Innholdsfortegnelse for No. 110 i History of War

Over 380,000 African-Americans served in the US Army during WWI. Of these, approximately 200,000 were deployed to Europe as part of the American Expeditionary Force. More than half served in labour battalions but the 369th Regiment fought with distinction alongside French forces during the Aisne-Marne counteroffensive of summer 1918. The regiment was awarded the Croix de Guerre along with 171 individual decorations for bravery. This pictured soldier was caught on camera laughing heartily during a gas mask drill.…

The rise of the Mahdist movement lies with Muhammad Ahmad ibn al-Sayyid Abd Allah. Born in Dongola province, Nubia, in 1844, Muhammad was the son of a humble boatbuilder. His father uprooted the family and move to Karari, a village near Khartoum in Sudan, where Muhammad developed a strong interest in Islam. He veered away from the more orthodox studies and leaned towards the Sufi tradition. As he grew, his religious beliefs and practices became increasingly strict. No photograph of Muhammad exists but Father Joseph Ohrwalder, once a prisoner of the Mahdists, described him in his Ten Years’ Captivity in the Mahdi’s Camp: “His outward appearance was strangely fascinating; he was a man of strong constitution, very dark complexion, and his face always wore a pleasant smile… Under this smile…

Wartime resistance movements that are dedicated to fighting or undermining invaders are quickly created during times of conflict. People are compelled to act in ways they would never have imagined during times of peace and this was certainly the case during World War II, when these movements occurred in every occupied country. One of particular note was the Polish Resistance, and one of its soldiers, Stefan Dambski, was involved in carrying out sentences handed down by the Underground Courts from when he was aged just 16. Those who were accused included Polish collaborators, Germans, Ukrainians and, later, representatives of the puppet communist government. Dambski’s memoirs Egzekutor (Executioner) were written towards the end of his life and later published in Poland. They continue to cause controversy: on the one hand he’s…

The First World War witnessed a rapid advance in new technologies, notably aircraft. Nowhere was this more evident than in the field of aerial photography. By 1917, all the belligerents had developed sophisticated systems for taking, processing and interpreting aerial imagery. Because of their well-established pre-war photographic industry and high-quality optical glass, the German Air Service was one of the most advanced in this field, employing high-resolution cameras. German aerial photographers were present on all fronts, from Finland to as far south as Cairo, creating over 1.5 million individual images, the bulk of these covering areas that had never previously been photographed. One of the remote regions where German photographers were active was the Armenian Highlands in the Ottoman Eastern Provinces, where the Ottoman and Russian armies had been fighting…

Situated in the grounds of Bamburgh Castle – an imposing fortress on the Northumberland coastline that boasted considerable influence during the Anglo-Saxon period – the Armstrong and Aviation Museum is a comparatively new addition that predominantly houses artefacts from the 19th century and two World Wars. The Victorian-era objects within were the inventions of the castle’s former owner, Lord William Armstrong (1810 – 1900), while several of the First and Second World War items have a close association with his name. Established in a laundry building that was constructed in 1897, the museum is currently undergoing significant redevelopment to revitalise its incredible legacy. This will include the installation of detailed artefact interpretations, shedding greater light on the likes of the Armstrong No. 1 Gun Model – a powerful and accurate…

Directed and produced by Laurence Olivier, Henry V was an epic Technicolor film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play. Winston Churchill instructed Olivier (who also starred as the medieval king) to make the film as morale-boosting propaganda for British soldiers fighting during WWII. Olivier left the Fleet Air Arm to film the Battle of Agincourt scenes in neutral Ireland. He dedicated the film to the “Commandos and Airborne Troops of Great Britain” and won a special Academy Award for the production.…

After Egypt amassed huge debts to European banks and a nationalist uprising led by Ahmed Urabi flared up and threatened Imperial control in the region, the British government decided to act: first with a naval bombardment of Alexandria then a full-scale invasion. Urabi was defeated by British forces under Garnet Wolseley at the Battle of Tell El Kebir in September 1882. The British initially had little interest in events in Sudan and left the matter to the ruling Khedive. As Michael Asher writes: “[Lord] Baring [the British consul-general of Egypt] did not find the policy of abandoning the Sudan a hard pill to swallow… he felt that the key to success was financial solvency. Jettisoning the vast deserts and swamps to the south would be an immense blow to Egypt’s…

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01 TET HITS HUE On 31 January, during the Tet Lunar New Year ceasefire, North Vietnamese agents emerge from hiding, opening up the gates to the Citadel, while 10,000 North Vietnamese troops pour into the city. Within two hours, Hue has fallen. 02 OPERATION HUE CITY On 1 February, still in control of a base in Hue’s South Side, the Americans bring in Marines to begin retaking the city. They move at a gruellingly slow pace, taking the South Side back street by street. 03 ARVN REACH AN HOA GATE On February 4, still in control of the Citadel’s northeast, ARVN reinforcements breach the Citadel’s northwestern gate but are later repelled by an NVA counter-attack and driven back to Tay Loc airfield. That evening, as the fog lifts, the South…

