Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2016 i History of War

“If we had reached the Meuse, we should have got down on our knees and thanked God – let alone try to reach Antwerp” – Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt On 16 December 1944, the seemingly defeated Nazi war machine shocked the world as it rumbled to life once again in the Battle of the Bulge. Complacent Allied commanders were caught off guard, panic spread through Paris, and civilians only recently liberated prepared for a new German occupation. Though it took Allied forces entirely by surprise, supreme commander of the Western Theatre, Gerd von Rundstedt, knew the operation was ultimately as hopeless as it was ambitious. This issue’s cover feature takes you inside the most infamous campaign of WWII – from the Führer’s flawed planning to the snow-stricken chaos that…

MIKHAIL KALASHNIKOV YEARS ACTIVE: 1938-2013 AFFILIATION: RED ARMY & IZHEVSK MACHINEBUILDING PLANT Born into a farming family in Kurya, Kazakhstan, in 1919, Kalashnikov’s career as a ‘Konstruktor’, or Soviet weapons designer, began when he was wounded during World War II and was invalided home to convalesce. He began work on several sub machine gun designs that proved his promise. In 1943, he began work on an automatic rifle chambered in the new Soviet M1943 intermediate cartridge. Over the next three years, he and his design team worked on what would become the Avtomat Kalashnikova. The first practical prototype, the AK-46, was substantially different from what would become the finished product and was deemed too complicated. He refined the design with the assistance of Vasily Lyuty, Vladimir Deikin and possibly Hugo…

Reaching the outskirts of Malmedy on the afternoon of 17 December, and surprising a US convoy, SS-Colonel Jochen Peiper’s column captured the vehicles and shot their crews. In the infamous massacre, 113 surrendered GIs were gunned down, of whom 43 survived. Two journalists, Jack Belden from Time Magazine and Hal Boyle of Associated Press happened to be in the vicinity and immediately reported the outrage, which was circulated by the US First Army without censorship. Why had this happened? Essentially, the SS troops had spent much of their war on the Eastern Front, where such massacres of Russian troops and civilians were common, even encouraged. Peiper had also briefed his men beforehand: “In the coming operation, the regiment will have the duty to attack recklessly… the coming mission will be…

The Mongols’ most famed weapon was the bow, but their arsenal was varied and expanded steadily during their ascendancy. Just as the Mongols were willing to take on foreign knowledge and expertise (as in the case of siegecraft) they were also happy to adopt foreign weaponry. Not only did they take on weapons such as catapults from China and other artillery from Persia, they were able to adapt them to their needs. Combining elements of both Chinese and Persian designs, the Mongols developed a catapult with a range of 350 metres. Explosives, naphtha and rocks would all be used as ammunition, and at the Sajo River in Hungary in 1241, the Mongols were able to employ a rolling barrage of artillery fire to enable them to cross a narrow bridge…

“WE WERE TO BE TERRORISTS…OUR JOB WAS TOTERRORISE THE GERMANS” In the early summer of 1944, Simon Wingfield-Digby, the Conservative member of parliament for West Dorset, posed a question in the House of Commons to Winston Churchill. “Is it true, Mr Prime Minister,” he enquired, “that there is a body of men out in the Aegean Islands, fighting under the Union flag, that are nothing short of being a band of murderous, renegade cut-throats?” Churchill did not appreciate the question. “If you do not take your seat and keep quiet,” he snapped, “I will send you out to join them.” Churchill’s tart response would have come as no surprise. He was, after all, indirectly responsible for the ‘cut-throats’ that Wingfield-Digby spoke of. In reality, they were the Special Boat Squadron,…

A Kentish man, Waterman joined the SAS in 1942 and transferred to the SBS shortly after, serving with them until their disbandment in October 1945. He saw action in the Aegean campaign, the Balkans and Italy, and a few years after the war he emigrated to Canada where he still lives. “I joined the Special Boat Squadron when it was formed in 1943 as one of the unit’s four signallers and I worked closely with Major George Jellicoe, our CO. In early 1944, the SBS assembled a small force working in the Aegean islands from a base on a remote stretch of Turkish coastline. The Germans had kicked us out of the likes of Leros and Samos the previous autumn so our role was to cause as much trouble as…

