Military Despatches Vol 5 November 2017 Stranger than fiction Facts, figures and trivia about World War I

We must remember them The importance of Remembrance Day

Head-to-Head Rifles and SMGs of World War II. Which was the best?

Forged in Battle The Thompson Submachine Gun

Military Disaster The Dieppe Raid

For the military enthusiast Military Despatches October 2017 What’s in this month’s edition

Feature Articles 6 World War I - facts, figures & trivia Click on any video below to view A few facts, figures and trivia about World War I - The Great War and the War to End All Wars. How much do you know about movie theme 14 Military myths and urban legends songs? Take our quiz Over the next few months we will be looking at some well-known, and some lesser known, myths and leg- and find out. ends about the military and seeing if they are true or not. Page 6 Hipe’s Wouter de The old South African 16 We must remember them Goede interviews former Defence Force used Raymond Fletcher looks at the significance of Re- 28’s gang boss David a mixture of English, membrance Day and imagines what it must have been Williams. Afrikaans, slang and like to fight in the ‘war to end all wars’. techno-speak that few 20 Music to March to outside the military Seeing as it’s Armistice Day this month, we decided could hope to under- to look at some music from the movies. And not just stand. Some of the terms any movies, but war movies. were humorous, some Page 22 were clever, while others 22 10 Celebrities that served in the military were downright crude. They may have gone on to become stars of the big screen or small screen, or music legends, but these 10 celebrities all spent time in uniform. Part of Hipe’s “On the couch” series, this is an Quiz interview with one of 25 Paratrooper Wings This month we’re looking at wings awarded to sol- author Herman Charles diers that have successfully completed a basic para- Bosman’s most famous chute course. We show you a set of wings, you tell characters, Oom Schalk us the country and, if applicable, the unit or arm of Page 25 A taxi driver was shot Lourens. Hipe spent time in service. dead in an ongoing Hanover Park, an area war between rival taxi plagued with gang Head-to-Head organisations. violence, to view first- 26 World War II rifles and SMGs hand how Project Which were the best? You decide. Ceasefire is dealing with the situation. Cover Photograph The Cenotaph in Cape Town, venue for the annual Re- Hipe TV brings you videos ranging from actuality to humour and every- membrance Day Parade. The parade is to honour those thing in between. Interviews, mini-documentaries and much more. that fell in World War I and other wars. Check out Hipe TV and remember to like, comment, share and subscribe. 00 3 Famous Figures Page 32 32 Manfred von Richthofen Respected by friend and foe alike, Manfred von Rich- thofen was nicknamed the ‘Red Baron’. With 80 kills he was the top fighter ace of World War I.

