Innholdsfortegnelse for No.29 i History of War

“Rebellion must have an unassailable base, something guarded not merely from attack, but from the fear of it” – TE Lawrence, The Evolution of a Revolt (1920) While the Western Front was mired in static trench attrition, a highly mobile guerilla rebellion was raging in the harsh deserts of the Middle East. Though it may have been just a ‘sideshow of a sideshow’, the Arab Revolt of 1916-18 shook up the balance of power in the region, and produced one of the most iconic figures of the war. In this issue we also tackle another sideshow that played out in Northern Italy, as Mussolini’s Social Republic crumbled around him at the hands of a bitter civil war. In April 1945 partisan fighters caught up with Il Duce, who was promptly…

GEORGY ZHUKOV YEARS ACTIVE: 1915-1957 ALLEGIANCE: SOVIET UNION When Hitler greenlit the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Zhukov was one of the high-ranking Russian commanders that signed the official military countermeasures to drive out the invaders and restore order to the fringes of the nation. The plan was to take a large force of Russian armour and infantry and encircle the German force, but despite superior numbers the Soviets were routed by Axis forces. In August 1941, when the Axis surrounded Kiev and besieged the city, Zhukov had advised Stalin to evacuate the city rather than risk the lives of its inhabitants. Stalin refused and when the city fell 600,000 men were taken into captivity. The advice to withdraw from Kiev saw Stalin withdraw Zhukov from the…

“UPON ITS SURRENDER TO THE ALLIES, ITALY BECAME NOTHING MORE THAN A SOURCE OF MEN AND MATERIALS FOR THE GERMANS TO BE PLUNDERED AT WILL” Posters may have declared that the Italians had nothing to fear from their long-time partners in the ‘Pact of Steel’, but the truth was very different. Upon surrendering, Italy became nothing more than a source of men and materials for Germany, to be plundered at will. Factories were packed up and shipped out of the country and Italy was even forced to pay 10 million lire per month as expenses. Even food was taken for German soldiers, leaving many on the brink of starvation. As well as the territory of the new Mussolini-headed government, the RSI, Germany also effectively annexed territories in the north east…

“BEDFORD HAD WON A GREAT NAVAL BATTLE IN 1416 BUT HE WAS UNTESTED ON A TRADITIONAL FIELD OF BATTLE” Bedford had won a great naval battle in 1416 but he was still untested on a traditional field of battle. By 1424, the war in France had reached a critical level. With Henry V dead and a toddler on two thrones it was up to Bedford to advance the English cause in France but he was up against formidable and unyielding opponents. French supporters of the Dauphin always outnumbered English troops and they were assisted by a Scottish army that was intent on fighting the Regent to the death. Bedford was about to face his greatest challenge. 01 BEDFORD APPROACHES At the crack of dawn on 17 August, Bedford draws up…

“IN THE POPULAR IMAGINATION, THE CAMPAIGN STOPPED A JAPANESE INVASION OF MAINLAND AUSTRALIA, BUT HISTORIANS HAVE SINCE DISCOVERED THAT THE JAPANESE HAD DECIDED AGAINST ANY SUCH ATTEMPT” In Australian history, Kokoda ranks only behind Gallipoli in terms of cultural importance and its impact on the Anzac (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) myth. The name is invoked in much the same manner as the battle at Anzac Cove as a kind of short-hand for a uniquely Australian version of the fabled ‘Blitz spirit’, a signifier of Aussie mateship against extreme adversary. Despite this, the name of the campaign remains a bone of contention. Historians still argue Kokoda Trail versus Kokoda Track; the former has gained the upper hand in modern usage, while the latter was more commonly used by the…

JAPANESE ARMS TYPE 38 RIFLE CLIP CAPACITY: 5 RATE OF FIRE: 15 RPM Compared to most Japanese small arms, the bolt action Type 38 was a decent service rifle. Its 6.5mm round produced less recoil and muzzle flash than the standard Australian .303. TYPE 92 MEDIUM MACHINE GUN CLIP CAPACITY: 30 RATE OF FIRE: 450 RPM The Japanese medium machine gun, the Type 92 was an unusual design fed from 30 round stripper clips. Diggers nicknamed it the Woodpecker thanks to its slow and steady rate of fire. AUSTRALIAN ARMS BREN LIGHT MACHINE GUN CLIP CAPACITY: 30 RATE OF FIRE: 500 RPM The Bren light machine gun was accurate, comparatively light, and superbly reliable. The British design fired a .303 round (the same calibre as the Enfield rifle) from a…