“THIS PERIOD OF ENGLISH HISTORY REALLY IS THE STUFF OF HIGH DRAMA” BATTLE ROYAL Writer: Hugh Bicheno Publisher: Head of Zeus Price: £25 Released: Out now MEDIEVAL POWER GAMES ABOUND IN THIS BLOODY ACCOUNT OF ENGLAND’S MOST COSTLY CIVIL CONFLICT – THE WARS OF THE ROSES Subtitled ‘The Wars Of Lancaster And York, 1440-1462’ this is part one of a two-part study that seeks to unravel the dynastic struggle for England’s throne between the Houses of Lancaster and York in what became known as the Wars of the Roses. The book opens by introducing us to King Henry VI who, in the wake of his failed military campaigns in France, is suffering from what the author Hugh Bicheno describes as schizophrenia. Whatever the correct definition of Henry’s mental condition, it…

GAVIN MORTIMER In the 1940s, the islands of the Aegean sea were terrorised by a dedicated and dangerous unit of British special forces. Gavin Mortimer tells the story of this largely forgotten outfit, and how they helped win the war in the Med (page 56). MIGUEL MIRANDA Rebel, zealot and at one point the most wanted man in the world, Joseph Kony’s brutal legacy, and his army of child soldiers, still haunts Uganda. Miguel investigates the origins of Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army over on page 64. DAVID SMITH The Mongols forged a huge empire by means of terrifying battlefield tactics and surprisingly sophisticated technology. On page 46, David takes a look at the wily weapons and strategies that helped the great Khans enslave the Medieval world.…

HITLER CHRISTENED THE ASSAULT RIFLE Hitler initially opposed the manufacture of the new MP43 and forbade its production. His generals hid production from him and finally managed to convince him of its worth; he named the new rifle the ‘Sturmgewehr’, or ‘storm rifle’. SHOOTING SCRAP In the early 1960s, Colt salesmen toured US police departments showcasing the new AR-15, often demonstrating its devastating firepower by spraying scrap cars with bullets. RIGHT ARM OF THE FREE WORLD From 1953 into the 1990s, the Belgian FN-FAL dominated the world’s arsenals, with it seeing service in almost 100 countries. It quickly became known as the Right Arm of the Free World. BREAKDOWN SPEEDS Russian schoolchildren are taught how to field strip AK rifles, a hangover from the Soviet era. The rifle’s simplicity means…

US RIFLES M14 Calibre: 7.62x51mm NATO In service: 1959-present M16 Calibre: 5.56x45mm NATO In service: 1963-present RUSSIAN RIFLES FEDEROV AVTOMAT Calibre: 6.5x50mmSR In service: 1915-45 AK-47 Calibre: 7.62x39mm In service: 1949-present AK-74 Calibre: 5.45x39mm In service: 1974-present AN-94 Calibre: 5.45x39.5mm In service: 1995-present “THE SCAR’S MODULARITY HAS PROVED POPULAR, WITH THE BELGIAN ARMY AND VARIOUS SPECIAL FORCES UNITS ADOPTING IT” FN FAL Calibre: 7.62x51mm NATO In service: 1954-present Location: Belgium, various countries L85A2 Calibre: 5.56x45mm NATO In service: 1985-present Location: UK RIBEYROLLE CARABINE 1918 Calibre: 8x35mm Ribeyrolle In service: 1918 Location: France FAMAS Calibre: 5.56x45mm NATO In service: 1981-present Location: France CETME MODEL L Calibre: 5.56x45mm NATO In service: 1984-99 Location: Spain VALMET M76 Calibre: 5.56x45mm NATO In service: 1976-present Location: Finland STG 44 Calibre: 7.92x33mm Kurz In service: 1942-45…