Editor’s PUBLISHER Forged in Battle Sitrep Hipe Media 36 The Thompson Submachine Gun Each month “Forged in Battle” looks at weapons, EDITOR equipment or units that have been tried and tested on Matt Tennyson the battlefield. This month we look at the Thompson submachine gun. Page 36 CONTRIBUTORS Raymond Fletcher, , Ryan Mur- t’s hard to believe that this it will be 99 years since World Battlefield is already the fifth issue of War I ended. As a youngster I phy, Matt O’Brien, Matt Tenny- son. 40 The Dieppe Raid IMilitary Despatches. It’s would often go from Ireland to The plan was simple - seize a German-held port on even harder to believe that next London on Armistice Day. My Military Despatches is pub- the French Channel coast and hold it for the duration month is Christmas. Where did late dad, who was a World War of at least two tides, and destroy enemy facilities and the year go? II veteran, would always march lished on-line every month. defences before withdrawing. The result, however, I can remember, rather vague- in the parade. The articles used in Military ly I must admit, when I was a I can still remember that there Despatches are copyrighted was a disaster. teenager. Okay, it was a long were a large number of World and may not be used without time ago. But back then time War I veterans that would actu- prior permission from the edi- Page 40 always seem to go so slowly. ally march in the parade. tor. Reviews Sitting around waiting for the These days they are long The views stated in this mag- 44 Game Review - Total War : Rome II school bell to ring. Waiting for gone and there are not that azine do not necessary reflect Emperor Matt O’ Brien grabs his gladius and pre- the weekend to finally arrive. many World War II veterans the views of Hipe!, the editor, pares his pilum as he sets off to do battle with the Or waiting for your birthday or still around. Even our genera- the staff, or Hipe Media. Barbarian Horde. Christmas to roll around. tion is not getting any younger. How about that long wait I trust that you will enjoy this Hipe! 46 Movie Review - World War I movies until you finally turned 21 and month’s issue of the magazine. P.O. Box 31216, Tokai, 7966 You will notice that there is no A bit different this month. Instead of looking at a sin- came of age. Time really did South Africa. seem to drag then. book review this month. That’s gle movie, we’ve reviewed eight really good movies I think it all changes when you because we did a slightly longer set during World War I. hit 30. Suddenly time seems to movie review than usual. email Page 48 fly. You’re still recovering from Instead of reviewing a single [email protected] the New Year’s Party and the movie, we’ve taken a look at The Lighter Side next thing you know the Christ- what we think are eight really 48 The fine art of ‘gypoing’ mas decorations are going up good movies set during World The South African Defence Force had their own lan- again. War I. guage - a mixture of English, Afrikaans, slang and You hear a song on the radio I trust that you will all remain techno-speak. One of the first worlds new conscripts in good health and that Novem- and you think “Hey, I remem- learnt was “gypo” - the way to get out of work or make ber that song. It was a big hit a ber will be a good month. life easier. couple of years ago”. Then the Until next month. announcer tells you that it was a hit back in 1987 - 30 years ago. This year it will also be 30 years since Cuito Cuanavalle. Can it really be that long ago? This month, on 11 November, Matt 4 5 they joined the French For- World War I - facts, figures & trivia eign Legion or the British A few facts, figures and trivia about World War I. On 11 November it will mark 99 years since ‘The or Canadian army. A group Great War’ ended. of U.S. pilots formed the Lafayette Escadrille, which t was called ‘The Great 5. Serbia - 707,343 champ-Proctor (South Af- was part of the French air War’ and ‘The War to end 6. Romania - 750,000 rican), Captain Donald force and became one of all Wars’. Later it became MacLaren (Canadian) & the top fighting units on the I Western Front. known simply as World War I. Greatest military losses of Capitaine George Guyne- From 28 July 1914 to 11 No- World War I mer (France) 54 • In early 1917, British cryp- vember 1918 more than 70 mil- 1. Germany - 1,773,700 tographers deciphered a tele- lion military personnel were 2. Russia - 1,700,000 World War I Trivia gram from German Foreign mobilised in one of the largest 3. France - 1,357,800 • Germans were the first to Secretary Arthur Zimmer- wars in history. 4. Austria-Hungry - 1,200,000 use flamethrowers in WWI. mann to Germany’s minister It was a war fought on a 5. British Empire - 908,371 Their flamethrowers could in Mexico. The telegraph en- PROTOTYPE: “Little Willie” was the first prototype tank. It car- couraged Mexico to invade global scale and would result in 6. Italy - 650,000 fire jets of flame as far as 40 ried a crew of three and could travel as fast as 4.8 km/h. the deaths of over nine million 7. Romania - 335,706 metres. U.S. territory. The British combatants and seven million 8. Turkey - 325,000 • More than 70 million men • Artillery barrage and mines to lay down telegraph wires. kept it a secret from the U.S. civilians. 9. USA - 116,516 from 30 countries fought created immense noise. In • Big Bertha was a 48-ton for more than a month. They It was one of the deadliest 10. Bulgaria - 87,500 in WWI. Nearly 10 million 1917, explosives blowing howitzer used by the Ger- wanted to show it to the U.S. conflicts in history, and paved died. The Allies (The En- up beneath the German lines mans in WWI. It was named at the right time to help draw the way for major political Greatest merchant ship- tente Powers) lost about six on Messines Ridge at Ypres after the wife of its designer the U.S into the war on their side. changes, including revolutions ping losses in World War I million soldiers. The Central in Belgium could be heard Gustav Krupp. It could fire in many of the nations involved. • Woodrow Wilson’s cam- 1. UK - 2,038 ships sunk Powers lost about four mil- in London, 220 km away. a 930 kg shell a distance of It would also contribute to the paign slogan for his second 2. Italy - 228 ships sunk lion. • The Pool of Peace is a 12-m 15 km. However, it took a start of the Second World War term was “He kept us out of 3. France - 213 ships sunk • Nearly two-thirds of mili- deep lake near Messines, crew of 200 men six hours only twenty-one years later. war.“ About a month after 4. Germany - 188 ships sunk tary deaths in WWI were in Belgium. It fills a crater or more to assemble. Ger- Here are some facts, figures he took office, the United 5. Denmark - 126 ships sunk battle. In previous conflicts, made in 1917 when the Brit- many had 13 of these huge and trivia from World War I. States declared war on Ger- 6. Sweden - 124 ships sunk most deaths were due to dis- ish detonated a mine con- guns or “wonder weapons.” ease. taining 45 tons of explosives • Tanks were initially called many on April 6th 1917. 7. Greece - 115 ships sunk • To increase the size of the Largest armed forces of 8. USA - 93 ships sunk • In August 1914, German under the German lines. “landships.” However, in an World War I troops shot and killed 150 • The most successful fighter attempt to disguise them as U.S. Army during WWI, 9. Netherlands - 74 ships sunk Congress passed the Selec- 1. USSR - 12,000,000 10. Spain - 70 ships sunk civilians at Aerschot. The pilot of the entire war was water storage tanks rather 2. Germany - 11,000,000 killing was part of war poli- German fighter pilot Man- than as weapons, the British tive Service Act, which was also known as the conscrip- 3. British Empire - 8,904,467 Top Air Aces of World War I cy known as Schrecklichkeit fred Albrecht Freiherr von decided to code name them (“frightfulness”). Its pur- Richthofen (1892-1918), or “tanks.” tion or draft, in May 1917. 4. France - 8,410,000 1. Rittmeister Manfred von pose was to terrify civilians the “Red Baron.” He shot • French Second Lieutenant By the end of the war, 2.7 5. Austria-Hungary - 7,800,000 Richthofen (Germany) 80 in occupied areas so that down 80 planes, more than Alfred Joubaire wrote in his million men were drafted. 6. Italy - 5,615,000 2. Capitaine Rene Fonck they would not rebel. any other WWI pilot. He diary about WWI just be- Another 1.3 million volun- 7. USA - 4,355,000 (France) 75 • During WWI, British tanks died after being shot down fore he died that “Human- teered. 8. Turkey - 2,850,000 3. Major William Bishop (Ca- were initially categorized near Amiens. France’s René ity is mad! It must be mad • During WWI, people of 9. Bulgaria - 1,200,000 nadian) 72 into “males” and “females.” Fonck (1894-1953) was to do what it is doing. What German heritage were sus- 10. Japan - 800,000 4. Major Edward ‘Mick’ Man- Male tanks had cannons, the Allies’ most successful a massacre. What scenes of pect in the U.S. Some pro- nock (British) 68 while females had heavy fighter pilot, shooting down horror and carnage! I cannot tests against Germans were Smallest armed forces of 5. Major Raymond Collishaw machine guns. 75 enemy planes. find words to translate my violent, including the burn- World War I (Canadian) & Oberleutnant • “Little Willie” was the first • During WWI, dogs were impressions. Hell cannot be ing of German books, the 1. Montenegro - 50,000 Ernst Udel (Germany) 62 prototype tank in WWI. used as messengers and car- so terrible! Men are mad!” killing of German shepherd 2. Portugal - 100,000 6. Major James McCudden Built in 1915, it carried a ried orders to the front lines • Some Americans disagreed dogs, and even the murder 3. Greece - 230,000 (British) 57 crew of three and could trav- in capsules attached to their with the United States’ initial of one German-American. 4. Belgium - 267,000 7. Captain Anthony Beau- el as fast as 4.8 km/h. bodies. Dogs were also used refusal to enter WWI and so • Herbert Hoover, who would 6 7 become president in 1929, ers claimed that its Devil was appointed U.S. Food Gun won the war. Administrator. His job was • During U.S. involvement to provide food to the U.S. in WWI, more than 75,000 army and its allies. He en- people gave about 7.5 mil- couraged people to plant lion four-minute pro-war “Victory Gardens,” or per- speeches in movie theaters sonal gardens. More than 20 and elsewhere to about million Americans planted 314.5 million people. their own gardens, and food • “Hello Girls,” as Ameri- consumption in the U.S de- can soldiers called them, creased by 15%. were American women who • The total cost of WWI for served as telephone opera- the U.S. was more than $30 tors for Pershing’s forces in billion. HOME SWEET HOME: Life in the trenches was often muddy IN FLANDERS FIELD: No Man’s Land, the area between the Europe. The women were • The war left thousands of and miserable. trenches was littered with shellholes, barbed wire, and bodies. fluent in French and English soldiers disfigured and dis- and were specially trained abled. Reconstructive sur- to attack ships with torpe- ing it the largest army in the in WWI. In August 1914, tons of supplies to France by the American Telephone gery was used to repair fa- does. Germany’s indiscrimi- war. More than three-quar- they fired the first tear gas to support the Allied ef- and Telegraph Company. In cial damage, but masks were nate submarine warfare was ters were killed, wounded, grenades (xylyl bromide) fort. That included 70,000 1979, the U.S. Army finally also used to cover the most a primary reason the U.S. or went missing in action. against the Germans. In horses or mules as well as gave war medals and veter- horrific disfigurement. Some joined the war. • The terrorist group respon- January 1915, Germany nearly 50,000 trucks, 27,000 an benefits to the few Hello soldiers stayed in nursing • World War I was also known sible for the assassination of first used tear gas against freight cars, and 1,800 loco- Girls who were still alive. homes their entire lives. as the Great War, the World Franz Ferdinand was called Russian armies, but the gas motives. • During WWI, American • WWI is the sixth deadliest War, the War of the Nations, Black Hand, Sarajevo. turned to liquid in the cold • WWI introduced the wide- hamburgers (named after the conflict in world history. and the War to End All Wars. • The United Sates joined air. In April 1915, the Ger- spread use of the machine German city of Hamburg) • British author T.E. Lawrence • WWI was fought from WWI during the final year mans were the first to use gun, a weapon Hiram Max- were renamed Salisbury (1888-1935), also known as 1914-1918 on every ocean and half of fighting. poisonous chlorine gas. im patented in the U.S. in steak. Frankfurters, which Lawrence of Arabia, worked and on almost every conti- • For the span of WWI, from • During WWI, the Germans 1884. The Maxim weighed were named after Frank- for Allied intelligence in the nent. Most of the fighting, 1914-1918, 274 German U- released about 68,000 tons just over 45 kg and was wa- furt, Germany, were called Middle East. He also led however, took place in Eu- boats sank 6,596 ships. The of gas, and the British and ter cooled. It could fire about “liberty sausages,” and an Arab revolt against the rope. five most successful U-boats French released 51,000 tons. 450-600 rounds per minute. dachshunds became “lib- Turks and wrote about it in • WWI began on June 28, were U-35 (sank 224 ships), In total, 1,200,000 soldiers Most machine guns used erty dogs.” Schools stopped his book The Seven Pillars 1914, when a Serbian ter- U-39 (154 ships), U-38 (137 on both sides were gassed, in WWI were based on the teaching German, and Ger- of Wisdom. rorist shot and killed Arch- ships), U-34 (121 ships), of which 91,198 died hor- Maxim design. man-language books were • Four empires collapsed af- duke Franz Ferdinand, heir and U-33 (84 ships). Most rible deaths. • The term “dogfight” origi- burned. ter WWI: Ottoman, Austro- to the Austro-Hungarian of these were sunk near the • Approximately 30 different nated during WWI. The pi- • Millions of soldiers suffered Hungarian, German, and throne, and his wife. Aus- coast, particularly in the poisonous gases were used lot had to turn off the plane’s “shell shock,” or posttrau- Russian. tria-Hungary declared war English Channel. during WWI. Soldiers were engine from time to time so matic stress disorder, due to • While the first military sub- on Serbia on July 28, 1914. • German trenches were in told to hold a urine-soaked it would not stall when the the horrors of trench war- marine (named the Turtle) Russia and France sided stark contrast to British cloth over their faces in an plane turned quickly in the fare. Shell-shocked men of- was first used by the Con- with Serbia, and Germany trenches. German trenches emergency. By 1918, gas air. When a pilot restarted ten had uncontrollable diar- tinental Army during the supported Austria-Hungary. were built to last and in- masks with filter respirators his engine midair, it sound- rhea, couldn’t sleep, stopped American Revolution, sub- Other countries around the cluded bunk beds, furniture, usually provided effective ed like dogs barking. speaking, whimpered for marines only made a large world were soon pulled into cupboards, water tanks with protection. At the end of the • The French had what Ger- hours, and twitched uncon- military impact during WWI the fighting. WWI officially faucets, electric lights, and war, many countries signed man soldiers called the trollably. While some sol- when Germany launched its ended 4 years later on No- doorbells. treaties outlawing chemical Devil Gun. At 75 mm, this diers recovered, others suf- fleet of U-boats. Its subma- vember 11, 1918. • France, not Germany, was weapons. cannon was accurate up to fered for the rest of their rines mostly stayed on the • Russia mobilised 12 million the first country to use • During the war, the U.S. almost 6,5 kilometres. The lives. surface and submerged only troops during WWI, mak- gas against enemy troops shipped about 7.5 million French military command- • Even though the U.S. gov- 8 9 ernment didn’t grant Native power, which brought civil- Americans citizenship until ians in the line of fire. By 1924, nearly 13,000 of them 1918, it was clear that the served in WWI. days of cavalry as a realis- • There were over 35 million tic fighting force were over civilian and soldier casual- with the introduction of poi- ties in WWI. Over 15 mil- sonous gas. Tanks heralded lion died and 20 million a new era of offensive war. were wounded. Finally, the Nazi blitzkrieg • More than 200,000 African tactic of WWII grew out of Americans served in WWI, the final Allied offensive of but only about 11 percent of 1918 in which tanks, air- them were in combat forces. craft, artillery, and men were The rest were put in labour GOING OVER THE TOP: Attacks on opposition trenches would carefully coordinated. units, loading cargo, build- normally lead to heavy casualties. Most men were cut down be- DOGFIGHT: British SE5 fighter planes swoop down to attack a • Because mustard gas was ing roads, and digging ditch- fore they had gone more than a few steps. German formation. unpredictable, it was never es. They served in segregat- the war-winning weapon its ed divisions (the 92nd and In some places the truce gun nest, taking 32 machine sponsible for creating the at- were one of the few African users hoped it would be in 93rd) and trained separately. lasted a week. A year later, guns, killing 28 German mosphere in which war was American units that saw the WWI. Neither side used it in • The Germans were skilled sentries on both sides were soldiers, and capturing 132 a probability. WWI broke front lines. For their extraor- WWII. at intercepting and solving ordered to shoot anyone more. He returned home out against a background of dinary acts of heroism, the • WWI helped bring about Allied codes. Germans also who attempted a repeat per- with a Medal of Honor, a rivalry between the world’s soldiers received the French the emancipation of wom- captured one out of four pa- formance. The British High promotion to Sergeant, the great powers, including Croix de Guerre, a medal en. Women took over many per messengers. However, Command ordered artillery French Croix de Guerre, and Britain, Germany, France, awarded to soldiers from when a U.S. commander bombardments to start on a gift of 400 acres of good Russia, Austria-Hungry, Allied countries for bravery used Choctaw tribe mem- Christmas Eve and carry on farmland. Italy, the Ottoman Empire, in combat. However, in the bers form the Oklahoma for three days. • U.S. troops fought their first and Japan. The previous 40 U.S their deeds were largely National Guard unit, they • Edith Cavell (1865- October battle of World War I on years were characterized by ignored. used an extremely complex 12 1915) was a British nurse November 2, 1917, in the increasing nationalism, im- • During WWI, the Turks language that the Germans who saved soldiers from all trenches at Barthelemont, perialism. militarism, and slaughtered approximately could not translate. The sides. When she helped 200 France. various alliances. 1.5 million Armenians. This eight Choctaw men and oth- Allied soldiers escape from • The greatest single loss of • WWI helped strengthen the act of genocide would later ers who joined them became German-occupied Belgium, life in the history of the Brit- power of central govern- attract the attention of Hitler known as the Choctaw Code the Germans arrested her ish army occurred during ment in the United States and was partly responsible Talkers. and she was executed by a the Battle of Somme, when and Europe, which meant for sowing the seeds of the • More than 500,000 pigeons German firing squad. Her the British suffered 60,000 that 19th-century liberalism Holocaust. carried messages between death helped turn global casualties in one day. More that emphasized individu- • After WWI, Britain’s lead- headquarters and the front opinion against Germany. British men were killed in al responsibility was gone ership in the world economy lines. Groups of pigeons • Margaretha Zelle (1876- that one WWI battle than forever. In fact, one of the was gone forever. It had huge trained to return to the front 1917), also known as Mata the U.S. lost from all of its chief legacies of the war is debts, high unemployment, lines were dropped into oc- Hari, was a Dutch exotic armed forces and the Na- the lasting power of the state and slow growth. France cupied areas by parachutes dancer accused of being a tional Guard combined. over its citizens. suffered as well. Most of the and kept there until soldiers double agent. Though she • WWI transformed the Unit- • WWI increased people’s sus- loans it had made to czarist had messages to send back. always denied being a spy, ed Stated into the largest picions of minority groups. Russia were never repaid, • On Christmas Eve in 1914, the French executed her in military power in the world. All outsiders were consid- inflation was rampant, and soldiers on both sides of the 1917. • Although Germany may ered a potential threat, es- large parts of the country ACES: Manfred von Richthofen Western Front sung carols • The most decorated Ameri- have forced the hand of the pecially the Jews, who were were ruined. and Rene Fonck were the top to each other. On Christmas can of WWI was Alvin Cul- European powers in the sum- seen as sleek profiteers of • WWI brought a new era of German and Allied fighter pi- Day troops along two-thirds lum York (1887-1964). York mer of 1914, it did not cause the armaments industry. warfare. The most signifi- lots of World War I with 80 and of the Front declared a truce. led an attack on a German war. Germany was not re- • The Harlem Hell Fighters cant development was air 75 kills respectively. 10 11 traditionally male jobs and going over the top. The ste- showed that they could per- reotype is that the ordinary form them just as well as soldiers of WW1 were li- men. In 1918, most wom- ons led by donkeys - the en over the age of 30 were donkeys being incompetent given the vote in the Brit- generals who sat out the war ish parliamentary elections. in comfort while thousands Two years later, the 19th died unnecessary deaths. In amendment granted Ameri- fact, so many of the gener- can women the vote. als wanted to be closer to • WWI helped bring about the fighting they had to be the emancipation of African banned from going over the Americans. For example, top because they kept get- Henry Ford recruited black ting killed. The experience people from the South to required to be a general was CASUALTIES OF WAR: British troops that have been blinded work in his factories. The by gas are led to a first aid station. too significant to lose. migration of African Ameri- • The Treaty of Versailles cans from the South to the communist state and ush- A handful of journalists stated that Germany had More than nine million combatants died dur- ered in a new phase in world risked their lives to report on REST IN PEACE: North during WWI was one ing World War I. As did seven million civilians. started WWI. It gave Alsace of the most significant popu- history. Historians note that the realities of war. As the and Lorraine back to France. lation shifts in the 20th cen- this was the most startling Government sought to con- dangerous chemicals. The in treating wounded sol- Poland picked up German tury. and important consequence trol the flow of information so-called ‘canaries’ were diers. Blood was transferred territory in the east, and • Post-WWI literature in- of WWI. from the frontline at the start women who worked with directly from one person to other territories were given cludes John McCrae’s In • After WWI, Finland, Esto- of the war, journalists were TNT, which gave them tox- another. A US Army doctor, to Belgium and Lithuania. Flanders Fields, T.S. El- nia, Latvia, Lithuania, and banned. Reporting on the ic jaundice and turned their Captain Oswald Robertson, The treaty also transferred iot’s The Waste Land, Ernest Poland emerged as indepen- conflict was, in the opinion skin yellow. established the first blood the Hultschin area of Upper Hemingway’s A Farewell dent nations. of the War Office, helping • Wilfred Owen was unknown bank on the Western Front in Silesia to Czechoslovakia. to Arms, Erich Maria Re- • The collapse of the Ottoman the enemy. If caught, they at the end of the war. Wil- 1917, using sodium citrate The eastern part of Upper marque’s All Quiet on the Empire after WWI helped faced the death penalty. fred Owen is one of the best to prevent the blood from Silesia was assigned to Po- Western Front, and Wilfred the Allies extend their influ- • Two million letters were know poets of the WW1, but coagulating and becoming land. Lower Silesia, mean- Owen’s tragic poem, An- ence into the Middle East. delivered to the front ev- when he died on the front- unusable. Blood was kept while, was left entirely to them for Doomed Youth. Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Pal- ery week. Astonishingly, it line, just a week before the on ice for up to 28 days and Germany. The key Baltic • WWI helped hasten medi- estine were declared “man- only took two days for a let- end of the war, he was rela- then transported to casualty port of Danze, the industrial cal advances. Physicians dates” under the League of ter from Britain to reach the tively unknown. At the time, clearing stations for use in region of the Saar Basin, and learned better wound man- Nations. France essentially front in France. The jour- his view of the war as one life-saving surgery where it the strategically important agement and the setting of took control of Syria and ney began at a purpose-built of pity and horror was in the was needed most. Rhineland were also taken bones. Harold Gillies, an Britain took control over the sorting depot in Regent’s minority. It wasn’t until the • Nine out of 10 soldiers sur- from Germany. Its armed English doctor, pioneered remaining three mandates. Park before being shipped 1960s that a literary elite de- vived the trenches. Being forces were strictly limited skin graft surgery. The huge • The trench network of World to the trenches. By the end cided this was the most au- in the firing line was rare and its colonies were made scale of those who needed War I stretched approxi- of the war, two billion letters thentic view of the conflict for a British soldier. They League of Nations man- medical care in WWI helped mately 25,000 miles (40,200 and 114 million parcels had because it chimed with their constantly moved around dates. A 1921 Reparations teach physicians and nurses km) from the English Chan- had been delivered. own anti-war feelings. This the trench system - mean- Committee decided that the advantages of special- nel to Switzerland. The area • War work turned some resulted in the publication of ing more often than not they Germany should pay $33 ization and professional was known as the Western women’s skin yellow. When two key war poetry antholo- were kept from the dangers billion in compensation to management. Front. British poet Siegfried a generation of men went gies which heavily featured of enemy fire. The more the Allies for the damage it • WWI was the catalyst that Sassoon wrote, “When all is to fight the war, more than Owen. typical experience for the caused. The Treaty left Ger- transformed Russia into the done and said, the war was a million women took their • Blood banks were devel- British Tommy would have many humiliated and im- Union of the Soviet Socialist mainly a matter of holes and place in the workforce. They oped during WW1. The been a life of boredom and poverished, which left the Republic (USSR). It was the ditches. worked long hours, often in British Army began the rou- regular routine. world vulnerable to another creation of the world’s first • Journalists faced execution. poor conditions and with tine use of blood transfusion • Generals were banned from world war. 12 13 through heroic resistance. Ad- Military myths and urban legends ditionally, while the Soviet invasion played a role in the Over the next few months we will be looking at some well-known, and some lesser Japanese surrender, it was not known, myths and legends about the military and seeing if they are true or not. the only reason – as Soviet am- phibious forces were too weak to pose any threat to the Japa- ast month we looked at a believe that the Germans had The Reality nese mainland. few military myths and already tried to invade England, For a while, at the start of the Lurban legends and dis- with disastrous results brought war, they were. But by the end The Myth covered that most of them were about by the burning water. of the war the SS would take During the Battle of Heart- not true. No invasion ever did take anyone they would take anyone break Ridge in Korea, an Amer- US President Franklin D. place and the German invasion they could get their hands on. ican soldier attacked the North Roosevelt did not know that the plans were scrapped after the As early as 1940, the SS began Koreans with only a trench attack on Pearl Harbour was go- Battle of Britain. using foreign soldiers to bulk THE CREAM OF GERMAN MANHOOD: Not only were the SS knife and his fists and killed 40 ing to take place. Hitler did not out its ranks. First, the special not the cream of Aryan manhood, 60% of them were not even of them. dance a jig when he learnt that The Myth “Wiking Division” was autho- German. The Verdict France had surrendered. And Famous American big band rized, made up of anti-Commu- True singer John Denver was not a leader Glenn Miller was killed nist fanatics from Scandinavia, Japanese army. They had then of surrender, at least not of the The Reality sniper during the Vietnam War. by the Gestapo, or accidentally the Low Countries and Estonia. been taken prisoner by the Sovi- unconditional surrender de- Herbert K. Pililaau was the Yet the story of a British of- blown up by British bombers Then 1942 saw the creation of ets during the Battle of Khalkh- manded by the Allies. Instead, last American left standing on ficer disabling a German tank dumping their bombs. separate SS divisions made of in Gol in Siberia in 1939. the Emperor and his cadre of Hill 931 of Heartbreak Ridge. with an umbrella was in fact The Verdict Croats, Ukrainians, Estonians, They had then by drafted military and civilian leaders While the rest of his squad true. And that Hollywood stars False and Latvians. There were also out of a labour camp and con- were preparing to fight a deci- retreated, he covered them. He James Stewart and Charles The Reality Spanish, French, East Indian, scripted into the Soviet army to sive battle in the Home Islands fired his Browning Automatic Bronson were in fact decorated Miller served as a Major in Romanian and Russian units in defend the city of Kharkov in against the forthcoming Ameri- Rifle until he ran out of ammu- World War II veterans, the US Army Air Force during the SS – with an attempt even 1943. can invasion, which was sched- nition. Then he threw grenades Let’s look at a few more World War II. made at a British Free Corps At Kharkov they were cap- uled for November. until they to ran out. military myths and see if they On 15 December 1944 he was division of English volunteers, tured by the Germans. At that Japan’s leaders believed that He took cover behind some are true, or nothing more than flying from England to Paris to which was a miserable failure. stage Germany was desperate they would inflict such horrific rocks and began throwing rocks myths. give a concert for the troops Ultimately, 60% of soldiers for manpower and, because casualties on the invasion that at the enemy until there were stationed there. wearing the SS runes weren’t these Koreans had little love for American morale would break, none within reach. The Myth The plane disappeared in bad German. And French SS sol- the Soviets, were conscripted leading to a negotiated peace. It was at this point that he If the Germans did invade weather and poor visibility. diers were among the last de- into the German army. Hundreds of thousands of pulled out his trench knife and England, the Royal Navy had Miller was declared “missing fenders of Berlin, fighting to They had been conscripted Americans and potentially mil- led a one-man charge at the ad- developed a way of setting the in action”. the death to avoid capture by into three different armies by lions of Japanese would die in vancing North Koreans. This English Channel on fire. Miller’s plane crashed be- the Russians. three countries, thousands of ki- this conflict – which both sides was how the members of his The Verdict cause it had a faulty carburetor. lometres away from each other. were still preparing for when squad last reported seeing him. False The plane’s engine had a type The Myth the bombs were dropped. When the American retook The Reality of carburetor that was known to During D-Day several Ko- The Myth It wasn’t until August 15th, the position the following day While it was a fact that the be defective in cold weather and reans fighting for the Germans Japan was about to surrender after two atomic bombings, the they found Pililaau were he had British Petroleum Warfare De- had a history of causing crashes were captured by the Ameri- before the atom bombs were invasion of Manchuria by the fallen. His body was surround- partment were working on a in other aircraft by icing up. cans. dropped. Soviet Union, a massive bomb- ed by 40 dead North Korean way to cover the English Chan- The Verdict The Verdict ing raid on Tokyo, and a coup soldiers. nel with oil that could be set The Myth True False attempt by junior officers, that For his exceptional bravery alight, their attempts had not The German SS in World The Reality The Reality the Emperor made his famed that day, Herbert K. Pilila’au been successful. War II were the cream of Aryan This story is absolutely true, It is clear from the records of announcement of surrender. was awarded the Medal of Hon- British Intelligence, however, manhood. and their story is bizarre. They meetings in the Japanese cabi- And still he was opposed by or and the admiration of every played up the rumour and took it The Verdict were first captured by the Japa- net and from diplomatic cables senior officers who believed soldier he saved on Heartbreak so far that many people actually False nese and conscripted into the that Japan was not on the verge victory could be achieved Ridge. 14 15 and the Ottoman Empire. deep and thick that if someone There were a number of things stepped off the duck board they We must remember them that I learnt about World War I would disappear into the mud that left me amazed, shocked never to be seen again. At 11.00 am on November 11 most countries in the world will observe two minutes of and sad. The treatment of soldiers was silence. Raymond Fletcher looks at the significance of Remembrance Day and imag- One of the things that did often barbaric. If, for example, ines what it must have been like to fight in the ‘war to end all wars’. amaze me was the fact that the you were on guard duty at night majority of the British Empire and fell asleep, an officer had f there was one subject that I badge that our history teacher Moths. It was after he had seen soldiers were volunteers. They the right to shoot you. If he really didn’t enjoy it would always wore on the lapel of his a drawing in a newspaper (pic- were not forced to go and fight, found you sleeping he could have to be history. I’ve al- jacket. It was a small soldier’s tured on page 17) that he made they did so willingly. take out his pistol and shoot I Often an entire class from you dead without even bother- ways been far more interested helmet. During one lesson we a decision that those that fell in a university would go to a re- ing to wake you up. in what’s happening now, not asked him about it. battle should never be forgot- THE TIN HAT: The symbol of what happened centuries before He told us that he was a Moth. ten. the Memorable Order of Tin cruitment office and sign up. Attacks on the enemy would I was born. We all had a good laugh and had We asked our teacher how he Hats (MOTH). Very few of them ever returned always result in massive casu- Then last year a strange thing no idea of what he was talking could be a Moth because sure- to complete their studies. alties. The object would be to happened. We got a new history about. Then he explained. ly he couldn’t have fought in most of us, myself included, Officially you had to be at capture a section of the enemies teacher at my school and his The word MOTH stands for World War I. He laughed and knew very little about it. least 18 years of age to sign up trench. The normal procedure whole approach to history was Memorable Order of Tin Hats. told us that after Word War II, I’ve watched a lot of movies as a soldier and go off to fight in would be to bomb the opposi- just so different. He puts things It’s an organisation that was those that had fought could also about World War II and Viet- the war. Yet as losses mounted tion trench with artillery for up into context and makes history started after World War I to join the Moths. nam, but I can’t recall ever hav- and replacements were desper- to three days. Then the artil- come alive. honour the memory of all the Since then membership has ing seen anything about World ately needed the recruitment lery would stop and the infantry Since he arrived history has soldiers that died during that been extended to anyone who War I. All I knew is that it was a teams began to turn a blind eye would launch an attack. gone from being one of my war. fought in other wars such as long time ago. to the age requirement. This was known as ‘go- worst subjects to my favourite, Charles Alfred Evenden was Korea, the Gulf War, and even I was right. It was a long I’m 16 years old and I know ing over the top’. The infantry along with English. a soldier, cartoonist and author. our own Border War. time ago and it began on July that there were many boys my would climb out of their trench- One of the things none of us But he will be best remem- He then asked us how much 28, 1914 and ended just over age that fought in World War I. es and advance at a steady walk could ever work out was the bered as the man that started the we knew about World War I and four years later on November Many were even younger than towards the enemy. The only 11, 1918. By the time it ended that. It is a documented fact that problem with this was that the an estimated 20 million people the youngest person to fight as enemy were normally waiting had lost their lives. a British soldier in World War I for them. The war was a true global was only 12 years old. The enemy would have sat in conflict that took part in Eu- The war on land quickly de- their bunkers dug into the side rope, Africa, the Middle East, veloped into a stalemate that of the trench during the artil- the Pacific Islands, China and became known as trench war- off the coast of South and North fare. America. The war was fought These trenches stretched from on land, sea and in the air. the coast to the Swiss border, It was mainly fought between right across Europe. Sometimes the Allied Powers, which con- the trenches were less that 100 sisted of France, the British metres apart. The area between Empire (including Australia, In- the trenches was called ‘no- dia, Canada and South Africa), man’s land’. Russia and Italy. The Ameri- By all accounts life in the cans joined the Allied Powers trenches was horrific at the best in 1917 when they declared war of times. Rain would turn them on Germany. into mud pits. The floor of the On the other side was the trench was covered with planks Central Powers that consisted called ‘duck boards’. Some- of Germany, Austria-Hungary times the mud would be so 16 17 Another first was the use of Great War’ and ‘the war to end serve two minutes silence for aircraft. The Wright brothers all wars’. Yet a mere 21 years all those that fell in World War had only taken the first pow- later they would be at it again I and other wars. ered flight 11 years earlier on in another war that would result This year I will be one of December 17, 1903. Yet the in even more deaths. The Great those that stands to attention aircraft would soon play a vital War was renamed World War I. and observes two minutes of si- role in war. I wonder if I would have had lence. It is the least I can do. It Most World War I pilots the courage to go over the top. is vital that we remember them. would have as little as 10 hours Or climb into an aircraft with At the eleventh hour of the flying time before being sent only 10 hours training, know- eleventh day of the eleventh into combat. The average life ing that in less than two weeks I month, we will remember them. expectancy of a pilot was 11 would probably be dead. I would like to end this article days. Would I have lied about my with the Moth credo which my FOR KING AND COUNTRY: At the start of the war men of all During April 1917, known age to get into the army? Would history teacher told me about. I ages flocked to the recruiting office to sign up. Many would go as ‘Bloody April’, the life ex- I have volunteered, knowing think it is very fitting. into “Pals Battalions” and fight alongside their friends. pectancy of a new pilot was 20 full well that there was a strong minutes. possibility that I would die? They shall not grow old, as we lery fire and few of them would By the end of it they would Although the parachute had RECRUITMENT DRIVE: Re- While you can hate war and who are left to grow old. have been killed or injured. suffer a staggering 623,907 ca- been invented (they were is- cruiting posters would often all it stands for, you cannot but Age shall not weary them. nor As soon as the artillery sualties. sued to balloon observers) they be patriotic or make war seem admire the courage of those that the years condemn. stopped they knew the infantry The war also saw many new were not issued to pilots. It was glamorous and an adventure. fought, many of them paying At the going down of the sun, would be on their way. innovations and weapons be- thought that pilots would then Those that did join up found the ultimate sacrifice. and in the morning, the reality a lot different to They would set up machine ing used. The French were the be too quick to bail out of a At 11.00 am on November We will remember them. what the posters said. guns covering no-man’s land first to use chemical weapons in damaged aircraft rather than try 11 most of the world will ob- and wait for the attack. The 1914. and return it to its base. advancing infantry would usu- They used tear gas against Because the planes were made ally be mown down before they the Germans, but it was largely mostly from wood and canvas Useful links had advanced more than a few ineffective. A few months later one of the greatest dangers was Every month we will be featuring a few useful links to military websites, newsletters and on- steps. the Germans retaliated by using from the aircraft catching fire. line magazines. Stuff that we think our readers will appreciate. Even if an attack did man- chlorine gas. A pilot in an aircraft that was Here are two of our favourites. The first one is Nongqai, the unofficial police newsletter for age to succeed and a section of In 1917 the Germans intro- on fire had three choices. The veterans of the former South African Police Force and for those interested in Police History. The the enemy trench was captured, duced the far more deadly mus- first was to bail out and fall to second is Jimmy’s Own, the official newsletter of the South African Signals Association. Click both sides had a second, third tard gas. his death. The second was to on the magazine covers to go to the respective websites. and forth line of trenches. They The tank was developed and stay with the aircraft and burn would launch a counter attack first used during World War to death. Nearly every pilot car- and normally recapture the lost I. It was originally called the ried a revolver with him. His territory very quickly. ‘land battleship’ and were sent third choice was to shoot him- Yet even though these tactics to France in crates that were self, which most of them did. proved fruitless time after time, stamped ‘tank’ on the outside. It is estimated that more than the generals and war planners This was so that people would 14 000 Allied pilots were killed on both sides persisted with think they were water tanks. during World War I. The fig- them. No matter how many The name stuck and everyone ures for the Axis powers is not died. called them tanks. known but it is estimated that it Take the Somme offensive for The tank was first used during was even higher than those of example. It lasted from July 1 to the Battle of Flers-Courcelette the Allies. November 18, 1916. The Allies on 15 September 15, 1916. It World War I ended with the took 60,000 casualties on the had limited success. They could official surrender of the Central first day of the battle. This was only move very slowly, would Powers at 11.00 am on Novem- the most casualties the British often break down, and were ber 11, 1918. had ever taken in a single day. used in very limited numbers. It became known as ‘The 18 19 They renamed it Kaarina. MASH was both a success- ful movie and later a television Music to March to series. The theme song, called Suicide Is Painless, was writ- Seeing as it’s Armistice Day this month, we decided to look at some music from the ten by Johnny Mandel. movies. And not just any movies, but war movies. Click on the underlined blue links Most Vietnam era movies below to listen to the actual songs. will feature some good 60s mu- sic. The TV series Tour of Duty ver the years there have another movie set in World War Now, the song used in the open had the Rolling Stones’ Paint it been some really great Two. credits, The End by The Doors, Black as its theme tune. Owar movies. This time a group has to was also brilliant. It was another song that They’ve ranged from being destroy German cannons in With an all-star cast and based cracked the charts. exciting to sad and many have Greece. The film score, writ- on a true story, The Great Es- BIRD IS THE WORD: The Trashmen’s Surfin’ Bird is used as Band of Brothers was a tele- gone on to become classics. ten by Dimitri Tiomkin, won an cape was a classic. The catchy the soundtrack for the Battle of Hue City in Full Metal Jacket. vision series produced by Ste- Yet as with any good mov- Academy Award and a Golden theme was written by Elmer ven Spielberg and Tom Hanks. ie you need a good musical Globe for Best Original Score. Bernstein. comes at the end of the movie volved in the real battle depict- It follows Easy Company, part soundtrack. And while very The 1962 epic Lawrence of Top Gun starred Tom Cruise when US Marines, having been ed in the movie. of the 506th Parachute Infantry few of these songs have gone Arabia won seven Academy as an American fighter pilot. involved in a fierce battle in The Battle of the Bulge was a Regiment, 101st Airborne Divi- on to feature on the hit parades, Awards that included Best Pic- The movie had not one, but Vietnam, march away singing 1965 film based on the German sion, from jump training in the they’re still really good songs, ture, Best Director, and a Best two songs that actually made it the Mickey Mouse Club Song. Ardennes Counteroffensive United States through its par- most from really good war Actor award for Peter O’Toole. onto the hit parades. Take My Also in Full Metal Jacket during World War II. ticipation in major actions in movies. So let’s have a listen to The film score was composed Breath Away by Berlin and is The Trashmen’s 1963 song Before the attack German Europe, up until Japan’s capitu- a few of them. by Maurice Jarre, little known Danger Zone by Kenny Log- Surfin’ Bird used while show- Col. Martin Hessler (Robert lation and the war’s end. The Battle of Britain was a at the time and selected only gins both reached number one. ing scenes of the Battle of Hue Shaw) is introduced to his new The Band Of Brothers 1969 British movie about the after both William Walton and Kelly’s Heroes starred Clint City. tank commanders. Theme was written by Michael war fought in the air over Brit- Malcolm Arnold had proved Eastwood, Donald Sutherland The Marine Hymn, the offi- “Boys,” he says. “Too many Kamen. ain during World War Two in unavailable. and Telly Savalas. cial hymn of the United States boys.” This last song is a bit of a 1940. Jarre was given just six The theme song, Burning Marine Corps, has been used in One of them starts to sing the strange one because it’s not ex- A much smaller force of Brit- weeks to compose two hours Bridges by the Mike Curb Con- a number of films. Full Metal Panzerlied (Armour Song) and actly music that you can march ish Royal Air Force (RAF) pi- of orchestral music. His score gregation, was a Top Ten hit Jacket was one of them. the rest of them join in. to. But damn, it’s a good song lots defeated a much larger won Oscar, BAFTA and Golden single. Platoon was another good Now listen to a French For- and worthy of a listen-to as a German force and was the main Globe Awards. Good Morning Vietnam Vietnam movie. It starred a eign Legion marching song, theme from a war movie. cause of Hilter cancelling his Not only was The Bridge on starred the late Robin Williams. young Charlie Sheen and one of Képi Blanc (White Cap). Do The song in question is Ca- planned invasion of Britain. the River Kwai one of the best It featured some great music the iconic scenes from the film you recognise the tune? vatina. It was composed by The film starred greats such war movies ever, it also fea- from the 60s including What features the 1965 hit by Smokey Directed by Steven Spielberg, Stanley Myers for the 1970 film as Laurence Oliver, Christo- tured the memorable Colonel a Wonderful World by Louis Robinson and the Miracles, The Schindler’s List was nominated The Walking Stick. pher Plummer, Edward Fox and Bogey March that won an Os- Armstrong. Tracks Of My Tears. for 12 Academy Awards and Yet it was only eight years Michale Caine. The music was car, BAFTA, Golden Globe and The Green Berets starred John While most of us would have won seven. later, when Cavatina was used composed by Ron Goodwin, Grammy Award. Wayne and was about their in- seen the brilliant Saving Private Near the start of the movie a as the theme for the Deer Hunt- The Dam Busters was anoth- Apocalypse Now was a movie volvement in Vietnam. The Ryan, The Longest Day was an- group of German soldiers can er that it became a UK Top 20 er movie based on a true story. set during the Vietnam War. theme song, The Ballad Of other movie about the D-Day be seen marching down the hit. In 1943 the RAF’s 617 Squad- One of the most memorable The Green Berets was written landings. This one was made street. They are singing a song Hope that you enjoyed listen ron attacked a series of dams in scenes is of American helicop- and sung by Sgt Barry Sadler, a back in 1962. Maurice Jarre did called Erika. to some of these songs. Early Germany using a special bomb ter gunships flying in to attack a real Green Beret. the theme song, The Longest Erika, a song about a flower next year we want to do an ar- designed by Barnes Wallis. Viet Cong village. Stanley Kubrick’s Full Met- Day. (heather), was used by the Ger- ticle about songs that are the The music for the film was Over loudspeakers they are al Jacket was not only an ex- A Bridge Too Far is another man SS as one of their march- themes for different military composed by Eric Coates and playing Wagner’s Ride of the cellent movie, it also featured epic World War Two movie. ing songs. The song was also units and corps. Leighton Lucas. Valkyries. some great music. John Addison, who wrote the adopted by the Finnish Waffen The Guns of Navarone was On the subject of Apocalypse One of the unique songs musical score, was actually in- SS as their marching song. 20 21 hind Enemy Lines. 6. Arnold Schwarzenegger 6 10 Celebrities that you may not At the age of 16 he lied about Arnold “I’ll be back” Schwar- his age to enlist in the United zenegger has done it all - ac- know were in the military States Marine Corps where he tor, producer, businessman, in- served four and a half years a a vestor, author, philanthropist, 1 They may have gone on to become stars of the big field radio operator. activist, world body-building screen or small screen, or music legends, but these 10 champion, and former Gover- 4. Chuck Norris celebrities all spent time in uniform. nor of California. Martial arts champion and ac- He won the Mr. Universe title tor Carlos Ray Norris is better at age 20 and went on to win think I would be correct in punished him by ordering him known as Chuck Norris. the Mr. Olympia contest seven 7 saying that the vast major- to chop down trees. But he nev- He has starred in numerous times, remaining a prominent I ity of Military Despatches’ er told him how many to chop movies and the TV series Walk- presence in bodybuilding and readers served in the military at down. er, Texas Ranger. writing many books and articles 2 some stage. Tureaud began chopping trees He joined the United States on the sport. They may have been perma- at 06h30. At 10h00 a shocked Air Force as an Air Policeman Born in Austria, Schwar- nent force members, conscripts, major superseded the sergeant’s (AP) in 1958 and was sent to zenegger had to fulfill the one or even citizen force or reserve orders. In the space of three Osan Air Base, South Korea. year of military service re- members. and a half hours Tureaud had It was there that Norris ac- quired at the time. At the age of Now if you did serve in the single-handedly chopped down quired the nickname Chuck and 18 he was conscripted into the military then you have some- over 70 trees. began his training in Tang Soo Austrian Army. thing in common with the 10 Do, an interest that led to black During his army service he 8 people on this list - at some 2. Bea Arthur belts in that art and the found- won the Junior Mr. Europe con- 3 stage they also served in the Bea Arthur will be best re- ing of this own style, Chun Kuk test. Unfortunately he would of- military. membered for her role as Doro- Do. ten go AWOL so he could take thy Zbornak on the 1980s sit- When he returned to the Unit- part in competitions. He ended 1. Mr. T com The Golden Girls. ed States, he continued to serve up spending a week in military Lawrence Tureaud is bet- During World War II she as an AP at March Air Force detention. ter known as Mr. T. He is served in the United States Ma- Base in California. Norris was best remembered for his role rine Corps Women’s Reserve honourably discharged from the 4. Clint Eastwood as B.A.Baracus in the 1980s where she worked as a truck U.S. Air Force in August 1962. Clint Eastwood rose to fame television series The A-Team. driver and a typist. She was as the “Man with No Name” 9 4 He also starred as the boxer given an honourable discharge 5. Morgan Freeman and as Detective Harry Callah- Clubber Land in the 1982 film in 1945 with the rank of staff Academy Award winning ac- an in the fiveDirty Harry films. Rocky III. sergeant. tor Morgan Freeman needs lit- He starred in war movies His brother had fought in She passed away from cancer tle introduction. such as Where Eagles Dare and Vietnam and Tureaud enlisted on 25 April, 2005 at the age of His many movie credits in- Kelly’s Heroes. He also directed in the United States Army and 86. clude the role of President Nel- the acclaimed Letters from Iwo served in the Military Police son Mandela in the 2009 film Jima. Corps. 3. Gene Hakcman Invictus. He was drafted into the Unit- In November 1975 he was Best remembered for his role As a youngster he turned ed States Army during the Ko- awarded a letter of recommen- as Detective Popeye Doyle in down a partial scholarship from 5 rean War, but did not serve in 10 dation by his drill sergeant. In a The French Connection, Hack- Jackson State University. In- Korea. group of 6,000 troops Tureaud man won two Academy Awards, stead he chose to enlist in the According to his former long- was elected “Top Trainee of the three Golden Globe Awards, United States Air Force where time companion Sondra Locke, Cycle” and was promoted to and two BAFTA Awards. he wanted to train as a pilot. He he was a life guard at Ford Ord squad leader. In starred in a number of ended up serving as an Auto- in northern California for his In July 1976 while at a train- “war” movies that included A matic Radar Repairman, rising entire stint in the military. ing camp at Fort McCoy in Bridge Too Far, Uncommon to the rank of Airman 1st Class. Wisconsin, his platoon sergeant Valour, Crimson Tide and Be- 22 23 3. Sean Connery Quiz The original James Bond, Scottish actor Sean Connery has been polled as “The Great- est Living Scot”. Parachute Wings He joined the Royal Navy his month we’re looking at wings awarded to soldiers that have successfully completed a ba- during which time he acquired sic parachute course. We show you a set of wings, you tell us the country and, if applicable, the unit or arm of service. two tattoos. One tattoo is a T Answers on page 53. tribute to his parents and reads ‘Mum and Dad,’ and the other is self-explanatory, ‘Scotland 1 2 3 Forever.’” Connery was later discharged from the navy on medical ART IMITATES LIFE: Sean Connery (left) and Gene Hackman grounds because of a duodenal starred in the film A Bridge Too Far. Connery as Major General ulcer, a condition that affected Urquhart and Hackman as Polish Major General Sosabowski. most of the males in previous Both served in the military. generations of his family. was granted an honourable dis- er also served. The list is far too 4 5 6 2. Jimi Hendrix charge on the basis of unsuit- long to mention, but here are a Regarded by many as one of ability. few. the best guitarists ever, Jimi Hendrix was only 27 when he 1. Elvis Presley • Private First Class Hugh died. Elvis Presley was already a Hefner. Not only did Hendrix serve star when he was drafted into • British singer Captain James in the military, he was a para- the US Army in March 1958. Blunt. trooper. At the age of 19, after Presley announced that he • Corporal Mel Brookes. 7 8 9 twice being caught by police was looking forward to his • Dr. Ruth (Israeli Defence for riding in stolen cars, a judge military stint, saying he did not Force). gave him the choice of spend- want to be treated any differ- • Christopher Lee – Finnish ing time in prison or enlisting ently from anyone else: “The Army, British Home Guard, in the military. He chose the Army can do anything it wants Royal Air Force. later option and entered the US with me.” • Tom Selleck (Magnum PI). Army in 1961 After his basic training, Pres- • Leonard Nimoy (Dr Spock). After basic training he was ley joined the 3rd Armored Di- • James Earl Jones. 10 11 12 assigned to the 101st Airborne vision in Friedberg, Germany. • Actors Jimmy Stewart, Lee Division and stationed at Fort Fellow soldiers have attested to Marvin, Charles Bronson, Campbell, Kentucky. Presley’s wish to be seen as an Clark Gable, Ernest Borg- By February 1962, his per- able, ordinary soldier, despite nine, Humphrey Bogart, Mi- sonal conduct had begun to his fame, and to his generos- chael Caine, Henry Fonda, draw criticism from his superi- ity. He donated his Army pay to Charlton Heston, Steve Mc- ors. His platoon sergeant wrote charity, purchased TV sets for Queen, Kirk Douglas, Har- in a report, “It is my opinion the base, and bought an extra vey Keitel, Mickey Rooney, 14 that Private Hendrix will never set of fatigues for everyone in Gene Wilder, Paul Newman, 13 15 come up to the standards re- his outfit. Sidney Poitier quired of a soldier. I feel that • Singers Kris Kristofferson, the military service will benefit Honourable Mentions Tony Bennett, Johnny Cash if he is discharged as soon as Of course these 10 celebrities and Willie Nelson. possible.” were not the only ones to ever • Former heavyweight boxing On 29 June 1962 Hendrix serve in the military. Many oth- champion Joe Louis. 24 25 Head to Head MP 40 Type - Submachine gun WWII Rifles & submachine guns Place of origin - Nazi Germany Designer - Heinrich Vollmer Weight - 3.97 kg his month we’ve decided WWII weapons as the subject. ons, two British weapons, and Length - 833 mm stock ex- to do something a little E-mails must reach us before one each from Finland, Italy tended / 630 mm stock folded different on Head-to- 20 November 2017. and Japan. T Cartridge - 9×19 mm Parabel- Head. In the December issue we The list includes ten rifles, six lum We show you 17 iconic rifles will then list what our readers submachine guns, and the Stur- Rate of fire - 500–550 rpm and submachine guns used in think were the ten best rifles mgewehr 44 - the first fully au- Effective firing range - 100 – World War II. and submachine guns used in tomatic assault rifle. The Maschinenpistole 40 was often erroneously called 200 m What you need to do is list World War II. In you e-mail you may want “Schmeisser” by the Allies, despite Hugo Schmeisser’s Feed - 32-round detachable box what you think are the top ten. The list features five Ameri- to include any rifles or subma- non-involvement in the weapon’s design and production. magazine Then e-mail your list to us at can weapons, four German chine guns you feel should have [email protected] and use weapons, three Russian weap- made the list. M1928A1 Thompson

