Unusual Military Units Army Speak 101 Heinz Guderian Forged in Battle
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Military Despatches Vol 19 January 2019 Unusual military units Strange units, regiments and armies Insane, effective, deadly IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) Army Speak 101 Military slang from around the world Heinz Guderian The father of modern tank warfare Forged in Battle The French Foreign Legion For the military enthusiast CONTENTS January 2019 Page 16 Click on any video below to view How much do you know about movie theme songs? Take our quiz and find out. Hipe’s Wouter de The old South African Improvised Goede interviews former Defence Force used 28’s gang boss David a mixture of English, Explosive Williams. Afrikaans, slang and techno-speak that few Devices outside the military could hope to under- 31 stand. Some of the terms Features were humorous, some A matter of survival 6 This month we look at animals were clever, while others as a source of food. were downright crude. The Most Unusual Military Units Ten military units, regiments, or armies that were unusual or Quiz Part of Hipe’s “On the downright strange. 21 couch” series, this is an 12 22 If the helmet fits... interview with one of Disobedient heroes Army Speak 101 Putting your thinking helmet on author Herman Charles In the military it is expected The military has always had because this month our quiz is Bosman’s most famous that you obey orders. Yet there their own way of doing things. about exactly that - helmets. We characters, Oom Schalk are cases where there is a good And this includes have a rich show you 15 helmets, you tell Lourens. Hipe spent time in reason to disobey those orders. A taxi driver was shot vocabulary of slang terms. us what they are. dead in an ongoing Hanover Park, an area war between rival taxi plagued with gang 16 organisations. violence, to view first- 26 hand how Project IED - Insane, Effective, Deadly Ceasefire is dealing with In modern wars and conflicts Rank structure the enemy could be anyone. This month we look at the the situation. And they will use any weapon French Foreign Legion. Hipe TV brings you videos ranging from actuality to humour and every- and tactic to inflict casualties thing in between. Interviews, mini-documentaries and much more. and damage. One of the most common weapons is the IED. Check out Hipe TV and remember to like, comment, share and subscribe. 00 3 CONTENTS Page 44 Editor’s PUBLISHER Sitrep Hipe Media EDITOR Matt Tennyson DEPUTY EDITOR et me start off by wish- remain free, as it has been since John Verster ing each and every one it was started. of you a happy and pros- While researching for the PHOTOGRAPHER Forged in battle - French Foreign Legion L Regine Lord perous New Year. January in Military History ar- I trust that you all had a good ticle, I was amazed to discover CONTRIBUTORS Head-to-Head Battlefield Christmas, and those that don’t the story of Tsutomo Yamagu- Janine, Cassidy, Raymond This month in history celebrate Christmas I hope that chi. Fletcher, Regine Lord, Ryan 50 you at least had a bit of a break. On 6 August 1945 the 28 year 34 58 Murphy, Matt O’Brien, Matt Little Bighorn I was lucky enough to take old Yamaguchi was at home in Tennyson. Wheeled Artillery Systems January two weeks off and believe me, Hiroshima. At 08h15 an Amer- This month ten of the best Some facts about Custer’s Last Some of the events of military I needed it. ican B-29 bomber, the Enola Military Despatches is pub- wheeled artillery systems go Stand. importance that happened in One thing I noticed this year Gay, dropped ‘Little Boy’. The lished on-line every month. head-to-head. Gaming January. was how quiet the shops were. I atomic bomb detonated over the The articles used in Military went and did my grocery shop- city wiping out 90% of the city Despatches are copyrighted Famous Figures 54 Front Cover ping on the Thursday before and immediately killing about and may not be used without Thrones of Britania Christmas and had prepared 80,000 people. 