Military Despatches Vol 24 June 2019 Operation Deadstick A mission vital to D-Day Remembering D-Day Marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day Forged in Battle The Katyusha MRLS, Stalin’s Organ Isoroku Yamamoto The architect of Pearl Harbour Thank your lucky stars Life in the North Korean military

For the military enthusiast CONTENTS June 2019 Page 62 Click on any video below to view Page 14 How much do you know about movie theme songs? Take our quiz and find out.

Hipe’s Wouter de The old South African Goede interviews former Defence Force used 28’s gang boss David a mixture of English, Williams. , slang and Thank your lucky stars techno-speak that few Serving in the North Korean Military outside the military could hope to under- 32 stand. Some of the terms Features were humorous, some Rank Structure 6 This month we look at the Ca- were clever, while others nadian Armed Forces. were downright crude. Top Ten Wartime Urban Legends Ten disturbing wartime urban 36 legends that turned out to be A matter of survival Part of Hipe’s “On the fiction. This month we’re looking at couch” series, this is an 10 constructing bird traps. interview with one of - 29 author Herman Charles Part Four of a series that takes Jimmy’s get together Quiz Bosman’s most famous a look at Special Forces units We attend the Signal’s Associ- characters, Oom Schalk around the world. ation luncheon and meet a 98 47 year old World War II veteran. A taxi driver was shot Lourens. Hipe spent time in 20 SADF Stuff Hanover Park, an area This month our quiz is all about dead in an ongoing Air Force One war between rival taxi plagued with gang 30 the old South African Defence violence, to view first- As Commander-in-Chief of the Force. How much do you re- organisations. US Military, the US President Our own Lord Haw-Haw(s) member? hand how Project has his own aircraft. German propaganda broadcast- Ceasefire is dealing with er William Joyce, better known the situation. 22 as Lord Haw-Haw, was hanged after World War II for treason. Hipe TV brings you videos ranging from actuality to humour and every- Remembering D-Day But did you know that South thing in between. Interviews, mini-documentaries and much more. We mark the 75th anniversary Africa had their own versions of D-Day with some facts and of Lord Haw-Haw? Check out Hipe TV and remember to like, comment, share and subscribe. figures. 00 3 CONTENTS Page 68

Editor’s PUBLISHER Sitrep Hipe Media EDITOR Matt Tennyson

DEPUTY EDITOR an you believe that this different war to ours. John Verster month Military Des- I was fascinated to find out PHOTO EDITOR patches is two years old. more about the North Korean June in military history C Regine Lord No wonder I look so old and military. The guys have to do buggered. 10 years compulsory national CONTRIBUTORS Head-to-Head Forged in Battle Book Review When I started this online service. And our lot complained Dr Brian Austin, Raymond magazine I hoped that a few about doing two years. And to Fletcher, Ryan Murphy, Matt 38 54 65 people would actually read it. discover that most of them are O’Brien, Paul Rosslee, Matt Point of the Dagger I had no idea that within two starving. At least we got fed. If Weapons & Equipment of D-Day Stalin’s Organ Tennyson, Rev Ralph Thornley. Peet Coetzee’s excellent book years we would have more than you find yourself at war with This month we take a look at The Soviet Katyusha MRLS, on Recce Small Team opera- 100,000 readers in 32 countries. North Korea, all you’d have to some of the weapons and equip- Stalin’s Organ. Military Despatches is pub- tions. Now imagine if every reader do is wave a tin of bully beef at lished on-line every month. ment of D-Day. paid just one Rand to read it. them and they’ll probably sur- Battlefield The articles used in Military Front Cover But, as I said when we start- render on the spot. Despatches are copyrighted Famous Figures 58 ed, the magazine will always Reverend Ralph Thornley and may not be used without Operation Deadstick A BM-21 Grad MRLS in ac- be free for anyone that wants to sent me two photographs (they prior permission from the edi- 48 tion. An earlier model, the BM- Vital to the success of D-Day, read it. appear on page 28). The first tor. Isoroku Yamamoto 13, was nicknamed ‘Katyusha’ So, this month marks the photograph is of an entire bat- British airborne forces launch The views stated in this mag- Japanese Fleet Admiral of the by the , and ‘Stalin’s 75th anniversary of the D-Day talion of the Cameron High- a raid to capture and hold two azine do not necessary reflect Imperial Japanese Navy, Com- Organ’ by the Germans during landings in Normandy. I can re- landers. It was taken in 1914, important bridges. the views of Hipe!, the editor, mander-in-chief of the Com- World War II. member as a young boy speak- just before they left for the the staff, or Hipe Media. bined Fleet during WW II, and ing to a number of men that ac- front. the architect of Pearl Harbour. tually took part in the landings. The second photo shows Hipe! Gaming It makes me feel kind of old. the same battalion in 1918 af- P.O. Box 31216, Tokai, 7966 62 Imagine what it must have ter they returned from the war. . felt like, sitting in a landing There are only 27 of them left. ARMA 3 DLC craft, heading for the beach- It makes you want to cry. email Add-ons to the popular military es. That fear of the unknown, [email protected] simulator. not knowing what will happen Until next month. when you hit the beaches. Have Back Issues Movie Review the Germans discovered the To view any back issues of 64 time and place of the landing, Military Despatches, go to and will they be waiting? Will www.militarydespatches.co.za Tora, tora, tora! you be greeted by witheringly or click here. Epic movie about the attack on machine gun fire? It was a very Matt Pearl Harbour. 4 5 Top Ten Top Ten Top Ten Wartime Urban Legends

War is often filled with confusion, propaganda, and disturbing rumours. It’s often difficult to tell fact from fiction. Here are ten disturbing wartime urban legends.

his month we’re taking a special installation suppos- guess. It seems an odd kind a look at ten disturbing edly operated by the Germans of thing to do. But conspiracy legends that orig- in which, because fats were so theorists argued that the whole inated in wartime. scarce in due to the thing was a cover-up for a more Some of them were no more British naval blockade, German cunning purpose. Especially af- than propaganda to show the battlefield corpses were ren- ter the whale arrived in Hunga- enemy in a bad light. Others dered down for fat, which was ry. were as a result of rumours and then used to manufacture nitro- Allegedly, the CIA wanted hearsay. And others were as a glycerine, candles, lubricants, to test if the roads of Hungary result of the “fog of war”. and even boot dubbin. could handle the weight of nu- The fog of war is the uncer- It was supposedly operated clear missiles loaded on trucks. tainty in situational awareness behind the front lines by the According to conspiracy the- experienced by participants in DAVG — Deutsche Abfall-Ver- orists, the truck carrying the military operations. wertungs Gesellschaft. whale eerily resembled ones The term seeks to capture After the war, in 1925, John used to carry nuclear missiles. TERROR OF THE NIGHT: During World War II, Italian household believed that Pippo was a ghostly plane that would appear at night to bomb your house. the uncertainty regarding one’s Charteris, the British former However, no concrete proof own capability, adversary capa- Chief of Army Intelligence, al- was ever presented. And the Though the stories of the zealots became so frequent story is true. Reports from 1911 bility, and adversary intent dur- legedly stated in a speech that strangest thing of all is that the White Tights seem a little far- that military commander John suggest the Pershing actively ing an engagement, operation, he had invented the story for Hungarian peopled loved Jonah fetched, they do have a ring of Pershing came up with an unu- attempted to negotiate peace- or campaign. propaganda purposes, with the and tickets were sold out every- truth about them. It’s a well- sual and sneak solution. fully with the Moros people. The word “fog” in reference principal aim of getting the where he went. known fact that even during the The story goes that Pershing to uncertainty in war was intro- Chinese to join the war against Russian Civil War in 1918, the played up on the belief that 6. Pippo the Ghost Plane duced by the Prussian military Germany. 8. Beliye Kolgotky Russians trained and employed any Muslim who touched a Nearly every culture has tales analyst Carl von Clausewitz It was later used by the Nazis Stories about the Beliye Kol- woman as . pig would not be able to enter about scary things that frequent in his posthumously published as part of their own anti-British gotky, or White Tights, started Not only were they patient and heaven. Prior to a scheduled ex- the night. They all have their book, Vom Kriege (1832), which propaganda. circulating during the Chechen calculating, they could also eas- ecution of 50 Moro insurgents, own Boogie Man. Yet during appeared in English translation Wars in Russia. ily infiltrate certain areas, - par he ordered his men to dip their World War II Italian house- in 1873 under the title On War. 9. Whale Parade The White Tights were alleg- ticularly when they were carry- bullets in pig’s blood before holds had Pippo, the night ter- Here are our Top Ten Disturb- During the Cold War, a ru- edly a group of women who ing a child with them. During shooting the insurgents. ror plane. ing Wartime Urban Legends. mour circulated that the Amer- were paid to assassinate of- World War II, many of the top After the executions had been No one knew where Pippo ican CIA had a bizarre secret ficers. Their method of killing Russian snipers were female. carried out he buried the men came from, what type of plane 10. German corpse factory weapon – a dead fin whale was, how should we put it, rath- along with dead pigs and spared it was, or who piloted it. But it The legend of the German named Jonah. er unique. 7. Pig Blood Bullets the life of one man, in the hope was alleged he dropped explo- corpse factories war arguably Caught by Norwegian whal- During the First Chechen War During the 1900s when the he’d pass on the story to his sive device and bombed homes one of the most infamous an- ers in the 1950s, Jonah was it was reported that the rebels Americans fought and subse- comrades. Pershing’s actions as he flew over villages, towns ti-German propaganda stories mounted on a truck and toured were paying the White Tights quently occupied the Philip- single-handedly stopped further and cities. circulated in by the all over Europe in the 1960s. $2,000 per officer killed, with a pines, they had stiff opposition attacks for the rest of the Amer- People also claimed that the British. Exactly why anyone would very specific request – to elim- from the ethnic Muslims, called ican occupation. sound coming from his engines According to the story, the Ka- want to parade a dead whale inate the Russians by blowing Moros. However, to this day, histo- was unmistakably his own, daververwertungsanstalt was around the place is anyone’s their genitals off. Attacks by Moro religious rians debate how much of this and once you heard them, you 6 7 Top Ten Top Ten would know it was Pippo. 3. Wild deserters someone had re- Italian mothers would fright- One of the most imaginative cently been kid- en their children by telling them myths from the Great War was napped. that if they did not behave, Pip- that of a band of soldiers, de- A note was po would come and get them at serters from both sides, who placed on the night. were living in No Man’s Land. cage with in- Historians actually believe According to the accounts, structions for that the legends about the night these men were ghoulish in the families to terror plane came from the real appearance and behaved in a attach cash to night fighters which operated most diabolical manner. They the bird’s legs over Italy at the time, such as only came out at night, raiding and release it at the Bristol Beaufighter or the de corpses for clothing, rations a specific time. Havilland Mosquito. See advertisement page 86 and weapons. There was even The pigeons would then de- 5. Angels of Mons talk of cannibalism. Legends about these World liver the ransom 0

One of the most popular, but 7 xx War I wild deserters were first to the gang’s far-fetched legends is about a hideouts. 24 recounted in the memoirs of group of angels who suppos- 12 5 British lieutenant Ard- Kidnappers edly protected members of the ern Arthur Hulme Beaman in had supposedly British Army during the Battle 1920, and later in an autobiog- begun to use this of Mons at the outset of World MONARCH PUBLISHING CO. raphy written by Army Captain new tactic as a War I. NEW YORK Sir Osbert Sitwell. way of avoiding According to an article in the Sitwell stated that after World being caught by London Evening News by Brit- COINCIDENCE OR NOT: Just a board game, or a coded mes- War I ended and the troops police, since it would be diffi- Allegedly, the Germans start- ish author Arthur Machen pub- sage by the Japanese? withdrew, these wild desert- cult for the police to follow the ed this practice when they cru- lished in 1914, just as German ers were gassed because they pigeons back to their location. cified a Canadian soldier with soldiers were about to step in bayonets to a barn door. When Later during the war, navy would never have been able to While the story may seem far- for the kill they were sudden- 4. Deadly dice world spread about this atroc- transport pilot Joseph Bell was be rehabilitated back into nor- fetched, an article in the Tele- ly confronted by angels in the Two weeks before the Japa- ity, the Canadians crucified a flying with an intelligence of- mal society. graph recounted stories of fami- form of English archers who nese attack on Pearl Harbour in German soldier in retaliation. ficer who told him that many In hindsight, such stories may lies who had to pay off ransoms blocked their path. The angels 1941, an advert was published Soon after, the Germans also in the intelligence communi- have originated from the oc- via pigeons for the release of pointed their bows at the Ger- in an issue of New Yorker mag- accused Belgian soldiers of cru- ty considered this ad a secret casional cry of wounded men kidnapped children. mans and released their arrows. azine. This ad was said to have cifying their captured prisoners. warning. which could be heard from No One such family attached This apparition caused the predicted the entire event. Evidence to suggest that any The officer had been assigned Man’s Land, while looting of $10,000 in $100 notes to the Germans to retreat in terror and The story goes that the ads of the crucifixions were any- to investigate the matter, but bodies was commonplace on legs of five homing pigeons, allowed the English enough for a dice game called ‘Deadly thing other than hearsay was every lead had led to a dead end. both sides. which they found in a cage left time to regroup. Double’ contained a coded mes- never found, but the grisly tale Was it simply a coincidence, or on their doorstep. Soon after Machen himself later declared sage warning about the attack. still became embedded in the was there something more sin- 2. Ransom collecting pigeons they released the birds their 12 the story as a fabrication, but It featured two dice display- Canadian national conscious- ister behind it? During the 2003 invasion of year old son returned home. it gradually became accepted ing a selection of numbers. Two ness. Was it perhaps a sophisticat- a rather strange story be- as fact among British soldiers of the most prominently visible 1. The Crucified Soldier Following the war, artist were 12 and 7. And of course ed coded message from Japan gan doing the rounds about kid- and the British public because According to this bizarre leg- Francis Derwent Wood made a the date of the attack on Pearl to warn co-conspirators of the nappings and homing pigeons. for them it was clear proof that end, soldiers from both sides bronze statue called Canada’s Harbour was 7 December. The Pearl Harbour attack? Iraqi police reported cases God was on the British side. of the First World War cruci- Golgotha, which showed a Ca- remaining numbers were alleg- To this day it still remains a in which kidnappers had left Sceptics were quick to dismiss fied their captured opponents in nadian soldiers being crucified edly references to the time of mystery. homing pigeons in cages on the whole incident as nothing a place that was visible to the and mocked by German sol- the attack. the doorsteps of houses where more than mass hysteria. prisoner’s comrades. diers. 8 9 intervention against ISIL • 2004 Haitian coup d’état Special Forces - Canada • Libyan Civil War Part Four of a series that takes a look at Special Forces units around the world. This month JTF2 has also acted as body- we look at Brazil. guards to Canadians travelling abroad, notably accompanying anadian Special Forc- CANSOFCOM Lieutenant-General Maurice es can trace their roots Canada’s current Special Op- Baril and Raymond Chrétien to Cback to World War II. erations Forces are generated Zaire in November 1996. There were two Canadian and commanded by the Cana- When photographs provided Army airborne units, the 1st dian Special Operations Forces to the media were revealed to Canadian Parachute Battalion, Command (CANSOFCOM). show the faces of JTF2 forces, raised at Camp Shiloh in the In French, Canada’s second they were redacted and reissued USA in 1942, and the 2nd Para- language, it is called Comman- with the faces removed. chute Battalion, formed later in : With operational , all members of CAN- dement des Forces d’opérations SOFCOM wear the tan , regardless of their environment In 1998, they accompanied Canada. spéciales du Canada - COM- (Navy, Army or Air Force), with the badge of their personnel General Roméo Dallaire to Following the war the Ca- FOSCAN. branch or, in the case of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps Tanzania where he was due to nadian parachuting capability CANSOFCOM is a high-read- and Royal Canadian Corps members, the badge of testify against a Rwandan Hutu was reduced to cadre level un- iness organization, ready to de- their former . The beret colour is the same as the Brit- official accused of complicity til 1968, when it was expand- ploy Special Operations Forces CANSOFCOM ish SAS. in the 1994 genocide. ed and the Canadian Airborne on very short notice to protect They similarly accompanied Regiment (CAR) was formed. Canada and Canadians from CANSOFCOM is organized based at Dwyer Hill, near Otta- police forces, and it stemmed war crimes prosecutor Louise It was intended to be a light, threats to the national interest at into a headquarters element and wa, Ontario. the public uproar about police Arbour into . independent, all-arms unit for home and abroad. five units: Serving as the centrepiece of being taught to use primarily In early November 2000, Con- deployment in low-intensity CANSOFCOM is capable • 2 (JTF 2); Canada’s special operations, lethal means. servative Defence Critic David operations in jungle, desert or of contributing to Canadian • Special Operations Regi- JTF2 is primarily tasked with In early 1993, the unit was ac- Price stated that JTF2 had been warfare conditions. Armed Forces (CAF) opera- ment (CSOR); counter-terrorism operations tivated with just over 100 mem- deployed to Kosovo, however, The capability was expand- tions across the full spectrum of • 427 Special Operations Avi- but also specializes in direct ac- bers, primarily drawn from the this was denied by Prime Min- ed yet again with the formation conflict, from peace through to ation Squadron (SOAS); tion, hostage rescue, personnel Canadian Airborne Regiment ister Jean Chrétien and Defence of the Special Service Force, war; therefore, CANSOFCOM • Joint Incident Response recovery, and foreign internal and Princess Patricia’s Canadi- Minister Art Eggleton. whose ‘teeth’ elements com- provides special operations sup- Unit – Chemical, Biologi- defence. an . The unit was believed to be prised an armoured battalion, an port to CAF operations abroad cal, Radiological and Nucle- Much of the information re- They were given the SERT operating with the Special Air infantry battalion, the CAR, plus when required. ar (CJIRU-CBRN); garding Joint Task Force 2 is facility on Dwyer Hill Road Service and Special Boat Ser- artillery and engineer battalions, CANSOFCOM’s primary • Special Operations Training classified, and is not comment- near Ottawa as their own base vice in Operation Mobile, the and communications and logis- mission is counter-terrorism, Centre (CSOTC). ed on by the Government of of operations, and permanently Canadian operation in the 2011 tics support. which involves conducting rig- Canada. parked a Greyhound bus and a Libyan civil war. It also included the Canadian orous and specialized training Joint Task Force 2 In 1992, Deputy Minister DC-9 aircraft on the grounds The unit has also been award- SAS, which had been formed in and working with local law Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2) of Defence Robert Fowler an- for use in training. ed a United States Presidential 1946 as a -sized unit, enforcement agencies, as re- (French: Force opérationnelle nounced he was recommending Since inception, JTF2 has Unit Citation. closely modelled on the British quired, to protect Canadians interarmées 2, FOI 2) is a spe- to Governor General Ray Hnat- taken part in the following op- SAS. from the threat of terrorism. cial operations force of the Ca- yshyn that he disband the Roy- erations: The CAR was disbanded in The commander of CAN- nadian Armed Forces. al Canadian Mounted Police’s • Operation Assurance – the mid 1990s as a result of an SOFCOM reports directly to JTF2 serves alongside the Special Emergency Response Rwanda enquiry into activities of some the Chief of the Defence Staff, Canadian Special Operations Team (SERT) and create a • NATO intervention in Bos- elements during its participation it is important to note that the Regiment, the Canadian Joint new military counter-terrorism nia in the UN operation in Somalia, Leadership of the Canadian Incident Response Unit and 427 group. • and its three component compa- Forces and the Department of Special Operations Aviation The decision was made large- • War in nies were dispersed to form air- National Defence maintains Squadron as part of the Cana- ly because the Canadian Forces • Christian Peacemaker hos- borne companies in the conven- full oversight on all CANSOF- dian Special Operations Forces offered a greater pool of recruits tage crisis tional infantry battalions. COM operations Command. The unit is currently for the program than civilian • - military 10 11 JTF2 Weapons Other units of the Canadian Special Op- Other units that make up erations Forces Command. CANSOFCOM are: • The Canadian Special Op- Operational tasks Colt Canada erations Regiment (French: CANSOFCOM has five stra- C7 Régiment d’opérations spé- tegic tasks: ciales du Canada, ROSC) is • Provide advice on special an elite unit of the Canadian operations to the Chief of Heckler & Armed Forces. It forms part the Defence Staff and other Koch MP5 of the Canadian Special Op- CAF operational command- erations Forces Command. ers. As a special forces unit, • Generate deployable, high Canadian Special the regiment’s roles include readiness Special Opera- Operations Regiment conducting complex or dif- tions Forces (SOF) capable Colt Canada ficult raids, capturing strate- of deploying as part of a C8SFW gic facilities and undertak- broader CAF operation, or ing reconnaissance. It is also independently. provide Canada with an agile, gagement. They must have no capable of working with the • Conduct and command SOF adaptive, and rapidly deploya- known phobias (heights, water, armed forces of other coun- operations on behalf of the ble military response. enclosed spaces,etc), a valid tries. CDS. CANSOFCOM employs an civilian drivers licence, and a • 427 Special Opera- • Continuously develop SOF integrated operating concept demonstrated wish and ability tions Aviation Squad- capabilities and tactics. that combines the capabilities to learn a second language. ron (French: 427e Escad- • Maintain and promote re- FN Herstal of all units in a Special Oper- A high standard of medical ron d’opérations spéciales lationships with Canadian P90 ations Task Force (SOTF) ca- and physical fitness is required d’aviation, 427 EOSA) is a security partners and allied pable of completing assigned and the volunteer must demon- tactical helicopter unit that special operations forces. missions and tasks. strate capability of running 2,5 provides aviation support In support of these strate- Therefore, depending on the km inside 11 minutes, 40 con- to Canadian Special Opera- gic tasks, CANSOFCOM per- tasks at hand, various combi- secutive push-ups, five consec- SIG Sauer tions Forces Command. The sonnel are organized, trained, nations of personnel from JTF utive overhand grip, straight P226 squadron is based at CFB equipped and always ready to 2, CSOR, 427 SOAS and CJI- arm pull-ups, 40 sit-ups in 60 Petawawa, Ontario with a conduct a wide variety of op- 427 Special Operations RU are assembled into a Spe- seconds, 66 kg bench press. fleet of Bell CH-146 Griffon erational tasks. These tasks in- Aviation Squadron cial Operations Task Force, as With all these completed, the helicopters. It was founded clude: appropriate, to accomplish as- next hurdle is a preliminary Remington as No. 427 Squadron Royal • Hostage rescue signed missions. screening by a qualified JTF Model 870 Canadian Air Force. • recruiting team, followed by a • The Canadian Joint In- • Chemical, biological, radio- Selection three week course in which lev- cident Response Unit logical and nuclear (CBRN) Volunteer standards are not els of physical fitness, weapons (French: Unité interarmées crisis response normally specified, but the Ca- handling, and confidence are d’intervention du Cana- • Sensitive site exploitation Heckler & nadian Forces have made their improved. da) of the Canadian Armed • Combating weapons of mass requirements for JTF 2 public. The volunteers then undergo Koch PSG1 Forces was created “to pro- destruction Volunteers must be in the a one week assessment of suit- vide timely and agile broad- • Maritime special operations ranks of officer - captain only, ability for special forces, but based CBRN (chemical, • Support to non-combatant warrant officer, sergeant, mas- officer applicants must also un- biological, radiological and evacuation operations FN Minimi ter corporal, corporal, or pri- dergo an additional four day as- nuclear) support to the Gov- • Special protection opera- C9A1 LMG vate. sessment of their planning and ernment of Canada in order tions The general qualifications are leadership skills. If the volun- to prevent, control and mit- • Defence, diplomacy and at least three years service and teers pass all that they then start igate CBRN threats to Can- military assistance members maybe re-engaged the five month training course. Canadian Joint Incident Heckler & Koch ada, Canadians, and Canadi- The small size and unique for a second three year en- Response Unit HK69A1 an interests”. It is a sub-unit capabilities of CANSOFCOM 12 13 And if things are rough for Every man must complete 10 a lack of schooling. the ordinary citizen, imagine years of compulsory military It should come as no surprise Thank your lucky stars how hard it must be for those service, and every woman must that North Korea has the larg- serving in the North Korean complete seven years. est army in the world in com- If you think your military service was tough, be thankful that you never had to serve in the military. Those lucky enough to get parison to the number of peo- North Korean military. Let’s take a look at what it’s into university and get a bach- ple who live there. There are ost people that did national service, or complain how hard your mili- like to be a soldier in the North elor’s degree only have to serve 47 active soldiers for every any form of military service, will take tary service was or how tough Korean Army. for five years after graduation. 1,000 people. That’s a total of great delight in telling you how tough life is in general, spare a thought If you are a scientist and con- 1,190,000 active soldiers and M Compulsory service sidered important to the coun- 6,300,000 in reserve. Compare their training was. Even if they did serve in for the 25 million people that the Woman’s Auxiliary Bal- live in the reclusive and isolat- North Korea has compulsory try, you will only have to serve this to America, which has five loon Corps. ed nation of North Korea. Life military service for everyone. for three years. Unfortunately, active soldiers per 1,000 peo- Now the next time you is not exactly a bed of roses for And this does mean everyone. very few citizens get the chance ple, and Russia has 10. them. to attend university because of