Sturmgewehr 44 Type - Submachine gun Place of origin - United States Type - Assault Rifle Designer - John T. Thompson Place of origin - Nazi Germany Weight - 4.9 kg Designer - Hugo Schmeisser Length - 850 mm Weight - 4.6 kg Cartridge - .45 ACP Length - 94 cm Rate of fire - 600–725 rpm Cartridge - 7.92×33 mm Kurz Effective firing range - 150 m Rate of fire - 550–600 rpm Feed - 20-round box, 30-round box, 50-round drum magazine Effective firing range - 300 m Known as the ‘Tommy Gun’. It was popular with gangsters (automatic) 600 m (semi-auto- during the prohibition era and nicknamed the ‘Chicago matic) Typewriter’ or ‘The Chopper’. Feed - 30-round detachable box German fully-automatic assault rifle magazine - the first of its kind. M1 Carbine M1 Garand Type - Submachine gun Type - Semi-automatic rifle Place of origin - Nazi Germany Place of origin - United States Designer - Frederick Humeston Designer - John C. Garand Weight - 2.4 kg Weight - 4.31 kg Length - 900 mm Length - 1,100 mm Cartridge - .30 Carbine Cartridge - .30-06 Springfield Rate of fire - 750 rpm Rate of fire - 0−50 rpm Effective firing range - 270 m Effective firing range - 457 m Feed - 15- or 30-round detach- able box magazine Feed - 8-round en-bloc clip, in- This was a standard firearm for the U.S. military Standard rifle of the US armed forces for two decades. ternal magazine during World War II, the Korean War and well Called “the greatest battle implement ever devised” by into the Vietnam War. General George S. Patton.