Writer: Roger Payne OAM Publisher: Amberley Publishing Price: £11.99 Released: Out now Although parachuting into combat is still seen as a valid deployment method by the British army, its Parachute Regiment hasn’t actually entered a conflict zone this way since the Suez Crisis of 1956. Reading Roger Payne’s book, Paras, which explores the history of Britain’s two airborne divisions (the 1st and 6th) during World War II, it’s not difficult to see why. Leaping from a plane onto a battlefield seems like a suicidal tactic, and yet in an age before combat helicopters, it was deemed a necessary one to win a war. Indeed, it’s possible D-Day might have failed had vital inland targets not been grabbed by the 6th Airborne Division the night before the invasion. Casualties, though, were…

TOM GARNER For years Tom has been championing the great (but forgotten) exploits of John, Duke of Bedford, brother of Henry V. This issue he sets the record straight, exploring Bedford’s victory at Verneuil, and his campaign against Joan of Arc (page 52). ALICE ROBERTS-PRATT As Heritage Project Officer, Alice has been preparing for the National Museum of the Royal Navy’s Battle of Jutland centenary exhibition: ‘36 Hours’. On page 28, she recounts how HMS Lion survived the battle, thanks to one man’s sacrifice. DAVID SMITH After the invasion of Sicily in 1943, the fate of Axis Italy and its dictator was all but sealed. However, as David explores, Il Duce’s final fall would only come after a long and brutal struggle between remaining Axis forces and partisan guerillas (page…

“THE NAZI ATTEMPT TO TAKE THE STRATEGIC CITY OF STALINGRAD ON THE VOLGA RIVER TURNED INTO AN APOCALYPTIC BLOODBATH” “WHEN TANKS APPROACH WITHIN 25 METRES OF THE BUILDING, THEIR THIN TURRET ARMOUR BECOMES EXPOSED TO ANTI-TANK FIRE FROM ABOVE BUT THEY ARE UNABLE TO ELEVATE THEIR WEAPONS HIGH ENOUGH TO RETALIATE” The Battle of Stalingrad is one of the most brutal battles in history and, for most historians, it is the crucial turning point of World War II. The Nazi attempt to take the strategic city of Stalingrad on the Volga River turned into an apocalyptic bloodbath. It resulted in huge casualties and led to the eventual retreat and defeat of the Axis armies in Russia. There were countless acts of heroism in the battle but one of the most…

Serious overloading of the chassis meant that the Sturmpanzer wasn’t designed for off-road warfare. As the many accounts of these armoured vehicles breaking down in rural areas (especially in wet weather) should testify, the Sturmpanzer was a mobile cannon that Hitler wanted for urban assaults. Its rounds were powerful enough to blow straight through walls, so the Nazis often used them to clear out Allied roadblocks. However, while these mobile cannons often cleared obstacles or destroyed gun nests, they also attracted the most fire so the German infantry would often hold back until the vehicle had cleared the vicinity before engaging.…

To commemorate the centenary of the Battle of Jutland, The National Museum of the Royal Navy in partnership with Imperial War Museums are staging ‘36 Hours: Jutland 1916, The Battle That Won the War’, the largest and most comprehensive exhibition ever on the subject, highlighting the essential role of the Royal Navy in winning World War I. Sitting alongside over 200 Jutland related artefacts are objects belonging to and associated with Francis Harvey and HMS Lion. Objects include Harvey’s Victoria Cross and Ceremonial Sword, a piece of Armour plate from a bulkhead in ‘Q’ Turret which is inscribed in memory of Francis Harvey and the other men who lost their lives, a German shell splinter recovered from Lion and the medals awarded to Captain Francis Jones, RMLI who discovered the…

