Innholdsfortegnelse for No. 141 i History of War

1040-60 ZIRIDS FORCED INTO PIRACY The Zirids, a Sanhaja Berber dynasty from Algeria, adopt Sunni Islam and break away from the Shiite Fatimids. They align with the declining Abbasid Caliphs and are defeated in battles with the Fatimids. The Zirids abandon their agricultural land and retreat to coastal towns. They begin piracy against European shipping to sustain themselves. 1198 TRINITARIAN ORDER FOUNDED The Trinitarian Order is established to ransom Christians held captive by Barbary pirates, growing to 50 foundations in their first generation. Members set aside one-third of their income to contribute to ransom payments. Two friars embark on their first mission in 1200, returning from Morocco with 186 liberated captives. 1 July – 1 October 1390 BARBARY CRUSADE 01 A Franco-Genoese force, motivated by an opportunity for glory during a…

Despite the continuing nuisance of the Barbary pirates, for years Europe’s major powers treated as little more than that – a nuisance. Confronting them head on was considered inefficient and instead the trading nations devised other ways to deal with them. Treaties were purchased, always at high cost, to ensure a nation’s ships would be immune from pirate activities, and the situation worsened as the Ottoman Empire lost its grip on the Barbary states following a damaging war with Russia from 1768 to 1774. Turkish control of the states had never been firm (and it had never controlled Morocco), but now the rulers of Tunis, Algiers and Tripoli were given a virtual free hand in their dealings with trading powers, and they gleefully exploited it. In what was effectively a…

Warrant Officer Keith Payne strode towards the commander of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam’s (AATTV) office. Raising a right arm scarred by shrapnel injuries sustained four months earlier, he knocked on the door. Payne bristled as the voice from within shouted out: “Come.” Standing to attention before the lieutenant, he was stunned to hear: “Allow me to be the first to congratulate you. The Queen has awarded you the Victoria Cross.” “Oh, shit,” Payne muttered under his breath as the lieutenant reached forward to shake his hand. Payne was not the first in his family to have a distinguished military career. His father was absent for much of the Second World War, posted to the Pacific theatre. Just six years old when the war broke out, Payne had to…

When the Imperial War Museum (IWM) in London hosted a Q&A session with Sir Steve McQueen for his new film Blitz, it provided a guest audience with an opportunity to question the director and his historical consultant Joshua Levine as to the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of the film, its origins, its production, and the context of the storyline and the various elements of the 1940 Blitz. With the IWM Director General Caro Howell chairing the event, a range of challenging questions were posed to McQueen and Levine, with the audience later given an opportunity to ask their own questions. At the outset McQueen pointed out that Blitz is, essentially, a love story rather than a movie from the ‘war film’ genre. He elaborated further by adding that here is a…

BLITZ A THRILLING EPIC THAT FOLLOWS THE JOURNEY OF A YOUNG BOY AS LUFTWAFFE BOMBERS BATTER LONDON Director: Sir Steve McQueen Starring: Elliott Heffernan, Saoirse Ronan, Paul Weller Released: Out now When news first dropped that acclaimed director and Oscar-winner Sir Steve McQueen was making a film about the Blitz, a frisson of anticipation ran through those interested in the period from historical viewpoints as well as those more interested in war films in general. What would the movie look like, and what would be McQueen’s treatment of this very ‘British’ period in history? This was a time, of course, which spawned the rather overused phrase ‘Blitz spirit’. But how well does McQueen’s production convey the feel of that period – whatever ‘Blitz spirit’ may or may not have been?…