26 27 Mauser Karabiner 98k Gewehr 43

Type - Bolt-action rifle Type - Semi-automatic rifle Place of origin - Nazi Germany Place of origin - Nazi Germany Designer - Heereswaffenamt Designer - Walther Weight - 3.7–4.1 kg Weight - 4.4 kg Length - 1,110 mm Length - 1,130 mm Cartridge - 7.92 × 57 mm Cartridge - 7.92×57 mm Mauser Mauser Rate of fire - 0−50 rpm Rate of fire - 30 rpm Effective firing range - 500 m Effective firing range - 500 m Feed - 5-round stripper clip, in- Feed - 10-round detachable box According to accounts and testimony from Standard rifle of the German Army in World War 2. ternal magazine magazine, stripper clip fed Nearly 15 million were made. German veterans of World War II, many German soldiers disliked the Gewehr 43, and preferred the tried and true Karabiner 98k

Lee–Enfield Mk I Sten Mk II Type - Bolt-action rifle Place of origin - United King- Type - Submachine Gun dom Place of origin - United King- Designer - James Paris Lee dom Weight - 4.19 kg Designer - Major Reginald V. Length - 1,260 mm Shepherd, Harold J. Turpin Cartridge - .303 Mk VII SAA Weight - 3.2 kg Ball Length - 760 mm Rate of fire - 20–30 rpm Cartridge - 9×19 mm Parabel- Effective firing range - 503 m lum Often referred to as the “SMLE,” which is short for the Rate of fire - 500-600 rpm Feed - 10-round magazine, Cheap and easy to produce, they were effective common “Short Magazine Lee-Enfield” variant. Effective firing range - 100 m loaded with 5-round charger insurgency weapons for resistance groups. clips Feed - 32-round detachable box magazine

PPSh-41 Mosin–Nagant

Type - Submachine Gun Type - Bolt-action rifle Place of origin - Russia Place of origin - Russia Designer - Georgy Shpagin Designer - Captain Sergei Weight - 3.63 kg Mosin, Léon Nagant Length - 843 mm Weight - 4 kg Cartridge - 7.62×25 mm Tok- Length - 1,232 mm arev Cartridge - .7.62×54 mm R Rate of fire - 900 to over 1000 Rate of fire - Variable rpm Effective firing range - 500 m Effective firing range - 125 - Feed - 5-round non-detachable Cheap, easy to make, and deadly. Its nickname was “pe- 150 m magazine, loaded individually Even though it was a 50 year old design, pe-sha”, which is Russian for “daddy”. Feed - 35-round box magazine or with 5-round stripper clips millions of Soviet troops carried them. or 71-round drum magazine

28 29 Tokarev SVT-40 Type 99 rifle Arisaka

Type - Semi-automatic rifle Type - Bolt-action rifle Place of origin - Russia Place of origin - Japan Designer - Sergei Simonov Designer - Nariakira Arisaka Weight - 3.85 kg Weight - 3.8 kg Length - 1,226 mm Length - 1,118 mm Cartridge - 7.62×54 mm R Cartridge - .7.7×58 mm Ari- Rate of fire - 400 rpm saka Effective firing range - 500 m Rate of fire - Variable Feed - 10-round detachable box Effective firing range - 547 m magazine Feed - 5-round internal box Captured SVT’s were highly prized by magazine, stripper clip loaded both the Germans and the Finns. The standard rifle issued to the Japanese Imperial Army.