“THE PATH TO ITALY’S EVENTUAL SURRENDER TO THE ALLIES LIES OPEN FOLLOWING THE OUSTING OF BENITO MUSSOLINI” 01 MUSSOLINI DEPOSED The path to Italy’s eventual surrender to the Allies lies open following the ousting of Benito Mussolini. Taken into captivity at the Hotel Campo Imperatore, he is forgotten in the scramble to leave Rome in the face of the German advance upon the city and is rescued by German paratroopers. 02 THE ALLIES INVADE Just hours after the surrender of Italian forces to the Allies, landings begin at Salerno on 9 September 1943. The strength of German resistance surprises the Allies, who make slow progress and are then stalled by defensive works along the Gustav Line. A typically harsh Italian winter does not help. 03 RSI SET UP Mussolini’s only…

Joan of Arc is a French national icon and one of the most curiously fascinating figures to emerge from the Middle Ages. She was a teenage peasant girl from Domrémy in Lorraine who claimed to hear divine voices telling her to expel the English from France and crown the Dauphin as Charles VII. Remarkably, her story was believed (or used) by Charles and he allowed her to accompany a relief convoy to the Siege of Orléans carrying a holy banner and wearing a suit of armour. Joan soon energised the town and garrison into taking the fight to the English and the siege was lifted on 8 May 1429 – just over a week after her arrival. The spell of English invincibility had been broken and shortly afterwards they were…

PRINCE FAISAL Faisal was the third son of Sharif Hussein and led the Arab Revolt. Lawrence worked closely with him and was greatly impressed with the prince, “I felt at first glance that this was the man I had come to seek – the leader who would bring the Arab Revolt to full glory.” AUDA ABU TAYI Auda was the head of the Howeitat tribe and was described by Lawrence as, “the greatest fighting man in northern Arabia”. His tribesmen were some of the best fighters of the region and significantly contributed to the revolt’s success, particularly at Aqaba. Auda had reputedly killed 75 Arabs with his own hand and didn’t bother to count the Turks. EDMUND ALLENBY As commander of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force Allenby was one of the…

“LAWRENCE HIGHLY VALUED THE ROLLS-ROYCE DESCRIBING THEM AS, “MORE VALUABLE THAN RUBIES” By late 1917 Lawrence had a squadron of nine Rolls Royce armoured cars, manned with British crews to aid the Arab Revolt. The cars were a steel-plated version of the ‘Silver Ghost’ with a strengthened chassis to support a steel cylinder, which was five feet in diameter. This cylinder housed a Vickers-Maxim machine gun and the revolving turret was highly effective against infantry whilst protecting the crew. Most of the car body was covered with bulletproof armoured plating and its wheels were inlaid with metallic rims, which enabled it to traverse across rough terrain. Two spare wheels were also provided to minimise puncture damage and they could travel at speeds of 45 miles per hour, with a range…

1524 After years of campaigning, the Spanish Conquistadores subjugate the Pipil Indians and rename their dominion San Salvador. Arable land is divided into feudal encomiendas ruled by a manorial class. 1821 With the Spanish Empire in disarray after the Napoleonic Wars, the former Latin American colonies secure their independence. Several Central American provinces prevail against Spain by force of arms. 1823 Believing there is strength in unity, on 1 July the ruling junta in Guatemala created the Federal Republic of Central America combining Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. 1841 Internal divisions cause the Republic to fall apart. Secessionists plunge the federation into civil war. To resolve the crisis Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and newly minted El Salvador are granted independence. 1880 Tiny El Salvador emerges as a leading…

Author: Hew Strachan and others Publisher: Oxford University Press Price: £18.99 Released: Out Now The horrors of World War I are well known, etched into the imagination through a myriad of books, films and plays. Refreshingly, this book does not simply revisit the commonly known timeline; it delves into its origins, the aims of its participants and the world they left behind. Using maps to delineate the borders of Europe and Africa before and after the war, Strachan colourfully displays how dramatically this conflict altered the very shape of nations as empires faded. While peace descended elsewhere following the Armistice, violence continued to rage throughout the shattered remnants of the Habsburg, Romanov and Ottoman Empires. Propaganda issued during the war helps to unearth the feelings and fears of citizens and…