14 15 Teens included Soldiers are brainwashed The North Korean paramil- One might hope that no hu- itary force includes teenagers. man being would support vi- Now you would think that be- olence against other humans, ing able to put more than sev- even if they came from a differ- en million troops into the field ent country or political regime. would be enough to protect Well, even if some North Ko- their country from enemies. rean soldiers refuse to support This is not enough as far as violence, their army command- they are concerned. They also ers are working hard to change have a paramilitary force – The that. They spend about 60% of Worker-Peasant Red Guards their time learning the ‘right’ (also known as The Workers and ideology. Peasant’s Red ). This has In this case ‘right’ means that somewhere between one and a NOT HAPPY CAMPERS: Training is often brutal, and so what North Korea is superior to oth- half and six million reservists, if a few recruits are lost. After all, troops are considered ex- er countries, and all those other but they don’t like to reveal the pendable. countries want to attack them. real numbers. And let’s not for- ON TARGET: North Korea spends a fortune on weapons. It’s a So they always have to be on get the teenage soldiers. pity so little of the budget is spent on food and clothing. deserve to be treated the same years. However, they say that guard, obey Kim Jong-un no The Red Youth Guards or- way as men and given the same this is not a bad thing because matter what, and be ready to ganisation was created in 1970 tres shorter than soldiers in the Uniforms that injure rights. Yet it appears that the they would otherwise have to give their lives for him. and takes 15 to 17 year old South Korean Army. Once they Imagine, as a soldier, being North Korean Army never got wash and reuse cotton sanitary They’re supposedly doing it teens on compulsory survival become too weak to be efficient injured by your own uniform. the memo. pads and suffer even more. for the next generation, so that military training for 10 to 15 in their training, they are sent Unless you belong to some During their seven years they can enjoy the same hap- days in the summer. In this way home to recover. At that point, third-world rag tag guerrilla compulsory military service, Throwing sea mines py life that they’re living now. they prepare for conscription at many of them are too weak to group, chances are that if you’re many women fall victim to sex- You may be called upon to Brainwashing isn’t so hard in the age of 18. If there is a war, walk unaided. in the military you will wear a ual violence or humiliation. The throw sea mines into the Yel- an isolated country. these teens will be shoved into Unfortunately, not everyone uniform. ‘right’ place for them is consid- low Sea. According to reports the front line as well. manages to get to the point Normally, it’s a subject of ered the kitchen. Kim Jong-un forced his army to Dodgy military hospitals where they are sent home to re- pride and respect. In North Ko- Former soldiers told of how throw sea mines into the Yellow Brainwashed soldiers believe Starved cover. Many soldiers pass away rea, it’s also a source of pain senior officers and commanders Sea, which would resurface in that it’s an honour to die or get The nutrition is so bad that from hunger and related health and injuries. harass female recruits, touching South Korea and kill locals and injured in the name of their glo- many soldiers can barely walk. issues. Can you imagine the an- According to former North them inappropriately. It is not tourists. rious leader. So what happens You would think that having to guish of parents who know that Korean soldiers, the boots they uncommon for female recruits The reports say that the pri- to those soldiers that do get serve your country for 10 years their children may not came are issued are thin and stuffed to be raped by senior NCOs mary target of those mines was hurt? They are sent to a special without any choice in the mat- back from the army – even in with cotton for reasons of econ- and officers. If they dare com- American tourists and there military treatment centre. How- ter would be bad enough. That’s times of peace? omy. As you can imagine, this plain then they are labelled as were over 100 recorded inci- ever, those centres have no free just the tip of the iceberg. Soldiers fighting for their is no fun during the freezing ‘trouble makers’ and can expect dents connected with those sea medications. Imagine that you’re going lives often have to steal food cold winters. even harsher treatment. mines in 2017. When interviewed, former through tough military train- by raiding farms and villages They aren’t sturdy enough to There are currently around Foreign tourists obviously soldiers described how they had ing and all you get to eat is raw that barely have enough food to protect the soldiers from frost- 180,000 women serving as it can’t read the warning signs in to pay for their own treatment corn kernels or, if you’re really meet their own needs. bite and start to fall apart quick- only become compulsory three Korean characters and they fall and, even when they did pay, all lucky, a few potatoes a day. So There have been reports ly. They also rub, hurt and in- years ago. This accounts for into danger zones quite easily. they got was alcohol rubbed on it’s hardly a surprise that two that senior officers force their jure the soldiers. 40% of women aged between Even though not all of the sol- them. The only effect it had was out of every five North Koreans juniors to steal from farmers. 18 and 25. diers agree with a command to cause even more pain. are undernourished (according Sometimes they are hired out to Even worse as a female Because of the terrible con- leading to so much cruelty, they When treatment doesn’t help, to United Nations figures). work in the fields twice a year. Things are even worse for fe- ditions they live in, the hard have no choice not to do it, nor they are kicked out of the army. This may also explain the fact They also say that they have to male soldiers. These days most training and malnutrition, a lot any right to complain. Refuse In case of death, there is no that on average most North Ko- use human excrement to ferti- countries recognise that women of them miss their periods for an order and it’s tickets for you. compensation for the family. rean soldiers are a few centime- lize the crops. All they get is a certificate stat- 16 17 ing how long the soldier served. That’s why very few people are According to reports, many I wonder if the families have to bold enough to try and escape. of the Korean People’s Navy pay for the printing of the cer- vessels are not sea worthy. And tificate as well? And if all this is not scary this includes their submarine enough, here are two facts that force. Personality change you need to take into consider- The US Navy has 14 nucle- Making it back home from ation. ar submarines. They also have the army alive and physically 51 modern conventional attack uninjured sounds like a dream North Korean subs submarines when you consider everything North Korea has the same they have to go through. Yet number of submarines as the Big Budget there’s a different kind of dan- United States Navy. North Korea spends almost ger to the soldiers. This may seem a bit out of half of its budget on the mili- Their personalities often shift balance when you consider the tary. The exact amount is not so greatly that there’s nothing size of the US Navy and the in open sources, but a lot of that can be done to bring things Korean People’s Navy. people are wondering just how back to normal. Soldiers have The US has 72 submarines much North Korea spends on its to be merciless and suppress while North Korea has between military. Official North Korean their feelings and emotions. 70 and 75, but there is no com- government reports say that it Years of violence cannot go parison. is only 15,8%, but most experts unnoticed, and they turn those North Korea has one nuclear agree that it is far higher than men and women into cruel submarine, four former Sovi- this figure. machines. It’s no wonder that et Whiskey-class submarines many civilians prefer to avoid built in the 1950s and 20 Chi- By all accounts, North Korea Bush War Books has probably one of the finest any contact with the military. nese-built Romeo class subma- is no Utopia, and living there is rines which were also built in not much fun for your average collections of military titles available. Especially No escape the 1950s. The others are Ro- citizen. on the . The bad news is that there meo-class subs built in North Having to serve in the military is no way to escape. The most Korea. sounds like even less fun. When natural thing to do to avoid all Even their single nuclear sub compared to North Korea, our the pain, suffering, and cruelty (Kim Jong-un’s personal sub- military training doesn’t seem Click here to visit their website. seems to be escaping the army. marine) is a former Yugoslavian quite so bad now, does it? There have been multiple at- vessel built in the early 1970s. tempts to do so, but they usual- ly don’t end well. Kim Jong-un takes a dim view on defection, especially when soldiers try to flee the country. Running away abroad seems like the only route to safety. The Supreme Leader believes that it’s bad for the country’s reputation, so those trying to cross the Tumen River are mostly taken down – in a very terminal manner. Military seniors who didn’t stop their recruits from escap- ing or failed to inform about “War does not determine who is right - only who is left” their plot get punished as well. 18 00 Air Force One 1 The President of America is also the Commander-in-Chief of the US Armed Forces. Therefore when he flies it is vital that he not only be comfortable, 5 but that he is as well protected as possible. Air Force One contains a stag- 8 gering array of secret technologies that provide that protection.

11

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13 3

4 Facts and figures

• Aircraft type - Boeing 747. • There are two identical Boe- ing 747 aircraft used, SAM- 28,000 and SAM-29,000. 6 • Each one is 19.4 m higher 9 than a five-story building. • They have more than 370 sq 10 m of cabin space. 12 • Each one weighs a massive 6. US presidents say they have 360 metric tons. more privacy on Air Force One 7 • They can fly at more than than when they are on the ground. 1. Hand-picked pilots: Air Force 1,000 kph. 7. Secret service agents are hidden 200,000 litres of fuel They are 13. Defence systems: Air Force One One crew members are very • Air Force One is not an air- throughout the aircraft to seize carefully selected. Each pilot is protected with infrared units that is equipped with devices to pro- craft as such. It is a call sign. terrorists or would-be assassins thoroughly checked to be sure he can detect missiles and fire flares vide maximum protection. These Any aircraft that the pres- should they manage to sneak on to intercept them. are the aircraft’s most highly poses no security risk. cal room, and the president’s per- ident is flying on automat- board. 11. Personnel and Passengers: Air guarded secrets, but we know 2. The upper level is the focus of sonal suite. ically becomes Air Force 8. Hand picked chefs: Kitchen Force One carries 70 passengers they include “electronic counter- Air Force One’s highly sophis- 4. The lowest level is the car- One. staff can prepare up to 100 meals at the most, and has a crew of 26. measures” (ECMs), designed to ticated electronics. The com- go space. It also contains large • Air Force One is always at once in two large galleys. 12. The Media: Reporters are al- jam enemy radar so that the plane munications centre is here, with freezers, where food is stored for flown by US Air Force pi- 9. Stairs: Air Force One has its lowed to travel on board so that effectively becomes invisible. connections for 87 telephones, up to 2,000 meals. lots. own retractable stairs at the front the world gets the news directly dozens of radios and computers, 5. President’s suite: The presi- • The president’s helicopter is and rear. from the source and have their and 19 TVs. dent has his own personal suite flown by US Marine pilots 10. Fuel tanks and engines: The own phones and computer termi- 3. The middle level is the passen- of rooms, including a bedroom, and is called Marine One. fuel tanks can hold more than nal. ger area, with galleys, the medi- gym, shower room, and office. 20 21 was simply termed D-Day. were used. • A total of 132,715 troops • 112,824 British sailors, were landed on the beaches. Remembering D-Day • 138 warships, 221 destroy- 52,889 American sailors, • 24.900 troops parachuted or ers, frigates, corvettes, 187 and 25,000 Merchant navy were landed by glider. Thursday 6 June 2019 will be the 75th anniversary of the Allied invasion to liberate Europe mine sweepers, 495 smaller sailors took part. • Planning for Operation during World War II. We explore some facts and figures relating to D-Day. vessels, 58 submarine chas- • 11,590 aircraft, 3,500 glid- Overlord began in earnest in ers, 4,000 landing craft of all ers, and 31,000 air crew 1943 with Dwight D Eisen- n Tuesday 6 June 1944 the Normandy coast in France. German-occupied north-west- types, 441 auxiliary Naval took part. This number doe hower being appointed as the largest seaborne in- Codenamed Operation Nep- ern Europe from Nazi control. craft and small boats, 864 not include airborne troops Supreme Commander. vasion force in history tune, it was part of Operation It was also the launch of the O Merchant Navy ships, and or their aircrews. • Marshall of the RAF, Sir Ar- landed on an 80 km stretch of Overlord, the liberation of long-awaited second front. It over 300 other small craft • 20,000 vehicles, including thur Tedder, was the Deputy over 1,000 tanks, were used. Supreme Commander.

22 23 • General Walter Bedell-Smith month and in June 1944 they ed someone was trying to after as ‘D+1’, meaning that was the Chief of staff to the were the 5th, 6th and 7th of pass information to the en- if the day of the operation Supreme Commander. that month. If the invasion emy, although a search of changed, all the dates in • Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay wasn’t launched on one of the writer’s home and office the plans did not have to be was appointed Commander those three days it would turned up nothing. changed. of the Navy Forces. have had to be postponed for • Operation Overlord was the • New gadgets designed for • Air Marshal Sir Trafford another month. name given to the whole D-Day included a “swim- Leigh-Mallory was appoint- • D-Day was originally set for of the Normandy Invasion. ming tank” and a flame ed Commander of the Air June 5 but had to be post- Each separate task was throwing tank called “the Forces. poned for 24 hours because named differently. Opera- crocodile”. There were even • General Sir Bernard Law of bad weather. tion Neptune was the am- collapsible motorbikes. Montgomery was the Com- phibious invasion, Opera- • Eisenhower’s famous state- mander of the XXIst Army, tion Pointblank the massive ment to the troops as he as well as Commander of bombing campaign prior to gave the order for Operation the Land Forces. the invasion, and Operation Overlord open with “You • About 3,200 reconnaissance to ensure infor- are about to embark upon missions were launched in mation of the invasion never the Great Crusade, toward the run-up to the invasion reached the Germans. which we have striven these to take photos of vital loca- • Hitler anticipated that the COMING ASHORE: American troops wade ashore at Colleville many months. The eyes of tions. Allied Forces would invade sur Mer in Normandy as reinforcements. the world are upon you.” • In the summer of 1943 an France from the northern radio traffic, the slow-mov- they could try and get the in- • US General Dwight D. Ei- early copy of the plans blew coast. To fortify and prepare ing US landing ships and formation. None of the men senhower wrote a letter that out of a window in Norfolk for this, he assigned Erwin was to be opened ‘in case Dwight D. Eisenhower their lack of communication fell into the trap. House, London. A man who Rommel to head construc- proved to be easy targets for • Despite his well-document- of failure’. In it he wrote was passing by handed them • During D-Day preparations tion of defences. Rommel the German torpedoes. In ed capacity for inspirational “Our landings in the Cher- in, saying his sight was too top-secret code names were was placed in charge of fin- total some 800 people were speeches, on the night before bourg-Havre area have bad to read them. used to hide the allies’ plans ishing Hitler’s Atlantic Wall killed in the botched opera- D-Day Winston Churchill failed to gain a satisfactory • Beach landings in Norman- from the enemy. ‘Utah’, which consisted of 3,800 km tion, a heavier loss than on was feeling less than confi- foothold and I have with- dy were chosen instead of ‘Omaha’, ‘Gold’, and of bunkers, land mines, and some of the D-Day beaches. dent. He apparently confid- drawn the troops. My de- the Pas-de-Calais because ‘Sword’ were beaches on the various obstacles to make a Worried about leaked intelli- ed his fears to his wife the cision to attack at this time defences were lighter and Normandy coastline, ‘Nep- beach landing more difficult gence and a drop in morale, evening before the landings and place was based upon advancing troops would tune’ was the code name for and hazardous for the Allies. Allied commanders ordered telling her: “Do you realise the best information availa- have fewer rivers and canals the landings, ‘Overlord’ was • A phantom army of dummy a blackout on all informa- that by the time you wake up ble. The troops, the air and to cross. the ensuing battle for Nor- camps, planes and tanks was tion about the attack and in the morning 20,000 men the Navy did all that bravery • There were to be five land- mandy and a ‘Bigot’ was constructed in Kent and Es- some families never found may have been killed?” and devotion to duty could ing zones along a 80 km the code name for someone sex in order to deceive Ger- out how their relatives had • Over the years many peo- do. If any blame or fault stretch of coast. The Amer- who had high level security mans into thinking the inva- died. ple have wondered what attaches to the attempt it is icans would attack at Utah clearance. sion would be at Calais. • Terence Otway, whose unit the ‘D’ in D-Day stands for; mine alone.” The letter is and Omaha, the British at • In 1944 authorities became • On 28 April 1944, eight was tasked with attack- some have suggested Dis- mistakenly signed 5 July in- Gold and Sword and Cana- concerned when a number of ships full of US servicemen ing the Merville battery on embarkement-Day, Deci- stead of 5 June - presumably dian troops at Juno. secret code names appeared and equipment were mak- D-Day, wanted to be sure sion-Day and even Death- he was a little preoccupied • It was vital that D-Day take as answers in the Daily Tel- ing their way to the Devon that his men wouldn’t leak Day. In reality the D just at the time. place on the date of the egraph’s crossword puz- coast in the UK to take part this highly sensitive infor- stands for ‘Day’. D-Day and • Coded messages were sent highest half-tide at the most zle. In the month before the in a rehearsal for the D-Day mation in advance. So to H-Hour represent the secret to alert French Resistance to Westerly beach (Utah), 40 D-Day attacks, no less than landings. Unfortunately, a test security he send thirty time and day an operation begin a programme of sabo- minutes after first light and five code names, including mistake in their paperwork of the prettiest members of is set to begin, so before tage. Phrases used included following a night when the ‘Utah’, ‘Omaha’ and ‘Nep- meant the ships were using the Women’s Auxiliary Air and after WWII many other “le dés est sur le tapis” (the moon rose between 01h00 tune’ were spotted in the different radio frequencies, Force, in civilian clothes, operations had a ‘D-Day’. dice is on the carpet) – an and 02h00. Such occasion puzzle answers. Alarm bells so when a group of German down to the local pubs. The The day before D-Day was order to destroy trains and occur only three days each rang at MI5, which suspect- boats picked up on the heavy women were told to do all known as ‘D-1’ and the day railway lines. 24 25 • High command thought a • At 03h00 1,900 Allied for us”. But who is Andrew dy landings were just a ruse. successful landing would bombers attacked German Higgins? Higgins is the • The newly developed drug cost 10,000 dead and 30,000 lines. A staggering three man who designed and built penicillin went with troops wounded – 30,000 stretchers million kilograms of bombs LCVPs, the amphibious ve- on D-Day and saved thou- and 60,000 blankets were is- were dropped that day. A to- hicles that enabled the Al- sands of lives. sued. tal of 10,521 combat aircraft lied forces to cross the chan- • Condoms were issued to • From 23h00 on 5 June some flew a total of 15,000 sorties nel. Eisenhower is reported soldiers – most were used 24,000 airborne troops on D-Day, with 113 lost. to have said, “If Higgins had for covering the end of their were delivered behind the • A naval bombardment from not designed and built those to keep them dry. German lines to secure im- seven battleships, 18 cruis- LCVPs, we never could • Despite setbacks, includ- portant roads and bridges. ers, and 43 destroyers began have landed over an open ing the failure to capture Along with more than 2,000 at 05h00 and went on until beach. The whole strategy the city of Caen, D-Day aircraft, 867 gliders were 06h25. Midget submarines, of the war would have been saw the Allies establish a used. called X-boats, lay sub- different.” successful beachhead from • To add to the illusion, ear- merged in the sea off the • The flat-bottomed landing which they could continue ly on D-Day morning “Ru- coast of France, surfacing craft were originally de- the invasion of Normandy. perts” – dummies dressed on the morning of D-Day to signed to rescue flood vic- By the evening of the first in paratrooper uniforms guide in the invading craft tims on the Mississippi river day, along with more than complete with boots and using beacons. in the US. 150,000 men, 20,000 vehi- AND SO IT BEGINS: Paratroopers from the American 101st helmets – were dropped in • US troops went ashore cles had been landed. Airborne Division en route to their drop zone. From 23h00 on 5 Normandy and the Pas-de- on the landing beaches at • The Allies ferried two pre- June some 24,000 airborne troops were delivered behind the Calais. The dummies were 06h31, followed an hour lat- fabricated harbours called German lines to secure important roads and bridges. equipped with recordings of er by the British and Canadi- Mulberries across the gunfire, while the real troops ans on their beaches. There Channel to help supply the Saving Private Ryan, star- any of their goals on the first supplied additional sound ef- were 61,715 British troops, beachhead with equipment. ring Tom Hanks, cost $9,24 day. Carentan, St. Lô, and fects to create the illusion of 21,400 Canadian soldiers The one at Arromanches in- million to film and used Bayeux remained in German a large scale airborne attack. and 73,000 Americans. volved 600,000 tons of con- 1,000 extras. hands, and Caen, a major This operation, code-named • The heaviest losses were crete. • Famous photographer Rob- objective, was not captured “Titanic,” was designed to on Omaha beach where US • Total Allied casualties on ert Capa captured some of until 21 July. Only two of distract the German military forces suffered 2,000 casu- D-Day were much lighter the most memorable imag- the beaches (Juno and Gold) while the main forces land- alties. than feared – around 10,000 es of the action though only were linked on the first day, ed further to the west. • Field Marshal Erwin Rom- with 4,572 killed including a handful of the frames he and all five beachheads were • The first British casualty mel was in charge of de- 1,641 Brits. The Germans took survived. The others not connected until 12 June. on D-Day was Lt “Den” fending northern France are estimated to have lost were accidentally destroyed • British Prime Minister Win- BEAM ME UP SCOTTY: Brotheridge, shot in the from the expected Allied in- by a lab technician. ston Churchill landed on James Doohan, who played about 9,000. neck shortly after landing in vasion. On 6 June he was at • Actor Richard Todd starred • The victory in Normandy the beach at Gray-sur-Mer the part of chief engineer Mont- can’t be traced to a single (Juno) on 12 June, General France in a glider at 00h16. gomery Scott in Star Trek took home in Germany celebrat- in The Longest Day, a 1962 moment. The Germans had de Gaulle on 14 June and His unit was tasked with part in the D-Day landings. ing his wife’s 50th birthday film about D-Day, as Major taking the crucial target of having been told the sea was John Howard. He was in- been unable to complete the King George VI on 16 June. Pegasus Bridge, an objec- • Defences on the beaches too rough for a landing. volved in the real landings Atlantic Wall and the de- On 6 June the Canadian 50th tive that was achieved. included concrete gun em- • Nazi leader was as an officer in the 7th Par- ception tactics had paid off Infantry Division had land- • Many paratroopers that day placements, wooden stakes, asleep when word of the in- achute Battalion. with many of the German ed at Juno and by the end of were dropped in the wrong mines, anti-tank obstacles, vasion arrived. No one dared • James Doohan, who would forces diverted from the key the day had landed 21,400 place including US Private barbed wire and booby traps. wake him and it’s said vital go on to find fame as Scotty coasts. Even the French Re- men, 3,200 vehicles and John Steele. His parachute Around 50,000 German time was lost in sending re- in Star Trek, was a lieuten- sistance, having heard from 1,100 tons of supplies. famously became snagged troops opposed the landing inforcements. ant in the Royal Canadian their English sources of the on the church steeple at forces. • Spanish-born double agent Artillery on D-Day and lost invasion, had launched suc- Please Note: Some of the in- Sainte-Mère- Eglise. He was • General Dwight Eisenhower Garbo plied the Germans a finger during the fray. cessful attacks that slowed formation in this article was trapped for two hours before once said “Andrew Higgins with misinformation that led • The stunning Omaha Beach German reinforcements. previously published in Volume being taken prisoner. is the man who won the war them to believe the Norman- scene in the 1998 movie • The Allies failed to achieve 4 of Military Despatches. 26 27 Lest we forget Jimmy’s get together Two powerful photographs that say more than words ever could. Military Despatches attends the Annual Signals Association Luncheon.

