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Military History Anniversaries 01 Thru 14 Feb
Military History Anniversaries 01 thru 14 Feb Events in History over the next 14 day period that had U.S. military involvement or impacted in some way on U.S military operations or American interests Feb 01 1781 – American Revolutionary War: Davidson College Namesake Killed at Cowan’s Ford » American Brigadier General William Lee Davidson dies in combat attempting to prevent General Charles Cornwallis’ army from crossing the Catawba River in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Davidson’s North Carolina militia, numbering between 600 and 800 men, set up camp on the far side of the river, hoping to thwart or at least slow Cornwallis’ crossing. The Patriots stayed back from the banks of the river in order to prevent Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tartleton’s forces from fording the river at a different point and surprising the Patriots with a rear attack. At 1 a.m., Cornwallis began to move his troops toward the ford; by daybreak, they were crossing in a double-pronged formation–one prong for horses, the other for wagons. The noise of the rough crossing, during which the horses were forced to plunge in over their heads in the storm-swollen stream, woke the sleeping Patriot guard. The Patriots fired upon the Britons as they crossed and received heavy fire in return. Almost immediately upon his arrival at the river bank, General Davidson took a rifle ball to the heart and fell from his horse; his soaked corpse was found late that evening. Although Cornwallis’ troops took heavy casualties, the combat did little to slow their progress north toward Virginia. -
London Gazette of TUESDAY, the ^Rd of FEBRUARY, 1948 by Registered As a Newspaper THURSDAY, 5 FEBRUARY, 1948 the War Office, February, 1948
tRumD. 38196 839 SUPPLEMENT TO London Gazette Of TUESDAY, the ^rd of FEBRUARY, 1948 by Registered as a newspaper THURSDAY, 5 FEBRUARY, 1948 The War Office, February, 1948. THE AFRICAN CAMPAIGN FROM EL ALAMEIN TO TUNIS, FROM IOTH AUGUST, 1942 TO 13x11 MAY, 1943. The following Despatch was submitted to the the defence of the Middle East had become Secretary of State for War on tjhe 2yd May, a purely British responsibility and the forces 1947, by HIS EXCELLENCY FIELD- commanded by General Wavell* and, later, by MARSHAL THE VISCOUNT ALEXAN- General Auchinleckf, were in the nature of a DER OF TUNIS, K.G., G.C.B., G.C.M.G., beleaguered garrison, connected with the mother C.S.I., D.S.O., M.C., former Commander-in- country by a perilous sea route of twelve Chief the Middle East Forces and Eighteenth thousand miles. During those two years the Army Group. garrison, though always outnumbered, had made many sorties; northwards to clear up PART I. THE CONQUEST OF LIBYA their defensive flank in Syria, Iraq and Persia, Situation in August 1942 southwards to overrun the Italian Empire in East Africa and safeguard the vital life-line The summer months of 1942 formed the most through the Red Sea and, above all, westwards critical period in the history of the war on all to destroy the closest enemy threat to their fronts. They witnessed the greatest exertion positions and to lay the first foundations for of strength, both on the part of the European the reopening of the Mediterranean. Twice Axis powers and of the Japanese, of which these westward sorties had cleared Cyrenaica our enemies were ever capable and when these and twice the call of other theatres, the Balkans great efforts were nullified by the Allied vic- in 1941,' and the Far East in early 1942, had tories of that winter, although it was clear that robbed us of the strength to exploit further or the struggle would be hard and long before com- to retain our conquests. -
Brevity, Skorpion & Battleaxe