Author: Kevin J McNamara Publisher: Public Affairs International Ltd Price: £13 Released: Out Now The full title of this book is Dreams Of A Great Small Nation – The Mutinous Army That Threatened A Revolution, Destroyed An Empire, Founded A Republic And Remade The Map Of Europe. It’s a bold sell, but this incredible story lives up to its billing. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about it, though, is that it’s a fable that’s remained largely untold. Until now. Set against the backdrop of WWI, this enthralling book tells the fate of thousands of Czech and Slovak soldiers press-ganged into service by the Austro-Hungarian Empire to fight Russia. These men, inspired by Czech independence campaigner Tomáš Masaryk, then deserted on mass to join the Tsar’s army in order to fight…

“NUMEROUS REFERENCES POWERFULLY EMPHASISE THIS GRADUAL LOSS OF WHAT IT IS TO BE A CHILD” Writer: Matti Friedman Publisher: Biteback Publishing Price: £12.99 Released: Out Now “There is no room for innocence here.” The words of Avi, a thoughtful young Israeli soldier echo throughout this magnificent book, a Middle-Eastern Anthem For Doomed Youth. From the very first pages Friedman, himself a soldier among the many stationed on the Pumpkin (a rectangular hill on the Israeli-Lebanon border), beautifully captures war’s ability to trample the flower of innocence. Split into four parts, Friedman eloquently conveys the individual tragedies of the soldiers who fought to hold the hilltop in the mid-1990s. The drudgery of army routine is simultaneously captured in its most depressing form, yet fascinatingly revealed as a potent weapon in transforming…

“THE INTERNET ADDS A FURTHER LAYER OF COMPLEXITY DUE TO THE ANONYMITY THAT IT AFFORDS ATTACKERS” Author: Benjamin Wittes and Gabriella Blum Publisher: Amberley Price: £16.99 Released: Out Now With great power, comes great responsibility. The words of Lincoln ring true for any civilized head of state. But what happens when power once restricted to national leaders finds itself in the hands of the individual? How does the world guard against potentially thousands of reckless, even evil, citizens? This is one of the many questions this book seeks to answer. We now live in a world of ‘many-to-many threats’, making everyone simultaneously more powerful and more vulnerable than ever before. As mass-empowerment technologies such as robotics and nanotechnology become cheaper to develop, they inevitably become more prevalent; the skills needed…

Author: Roger Moorhouse Publisher: Penguin Random House Price: £9.99 (Paperback) Released: Out Now Joseph Stalin’s hard fought, but ultimately total, victory against Adolf Hitler is arguably the most crucial factor that decided the course of World War II. Between 1941-45 the Soviet Union lost perhaps up to 26 million of its citizens in the ‘Great Patriotic War’ against the Third Reich. It was a fight to the death between two competing ideologies and cultures but what is less well known is that Hitler and Stalin formed an unlikely alliance between 1939-41 that also had a direct bearing on the course of the war. In August 1939 the two leaders signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact, where it was agreed that Poland would be divided between them. This led to the outbreak of…

“HITLER NEEDED TO FORCE BOTH A MILITARY AND POLITICAL COLLAPSE OF THE USSR, AND THIS HE WAS SIMPLY UNABLE TO DO” Operation Barbarossa was arguably the greatest turning point in World War II and changed global history but at a dreadful cost. Here, Roger Moorhouse, author of The Devils’ Alliance: Hitler’s Pact with Stalin, 1939-1941, explains what contributed to the Nazi defeat and how the war with the Soviet Union led to a decisive Allied victory. DESPITE INFLICTING HUGE CASUALTIES, WHY WAS THERE NO DECISIVE GERMAN VICTORY BEFORE THE RUSSIAN WINTER SET IN? As the Poles, Swedes and Napoleon all learned to their cost, invading Russia is a tricky business. Germany, in 1941, had some distinct advantages. Not least a marked superiority in technology and in trained manpower, it also…