“IN OUTLINE, HITLER’S CONCEPT WAS FOR TWO TANK ARMIES TO ASSAULT THE 89-MILE-LONG ARDENNES FRONT, THINLY HELD BY 80,000 MEN OF GENERAL TROY MIDDLETON’S US VIII CORPS” December each year focuses the mind on the winter Ardennes Campaign of 1944, one of Germany’s last major offensives against the Western Allies after D-Day. It began on 16 December in appalling weather and took the Allies by complete surprise. However, after some initial successes, the attack had stalled by Christmas and petered out by mid-January, costing each side between 80-100,000 casualties. Wacht am Rhein In outline, Hitler’s concept was for two tank armies to assault the 89-mile-long Ardennes front, thinly held by 80,000 men of General Troy Middleton’s US VIII Corps. In the first wave, Middleton’s GIs would be attacked by more…

The Mongol warrior was synonymous with his horse. The primitive, small but supremely hardy ponies (relatives of the wild Przewalski horse) that the Mongols used were able to travel long distances, and this was enhanced by the stipulation that each soldier must provide himself with four or five horses. A Mongol warrior was able to change mounts at a gallop, and the swiftness of their armies (reports commonly told of marches covering 100 kilometres in a single day) completely befuddled their European opponents, who believed they must have been facing armies of five or six times their actual number. Mobility of a different sort was maintained by the light armour worn by the Mongol light cavalryman. The silk undershirt (the Mongols were unable to produce their own silk, so they…

“LASSEN CHARGED FORWARD, ZIGZAGGING UP THE ROAD, THROWING GRENADES AND FIRING BURSTS FROM HIS TOMMY GUN” On the night of 8/9 April 1945, Anders Lassen led a ten-strong SBS patrol to attack a series of German machine-gun emplacements on the eastern shore of Lake Comacchio. The lake, a natural obstacle to the progress of the Allied advance north through Italy, was well defended by the Germans on the north shore, and the SBS task was to eliminate the smaller force on the east, while also causing a diversion to the main assault. Two local fishermen guided the SBS across the lake in wooden fishing boats, and once ashore, the Dane led his men along a road that ran parallel to the water. They soon encountered the first machine-gun nest, and…

REPORTING THE SECOND WORLD WAR Chronicling the exploits of the likes of Ernest Hemingway, David Dimbleby, Robert Capa and more as they put themselves in harm’s way in order to capture the biggest scoops of their time, Brian Best looks at the stories of the people who reported the war. An engaging and well-researched new angle on World War II. SOLDIER SLANG OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR Soldier Slang does a sterling job of presenting the many phrases of the era, introducing the reader to almost every piece of dialect used by soldiers during the Great War. Looking at the puns, neologisms, slang, dialect and mispronunciations that entertained the troops, kept them out of trouble with their officers and could even help them escape a sticky situation, this work provides…

M4 CARBINE LENGTH: 84CM WEIGHT: 2.8KG CALIBRE: 5.56X45MM FEED: 30-ROUND BOX MAGAZINE CYCLIC RATE: 800 ROUNDS/MINUTE EFFECTIVE RANGE: 500M M4 YEARS IN OPERATION: 1994-PRESENT COUNTRY: USA ACCURACY The M4’s high-velocity ammunition is substantially more accurate than the AK’s. It has better ballistics and a flatter trajectory, with its smaller size giving it less recoil, allowing greater accuracy. HANDLING The M4 is ergonomically superior, with fast magazine changes, simple and accessible controls and an in-line stock profile that improves handling. However, it has a cumbersome charging handle and its action prevents the use of folding stocks. MAINTENANCE The M4 is undoubtedly more sophisticated than the AK with a far more complex bolt and using more advanced materials. This makes it trickier to maintain, and more expensive, costing nearly $700 a rifle.…