DESERT WAR PART THREE: BREVITY, SKORPION & BATTLEAXE OPERATION BREVITY MAY 15 – 16 1941 Operation Sonnenblume had seen Rommel rapidly drive the distracted and over-stretched British and Commonwealth forces in Cyrenaica back across the Egyptian border. Although the battlefront now lay in the border area, the port city of Tobruk - 100 miles inside Libya - had resisted the Axis advance, and its substantial Australian and British garrison of around 27,000 troops constituted a significant threat to Rommel's lengthy supply chain. He therefore committed his main strength to besieging the city, leaving the front line only thinly held. Conceived by the Commander-in-Chief of the British Middle East Command, General Archibald Wavell, Operation Brevity was a limited Allied offensive conducted in mid-May 1941. Brevity was intended to be a rapid blow against weak Axis front-line forces in the Sollum - Capuzzo - Bardia area of the border between Egypt and Libya. Operation Brevity's main objectives were to gain territory from which to launch a further planned offensive toward the besieged Tobruk, and the depletion of German and Italian forces in the region. With limited battle-ready units to draw on in the wake of Rommel's recent successes, on May 15 Brigadier William Gott, with the 22nd Guards Brigade and elements of the 7th Armoured Division attacked in three columns. The Royal Air Force allocated all available fighters and a small force of bombers to the operation. The strategically important Halfaya Pass was taken against stiff Italian opposition. Reaching the top of the Halfaya Pass, the 22nd Guards Brigade came under heavy fire from an Italian Bersaglieri (Marksmen) infantry company, supported by anti-tank guns, under the command of Colonel Ugo Montemurro. -
(June 1941) and the Development of the British Tactical Air Doctrine
Journal of Military and Strategic VOLUME 14, ISSUE 1, FALL 2011 Studies A Stepping Stone to Success: Operation Battleaxe (June 1941) and the Development of the British Tactical Air Doctrine Mike Bechthold On 16 February 1943 a meeting was held in Tripoli attended by senior American and British officers to discuss the various lessons learned during the Libyan campaign. The focus of the meeting was a presentation by General Bernard Montgomery. This "gospel according to Montgomery," as it was referred to by Air Chief Marshal Arthur Tedder, set out very clearly Monty's beliefs on how air power should be used to support the army.1 Among the tenets Montgomery articulated was his conviction of the importance of air power: "Any officer who aspires to hold high command in war must understand clearly certain principles regarding the use of air power." Montgomery also believed that flexibility was the greatest asset of air power. This allowed it to be applied as a "battle-winning factor of the first importance." As well, he fully endorsed the air force view of centralized control: "Nothing could be more fatal to successful results than to dissipate the air resource into small packets placed under the control of army formation commanders, with each packet working on its own plan. The soldier must not expect, or wish, to exercise direct command over air striking forces." Montgomery concluded his discussion by stating that it was of prime importance for the army and air 1 Arthur Tedder, With Prejudice: The war memoirs of Marshal of the Royal Air Force, Lord Tedder (London: Cassell, 1966), p. -
Supplement To. the London Gazette, 15 January, 1948
SUPPLEMENT TO. THE LONDON GAZETTE, 15 JANUARY, 1948 369 Briefly the measures taken to improve the and it fell to General Sir H..Maitland Wilson, -system of training and to ensure closer co- commanding the Ninth Army, to initiate and operation between the arms were:— maintain cordial relations with them, a duty he (»') The establishment at Saraiand in carried out most successfully. Palestine of a higher war course where The Polish Forces.—In November 1941 the potential divisional commanders were to re- Polish land forces in the Middle East numbered ceive instruction in modern methods of war. some 7,000 men. The Polish Carpathian (M) Grouping in one area in Palestine all Brigade Group, which served under General the tactical and weapon training schools, Kopanski with particular distinction during the hitherto scattered throughout the Command. siege of Tobruk and in the pursuit of the In this way it was possible to ensure that a beaten Axis forces to Gazala was the chief uniform doctrine, which took account of the component of these forces. There was also a characteristics of all three arms and was Polish Officers' Legion and a Base Depot near attuned to modern conditions, was taught Alexandria. under a single direction'. • The possibility of withdrawing a large num- The staff school at Haifa continued to pro- ber of Poles from Russia to the Middle East was gress and expand under the command of Briga- being considered at that time, and General dier G. K. Dibb, who carried on the good work Sikorski,' Prime Minister and Commander-in- of Major^General E. -