Carcano Modello 1891 Suomi KP/-31 Type - Bolt-action rifle Place of origin - Italy Type - Submachine Gun Designer - Salvatore Carcano Place of origin - Finland Weight - 3.9 kg Designer - Aimo Lahti Length - 1,285 mm Weight - 4.6 kg Cartridge - 6.5×52 mm Car- Length - 870 mm cano Cartridge - 9×19 mm Parabel- Rate of fire - Variable lum Effective firing range - 1,000 Rate of fire - 750–900 rpm m Effective firing range - 200 m A Carcano Model 91/38 was the rifle used Feed - 20-, 36- or 50-round Feed - 6 round integral maga- Reliable and accurate, it was regarded as to assassinate US President John F. Kennedy. box, 40- or 71-round drum. zine, loaded with an en-bloc one of the best submachine guns of the war. clip Also modified German MP 38 u. 40 32-round box magazine

M1903 Springfield M3

Type - Bolt-action rifle Type - Submachine Gun Place of origin - United States Place of origin - United States Designer - Springfield Armory Designer - George Hyde Weight - 3.94 kg Weight - 3.70 kg Length - 1,097 mm Length - 760 mm, stock ex- Cartridge - .30-03 tended Rate of fire - 10–15 rpm Cartridge - .45 ACP Effective firing range - 914 m Rate of fire - 450 rpm Feed - 5-round stripper clip, Effective firing range - 91 m 25-round (Air Service variant) Feed - 30-round detachable box Used early in the war by the US, the Springfield internal box magazine magazine Nicknamed the “Grease Gun”, it was used was noted for its accuracy. by paratroopers and infantry for close combat.

30 31 Famous Figures in Military History Manfred von Richthofen Respected by friend and foe alike, Manfred von Richthofen was nicknamed the ‘Red Baron’. With 80 kills he was the top fighter ace of World War I.

nown simply as the gium. ‘Red Baron’, Manfred Early military career With the advent of trench war- Kvon Richthofen became Von Richthofen’s military ca- fare it soon became clear that the most famous (and feared) det training began in 1911 when the traditional role of cavalry INTERESTING FACT: Von Richthofen only began flying his signature Fokker Dr I tri-plane in the pilot of the war. he was 11. After completing his was outdated. Von Richthofen’s final months of his life. Nearly 75% of his victories were won in various makes ofAlbatross (such German propagandists even training he joined an Uhlan cav- regiment were dismounted and as the Albatross D. V on the right) as well as the Halberstadt D. II. circulated rumours that the Al- alry unit, the Ulanen-Regiment served as dispatch runners and lies were so terrified of von Kaiser Alexander der III. von field telephone operators. man Army Air Service). In February 1916 von Rich- over Cambrai on 17 September Richthofen that they vowed Russland (1. Westpreußisches) Von Richthofen was not hap- It is said that in his applica- thofen then convinced his 1916. to award at Victoria Cross to Nr. 1 (“1st Emperor Alexan- py about matters. When he was tion for a transfer he wrote, “I brother Lothar to transfer to the To mark the occasion he con- any pilot who shot him down. der III of Russia Uhlan Regi- ordered to transfer to the army’s have not gone to war in order to Fliegertruppe. tacted a jeweller in Berlin and Yet who exactly was the ‘Red ment (1st West Prussian)”) supply branch it was collect cheese and eggs, but for In March 1916 von Rich- ordered a silver cup engraved Baron’ and how did he earn his and was assigned to the the last straw. another purpose.” thofen joined Kampfgeschwad- with the date and the type of reputation. regiment’s 3. Eskadron He immediate- To his own surprise his re- er 2 (No. 2 Bomber Squadron), enemy aircraft. He continued Manfred Albrecht Freiherr (“No. 3 Squadron”). ly applied for a quest was granted and at the flying a two-seater Albatros to celebrate each of his victo- von Richthofen was born in At the start of World transfer to Die end of May 1915 he joined the C.III. ries in the same manner until Kleinburg, near Breslau, Lower War I he served as Fliegertruppen Army Air Service. He was not a brilliant pilot. he had 60 cups, by which time Silesia on 2 May 1892. This is a cavalry recon- des deutschen Far from it. He struggled to the dwindling supply of silver now part of the city of Wroclaw naissance officer on Kaiserreiches Transfer control his aircraft and in fact in blockaded Germany meant in Poland. both the Eastern and (Imperial Ger- He did not train as a pilot, but crashed during his first flight at that silver cups could no longer His family were prominent Western Fronts and as an observer on reconnais- the controls. be supplied. Von Richthofen Prussian aristocrats. His father saw action in Rus- sance missions over the Eastern It was over Verdun on 26 discontinued his orders at this was Major Albrecht Philipp sia, France and Bel- Front, serving with Feldflieger April 1916 when he shot down stage, rather than accept cups Karl Julius Freiherr von Rich- Abteilung 69 (No. 69 Flying a French Nieuport over Fort made from base metal. thofen and his mother was Squadron). Douaumont. Yet again he was Von Richthofen was a firm Kunigunde von Schickfuss und When he was transferred to not credited with a kill. believer in what was known as Neudorff. the Champagne front he prob- During August 1916 Von the ‘Dicta Boelcke’ to assure He was one of four children ably scored his first kill. Using Richthofen and Boelcke met success not only for himself but and had an elder sister and two his observer’s machine gun, he again. Boelcke was visiting the the squadron. Von Richthofen younger brothers. Like his fa- shot down an attacking French east in search of candidates for would dive from above with the ther and two brothers, he was a Farman aircraft. his newly formed Jasta 2. It was sun behind him while other pi- Freiherr (literally “Free Lord”), It when down behind the Al- one of the first German fighter lots of his squadron covered his a title of nobility often translat- lied lines and could not there- squadrons and Von Richthofen rear and flanks. ed as ‘baron’. fore be confirmed, so he was was invited to join. While he may not have been As a young boy he enjoyed not credited with the kill. Boelcke was killed on 28 Oc- a brilliant pilot, he was an ex- riding horses as well as gym- tober 1916 after a midair col- cellent marksman and a good nastics at school. Along with The legend is born lision with a friendly aircraft. tactician. his brothers, Lothar and Bolko, It was a chance meeting with Von Richthofen witnessed the he would often hunt boar, elk, German ace Oswald Boelcke event. The Flying Circus deer and birds. His hunting that led to von Richthofen train- Von Richthofen finally Von Richthofen’s fame grew skills would later stand him in ing as a pilot in October 1915. achieved his first confirmed kill with each victory. He became good stead. 32 33 an ace on 16 October 1916 required. wreaths, one of which was in- and in January 1917 he was Von Richthofen’s new com- scribed with the words, “To Our awarded the Pour le Mérite mand, Jagdgeschwader 1, was Gallant and Worthy Foe”. (Blue Max) after his 16th con- composed of fighter squadrons Von Richthofen’s body was firmed kill. The same month he No. 4, 6, 10, and 11. J.G. 1 be- disinterred in 1925 and repatri- was appointed commander of came widely known as “The ated to Germany for a second Jagdstaffel or Jasta 11. Flying Circus” due to the unit’s funeral. The squadron contained brightly colored aircraft and some of the best German pilots, its mobility, including the use Who fired the fatal shot? several of whom would go on of tents, trains, and caravans, There has been much con- to become leaders of their own where appropriate. troversy and speculation about squadrons. He taught his pilots the basic who fired the shot that killed When he became squadron rules that he wanted them to fly Decorations and Awards the Red Baron. leader he decided to paint his by: “Aim for the man and don’t These are just some of Von The RAF credited Brown aircraft red. In his autobiogra- miss him. If you are fighting Richthofen’s awards. with the kill, but it is now gen- phy he stated, “For whatever a two-seater, get the observer • Prussian Order Pour le Mérite. END OF THE ROAD: Australian soldiers and airmen pose with erally agreed that the bullet reasons, one fine day I came first. Until you have silenced • Prussian Order of the Red remains of von Richthofen’s famous tri-plane. It was quickly which hit Von Richthofen was upon the idea of having my the gun, don’t bother with the Eagle, 3rd Class with Crown taken apart by souvenir hunters. fired from the ground. crate painted glaring red. The pilot.” and Swords. Some sources claim that Ser- result was that absolutely ev- • Prussian House Order of bed. Entitled Der rote Kampf- Brown. geant Cedric Popkin was the eryone could not help but no- Wounded in action Hohenzollern, Knight’s fliegeri or “The Red Battle Fli- Von Richthofen had been hit person most likely to have killed tice my red bird. In fact, my op- On 6 July 1917 during com- Cross with Swords. er” (you can click here to read by a single .303 bullet that had Von Richthofen. Popkin was ponents also seemed to be not bat near Wervicq, Von Rich- • Prussian Iron Cross, 1st the entire book), the book sold damaged his heart and lungs. an anti-aircraft (AA) machine entirely unaware of it.” thofen sustained a serious head Class (1914). well in Germany and was even In the final seconds of his life gunner with the Australian 24th German propaganda made wound. • Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd translated into English (and he managed to make a rough Machine Gun Company, and he much of it by referring to Rich- The wound caused instant Class (1914). heavily censored) the follow- landing in a field in a sector was using a Vickers gun. thofen as Der Rote Kampfflieg- disorientation and temporary • Saxon Military Order of St. ing year. Von Richthofen was controlled by the Australian Other sources suggests that er - ”the Red Fighter Pilot.” partial blindness. He regained Henry, Knight’s Cross. later embarrassed by the boasts Imperial Force. His Fokker Dr.I Gunner W. J. “Snowy” Evans, a Eventually he became known his vision just in time to ease the • Württemberg Military Mer- he’d made and was even hoping 425/17 was not badly damaged Lewis machine gunner with the to friend an foe alike as ‘the aircraft out of a spin and man- it Order (Württemberg), to edit out some of the book’s by the landing, but it was soon 53rd Battery, 14th Field Artil- Red Knight’, ‘the Red Devil’ aged to execute a forced land- Knight’s Cross. more self-serving aspects. He taken apart by souvenir hunters. lery Brigade, Royal Australian and finally ‘the Red Baron’. ing in a field in behind friendly • Bavarian Military Merit Or- never did get the chance. In common with most Al- Artillery is likely to have killed Von Richthofen led by ex- lines. der, 4th Class with Swords. lied air officers, Major Blake, von Richthofen. ample and force of will. He was His injury required sever- • War Merit Cross. Death of the Red Baron who was responsible for Rich- Others claim that Gunner often described as distant, un- al operations to remove bone • Duke Carl Eduard Medal Just after 11h00 on 21 April thofen’s body, regarded the Red Robert Buie (also of the 53rd emotional and humourless, al- splinters from the impact area. with Swords clasp. 1918 Von Richthofen received Baron with great respect, and Battery) may have fired the fa- though many of his colleagues His wound is thought to have • Wound Badge (1918) in a fatal wound while flying over he organised a full military fu- tal shot. would have disagreed. caused lasting damage; he later Black. Morlancourt Ridge near the neral, to be conducted by the These sources have been re- During April 1917, also know often suffered from post-flight • Saxe-Ernestine House Or- Somme River. personnel of No. 3 Squadron jected because of the angle of as ‘Bloody April’, Von Rich- nausea and headaches, as well der, Knight 1st Class with He had been pursuing a Sop- AFC. the bullet that killed Von Rich- thofen shot down 22 British air- as a change in temperament. Swords. with Camel at very low altitude, The body was buried in the thofen. craft, including four in a single Strictly against doctor’s or- • Hesse General Honour Dec- piloted by novice Canadian pi- cemetery at the village of Ber- day. der, Von Richthofen returned to oration, “for Bravery”. lot Lieutenant Wilfrid “Wop” tangles, near Amiens, on 22 Manfred von Richthofen, the By June he had become com- active duty on 25 July 1917. He • Lippe War Honour Cross May of No. 209 Squadron, April 1918. Six of No. 3 Squad- Red Baron, had 80 confirmed mander of the first of the new was sent on convalescent leave for Heroic Deeds, 2nd class. Royal Air Force. ron’s officers served as -pall kills when he died. This made larger ‘fighter wing’ forma- from 5 September to 23 Octo- • Bremen Hanseatic Cross. Von Richthofen was spotted bearers, and a guard of honour him the leading fighter ace of tions. These were highly mo- ber 1917. • Bulgarian Order of Bravery, and briefly attacked by a Camel from the squadron’s other ranks World War I. There were also bile, combined tactical units While in hospital he penned 4th Class (1st Grade). piloted by May’s school friend fired a salute. unconfirmed victories that that could move at short notice a shamelessly self-embellishing and flight commander, Cana- Allied squadrons stationed would put his actual total as to different parts of the front as autobiography from his hospital dian Captain Arthur “Roy” nearby presented memorial high as 100 or more. 34 35 Front Sight Actuator Rear Sight Forged in Battle Receiver

