Innholdsfortegnelse for No. 139 i History of War

Much of what we know about the suffering experienced by the civilians stuck in the abbey is thanks to the detailed records kept by two of the Monte Cassino monks. “It’s very lucky that a diary was kept by Dom Eusebio Grossetti, who was a priest-monk, and Dom Martino Matronola,” explains Holland. “Dom Eusebio was the right-hand man to the Father Abbot and kept this diary very well. Then Dom Eusebio got ill and it was clear he had some form of typhus or typhoid. He died on 13 February and Dom Martino took over.” Dom Eusebio and Dom Martino convey the confusion, despair, bewilderment and anxiety shared by the monastic community and the civilians they had agreed to house. The diaries reflect their mounting panic, which was exacerbated by…

A unique sight greets the visitor as they approach Cádiz – nearing the port from land or sea, 126 watchtowers loom into view. It’s a spectacle not to be found anywhere else in Spain or, for that matter, in any other European coastal city. Perched on rooftops across the city’s old quarter, they were erected so merchants could get the first sighting of their returning ships, while also keeping an eye out for rival galleons from across the Atlantic and the Strait of Gibraltar, laden with goods of every description. From the tops of these towers, shipping merchants used telescopes to spot their vessels while still out at sea, coming in to drop anchor in the port. Had the watchtowers been erected a century earlier, during the years of the…

The meritocratic nature of the army encouraged grassroots political activity that was unprecedented and strikingly forward thinking. Common soldiers known as ‘Agitators’ were elected in 1647 to demand unpaid wages from parliament, but when this was refused, they arrested the imprisoned Charles I to use him as a bargaining tool against the army ‘Grandees’ such as Cromwell. By this time, Agitators were co-operating with Levellers – who believed in an extended franchise, individual rights enshrined in a written constitution and a government answerable to the people, not the king. Cromwell agreed to discuss the issues and at the Putney Debates in October 1647, where many soldiers passionately argued for universal democratic rights. Colonel Rainsborough famously declared: “I think that the poorest he that is in England hath a life to…

TOKYO BOMBING BEGINS The United States Army Air Forces began air raids from the Mariana Islands on 17 November, targeting Tokyo until Japan’s surrender in August 1945. B-29 Superfortress bombers were used, initially dropping general-purpose bombs, but these were deemed ineffective as they were often blown off target by jet-stream winds. General Curtis LeMay ordered the switch to incendiary bombs, an idea formulated during testing at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah that showed the effectiveness of firebombing wood-and-paper buildings. Tokyo was first firebombed at scale on 25 February 1945, escalating to Operation Meetinghouse in March 1945, the single most destructive bombing raid in human history. OPERATION INFATUATE The Battle of the Scheldt aimed to open access to the Scheldt River so North Sea shipping could unload supplies at Antwerp. Operation…

Authors: David Richards and Julian Lindley-French Publisher: Hurst Price: £25 (Hardback) Released: Out now The authors bring an impressive set of credentials to their narrative, which argues that going to war over ‘values’ as opposed to fighting for one’s vital interests will almost invariably lead to failure and the deaths and ruin of hundreds of thousands of innocent people. General Lord Richards, the former Chief of the Defence Staff, led operations in East Timor, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan. Professor Julian Lindley-French is chairman of the Alphen Group of strategic thinkers and Senior Fellow at the Institute of Statecraft. Their book focuses on the utility and relevance of British military power as one instrument among several available to the UK in the struggle for influence, liberty and freedom. The objective is…

JAMES HOLLAND This month the prolific historian, author, podcaster and broadcaster spoke with Louis Hardiman about the gruelling Battle of Monte Cassino. He reveals the immense challenges the Allies faced in the Italian mountains and what he learned from his new research (p42). MYKE COLE After a distinguished career in the military, intelligence and law enforcement, Myke is now a widely published novelist and historian. Over on page 64 he discusses his latest book on the armoured cuirassiers of the English Civil War – whom he playfully dubs ‘Knights with Guns’. DAVID SMITH The Battle of Mons (1914) was the first major test of the British Expeditionary Forces in WWI. For this month’s Great Battles, David recounts how though they were outnumbered by the enemy, the British nonetheless inflicted heavy…

HAFEZ AL-ASSAD The stereotype of a ruthless Arab strongman, he nursed ambitions for regional power 1930 – 2000, SYRIA Rising through the ranks of the Syrian Air Force in the 1950s and surviving his country’s failed unification with Egypt during the 1960s, the elder Assad cemented his grip on power by 1970 and made war with Israel a long-term project. The calculations that influenced Syria’s role in Lebanon’s troubles may still be up for debate but its impact was ruinous: the Bekaa Valley, for example, became a refuge for myriad terrorist groups. Syrian agents were also implicated in the murders of Lebanese politicians such as President Bachir Gemayel and the near-death of General Michel Aoun, who had the courage to defy Assad. A ruthless dictator and pariah, his troops crushed…

