Innholdsfortegnelse for No. 126 i History of War

The recurring challenge that weighed on pre-modern Korea, no matter its leadership, was establishing harmony between China and Japan. The Goryeo dynasty (918 – 1392) stayed independent through peace with the Yuan dynasty but was under threat from the Ming dynasty by the late 1300s. In a bid to quell domestic unrest and normalise ties with the Chinese, a Goryeo general named Yi Seong-gye overthrew his monarch. Yi began his reign as King Taejo in 1394 and the new Joseon dynasty’s capital Hanyang (modern-day Seoul) relocated farther away from the northern border as a precaution, and is where the Gyeongbokgung Palace complex was erected for his descendants. The five centuries of the Joseon-era are characterised by its adherence to Chinese philosophical values and a feudal hierarchy. A lasting achievement was…

An exploration of British war comics A story spanning over 130 years, a new exhibition at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum looks at British comics and how they have interpreted conflict Opened in 2014, the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum – located in Woodstock – charters the county’s war experience at home and overseas. Now, a recently installed exhibition entitled Into Battle: The Art of British War Comics explores that experience in print. Immensely popular today, comics have been published in Britain for over 130 years. Conflict has been a common theme since the earliest days, especially in the 1960s and 1970s when war stories became a hugely sought-after genre. The museum’s latest exhibition – which runs until 30 April 2024 – features original comic artwork on public display for the…

On 20 December 1943, the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, known more informally as the ‘Hasty Ps’, were part of yet another attack on the Adriatic Coast aiming to try and break through to the small coastal town of Ortona – part of the German Bernhardt Line defensive position across the leg of Italy. The Hasty Ps had been part of the first attack more than two weeks earlier and had been in action almost constantly since then, save four days out of the front line when even then they were still within range of enemy shellfire. When Eighth Army, to which the Canadian 1st Division was attached, had launched its assault across the River Sangro a little under a month earlier, it had been expected they would be in…

It was a name intended to strike fear into the heart of the enemy, first recorded – or so the long-debated story goes – in the pages of a German officer’s journal. The entry, said to be discovered beyond the beaches of Anzio, Italy, wrote of the dreaded “Black Devils”, a reference to faces camouflaged with black boot polish and devilish deeds during Allied night patrols. By that stage – February 1944 – the men of the US-Canadian First Special Service Force (FSSF) had acquired a reputation for engaging in psychological warfare. Calling cards, left on the bodies of dispatched German soldiers, would soon become a crucial component of the elite formation’s cat-and-mouse games. Featuring FSSF’s iconic red spearhead insignia – within which were the emblazoned the names of both…

“MAJOR BUTLER WAS EMINENT AND CONSPICUOUS IN COMMAND OF HIS BATTALION”Butler’s commendation for the Medal of Honor, 22 April 1914 Chaos reigned on the approach to the town of Tientsin. At the height of the Boxer Rebellion, a multinational military contingent was intent on protecting the international legation in the Chinese capital city of Peking from marauding revolutionaries. Lieutenant Smedley Butler of the US Marines crouched as Boxer bullets whined around him. When Butler saw a fellow officer grievously wounded, however, he had to act. Sprinting from the safety of a trench, Butler reached the stricken officer only to be shot in the leg himself. Another brave Marine rushed to them, and he, too, was wounded. Miraculously, the three Marines dragged themselves to safety. When the successful Gaselee Expedition had…

Angus Konstam’s latest book The Convoy tells the story of the merchant ship convoy HG-76, which in December 1941 faced a 2,000-mile (3,220km) journey across the Atlantic, shadowed by U-boats. The story is told in the context of continued Allied failure in the tonnage war, losing ships to German U-boats faster than they could be replaced. However, HG-76 was different thanks to the presence of anti-submarine expert Commander Frederic ‘Johnnie’ Walker and an invaluable air force of four fighters. Konstam draws on reports and accounts from within the convoy and the U-boats that continually harassed it. He tells the story of the technical and tactical developments that turned the tide in the Atlantic and the stoic determination of those onboard the convoy. Konstam spoke to History of War about his…