Thompson Submachine Gun Compensator From back alley to battlefield Fore Grip Each month “Forged in Battle” looks at weapons, equipment or units that have been Rear Grip tried and tested on the battlefield. This month we look at the Thompson submachine Magazine gun. M1928A1

ith nearly three mil- Ordnance Corps. rine Corps. Several police de- ready dead or behind bars. to shut down the plant and kept top of the receiver. lion weapons pro- Like many, he saw the dead- partments in the United States In 1925, Auto-Ordnance ap- the struggling business going. The M1 and M1A1 had a Wduced, it has become lock of trench warfare on the also purchased a few. proached Britain’s Birmingham They managed to hold on for barrel without cooling fins, a both famous and infamous Western Front. This made him The Thompson was available Small Arms Company to pro- nine years until, in 1938, the US simplified rear sight, provi- around the world. even more determined to pro- to civilians. Some of the first duce Thompson’s under license military adopted the Thompson sions only for box magazines, It has been used by the mili- duce a weapon that could act batches of Thompson’s were for sale in Europe. Despite suc- submachine gun. A year later employed a straight blowback tary and paramilitary forces of as a ‘trench broom’ - one that bought in America by agents of cessful demonstrations in the the world was once again at war action and the charging handle 38 countries and was popular would enable an infantryman the Irish Republic. A total of 653 U.K., France and Belgium, no and the orders began to pour in. was on the side of the receiver. with non-state groups ranging to sweep a whole dugout of en- were purchased, but 495 were orders were forthcoming for the There were two military types Military users of the from American organized crime emy troops within seconds. seized by US customs authori- British Thompson. Production of Thompson SMG and over M1928A1 were not that enthu- syndicates to the Provisional After the war Thompson re- ties in New York in June 1921. was halted in 1930. 1,5 million were produced dur- siastic about the 50-round drum IRA. The weapon in question tired from military service and The Thompson would be- ing World War II. magazine. In fact the British is the Thompson submachine he continued to work on his come infamous in the hands of Saved from bankruptcy The M1928A1 had provisions Army criticised their excessive gun, a weapon that was forged idea. Prohibition and Depression-era By 1929 Auto-Ordnance was for box and drum magazines. It weight and the rattling sound in battle. In 1920 he patented a .45 cal- gangsters. One of the most no- on the verge of liquidation. They had a Cutts compensator, cool- they made. They shipped thou- It was also known informally ibre machine pistol that he con- tably incidents was the St Val- had only sold 10,300 guns and ing fins on the barrel, employed sands of the magazines back to as the ‘Tommy Gun’, ‘Annihi- sidered naming the ‘Persuader’ entine’s Day Massacre. were more then $2 million in a delayed blowback action and the United States in exchange lator’, ‘Chicago Typewriter’, or the ‘Annihilator’. In the end On February 14, 1929 seven debt. Thompson’s son refused its charging handle was on the for box magazines. ‘Chicago Piano’, ‘Chicago he settled on simply calling it members of the Irish American To attach the drum magazine Style’, ‘Chicago Organ Grind- the Thompson submachine gun. North Side gang were lured into the Thompson had to be cocked er’, ‘Trench Broom’, ‘Trench a garage in Chicago by mem- with the bolt retracted, ready to Sweeper’, ‘The Chopper’, and Early use bers of the Italian South Side fire. simply ‘The Thompson’. Production began with the gang led by Al Capone. It attached and detached by Model 1921. This would be fol- The seven men were gunned sliding sideways, which made Development lowed by more than a dozen down and two of the weapons magazine changes slow and It was 56 year old Kentucky variants of the weapon. used were Thompson subma- also created difficulty in clear- blacksmith John Taliaferro The Thompson was an ex- chine guns. ing a cartridge malfunction. Thompson that came up with pensive weapon, selling for Tommy guns were also used Reloading an empty drum mag- the concept of a portable hand- $200. In today’s terms that by the likes of John Dillinger, azine was also a long and in- held machine gun in 1915. would be equal to $3,500 (near- ‘Baby Face’ Nelson, the Barker volved process. He was a veteran of America’s ly R48,000). gang and ‘Pretty Boy’ Floyd. In contrast, the 20-round box war with Spain. He was also an Among the first customers It was not until 1935 that the magazine was light and com- inventor and founded the Auto- were the United States Postal American Federal Bureau of pact, it tended not to rattle, and Ordnance Corporation in 1916. Service. The Thompson’s were Investigations (FBI) purchased could be inserted with the bolt When America entered World used to protect the mail from a 115 Thompson’s. However the safely closed. It was quick- War I in 1917, Thompson reen- spate of robberies. vast majority of outlaws that ly attached and detached and listed and served as the Director Also among the first custom- the FBI had initially bought the TOMMY’S GUN: John T. Thompson demonstrates his Thomp- was removed downward, mak- of Arsenals for the U.S. Army’s ers was the United States Ma- Thompson to combat were al- son submachine gun. ing clearing jams easier. The 36 37 By the time of the Korean RIGHT: M1928A1 with box magazine. War the Thompson had been re- placed as standard issue by the M3/M3A1. American troops were surprised to encounter Chinese Communist troops heavily armed with Thomp- LEFT: M1928A1 with drum magazine. sons, especially during surprise night assaults. Many Thompsons were dis- box tripped the bolt open lock Soviet Union. After the fa- Specifications tributed to Chinese armed forc- when empty, facilitating maga- mous PPSh-41 and PPs-43, the Thompson M1928A1 es as a military aid before the zine changes. An empty box Thompson was one of Soviet fall of Chiang Kai-shek’s gov- was easily reloaded with loose Russia’s most widely issued Weight: 4.9 kg (empty) ernment to Mao Zedong’s Com- rounds. submachine guns, but due to munist forces in 1949. Captured However, users complained it a shortage of appropriate am- Length: 850mm Thompsons were placed into was limited in capacity. In the munition, its use was not wide- service with American soldiers field, some soldiers taped two spread. Barrel length: 270 mm and Marines for the balance of 20-round magazines together in The Lend-Lease program also the war. what would be known as “jun- played a role in the Pacific The- Cartridge: .45 ACP During the Cuban Revolu- gle style” to speed magazine atre as well as in the Malayan tion, the Thompson submachine changes. and Burma Campaigns. Action: Blish lock or Blow- TOMMY GOES TO WAR: A soldier from the Canadian Hastings gun was used by some of Fidel Thompsons were issued by back and Prince Edward Regiment moves through a village in Italy. Castro’s guerrillas. World War II the British Army, Indian Army, He carries a Thompson M1928A1. On his back is a PIAT Mk 1 During the Vietnam War, John Thompson died on 21 Australian Army infantry and Rate of fire: 1,500 rpm (Projector, Infantry, Anti Tank). some South Vietnamese army June, 1940, just weeks before other Commonwealth forces. guns in 1943 with plans to pro- the Thompson, while gradually units and defense militia were the US Government placed athe One criticism that the Thomp- Muzzle velocity: 285 m/s duce the latter in numbers suffi- withdrawing it from the first- armed with Thompson subma- largest order of the Thompson son received was for its heavy cient to cancel future orders for line service. However, due to chine guns, and a few of these SMG on record. weight and poor reliability. Effective firing range: 150 m unforeseen production delays weapons were used by recon- The Thompson became a In 1943 difficulty in supply and requests for modifications, naissance units, advisors, and popular weapon with Allied led to the Australian Army re- Feed system: 20 or 30-round the M3/M3A1 never replaced other American troops. It was troops. It was used as a weapon placing the Thompson with oth- box magazine, 50 or the Thompson, and purchases later replaced by the M16 as- for scouts, non-commissioned er submachine guns such as the 100-round drum magazine. continued until February 1944. sault rifle. officers, and patrol leaders. Owen and the Austen. In the conflict in Northern In the European theater, the The U.S. Marines also used Post World War II Ireland, known as the Troubles gun was widely utilized in Brit- the Thompson as a limited-is- Thompson submachine guns (1969–1998), the Thompson ish and Canadian commando sue weapon, especially during were used by both sides dur- was again used by the Irish units, as well as in the U.S. their later island assaults. The ing the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Republican paramilitaries. Ac- Army paratrooper and Ranger Thompson was soon found to Following the war, Thompsons cording to historian Peter Hart, battalions, where it was issued have limited effect in heavy were issued to members of Is- “The Thompson remained a more frequently than in line in- jungle cover, where the low- rael’s elite Unit 101, upon the key part of both the Official fantry units because of its high velocity .45 bullet would not formation of that unit in 1953. IRA and Provisional IRA arse- rate of fire and its stopping pow- penetrate most small-diameter During the Greek Civil War, nals until well into the 1970s er, which made it very effective trees or protective armor vests. the Thompson submachine gun when it was superseded by the in the kinds of close combat They soon began employing was used by both sides and the Armalite and the AK-47.” these special operations troops the BAR (Browning Automatic Thompson also found service Because of their quality and were expected to undertake. Rifle) in its place as a point de- GANGSTER: American De- NOT A GANGSTER: No, this with the KNIL during their at- craftsmanship, as well as their Under the US Lend-Lease fence weapon. pression-era gangster John is not Al Capone but rather tempt to retake their former col- gangster-era and WWII connec- program almost 140,000 The Army introduced the U.S. Dillinger poses with a Thomp- British Prime Minister Winston ony of Indonesia. tions, Thompsons are sought as Thompsons were sent to the M3 and M3A1 submachine son SMG. Churchill. collector’s items. 38 39 British were showing interest in Battlefield the area. They had also detected increased radio traffic and land- ing craft being concentrated The Dieppe Raid in the southern British coastal The plan was simple - seize a German-held port on the French Channel coast and hold ports. it for the duration of at least two tides, and destroy enemy facilities and defences- be Yellow Beach fore withdrawing. The result, however, was a disaster. The initial landings began at 04h50 on 19 August, with at- There are a number of rea- dian troops saw some action. So parachute units would attack the tacks on the two artillery bat- sons why the Dieppe Raid was it was important that Canadian artillery batteries on either side teries on the flanks of the main planned and executed. troops be involved in the raid. of them. The planned operation landing area. First of all the Royal Air Force There was also intense pres- was cancelled. No. 3 Commando, under (RAF) was pressing for a raid to sure from the Soviet govern- Lieutenant Colonel John Durn- Landing craft burn in the background while temporarily seize a French port. ment to open up a second front Operation Jubilee DISMAL FAILURE: ford-Slater, was to conduct two Churchill tanks are bogged down on the beach. Since the fall of 1940, when the in Western Europe. Joseph Four months later it was decid- landings 13 km east of Dieppe German Luftwaffe switched to Stalin himself repeatedly de- ed that the operation would take to silence the Goebbels coastal of six Hunt-class destroyers with of Canada on Blue . The main night bombing, the day fight- manded that the Allies create a place. Now renamed Operation battery near Berneval. The guns 100 mm guns. The Royal Air landings would take place on ers of the RAF were little to second front in France to force Jubilee it would be launched on had to be out of action by the Force provided 74 squadrons of Red and White beaches by the do. They deployed on a series the Germans to move at least 40 19 August 1942. time the main force approached aircraft, of which 66 were fight- Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, of search-and-destroy missions, divisions away from the East- The plan to land parachute the main beach. er squadrons. the Essex Scottish Regiment, flying over France to engage the ern Front to remove some of the units was cancelled and instead The craft carrying No. 3 Com- The plan called for a frontal Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal, A Luftewaffe in combat. pressure on the Red Army. the British No. 3 Commando mando were surprised by a Ger- assault, without any heavy pre- Commando Royal Marines and A major problem for the RAF The French coastal town of and No. 4 Commando would man coastal convoy. The con- liminary air or naval bombard- the armour. The South Saskatch- was that the Luftwaffe fight- Dieppe was chosen as the tar- land by sea and attack the artil- voy had been detected by British ment. The planners of the raid ewan Regiment and the Queen’s ers declined to engage in com- get for the raid. It is built along lery batteries. radar stations at 21h30, but this feared that unjustifiable civilian Own Cameron Highlanders of bat over the French coast and a long cliff that overlooks the The raid was planned by Vice- was not conveyed to the raiding losses would anger and further Canada would land on Green instead operated inland, forc- English Channel. The River Admiral Lord Mountbatten of party. alienate the Vichy government; beach, and No. 4 Commando on ing the Spitfires to fly deep into Scie is on the western end of the Combined Operations Head- German S-boats escorting a an unattractive option consid- Orange. France to engage in combat and town and the River Arques flows quarters, involving an attacking German tanker torpedoed some ering the intent of Operation Intelligence on the area was thereby using up their fuel, plac- through the town and into a me- force of about 5,000 Canadi- of the LCP (Landing Craft Per- Torch not three months later. sparse. The beach gradient and ing the British aircraft at a dis- dium-sized harbour. ans, 1,000 British troops and 50 sonnel). The Germans were Maj. Gen. Roberts, the military suitability for tanks had been tinct disadvantage when they fi- In 1942, the Germans had de- United States Army Rangers. driven off but the group was dis- force commander, is also said to assessed by scanning holiday nally encountered the Luftwaffe. molished some seafront build- Armoured support was pro- persed, with some loses, and the have argued that a bombardment snapshots. Air reconnaissance The RAF believed that if there ings to aid in coastal defence vided by the 14th Army Tank German coastal defences were would make the town streets im- photographs had failed to detect was a raid on a French port the and had set up two large artillery Regiment (The Calgary Regi- alerted. passable, and thus hinder the as- German gun positions dug into Germans would assume that it batteries at Berneval-le-Grand ment (Tank)) with 58 of the new Commandos from six craft sault after it had broken out of the cliffs. was the beginning of an invasion and Varengeville-sur-Mer. Churchill tanks, to be delivered landed at Yellow I but were the beaches. Not only was Dieppe well de- and that the Luftwaffe would be The original plan was code using the new landing craft tank pinned down. Unable to safely The Dieppe landings were fended, with a garrison of 1,500 committed in force to stop the named Operation Rutter and (LCT). In addition, three of the retreat or join the main force, planned on six beaches: four troops, but the city and port invasion. was conceived in April 1942 and Churchills were equipped with they had to surrender. in front of the town itself, and were protected by a concentra- One important consideration approved by the chiefs of staff in flame-thrower equipment and all Only 18 commandos man- two to the eastern and west- tion of heavy weapons on the for the planners was that the port May 1942. had adaptations enabling them aged to land on Yellow II beach. ern flanks respectively. From main approach (particularly in be within range of the Royal Air The 2nd Canadian Infantry to operate in the shallow water Unable to destroy the guns they east to west, the beaches were the myriad cliff caves), and with Force’s fighter aircraft. Division, commanded by Major near the beach. harassed them with small arms code named Yellow, Blue, Red, a reserve at the rear. A second factor was that the General John Hamilton Roberts, The Royal Navy supplied 237 fire until they had to eventually White, Green and Orange. No. 3 The Germans were also on British government was un- was selected for the main force. ships and landing craft. How- withdraw in the face of superior Commando would land on Yel- high alert, having been warned der pressure from the Canadian They would make a frontal as- ever, pre-landing naval gunfire German forces. government to ensure that Cana- sault from the sea while British support was limited, consisting low beach, the Royal Regiment by French double agents that the

