Innholdsfortegnelse for No. 108 i History of War

History of War is nothing if not rich in variety – each issue we try to bring you an eclectic mix of military history from across the centuries. This issue, however, we have surpassed ourselves – if I don’t say so myself. You can find everything from the history of drone warfare (which actually goes back further than you think!) to life in Nelson’s navy. We’re proud to also bring you an exclusive interview with Sir Antony Beevor, who discusses the roots and long-reaching impact of the Russian Revolution – undoubtedly a pertinent topic for today. History has the boundless potential to not just connect us with our past, but also help us understand who we are today… and with that, enjoy the issue! FOLLOW THE HISTORY OF WAR TEAM…

Bill, 98, from Suffolk, served with the 6th Airborne Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment in Normandy. Following a hair-raising flight gripping onto the top of a Tetrarch tank inside a Hamilcar glider, Bill landed on LZ N near Ranville on the evening of 6 June 1944. He served on one of the six 350cc Matchless motorcycles within the unit, carrying out reconnaissance work during those first couple of weeks in Normandy, before being badly wounded in the ankle and evacuated.…

Years before war engulfed Europe in the summer of 1939 serious advances were made in the assembly and operation of unmanned aircraft. A startling success from the USA, given the Great Depression and minimal support from the armed forces, were the mass-produced radioplanes of the aptly named Radioplane Company in California; these were the elusive decoys for anti-aircraft gunners to practise on. The small and flimsy contraptions were the true ancestors of the combat drones used today and had three essential characteristics that are seen in current unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) design and engineering: a small propeller engine that worked in any climate, a fuselage made of composites (in its day, this meant wood and fabric), and basic landing gear. The concept of an unmanned aircraft, broadly defined as a…

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01 CROSSING THE ASHLEY After landing near Charleston, on Simmons Island, on 11 February, British troops are ferried across the Ashley River on flat-bottomed boats, next landing on the Charleston peninsula on 29 March. 02 SIEGEWORKS BEGIN The British begin constructing their first parallel of siege trenches on 1 April. It is completed in just six days and reinforced with redoubts. The British then begin construction of a second trench, and then a third, each time drawing closer to the city. 03 ARRIVAL OF AMERICAN REINFORCEMENTS Of a larger force of 2,500 Virginia Continentals, 800 reach Charleston on 7-8 April, boosting the city’s garrison. Clinton also sends word to New York for his own reinforcements. 04 THE BOMBARDMENT BEGINS British artillery opens fire on the American defences on 13 April. Though the guns…

English Heritage highlights Polish SOE operatives On the 80th anniversary of Audley End House becoming the principle training facility for Polish SOE operatives, English Heritage has unveiled a new display Located outside Saffron Walden, Essex, Audley End House was once the site where the elite Polish Section of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) trained for covert duties in the Second World War. Now, 80 years after the arrival of these paratroopers known as the Cichociemni – or ‘Silent Unseen’ – English Heritage has unveiled a new display to highlight individual stories and their collective legacy. It opened on 2 May, and comes following the identification of rare graffiti made by six special forces trainees. Expert analysis of the names scribbled on a candle store wall has revealed them to be…

Danny Mason, 94, from Shropshire, volunteered to become a paratrooper as soon as he was able, going through all the rigorous training that this entailed to wear the famous maroon beret. He was posted to the 8th Parachute Battalion of the 6th Airborne Division, which had already cut its teeth in Normandy and in the Ardennes. Danny was keen not to let the war pass him by due to his age, so when the opportunity came to fill the boots of a comrade who could no longer jump because of medical grounds, he volunteered for his first overseas operation and first combat jump. This was to be the largest Allied airborne drop of the war to date – Operation Varsity – with the Rhine crossing in March 1945. Once on…

In the 15 years since the doomed Operation Aphrodite the development of unmanned or uninhabited aircraft leapt into the space age. The US Air Force, awash in R&D funding and supported by the world’s largest aerospace industry, steered multiple programmes that turned remotely piloted aircraft models from clumsy devises to supersonic marvels, among other achievements. Luckily, rather than even the odds against the Soviets and their Warsaw Pact allies in Central Europe, events in Southeast Asia reached a point where the US military had to step in. The Gulf of Tonkin incident on 2 August 1964 triggered an immediate response from the Lyndon B Johnson administration, culminating in a vow to defend the Republic of Vietnam and humble its aggressive neighbour across the 17th parallel. By 1964 the US Air…