La Ricostruzione Dell'immaginario Violato in Tre Scrittrici Italofone Del Corno D'africa
Igiaba Scego La ricostruzione dell’immaginario violato in tre scrittrici italofone del Corno D’Africa Aspetti teorici, pedagogici e percorsi di lettura Università degli Studi Roma Tre Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Educazione Dottorato di ricerca in Pedagogia (Ciclo XX) Docente Tutor Coordinatore della Sezione di Pedagogia Prof. Francesco Susi Prof. Massimiliano Fiorucci Direttrice della Scuola Dottorale in Pedagogia e Servizio Sociale Prof.ssa Carmela Covato Anno Accademico 2007/2008 Per la stella della bandiera Somala e per la mia famiglia Estoy leyendo una novela de Luise Erdrich. A cierta altura, un bisabuelo encuentra a su bisnieto. El bisabuelo está completamente chocho (sus pensamiemto tiene nel color del agua) y sonríe con la misma beatífica sonrisa de su bisnieto recién nacido. El bisabuelo es feliz porque ha perdido la memoria que tenía. El bisnieto es feliz porque no tiene, todavía, ninguna memoria. He aquí, pienso, la felicidad perfecta. Yo no la quiero Eduardo Galeano Parte Prima Subire l’immaginario. Ricostruire l’immaginario. Il fenomeno e le problematiche Introduzione Molte persone in Italia sono persuase, in assoluta buona fede, della positività dell’operato italiano in Africa. Italiani brava gente dunque. Italiani costruttori di ponti, strade, infrastrutture, palazzi. Italiani civilizzatori. Italiani edificatori di pace, benessere, modernità. Ma questa visione delineata corrisponde alla realtà dei fatti? Gli italiani sono stati davvero brava gente in Africa? Nella dichiarazioni spesso vengono anche azzardati parallelismi paradossali tra la situazione attuale e quella passata delle ex colonie italiane. Si ribadisce con una certa veemenza che Libia, Etiopia, Somalia ed Eritrea tutto sommato stavano meglio quando stavano peggio, cioè dominati e colonizzati dagli italiani. -
Infantry Division (1941-43)]
7 February 2017 [6 (70) INFANTRY DIVISION (1941-43)] th 6 Infantry Division (1) Headquarters, 6th Infantry Division & Employment Platoon 14th Infantry Brigade (2) Headquarters, 14th Infantry Brigade & Signal Section 1st Bn. The Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment 2nd Bn. The York and Lancaster Regiment 2nd Bn. The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) 16th Infantry Brigade (3) Headquarters, 16th Infantry Brigade & Signal Section 2nd Bn. The Leicestershire Regiment 2nd Bn. The Queen’s Royal Regiment (West Surrey) 1st Bn. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise’s) (4) 23rd Infantry Brigade (5) Headquarters, 23rd Infantry Brigade & Signal Section 4th (Westmorland) Bn. The Border Regiment 1st Bn. The Durham Light Infantry (6) Czechoslovak Infantry Battalion No 11 East (7) Divisional Troops 60th (North Midland) Field Regiment, Royal Artillery (8) (H.Q., 237th (Lincoln) & 238th (Grimsby) Field Batteries, Royal Artillery) 2nd Field Company, Royal Engineers 12th Field Company, Royal Engineers 54th Field Company, Royal Engineers 219th (1st London) Field Park Company, Royal Engineers 6th Divisional Signals, Royal Corps of Signals © www.BritishMilitaryH istory.co.uk Page 1 7 February 2017 [6 (70) INFANTRY DIVISION (1941-43)] Headquarters, 6th Infantry Divisional Royal Army Service Corps (9) 61st Company, Royal Army Service Corps 145th Company, Royal Army Service Corps 419th Company, Royal Army Service Corps Headquarters, 6th Infantry Divisional Royal Army Medical Corps (10) 173rd Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps 189th -