Three X-class midget submarines – X5, X6 and X7 – cut through the icy waters of Altafjord, Norway, in September 1943. Engine Room Artificer Fourth Class Edmund ‘Eddie’ Goddard sat at the helm of X6, named Piker II. The 50ft (15m) craft was transporting Goddard, three other crew members and two 2,200lb (1,000kg) amatol charges to the Tirpitz, Germany’s largest battleship. Tirpitz crew members spotted all three vessels, sinking X5 with a well-aimed 4.1in (105mm) shell. Yet both X6 and X7 succeeded in placing their demolition charges under the ship before their crews were captured. Goddard and his crewmates were hauled onto the quarter-deck by their captors, revealing under interrogation that they had placed the charges. They waited anxiously as Tirpitz’s 42,900-ton bulk surged forward in an effort to escape…

Piracy in the Mediterranean was nothing new, but the corsairs elevated it to unprecedented levels. Over centuries, seafaring nations had waxed and waned along the shores of the sea, and their trading ships were irresistible to those willing to take the risks involved with being a pirate. Early pirate activity in the region was often aimed at protecting the trade of a state against encroachment from rivals – a kind of loose naval blockade. In this way, Etruscan ships attacked Greek and Carthaginian vessels as much as a form of deterrent as anything else – a forceful way of saying ‘stay out of our waters’. The Barbary states took piracy to a new level, to the extent that it would become their livelihood and underpin their economies. Named after the…

Shortly after the second of the two Barbary Wars was concluded in 1815, Britain made a serious effort to stamp out the Christian slave trade. Lord Exmouth was sent on a mission to persuade the Barbary states to abandon the industry and the fleet he took with him, which included five ships of the line, was impressive enough to convince both Tunis and Tripoli that the game was up. A payment of close to half-a-million Spanish dollars helped take the sting out of the situation and also secured the release of 1,475 European slaves. Tunis and Tripoli agreed that their slave-trading days were at an end but Algiers, the strongest of the Barbary states, was not so easily cowed. They refused to agree to the British terms and in 1816…

NENE ENGINE DEVELOPED 1944 Rolls-Royce develops its third jet engine, used in the Hawker Sea Hawk, Supermarine Attacker and the USA’s Grumman F9F Panther. However, Nene’s main contribution to the Cold War is as a reference for the Klimov VK-1, which is constructed from a reverse-engineered Nene engine and used in the Soviet’s MiG-15. AVON ENGINE FIRST RUN 1947 Rolls-Royce develops Western Europe’s first axial-flow jet engine. Its widespread use, including to power the English Electric Lightning and Hawker Hunter, solidifies the firm’s position in the post-war Allied air defence industry. ROLLS GOES NUCLEAR 1954 Rolls-Royce Submarines is founded, beginning the company’s involvement in Britain’s nuclear defences. Rolls builds reactors for submarines, developing the PWR1 for HMS Valiant – the UK’s first all-British nuclear submarine. F-4 PHANTOM ENGINES 1964 Rolls-Royce…

As the Second World War was drawing to a close, the Soviets were given the dubious prize of taking Berlin. General Dwight D Eisenhower’s decision was brutally pragmatic – it would be Soviet blood spilt in the attack, not American, British or any other Allied force’s. That said, the British and Americans (and later the French) all staked a claim in the conquered capital. Germany was divided into three (later four) occupation zones for the victorious powers – the Americans, British, French and Soviets – and Berlin was similarly split into four occupation sectors. Berlin was, of course, deep inside the Soviet zone, but much to Joseph Stalin’s annoyance the Western powers showed no signs of quitting their sectors and leaving Berlin to him, as was the plan all along.…

Constrained by the limitations of the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, Britain’s G3 battlecruiser programme, introduced to ensure parity of firepower with the latest US and Japanese warships, was cancelled and replaced by the more modest Nelson-class design. Entering service in 1928, HMS Rodney was the sister ship to HMS Nelson launched three years earlier, and prior to the Second World War served in the Atlantic and Home Fleets. With an extended forecastle mounting three triple 16in (406mm) gun turrets and a respectable speed of 23kts, the Nelson class was ideally suited to the rigours of patrolling the Atlantic and considered more than a match for Germany’s formidable battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz. Rodney’s extensive wartime service commenced with patrolling the North Atlantic prior to engaging in the Norwegian Campaign and…