40 41 Orange Beach the battalion found themselves cles and scale the seawall, they withdrawal from the main land- did not suffer very much from • the need for a sustained ele- Under the command of Lieu- west of the River Scie rather suffered heavy losses. ing beaches began and was com- attacks from the air. ment of surprise; tenant Colonel Lord Lovat than east of it. Because they had When the tanks eventually ar- pleted by 14:00. However, in achieving the • the need for proper intelli- No. 4 Commando, which in- been landed in the wrong place, rived only 29 were landed. Two Three Victoria Crosses were goal of the “greatest air battle” gence concerning enemy for- cluded 50 US Army Rangers, the battalion, whose objective of those sank in deep water, and awarded for the operation: to that would cripple the Luftwaffe tifications; carried out two landings 9.7 km was the hills east of the village, 12 more became bogged down Captain Patrick Porteous, No. over France, Operation Jubi- • the avoidance of a direct west of Dieppe to neutralize the had to enter Pourville to cross in the soft shingle beach. Only 4 Commando; the Reverend lee was less successful. During frontal attack on a defended coastal battery Hess at Blanc- the river by the only bridge. 15 of the tanks made it up to and John Weir Foote, padre to Royal the air battles over Dieppe, the port city; and, mesnil-Sainte-Marguerite near By the time they reached the across the seawall. Due to a se- Hamilton Light Infantry; and Royal Air Force lost 91 aircraft • the need for proper re-em- Varengeville. bridge the Germans had posi- ries of tank obstacles they were Lieutenant Colonel Charles shot down and 64 pilots (17 tak- barkation craft. They landed, climbed the steep tioned machine guns and anti- prevented entry into the town Merritt of the South Saskatch- en prisoner, the rest all killed) The British developed a whole slope, and attacked and neutral- tank guns there which stopped and were forced to return to the ewan Regiment. while the Royal Canadian Air range of specialist armoured ve- ised the six 150 mm guns. They their advance. beach. None of the tanks man- Force lost 14 aircraft and nine hicles which allowed their engi- withdrew at 07h30 as planned. The South Saskatchewans aged to return to England. All pilots. Additionally, the British neers to perform many of their This was the only success of and the Queen’s Own Cameron the crews that landed were ei- Battle in the Sky lost six bombers over Dieppe. tasks protected by armour, most Operation Jubilee. Highlanders of Canada, who ther killed or captured. Dieppe failed to register the The Luftwaffe lost 48 aircraft, famously “Hobart’s Funnies”. had landed beside them, were Unaware of the situation on knock-out blow against the Luft- another 24 seriously damaged Because the treads of most of Blue Beach unable to reach their target and the beaches because of a smoke waffe that the RAF was seeking. with 13 pilots killed and seven the Churchill tanks were caught The landing by the Royal were forced to withdraw. screen laid by the supporting de- The Allied air operation saw wounded. up in the shingle beaches of Regiment of Canada plus three Both battalions suffered more stroyers, Major General Roberts 48 fighter squadrons of Spitfires, Dieppe, the Allies started a new platoons from the Black Watch losses as they withdrew; only sent in the two reserve units: the eight squadrons of Hurricane The Conclusion policy of learning what were the of Canada was delayed by 20 341 men were able to reach the Fusiliers Mont-Royal and the fighter-bombers, four squadrons Of the nearly 5,000-strong exact elements of every beach minutes. The smoke screens that landing craft and embark, and Royal Marines. of reconnaissance Mustang Mk Canadian contingent, 3,367 they intended to land upon, and should have hidden their assault the rest were left to surrender. At 07:00 the Fusiliers under Is and seven squadrons of No. were killed, wounded or taken devising appropriate vehicles had already lifted and they had the command of Lieutenant Col- 2 Group light bombers being prisoner, an exceptional ca- for said beaches. lost the elements of surprised Red and White Beaches onel Dollard Ménard in 26 land- committed. sualty rate of 68%. The 1,000 The operation also showed and darkness. The Essex Scottish and the ing craft sailed towards their Opposing these forces were British Commandos lost 247 major deficiencies in RAF The Germans, alerted by the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry beach. The Germans hit them some 120 operational fighters of men. The Royal Navy lost one ground support techniques, and earlier naval engagement, had were to carry out the main fron- with heavy machine gun, mortar Jagdgeschwader 2 and 26 (JG 2 destroyer (HMS Berkeley) and this led to the creation of a ful- manned their defensive posi- tal assault. and grenade fire, and destroyed and JG 26), the Dornier Do 217s 33 landing craft, suffering 550 ly integrated Tactical Air Force tions. As the landing craft ap- them. of Kampfgeschwader 2 and var- dead and wounded. The RAF to support major ground offen- As soon as they reached proached the beaches four de- Roberts then ordered the Royal ious anti-shipping bomber ele- lost 106 aircraft to the 48 lost sives. the shore the Canadians were stroyers were bombarding the Marines to land. They first had to ments of III./KG 53, II./Kamp- by the Luftwaffe. The German It also forced the Allies to re- pinned against the seawall, un- coast. They were joined at 05h15 transfer from their gunboats and fgeschwader 40 (KG40) and I./ Army had 591 casualties. Of the think the idea of seizing a major able to advance or retreat. by five RAF Hurricane squad- motor boat transports onto land- KG 77. 50 US Army Rangers serving port for an invasion. Their re- The Royal Regiment of Can- rons who bombed the coastal ing craft. The Royal Marine land- The raid on Dieppe saw the with different Commando units, vised view was that the amount ada was annihilated. Of the 556 defences and set a smoke screen ing craft were heavily engaged baptism by fire of the new Spit- six were killed, seven wounded, of damage that would be done men in the regiment, 200 were to protect the assault troops. on their way in with many de- fire Mark IX, the only British and four captured. to a port by the necessary bom- killed and 264 captured. The infantry were meant to be stroyed or disabled. Those Royal fighter equal to the FW 190.[37] Although Dieppe was a dis- bardment to take it, would al- supported by Churchill tanks of Marines that did reach the shore Six squadrons (four British, two mal failure, the lessons learnt most certainly render it useless Green Beach the 14th Army Tank Regiment were either killed or captured. Canadian) flew the Mark IX at were invaluable. Dieppe essen- as a port afterwards. As a result, The South Saskatchewan landing at the same time, but the As he became aware of the Dieppe. During the battle, Fight- tially became the textbook of the decision was taken to con- Regiment’s 1st Battalion landed tanks arrived on the beach late. situation the Royal Marine com- er Command flew 2,500 sorties “what not to do” in future am- struct prefabricated harbours, on Green beach without being As a result, the two infantry bat- manding officer Lieutenant over Dieppe, and achieved a nar- phibious operations, and laid the codenamed “Mulberry”, and detected at the same time No. talions had to attack without ar- Colonel Phillipps, stood up on row victory over the Luftwaffe. framework for the Normandy tow them to lightly defended 4 Commando landed at Orange mour support. the stern of his landing craft and The intense air fighting pre- landings two years later. beaches as part of a large-scale beach. There was, however, a They were met with heavy signalled for the rest of his men vented the Luftwaffe from mak- The Dieppe Raid highlighted: invasion. problem. machine gun fire from emplace- to turn back. He was killed a few ing major attacks on either the • the need for preliminary artil- The lessons learnt were ap- Some of the landing craft had ments dug into the overlooking moments later. landing or the evacuation of the lery support, including aerial plied two years later at Norman- drifted off course and most of cliffs. Unable to clear the obsta- At 9:40, under heavy fire, the Allied forces, who consequently bombardment; dy. 42 43 Gaming

Emperor Matt O’ Brien grabs his gladius and prepares his pilum as he sets off to do battle with the Barbarian Horde.

n may computer wargames math of Caesar’s grisly murder. from Bactria (Afghanistan) to you find yourself control- The republic remains whole, Lusitania (Portugal) and from Iling an individual. You are but its soul is divided as three Caledonia (Scotland) to Gara- either a troop in the field, or great men, the members of the mantia (in the Sahara), and is maybe at the controls of an air- Second Triumvirate, hold the divided into 173 regions. The craft. This is not the case in To- future of Rome in the palms of 57 provinces are groupings of tal War - Rome II. their hands. up to four regions, and each Here you will find yourself • Octavian, Caesar’s adop- region can be conquered sepa- controlling thousands of troops tive son and the heir to his rately. opponent. army must find a way to ty good game. Being successful and, more often than not, be up legacy. Each province has a provin- • Siege battles: These occur escape the area, although it does not rely on military might against even more enemy forc- • Marc Antony, Caesar’s cial capital with walls. Siege when an army assaults a pro- can also attempt to defeat alone. es. loyal friend and most trusted battles will only occur when vincial capital or a fortified the ambushing army. An am- For those that enjoy a chal- Total War - Rome II is what lieutenant. fighting in a provincial capital. settlement. In these battles, bush battle is also triggered lenge or those that enjoy this is known as a ‘turn-based strat- • Lepidus, Pontifex Maximus The game features 117 dif- the cities include multiple when an army attacks an en- period in history, try this game. egy, real-time tactics’ game. of Rome and the man who ferent factions, each with its capture points which the de- emy that was sabotaged. You control a faction against secured Caesar’s dictator- own unit roster and agenda, and fender has to defend in order • Port sieges: These are trig- other factions that are either ship. overall bonuses and penalties. to win the fight. gered when a navy sails into controlled by AI (Artificial With the territories of The There are over 500 different • Encampment battles: These an enemy coastal city with a Intelligence) or other human Republic divided between them land units in the game, includ- are triggered when an army port. The navy will attempt players if you are playing on- and the military might of Rome ing mercenaries. In addition attacks another that is in de- to land its army in the city, line multi-player. at their beck-and-call, the mem- to traditional sieges and field fensive stance. The defend- while heavier ships intercept Each faction receives a turn bers of The Second Triumvirate battles, a myriad of battle types ing army has time to build any enemy vessels and pro- to plan and execute their strat- are each in a position to make are available in Rome II. These fortifications around its pe- vide supporting fire using egy. You get to move your units a bid for leadership, and rule include: rimeter, including wooden catapults and other projec- (both on land and at sea), im- Rome as its first – and only – • Combined naval/land bat- palisades or small forts. tiles. prove your cities and fortifi- emperor. tles: These occur when as- • River battles: These are You are also able to recruit cations, recruit and train new However, external forces are saulting a coastal city, or fought when an army tries to three different types of agent - troops, study new technologies, on the move, looking to exploit when two armies are near cross a major, navigable riv- the dignitary, the champion and set up and protect trade routes the instability of Rome and ex- the coastline. er and another tries to stop it. the spy, and each culture has its and handle diplomatic negotia- pand their own territories. Will • Settlement outskirts battles: Navies can aid in this fight, own variants. tions. you fight as a defender of Rome These are fought near re- although armies will be able Generals also play an impor- Once all the factions have and defeat the other members gional capitals that are too to build transport ships of tant role in the game. They can Publisher - Sega ended their turn, battles are of the Triumvirate? Or lead an- small to have walls. The pri- their own to cross rivers. inspire or demotivate an army. fought using real-time tactics. other faction on a campaign of mary objective is to capture Genre - Turn-based strategy, RTS • Ambushes: These have been They can be both military lead- Total War - Rome II includes conquest and expansion, and the city rather than destroy revamped in Rome II. The ers and skilled politicians, de- Platform - PC the Imperator Augustus Cam- take advantage of the chaos as or rout the enemy army, al- ambushing army can place pending on their traits and skill paign Pack. This is set in 42 the Roman civil war rages? though victory can still be Score - 8/10 traps, such as flaming boul- trees. BC during the chaotic after- The campaign map extends achieved by routing your ders, spikes. The defending Total War - Rome II is a pret- Price - R589 44 45 Movie Review All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) Based on Erich Maria Remarque book, the film follows a group of German schoolboys who are talked into enlisting by their teacher. Eight great World War I movies The story is told through their eyes and is not about heroism but about drudgery and futility and the gulf between the concept of his month, to coincide ern wars. Yet there are not that Emmy Awards. war and the actuality. with Remembrance Day, many movies about The Great You can still purchase many The the first film to win the Academy Awards for both Out- Twe decided to do some- War. of these movies on DVD or find standing Production and Best Director. thing a little different. The movies here were made them on media such as Netflix. Instead of doing a movie re- between 1930 and 2011. They To watch the trailer of each view, we’ve decide to take a feature directors such as Stan- of the movies below, use your look at what we consider to be ley Kubrick, David Lean and mouse to left click on the movie The Blue Max (1966) Lt. Bruno Stachel (George Peppard) is a commoner that has left eight of the best movies about Steven Spielberg. poster. the trenches in World War I to become a fighter pilot. World War I. Between them these films If you think there are any He wants nothing more than to achieve 20 kills and win the con- There have been many good won nine Academy Awards, World War I movies that we’ve verted Pour le Mérite medal (The Blue Max). He will do whatever movies about World War II, six Golden Globe Awards, left out, drop us an e-mail and it takes to win the medal, much to the disgust of his commanding Vietnam, and some of the mod- four BAFTA Awards, and three tell us about them. officer and fellow pilots.

Paths of Glory (1957) Flyboys (2006) One of director Stanley Kubrick’s early films, Paths of Glory is an Before the United States enters World War I a number of Ameri- American anti-war film. It is based on the novel of the same name cans volunteered for the French military as pilots. The formed the by Humphrey Cobb. Lafayette Escadrille, whose exploits and heroism become the stuff Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) is the commanding officer of of legend. French troops who refuse to continue a suicidal attack on Ger- While a fictional version the characters in the film are based man positions. Dax attempts to defend them against a charge of upon real people. Jean Reno is brilliant as Captain Georges The- cowardice in a court martial. nault, the commander of the squadron.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) War Horse (2011) Directed by David Lean, it went on to win seven Academy Awards. Directed by Steven Spielberg the film is set before and during The film is based on the life of T.E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole) and World War I. it depicts his experiences in the Arabian Peninsula during World It tells of the journey of Joey, a bay Thoroughbred horse raised War I. by British teenager Albert (Jeremy Irvine), as he is bought by the He is torn between his allegiance between his native Britain and British Army, leading him to encounter numerous individuals and his new-found comrades within the Arabian desert tribes. It also owners throughout Europe, all the while experiencing the trag- stars Alex Guinness, Anthony Quinn and Omar Sharif. edies of the war happening around him.