40 A member of the French For- prior permission from the edi- Sharpen the swords, polish the myself for long queues. I went Yamaguchi survived and set eign Legion on a training exer- tor. Heinz Guderian armour, and beat the bodhrán. to two shops, one in a shopping off for his cousin’s house. Three cise. The views stated in this mag- Regarded by many as the father mall, and both were a breeze. days later, on 9 August 1945, he Matt O’ Brien is off on his azine do not necessary reflect of modern tank warfare, Heinz On the Friday I went to buy arrived at his cousin’s house in quest to become King of Ire- the views of Hipe!, the editor, Guderian redefined the concept some gifts, again at a large Nagasaki. land. the staff, or Hipe Media. of mobile warfare. shopping mall. Yet again there Shortly after he had arrived, Movie Review were not that many people in ‘Fat Boy’, a plutonium bomb Hipe! the shop. Even the roads were even more powerful than the P.O. Box 31216, Tokai, 7966 56 much quieter than they normal- one dropped on Hiroshima, was South Africa. Restrepo ly are for this time of the year. dropped on the city at 11h02. Documentary featuring real-life I think that the economy was Not only did Yamaguchi sur- email footage of the year an American having an effect on consumer vive both explosions, he lived [email protected] platoons spent in Afghanistan. habits this year and that many until the age of 93, passing people could not celebrate the away in 2010. Back Issues festive season as they have Until next month. To view any back issues of Book Review done in the past. Military Despatches, go to 57 The good news is that we will www.militarydespatches.co.za not be putting up the price of or click here. North of the Red Line Military Despatches. It will still Matt Memories of those that served. 4 5 Top Ten Top Ten aircraft of the 440th Troop Car- Nevertheless, McNiece fin- 1,100 men, the unit was given rier Group of the United States ished the war as an acting first a unique mission within the Al- The most unusual military Army Air Forces. They were sergeant and with four combat lied Army: to impersonate oth- ordered to secure or destroy the jumps, a very rare feat for an er Allied Army units to deceive units bridges over the Douve River. American paratrooper. the enemy. Ten military units, regiments, or armies that were unusual or downright strange. Half were either killed, His combat jumps included From a few months after wounded or captured on the Normandy, the Netherlands as D-Day, when they landed in jump, but the rest led by Jake part of Operation Market Gar- France, until the end of the war, hroughout the history ment decided to combine all would be right. McNiece accomplished their den, the pathfinder jump in to they put on a “traveling road of warfare there have of their cavalry units into one But the US Army’s 1st Dem- mission. Bastogne, Belgium, during the show” utilizing inflatable tanks, Talways been units that huge regiment. olition Section of the Regimen- Most of the 3rd Battalion Battle of the Bulge, and as an sound trucks, fake radio trans- were elite or even notorious. While primarily employed on tal Headquarters Company of leadership had been killed on observer with the 17th Airborne missions, scripts and pretence. Yet there have also been ceremonial occasions, the 61st the 506th Parachute Infantry the initial jump so without any Division during Operation Var- They staged more than 20 units, regiments or even armies Cavalry Regiment can be de- Regiment, 101st Airborne Di- contact with the 3rd Battalion, sity. battlefield deceptions, often op- that were different. Some were ployed for internal security or vision was no ordinary band of senior officers assumed the bat- Of the activities of the Filthy erating very close to the front unusual, strange, or just plain police roles if required. misfits. talion had failed its mission and Thirteen, Jack Agnew, a mem- lines. Their story was kept se- weird. The last publicized occasion There job was to carry out ordered the Air Force to bomb ber of the unit, once said, “We cret for more than 40 years af- This month we will be look- on which the regiment saw ac- demolitions behind enemy the bridges. weren’t murderers or anything, ter the war, and elements of it ing at ten such groups in no par- tive military service was when lines, a job that was extremely The Filthy Thirteen also we just didn’t do everything we remain classified. ticular order. it undertook mounted patrol dangerous to say the least. participated in the capture of were supposed to do in some They used tactics that work during the Indo-Pakistani Their unorthodox behaviour Carentan. ways and did a whole lot more wouldn’t have been out of place 10. 61st Cavalry Unit War of 1971. made them the bane of their su- During Operation Market than they wanted us to do in on a Hollywood movie set. It should come as no great On Republic Day each year perior officer’s existence. They Garden, the Demolition Pla- other ways. We were always in To complement existing tech- surprise that horses have be- the 61st Cavalry and the Pres- had no respect for rank, nor toon was assigned to defend the trouble.” niques, the unit often employed come largely outdated in mod- ident’s Body Guard parade in rules and regulations.