he expression “A picture thousand words,” Brisbane said The first photograph shows a unday 5 May found depu- paints a thousand words” in the article. battalion of the Cameron High- ty editor John Verster and Toriginated from a newspa- He was making a clear-cut landers in 1914, prior to being Smyself at the Parow Golf per article that appeared in 1911. case for the use of images to ac- dispatched to the front line. Club. Not that we were there to The article was written by company stories. The second photograph is of play golf. editor Arthur Brisbane and was Reverend Ralph Thornley the same battalion upon their John, like Mark Twain, be- a discussion about journalism sent me these photographs be- return in 1918 after the Armi- lieves that “golf is a good walk and publicity. low. They in turn had been sent stice. These photographs do in- spoilt.” We were there to attend “Use a picture. It’s worth a to him by Peter Napier. deed paint a thousand words. the Annual Signals Association Luncheon. Robbie Roberts, whilst serv- 1914 ing as Officer Commanding 71 Signal Unit initiated the es- tablishment of the Signals As- sociation (Western Cape) on 2 December 2000 following a successful Open Day event at Acadia Park Military Base on 6 May 2000 when Maj General Piet Verbeeck officiated as the functionary. Signallers from all walks of life came together af- ter having read advertisements placed in various newspapers of the time. VIP GUESTS: From left to right: guest speaker Captain (SAN) The Association kicked off Trunell Morom, Chairman of the Signals Association Lt Col with 16 members and gradual- (Ret) Robbie Roberts, and ‘Uncle’ Syd Ireland. ly grew annually, mainly from At the age of 98 he is the procedures at Tempe, Bloem- members of 71 Signal Unit that oldest member of the Signals fontein. He was demobilised in 1918 joined. Presently, the Associ- Association. He is also the last 1945. ation has over 100 members surviving signaller of 3 Brigade All in all, it was a memorable from all over South Africa and Signal Company that was es- day. A big thank you to the Sig- internationally. tablished during World War II. nals Association for inviting us The food at the lunch was Syd joined the army in 1940 to the event. good, the company even bet- and he went on to serve as a And a big thank you to Rob- ter. The guest speaker for the wireless operator in Kenya, bie Roberts, a true scholar and day was Captain (SAN) (Ret) Abyssinia, British Somalia and gentleman, and someone that I Trunell Morom. She was the Egypt. He spent much time in hold in the highest esteem. last Officer Commanding SAS Cairo and Alexandria and took I’m looking forward to the Unitie. I must confess that I re- part in the Battle of El Alamein. next Signals Association event. ally enjoyed her presentation. He was later seconded to the Certa Cito. Another guest that I was re- Air Force as a wireless opera- More details and photos ap- ally happy to see was Sydney tor and attended a conversion pear in the June issue of ‘Jim- ‘Uncle Syd’ Ireland. course from Army to Air Force my’ Own’. Click here to read.

28 29 Britain in the Boer War and re- nists, the Jews, the party and the • Wit Terroriste: Afrikan- mained resentful of British rule, system of parliamentarism... on er-Saboteurs in die Ossew- Our own Lords Haw-Haw even loose association with the base of national-socialism” abrandwag’ by Albert Blake, Britain as a Dominion. according to a German secret (Tafelberg,2018), and German propaganda broadcaster William Joyce, better known as Lord Haw-Haw, was The chief vehicle of Afrikan- source dated 18 January 1944. • OB Traitors or Patriots?’ by hanged after World War II for treason. But did you know that South Africa had their own er nationalism at this time was Members of the OB refused George Cloete Visser, (Mac- versions of Lord Haw-Haw? the “Purified National Party” of to enlist in the South African millan,1976). ast month I did an article They broadcast Nazi prop- later direct to Berlin - Zeesen D. F. Malan, which broke away forces and sometimes harassed titled “Germany Call- aganda and extracts from the would acknowledge receipt from the National Party when servicemen in uniform. That About Dr Brian Austin ing...” Part of the article speeches of the OB leader, Dr of these messages by playing the latter merged with Smuts’ erupted into open rioting in Dr Brian Austin is a retired L South African Party in 1934. on 1 February engineering academic from took a look at William Joyce, Hans van Rensburg, as well as Opsaal Boere during their Afri- who was also known as Lord other ‘kampvuur en ketel’ sto- kaans transmissions. Another important element 1941; 140 soldiers were seri- the University of Liverpool’s Haw-Haw. ries to their South African au- was the Afrikaner Broeder- ously hurt. Department of Electrical Engi- I received an e-mail from Dr dience which thought that both bond, a quasi-secret society More dangerous was the for- neering and Electronics. Brian Austin with regard to the the SABC and the BBC were The Ossewabrandwag (OB) founded in 1918, and dedicat- mation of the Stormjaers (As- Before that he spent some above article. biased against their cause. (Ox-wagon Sentinel) was an ed to the proposition that “the sault troops), a paramilitary years on the academic staff of It’s interesting to note that After the war they were all anti-British and pro-German Afrikaner volk has been planted wing of the OB. The nature of his alma mater, the University South Africa had its own Lord arrested and brought back to organisation in South Africa in this country by the Hand of the Stormjaers was evidenced of the Witwatersrand in Johan- Haw Haws (or should that be South Africa to face charg- during World War II, which op- God...” by the oath sworn by new re- nesburg, South Africa. Lords Haw Haw?) during the es of high treason. Holm, who posed South African participa- 1938 was the centennial an- cruits: “If I retreat, shoot me. If He also had a spell, a decade war. was the most prominent among tion in the war. It was formed niversary of the Great Trek (the I die, avenge me. If I advance, in fact, in industry where he As you will know, the Ossew- them, was sentenced to ten years in on 4 February migration of Boers to the in- follow me” (Afrikaans: As ek led the team that developed an abrandwag (OB) was very ac- in jail with the others receiving 1939 by pro-German Afrikan- terior). The Ossewabrandwag omdraai, skiet my. As ek val, underground radio system for tive in opposing South Africa’s slightly lesser sentences. ers. was established in commemo- wreek my. As ek storm, volg use in South Africa’s very deep involvement in the war and However, in 1948, after the During the 19th century, most ration of the Trek. Most of the my). gold mines. particularly on the same side as Nationalist government of Dr D of the Boers of the northeast- migrants travelled in ox-drawn The Stormjaers engaged in He also has a great interest Britain, their sworn enemy. F Malan came to power one of ern Cape frontier migrated to wagons, hence the group’s sabotage against the Union in the history of his subject and At the outbreak of war their first acts was to release all the interior, and established the name. The group’s leader was government. They dynamited especially the military appli- there were a number of Afri- OB prisoners, including Holm and South Johannes Van Rensburg, a law- electrical power lines and rail- cations of radio and electron- kaans-speaking South Africans and his co-announcers. African Republic, which were yer who had served as Secre- roads and cut telegraph and ics. This has seen him publish in Germany, for one reason or It’s also interesting to note independent of Britain. In the tary of Justice under Smuts (as telephone lines. These types of a number of articles on topics another. that a particular piece of music Second Boer War (1899–1902), Minister), and was an admirer acts were going too far for most from the first use of wireless They were soon recruited as called ‘Opsaal Boere’ played an Britain conquered the Boer Re- of Nazi Germany. , and Malan ordered in warfare during the Boer War broadcasters on Radio Zeesen, a important part during Zeesen’s publics. The Netherlands (and The Boer militants of the the National Party to break with (1899 – 1902) and South Afri- very powerful shortwave trans- broadcasts. Germany) supported the Boer Ossebrandwag (OB) were hos- the OB in 1942. ca’s wartime radar in WW2, to mitter outside Berlin, which It was composed by another cause. tile to Britain and sympathetic The Union government others dealing with the com- had regular Afrikaans-language OB sympathiser, by the name After the war, there was a to Germany. Thus the OB op- cracked down on the OB and munications problems during transmissions to South Africa. of Olaf Andresen who had been general reconciliation between posed South African participa- the Stormjaers, placing thou- the Battle of Arnhem and, most They were listened to by interned along with many other Afrikaners and Britain, culmi- tion in the war, even after the sands of them in internment recently, on wireless in the many of the OB’s supporters Germans living in the country, nating in the formation of the Union declared war in support camps for the duration of the trenches in WW1. all across South Africa, often plus numerous Nazi-supporting in 1910, of Britain in September 1939. war. Among the internees was He is also the author of the having set up loudspeakers in members of the OB. under the leadership of former While there were parallels, nei- future prime minister B. J. Vor- biography of Sir Basil Schon- the trees so that the local peo- The OB adopted ‘Opsaal Bo- Boer fighters such as Louis ther Van Rensburg nor the OB ster. land, the South African pioneer ple could bring their chairs and ere’ as their anthem and when Botha and . South were genuine fascists, accord- At the end of the war, the OB in the study of lightning, scien- sit under the night sky while the Abwehr agent code-named African troops, including thou- ing to van den Berghe. was absorbed into the National tific adviser to Field Marshall listening to ‘Neef Holm’ (Erik Felix (Lothar Sittig, by name) sands of Afrikaners, served in Alexandre Kum’a Ndumbe Party and ceased to exist as a Mongomery’s 21 Army Group Holm), ‘Neef Buurman’ (Jan was transmitting messages by the British forces during World III, however shows, that OB separate body. and director of the Atomic En- Strauss), ‘Neef Hermanus’ (Mi- radio, from either or War I. was “based on the Führer-prin- Two books on the subject of ergy Research Establishment at chael Pienaar) and ‘Neef Sagie’ Vryburg, to the German consu- Nonetheless, many Boers re- ciple, fighting against the Em- the Ossewabrandwag that are Harwell.” (Johannes Snoek). late in Lourenco Marques - and membered the tactics used by pire, the capitalists, the commu- well worth reading are: 30 31 Rank Structure - Canada Officers

Over the next few months we will be running a series of articles looking at the rank structure of various armed forces. This month we look at the .

he Canadian Armed dian Army, and Royal Canadian The number of filled positions Forces (French: Forces Air Force (RCAF). is lower than the authorized Officer Second Lieutenant Captain Tarmées canadiennes), Personnel may belong to ei- strength. Cadet Lieutenant are the unified armed forces of ther the Regular Force or the The Commander-in-Chief Canada, as constituted by the Reserve Force, which has four of the Canadian Armed Forces National Defence Act, which sub-components: the Primary is the reigning Canadian mon- states: “The Canadian Forc- Reserve, Supplementary Re- arch, Queen Elizabeth II, who es are the armed forces of Her serve, Cadet Organizations Ad- is represented by the Governor Majesty raised by Canada and ministration and Training Ser- General of Canada. The Cana- consist of one Service called vice, and the Canadian Rangers. dian Armed Forces is led by the the Canadian Armed Forces.” Current end strength is au- Chief of the Defence Staff, who Major Lieutenant Colonel Brigadier This unified institution con- thorized at 126,500, including is advised and assisted by the Colonel General sists of sea, land, and air ele- 71,500 Regular Force members, Armed Forces Council. ments referred to as the Royal 30,000 Reserve Force members Canadian Navy (RCN), Cana- and 25,000 civilian employees. Non-commissioned Officers (NCO) and Warrant Officers Major Lieutenant General General General Royal Canadian Navy Non-commissioned Officers (NCO) and Warrant Officers Private Private Private (Recruit) (Basic) (Trained)

Ordinary Seaman Ordinary Seaman Able (Recruit) (Basic) Seaman

Corporal Master- Sergeant Corporal

Leading Master Petty Officer Warrant Master Chief Seaman Seaman 2nd Class Officer Warrant Officer Warrant Officer 32 33 Petty Officer Chief Petty Chief Petty Corporal Master- Sergeant 1st Class Officer 2nd Class Officer 1st Class Corporal Officers

Warrant Master Chief Officer Warrant Officer Warrant Officer Naval Acting Sub- Sub-Lieutenant Lieutenant Cadet Lieutenant Officers

Lieutenant Commander Captain Commodore Officer Second Lieutenant Captain Commander Cadet Lieutenant

Rear Vice Admiral Major Lieutenant Colonel Brigadier Admiral Admiral Colonel General Royal Canadian Air Force Non-commissioned Officers (NCO) and Warrant Officers

Major Lieutenant General General General

Aviator Aviator Aviator (Recruit) (Basic) (Trained)

34 35 toggle mechanism notched on a A matter of survival - Bird Traps Figure 4 trap horizontal bar and operated by a flat bait stick. Over the next few months we will be running a series of articles looking at survival, something that has always been important for those in the military. This month we look at constructing bird Set the stick off the ground traps. and only just resting against the lower end of the toggle. ost of us enjoy a bit chewed until sticky, and the birds throat. This trigger mechanism of fried or roasted mass is then rubbed between the needs to be extremely sensitive chicken. And while palms of the hands to form long Noose Sticks if a small bird’s weight is to set M it off. they may not be flame roast- and extremely sticky strands Tie a number of fine nooses ed or come with a secret blend which are then coiled around close together along a stick or Remember: If you set any of herbs and spices, birds can small thin tree branches where branch. type of trap during a training make good eating. birds perch. Place the stick in a favourite exercise, take it down after- Some birds are fairly small When birds come home to roosting or nesting spot with wards. and don’t offer a lot of meat. roost they will get stuck to the the nooses uppermost. This means that you may have bird lime when they alight. Birds become entangled It is also possible to prop the Toggle release net trap Next month we will look at to catch a few of them to get a when the alight. raised edge of the cage on a sin- A net laid on the ground and hunting prey. We will look at decent meal. Suspended Snares Do not remove the trap as gle stick tied to a long line. baited to attract birds has lines making a bow and arrows, sling There are various methods of Hang a line of snares across soon as one bird is caught. It Take the other end of the line from the corners of the net to a and shot, catapult, bola, and cooking a bird. Do a bit of re- a stream a little above water will attract other birds and you and hide some distance away. If springy sapling overhead. spears. search and find which methods level. This works best when set will soon have several. Proba- you hold the string taut, you can A tension line extends to a you prefer, as well as which are among reeds and rushes. bly enough for a meal. snatch the prop away as soon as the most tasty for various birds. a bird ventures under the cage. Noose Sticks But before you can eat them, Baited Hooks Figure 4 Trap Place bait around and under you’ll first need to catch them. Fish hooks can be buried in This mechanism can be used the cage. This works best in ar- And this is where bird traps fruit or other food and can be with a ‘log cabin’ type of cage, eas where birds seem plentiful. come in. an effective ways of catching made from a pyramid of sticks Using this method will usual- birds. tied together, which is balanced ly only catch a single bird. Nets The hook gets caught in the over the bait. A fine net stretched between Click on the photograph below to take a virtual tour of Warrior’s Gate the trees where birds usual- and find out more about the Memorable Order of Tin . ly roost is one of the simplest Toggle release ways of catching them. net trap Instead of a net you can also use fine twine criss-crossed be- tween trees across their flight path. This will damage the birds that fly into it. Bird Lime Bird lime is an adhesive sub- stance used in trapping birds. It is spread on a branch or twig, upon which a bird may land and be caught. In South Africa, birdlime (called voëlent in Afrikaans) is prepared from local mistletoe fruits. A handful of ripe fruits is 36 37 head to head head to head • 8th Armoured Brigade. American Infantry Weapons • 56th Infantry Brigade. Weapons & Equipment • No. 47 Commando. The German units defending of D-Day the beach were: This month we take a look at some of the weapons and equipment of D-Day. • 352nd Infantry Division. • 716th Static Division. British casualties at Gold M1903 Springfield n Tuesday 6 June 1944 Utah Omaha were 1,000 - 1,100. The Ger- the largest seaborne in- The American units that land- The American units that land- man losses are unknown. • Designer: Springfield -Ar • Rate of fire: 10–15 rounds/ vasion force in history ed on Utah were: ed on Utah were: O moury min landed on an 80 km stretch of • VII Corps. • 1st Infantry Division. Juno • Designed: 1903 • Effective firing range: 910 the Normandy coast in France. • 4th Infantry Division. • 29th Infantry Division. The Allied units that landed • Weight: 3.9 kg metres Codenamed Operation Nep- • 90th Infantry Division. • U.S. Army Rangers. on Juno were: • Length: 1,100 mm • Feed system: 5-round strip- tune, it was part of Operation • 4th Cavalry Regiment. The German units defending • Canadian 3rd Infantry Divi- • Cartridge: .30-03 per clip. Overlord, the liberation of • 70th Tank Battalion. the beach were: sion. • Action: Bolt action German-occupied north-west- The German units defending • 352nd Infantry Division. • Canadian 2nd Armoured ern Europe from Nazi control. the beach were: • 439th Ost-Battalion (Poles Brigade. It was also the launch of the • 91st Infantry Division. and Russians who had been • United Kingdom No. 48 long-awaited second front. It • 6th Parachute Regiment (at- conscripted to serve in the (Royal Marine) Commando. was simply termed D-Day. tached from the 2nd Para- Wehrmacht). The German units defending More than 6,700 ships of all chute Division). American casualties at Utah the beach were: M1 Garand sizes were used in the landings. • Two battalions of the 919th were 2,000 - 5,000+. The Ger- • A Company of the 736th A total of 132,715 troops and Grenadier Regiment, part of man casualties were 1,200. Grenadier Regiment. 20,000 vehicles were eventual- the 709th Static Infantry Di- • 21st Panzer Division. • Designer: John C. Garand ing bolt ly landed on the beaches. vision. Gold Allied casualties at Juno were • Designed: 1928 Rate of fire: 40–50 rounds/min There were five landing American losses at Utah were The British units that landed 914. The German losses are un- • Weight: 4.31 kg Effective firing range: 457 me- beaches, codenamed Utah, 197 killed. The German losses on Utah were: known. • Length: 1,100 mm tres Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. are unknown. • 50th Infantry Division. • Cartridge: .30-06 Spring- Feed system: 8-round en-bloc Sword field clip. The British units that landed • Action: Gas-operated, rotat- on Utah were: • 8th Brigade. • 9th Brigade. • 185th Brigade. • 27th Armoured Brigade. M1 Carbine • 1st Special Service Brigade. • 4th Special Service Brigade. The German units defending • Designer: Frederick L. Hu- • Rate of fire: Semi-automatic the beach were: meston 750 rounds/min • Eight companies of the • Designed: 1938–1941 • Effective firing range: 270 716th Infantry Division. • Weight: 2.6 kg metres • 9,790 men of the 21st Pan- • Length: 900 mm • Feed system: 15- or 30-round zer Division. • Cartridge: .30 Carbine detachable box magazine. British casualties at Sword • Action: Gas-operated (short- were 683. The German losses stroke piston), rotating bolt are unknown.