“THE Ju 88 WAS DESIGNED FOR TACTICAL BATTLEFIELD SUPPORT” Germany entered the Second World War with a range of twinengined medium bombers, and by far the most successful was the Junkers Ju 88. It was fast (nearly 300mph/480kmh with bomb load), manoeuvrable and had a highly versatile airframe. Like all German bombers, the Ju 88 was designed for tactical battlefield support, and as such could also perform as a dive bomber. It saw combat on every front as a bomber, and later modifications saw the type adapted for maritime strikes (with bombs or torpedoes), to carry heavy antitank cannons, reconnaissance, and as a very successful night-fighter. At the end of the war, Ju 88s were even fitted with heavy shaped-charge explosive warheads that allowed them to be used as a…

Running from 23-24 July, 2022, the Battle of Shrewsbury living history weekend is set to recognise one of the bloodiest confrontations on British soil. The free two-day event, which takes place on part of the original battlefield, transports visitors back to 15th century Shropshire for an array of medieval activities and experiences. Spectators will be able to see knights and archers pitched against each other on the field, while those keen to learn more about the period’s daily life can immerse themselves in traditional crafts, cookery and more. The battle itself was fought between the Lancastrian King Henry IV and the rebel army led by Henry ‘Hotspur’ Percy on 21 July, 1403. During the notorious struggle, Henry, Prince of Wales (and future King Henry V), received an arrow to the…

Author: Gordon Williamson Publisher: Osprey Publishing Price: £30 Released: Out now Gordon Williamson has produced an already impressive catalogue of books related to various aspects of the Wehrmacht, particularly its naval forces. This latest offering provides a complete overview of the relatively short history of the Kriegsmarine and can be roughly divided into three main sections: an examination of Kriegsmarine inter-war development, German naval operations between 1939 and 1945, and service within the Kriegsmarine. Major events that shaped Kriegsmarine strategy are covered, including the root cause of many decisions, the resulting incidents and effects felt thereafter. For particularly noteworthy events, such as the invasion of Norway and loss of both the Bismarck and Scharnhorst, clear and welldrawn maps help illustrate the action. Perhaps due to the nature of this ‘overview’…

Author: Paul Miller-Melamed Publisher: Oxford University Press Price: £22.99 (Hardback) Released: June 2022 The global crisis that plunged the world into violent confrontation in 1914 did not randomly arise in some murky backwater, far removed from the consciousness and concerns of political elites. Among the basic causes that engendered the largest conflict the world had until then seen were the imperialistic rivalries set in motion in the 19th century by the territorial and economic expansion of the British, German and Russian empires. Author Paul Miller-Melamed shifts the focus of the First World War’s origins from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by Bosnian-Serb activist, Gavrilo Princip, to delve into the situation in the Balkans and how this spiralled into a diplomatic crisis that European statesmen proved themselves incapable of resolving…

Bob (MBE), 99, served with the 6th Airborne Division’s 3rd Parachute Squadron RE during the Second World War, and now lives at Royal Hospital Chelsea. Jumping into Normandy on D-Day and helping blow the bridge across the River Dives at Robehomme, Bob saw action the whole way through the Normandy Campaign, in the Ardennes and in Holland, before being wounded in the left leg by mortar fire near his RV on Drop Zone A during the Operation Varsity drop over the Rhine in March 1945. FIRST IN, LAST OUT – THE LAST MEN OF THE 6TH AIRBORNE DIVISION 6th Airborne Division Veterans of the Second World War are to be celebrated in a new exhibition produced by Airborne Assault – The Museum of the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces, at…

KETTERING BUG 01 October 1917 The inventor Charles F Kettering assembles an “aerial torpedo” that is supposed to have a range beyond 100km and carry an internal warhead that weighs 82kg. The US Army embraces the prototype but the slow pace of development and further testing dooms the effort, which is eventually cancelled. DE HAVILLAND 82 QUEEN BEE 02 1935 By combining two successful biplanes, the DH60 Moth and the DH82 Tiger Moth, aircraft manufacturer de Havilland introduces a radio-controlled flying target called Queen Bee. Anecdotal evidence suggests the term ‘drone’ is first applied to this remotely piloted model that can take off from shipbased catapults. DAWN OF THE RADIOPLANE 03 1937 Advances in anti-aircraft artillery create strong demand for realistic practice targets. In the USA the fledgling Radioplane Company, owned…