'Something Is Wrong with Our Army…' Command, Leadership & Italian
Journal of Military and Strategic VOLUME 14, ISSUE 1, FALL 2011 Studies ‘Something is wrong with our army…’ Command, Leadership & Italian Military Failure in the First Libyan Campaign, 1940-41. Dr. Craig Stockings There is no question that the First Libyan Campaign of 1940-41 was an Italian military disaster of the highest order. Within hours of Mussolini’s declaration of war British troops began launching a series of very successful raids by air, sea and land in the North African theatre. Despite such early setbacks a long-anticipated Italian invasion of Egypt began on 13 September 1940. After three days of ponderous and costly advance, elements of the Italian 10th Army halted 95 kilometres into Egyptian territory and dug into a series of fortified camps southwest of the small coastal village of Sidi Barrani. From 9-11 December, these camps were attacked by Western Desert Force (WDF) in the opening stages of Operation Compass – the British counter-offensive against the Italian invasion. Italian troops not killed or captured in the rout that followed began a desperate and disjointed withdrawal back over the Libyan border, with the British in pursuit. The next significant engagement of the campaign was at the port-village Bardia, 30 kilometres inside Libya, in the first week of 1941. There the Australian 6 Division, having recently replaced 4 Indian Division as the infantry component of WDF (now renamed 13 Corps), broke the Italian fortress and its 40,000 defenders with few casualties. The feat was repeated at the port of Tobruk, deeper into Libya, when another 27,000 Italian prisoners were taken. -
ISSUE #7 Spring 2003 WARGAMING & FILM
ISSUE #7 Spring 2003 WARGAMING & FILM Wargamers are not only were overlooked, just be- awful war films that should into figures, painting, re- cause we were grateful to be avoided at all costs. searching, buying, and pre- have anything. paring for the next game, 1. SAVING PRIVATE With CGI effects and they are also very much RYAN big budgets though, gamers into films. War movies are are beginning to expect a responsible for much of the lot more. The incredible purchases in the gaming battle scenes from The Two industry. You need look Towers has now set the no further than what hap- standards impossibly high pened after the release of for other war films. Black Hawk Down. A number of new rules sets, The main part of this figs, and terrain that repre- article is to list which films sents a destroyed urban are probably the best for area were all out inside of a wargamers as far as accu- year. Obviously, there is racy, quality, and most im- In my opinion, this movie some interest in the movie portant of all, generating was responsible for the big and gaming the period. enough interest for you to increase in WWII skirmish wargaming in 25mm. Within a year of it’s release there were several new sets of rules and at least ten manufacturers producing figures. This film’s first 30 minutes still provide the most horrifying realities of war that you will ever ex- Black Hawk Down’s realistic portrayal of modern urban street combat perience. A great film that has provided the inspiration for dozens of new figures and rules. -
7 Armoured Division (1941-42)]
3 September 2020 [7 ARMOURED DIVISION (1941-42)] th 7 Armoured Division (1) Headquarters, 7th Armoured Division 4th Armoured Brigade (2) Headquarters, 4th Armoured Brigade & Signal Section 4th Royal Tank Regiment (3) 5th Royal Tank Regiment (3) 7th Royal Tank Regiment (4) 7th Armoured Brigade (5) Headquarters, 7th Armoured Brigade & Signal Section 2nd Royal Tank Regiment 7th Support Group (6) Headquarters, 7th Support Group & Signal Section 1st Bn. The King’s Royal Rifle Corps 2nd Bn. The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort’s Own) 3rd Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery 4th Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery 1st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery Divisional Troops 11th Hussars (Prince Albert’s Own) (7) 4th Field Squadron, Royal Engineers (8) 