38 39 head to head head to head

The BAR was designed to The Thompson became in- be carried by infantrymen famous during the Prohibition during an assault advance era, being a signature weapon while supported by the sling of various crime syndicates in Browning Automatic over the shoulder, or to be the United States. (BAR) fired from the hip. This isa It was also known infor- concept called “walking fire” mally as the “Tommy Gun”, Thompson M1A1 - thought to be necessary for • Designer: John Browning • Rate of fire: 500–650 “Annihilator”, “Chicago the individual soldier dur- Typewriter”, “Chicago Sub- • Designed: 1917 rounds/min • Designer: John T. Thomp- Lock ing trench warfare. The BAR machine”, “Chicago Piano”, • Weight: 7.25 kg • Effective firing range: 91– son • Rate of fire: Approx. 625 never entirely lived up to the “Chicago Style”, “Chica- • Length: 1,194 mm 1,372 metres • Designed: 1917–1920 rpm original hopes of the war de- go Organ Grinder”, “Trench • Cartridge:.30-06 Springfield • Feed system: 20-round de- • Weight: 4.9 kg • Effective firing range: 150 partment as either a rifle or a Broom”, “Trench Sweeper”, • Action: Gas-operated, rising tachable box magazine. • Length: 860 mm metres machine gun. “Drum Gun”,”The Chopper”, bolt lock • Cartridge .45 ACP • Feed system: 20-round stick/ and simply “The Thompson”. • Action: Blowback, Blish box magazine

The M3 was intended as a M1917 Browning replacement for the Thomp- son, and began to enter front line service in mid 1944. • Designer: John Browning • Action: Recoil-operated au- Due to delays caused by pro- • Designed: 1917 tomatic duction issues and approved • Weight: 47 kg • Rate of fire: 450 round/min specification changes, the • Length: 980 mm • Feed system: 250 round fab- M3 ‘Grease Gun’ M3 saw limited combat use Mk 2 grenade • Cartridge:.30-06 Springfield ric belt. in World War II. The M3A1 variant was used in the Kore- an War and later conflicts. As a company or battalion The M3 was commonly re- support weapon, the M1919 • Designer: George Hyde • Rate of fire: Approx. 450 ferred to as the “Grease Gun” required at least a two-man • Designed: 1942 rounds/min or simply “the Greaser,” ow- machine gun team. But, in • Weight: 3.70 kg • Effective firing range: 91 ing to its visual similarity to practice, four men were nor- • Length: 740 mm metres the mechanic’s tool. mally involved: the gunner • Cartridge .45 ACP Feed system: 30-round detach- (who fired the gun and when • Action: Blowback, open able box magazine M1919 Browning advancing carried the tripod bolt and box of ammo), the assis- tant gunner (who helped feed • Designer: John Browning • Action: Short recoil opera- the gun and carried it, and • Designer: John Browning short-recoil operation • Designed: 1924 tion box of spare parts and tools), • Designed: 1919 • Rate of fire: 400–600 round/ • Weight: 1,100 g • Feed system: 7 round stand- and two ammunition carriers. • Weight: 14 kg min • Length: 210 mm ard detachable box maga- • Length: 964 mm • Effective firing range: 1,400 • Cartridge .45 ACP zine • Cartridge:.30-06 Springfield metres • Action: Recoil-operated/ • Feed system: 250-round belt Colt M1911A1

40 41 head to head head to head

British Infantry Weapons The machine gun typically required a six to eight-man team to operate: one fired, The WWI versions are one fed the ammunition, the often referred to as the rest helped to carry the weap- “SMLE”, which is short for on, its ammunition, and spare Lee Enfield Mk 4 No. 1 the common “Short Maga- parts. It was in service from zine Lee-Enfield” variant. before the First World War un- • Designer: James Paris Lee, • Rate of fire: 20–30 aimed A redesign of the Lee–Met- til the 1960s, with air-cooled RSAF Enfield shots per minute ford (adopted by the British versions of it on many Allied Vickers • Designed: 1904 • Effective firing range: 503 Army in 1888), the Lee–En- World War I fighter aircraft. • Weight: 4.19 kg metres field superseded the earlier The weapon had a reputa- • Length: 1,129 mm • Feed system: 10-round mag- Martini–Henry, Martini–En- tion for great solidity and re- • Cartridge: .303 Mk VII SAA azine, loaded with 5-round field, and Lee–Metford rifles. liability. During an action that Ball charger clips took place in August 1916, • Action: Bolt-action during which the British • Designed: 1912 • Rate of fire: 450 to 500 100th Company of the Ma- • Weight: 15–23 kg round/min chine Gun Corps fired their • Length: 1.12 m • Effective firing range: 2,000 ten Vickers guns continuous- • Crew: Three man crew metres ly for twelve hours. Using • Cartridge: .303 British • Feed system: 250-round 100 barrels, they fired a mil- • Action: Recoil with gas canvas belt lion rounds without a failure. boost Bren gun • Designer: Webley & Scott • Rate of fire: 20–30 rounds/ • Designed: 1887 minute • Designed: 1935 rounds/min • Weight: 1.1 kg • Effective firing range: 45 • Weight: 10.35 kg • Effective firing range: 550 • Length: 286 mm metres • Length: 1,156 mm metres • Cartridge: .38 • Feed system: 6-round cylin- • Cartridge: .303 British • Feed system: 20-round Mills bomb • Action: Double Action re- der • Action: Gas-operated, tilt- L1A1 SLR magazine; volver ing bolt 30-round detachable box • Rate of fire: 5 0 0 – 5 2 0 magazine Webley No. 1 Mark 6

STEN is an acronym, from the names of the weapon’s chief designers, Major Regi- • Designer: John Browning • Rate of fire: Semi-auto- Sten gun nald V. Shepherd and Harold • Designed: 1914-1935 matic Turpin, and EN for Enfield. • Weight: 1 kg • Effective firing range: 50 Over four million Stens in • Length: 197 mm metres • Designer: Major Reginald V. • Action: Blowback-operated, various versions were made • Cartridge: 9×19mm Para- • Feed system: 13 or 15 round Shepherd, Harold J. Turpin open bolt in the 1940s. bellum detachable box magazine • Designed: 1940 • Rate of fire: 500–600 rpm They had a simple design • Action: Short recoil operat- Browning P-35 • Weight: 3.2 kg • Effective firing range: 100 and very low production cost, ed Highpower • Length: 762 mm metres so they were also effective in- • Cartridge: 9×19mm Para- • Feed system: 32-round de- surgency weapons for resist- bellum tachable box magazine ance groups. 42 43 head to head head to head

German Infantry Weapons It was arguably the most advanced machine gun in the The Karabiner 98 kurz of- world at the time of its de- ten abbreviated Kar98k or ployment. Kar98k K98k and often incorrectly The MG 34 was envisaged referred to as a “K98” (which and well developed to pro- was a Polish Carbine) was vide portable light and me- MG 34 • Designer: Paul Mauser • Rate of fire: 15 rpm adopted on 21 June 1935 as dium machine gun infantry • Designed: 1935 • Effective firing range: 500 the standard service rifle by cover, anti-aircraft coverage, • Designer: Heinrich Vollmer • Rate of fire: 1,200 rounds/ • Weight: 3.7–4.1 kg metres the German Wehrmacht. and even sniping ability. • Designed: 1934 min. • Length: 1,110 mm • Feed system: 5-round strip- It replaced the Gewehr 98 Its combination of excep- • Weight: 12.1 kg • Effective firing range: 200- • Cartridge: 7.92×57mm per clip, internal magazine which first saw service in tional mobility – being light • Length: 1,219 mm 2,000 metres • Action: Bolt action 1888. enough to be carried by one • Cartridge: 7.92×57mm • Feed system: 50/250-round man – and high rate of fire (of Mauser belts, 50-round drum, or up to 900 rounds per minute) • Action: Open bolt, Re- 75-round drum magazine was unmatched. coil-operated, Rotating bolt with modification

Gewehr 43 Model 24 Designed to be low-cost and grenande easy to build, the MG 42 proved • Designer: Walther stroke piston, flapper lock- to be highly reliable and easy to • Designed: 1943 ing operate. • Weight: 4.4 kg • Effective firing range: 500 It is most notable for its very • Length: 1,130 mm metres MG 42 high cyclic rate for a gun using • Cartridge: 7.92×57mm • Feed system: 10-round de- full power service cartridges, averaging about 1,200 rounds Mauser tachable box magazine or • Designer: Werner Gruner • Rate of fire: 1,200 rounds/ per minute compared to around • Action: Gas-operated short- 5-round stripper clips • Designed: 1942 min. 850 for the MG 34, and perhaps • Weight: 11.6 kg • Effective firing range: 4,700 450 to 600 for other common • Length: 1,220 mm metres Inspired by its predecessor machine guns like the M1919 • Cartridge: 7.92×57mm • Feed system: 50 or the MP 38, it was heavily used Browning or Bren. This ability Mauser 250-round Patronengurt 33, by infantrymen (particularly made it extremely effective in • Action: Recoil-operated, 34, or 34/41 model belt, platoon and squad leaders), providing suppressive fire, and roller-locked 50-round belt drum and by paratroopers, on the its unique sound led to it being Eastern and Western Fronts. nicknamed “Hitler’s buzzsaw”. Its advanced and modern MP 40 features made it a favourite among soldiers and popular in countries from various parts • Designer: Georg Luger (semi-automatic) • Designer: Heinrich Vollmer, • Action: Straight blowback, of the world after the war. • Designed: 1898 • Effective firing range: 50 Berthold Geipel open bolt It was often erroneous- • Weight: 871 g metres • Designed: 1938 • Rate of fire: 500–550 rpm ly called “Schmeisser” by • Length: 222 mm • Feed system: 8-round de- • Weight: 3.97 kg • Effective firing range: 100- the Allies, although Hugo • Cartridge: 9×19mm Para- tachable box magazine • Length: 833 mm - stock ex- 200 metres Schmeisser was not involved bellum Luger P08 tended • Feed system: 32-round de- in the design or production of • Action: Toggle-locked, • Cartridge: 9×19mm Parabel- tachable box magazine the weapon. short recoil lum • Rate of fire: 116 rpm 44 45 head to head Quiz • Designer: Carl Walther • Action: Short recoil, locked • Designed: 1938 breech SADF Stuff • Weight: 840 g • Effective firing range: 50 his month we have a bit of a different quiz for you. It’s about the SADF (South African De- • Length: 216 mm metres fence Force). There are a few questions, slang expressions and some flashes and emblems to • Cartridge: 9×19mm Para- • Feed system: 8-round mag- identify. Answers on page 88. Walther P38 T bellum azine 1. In which year did military C-130 transport aircraft bet- 13. What was the nickname giv- service become compulso- ter known as? en to the Valkiri 127 mm Special Weapons and Equipment ry for white South African 6. What was a leading seaman multiple rocket launcher? men? in the navy better known as? 14. What was the nickname giv- General Dwight Eisenhower once said “Andrew 2. What was the navy term for 7. What was a ‘Noddy Car’? en for the tray on which food Higgins is the man who won the war for us”. But LCVP a ‘chicken parade’? 8. What was ‘pille en brille’? was sometimes served? who is Andrew Higgins? 3. What form was used for the 9. Who, or what, was a ‘pon- 15. Who, or what, was ‘white He designed the landing craft, vehicle, personnel purposes of laying a charge go’? gold’? (LCVP). It was a landing craft used extensively in against any SADF member? 10. What was PLAN? 16. What was a ‘soek steek amphibious landings in World War II. 4. What was the slang term 11. What was a ‘siel tiffie’? stok’? It could ferry a roughly platoon-sized comple- given to slices of polony? 12. Who, or what, was a ‘Santa 17. What did the term ‘maak ment of 36 men to shore at 9 knots (17 km/h). Men 5. What was the Hercules Maria’? dood’ mean? generally entered the boat by climbing down a cargo net hung from the side of their troop transport; they Identify the following: exited by charging down the boat’s lowered bow ramp.

For Operation Overlord, 514 tanks were modified with duplex drive kits intended to give the armoured 19 vehicles an amphibious capability. This transformed 20 them into the “DD Tank” - the duplex drive tank. The modifications - a British concept - mainly com- 18 prised a twin-screw propulsion system at the rear of the vehicle for water navigation and inflatable skirts, or ‘‘bloomers,’’ to aid buoyancy. Though the 23 arrangement worked well for shallow water, such 21 22 as rivers, it proved disastrous in ocean swells. The skirts afforded only a low freeboard, which left the hulls susceptible to being swamped.

A Bangalore torpedo is an explosive charge placed within one or several connected tubes. It is used by combat engineers to clear obstacles that would oth- erwise require them to approach directly, possibly 24 25 26 under fire. It is sometimes colloquially referred to as a “Bangalore mine”, “banger” or simply “Ban- galore”. On D-Day it was used mainly for clearing paths through concentrations of barbed wire.

46 47 Famous figures in military history Famous figures in military history he had two sons and two daugh- ber 1937. These issues made the naval ministry to sea as ters. him a target of assassination the commander-in-chief of the Isoroku Yamamoto threats by pro-war militarists. Combined Fleet on 30 August Japanese Fleet Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, Commander-in-chief of the Com- Pre-World War II Throughout 1938, many 1939. bined Fleet during World War II, and the architect of Pearl Harbour. Yamamoto spent a few years young army and naval officers This was done as one of the in the United States when he re- began to speak publicly against last acts of the then-acting Navy soroku Yamamoto held sev- ing sons to adopt suitable young his forth year, which was spent ceived two postings as a naval Yamamoto and certain other Minister Mitsumasa Yonai, un- eral important posts in the men in this fashion to carry on at sea, that he really began to attaché in Washington, D.C. Japanese admirals such as Mit- der Baron Hiranuma’s short- Imperial Japanese Navy the family name, the rank and shine. I While in America he not only sumasa Yonai and Shigeyoshi lived administration. It was (IJN), and undertook many of the income that comes with it. His instructors quickly spot- learned to speak fluent Eng- Inoue for their strong oppo- done partly to make it harder its changes and reorganizations, He was a gifted scholar and ted his leadership potential. lish, but also enrolled part-time sition to a tripartite pact with for assassins to target Yamamo- especially its development of was rewarded in 1901 with ac- Despite only standing at 5’3” at Harvard University (1919- Nazi Germany as they saw it as to. naval aviation. ceptance to the Imperial Jap- (1,6 metres) and weighing 120 1921) where he studied Ameri- inimical to “Japan’s natural in- Yonai was certain that if He was the command- anese Naval Academy. On his pounds (54 kg), he was physi- can customs and business prac- terests”. Yamamoto remained ashore, he er-in-chief during the early entrance exam he scored the cally skilled, being an accom- tices. Yamamoto received a steady would be killed before the year years of the Pacific War and second highest marks in the en- plished gymnast and trained in He was promoted to - stream of hate mail and death [1939] ended. oversaw major engagements in- tire country. the martial art of kendo. tain in 1923. On 13 February threats from Japanese national- cluding the attack on Pearl Har- He did well during his first Unlike his fellow students he 1924, at the rank of captain, he ists. His reaction to the prospect On the brink of war bour and the Battle of Midway. three years, but it was during was not interested in drinking was part of the Japanese dele- of death by assassination was Yamamoto was promoted to He took part in three wars - and socialising, but rather spent gation visiting the US Naval passive and accepting. admiral on 15 November 1940. the Russo-Japanese War, World time reading his bible (he was War College. Later that year, The admiral wrote: “To die This, in spite of the fact that War I, and World War II. He a devout Christian) and getting he changed his specialty from for Emperor and Nation is when Hideki Tōjō was appoint- was a strong proponent of naval ahead on his studies. gunnery to naval aviation. His the highest hope of a military ed prime minister on 8 October aviation. In 1904 Yamamoto graduated first command was the cruiser man. After a brave hard fight 1941, many political observers He was one of the few Japa- from the Naval Academy, sev- Isuzu in 1928, followed by the the blossoms are scattered on thought that Yamamoto’s career nese to be awarded the German enth out of 200 students. From aircraft carrier Akagi. the fighting field. But if a- per was essentially over. Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross February that year Japan had He participated in the sec- son wants to take a life instead, Tōjō had been Yamamoto’s with Oak Leaves and Swords. been at war with Russia, and ond London Naval Conference still the fighting man will go to old opponent from the time Yet he was strongly opposed Yamamoto was immediate- of 1930 as a rear admiral and eternity for Emperor and coun- when the latter served as Ja- to the 1940 Tripartite Pact with ly thrown into the fray. the 1934 London Naval Con- try. One man’s life or death is pan’s deputy naval minister Nazi Germany and fascist Italy. Yamamoto served on ference as a vice admiral, as a matter of no importance. All and Tōjō was the prime mov- the armoured cruis- the growing military influence that matters is the Empire. As er behind Japan’s takeover of Early life er Nisshin during the on the government at the time Confucius said, “They may Manchuria. It was believed that He was born Isoroku Takano Russo-Japanese War. deemed that a career military crush cinnabar, yet they do not Yamamoto would be appointed in Nagaoka, Niigata on 4 April He was wounded at specialist needed to accompany take away its colour; one may to command the Yokosuka Na- 1884. His father was Sadayoshi the Battle of Tsushi- the diplomats to the arms limi- burn a fragrant herb, yet it will val Base, “a nice safe demotion Takano, an intermediate-rank ma, losing two fingers tations talks. not destroy the scent.” They with a big house and no power samurai of the Nagaoka Do- (the index and middle Yamamoto opposed the inva- may destroy my body, yet they at all”. main. “Isoroku” is an old Jap- fingers) on his left hand, sion of Manchuria in 1931, the will not take away my will.” After the new Japanese cab- anese term meaning “56”; the as the cruiser was hit re- subsequent land war with China The Japanese Army, annoyed inet was announced, however, name referred to his father’s peatedly by the Russian (1937), and the 1940 Tripartite at Yamamoto’s unflinching op- Yamamoto found himself left age at Isoroku’s birth. battle line. Pact with Nazi Germany and position to a Rome-Berlin-To- alone in his position despite his In 1916, Isoroku was adopted He returned to the Na- fascist Italy. As Deputy Navy kyo treaty, dispatched military open conflicts with Tōjō and into the Yamamoto family (an- val Staff College in 1914, Minister, he apologized to Unit- police to “guard” Yamamoto, a other members of the army’s other family of former Nagaoka emerging as a lieutenant ed States Ambassador Joseph ruse by the army to keep an eye oligarchy who favoured war samurai) and took the Yamamo- commander in 1916. C. Grew for the bombing of the on him. with the European powers and to name. It was a common prac- In 1918 Isoroku married gunboat USS Panay in Decem- He was later reassigned from the United States. tice for samurai families lack- Reiko Mihashi, with whom 48 49 Two of the main reasons for while simultaneously thrust- As Japan moved toward war tegic advantages in military Yamamoto’s political survival ing into the oil and rubber re- during 1940, Yamamoto grad- production capacity, Yamamoto were his immense popularity source-rich areas of Southeast ually moved toward strategic proposed instead to seek a deci- within the fleet, where he com- Asia, especially the Dutch East as well as tactical innovation, sion with the Americans by first manded the respect of his men Indies, Borneo, and Malaya. again with mixed results. reducing their forces with a pre- and officers, and his close rela- In naval matters, Yamamo- Prompted by talented young ventive strike, and following it tions with the imperial family. to opposed the building of the officers such as Lieutenant with a “decisive battle” fought He also had the acceptance of super-battleships Yamato and Commander Minoru Genda, offensively, rather than defen- Japan’s naval hierarchy. Musashi as an unwise invest- Yamamoto approved the reor- sively. Consequently, Yamamoto ment of resources. ganization of Japanese carrier Yamamoto hoped, but proba- stayed in his post. With Tōjō forces into the First Air Fleet, a bly did not believe, that if the now in charge of Japan’s high- Innovations consolidated striking force that Americans could be dealt terrif- est political office, it became Yamamoto was responsible gathered Japan’s six largest car- ic blows early in the war, they clear the army would lead the for a number of innovations in riers into one unit. might be willing to negotiate an navy into a war about which Japanese naval aviation. Al- This innovation gave great end to the conflict. Yamamoto had serious reser- though remembered for his as- striking capacity, but also con- The Naval General Staff vations. He wrote to an ultrana- sociation with aircraft carriers, centrated the vulnerable car- proved reluctant to go along and PEARL HARBOUR BURNS: As a result of the attack on Pearl tionalist: Yamamoto did more to influ- riers into a compact target. Yamamoto was eventually driv- Harbour, America declared war on Japan on 8 December 1941. “Should hostilities once ence the development of land- Yamamoto also oversaw the en to capitalize on his popular- break out between Japan and based naval aviation, particu- organization of a similar large ity in the fleet by threatening to success according to the pa- Fleet, Naval Vice Admiral Chu- the United States, it would not larly the Mitsubishi G3M and land-based organization in the resign to get his way. Admiral rameters of the mission, which ichi Nagumo, withdrew. be enough that we take Guam G4M medium bombers. 11th Air Fleet, which would Osami Nagano and the Naval sought to sink at least four Yamamoto later lamented and the Philippines, nor even His demand for great range later use the G3M and G4M to General Staff eventually caved American battleships and pre- Nagumo’s failure to seize the Hawaii and San Francisco. To and the ability to carry a torpe- neutralize American air forces in to this pressure, but only in- vent the U.S. from interfering initiative to seek out and de- make victory certain, we would do was intended to conform to in the Philippines and sink the sofar as approving the attack on in Japan’s southward advance stroy the U.S. carriers, absent have to march into Washington Japanese conceptions of bleed- British “Force Z”. Pearl Harbour. for at least six months. Amer- from the harbour, or further and dictate the terms of peace ing the American fleet as it ad- In January 1941, Yamamo- The First Air Fleet com- ican aircraft carriers were also bombard various strategically in the White House. I wonder if vanced across the Pacific. The to went even further and pro- menced preparations for the considered a choice target, but important facilities on Oahu. our politicians [who speak so planes did achieve long range, posed a radical revision of Pearl Harbour raid, solving a these were not in port at the Nagumo had absolutely no idea lightly of a Japanese-American but long-range fighter escorts Japanese naval strategy. For number of technical problems time of the attack. where the American carriers war] have confidence as to the were not available. These planes two decades, in keeping with along the way, including how to In the end, five American bat- might be, and remaining on sta- final outcome and are prepared were lightly constructed and the doctrine of Captain Alfred launch torpedoes in the shallow tleships were sunk, three were tion while his forces cast about to make the necessary sacrific- when fully fuelled, they were T. Mahan, the Naval General water of Pearl Harbour and how damaged, and eleven other looking for them ran the risk of es.” especially vulnerable to enemy Staff had planned in terms of to craft armour-piercing bombs cruisers, destroyers, and aux- his own forces being found first This quote was spread by the fire. This earned the G4M the Japanese light surface forces, by machining down battleship iliaries were sunk or seriously and attacked while his aircraft militarists, minus the last sen- sardonic nickname the “flying submarines, and land-based air gun projectiles. damaged, 188 American air- were absent searching. tence, where it was interpreted cigarette lighter”. units whittling down the Amer- craft were destroyed and 159 In any case, insufficient day- in America as a boast that Japan The range of the G3M and ican Fleet as it advanced across Pearl Harbour others damaged, and 2,403 peo- light remained after recovering would conquer the entire conti- G4M contributed to a demand the Pacific until the Japanese US President Franklin D. ple were killed and 1,178 others the aircraft from the first two nental United States. The omit- for great range in a fighter air- Navy engaged it in a climactic Roosevelt called it “a day that wounded. waves for the carriers to launch ted sentence showed Yamamo- craft. This partly drove the re- “decisive battle” in the north- will live in infamy.” The day in The Japanese lost 64 service- and recover a third before dark, to’s counsel of caution towards quirements for the A6M Zero ern Philippine Sea (between the question was 7 December 1941. men and only 29 aircraft, with and Nagumo’s escorting de- a war that could cost Japan which was as noteworthy for Ryukyu Islands and the Maria- On that fateful morning the 74 others damaged by anti-air- stroyers lacked the fuel capac- dearly. its range as for its manoeuvra- nas), with battleships meeting First Air Fleet of six carri- craft fire from the ground. The ity for him to loiter long. Much Nevertheless, Yamamoto ac- bility. Both qualities were again in the traditional exchange be- ers attacked the United States, damaged aircraft were dispro- has been made of Yamamoto’s cepted the reality of impending purchased at the expense of tween battle lines. launching 353 aircraft against portionately dive and torpedo hindsight, but, in keeping with war and planned for a quick light construction and flamma- Correctly pointing out this Pearl Harbour and other loca- bombers, seriously impacting Japanese military tradition not victory by destroying the Unit- bility that later contributed to plan had never worked even in tions within Honolulu in two available firepower to exploit to criticize the commander on ed States Pacific Fleet at Pearl the A6M’s high casualty rates Japanese war games, and pain- waves. the first two waves’ success, so the spot, he did not punish Na- Harbour in a preventive strike as the war progressed. fully aware of American stra- The attack was a complete the commander of the First Air gumo for his withdrawal. 50 51 On the strategic, moral, and HMS Prince of Wales and bat- ment aircraft and aircrews, and to conduct an ambush. political level, the attack was tlecruiser HMS Repulse under- saw to tactical integration and Nimitz’s carriers positioned a disaster for Japan, rousing way at sea. training. These two ships would themselves to ambush the Kidō American passions for revenge Under Yamamoto’s able sub- be sorely missed a month later Butai (striking force) when it due to what is now famously ordinates, Vice Admirals Jisa- at Midway. struck Midway. A token cruis- coined a “sneak attack”. The burō Ozawa, Nobutake Kondō, er and destroyer force was sent US declared war on Japan the and Ibō Takahashi, the Japanese Battle of Midway toward the Aleutians, but other- following day, 8 December swept the inadequate remaining Yamamoto’s plan for Midway wise Nimitz ignored them. 1941. American, British, Dutch and Island was an extension of his On 4 June 1942, days before When asked by Prime Min- Australian naval assets from the efforts to knock the US Pacific Yamamoto expected them to ister Fumimaro Konoe in mid- Dutch East Indies in a series of Fleet out of action long enough interfere in the Midway opera- 1941 about the outcome of a amphibious landings and sur- for Japan to fortify its defensive tion, US carrier-based aircraft possible war with the United face naval battles culminating perimeter in the Pacific island destroyed the four carriers of States, Yamamoto made a well- in the Battle of the Java Sea on chains. Yamamoto felt it neces- the Kidō Butai, catching the known and prophetic statement: 27 February 1942. sary to seek an early, offensive Japanese carriers at an especial- If ordered to fight, he said, “I Along with the occupation decisive battle. ly vulnerable moment. shall run wild considerably for of the Dutch East Indies came The plan was to seize Mid- Midway was a defeat for Ja- the first six months or a year, the fall of Singapore on 15 way and draw the US carriers pan and after that they suffered LAST GREETINGS: Admiral Yamamoto, a few hours before but I have utterly no confidence February 1942, and the even- west into a trap where the First set back after setback. his death, saluting Japanese naval pilots at Rabaul on 18 April for the second and third years.” tual reduction of the remaining Mobile Force would engage 1943. His prediction would be vin- American-Filipino defensive and destroy them. Afterwards, Death dicated, as Japan easily con- positions in the Philippines on First Fleet (one light carrier, To boost morale follow- from three units were informed received two 0.50-caliber bullet quered territories and islands in the Bataan peninsula, 9 April seven battleships, three cruisers ing the defeat at Guadalcanal, that they were intercepting an wounds, one to the back of his Asia and the Pacific for the first 1942, and Corregidor Island and 13 destroyers), in conjunc- Yamamoto decided to make “important high officer” with left shoulder and another to his six months of the war, before on 6 May 1942. The Japanese tion with elements of Second an inspection tour throughout no specific name given. left lower jaw that exited above suffering a major defeat at the had secured their oil- and rub- Fleet, would mop up remaining the South Pacific. On 14 April On the morning of 18 April, his right eye. Yamamoto was 59 Battle of Midway on 4-7 June ber-rich “southern resources US surface forces and complete 1943, the US naval intelligence despite urging by local com- years old. 1942, which ultimately tilted area”. the destruction of the US Pacif- effort, code-named “Magic”, manders to cancel the trip for Yamamoto’s staff cremat- the balance of power in the Pa- ic Fleet. intercepted and decrypted a fear of ambush, Yamamoto’s ed his remains at Buin and his cific towards the U.S. The tide turns Yamamoto held all the cards. message containing specifics two Mitsubishi G4M bombers, ashes were returned to Tokyo In early May 1942 the Japa- The Japanese had four carriers, of Yamamoto’s tour, including used as fast transport aircraft aboard the battleship Musashi, Early success nese Navy clashed with a US two light carriers, 11 battle- arrival and departure times and without bombs, left Rabaul as Yamamoto’s last flagship. With the US fleet largely carrier task force in the Battle ships, 16 cruisers and 46 de- locations, as well as the number scheduled for the 507 km trip. Yamamoto was given a full neutralized at Pearl Harbour, of the Coral Sea. Although the stroyers likely to be in the area and types of aircraft that would Sixteen P-38 Lightnings inter- state funeral on 5 June, where Yamamoto’s Combined Fleet Japanese sank the US carrier of the main battle the US could transport and accompany him cepted the flight over Bougain- he received, posthumously, the turned to the task of executing USS Lexington and damaged field only three carriers, eight on the journey. ville and a dogfight ensued be- title of Marshal and was award- the larger Japanese war plan de- the USS Yorktown (CV-5), the cruisers, and 15 destroyers. The Yamamoto, the itinerary re- tween them and the six escorting ed the Order of the Chrysan- vised by the Imperial Japanese Americans damaged the car- disparity appeared crushing. vealed, would be flying from Mitsubishi A6M Zeroes. The themum (1st Class). He was Army (IJA) and Navy Gen- rier Shōkaku so badly that she Unbeknownst to Admiral Rabaul to Balalae Airfield, on plane carrying Yamamoto was also awarded Nazi Germany’s eral Staff. The First Air Fleet required dockyard repairs, and Yamamoto, the US had learned an island near Bougainville in shot down and crashed into the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross made a circuit of the Pacific, the Japanese lost the light car- of Japanese plans thanks to the the Solomon Islands, on the jungle. with Oak Leaves and Swords. striking American, Australian, rier Shoho. Just as importantly, code breaking of Japanese na- morning of April 18, 1943. The crash site and body of Some of his ashes were bur- Dutch and British installations Japanese operational mishaps val code D (known to the US as On 17 April the mission to in- Yamamoto were found the next ied in the public Tama Ceme- from Wake Island to Australia and US fighters and anti-air- JN-25). tercept Yamamoto’s flight and day in the jungle of the island tery, Tokyo and the remainder to Ceylon in the Indian Ocean. craft fire devastated the dive As a result, Admiral Chester shoot it down was authorised. A of Bougainville by a Japanese at his ancestral burial grounds The 11th Air Fleet caught the bomber and torpedo plane for- Nimitz, the Pacific Fleet com- squadron of USAAF Lockheed search and rescue party, led at the temple of Chuko-ji in Na- US 5th Air Force on the ground mations of both Shōkaku’s and mander, was able to circumvent P-38 Lightning aircraft were by army engineer Lieutenant gaoka City. He was succeeded in the Philippines hours after Zuikaku’s air groups. both of Yamamoto’s security assigned the task as only they Hamasuna. as commander-in-chief of the Pearl Harbour, and then sank These losses sidelined Zuika- measures and place his out- possessed sufficient range to in- A post-mortem of the body Combined Fleet by Admiral the British Force Z battleship ku while she awaited replace- numbered forces in a position tercept and engage. Select pilots disclosed that Yamamoto had Mineichi Koga. 52 53 Forged in I. Gvay led a design team in thorized for production. Only heavy armour. Starting in 1942, Chelyabinsk, Russia, which forty launchers were built be- they were also mounted on var- battle built several prototype launch- fore Germany invaded the So- ious British, Canadian and U.S. ers firing the modified 132 mm viet Union in June 1941. Lend-Lease trucks, in which M-132 rockets over the sides of After their success in the first case they were sometimes re- Stalin’s Organ ZiS-5 trucks. month of the war, mass pro- ferred to as BM-13S. These proved unstable, and duction was ordered and the The cross-country perfor- V.N. Galkovskiy proposed development of other models mance of the Studebaker US6 With its distinctive whine the Katyusha was a weapon that sowed terror and confusion among the mounting the launch rails lon- proceeded. The Katyusha was 2½-ton 6x6 truck was so good Germans during their invasion of the . It was a weapon that was forged in battle. gitudinally. In August 1939, the inexpensive and could be man- that it became the GAU’s stand- result was the BM-13 (boyevaya ufactured in light industrial in- ard mounting in 1943, designat- sk any South African a sound they will never forget. The design was relatively mashina). stallations which did not have ed BM-13N (normalizovanniy, that took part in combat And it is a sound that, to this simple, consisting of racks of The first large-scale testing of the heavy equipment to build ‘standardized’), and more than Aoperations in day, is still just as frightening to parallel rails on which rockets the rocket launchers took place conventional artillery gun bar- 1,800 of this model were man- or the then South West Afri- those on the receiving end. were mounted, with a folding at the end of 1938, when 233 rels. ufactured by the end of World ca to describe the sound of the frame to raise the rails to launch rounds of various types were By the end of 1942, 3,237 War II. war and they will probably tell Background position. Each truck had 14 to used. Katyusha launchers of all types After World War II, BM-13s you that it was the sound of the Invented in Voronezh, Rus- 48 launchers. The M-13 rocket A salvo of rockets could com- had been built, and by the end were based on Soviet-built ZiS- 282 hp turbo-charged diesel en- sia, Katyusha rocket launchers of the BM-13 system was 80 pletely straddle a target at a of the war total production 151 trucks. gine of the Ratel. were mounted on many plat- cm long, 13.2 cm in diameter range of 5,500 metres. But the reached about 10,000. Initially, the BM-13 mo- Ask any American that fought forms during World War II, and weighed 42 kg. artillery branch was not fond of The truck-mounted Katy- bile rocket launcher was such in Vietnam the same question including on trucks, artillery In June 1938, the Soviet Reac- the Katyusha, because it took ushas were installed on ZiS- a closely guarded secret, only and they will tell you that it was tractors, tanks, and armoured tion-Engine Scientific Research up to 50 minutes to load and fire 6 6×4 trucks, as well as the specially cleared NKVD (Nar- the ‘thump-thump’ of the Bell trains, as well as on naval and Institute (RNII) in was 24 rounds, while a convention- two-axle ZiS-5 and ZiS-5V. In odnyy Komissariat Vnutren- UH-1 Iroquois ‘Huey’ helicop- riverine vessels as assault sup- authorized by the Main Artillery al howitzer could fire 95 to 150 1941, a small number of BM- nikh Del - People’s Commis- ter. port weapons. Directorate (GAU) to develop rounds in the same time. 13 launchers were mounted on sariat for Internal Affairs) state Yet for anyone that fought on Soviet engineers also mount- a multiple rocket launcher for Testing with various rockets STZ-5 artillery tractors. police units were permitted to the Eastern Front during World ed single Katyusha rockets on the RS-132 aircraft rocket (RS was conducted through 1940, A few were also tried on KV operate the weapons. The tech- War II, the distinctive whine of lengths of railway track to serve for Reaktivnyy Snaryad, (‘rock- and the BM-13-16 with launch tank chassis as the KV-1K, but nology would remain classified the Soviet Katyusha rocket is in urban combat. et-powered shell’). rails for sixteen rockets was au- this was a needless waste of well into the war.