Discover the Churchill War Rooms’ latest redevelopment, Eden Camp’s upcoming programme and fresh interpretations at Bamburgh Castle’s on-site museum Located beneath the streets of Westminster, the Churchill War Rooms once served as a government headquarters as the Second World War raged above. This site, where ministers, military strategists, typists and cabinet office staff worked tirelessly underground to deliver victory, will now undergo a major redevelopment project to highlight their untold stories. The transformation of five key areas, carried out by the Imperial War Museum (IWM), is set to be completed by the end of August 2022, the most significant of which will take place in the Chiefs of Staff Conference Room. Here, while its original features will remain untouched, a new audio-visual installation will enable visitors to eavesdrop on a…

Part of a set of three paintings by the Florentine painter Paolo Uccello (1397 – 1475), The Battle of San Romano depicts an engagement between the Italian republics of Florence and Siena. Fought on 1 June 1432, the battle was considered a Florentine victory. The pictured panel shows the Florentine commander Niccolò da Tolentino leading a cavalry charge riding a white horse and wearing a magnificent red and gold hat. The painting is an early example of linear perspective – the use of lines to create three-dimensional impressions within a picture.…

29 June 1881 THE ‘GUIDED ONE’ Sudanese anger against the religious and economic policies of Ottoman-Egyptian officials leads a Muslim cleric called Muhammad Ahmad to proclaim himself the ‘Mahdi’ (‘Guided One’) – the promised redeemer of the Islamic world. His ‘Mahdist’ followers revolt against the Egyptians. 12 August 1881 01 BATTLE OF ABA The first battle of the war sees the Mahdists defeat Egyptian soldiers who have landed on Aba Island on the River Nile south of Khartoum. The Mahdi himself is wounded but his force only loses 12 men compared to 120 Egyptian dead. July – September 1882 02 ANGLO-EGYPTIAN WAR The British occupy Egypt to firmly establish their interests in the region, particularly to protect control of the Suez Canal. This de-facto occupation (known as the ‘veiled protectorate’)…

Two Anglo-Egyptian expeditions were launched against the Mahdist leader Osman Digna near Suakin. The first, led by Sir Gerald Graham, began in February 1884 and saw the First and Second Battles of El Teb and the Battle of Tamai. The expedition failed to deal with the threat posed by Digna and so Graham launched a second in January 1885. This second expedition also saw several engagements, including those at Hashin and Tofrek. The British inflicted a heavy defeat on Digna, but he would return to face the British once again. Following the withdrawal of Garnet Wolseley from Sudan, the British Government was reluctant to avenge General Charles Gordon’s death and a long period of relative inactivity followed. When the Mahdi died, he was succeeded by Abdallahi ibn Muhammad, who became…

In 1967, after a year of heavy losses, Ho Chi Minh and General Giap began to fear that North Vietnamese morale would soon begin to fracture. The two decided on a dramatic shift of policy, moving away from protracted, limited warfare towards planning one great decisive battle. Up until now, the communists had been fighting on three fronts: maintaining military pressure on the ground, mobilising support from the people of South Vietnam and, crucially, eroding American public approval for US involvement. They now believed it was time to concentrate their forces and seize swathes of strategic positions all across South Vietnam. This would, in turn, trigger a widespread general uprising against the South Vietnamese regime while simultaneously revealing to the US that the war was unwinnable, triggering a withdrawal. In…

The Dassault Mirage III was the culmination of a series of delta-winged types designed to meet the French need for an all-weather supersonic interceptor. The Mirage III first flew in 1956, and the IIIC entered service with the French Air Force in 1961. A few years later, the IIIE entered service with additional avionics and a ground-attack capability. Capable of Mach 2.2 (with rocket assist), the type has proven an excellent and abiding design, used by a dozen countries (often as the ‘Mirage 5’). One of the Mirage’s most appealing attributes is that the type is easily modified to meet the needs (and budget) of the purchasing air force, and nearly 30 variants (including prototypes and twoseat trainers) have been built, plus Israel’s home-built developments. The delta wing configuration gives…

Located near Malton, North Yorkshire, Eden Camp once hosted Italian and German prisoners during and immediately after the Second World War. The site has since been transformed from its original designation of POW 83 to a thriving modern history museum where, in the latter part of 2022, it will host a series of exciting events. The August bank holiday will see the return of the living history weekend following two years of Covid-19 disruption. Re-enactments (including displays from the Fighting Elite and the East Yorkshire Regiment Group), demonstrations, activities, talks and games will converge at Eden Camp, with visitors encouraged to dress in 1940s-style military gear or civilian fashion. This year’s event will also feature multiple workshops hosted by the archive team, where guests can learn how to make First…