143rd Field Park Squadron, Royal Engineers (8) 7th Armoured Divisional Signals, Royal Corps of Signals ©www.BritishMilitaryHistory.co.uk Page 1 3 September 2020 [7 ARMOURED DIVISION (1941-42)] NOTES: 1. This was a regular army division stationed in Egypt. It had been formed as the Mobile Division in September 1938, as a result of the raised tension caused by the Munich Crisis. Initially called the ‘Matruh Mobile Force’, it was founded by Major General P. C. S. HOBART. This is the Order of Battle for the division on 15 May 1941. This was the date of the start of Operation Brevity, the operation to reach Tobruk The division was under command of Headquarters, British Troops in Egypt until 16 May 1941. On that date, it came under command of Headquarters, Western Desert Force (W.D.F.). It remained under command of W.D.F. -
VICTORY at SIDI BARRANI 28 Nov-6 Dec Preparations That Were Being Made Around Them
CHAPTER 6 VICTORY AT SIDI BARRAN I HE stage was now set for the opening of the desert battle which Genera l T Wavell and his subordinates had discussed before the Italian invasion of Greece. Thus far the new theatre of war had made relatively smal l demands on Wavell's and Longmore's forces, and the Italian Army's failure to overcome the Greeks lowered an already low estimate of it s efficiency . Although Western Desert Force was still greatly outnumbered by General Bergonzoli's army, it had received useful reinforcements . It will be recalled that in October two tank regiments from England ha d joined the 7th Armoured Division, bringing its two armoured brigade s each to their proper strength of three regiments ; and the 7th Royal Tank Regiment had arrived, equipped with heavy "Matilda" tanks to be use d with infantry to break into strong defensive positions . In September the 4th Indian Division had been completed by adding to it the 16th Britis h Brigade ; in November its own third brigade arrived . In the Matruh Fortress was assembled a force equal to two infantry brigades . The 4th Ne w Zealand Brigade, had, since September, been in reserve either at Dab a or Bagush ; and on the edge of the Delta were the 6th Australian Division , now more or less complete, and the Polish brigade . Thus in three month s the forces west of Alexandria had increased from two weak divisions t o three at full strength or close to it, plus four infantry brigades ; and within a few weeks the New Zealand and the 7th Australian Divisions woul d be complete, in units if not equipment, and the 2nd Armoured Divisio n would have arrived. -
The Forgotten Battlefields of Libya
BV Travel - North Africa 4pp 3/6/10 00:29 Page 2 The Forgotten Battlefields of Libya British Veterans Travel offers the opportunity for those who fought in North Africa during WWII, particularly in Libya, to return to their battlefields and remember lost comrades. This short trip is supported by the Heroes Return scheme which provides funding to eligible individuals and a partner or carer. Until now, visiting all the battlefields of the Western Desert Campaign of WWII has not been easy due to closed borders and red tape. British Veterans Travel, working with operators in Libya, is pleased to announce a trip that visits the strategic points of the campaign from Sidi Rezegh, Gazala, Tobruk and on to Benghazi. This Commemorative Tour will take place in October 2010 and offers the chance for WWII Veterans to visit Libya, for so long a country closed to tourism, and remember comrades whose graves remain carefully tended. Highlights • A jeep drive into the battlefields near Tobruk, including Sidi Rezegh and Gazala • Opportunity for Remembrance at the Knightsbridge and Commonwealth War Cemeteries • Chance to see the Australian Fig Tree Dugout Hospital, Rommel’s Operations Bunker, Tobruk Harbour and the remains of the Lady Be Good aircraft lost on a sortie in 1943 • Visits to the ancient cities of Leptis Magna & Cyrene www.britishveterans.co.uk BV Travel - North Africa 4pp 3/6/10 00:29 Page 3 The Forgotten The Itinerary The itinerary is as follows (subject to change) Day 1 – Thursday 7th October Battlefields PM Flight to Libya; London to Tripoli