54 55 Nicknames containing 3.68 kilograms of Initially, concerns for secre- TNT. A smoke warhead contain- cy kept the military designation ing white phosphorus. A chemi- of the Katyushas from being cal warhead containing 2.2 kilo- known by the soldiers who op- grams of sarin. erated them. They were called The most famous variant, post by code names such as Kostik- WWII is the BM-21 Grad (Hail) ov guns, after the head of the which entered service in 1962 RNII, the Reaction-Engine Sci- and is still widely used. It has 40 entific Research Institute, and barrels that can fire a 122 mm finally classed as Guards Mor- rocket a distance of between 30 To listen to the sound of Katyusha’s firing, tars. STALIN’S ORGAN: and 45 kilometres. click on the image above. The name BM-13 was only The BM-27 Uragan (Hurri- allowed into secret documents cane) went into service in 1975 BM-21 Grad in 1942, and remained classi- World War II to capture anything intact. The and was the first modern spin fied until after the war. On 7 July 1941, only 15 days retreating Russian rocket crew and fin stabilized heavy multiple Because they were marked after Germany had launched Op- had destroyed all the launchers rocket launcher. It has 16 barrels with the letter K (for Voronezh eration Barbarossa and invaded and rockets to protect their pre- that can fire a 220 mm rocket Komintern Factory), Red Army the Soviet Union, the Katyusha cious new weapon from falling a distance of 35 kilometres. It troops adopted a nickname made its combat debut. into enemy hands. can use HE-FRAG, chemical, from Mikhail Isakovsky’s pop- This was not perfect timing The Russian top brass were explosive or scatterable mine ular wartime song, “Katyusha” by any means. The first and thrilled at how well the BM-13 (PTM-3 or PFM-1) sub-mu- (Click the underlined link to only existing battery consisted had performed and this resulted nition equipped rockets, all of listen to the song), about a girl of only seven BM-13 launch- in mass production. which are detonated by electric longing for her absent beloved, ers and 600 M-13 rockets. More By the end of the war over timing fuses. who has gone away on military over they only had four days of 10,000 Katyusha launchers The BM-30 Smerch (Whirl- service. training. This was a time when along with 12 million rockets wind) went into service in 1989. Katyusha is the Russian the existence of the Katyusha had been produced by about 200 It has 12 barrels that can fire a equivalent of Katie, an endear- was a secret, so every possible factories. 300 mm rocket a distance of 90 ing diminutive form of the name precaution was taken to hide the It saw action from the defence kilometres. Various warheads BM-27 Uragan Katherine: Yekaterina - Katya - launchers until they were fired of the Soviet Union after the have been developed for the Katyusha. in combat. Germans invaded, right through Smerch MLRS. The Germans had their own The target of the first launch until the final battle for Berlin. The 9A52-4 Tornado was un- name for the Katyusha. Com- of Katyusha rockets was an in- veiled in 2007 and was designed paring the visual resemblance coming formation of German Post World War II as a lightweight and universal of the launch array and the dis- troops near the river Berezina. The success of the Katyusha version of the BM-30 Smerch. tinctive howling sound of the The screaming wail of the rock- in combat, its simple design and Its six barrels can fire all current weapon’s rocket motors, the ets was enough to demoralize cost effectiveness ensured its on- Smerch rockets, including HE- German’s nicknamed it Stal- both battle-hardened troops and going development after the war. FRAG, incendiary, thermobaric, inorgel (Stalin’s Organ). new recruits alike. The term Katyusha is still used as cluster with anti-personnel or When South African troops As the deluge of high explo- a generic name to describe Rus- anti-tank mines. Cluster rounds first encountered the 122 mm sives rained down on them the sian MLRS of different calibres may also carry self-targeting BM-21 Grad multiple-rocket Germans panicked, and the steel along with the prefix BM. anti-tank munitions. Launcher launcher during Operation Sa- fragments from the rockets add- In 1952 the BM-14 went into pods are designed for use with vanah in 1975, they soon gave ed to the injuries and confusion. service. It has 16 barrels and can 122-mm and 220-mm rockets. it their own nickname - die rooi The battery saw further action fire a 140 mm rocket a maxi- The weapons system is equipped oog (the red eye) - due to the and in October they found them- mum distance of 9.8 kilometres. with an automated laying and red glare of the rockets when selves surrounded by the attack- It fires three different rockets fire control system, along with 9A52-4 Tornado firing. ing Germans. Unfortunately for of the M-14 series - a high-ex- an autonomous satellite naviga- the Germans they were unable plosive fragmentation warhead tion and positioning system. 56 57 In the early hours of 6 June 1944 a mission that was averaging about 1.1 metres high vital to the success of Operation Tonga, the overall Brit- and a tidal rise and fall of 4.9–2.0 ish airborne landings in Normandy, took place. So im- metres. battlefield portant was the mission that failure could have spelled A number of small houses lie to the west of the river, con- doom for the Allied invasion of Europe. nected by a track 2.4–3.0 metres wide, that runs along both banks. n Tuesday 6 June 1944 the largest sea- Background The bridges were guarded by borne invasion force in history landed Responsibility for the opera- 50 men belonging to the Ger- on an 80 km stretch of the Norman- O O tion fell to the members of ‘D’ man 736th Grenadier Regiment, dy coast in France. Operation Overlord, the Company, 2nd (Airborne) Bat- 716th Infantry Division. They long-awaited liberation of Europe had begun. talion, Oxfordshire and Buck- were commanded by Major Hans While the prime focus was on Operation Nep- p inghamshire Light Infantry, part Schmidt and based at Ranville, tune, the beach landings at Normandy, numer- of the 6th Airlanding Brigade of 1.9 km east of the River Orne. ous other operations were also underway. Many e the 6th Airborne Division. The The unit was poorly equipped of them were just as vital to the overall success assault group comprised a rein- TARGET IN SIGHT: The three Horsa gliders assigned to the and manned by conscripts from of Operation Overlord. One of these missions r forced company of six infantry Caen Canal bridge. The bridge is hidden by the trees in the Poland, the Soviet Union, and was Operation Deadstick. platoons and an attached platoon distance. France under a German officer In the early hours of 6 June British airborne of Royal Engineers. They were and senior non-commissioned a forces were given the objective of capturing in- rived, he would hand over to their bridge crosses the Caen Canal to under the command of Major officers. Schmidt had orders to tact two road bridges in Normandy, one across commander Lieutenant-Colonel the west. They are 8.0 km from John Howard with Captain Bri- blow up the two bridges if they t the River Orne and the other across the Caen Richard Pine-Coffin. the coast and provided the only an Priday as the second in com- were in danger of capture. Canal. These bridges provided the only exit The 3rd Infantry Division and access to the city of Caen. mand. Far more of a threat was the i eastwards for the British forces from their land- the commandos of the 1st Com- The main road between the The 180 men under Howard’s 21st Panzer Division that had ing point on Sword Beach. mando Brigade were scheduled two communes crosses the command would be transported moved into the area just the According the intelligence reports, both to land at Sword at 06h00 on the bridges and then continues east o to the objective by six Airspeed month before. One of its regi- bridges were heavily defended by the Germans day then advance to the bridges to the River Dives. At 190 58 Horsa gliders, piloted by 12 ments, the 125th Panzergren- as well as being wired for demolition. Once where they were expected to ar- metres long and 3.7 metres wide, n NCOs from ‘C’ Squadron, Glid- adier, commanded by Colonel captured, the bridges had to be held against rive at 11h00. the Caen Canal bridge opens to er Pilot Regiment. Hans von Luck, was billeted at any counter-attack until the assault force was On 5 June 1944, the company allow canal traffic to pass under- Howard was not told the ex- Vimont just east of Caen. relieved by commandos and infantry advancing made final preparations for the neath. The controls were housed act details of the operation until There was also a battalion of from the British landing zone. mission. Each man was issued in a nearby cabin. 2 May, 1944. His orders were to the 192nd Panzergrenadier Regi- D If the Germans demolished either of the bridg- their personal weapons and am- The canal is 8.2 metres deep seize the bridges over the River ment based at Cairon to the west es the British 6th Airborne Division would be munition as well as up to nine by 46 metres wide, with earth Orne and Caen Canal at Bénou- of the bridges. Further afield e cut off from the rest of the Allied armies, with hand grenades and four Bren gun and stone banks 1.8 metres high. ville and Ranville intact and hold were the 12th SS Panzer Divi- their back to two waterways. magazines. Small tarmac tracks run on both them until relieved. sion at Lisieux and the Panzer If the Germans retained control over the Each platoon also had a 2-inch banks along the canal’s entire a The relief force would initially Lehr Division at Chartres, both bridges they could be used by their armoured mortar and a radio. Just before length. be a company from the 7th Para- less than a day’s march from the divisions to attack the landing beaches of Nor- the men boarded the gliders, Between the two bridges d chute Battalion under Howard’s area. mandy. For the British, failure was not an op- codewords were issued. ‘Ham’ there is a strip of mostly marshy command. When the remainder Defences were in place at both tion. of the parachute battalion ar- indicated the canal bridge was ground about 500 metres wide, s captured and ‘Jam’ the river broken up by ditches and small bridges. On the west bank of the bridge. Capture and destruction streams. Caen Canal bridge there were t of the canal bridge would be The Ranville bridge over the three machine-gun emplace- signalled using the codeword River Orne is 110 metres long, ments and on the east bank a ma- i ‘Jack’; ‘Lard’ would be used 6.1 metres wide and can be chine-gun and an anti-tank gun. if a similar fate befell the river opened to allow river traffic to To their north were anoth- c bridge. pass. The river is 49–73 metres er three machine-guns and a The Ranville bridge spans the wide and with an average depth concrete pillbox. An anti-air- River Orne and the Bénouville of 2.7 metres. It has mud banks craft tower equipped with ma- k chine-guns stood to the south. 58 59 At the River Orne bridge, the The sound of a gunshot alert- ent Parachute Company landed and then attack the parachute eastern bank south of the bridge ed the two sentries on the canal in the area between the River landing zones further west. At had a pillbox with anti-tank bridge. As Brotheridge’s platoon Orne and the River Dives. Brig- 02h00, the 2nd Battalion head- and anti-aircraft guns. To the attacked, one ran off shouting adier Nigel Poett, commanding ed for the bridges from the west, north of the bridge were two “paratroops” while the second the 5th Parachute Brigade, along supported by the 1st Panzerjager machine-guns. Both bridges fired a flare gun to alert nearby with a small team accompanied Company and part of the 989th had sandbagged trench systems defenders. Brotheridge shot him the pathfinders. Disoriented af- Heavy Artillery Battalion com- along the banks. while other members of his pla- ter landing, Poett heard Broth- ing from the north. toon cleared the trenches and eridge’s Sten gun and set off for As the first Panzer IVs from Capture of the bridges pillbox with grenades. the bridges with the only man he the north reached the junction At 22h56 on 5 June 1944, the Alerted by the flare, the Ger- could locate. leading to the bridge, the leading six gliders towed by Halifax man machine gunners opened At the river bridge, Glider No. vehicle was hit by a round from bombers took off from RAF Tar- fire at the men on the bridge, 5 landed only 300 metres away ‘D’ Company’s only servicea- rant Rushton. They each carried wounding Brotheridge as he from the bridge at 00h20. ble PIAT anti-tank weapon. The the following loads: threw a grenade. The grenade si- Glider No. 6 landed a minute RELIEF ARRIVES: Led by a piper, elements of the 1st Com- vehicle exploded, setting off its • No. 1 - Major Howard and lenced one of the machine gun later 700 metres away from the mando Brigade cross the Caen Canal bridge. stowed ammunition, and the Lieutenant Den Broth- positions and another was taken bridge. Glider No. 4, carrying other tanks withdrew. eridge’s platoon. out by Bren gun fire. Captain Priday, was reported leutnant Wilhelm Richter, was The first company of the 7th • No. 2 - Lieutenant David 1st Platoon crossed the bridge missing. 7th Parachute Battalion arrives informed at 01h20 of the par- Parachute Battalion, command- Wood’s platoon. to take up a defensive position When the Germans opened At 00h50, aircraft carrying the achute landings and that the ed by Major Nigel Taylor, ar- • No. 3 - Lieutenant Smith’s on the west bank. The Royal En- fire with an MG 34, the platoon rest of the 6th Airborne Division bridges had been captured in- rived at the bridges. Howard platoon. gineers from number one glider responded with a 2-inch (51 appeared overhead and the par- tact. One of his first actions was directed them to defensive posi- Their target was the Caen Ca- searched for explosive charges mm) mortar and destroyed the atroopers descended onto drop to contact Generalmajor Edgar tions west of the canal in Bénou- nal. and cut the fuse wires when they gun with a direct hit. They then zones marked out by the path- Feuchtinger of 21st Panzer Di- ville and Le Port. • No. 4 - Captain Priday and found any. crossed the bridge without fur- finders. vision. Richter ordered the divi- When Pine-Coffin arrived Lieutenant Hooper’s platoon. Smith’s platoon crossed the ther opposition. Howard began blowing the sion to attack the landing areas. at the bridges, he was briefed • No. 5 - Lieutenant Fox’s pla- bridge next, exchanging fire Sweeney left one of his sec- morse code letter ‘V’ on his While Feuchtinger’s tanks by Howard, and crossed into toon. with the German defenders, tions on the west bank then whistle, to help guide the 7th were delegated to support the Bénouville and set up his head- • No. 6 - Tod Sweeney’s pla- whereupon Smith was wound- moved the rest of the platoon Parachute Battalion to the bridg- 716th, it was also part of the quarters beside the church. toon. ed by a grenade. Using grenades across the bridge to take up de- es. The first paratroops to arrive, German armoured reserve that Pine-Coffin had about 200 men Their target was the river and sub-machine gun fire, the fensive positions on the east at 00h52, were Brigadier Poett could not move without orders in his three companies. He posi- bridge. Each glider also carried platoons cleared the trenches bank. and the soldier he had picked up from the German High Com- tioned ‘A’ and ‘C’ Companies in five Royal Engineers. and bunkers. By 00h21 German From his newly established en route. Briefed by Howard on mand. All German panzer for- Bénouville facing south towards At 00h16 on 6 June, Glid- resistance on the west bank of command post, in the trenches the situation, they heard tanks mations could only be moved on Caen and ‘B’ Company in Le er Number One crashed into the canal bridge was over. on the eastern bank of the canal and lorries moving around in the direct orders of Adolf Hitler, Port facing Ouistreham. barbed wire surrounding the ca- Brotheridge’s platoon discov- near the bridge, Howard learned Bénouville and Le Port. who was sleeping at the time and ‘D’ Company was now pulled nal bridge defences. Operation ered that he had succumbed to that the river bridge had also On the drop zone, only about his staff refused to wake him. back into the area between the Deadstick had begun. his wounds, becoming the first been taken. Captain Neilson of 100 men of the 7th Parachute When the 125th Panzergrena- two bridges and held in reserve. While the Germans were not Allied soldier killed by enemy the engineers reported that al- Battalion had made it to the ral- dier Regiment received news of A further sweep of the trenches sure of the exact date, nor the action during the invasion. though the bridges had been lying point but all their signal the airborne landings at 01:30, and bunkers was conducted, and exact location, they knew the On the east bank, Wood’s pla- prepared for demolition, the ex- equipment, machine guns and Colonel von Luck ordered the resulted in the capture of a num- invasion was imminent. Major toon cleared the trenches and plosives had not been attached. mortars were missing. regiment to their assembly are- ber of Germans. Schmidt was also fully aware bunkers with little opposition. Howard ordered his signal- Pine-Coffin, aware that his as north and east of Caen and to At 03h00, the 8th Heavy Com- that the bridges were one of the Wood was hit in the leg by ma- man to transmit the code words battalion was the only unit allo- wait for further orders. pany, 192nd Panzergrenadier most critical points in Norman- chine-gun fire. All three platoon ‘Ham’ and ‘Jam’ then brought cated defensive positions west The closest large German unit Regiment with 75 mm SP guns, dy. It was vital that they not fall commanders at the canal bridge Fox’s platoon across the canal of the bridges, decided they to the canal bridge was the 2nd 20 mm AA guns, and mortars at- into enemy hands. Yet, surpris- were now either dead or wound- bridge, positioning them at the could not wait any longer and, at Battalion, 192nd Panzergrena- tacked ‘A’ and ‘C’ Companies, ingly, when the gliders landed ed. Bénouville to Le Port cross- 01h10, left for the bridges. dier Regiment based at Cairon. 7th Parachute Battalion, from there were only two sentries on Around the same time, path- roads as the company’s forward The commander of the 716th General Feuchtinger ordered the south. duty on the canal bridges. finders from the 22nd Independ- platoon. Infantry Division, General- them to recapture the bridges, The paratroops were forced 60 61 back and the Germans estab- second round fired and then re- Aftermath General Bernard Montgomery. lished their own positions in treated back toward Caen. Of the 181 men (139 infantry, Both Smith and Sweeney were Bénouville, but were unable At 21h15, the 2nd Battalion, 30 engineers and 12 pilots) of awarded the ; to break the British line. They Royal Warwickshire Regiment ‘D’ Company involved in the the was award- dug in and waited for tank sup- of the 185th Infantry Brigade ar- capture of the bridges, two were ed to Sergeant Thornton and port before moving forward rived from Sword and began tak- killed and an additional four- Lance-Corporal Stacey; Lieu- again. The Germans fired mor- ing over the bridges’ defences. teen wounded. The 7th Battal- tenant Brotheridge was posthu- tar bombs and machine guns at At around midnight, How- ion’s losses during the defence mously mentioned in dispatch- the paratroopers and attempted ard handed over command of of the bridges amounted to 18 es. In recognition of their feat small assaults on their positions the bridges to the Warwickshire dead and 36 wounded. of flying, eight of the glider throughout the night. Regiment and his company left The total German losses, in pilots were awarded the Distin- Just before dawn, Howard to join the rest of their battalion the area, during 6 June are un- guished Flying Medal. summoned his platoon com- at Ranville. known. Fourteen tanks were The Caen Canal bridge was manders to a meeting. With their At 03:30, they finally locat- lost during the fighting; the first renamed Pegasus Bridge af- senior officers dead or wounded, ed the battalion’s positions and during the night, and the re- ter the emblem of the British 1, 2 and 3 Platoons were now found Captain Priday and 4 Pla- maining 13 throughout the day. airborne forces, while the Riv- commanded by corporals. How- toon had already joined the bat- Other losses include one gun- er Orne bridge became Horsa ard’s second in command, Cap- talion. Bénouville was the far- Bridge. The road across them STARK REMINDER: The original Pegasus Bridge at the Me- boat on the Caen canal. tain Priday and 4 Platoon were morial Pegasus in Benouville. thest forward point of the British Major Howard was awarded is now the “Esplanade Major missing. Only Lieutenants Fox advance on 6 June 1944. the Distinguished Service Or- John Howard” and Sweeney of 5 and 6 Platoons der, presented in the field by respectively had a full comple- Linking up with Sword Beach original positions. ment of officers and NCOs. The German 2nd Battalion, Just after midday, the 21st Pan- The landings at Sword began 192nd Panzergrenadier Regi- zer Division received permission at 07h00, preceded by a heavy ment continued to attack Bénou- to attack the landings. Luck or- naval bombardment. At the ville and Le Port, assisted by dered the 125th Panzergrena- Any ideas on these? bridges, daylight allowed Ger- their tanks, mortars and infantry. dier Regiment, east of the River Regular Military Despatch- Attached are three photo’s. The first reader that can iden- man snipers to identify targets The attack caused serious Orne, towards the bridges. The es reader Paul Rosslee sent me First two come from Wind- tify what they are will win a and anyone moving in the open problems for the understrength column was quickly spotted, and these photographs along with hoek, where the vehicle is copy of Point of the Dagger, was in danger of being shot. 7th Parachute Battalion, until the engaged for the next two hours the following e-mail. standing on a plinth. The third, this months featured book in The men of 1 Platoon who had leading tank was blown up with by Allied artillery and aircraft I believe, is standing in Warsaw our Book Review on page 67. taken over the 75 mm anti-tank a Gammon bomb, effectively causing heavy losses. Hi there Matt, station. E-mail your answer to edi- gun on the east bank of the canal blocking the road. During the At 13h30, the men at the I have an interesting ques- Any idea what it was ever [email protected] before 25 June. used it to engage possible attack, 13 of the 17 tanks trying bridges heard the sound of bag- tion for you (and your excellent used for? positions in Bénouville, the Châ- to get through to the bridge were pipes, played by Bill Millin of “Dispatches”) Paul teau de Bénouville and the sur- destroyed. the 1st Commando Brigade. As rounding area. The paratroopers were then re- the commandos arrived, they At 09h00, two German gun- inforced by 1 Platoon from ‘D’ crossed the bridges and joined boats approached the canal Company. The platoon moved the rest of 6th Airborne Division bridge from Ouistreham. The forward into Bénouville and defending the eastern perimeter. lead boat fired its 20 mm gun and cleared the Germans in house to Some of the tanks accompany- 2 Platoon returned fire with a house fighting. 5 and 6 Platoons ing the commandos moved into PIAT, hitting the wheelhouse of also moved into positions op- Bénouville to reinforce its de- the leading boat, which crashed posite the Gondrée Café, on the fences, while others crossed the into the canal bank. The second west bank of the canal. bridges with the commandos. boat retreated to Ouistreham. By midday, most of the miss- At 15h00, a boat loaded with A lone German aircraft bombed ing men from the 7th Parachute German infantry approached the canal bridge at 10h00, drop- Battalion had arrived at the from Caen. It was engaged with ping one bomb. The bomb struck bridges and the three glider pla- the anti-tank gun manned by 1 the bridge but failed to detonate. toons were moved back to their Platoon, hit in the stern by the 62 63 Gaming

