just the generals who were responsible for great military victories, and by the outbreak of war, it had become the ultimate symbol of courage. Victoria Cross Heroes Of World War…

WOLFRAM FREIHERR VON RICHTHOFEN Like his more-famous cousin Manfred von Richthofen, Wolfram started the war in a cavalry unit. After seeing action on both the Western and Eastern Front, and earning an Iron Cross for bravery, he found himself practically redundant by 1915. In 1917, he followed Manfred and Lothar into the Flying Service and by 1918 was a trained fighter pilot. Assigned to the Red Baron’s Flying Circus, he was lucky not to be killed on his first combat patrol, during which his cousin was killed. He survived the war and achieved top-gun status with eight confirmed kills. Wolfram left the services after the war and studied for a doctorate in aeronautical engineering, qualifying in 1929. His doctoral thesis was a top-secret study on production techniques for building all-metal…

A NEW ARMY The success of the Vikings was down to two key strategic advantages: mobility and surprise. If they encountered a substantial enemy force, the Northmen preferred to retire behind their defences and wait them out. They knew full well that the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms could not keep an army in the field for long – after a few months, men would start drifting back to their homes and fields. To counter this, Alfred realised he needed a standing army, and a mounted one at that, to mute the Vikings’ own mobility. So, he set about creating one: “The king’s reforms kept half the warriors on duty and half in reserve.” The horses were not the great war beasts of the high Medieval period, but smaller animals, ideally suited for…

GUY MÔQUET A relatively unknown figure, Môquet was executed at the tender age of 17. Beginning his life of activism as a child, he distributed leaflets filled with anti-Nazi propaganda around marketplaces and cinemas. He was arrested in October 1940 and was one of the revenge victims killed in retaliation to the murder of Karl Hotz. VIRGINIA HALL Virginia Hall was a talented speaker of many languages, so the American was naturally an ideal choice for the Résistance. Residing in France when the war began, she was forced to leave the country by suspicious Germans in 1942 but returned as a valuable spy for the OSS. BORIS VILDE Saint Petersburg-born and Estonian-raised, Vilde first came to Paris in 1934. When war broke out, he became part of the Résistance and…

WELROD CONCEALED PISTOL The Welrod was a bolt-action pistol designed by the British. They came into the hands of the Résistance through Allied airdrops that arrived from Station IX, a top-secret commando equipment-making base in England. An assassin’s pistol, the silencer and its compact design made it ideal for covert missions. STEN GUN MK 5 Used from the summer of 1944 onwards, the Sten gun was one of the most effective submachine guns. Cheap and simple, it was ideal for the Résistance and was capable of taking on the MP40 wielded by the Wehrmacht. The MK 5 was the fifth incarnation of the gun and proved invaluable in the later years of the war. FP-45 LIBERATOR As the US forces made their way into Europe, they were intent on arming…

FIRST VC CITATION “Altogether he saved the lives of some 20 badly wounded men, besides the ordinary cases which passed through his hands. His courage and self-sacrifice were beyond praise.” SECOND VC CITATION “Though severely wounded early in the action whilst carrying a wounded soldier to the dressing station, he refused to leave his post, and for two days not only continued to perform his duties but went out repeatedly under enemy fire to search for and attend to the wounded who were lying out. During these searches, although practically without food, he assisted to carry a number of badly wounded men over heavy and difficult ground. By his extraordinary energy and inspiring example he was instrumental in rescuing many who would have otherwise undoubtedly succumbed under the bad weather…

FINDING ARTHUR: THE TRUE ORIGINS OF THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING We know the character of King Arthur as the quintessential English king. Yet activist and writer Adam Ardrey seeks to turn this image on its head by proposing that the real Arthur actually ruled in Scotland sometime in the 7th century. AGINCOURT: HENRY V, THE MAN-AT-ARMS AND THE ARCHER On the 600th anniversary of the battle, WB Bartlett has penned an excellent and thorough account of the lead up to the day and the battle, exploring the years before Henry’s ascension and his road to Agincourt in as much detail as the climactic event itself. DOGS OF COURAGE There is a dog-shaped hole in our documentation of WWI, and Clare Campbell attempts to fill it with this in-depth look…