“MOST OF THE RANK AND FILE WERE THE VERY YOUNG – HITLER YOUTHS AGED AS YOUNG AS 16 – AND MUCH OLDER MEN WHO HAD SO FAR ESCAPED CONSCRIPTION” On paper, the attacking armies were very different in their makeup. The Sixth was dominated by the Waffen-SS, the Fifth by the army’s elite panzer formations and the Seventh comprised poorly equipped infantrymen. In practice, the three formations were to have in their vanguard newly raised infantry divisions designated as Volksgrenadiers. These were all established in the autumn of 1944 and were smaller in size than their predecessors. Their officers and NCOs had somehow survived the Russian front. Most of the rank and file were the very young – Hitler Youths aged as young as 16 – and much older men…

Subutai (or Subedei) overcame humble origins to become the greatest of all Mongol generals. The son of a blacksmith and one of the ‘Reindeer People’, he was not technically a Mongol at all. In fact, Genghis Khan launched a military operation to bring the Reindeer People, and other forest dwellers like them, under his control. Subutai therefore did not have the traditional Mongol upbringing. His people rode reindeer rather than horses and lived in permanent villages rather than moving their herds around the vast steppes. A blacksmith would have been valued by the Mongols, who had developed no technology of their own and so relied on foreign skills and materials to provide them with weapons. The young Subutai, however, had shown no inclination to take up his father’s trade. Quite…

“THE SBS WERE PREPARING TO DEPLOY TO THE FAR EAST WHEN THE USA BROUGHT THE WAR TO AN END WITH ITS TWO ATOMIC BOMBS” The Aegean had been the ideal theatre for the SBS, allowing them to wage a guerrilla war in which courage went hand in hand with initiative and daring. The operations that followed were less successful, although they had the honour of being the first British soldiers to liberate the Greek city of Salonika in October 1944. In Greece and Yugoslavia, they became increasingly caught up in the incipient civil wars, and by the spring of 1945, opportunities to engage the enemy were restricted to small raids against Adriatic islands off the Croatian coast. The SBS were preparing to deploy to the Far East when the USA…

1877 First recorded contact between European missionaries and the kingdom of Buganda, a prominent Muslim kingdom. The efforts of Anglican and Catholic missionaries thrive and Christian communities pave the way for peaceful colonisation. 1962 Britain divests itself of its Central African jewel without unnecessary conflict. Uganda gains its independence after a referendum and the brilliant young lawyer Apollo Milton Obote leads the newly formed government. 1971 Disgruntled soldier Idi Amin overthrows Obote in a coup and declares himself president. Despite his charismatic leadership, the Amin regime is an economic disaster for Uganda and he is overthrown in 1979. 1980 With Idi Amin toppled the previous year, national elections are held on 10 December. Obote wins but his victory is contested by a rebel group called the National Resistance Army. 1986…

For the modern soldier, whether they’re engaging the enemy with small-arms fire in a Damascus suburb or guiding a drone from the safety of a Californian air base, war is a claustrophobic experience, fought on a relatively small scale. By contrast, from ancient times through to the 20th century, the experience of combat for most soldiers was something that occurred on a monumental scale. Rather than being part of a small team, they’d have been just another man in the ranks of a vast force sent to battle it out with another huge army. Epic clashes litter history – clashes that often resulted in colossal losses. Indeed, it wasn’t uncommon for battlefields presided over by everyone from Caesar to Hitler to become mass burial grounds, with tens of thousands often…

“SWORDS WERE VERY IMPORTANT SYMBOLS FOR NORSE WARRIORS, AND THE ELABORATE GRIP ON THIS HILT SHOWS THAT ITS OWNER WAS WEALTHY” The Vikings conquered many parts of the British Isles from the 8th century onwards. However, they achieved their most lasting presence in Scotland, where Norwegian Vikings became a dominant presence. It is easy to see why – the Isles of Shetland are only 306 kilometres west of Norway. At one point, Norse warriors and settlers directly held Shetland, Orkney, the Hebrides, the islands of the Firth of Clyde and the Isle of Man. Irish chroniclers also recorded in 849 that there was a king of “Viking Scotland”. In this sense, mainland Scotland was virtually surrounded by pagan warriors with a fearsome reputation. This beautiful brass sword hilt demonstrates the…