It’s back to the wars for Matt “Bullet Magnet” O’Brien as he revisits a classic game. He even tries his hand at being a humanitarian worker. DLC

ay back in August EMR 7.62 mm, Mk14 7.62 mm, aircraft - the F/A-181 Black 2017, in Issue 2 of ASP-1 Kir, SPMG .338 light- Wasp II, To-201 Shikra, A-149 WMilitary Despatch- weight medium machine gun, Gryphon, and the Sentinel Un- es, I reviewed ARMA 3. This and the Navid 9.3 mm medium manned Combat Aerial Vehicle month we look at some add-ons machine gun. (UCAV). to the original game. The AMS and Kahlia medium Other content includes the Released in September 2013, range scopes complement both Aircraft Carrier “USS Free- ARMA 3 is probably one of the the new and existing weapons. dom” (CVN-83), Praetorian 1C best military simulators availa- Remote Designators - Two re- AAA (Anti-aircraft artillery), ble. motely-operated laser-designa- and Mk-49 Spartan SAM & Since its original release a tors can be used to spot and la- Mk-21 Centurion SAM. make for a more manual pro- ti-tank weapons at your dispos- vehicles, aircraft, helicopters, number of DLC (downloadable ser designate targets from afar. There are also Radar and cess, with a greater emphasis al. The Tanks DLC costs R129. weapons, equipment, uniforms, content) have been released. Ghillie Suits - A number of SAM systems and Anti-Radia- on the Mine Detector tool. The maps and much more. And a lot of improvements have new ghillie suits are also avail- tion Missiles & Small Diameter Laws of War DLC costs R129. Global Mobilization - Cold Currently there are 63,238 been made to the game. able. Marksmen DLC costs Guided Bombs. The Jets DLC Half of Bohemia Interactive’s War Germany items of content on the work- Let’s look at some of the new R149. costs R129. net revenue from direct sales of Released on 29 April 2019, shop. content. the Arma 3 Laws of War DLC the Global Mobilization - Cold And all of it is for free. Laws of War in 2017 was donated to the In- War Germany DLC is the first Helicopters Released on 11 July 2016, the Released on 7 September ternational Committee of the third-party creator content. It Released on 4 November Apex DLC introduced the 100 2017, the Laws of War DLC Red Cross (ICRC). The total pits West Germany against East 2014, the Helicopter DLC in- km² South Pacific island archi- explores a different perspective amount raised and donated was Germany. troduced two new helicopters pelago of Tanoa. on the battlefield. $176,667 (R 2,574,921). Located in the northern plains - the CH-67 Huron and Mi-290 Tanoa’s varied locations, The new International Devel- of Germany, Weferlingen offers Taru heavy-lift helicopters. such as the rainforests, volcano, opment & Aid Project (IDAP) Tanks the largest ARMA terrain re- You can now carry externally shanty towns, sugar cane facto- faction is a non-governmental Released on 11 April 2018, leased so far: 419 km² of usable slung cargo under heavy heli- ry, and industrial port, cater to organization which is special- the Tanks DLC introduced area. It’s modelled after a re- copters and can also abseil from all scenario types. ized in rapidly responding to three new armoured vehicles al-world location in 1983, and them. It introduced a new faction, a humanitarian disasters. - the T-140 Angara, AWC Nyx, uses entirely new assets. You can also use your person- local criminal organization with Content includes a van with and the Rhino MGS. There are 42 vehicles and ve- al weapons from specific pas- deep roots on Tanoa. There are an ambulance variant, a Util- Armoured vehicles can be hicle variants, 21 new weapons, senger positions in a wide range also 13 new weapons, as well as ity & Demining Drone Vests, customized in the Virtual Ga- and a heap of new uniforms and of vehicles. new uniforms and gear. There new IDAP univorms, bags, rage with additional armour equipment. Helicopters DLC costs R129. are also 10 new vehicles. , facewear and safety protection and camouflage nets The DLC costs R299. Apex also brought many im- equipment. for better concealment in differ- Marksmen provements to the base game. The APERS Mine Dispenser ent terrains. Workshop creator content Released on 8 April 2014, The Apex DLC costs R349. is an effective but controver- Improvements include a new There is also so much content Publisher - Bohemia Interactive the Marksmen DLC introduced sial area denial weapon sys- fire-control system and new available for free on the Steam Genre - Military Simulator five marksmen rifles and two Jets tem. Several improvements to missile flight profiles and capa- Workshop. Score - 8.5/10 bilities. This is content that has been medium machine guns - Cyrus Released on 16 May 2017, the identifying and clearing of Price - Various (on Steam) 9.3 mm, MAR-10 .338, Mk-I the Jets DLC has four new mines (and other explosives) There are also two new an- created by players and includes 64 65 Book Review Movie Tora, tora, tora Review Released: 1970 Running time: 144 minutes Directed by: Richard Fleischer, Point of the Dagger Toshio Masuda and Kinji Fukasaku eet Coetzee received rec- World War commenced. ognition for two of his Later to be appointed as the eleased in 1970 and based val and aerial patrols around Ha- In Washington, the Secretary previous books, Special Chief Scout of General Jannie up the 1969 book of the waii to provide early warning of of State Cordell Hull is stunned P Force Jam Stealer and Ons Smuts, Pretorius is also seen as same name, Tora, Tora, any enemy presence. Short rec- on learning of the attack and R Vergeet Nie, in a review by Die being comparable to the pres- Tora dramatizes the Japanese at- ommends parking all aircraft at urgently requests confirmation Volksblad, describing his books ent-day Recce Operator tack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. the base on the runways to avoid before receiving the Japanese as the most gripping and richly The creator or “father” of the In August 1939, a trade embar- sabotage by enemy agents. ambassador. The message that illustrated war memoirs of all highly successful Small Team go imposed by the United States Several months pass with dip- was transmitted to the Japanese border war literature books. concept was Captain Chris is depriving a belligerent Ja- lomatic tensions continuing to embassy in 14 parts – a declara- Coetzee offers the neces- Schulenburg G.C.V., S.C.R. pan of raw materials. Influential escalate. As the Japanese ambas- tion of war – was meant to be de- sary homage in the form of who served in the elite forces army figures and politicians push sador continues negotiations to livered to the U.S. at 1:00 pm in interesting short stories about of the Rhodesian SAS, Selous through an alliance with Germa- stall for time, the Japanese fleet Washington, 30 minutes before the achievements of the Chief Scouts and in the South African ny and Italy in September 1940 sorties into the Pacific and soon the attack. However, it was not Scouts of South Africa. Dating Special Forces. and make preparations for war. is in position to begin the assault. decoded and transcribed in time, back in history to heroes like De The Recce Small Team op- The newly appointed Com- On 2 December 1941 the Jap- with the result that the attack took la Rey, Danie Theron and Hen- erations conducted under the mander-in-Chief of the Com- anese invasion fleet receives the place while the two nations were dri Slegtkamp and the adven- leadership of Colonel André bined Fleet Admiral Isoroku coded message “Niitakayama technically still at peace. cept in many operations they turous accounts of Major P.J. Diedericks HCS, HC, SM, Yamamoto (Sō Yamamura) re- Nobore” (Climb Mount Niitaka). Although nearly 50 years old, conducted, as told in this book. Pretorius, who was busy with MMM and Major Jack Greeff luctantly orders the planning of It is the signal for the attack to go this is still an excellent movie. In his own personal war against HC, PMM, MMM who with a pre-emptive strike on the U.S. ahead. my opinion, far better than the Paperback - 258 pages the Germans in German East their team mates successfully Pacific Fleet anchored at Pearl At dawn on 7 December the 2001 movie, ‘Pearl Harbor’. Cost - R280 Africa, long before the First applied the Small Team con- Harbor, believing that Japan’s Japanese fleet launches its - air best hope of achieving control craft. Their approach to Hawaii is of the Pacific Ocean is to annihi- detected by two radar operators late the fleet at the outset of hos- but their concerns are dismissed tilities. Air Staff Officer Minoru by the duty officer receiving their Genda (Tatsuya Mihashi) is cho- alert. sen to mastermind the operation The Japanese thus achieve while his old Naval Academy complete surprise and a joyous classmate Mitsuo Fuchida (Taka- commander Fuchida sends the hiro Tamura) is selected to lead code “Tora! Tora! Tora!” (Tiger, the attack. tiger, tiger) to indicate that sur- In Washington, U.S. military prise has been achieved. intelligence has managed to The damage to the naval base is break the Japanese Purple Code, catastrophic with the U.S. suffer- allowing the U.S. to intercept se- ing severe casualties. Seven bat- cret Japanese radio transmissions tleships are either sunk or heavily indicating increased Japanese na- damaged. General Short’s an- val activity. ti-sabotage precautions prove a At Pearl Harbour itself, Admi- disastrous mistake that allows the Zulu Zulu Golf Iron Fist from the Sea Eye of the Firestorm ral Kimmel (Martin Balsam) and Japanese aerial forces to destroy R450 R300 R520 General Short do their best to en- the U.S. aircraft on the ground Click on the poster to watch a hance defences by increasing na- with ease. trailer of the film. All books are available from Bush War Books 64 65 This month in military history ... June This month in military history ... June Southern Angola while car- ing Second Anglo-Boer War, Owamboland. He was 25. This month in military history rying out close-air support dies. • 1986 - Rifleman T. Kefas Some of the significant military events that happened in June. Highlighted in blue are the names operations. He was 35. • 1940 - Heavy German bomb- from 101 Battalion SWATF of those members of the South African Defence Force (SADF) that lost their lives during the month • 1982 - Private Robert Wil- ing of the Dunkirk beach- was Killed in Action during of June. liam Benjamin Ostram from head. a contact with PLAN insur- the Air Force Command Post • 1944 - WWII: North Afri- gents near the Cut-Line. He 1 June ain with smoke screens, as strikes at the Sasol Complex, in Windhoek was critical- ca. North Africa is used as was 24. • 1879 - Eugene Louis Jean troops crowd assembly areas causing damage estimated at ly injured on 29 May 1982 a base of operations for Op- • 1986 - Staff Sergeant L. Mu- Joseph Napoleon, the 22 for D-Day. R66 million. when he fell off the back of eration Frantic – 130 Fly- torwa from 202 Battalion year old Prince Imperial of • 1948 - Cease-fire ends Israeli • 1980 - Two members from a moving vehicle in Wind- ing Fortresses fly to Russia, SWATF was Killed in Action France, is killed in the An- War for Independence. 102 Battalion SWATF were hoek. He succumbed to his bombing targets in Romania during a contact with PLAN glo-Zulu War when he and • 1964 - Military coup installs killed when their Buffel injuries in the Windhoek and Hungary as they go. insurgents near the Angolan a British reconnaissance a junta in Greece. Troop Carrier overturned in State Hospital on 1 June • 1978 - US offers to airlift Border. He was 28. party are attacked by about • 1976 - Lance Corporal No- the Operational Area. They 1982. He was 21. French paratroopers out of • 1989 - Sapper Francois forty Zulus in the vicinity of lind Trevor Small from 4 were: Rifleman B. Herunga • 1988 - Two members from the escalating violence in Crowley from the School of Itelezi Mountain and Ityo- SAI was killed just north of ((22). Rifeman J. Matundu 101 Battalion SWATF were southern Zaire. Engineers was accidentally tyozi River in Zululand. The Grootfontein after he appar- (20). Killed in Action during a • 1979 - Rifleman Abraham killed when a telephone pole prince’s horse, “Fate”, bolts ently suffered a seizure and • 1981 - Festivities to mark contact with enemy forces Johannes Willemse from the fell on top of him. He was and the prince, in attempting blacked out while behind the twentieth anniversary of in Southern Angola. They Infantry School was killed in 23. to mount his fleeing horse, is the wheel of the military the South African Republic were: Rifleman G K Sem- a private motor vehicle acci- • 1995 - USAF Capt Scott stabbed to death. Landrover he was driving. reach a climax with a mas- ba (24). Rifleman J Savinga dent at Wellington while on a O’Grady’s F-16C shot down • 1915 - First Zeppelin air raid The vehicle left the road and sive military display in Dur- (26). 7-day pass. He was 20. over Bosnia. over England. collided with a water tower ban, attended by P.W. Botha, • 1981 - 2nd Lieutenant Christ- • 2004 - DR Congo rebel lead- • 1916 - Battle of Jutland: which collapsed on top of the Prime Minister. 2 June offel Petrus Taylor from 1 er General. Laurent Nkunda Fleets return to port. the vehicle. He was 19. • 1981 - Rifleman Gavin John • 1879 - A 1000-strong search Parachute Battalion died in 1 takes the town of Bukavu • 1917 - The French Army • 1977 - Private Johannes Jur- Harvey from “B” Company, party finds the body of the Military Hospital after being after a week of fighting with “Mutinies” begin: Troops go gens Lensley from 16 Main- was Prince Imperial of France, critically injured on 29 May army troops. on strike. Order is restored in tenance Unit was killed af- severely wounded during Louis Napoleon, who was 1981. He was 20. about four weeks, with min- ter being struck by a bullet follow-up operations against killed when Zulu warriors • 1982 - Special Constable 3 June imal violence, and the Ger- during a shooting incident at SWAPO/PLAN insurgents attacked a small British re- Petrus Venasio from the • 1935 - Two Italian outposts mans never learn of them Grootfontein. He was 18. on 22 May 1981. He was connaissance party in the Police are attacked by Haile Se- • 1939 - The South African • 1978 - 2nd Lieutenant Philip evacuated to the Hospital in vicinity of Italezi Mountain Counter –Insurgency Wing: lassie’s troops in Ethiopia. Police takes over the tasks Michael Dietlof Mare’ from Grootfontein where he was and Ityotozi River in Zulu- Ops-K Division (KOEV- Thirty Ethiopian soldiers are of the German South-West 6 Squadron was killed while stabilised before being evac- land the previous day. OET) was Killed in Action killed. African police. 423 mem- on a routine training flight uated by air to 1 Military • 1902 - Second Anglo-Bo- during a contact with PLAN • 1940 - World War II: The bers of the disbanded police out of Air Force Base Port Hospital in Pretoria the fol- er War: British Prime Min- insurgents in Northern withdrawal of Allied Forces force are incorporated into Elizabeth. He was 22. lowing day. He unfortunate- ister Arthur Balfour reads the force. • 1980 - Rifleman Petrus Jo- ly succumbed to his wounds the terms of surrender to • 1943 - WWII: According to hannes from 61 in 1 Military Hospital on 1 the House of Commons in an entry in the squadron’s Mechanised Battalion died June 1981. He was 21. London after the signing of diary, 28 Squadron of the of severe chest and lung inju- • 1982 - Major Eugene Kotze the Treaty of Vereeniging in SA Air Force is formed as ries sustained when the Buf- SD, Station Pilot at Air Pretoria on 31 May which a transport squadron at the fel Troop Carrier in which Force Base was brought the Second South SAAF Base Depot Almaza, he was traveling, overturned Killed in Action when his African (Anglo-Boer) War outside the 61 Mech Base in Atlas MB326KM Impala Cairo. to an end. PW Botha • 1944 - Allied forces be- Tsumeb. He was 19. Mk II was shot down by an- • 1908 - Sir Redvers Henry gin covering much of Brit- • 1980 - Umkhonto weSizwe ti-aircraft fire near Cuvelai in Buller, British general dur- 68 69 This month in military history ... June This month in military history ... June