In common with most of the other British aces of the First World War, it was often the entries in The London Gazette detailing citations for awards that alerted the news media about the exploits of new fighter aces. In the case of this citation, however, it was published after Albert Ball’s death… LT (TEMP CAPT) ALBERT BALL, DSO, MC, LATE NOTTS AND DERBY R AND RFC For most conspicuous and consistent bravery from the 25th of April to the 6th of May 1917, during which period Capt Ball took part in twenty-six combats in the air and destroyed eleven hostile aeroplanes, drove down two out of control, and forced several others to land. In these combats, Capt Ball, flying alone, on one occasion fought six hostile machines, twice he…

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Director: Ellen Kuras Starring: Kate Winslet, Andy Samberg, Alexander Skarsgard Released: Out now Vogue model, art world muse, surrealist, photographer, war correspondent – Lee Miller’s life was that of a true Renaissance woman. A masterclass in living several lives in one lifetime. Filmmakers could easily be tempted to try and include it all, attempting a visually abstract and at times conflicting story arc, hoping to give it all justice on screen. Yet therein lay the difficulty in a cinematic adaptation. Lee’s life was a puzzle, which by her own admission was impossible to solve. Instead, cinematographer Ellen Kuras’ directorial feature film debut brings a focused and elegantly told story to the screen. Many facets of Lee’s life – the assault and trauma she suffered in childhood and the subsequent medical…

Author: CD Peterson Publisher: Pen & Sword Price: £17.60 (Hardback) Released: Out now Memories of the author’s childhood on a family dairy farm, his excitement, anxiety and imagination during the years of World War II, offer an entertaining glimpse of life in America during the greatest armed conflict of the 20th century. CD Peterson also weaves accounts of the experiences of others through the narrative. The perspective is real and personal. The message that the United States was a country in transition and the reality that the lives of individuals would be forever changed is received loud and clear – even if the delivery is left wanting. While Peterson’s narrative is somewhat sluggish, factual errors and less than stellar editing drag this offering down to a lower tier of significance…

Having assumed a semblance of its present borders after the Sykes-Picot Agreement in the Great War, the country that became Lebanon was fast-tracked for independence with the full blessing of General Charles De Gaulle’s Free French divisions after they liberated it from the Vichy. Lebanon in its current form was born a republic in 1943 with a foundation set by the National Pact, or National Agreement, that stipulated how the country is governed. The Maronite Christians, being inclined to Europe and the ideals of their French patrons, had the presidency. The prime minister had to be a Sunni Muslim and, as a concession, the speaker of parliament a Shia Muslim. To smooth over the problems of a small country with 17 minorities within its borders, the civil service was designed…

Writing Cassino ’44, Holland strived to capture what it was like to be an Allied soldier during the Monte Cassino campaign by making extensive use of primary sources. While memorandums and reports are invaluable for understanding how battles played out, troops’ diaries and letters can connect historians to the ordinary people fighting the campaign. “The great thing about letters and diaries is they have this wonderful immediacy about them, being written on the day,” says Holland. “The writers had no idea when Rome would fall or what the outcome of the war would be. They don’t have retrospective knowledge, which I find really interesting.” Using these deeply personal sources, Holland unlocked the true horrors of fighting in Italy. He tells History of War: “All the Allied soldiers who write about…

The British redcoat is a legendary figure in military history, a symbol of the all-conquering power that helped create and maintain the British Empire. Though even today British soldiers wear red coats for ceremonial occasions, they originated in the fires of civil war. During the early years of the British Civil Wars, specific regiments on both sides wore coloured uniforms. For example, on the Royalist side there were regiments of ‘whitecoats’ and ‘bluecoats’. However, there were no specific colourings for whole armies, so individual soldiers usually wore their own clothes. During a battle, the opposing sides told each other apart by using ‘field signs’. These could include coloured armbands or sprigs of wild plants pinned to hats. Of course, in the din and smoke of battle, it could be very…

War and the Mind A psychological perspective on how humans start, experience and make sense of conflicts Imperial War Museum London’s latest temporary exhibition, War and the Mind, explores psychological dimensions of conflict. It features over 150 objects, from the First World War to the War in Afghanistan, curated based on groundbreaking research projects funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). The exhibition is divided into four sections. Starting Wars explores the psychological tools deployed by leaders to justify conflicts and persuade, pressure or force their populations to fight. Testimony and recruitment materials show how a sense of ‘us’ versus ‘them’ is the most valuable tool for warmongers. Fighting Wars hones in on the assault upon the senses that conflicts bring to all those involved. First-person testimonies from…

Author: Stephen David Publisher: Amberley Price: £22.99 (Hardback) Released: Out now At the time of the Wars of the Roses Wales was a hotbed of conflicting loyalties. The House of York held substantial estates on the Marches, and the region saw a fierce struggle for predominance between their staunch supporters, the Herbert family, and the Tudors – diehard Lancastrian loyalists. It was a struggle which spanned this bloody civil war. Stephen David gives the battleground a predominance it deserves, tracing the story from the landing of Richard Duke of York at Denbigh in 1450, a challenge to Henry VI’s authority that led to the first clash of the war, to Henry Tudor’s at Milford Haven in August 1485. The latter was an invasion culminating in the Battle of Bosworth, the…