THE GREAT ESCAPER IN 2014, CARE HOME RESIDENT AND WWII VETERAN BERNIE JORDAN ESCAPED TO FRANCE TO ATTEND THE D-DAY LANDINGS 70TH ANNIVERSARY – NOW HIS INCREDIBLE STORY HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO THE BIG SCREEN Director: Oliver Parker Starring: Michael Caine, Glenda Jackson Released: Out now Bernie Jordan, an 89-year-old D-Day veteran, became an international press sensation in the summer of 2014. Unable to book a place on an official D-Day veterans trip to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the largest seaborne invasion in history, he hotfooted it from his care home in Hove, East Sussex, and made his own way to Normandy. What most surprises about Oliver Parker’s The Great Escaper – the film’s title comes from the hashtag Sussex Police coined on social media – is its avoidance…

Andy McNab needs no introduction as a writer and a former member of the SAS. He conducted covert operations for nine years with the regiment and when he left the British Army he was the most highly decorated serving soldier. His fame under a pen name was sealed by the ground-breaking book Bravo Two Zero, which recounted his involvement in an SAS mission in Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War. Overnight McNab’s exploits became the stuff of legend. Since then he has forged a highly successful career as an author of both nonfiction and fiction books for all ages and as a security consultant. In his latest book The Rescue he draws on his contacts and experiences to recount a desperate hostage recovery mission in Afghanistan in 2012. Although on…

TOYOTOMI HIDEYOSHI A war veteran and a ruthless administrator, hubris led to his disastrous invasion of the Korean peninsula 1537-98 JAPAN Undeterred by his family’s low social status, Hideyoshi became a formidable leader in the sengoku era’s waning years. By the 1580s the imperial court in Kyoto recognised his talents, first with the honorific ‘Toyotomi’ and then the formal rank of taiko, and this gave Hideyoshi enough prestige and clout to act as Japan’s national leader. Invading Joseon in 1592 was part of a Japanese foreign policy designed by Hideyoshi that sought to reorganise maritime trade routes (benefiting Japan) and build an empire. What he did not count on, no matter if the Joseon capital was razed and pillaged, was the national resistance his samurai legions faced. Unlike Japan, with…

Read how a dashing intellectual from Nova Scotia became a spy who warned the world of Nazi Germany’s plans for a race war Of the many important figures that had the bravery and conviction to stand up against Nazi Germany, one has remained unnoticed in war history until now. Recently declassified papers reveal that British intelligence’s secret agent, Dr Winthrop Bell, provided the first warnings about the Nazis, and thwarted their earliest battle plans. As an undercover operative in Germany, Bell, codenamed A12, gave the first warnings of the nascent Nazi ideology in early 1919. Months before Adolf Hitler was a player in the movement, Bell warned of Nazi plans for race war. In 1919, he described how the extremists planned to target Jews and team up with Russia and…

SOVIET FORCES CLAIM KIEV Kyiv (or Kiev) had been in Nazi hands since 19 September 1941, a battle that had cost the USSR some 450,000 casualties, in addition to the murder of 34,000 Jews in the Babi Yar ravine. With Russia’s shifting fortunes, however, the three-year reign of terror was on the cusp of ending from 3 November 1943, when Soviet troops – now on the offensive – kick-started the Second Battle of Kiev. Stalin had hoped for a symbolic victory on 7 November, coinciding with the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. His fervent dream was realised one day early, on 6 November, with the city’s effective liberation. A MONTH OF CONFERENCES In mid-November 1943, US President Franklin D Roosevelt boarded the USS Iowa en route to the first of…

At the end of the First World War, the British Army was among the largest and most effective fighting forces in the world. So why, when war returned to Western Europe 20 years later, was it so catastrophically bested by a resurgent German military? This is the subject of the latest book from Dr Robert Lyman, who along with co-author Richard Dannatt give their verdict on the decline of the British Army during these critical so-called interwar years. This issue, History of War readers have the chance to win one of five copies of Victory to Defeat: simply visit historyanswers.co.uk or scan the QR code on the left for more details! Victory to Defeat from Osprey Publishing is available now online and in stores. Visit ospreypublishing.com for more information. Terms…

Colonel Henry Russell Spicer (later Major General) assumed command of the 357th Fighter Group on 17 February 1944. By the 19th, he had flown a P-51 Mustang for the first time, ultimately leading every group mission until 4 March 1944, when his aircraft was shot down by flak. Bailing out into the English Channel’s unforgiving waters, he drifted for two days in a one-man dinghy, hoping in vain that Allied rescue efforts would find him before the Germans did. Unfortunately, having been carried ashore near Cherbourg in France – by that stage suffering from exposure and frostbite – the enemy stumbled upon him first. The downed American pilot was taken to Oberursel in Germany for interrogation and medical treatment. Following his recovery, he was then sent to Stalag Luft I…