from Dunkirk ends. would devastate the historic Ghana. shire sinks after being hit by Group, South African Air seize control of Somalia’s • 1940 - Major German air ‘Eternal’ city. • 1980 - Three members from a German mine near the Ork- Force were killed in a private capital, unifying the city for raid on Paris. • 1963 - British Minister of 32 Battalion were Killed ney Islands. motor vehicle accident in the first time in 16 years and • 1944 - Last Italian air raid War John Profumo resigns in Action, south of Mutu- • 1942 - Midway Campaign: the early hours of the morn- posing a direct challenge to on Gibraltar, by Mussolini’s over an affair with Christine anjamba (approximately Yamamoto orders the Com- ing while traveling between the UN-backed government. “Republican Air Force”. Keeler. 80km inside Angola) during bined Fleet to retire. Pretoria and Hammanskraal. • 1959 - First US Air Force • 1969 - Joseph-Désiré Mobu- the first phase of Operation • 1942 - USA declares war on They were returning to the 6 June Academy graduation. tu’s troops kill over 100 stu- Sceptic. The casualties were: Bulgaria, Hungary, and Ro- Unit from a weekend sports • 1918 - The US Marines se- • 1978 - Security Police chief, dents during a demonstration 2nd Lieutenant Pieter van mania. pass. The accident occurred cure Belleau Wood. Brigadier C.F. Zietsman, in the Congolese capital Kin- der Walt (19). Staff Sergeant • 1944 - First B-29 raid over 25km from Hammanskraal. • 1944 - D-Day: The Allied announces that about 4,000 shasa. Simao Domingos Braz (27). Tokyo; one plane is lost due The casualties were: Cor- Forces land on the beaches South African exiles are un- • 1969 - The Minister of De- Rifleman Joshua Joao (24). to engine failure. poral Michael Christopher of Normandy in the largest dergoing guerrilla training fence, P.W. Botha, accompa- • 1982 - Revised figures for • 1952 - The monument at Marx (19). Airman Deon sea and air operation in the in Mozambique, Angola, nied by General Hiemstra, the Defence Budget indi- Delville Wood, unveiled on Phillipus Beukes (19). Air- military history of the world. Tanzania and Libya; of these Lieutenant-General J.P. Ver- cate the funds available to 10 October 1926 to honour man Grant Sinclaire Strange • 1968 - Sir Miles Dempsey, about three quarters have ster, Chief of the Air Force the South African Defence the thousands of SA soldiers Braithwaite (18). Airman Commander of the Canadian been recruited by the ANC. and Lieutenant-General W.P. Force have been increased to who were killed there dur- Matthys Gideon Britz (19). First Army on D-Day, dies at • 1984 - Rifleman Gabriel Louw, Chief of the Army, R3,068 million. ing the Battle of the Somme, Airman Dawid Lindeque the age of 69. Kampanza from 203 Battal- visits France (4-10 June). He • 1982 - Israel attacks targets World War I, is rededicated (19). Airman Frans Cor- • 1975 - Britain, France, and ion SWATF was Killed in denies that the visit involves in south Lebanon. to include World War II. nelius Moolman (19). Air- the United States use their Action in a Landmine Ex- the purchase of arms. • 1989 - The Chinese govern- • 1967 - The Six Day War be- man Marthinus Louis Nel UN Security Council veto to plosion in Northern Owam- • 1973 - Over four thousand ment ordered its troops to tween Israel and its neigh- (19). stop a proposed arms embar- boland. He was 22. French troops are to be with- open fire on unarmed pro- bouring countries Egypt, • 1987 - Two members from go against South Africa. • 1985 - Rifleman Thomas drawn from Madagascar at testers in Tiananmen Square Jordan and Syria breaks out Infantry School were killed • 1977 - Corporal Salmon Daniel from 101 Battalion the request of Gabriel Ra- in Beijing. with Israel launching air in a private motor vehicle Petrus Claasen from the SWATF was accidentally manantsoa, the head of the • 1992 - Colonel David Fred- strikes on Egypt, destroying accident 8km from Vrede- Technical Service Corps shot dead in a shooting in- recently imposed military erik Strauss from Air Force most of that country’s air fort while on weekend pass. cident in Northern Owam- government. Headquarters died in 1 Mil- force on the ground. Syria, They were: Rifleman Fran- boland. He was 25. • 1974 - First Woman US itary Hospital from compli- Jordan and Iraq enter the cois Nel (18). Rifleman Pie- Army Aviator: Sally Mur- cations resulting from Brain conflict. ter van der Linde (18). 4 June phy. Cancer. He was 49. • 1978 - Corporal Charles • 1993 - Forces of Somali • 1918 - US and French • 1978 - Warrant Officer II Jo- • 1997 - South Africa an- Benjamin de Villiers from 1 warlord Mohammed Farah halt the Germans at Cha- seph Johannes Burger HCS nounces the development of SAI was killed in a military Aidid ambush UN soldiers teau-Thierry. from 2 SAI was killed in a a revolutionary canon an ex- vehicle accident in Bloem- in Mogadishu, killing twen- • 1942 - Reinhard Heydrich, military vehicle accident at ternally powered gun code- fontein. He was 22. ty-two Pakistani soldiers. Himmler’s henchman, is as- Messina. He was 38. named EMAK3S, designed • 1984 - Rifleman M. Sipipa • 2006 - Islamic militants with sassinated at the age of 38. • 1979 - Rifleman David Jo- by Denel at the request of from 202 Battalion SWATF alleged links to al-Qaida • 1944 - During World War II hannes van Heerden from ARMSCOR. was Killed in Action during a in Europe, Rome was liber- contact with SWAPO/PLAN ated by the U.S. 5th Army, was killed at M’pacha after 5 June Insurgents. He was 22. led by General Mark Clark. being struck by a bullet from • 1900 - Second Anglo-Bo- • 1984 - Rifleman Andries Rome had been declared an an accidental discharge of a er War: British troops enter Christiaan Jacobs from Reg- open city by German Field fellow soldiers rifle. He was Pretoria and Lord Roberts iment Port Natal was killed Marshal Albert Kesselring 28. captures the capital of the in a military vehicle accident amid Allied concerns the • 1979 - Flight-Lieutenant Jer- ZAR. in Durban. He was 27. Albert Kesselring Germans might stage a Stal- ry Rawlings seizes power • 1916 - Lord Kitchener • 1986 - Seven members from ingrad-style defense that in his first military coup in drowns when the SS Hamp- 250 Air Defence Artillery 70 71 This month in military history ... June This month in military history ... June Training Centre died in 1 Angola. He was 21. Hunter occupy Lichtenburg. They were: Private Henry • 1953 - Colonel René Paul • 1984 - Two members from Military Hospital after being • 1985 - Two members from • 1912 - US Army Air Service John Pieterse (20). Private Fonck, Allied World War I 5 Reconnaissance Regiment critically injured in a military the south West Africa Police tests an airplane-mounted Kevin Henry Stanley (19). “Ace of Aces” (74 confirmed were Killed in Action during vehicle accident. He was 20. Counter-Insurgency Wing: machine gun. • 1981 - Israeli air strikes de- kills, 30+ possibles), dies at a contact with enemy forces • 1978 - Sergeant Coenrad Ops-K Division (Koevoet) • 1916 - Germans capture Fort stroy Iraqi nuclear weapons the age of 59. in Southern Angola. They Jacobus Theron from 32 were killed in action follow- Vaux, Verdun. facilities. • 1960 - Argentine govern- were: Corporal D. Shiningi- Battalion Died of Wounds ing a contact with SWAPO/ • 1917 - Battle of Messines: • 1982 - Rifleman Carlos ment demands Israel release vali (24). Lance Corporal K. in 1 Military Hospital after PLAN insurgents in North- Mines totalling nearly 500 Everisto from 32 Battalion Adolf Eichmann. Awino (22). suffering multiple shrapnel ern Owamboland. The casu- tons of explosives demolish was Killed in Action during • 1965 - US troops ordered to • 1985 - Rifleman Izaskar wounds in a friendly fire in- alties were: Special Warrant the German trenches, and the a contact with enemy forces fight offensively in Vietnam. Kariko from 911 Battalion cident on 6 May. He was 19. Officer J.M. Tsitula (34). Canadian Corps storms the in Southern Angola. He was • 1976 - Corporal Hendrik Jo- SWATF was Killed in Ac- • 1979 - Lance Corporal Hen- Special Sergeant Lindu ridge 21. sias Stephanus Coetzee from tion during a contact with drik Swart from SWA SPES Valentino (26). • 1940 - British and French • 1982 - Sergeant Lloyd Mi- 4 Maintenance Unit was SWAPO/PLAN insurgents was Killed in Action during a • 1988 - Airman Ian-Roy troops evacuate Narvik, Nor- zwandile Mbele from 5 Re- killed in a military vehicle near the Cut-line. He was contact with SWAPO/PLAN Francois Erasmus from the way. connaissance Regiment was accident at Wenela Base in 22. insurgents in the Oshivello Air Force Gymnasium was • 1942 - Battle of Midway: Killed in Action during a the East Caprivi. He was 19. • 1987 - Corporal Jacques area. He was 24. killed in a private vehicle ac- The USS ‘Yorktown’ (CV-5) Contact with Enemy Forces • 1979 - Rifleman Johannes Barand Zaayman from 1 • 1980 - Corporal Mario van cident while returning to the goes down, after a desperate in Southern Angola. He was Leonardus Truter from 8 SAI was killed on the Ma- Wyk from 32 Battalion was Air Force Gymnasium from fight to save the ship. 28. SAI was critically wounded selspoort to Glen Road out- killed in action. He was 20. a weekend pass. He was 19. • 1942 - The Germans capture • 1985 - Trooper Johannes in the head when his Tempo- side Bloemfontein when his • 1981 - Rifleman Robert • 1988 - With a border dis- Sebastopol. Ludwig Basson from 701 rary Base near Beacon 6 was Ratel overturned while he Owen Brindle from SWA pute escalating into bombing • 1944 - British 50th division Battalion SWATF was killed attacked by SWAPO/PLAN was instructing a pupil in SPES died from a gunshot raids, hundreds of foreigners liberates Bayeux. at M’pacha after being struck insurgents on 4 February. driving skills. He was 19. wound accidentally sus- scramble out of Eritrea, fear- • 1962 - Phosphorous bombs by a bullet resulting from an This serious head wound left • 1988 - Colonel Andre Bek- tained as a result of a acci- ing war with Ethiopia. are detonated at Algiers Uni- accidental discharge of a fel- him completely paralysed ker from the South African dental discharge of a fellow • 1991 - Rifleman Johannes versity by members of the low soldiers rifle. He was 19. and he remained in intensive Air Force was killed when soldiers rifle at Etale Base. Frederick Lombaard Nel Organisation de l’Armee Se- • 1990 - President F.W. de care in 1 Military Hospital his civilian Christen Husky He was 18. from 8 SAI was accidentally crete (OAS), a secret (terror- Klerk lifts the state of emer- until he succumbed to his aircraft crashed at Wonder- • 1982 - 30,000 Israeli troops killed when he was run over ist) French army organisation gency in SA. wounds on 8 June 1979. He invade Lebanon to drive out by a Ratel during field ma- opposed to the withdrawal of • 1991 - Several Lesotho army was 19. the PLO. noeuvres at the Army Battle French troops from Algeria. officers are arrested after • 1981 - 2nd Lieutenant Dun- • 1983 - Rifleman Vincent School. He was 20. • 1967 - Israeli forces reach attempting a counter-coup can Frederick Lahner from Mandla Mthembu from 121 Suez Canal in Egypt, two to reinstate Major-General 32 Battalion was killed when Battalion was Killed when 7 June days into Six-Day War. Metsing Lekhanya, ousted his Buffel Troop Carrier his Buffel Troop Carrier • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer • 1977 - Lieutenant Alwyn on April 30. overturned at Buffalo Base. overturned in Windhoek. He War: The battle of Roodewal Merwe van Zyl from Regi- • 1997 - Foreigners flee heavy He was 21. was 20. Siding takes place near Kop- ment Oranjerivier died in the fighting between rival mili- • 1985 - Captain Curtis McLe- pies, OFS. General De Wet Grootfontein Hospital after tias in Brazzaville, Republic od from 4 Squadron was and eighty men attack two contracting malaria while of Congo. killed when his Atlas MB- companies (172 men) guard- serving in the Operational 326KM Impala crashed at ing a train and supplies. Eight Area. He was 26. 8 June Sandfontein near Lanseria. British soldiers are killed; • 1981 - Two members of the • 1900 - Botha’s Pass in Natal He was 29. twenty-four wounded and South African Medical Corps comes under attack by Gen- • 1985 - 2nd Lieutenant Mark- between 500 and 600 crates were killed after suffering eral Buller’s forces. us Wynand Pearson from of ammunition are taken. multiple shrapnel wounds in • 1948 - John Rudder becomes René Fonck 7 SAI was killed in action • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer an accidental hand grenade the first black officer in the while on patrol in Southern War: Units under General explosion at Walvis Bay. US Marine Corps. 72 73 This month in military history ... June This month in military history ... June boom Airport during a rou- rectly for the built-up area of accidentally killed while SWAPO/PLAN insurgents Pietersburg during a routine • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer tine training flight. He was Monument Park. Realising busy building a bunker at in Southern Angola. He was training flight. He was 23. War: General Redvers Henry 46. this and although extremely Bagani. He was 20. 24. • 1977 - Dutch Marines rescue Buller occupies Volksrust af- • 1995 - Marines rescue low, he persisted with his left • 1979 - Rifleman Johannes • 1982 - Rifleman K Comox- hostages on a train held by ter a victory at Allemansnek. downed USAF Capt Scott turn in a final effort to avoid Wilhelmus Landerd Jans oxo from 201 Battalion Moluccan terrorists. • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer O’Grady in Bosnia. damage to property and in- from the Johannesburg Reg- SWATF was Killed in Ac- • 1985 - Rifleman Litwayi War: President Steyn issues jury or death to persons on iment was Killed in Action tion during a contact with Herbert from 202 Battalion a proclamation refuting Lord 9 June the ground. The aircraft was in Southern Angola. He was SWAPO/PLAN insurgents SWATF was killed in a mili- Robert’s annexation procla- • 1865 - The Second Basotho by this time so low as to ex- 22. near the Cut-Line. He was tary vehicle accident at Vun- mations. He points out that War, known as Siqiti war, clude the possibility of ejec- • 1980 - Rifleman Jose Miguel 25. gu-Yungu. He was 20. the Orange Free State gov- breaks out. tion and it hit the ground just from 32 Battalion was Killed • 1982 - Israeli troops reach • 1994 - After 49 years, the ernment is still in existence • 1938 - The Chinese breach as it cleared the built-up area, in Action in a landmine ex- outskirts of Beirut. Soviet military occupation of and its military forces are the Yellow River dykes at disintegrating on impact and plosion in Southern Angola • 1991 - Ticker tape parade up East Germany ended. At one still unconquered and thus in Huayangkuou, halting a Jap- killing him instantly. For his during operations against en- Broadway to honour Gulf time there had been 337,800 terms of the Hague Conven- anese offensive at the cost of actions he was awarded a emy forces. He was 29. War veterans. Soviet troops stationed in tion, military rule cannot be perhaps 800,000 lives. posthumous Honoris Crux. • 1980 - Thirteen members Germany. Over 300,000 imposed. • 1940 - French government He was 21. of 61 Mechanised Battalion 11 June Russians died during World • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer flees Paris for Tours, as Ger- and 1 SAI (attached) were • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer War II in the Battle for Ber- War: The two-day Battle of man troops cross the Seine. 10 June Killed in Action or Died of War: Colonel B.T. Mahon lin. Diamond Hill or Donker- • 1940 - Norway surrenders to • 1915 - British and French Wounds during the attack on occupies Potchefstroom. hoek, started on the previous Germany, as King Haakon troops secure German Cam- the PLAN Smokeshell Base • 1900 - The battle of Donker- 12 June day, ends when darkness sets VII flees into exile in Lon- eroon, Africa. complex during Operation hoek (Diamond Hill) marks • 1898 - The Philippines de- in and Comdt.-Gen. Botha don. • 1917 - The South African Sceptic in Southern Angola. the continuation of the South clared their independence orders his burghers to return • 1942 - Nazis raze Lidice, Native Labour Contingent The casualties were: Lieu- African War. from Spain. The islands were to Bronkhorstspruit. The Czechoslovakia. About were recruited and employed tenant Johannes Jacobus Du • 1904 - German Lieuten- named after King Philip II. following day Lord Roberts 1,400 people are slaughtered. to assist Britain in the First Toit (HC) (22). Rifleman ant-General Lothar von Tro- Once freed from Spain, the withdraws to Christinen Hill, • 1944 - Normandy: U.S. VII World War with labour du- Francois Johan Loubser tha lands in Swakopmund, islands were then invaded Sammy Marks’ farm. & V Corps link up to form a ties. (19). Rifleman Petrus Jo- South West Africa. and occupied by U.S. forc- • 1918 - First air raid by an continuous beachhead. • 1944 - Ouradour-sur-Glane: hannes Joubert (19). Rifle- • 1940 - World War II: North es. They became an Ameri- American aviation unit, • 1959 - The first ballistic mis- SS massacre 642 men, wom- man Gert Johannes Venter Africa. British planes raid can colony and remained so France. sile sub is launched from en, and children in a French (25). Rifleman Gerhardus Italian targets in Libya fol- until after World War II. • 1937 - The Purges: Stalin USS ‘George Washington’ village. Johannes Kemp (19). Rifle- lowing Italy’s declaration initiates mass executions of (SSBN-598). • 1967 - Cease fire ends the man Jacobus Hendrik Fou- of war against Britain and • 1967 - Military service be- Six Day War (Syria, Jordan, rie (20). Corporal Paul Kru- France on the 10th. comes compulsory for White Iraq, Egypt vs. Israel). ger (20). Rifleman Stephen • 1940 - Italian air raid on South African men. • 1974 - Captain Petrus Jo- Maritz Cronje (19). Rifle- Malta. • 1976 - 2nd Lieutenant Kevin hannes Coetzer from 6 SAI man Peter William Warren- • 1940 - RAF raids Genoa and Roy Winterbottom HC (P) suffered severe brain injuries er (19). Rifleman Roberto Turin. from 4 Squadron had just in a private motor vehicle Nicola de Vito (19). Rifle- • 1960 - Libyan president taken off from Air Force base accident on 8 June 1974 near man Michael Clarence Luyt Colonel Muammar Gadhaffi Waterkloof in his Atlas MB- Lichtenburg while on leave. (19). Rifleman Francis John admits to providing funds, Muammar Gadhaffi 326KM Impala Mk II, when He remained on life support Lello (19). Rifleman An- munitions, and training to it suffered engine failure due in 1 Military Hospital until drew John Madden (19). the IRA. to a bird strike. There was a he succumbed to his injuries • 1981 - Rifleman Antonio Jo- • 1968 - Lieutenant Johannes busy road ahead of him, so on 10 June 1974. He was 29. hannes from 101 Battalion Viljoen from 1 Squadron he began a left turn. which • 1975 - Corporal Timothy SWATF was Killed in Ac- was killed when his Canadair set him up on a heading di- Chadwick from 6 SAI was tion during a contact with CL13B Sabre crashed near 74 75 This month in military history ... June This month in military history ... June senior military personnel insurgents in Northern Egypt after operating it for • 1952 - Keel laid for the USS Squadron was killed in when after suffering severe head • 1943 - British King George Owamboland. He was 26. seventy-four years. ‘Nautilus’ (SSN-571), the his Canadair CL13B Sabre injuries when he fell 10m IV lands in Algiers at the • 1989 - Private Clive Dean • 1970 - P.W. Botha announc- first nuclear powered sub- crashed near Pienaarsriver. from a slide during training start of a North African tour MacKenzie from 1 Mainte- es that South Africa is es- marine. He was 23. at Grootfontein. He was 26. of Allied troops. nance Unit was killed instant- tablishing a new submarine • 1979 - Rifleman Lloyd • 1964 - Last French troops • 1984 - Ciskei’s former Com- • 1943 - Himmler orders ex- ly when he was electrocuted base at Simonstown at a cost Matthew Marthinus Kas- leave Algeria. mander of the Armed Forces, termination of all Polish after accidentally touching of $7.7 million. toor from the South African • 1974 - Minister of Defence Major-General Charles Sebe, ghettos. overhead high tension wires • 1973 - Captain Anthonie Jo- was killed in a P.W. Botha announces dur- brother of President Lennox • 1944 - First V-1 cruise mis- at the Bulkop Railway Sta- hannes Brits from 8 Squad- military vehicle accident at ing a press visit to the Ca- Sebe, is sentenced to twelve sile attack on London. tion while in the process of ron was killed when his Grootfontein. He was 20. privi Strip that the Defence years’ imprisonment after • 1944 - US troops liberate offloading military supplies. AT-6 Harvard crashed near • 1982 - Falklands: Argentines Force has taken over protec- being found guilty of incite- Carentan and Chaumont, He was 18. Bloemfontein during a rou- surrender to Britain, ending tion of the country’s northern ment to public violence. Normandy. • 1993 - US helicopters and tine training flight. He was the 74 day war. borders as a full military op- • 1988 - A meeting between • 1962 - Two members from gunships destroy four of So- 28. • 1985 - The SA Defence eration, replacing the police the End Conscription Cam- Central Flying School Dun- mali warlord Mohammed • 1993 - Twenty Somalis are Force attacks alleged ANC in the area. paign (ECC) and the SADF nottar were killed instant- Farah Aidid’s arms depots, killed and fifty more wound- homes and offices in Gabo- • 1975 - Rifleman Rumai Tete- takes place, with a main ob- ly when their AT-6 Harvard one week after his forces al- ed when Pakistani members rone, Botswana, in Opera- ko from Alpha Group (Later jective to discuss alternative struck the ground and dis- legedly killed twenty-three of the United Nations (UN) tion Plecksy. Twelve or thir- 31 Battalion) was killed after national service. In August integrated near Dunnottar Pakistani members of the peacekeeping forces fire into teen people are killed. being attacked and trampled Minister of Defence Magnus while they were carrying out United Nations (UN) peace- a crowd of demonstrators to death by an enraged Buf- Malan broke off relations unauthorised low level aero- keeping forces in a series of protesting UN attacks on 15 June falo while on Patrol in South- with the ECC. batics. The crew of the air- fire fights. warlord Mohammed Farah • 1864 - General Robert E ern Angola. He was 22. • 1993 - Rifleman Johan craft were: 2nd Lieutenant • 1999 - NATO peacekeeping Aidid.. Lee’s home, Arlington, be- • 1978 - Bombardier Christo Cloete from 8 SAI died from Bruce Erroll Gaylard (19). forces begin operating in comes a US military ceme- Loots from 4 Artillery Reg- a gunshot wound accidental- Air Mechanic Hermanus Kosovo, Yugoslavia. 