Innholdsfortegnelse for No. 82 i History of War

“BRITAIN AND FRANCE REGARDED THE ATTACK AT SINOP AS UNJUSTIFIED, WHICH INCREASED ANTI-RUSSIAN SENTIMENT IN WESTERN EUROPE” The Crimean War was a revolutionary conflict in terms of the evolution of military technology. Although it has since been characterised as taking place exclusively on the Crimean Peninsula, the war was geographically widespread with a significant naval component. Nowhere was this more emphasised than at the Battle of Sinop, which was fought off the northern coast of Turkey. During the initial stages of the war, Russia initially fought the Ottoman Empire by crossing the River Danube and invading its Balkan territories. The Ottomans declared war on 4 October 1853 while British and French fleets moved up to Constantinople (Istanbul) to guard against any Russian naval attack from Sevastopol. Both countries were not…

In late 1940, Gubbins moved his HQ from Whitehall, to Coleshill House in the small hamlet of Coleshill on the Oxfordshire/Wiltshire border. Coleshill was also used as the training centre for Patrols throughout the country. Such was the secrecy that surrounded the Auxiliary Units, that those attending courses were instructed to get a train to the nearby town of Highworth, and told to report to the local Post Office, where they had to give the postmistress, Mabel Stranks, a password. She would then call Coleshill House who would send a vehicle, which would drive a convoluted route back to the stately home before off-loading the volunteers. Such was the seriousness with which Mabel took her role, when Montgomery came to visit, he too was subjected to the same vetting process…

Fast-riding bands of mounted Christian knights raided Muslim villages, towns, and castles along the Castilian-Andalusian frontier in 1194. The raids were part of offensive operations by King Alfonso VIII of Castile aimed against the Berber Almohad Dynasty. It was a challenge that could not go unanswered by Caliph Abu Yaqub Yusuf. The following spring the caliph assembled a multi-ethnic caliphal army in North Africa, ferried it across the Strait of Gibraltar and marched north seeking battle with his Christian nemesis. When word reached Alfonso of the formidable army headed his way, he hastily gathered a large army in Toledo consisting of Castillian and Navarrese knights, warrior-monks of the military orders, and municipal militiamen with which to engage the caliph. The two hosts clashed on 19 June outside the partially completed…

The men fixed their bayonets onto the tip of their rifles and listened to the rattle of machine-gun fire that hammered incessantly above their heads. The position the Germans held was strong; their troops had already repulsed two counter-attacks by the British forces. Many of the casualties sustained in these attacks had been caused by the two machine-gun barricades the Germans had, which were only 55 metres (180 feet) apart. The barricades held five German soldiers each, one to fire the deadly weapon while the others helped feed the ammunition through and pointed out potential targets. The machine-guns could spit out up to 400 deadly rounds a minute and their presence on any battlefield during World War I had the potential to alter an entire battle’s balance of power. “NO…

During the romantic Age of Sail in the early 18th century, Peter Wessel Tordenskjold became the embodiment of naval heroism and derring-do. A daredevil combination of dashing warrior and gentleman adventurer, his exploits against Sweden turned him into the Scandinavian equivalent of Admiral Lord Nelson. His brief life story was a meteoric blaze of fire during the Great Northern War that consumed the regions around the Baltic Sea for over 20 years. However, like a curiously high number of young people who achieve rapid achievements, Tordenskjold became a self-destructive victim of his own success. An obscure figure in international history, he is nevertheless a national hero in both Norway and Denmark. Ambition in a dual kingdom The future ‘Tordenskjold’ was born as Peter Jansen Wessel in 1690 to a wealthy…

Russia commemorates 17 days every year that each represent an outstanding military victory won during the country’s history. Some of the days are state holidays but the majority are celebrated purely by the armed forces. The earliest ‘Day of Military Honour’ by year is 1242, which commemorates Alexander Nevsky’s victories against the Teutonic Livonian Order at the Battle on the Ice on 18 April. The other Medieval day is for the Battle of Kulikovo, which was fought against the Mongols on 21 September 1380. Sinop forms one of only two days from the 19th century, with the other being the far more famous Battle of Borodino against Napoleon on 8 September 1812. The most prominent days focus around Soviet victories during WWII. The Siege of Leningrad and the battles of…

The Home Guard enjoyed only a brief existence, but within its four-plus years of service it transformed from an ad hoc, poorly equipped collection of units into a force good enough to be entrusted with the bulk of home defence duties as the regular army invaded western Europe. Always adapting, in response to different requirements and perceptions, the men and women of the Home Guard patiently prepared and waited for the moment when their country would need them. Although that did not materialise in genuine action for the majority, they still provided an invaluable service, and it should never be forgotten that they were training for an extremely dangerous eventuality – an invasion of Britain by the formidable forces of Nazi Germany. The Home Guard had a mission that has…