Gallipoli (1981) The Lost Battalion (2001) Starring Mel Gibson and Mark Lee the film centres on several A made-for-television movie, the roughly 550 men, of the United young rural Australian men who enlist in the army during World States Army 77th Infantry Division have been completely cut off War I. and surrounded by German forces a short distance away in the Ar- They take part in the Gallipoli Campaign and slowly lose their gonne Forest. innocence about the purpose of war. The climax of the movie oc- The Germans give them two options: “Surrender or die.” They curs on the Anzac battlefield at Gallipoli and depicts the futile choose a third option - fight. attack at the Battle of the Nek on 7 August 1915.

46 47 corporal said. “You and I are On the lighter side going to have a good chat at the obstacle course.” Now I knew why no-one else The fine art of gypoing had tried the Dri-Brite gypo. The SADF liked to make sure The South African Defence Force had their own language - a mixture of English, Af- CARRYING HANDLE GYPO: When marching with the rifle in that troops weren’t left sitting rikaans, slang and techno-speak. One of the first worlds new conscripts learnt was the shoulder-arms position, the carrying handle of an R1 rifle around with nothing to do. If “gypo” - the way to get out of work or make life easier. could be tucked into your web belt, taking the strain of the 4,3 kg there was nothing to do, they weapon off your forearm. would find something for you ational Servicemen in home. Whether it was a letter a stamp. square. So it took valuable time Mark was 18 when he did his to do. And normally it would the South African De- from your parents, one of your Then they used to deliver the and effort just to make your basic training at 5 SAI in Lady- be something mundane and un- fence Force (SADF) relatives, or even from a friend, letters to my parents. My par- bed. smith. pleasant. N Of course there were always used a strange mixture of Afri- those letters let you know that ents would take all the letters Our idea was to make the bed, kaans, English, slang and tech- people were thinking about you. for me and place them in a large get it perfect, and then make One night we were busy people that found a way around no-speak that few outside of the Of course the best was to envelope and this was posted to sure that it stayed that way. In cleaning the floors for inspec- this. military could hope to under- receive a letter from you girl- me. order to this some of us decid- tion the next morning. I was Brian did his national service stand. Some of the terms were friend. So I would only receive ‘one’ ed to sleep on the floor next to polishing the tile floor with at One Parachute Battalion. He humorous, some were clever, During basic training the ar- letter and only have to do 20 the bed. Of course according to some stuff that was called Dri- remembers someone that per- while others were downright rival of post for a national ser- push-ups. In reality I used to standing orders this was illegal. Brite. fected the art of gypoing. crude. vicemen was too good an op- get ten to twelve letters in that Some of the guys even man- It was a thick, creamy liquid One of the expressions that portunity to let slip by. envelope. aged to organise a spare mat- and I spilled some of it on my I was a signaller and was in would often be heard was After supper our corporal tress. During the day these were boot. I wiped it off with a cloth O-Company (Support Compa- “gypo”. Basically the word used to come to our bungalow As we saw in last month’s stored up in the ceiling. and then noticed that it left my ny). There was another national meant to avoid duties or work, with the post. “On the lighter side”, in the For two weeks our gypo boot shinning. serviceman in my company, a or to find a way to make the He would put the letters on a article “Ready for inspection”, seemed to be working. Then, I though I had discovered a lance corporal by the name of work easier. A gypo gat (gypo table and then pick up an enve- troops were not very fond of one morning at about 2.00 am, new gypo. Instead of going to Kim. arse) was someone that was lope and read out the name. If morning inspections. the lights were switched on in all the trouble of shinning my Whenever I would see him he lazy. You could even have gypo your name was called you had They would constantly be the bungalow and our corporal, boots until they gleamed for in- would be walking around the guts (diarrhoea). to go forward and stand at at- looking at ways to gypo inspec- along with five or six other cor- spection, I would use some of unit with a clipboard. Some- For as long as there have tention in front of the corporal. tions. Kobus (18) did his basic porals, stormed in. this Dri-Brite on them. times he would stop and count been soldiers, there have been Before we were given our let- training at the Army Gymnasi- We were kicked awake and About half an hour before in- things and then write something soldiers that are experts at find- ters we had to go through the um in Heidelberg. Some of the the offenders had to get dressed spection I smeared this stuff on down on his clipboard. ing an easier way to do things. same process. members of his squad came up in our browns (nutria uniform) the toes of my boots and rubbed About two years after I fin- More often than not these meth- “Drop and give me twenty,” with what they thought was a with our webbing, staaldak it over with a cloth. My boots ished national service I bumped ods would be frowned upon by the corporal would tell us. perfect gypo. (steel helmet) and rifles and fall were gleaming. into Kim when I was on holiday the military. We were expected to do twen- in outside. I was standing next to my bed in Cape Town. We had a beer Here are a few examples of ty push-ups for each letter we One of the things that was From 2.30 to 6.00 am we for inspection. The corporal together and chatted about old how troops would find a way to received. Imagine if your girl- always a pain in the butt was were chased around the obsta- took one look at my boots and times. gypo. friend, mother and grandmoth- making your bed for inspection. cle course. I thought I was go- went ballistic. I asked him what his actual er had all written you a letter. It sounds easy. After all, you ing to die. “And that,” he shouted, point- function was when he was at Gary was 17 when he did his It would cost you 60 push-ups just pull your blanket and sheets We were really stupid. Did we ing down at my boots. the unit. I remembered him and national service at 3 South Af- before you received them. straight and there you go. Not think that our corporals didn’t I looked down and nearly had his clipboard. rican Infantry Battalion (3 SAI) I came up with the perfect in the army. know about the gypo of sleep- a heart attack. Once the Dri- “My actual function was to in 1975. He tells the following gypo. I contacted my girlfriend Your bed had to be made in ing on the floor? Brite had soaked into my boots do as little as possible,” Kim story. and all of the friends and rela- a precise way. And the blanket and then become dry it left a laughed. “I would wander Besides weekend pass, one of tives that used to write to me. I had to have what was known Of course there were occa- milky white residue across the around with my clipboard and, the most important things for a told them to seal their letter in as ‘hospital corners’ and it had sions when a gypo would not toes of my boots. because it looked as if I had ob- troop was to receive mail from an envelope but not to include to be pulled so tight that it was go according to plan. “Ja Mister Dri-Brite,” the viously been given a job to do, 48 49 no-one bothered to stop me and Marching any phones were known as ‘tickey ask what I was actually doing. I amount of time boxes’. looked busy, so everyone natu- while carrying a If you were calling long dis- rally assumed that I was busy.” rifle in the shoul- tance it could cost a fair amount der arms position of money. Especially if you Brian also remembers an in- could be a strain on were living off a national ser- cident when he was doing his the arm. Of course viceman’s salary. PT course when he was caught some troops found So naturally a method was gypoing. a way around this. found to gypo the phone. Kevin was one of While on PT course a mate them. One of the things that just and myself got bust for gypo- about any national serviceman ing. One of the favourite things During basics could tell you about was the for the instructors to do was KEEP IT CLEAN: Lining the inside of your most morning ‘long tickey’. dixies with a plastic Jiffy Bag would ensure chase us around the parachute would be spent on This was an ingenious meth- that you didn’t need to wash them. packing building. the parade ground od that was used to save mon- This was just above the para- LEOPARD CRAWL: A pair of extra socks could be used to pro- doing drill. ey when using the public tele- chute training hangar and it was tect the elbows when doing leopard crawl. ing then our instructors would Once we were issued with our phones. quite a big building. We would keep us occupied with stuff like rifles, they were R1s back then, A piece of cotton thread was be standing in front of the han- I decided to be clever. On the the group. Of course we were leopard crawling all over the we would have to drill with our attached to a coin, usually a gar and one of the instructors first run around the building we dressed in PT smocks, so any- place. rifles. Often you would spend one rand coin, with the aid of a would tell us to run around the dropped out and sat down be- one could see that we were The ground was always full 30 to 40 minutes marching up piece of tape. parachute store. hind the stores. from the PT course. of small stones and they used to and down doing left turns, right The coin was then inserted “Een minuut om die pakhuis. We reasoned that we always We finally saw them on kill my elbows. A mate of mine turns, about turns, mark time into the coin slot on the tele- Cheers!” (One minute around had to run at least four times the parade ground but had no showed me a good gypo for it. and slow march. phone and the loose end of the the stores. Cheers!) before the instructor tired of chance of joining them without When we went to the shoot- The R1 weighed 4,3 kg and thread was wrapped around the Now the only way you could the game. So what we would being seen. ing range I would take two sets after a while it would feel as button that had to be pushed to make it around the parachute do was sit and wait until every- “Oh yes,” said one of the in- of old army socks with me. if it weighted 40 kg. Your left deposit the coin. stores was to sprint as fast as one came around for the fourth structors as we approached the The toes had been cut off and forearm would take strain. The button was then pressed, possible. It was almost impos- time and then we would join the group, “and just where have we I would pull these over my el- We had a perfect gypo for it. allowing the coin to drop into sible for everyone to finish in group again. been? Took a quick holiday in bows. It helped a hell of a lot. The R1 had a carrying handle the telephone. As it dropped into under a minute. So you would True to my luck, the RSM of the Bahamas maybe?” Another gypo that my mate and we would tuck the handle the phone, the coin depressed a get sent again. the unit came to give everyone That evening when everyone showed me was when we were into our web belt. That way all lever that would register the fact “Oh,” the instructor would a pep talk just as they got back else was dismissed my mate out doing field training. We you needed to do was use your that a coin had been deposited, say, “Your mates don’t want from the first trip around the and I had to report for an ex- would have to eat out of our hand to make sure it stayed up- as well as the denomination of to work together. You are say- building. He spoke to them for tra hour of PT training. I can’t dixies. The biggest problem right. the coin. The coin would then ing screw the corporal. Well a few minutes and the instruc- remember how many times we was cleaning them after each Of course it was too good to drop into a deposit box inside the corporal says screw you. tors then ran everyone down to were chased around the obsta- meal. last. We all had to hand our ri- the phone. Around the stores, one minute. the parade ground for another cle course. The food was often greasy and fles into the weapons tiffie (ar- What would happen with a There you go.” PT exercise. thought the cooks would put out mourer) and when we got them ‘long tickey’ was that the coin This little game could go on After about ten minutes my Tim was 17 when he did his a drum of hot water to wash our back the next morning all of the would depress the lever but for some time and it was not mate and I realised that some- basic training at 5 SAI in Lady- dixies, the water wouldn’t stay carrying handles had been cut would not drop into the coin re- uncommon to make six or sev- thing was amiss. We sneaked smith. hot for very long. And it would off. ceptacle. en trips around the parachute around the side of the parachute soon become greasy. When the telephone required packing stores. The more trips stores and, to our dismay, saw I hated it when we had to go We would take a plastic Jiffy Back in the days before mo- more money to continue a call you made, the more tired you that there was nobody outside to the shooting range. I enjoyed Bag and use it to line the inside bile phones, troops would have you just pressed the button became. the hangar. the shooting part of it, it’s all of the dixie. After you had eat- to make use of a coin-operated again and the same coin would Anyway, on this one occasion We looked like two total idi- the other crap that went with it en you just threw the Jiffy bag public telephone if they wanted depress the lever once again. we got chased around the para- ots as we tried to sneak down that I was not fond of. away and your dixie was left to call home or speak to their In this manner a single coin chute stores and my mate and the road and find the rest of If we weren’t actually shoot- spotless. girlfriend. These public tele- could be used to register hun- 50 51 dreds of rands worth of calls. Obviously there was no ice Naturally this was highly il- rink at the Army Gymnasium. legal and the telephone service There wasn’t even an ice rink company, which was the Post in Heidelberg. In fact the near- Office at that time, instructed est ice rink was the Carlton Sky the SADF to keep a wary eye Rink in Johannesburg, 45 km out for this type of activity. If away. you were caught using a ‘long I had a letter from my club to https://www.patreon.com/militarydespatches tickey’ you would find yourself say that not only did I play for in serious trouble. them, but I was a valuable and essential member of the team. Are you a patron of Military Despatches? Wednesday afternoons in the The letter also stated that SADF were dedicated to sports we had hockey practice on a If not, please consider becoming one. parade. Wednesday afternoon from There was a long list of sports 3.00 to 6.00 and on Saturday You can find more information by clicking on the link above. that you could participate in and mornings from 9.00 to 11.00 they would also try and accom- and that we played our match- modate sports that were not on es on Saturday afternoon from the list. 3.00 to 4.00. Naturally sports parade was During basic training we were Coming up in next month’s issue the perfect opportunity to gypo. not allowed to keep our own TICKEY BOX: A ‘long tickey’ A fair number of permanent cars on base. So they arranged could be used to gypo a public Next month, as you have be about The Christmas Truce force members would claim that the duty driver would take telephone. probably realised, is December of 1914. We trust that you will that they took part in sports me through to Johannesburg, and that means it’s Christmas. enjoy the November issue of that were off the base. Instead drop me off at the ice rink, and was all a gypo. In lieu of a Christmas gift, the magazine and that you look of actually taking part in these then fetch me again just after My girlfriend’s brother did Military Despatches will be forward to the December issue. sports, they would use the time 6.00. play ice hockey. In fact he went bringing you a bumper edition. as an afternoon off. On Saturday morning my on to play for South Africa. He All our regular features will For national servicemen this girlfriend would drive through arranged the letter for me from be there, plus a few other ar- was not so easy. But there were from Johannesburg to fetch me his coach who thought it was a ticles which we hope that you those that made a plan. and then drop me off again on good laugh. will find interesting or amusing. Todd did his national service Saturday evening. On Wednesday afternoon my Our lead feature article will at the Army Gymnasium in After basics I was allowed to girlfriend would skip class at Heidelberg. He remained at the keep my own car on the base university, meet me in Johan- unit for his entire two years. His and would drive through to Jo- nesburg, and we would either gypo worked for the entire time hannesburg on Wednesday af- go to a movie or she would take Parachute Wings - Quiz Answers he was there. ternoons. me through to her house where 1. Israel 9. French Foreign Legion We would also have a week- we had our own sports parade. During our first sports pa- end pass every second week, 2. Austria 10. Russian Federation rade we were told what sports so that was no problem. On the No matter where soldiers are, were available. I told them that weekends when I didn’t have a not what army they are in, they 3. Serbia 11. Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger WWII I played ice hockey. Not only pass I could still go through on will always find ways to make that, but I was about to be se- a Saturday morning and had to life easier. 4. US Army 12. Rhodesian Selous Scouts lected to play at provincial level report back by 8.00 on the Sat- If any of our readers know of 5. Chile 13. Uganda and was almost certain to be se- urday evening. I had a special any good gypo’s that they can lected to play at national level. sports pass. It was a great ar- remember, drop me an e-mail 6. British army 14. French If you played any sport at that rangement. and we can do a follow-up story level they would go to great The thing is that I never at some stage. 7. Italy 15. US Navy lengths to try and accommodate played ice hockey. The fact is you. that I couldn’t even skate. It 8. South Africa 52 53 E-mail [email protected]

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