Wallop Wheels & Wings A day of living history, aircraft, cars and motorbikes at one of the UK’s leading military museums The Army Flying Museum at Middle Wallop, Hampshire, will host the Wallop Wheels & Wings festival on 12 July 2025, and this year’s event is set to be bigger than ever. A vast array of military vehicles, classic cars and motorbikes will be on display, and visitors can enjoy a concours d’elegance that will showcase the finest vehicles in attendance. Historic fixed-wing and rotary aircraft will also take to the skies, and you can also meet the pilots. The 2025 Wallop Wheels & Wings festival comes off the back of a hugely successful 2024 event, and organisers have announced that Henry Cole, presenter of World’s Greatest Motorcycle Rides, will…

FURRY ANZAC MASCOT 24 August 1916 Soldiers from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) pose with their one-year-old pet kangaroo, which had been brought to England from Perth as a mascot with the 6th Tunnelling Company. Many other Australian units smuggled animals from Down Under to the First World War frontlines, including wallabies, kookaburras and koalas. However, young kangaroos (joeys) were the most common, particularly in the Egyptian theatre. ANZAC units continued to use them as mascots in future conflicts, with one joey spotted in Malaya with the 8th Division in 1941. ANGLO-FRENCH CELEBRATIONS 30 December 1939 British and French troops toast the new year on the Maginot Line, a 280-mile (450km) defensive network on France’s border with Germany. This is one of the first images showing British…

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01 BATTLE OF NORFOLK At 12:30am on 27 February VII Corps, with the British 1st Armoured Division protecting its right flank, move to capture Objective Norfolk. They are met with resistance from the Iraqi Republican Guard using T-72 tanks and infantry mounted anti-armour weaponry. 02 LEFT HOOK Operation Desert Sabre is the planned ground invasion of Iraq by Coalition forces. After advancing north into Iraq the army would swing eastwards to envelop Iraqi forces and cut off their retreat from Kuwait. 03 TASK FORCE IRON The spearhead of the American advance is formed of Task Force 1-41 Infantry, who perform breaching manoeuvres and raids against Iraqi positions. They play a vital role in clearing trenches, bunkers and other positions. 04 FRIENDLY FIRE The thermal imaging used by American forces gives…

The Second World War saw the emergence of jet fighters: the American Lockheed P-80, British Gloster Meteor and German Messerschmitt ME 262 showcased jets’ previously unfathomable maximum speed and altitude capabilities. However, the Soviets still didn’t have a working jet fighter. It took captured German scientists’ expertise to break into this new ground, but the Soviets were already years behind. The MiG-9 and Yak-15 used engines with short lives and meagre thrust compared with their British and American contemporaries, and Soviet engineers realised they needed a powerplant capable of producing over 5,000lb (2270kg) of thrust to keep up. They looked at the Rolls-Royce Nene engine with envious eyes. The Soviet designer Viktor Kilmov travelled to Britain, hoping to harness the spirit of post-war goodwill and persuade the British to let…

Director: Edoardo De Angelis Starring: Pierfrancesco Favino, Massimiliano Rossi, Johan Heldenbergh, Silvia D’Amico Released: Out now In the summer of 2018, Admiral Giovanni Pettorino spoke at the 153rd anniversary of the Italian Coast Guard. He asserted the Coast Guard’s moral obligation to rescue migrant vessels in difficulty, to rapturous applause from his colleagues. Pettorino said: “We are sailors, Italian sailors with 2,000 years of civilisation behind us and that is what we do.” These words echoed that of Captain Salvatore Todaro of the Comandante Cappellini, who had sunk Kabalo, a Belgian merchant vessel, in 1940. Instead of leaving 26 Belgians to drown, Todaro opted to pull them out of the water and sail to the nearest neutral harbour. Hearing of Pettorino’s speech, Italian writer and director Edoardo De Angelis dove…