In the summer of 1982 events in the Levant – the region comprising Israel, Lebanon and Syria – took a turn for the worse. A botched assassination attempt in London on the Israeli ambassador Shlomo Argov, a mission that some believed was orchestrated by the secret police of the Syrian dictator Hafez Al-Assad, inspired a backlash from Jerusalem as it found a justification for settling old scores. Since the end of the Yom Kippur War in 1973 the Israelis had held the Golan Heights overlooking the Syrian plains, but it was a geographical advantage maintained at a steep price. Syria, unwilling to follow Egypt’s lead and settle for a peace treaty, armed the Palestinian guerrillas based in southern Lebanon from where they targeted the settlements and towns of northern Israel…

As a child, Alexander was introduced to powerful progressive ideas about liberalism and the Enlightenment by his republican-minded tutor Fréderic La Harpe. La Harpe’s teachings, though, focused on abstract principles typical of the time rather than the type of concrete methodology that political and social science now offers. As a result Alexander started life as an open-minded liberal reformer but ended it a religious zealot. There are several factors that can be blamed for this: the guilt he felt over his father’s murder, the responsibility he clearly took for the deaths of thousands of Russian soldiers under his command at Austerlitz and beyond, and the strain of having to go toe-to-toe with one of history’s greatest heavyweights in Napoleon Bonaparte during the subsequent invasion of his country. All of these…

WORLD OF WARSHIPS Free www.worldofwarships.eu World of Warships is a free-to-play naval action, massively multiplayer online (MMO) game with a focus on the epic large-scale sea battles of the first half of the 20th century. To celebrate Father’s Day, World of Warships is giving you the chance to start your naval career with the following invite code: BOOM. By entering the code at www.playships.eu and creating your account, you’ll receive digital gifts that will be delivered to your port. The invite code is only available for new players that do not have a Wargaming.net ID and must be used prior to account creation. AIRFIX SMALL STARTER SET SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE MK.VC £11.99 uk.airfix.com For military and model-making fans alike, Airfix has transformed one of the most famous aircraft that has ever…

Once located aboard HMS Victory, an original copy of Arthur William Devis’ The Death of Nelson has undergone elaborate restoration. The artwork, which is a contemporary version by the artist that was created for – and won – a competition in 1805, depicts the last moments of one of Britain’s most celebrated military leaders. It subsequently served as a memorial to Nelson when installed on the orlop deck of his flagship in the 1920s. However, in 2016, after conservators at the National Museum of the Royal Navy grew increasingly concerned about its condition on the cold, damp, centuries-old vessel, the painting was removed to a more stable environment for the critical work to be carried out. With a grant provided by the Art Fund, the team at the museum was…

Author: Christopher Kerr Publisher: The Book Guild Price: £10.99 Released: Out Now Why did Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess, really fly to the UK in 1941? Did the Führer really die in the bunker in 1945? Is there a secret web of neo-Nazis still functioning across the world, hidden in plain sight in positions of power and influence? Along with a myriad of other famous puzzles, conspiracy theories and legends from the global cataclysm that was the Second World War, Kerr weaves together a story bursting with half-clues, secret intelligence plots and geopolitics to draw the reader into a shadow world where rogue agents, killers and neo-Nazi sympathisers try to cover up the biggest secret of the war, a secret that could bring down the British monarchy and a host of…

Commissioned by Charles II and James, Duke of York (then Lord High Admiral and later James II), the Solebay Tapestry commemorates the Battle of Solebay fought off the coast of Suffolk on 28 May, 1672. The outcome proved inconclusive, with an alliance of English and French forces claiming victory because of the enemy’s withdrawal and the Dutch perceiving it as a win due to their success in stopping a planned Anglo-French blockade. The artwork itself – belonging to a six-part series charting the story of the fierce seaborne skirmish – was created by the Dutch fatherand-son team Willem van de Velde the Elder and Younger, considered the most sought-after marine artists of their time. The elder artist was present at the battle, having taken up a position in a small…