01 CRUSADER FORMATION The Crusaders form up in three sections with heavy cavalry in the front ranks and heavy infantry in the rear ranks. At the back of each section is a reserve led by a king and his retainers. King Sancho VII leads the Navarrese right wing, King Pedro II leads the Aragonese left wing, and King Alfonso VIII leads the Castilian centre. Alfonso’s plan calls for the cavalry to charge first and the heavy infantry to charge second. 02 MUSLIM CONFIGURATION Caliph Muhammad al-Nasir deploys his light infantry at the front of his army. Behind them are deep ranks of Muslim light and medium cavalry. The light cavalry is positioned in the centre and the medium cavalry is stationed on each wing. Al-Nasir and his palace horsemen constitute…

After returning to England to help encourage others to sign up, O’Leary returned to action and served the rest of the war, much of it in the Balkans Campaign. Following Germany’s surrender, he returned to Canada where he worked in the police force for several years. He returned to Britain and, remarkably for a man aged over 50, served in WWII as a captain in the Middlesex regiment. Poor health forced him to return from the front line but he still assisted the war effort, taking command of a prisoner of war camp in England. He died in 1961 and his funeral was attended by an honour guard from the Irish Guards. His VC is displayed at the Regimental Headquarters of the Irish Guards. 01 INITIAL ATTACK Following an…

THE ‘NIGHT WATCH’ IN DETAIL The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam has produced an in-depth online digital photograph of Rembrandt’s masterpiece, featuring Dutch musketeers Perhaps the most recognisable painting of the Dutch ‘Golden Age’ of art, De Nachtwacht (The Night Watch) was completed by Rembrandt van Rijn in 1642. It is best known for its colossal size, (363cm x 437cm), the dramatic use of light and shadow and the perception of motion in what would have traditionally been a static group portrait. It is also a fascinating insight into what would have otherwise been a forgotten military unit. The painting was commissioned in 1639 by Captain Frans Banninck Cocq (the central figure dressed in black with a red sash) to depict him and over a dozen members of his Kloveniers (musketeers) of…

4 November 1853 01 BATTLE OF OLTENITA The first battle of the Crimean War actually takes place in Romania between Russian and Ottoman forces in the region of the River Danube. The Ottomans win a tactical victory but are unable to advance on Bucharest and drive the invading Russians out of their territories. 30 November 1853 02 BATTLE OF SINOP The Russian Navy wins a decisive victory against the Ottomans on the northern Turkish Black Sea coast. A technological game-changer in naval warfare, Sinop is notable for its extensive use of explosive shells. The Russian victory also brings Britain and France into the war. “A TECHNOLOGICAL GAME-CHANGER IN NAVAL WARFARE, SINOP IS NOTABLE FOR ITS EXTENSIVE USE OF EXPLOSIVE SHELLS” February-May 1854 03 SIEGE OF CALAFAT The Ottomans defend Calafat…

Organisations similar to the Local Defence Volunteers have existed in many nations throughout the course of history. Often arising, as in the case of the UK’s Home Guard, through a fear of invasion, they have also stemmed from a distaste for large standing armies. In the fledgling United States, Patriot militia could be called upon whenever British or Loyalist forces appeared in a colony. Training and organisation was rudimentary at best, and George Washington, the commander-in-chief of American forces during the War of Independence, was scathing in his criticism of the system. The militia, however, was the deciding factor in Britain’s defeat at Saratoga in 1777, which drew the French into the war as an ally of the Americans. It also plagued British forces in the southern colonies when the…

“THE P-40 ‘WARHAWK’ FOUND ITSELF SUDDENLY THRUST ON TO THE FRONT LINE ONCE THE USA ENTERED THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN 1941” Developed by Curtiss-Wright Corporation in the 1930s, the P-40 ‘Warhawk’ found itself suddenly thrust on to the front line once the USA entered the Second World War in 1941. The P-40 was the successor to the obsolete P-36 ‘Hawk’, which experienced many of the drawbacks that would hamper the Warhawk’s performance in wartime. Despite lagging behind in terms of combat optimisation, among which was an engine ill-suited to higher altitudes and limited armament, P-40s nonetheless bolstered the Allies’ desperate need for fighter planes during the dark early days of the war. The Tomahawk and Kittyhawk (illustration left) iterations, reconfigured for British and Commonwealth service, were found to be…

“WELCOME HOME!” Two British soldiers tuck in to food and drink provided after their evacuation from Dunkirk, during Operation Dynamo. After the thousands of tired and hungry troops arrived at the channel ports, they were welcomed by civilian volunteers, as well as members of the Royal Army Supply Corps, who provided hot drinks and food. Feeding and transporting the returning soldiers was a huge, logistical operation, with volunteers working day and night, handing out sandwiches, cheese, fruit, pies and other much-needed, and welcome, refreshments. ITALY STRIKES Eager to not be left out of the victory over France, on 10 June Mussolini declared war on Britain and France, opening another front in the south of the country, and across the Mediterranean, although the Italian armed forces were ill-prepared for a major…