“MUSSOLINI HAD LONG SENSED THAT HIS END WAS NEAR. THE WAR, NEVER POPULAR IN ITALY, HAD BEEN GOING BADLY FOR SOME TIME” The hunched figure in the back of the German truck might not have merited a second glance had he not been wearing sunglasses. The Luftwaffe corporal, resting his chin on the sub-machine gun between his knees, was certainly not what the partisans of the 52nd Garibaldi Brigade were looking for. They were intent only on finding any fugitive Italians within the small column of German troops heading for home. However, the sunglasses – worn on a cloudy day – attracted attention and a closer examination of the German corporal revealed the unmistakable features of Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini, former Prime Minister and dictator of Italy. It was 27…

“HIS TREMENDOUS VICTORY AT VERNEUIL WAS SOON DUBBED BY CONTEMPORARIES AS ‘THE SECOND AGINCOURT’” In the early 15th century, an outnumbered English army lined up against a superior enemy force in northern France. Some 9,600 men stood ready to fight and die for King Henry of England, during the crown’s ongoing struggle for control of France. With the help of longbows, the English won a resounding victory, against all the odds. However, at this point comparisons with the Battle of Agincourt end. The king in question was not Henry V, but his two-year-old son Henry VI and the year was not 1415, but 1424. The battlefield itself was near a town called Verneuil, Normandy, and the English commander was Henry V’s younger brother John, Duke of Bedford. His tremendous victory…

“THE CAMPAIGN IN THE MIDDLE EAST WAS HIGHLY MOBILE” Unlike the stalemates of the Western Front, the campaign in the Middle East was highly mobile, with Arab rebels playing a crucial role as part of their revolt against the Ottoman Empire. It began as a relatively small-scale uprising in and around Mecca but soon grew into a full-scale revolution that was aided by the British largely under the sympathetic guidance of TE Lawrence. It was a peculiarly old-fashioned but also highly modern campaign that blended traditional cavalry charges and battlefield tactics with innovative air attacks and guerrilla warfare. This included destroying railways and communication networks, as well as combining the highly mechanised Allied armies with nomadic tribesmen. 1 JUNE-JULY 1916 Sharif Hussein declares the Arab Revolt against Ottoman rule. Rebels…

“THE EGYPTIANS FINALLY OVERWHELMED THE HYKSOS AND FOUNDED THE NEW KINGDOM THAT BECAME THE MOST POWERFUL PLAYER IN THE MIDDLE EAST” The rise of the first civilisations in the Middle East in the Bronze Age was the beginning of organised warfare, accompanied by brilliant inventions that enhanced strategy, tactics, and, of course, weaponry. In the fourth millennium BCE, tin was added to copper in order to produce a harder alloy – bronze. In time this would come to mean that war was a much more serious, and deadly business. Besides the invention of the composite bow towards the end of the third millennium BCE, one of the most significant military innovations of that time was the war chariot, which had possibly already been introduced by the Sumerians around 3000 BCE.…

“IT SOON BECAME A COLOSSAL BATTLE BETWEEN BRITAIN AND FRANCE FOR CONTROL” Writer: Martin Robson Publisher: IB Tauris Price: £16.59 Released: Out now This is one of 14 instalments in the National Museum of the Royal Navy’s series documenting the Senior Service’s history down the centuries, from the age of sail through to the nuclear era. As its title suggests, this particular part of that series takes a look at a very narrow corridor of time – the seven years between 1756 and 1763 – and the conflict that dominated it. The Seven Years’ War, as it rather unimaginatively got branded, in many ways shaped the world that we live in today. Fought ostensibly between France, Austria, Saxony, Sweden and Russia on one side, and Prussia, Hanover and Britain on…

BRITISH POSTERS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR In the absence of the Internet, television and in the dawn of radio, posters were the number one way to sell your product and hammer your point home. Page after page, John Christopher has left his compilation of full colour posters portraying beckoning sergeants, appeals to patriotic pride and the guilt of abandoning friends to the ‘Hun’ do the talking. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA’S WAR The story of TE Lawrence and the Arab Revolt is one of the most famous of WWI. There have been many books focused on his remarkable career but few that have combined both Lawrence and the Middle Eastern conflict as a whole in equal measure. Faulkner’s work is an excellent introduction to the campaigns that shaped today’s conflict in…