14 June tery. iment was killed at Oshakati ly sustained in a shooting in- Lambertus Booysen (18). • 1775 - The first U.S. Mili- • 1901 - Second Anglo-Boer after being struck by a bullet cident at Boskop. He was 21. • 1967 - Israel declares it will 13 June tary service, the Continen- War: Sergeant J. Rogers of resulting from an accidental keep some of ground won • 1900 - The “Boxer Rebel- tal Army consisting of six the SA Constabulary earns discharge of a fellow sol- 16 June from Egypt, Jordan and Syr- lion” begins in China. companies of riflemen, was a near Thaba diers rifle. He was 19. • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer ia in Six-Day War. • 1917 - Major German bomb- established by the Second Nchu. • 1981 - Rifleman Peter An- War: Start of the ‘scorched • 1976 - A military coup in er raid on London’s East Continental Congress. The • 1915 - After the 1914 Rebel- dre Clifford Meyers from 6 earth’ policy. Lord Roberts Uruguay overthrows civilian End, 162 die, including 18 next day, George Washing- lion, General Christiaan de SAI was accidentally killed issues a proclamation warn- president Juan Bordaberry, children at the Upper North ton was appointed by a unan- Wet is found guilty of high beginning a nine-year dicta- Street School. imous vote to command the treason in the High Court, Adolf Hitler and torship. • 1942 - World War II Britain army. Bloemfontein, and sentenced Benito Mussolini • 1983 - Staff Sergeant Donald loses 230 tanks in desert bat- • 1912 - The headquarters of to six years’ imprisonment Norman Coleby from Regi- tles. the defence force of the Un- and a fine of £2000. Within a ment Groot Karoo Died of • 1942 - Peenemunde: First ion of South Africa is found- few months the fine had been Wounds 10 km south of Cu- V-2 rocket reaches 1.3 km. ed in Pretoria. paid from voluntary contri- velai. He was 27. • 1944 - First V-1 raid: one • 1917 - General John J. Persh- butions. • 1983 - Special Constable K of ten missiles fired strikes ing and his staff reach Paris. • 1934 - At a meeting in Rome Kambirua from the South London, six die. • 1940 - The Nazis open Hitler meets Mussolini for West Africa Police Coun- • 1951 - UN forces reach concentration camps at the first time. ter-Insurgency Wing: Ops-K Pyongyang, Korea. Auschwitz and Oranienburg. • 1940 - The Germans capture Division (Koevoet) was • 1956 - Last British troops • 1944 - First B-29 raid on Ja- Verdun. Killed in Action during a leave Suez Canal base, turn- pan; 60 bombers hit the steel • 1962 - 2nd Lieutenant Johan contact with SWAPO/PLAN ing the waterway over to works on Honshu. Andries De Bruine from 1 76 77 This month in military history ... June This month in military history ... June ing the Republican forces sion (Koevoet) was Killed in • 1942 - World War II: The Reconnaissance Regiment tumour. He was 20. • 1815 - On the fields near that houses in the vicinity of Action during a contact with first American expeditionary were Killed in Action dur- • 1993 - United Nations (UN) Waterloo in central Belgium, Boer activities will be burnt SWAPO/PLAN insurgents force lands in Africa. ing a Contact with Enemy troops storm the headquar- 72,000 French troops, led by and the inhabitants made in Northern Owamboland. • 1945 - Final Japanese de- Forces. They were: Sergeant ters of Somali warlord Mo- Napoleon, suffered a crush- prisoners of war. He was 32. fensive line on Okinawa Lloyd Mziwandile Mbele hammed Farah Aidid in ing military defeat from a • 1911 - The City of , Mo- • 1992 - Two members from breached. (28). Lance Corporal Oiva Mogadishu, but he is not combined Allied army of rocco, is occupied by the 117 Infantry Battalion were • 1963 - Field Marshal Sir Shilongo (22). there. 113,000 British, Dutch, Bel- French army. killed when their Military Alan Francis Brooke, Vis- • 1982 - Special Constable A. • 1997 - Sierra Leone’s mili- gian, and Prussian troops. • 1953 - Soviet tanks crush Vehicle was involved in a count Alanbrooke, dies at the Ndawedapo from the South tary leader, Johnny Paul Ko- • 1823 - The British Army workers’ protest in East Ber- head on collision with civil- age of 79. West Africa Police Coun- roma, is sworn in as head of adopts trousers for infantry, lin. ian vehicle at Mankweng. • 1965 - Vietnam: First B-52 ter-Insurgency Wing: Ops-K state and pledge to restore in lieu of breeches & gaiters. • 1955 - Abortive coup against They were: Corporal Sedi- raid, 50 km north of Saigon. Division (Koevoet) was peace to the war-weary West • 1940 - Hitler and Mussolini President Juan Peron of Ar- ma Johannes Lebepe (25). • 1967 - China becomes killed in action during a con- African nation. confer in Munich, discuss gentina. Rifleman Kgabo Theophil- world’s fourth thermonucle- tact with SWAPO/PLAN in- • 1998 - USS ‘Missouri’ (BB- the imminent surrender of • 1957 - French offensive in lus Kubjana (25). ar power. surgents in Northern Owam- 63) is dedicated as a war me- France and plans for an inva- Algeria. • 2006 - Up to 5,000 children • 1975 - The British Minister boland. He was 26. morial, Pearl Harbour.. sion of Switzerland. • 1965 - Civil war starts in still serve in the Ugandan of State for Defence says that • 1984 - Trooper Andre van • 1940 - Winston Churchill Chad. armed forces even though the ending of the Simon’s Neel from 202 Battalion 18 June says “this was their finest • 1975 - The Simon’s Town they are officially banned Town Agreements means SWATF was Killed in Ac- • 1812 - After much debate, hour”. agreement on naval coop- from enlisting, a senior UN an end to all the military co- tion during a contact with the U.S. Senate voted 19 to • 1942 - Dr. Bernard Whit- eration between Britain and official said. operation between Britain SWAPO/PLAN insurgents. 13 in favor of a declaration field Robinson becomes the South Africa is formally and South Africa. He was 19. of war against Great Britain, first black officer in the U.S. ended by mutual agreement 17 June • 1977 - Private Johannes • 1985 - Rifleman Juston King prompted by Britain’s vio- Navy. after 169 years. • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer Albertus Erasmus from 11 from 6 SAI was killed in lation of America’s rights • 1945 - William “Lord Haw- • 1976 - Rifleman Clifford War: “Steinaecker’s Horse”, Squadron was killed in a pri- Private Vehicle Accident at on the high seas and British Haw” Joyce is charged with Donald Holland from the an irregular unit of about vate motor vehicle accident. Uitenhage while returning incitement of Indian warfare treason. was fifty mercenaries in British He was 19. to his Unit from a leave pass on the Western frontier. The • 1974 - Marshal of the Soviet killed at Ruacana when he service, using Black armed • 1978 - Rifleman (Mrs) Hey- to clear out on completion of next day, President James Union Georgi Zhukov, dies was struck by bullet resulting tribesmen and operating letta Swanepoel from the his National Service. He was Madison officially pro- at the age of 78. from an accidental discharge from Swaziland, damages Bronkhorstspruit Comman- 21. claimed the U.S. to be in a of a fellow soldiers rifle. He a bridge near Kaapmuiden. do collapsed and died after • 1987 - Two members from state of war. The War of 1812 was 19. The rail traffic to Delagoa suffering a fatal heart attack the Central Flying School at lasted over two years and • 1977 - Rifleman Stephen Bay is interrupted for about while on official duty at Dunnottar were killed when ended with the signing of the Jones from Regiment fourteen days. the Zonderwater Shooting their AT-6 Harvard, Serial Treaty of Ghent in Belgium Schoonspruit died from a • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer Range at Cullinan. She was No. 7048 crashed on the farm on December 24, 1814. gunshot wound accidental- War: President M.T. Steyn 40. Rietkuil, 10km South East ly sustained at the Oshivello appoints judge J.B.M. Hertz- • 1979 - 2nd Lieutenant Sam- of Delmas during a training Training Area. He was 27. og as general. uel Walters Coetzee from 32 sortie. The casualties were: • 1984 - Rifleman Johann • 1901 - Second Anglo-Boer Battalion was Killed in Ac- Captain Bruce Matthew Jacobus Hurter from 1 Para- War: British politician David tion during a contact with Nelson (26). Captain Ricar- chute Battalion was killed in Lloyd George denounces the enemy forces. He was 20. do Henrico Vergottini (26). Mohammed a private motor vehicle acci- concentration camp policy. • 1980 - Rifleman M Tjisota • 1989 - Rifleman Neill Farah Aidid dent. He was 24. • 1940 - France asks Germany from 37 Battalion was Killed Knight from 4 SAI collapsed • 1984 - Special Sergeant N. for terms of surrender. in Action during a contact and died while at Rooikop Nghifino from the South West • 1940 - Operation Ariel: Last with SWAPO/PLAN insur- Base, Walvis Bay. The Post Africa Police Counter-Insur- British and Allied troops gents. He was 20. Mortem revealed that he gency Wing: Ops-K Divi- evacuated from France. • 1982 - Two members of 5 was suffering from a brain 78 79 This month in military history ... June This month in military history ... June • 1975 - Two members from 19 June accidental discharge of a fel- tal discharge of a fellow Voortrekkerhoogte . He was They were: Rifleman Arthur Infantry School accidentally • 1864 - The Alabama, Amer- low soldiers rifle while he soldiers rifle while at the 17. Hendrik Boshoff (21). Rifle- drowned at Gamkaskloof. ican raider, is sunk outside was stationed at Oshakati. Touw’s River Training Area. • 1968 - Candidate Officer man Leslie George Wasas They were: Rifleman Gabri- Cherbourg harbour, France, He was 19. He was 23. Pieter Frans Jurgens was (21). el Johannes Erasmus (19). by the U.S.S. Kearsarge. • 1976 - Corporal Robert • 1992 - Warrant Officer 1 Jo- killed when his AT-6 Har- • 1984 - Special Constable Rifleman Gerhard Joshua • 1900 - Second Anglo-Bo- Sheppard Gibbon from 1 hannes Jacobus Fourie from vard crashed near Dunnottar Blasius Kutenda from the Franzen (19). er War: General Buller en- Special Service Battalion 10 Engineer Squadron was while on a routine training South West Africa Police • 1983 - Rifleman Johan ters Volksrust, the first town was killed in a military vehi- critically injured in a mili- flight. He was 19. Counter-Insurgency Wing: Steyn from 3 SAI died from in the ZAR to fall into his cle accident. He was 19. tary vehicle accident on 15 • 1973 - The Minister of De- Ops-K Division (Koevoet) a gunshot wound acciden- hands. • 1979 - Two members from 8 June 1992. He was admitted fence denies that South Af- was Killed in Action dur- tally self-inflicted while at • 1948 - USSR blocks ac- SAI were killed when their to the Pietersburg Hospital rican troops are supporting ing a contact with SWAPO/ Potchefstroom. He was 18. cess to West-Berlin: Berlin Buffel Troop Carrier over- where he succumbed to his Portuguese armed forces in PLAN insurgents in North- • 1984 - Rifleman Paulus Blockade begins. turned at Oshivello. They injuries on 19 June 1992. He Mozambique, as alleged by ern Owamboland. He was Hausiku from 202 Battalion • 1953 - Julius and Ethel were: Rifleman Daniel Jo- was 45. FRELIMO. 25. SWATF was Killed in Ac- Rosenberg were executed by hannes Mocke (19). Rifle- • 1992 - The Goldstone Com- • 1983 - Trooper Jan Hendrik • 1987 - Rifleman K. Tjihote tion during a contact with electrocution at Sing Sing man Gerritt Franchois Roos mission recommends that the de Lange from 2 Special from 102 Battalion SWATF SWAPO/PLAN insurgents. Prison in New York. They (19). 32nd Battalion “should not Service Battalion was killed was Killed in Action dur- He was 20. had been found guilty of pro- • 1980 - Rifleman Jacobus again be used for peacekeep- after being struck by a bullet ing a contact with SWAPO/ • 1985 - Private Kurt Preuss viding vital information on Frederick van den Bergh ing duties anywhere in South resulting from an accidental PLAN Insurgents in North- from the Technical ser- the atomic bomb to the Sovi- from 53 Battalion SWATF Africa”. The Commission’s discharge of a fellow sol- ern Owamboland. He was vice Corps was killed when et Union during 1944-45. was Killed in Action when Tokoza Committee says that diers rifle. He was 17. 22. struck by a bullet resulting • 1968 - Candidate Officer his patrol was ambushed by the battalion has commit- • 1984 - Two members from • 1988 - Rifleman Ian Michael from the accidental dis- Alwyn Johannes Botha SWAPO/PLAN insurgents ted acts of violence against the 2nd Battalion Trans- Webb from 6 SAI died in charge of a fellow soldier’s from Regiment Molopo was near Etale Base. He was 19. residents of the Phola Park vaal Scottish accidentally hospital at Tsumeb after sus- rifle. He was 21. killed in a Military Vehicle • 1985 - Private Johannes squatter camp. drowned while their patrol taining severe head injuries • 1987 - Five members from Accident 11 kilometres from Philippus Prinsloo from 101 was crossing the Cunene 32 Battalion were Killed in Zeerust. He was 18. Base Workshops was killed 20 June River near the Ruacana Falls. Action during a contact with • 1973 - 2nd Lieutenant Hen- in a military vehicle acci- • 1901 - Second Anglo-Bo- enemy forces near Evale drik Willem Alberts from 4 dent at Bagani. He was 20. er War: The British execute in Southern Angola during Squadron was killed when • 1987 - Lance Corporal Ger- P.W. Kloppert, a Cape rebel, Operation Radbraak. The his Atlas MB326M Impala hardus Christiaan Meyer by hanging. Cloete claimed Ethel and Julius casualties were: Corporal from the Technical Service Mk I crashed near Masito that he was not a rebel be- Rosenberg Bernard Sokola (34). Lance while engaged in Operation Corps was killed in a mili- cause he had Orange Free Corporal Joao Vocolo (32). Brolly Tree 3, a training ex- tary vehicle accident at the State citizenship. Rifleman Joao Goncalves ercise that was being carried Army Battle School at Lo- • 1939 - Heinkel He-176 rock- (38). Rifleman Paulus Ka- out in the Zeerust area. He hatla. He was 24. et plane flies for first time, at pinga (22). Rifleman Lituya was 23. • 1987 - Rifleman Adriaan Peenemunde. Ntjamba (19). • 1975 - Sergeant Daniel Jo- Gerhardus Riekert from the • 1941 - The U.S. Army Air • 1988 - Special Warrant Of- hannes Labuschagne from Brakpan Commando was Corps is reorganized as the ficer Daniel Katapotle from 19 Squadron was killed in a killed in a military vehicle Army Air Forces. the SWA Police Counter-In- military vehicle accident in accident in Brakpan. He was • 1963 - Cold War: Washing- surgency Wing: Ops-K Di- Rhodesia. He was 30. 24. ton-Moscow “hot line” es- vision (Koevoet) was Killed • 1975 - Rifleman Diederick • 1987 - Rifleman Willem tablished. in Action during a contact Johannes Vorster from Ser- Uithaler from the South Af- • 1963 - Air Mechanic Robert with SWAPO/PLAN insur- vices School was acciden- rican Cape Corps was killed Henry Mentis died from a gents in Northern Owam- tally killed when struck by after being struck bullet re- gunshot wound accidentally boland. He was 37. a bullet resulting from the sulting from the acciden- sustained while stationed at 80 81 This month in military history ... June This month in military history ... June when the right front tyre of full engine run. He was 19. cial Constable Immanuel soldiers and 208 civilians Farah Aidid halt. rations for an invasion Swit- a SAMIL truck burst caus- • 1977 - Rifleman Raymond Kavulu (29). Special Con- aboard the Japanese pris- • 2003 - A US Marine is killed zerland. ing the driver to lose control Ward from the SWA SPES stable Theophillus Ndevelo oner-of-war ship ‘Montevi- and eight other service mem- • 1942 - Rommel breaks the approximately 5km past the was killed in a military vehi- (26). deo Maru’ was sunk by the bers are injured by errant Gazala Line and drives on Tsumeb turn-off. He was 20. cle accident while travelling • 1983 - Sergeant Terrence American submarine ‘Stur- bombs dropped by a US Egypt. to De Aar. He was 24. Moffat Atkinson from 1 geon’ (SS 187) in the South B-52 Stratofortress in Dji- • 1970 - Two members from 21 June • 1979 - Two members from Construction Regiment was China Sea. bouti, the United States’ only 42 Squadron were killed • 1901 - Second Anglo-Boer 32 Battalion were Killed killed in a Military Vehicle • 1944 - Russians begin “Op- base in Africa. when their Cessna 185A War: “In a letter to St John in Action during a contact Accident at Musese in West- eration Bagration”, the De- crashed at Vaal River near Broderick, Secretary of War, with enemy forces in South- ern Kavango. He was 56. struction of German Army 23 June Potchefstroom after flying Lord Kitchener declares, ‘It ern Angola near Beacon 32. Group Centre. • 1900 - Second Anglo-Boer into High Tension Wires. was a mistake to regard the They were: 2nd Lieutenant 22 June • 1945 - Okinawa secured: War: British forces advance. The aircraft crew were: 2nd Boers as a civilized race Willem Adriaan de Vos (19). • 1939 - World War II: France 110,000 Japanese troops, General Clements reaches Lieutenant Johan van Sit- which could ever be an asset Rifleman S. Mukonda (27). surrenders to Germany eight 100,000 civilians, 17,520 Winburg. General Hamil- tert (21). Candidate Officer to the British Empire: they • 1980 - Corporal Petrus Jo- days after the German forces US troops died. ton enters Heidelberg after Petrus Johannes van Deven- are uncivilized Africander hannes Badenhorst from 5 invaded the country. • 1955 - Soviets shoot down a slight skirmish. General ter (22). savages with a thin White ve- SAI was critically wounded • 1940 - About 10,000 Afri- US patrol plane over the Clery joins Buller at Stand- • 1974 - Lieutenant Freddie neer ...’ He asks the cabinet on 20 June 1980 in an ex- kaner women, led by Mrs Bering Sea. erton. Johannes Zeelie from 1 Re- to endorse a scheme that will plosion while doing evening H.C. Steyn, march to the • 1984 - Rifleman Andries • 1902 - Field-cornet Salmon connaissance Commando allow the permanent ban- “Klaarstaan” in the Ops Union Buildings to protest Kees from the South African van As is executed by a fir- was Killed in Action while ishment of all Boers who at Room at Concor Base, east about the South African in- Cape Corps died from gun- ing squad after being found engaged on anti-insurgent any time have fought against of Ruacana. He succumbed volvement in World War II shot wounds accidentally guilty by a British Court operations in Southern An- Britain, as well as their fam- to his wounds and resultant on the side of Britain. The sustained. He was 18. Martial of murdering Cap- gola. He was the first South ilies... He suggests the Fiji blood loss in the early hours women protested against • 1985 - Corporal Johannes tain Richard Miers. African soldier to be Killed Islands in the South Pacific.” of 21 June. He was 20. South Africa’s participation Gobe from 201 Battalion • 1940 - Hitler orders prepa- in Action during the Border • 1919 - Scapa Flow: Germans • 1980 - Corporal Willem in World War II on the side SWATF was Killed in Ac- War. He was also the only scuttle over 400,000 tons of Adriaan Finnies from 41 of Britain and requested that tion during a contact with warships. Battalion was Killed in Ac- South Africa should with- SWAPO/PLAN insurgents • 1942 - World War II: The tion during a contact with draw from the war. near the Cut-line. He was Second South African Di- SWAPO/PLAN Insurgents. • 1941 - Starting at 3:15 am 29. vision under Major-Gener- He was 18. Operation Barbarossa be- • 1987 - Airman John Liam al H.B. Klopper surrenders • 1982 - Bombardier Dirk gins, as some 3.2 million Corrigan from the Lowveld and the German force under Hero Onne Hassebroek German soldiers plunged Airspace Control Sector was General Rommel captures from 84 Motorised Brigade headlong into Russia across accidentally shot dead by a 25 000 Allied troops, under was killed in a Military Ve- an 2,987 kilometre front, visitor at Mariepskop while whom 10 722 South Afri- hicle Accident in Sector 70. in a major turning point of he was on guard duty. He cans at Tobruk on the coast He was 23. World War II. At 7 am that was 20. Erwin • 1982 - Three members from • 1990 - Signaller Ronald of Libya. morning, a proclamation Rommel • 1948 - Berlin Airlift begins. the South West Africa Police from Hitler to the German Leon Wheeler from Group • 1967 - Air Mechanic Adam Counter-Insurgency Wing: people announced, “At this 10 was killed in a military Hendrik Schoeman from 1 Ops-K Division (Koevoet) moment a march is taking vehicle accident at Um- Squadron was accidentally were Killed in Action dur- place that, for its extent, komaas. He was 20. killed at AFB Pietersburg ing a contact with SWAPO/ compares with the greatest • 1993 - The UN resumes food after he was sucked into the PLAN insurgents in North- the world has ever seen...” distribution in Mogadishu, engine air intake of a Cana- ern Owamboland. They • 1942 - The heaviest single Somalia, ten days after fight- dair C13L Sabre while set- were: Special Constable day’s loss of life in Aus- ing between UN troops and ting the fuel pumps during a Paulus Antonius (20). Spe- tralian military history; 845 those of warlord Mohammed 82 83 This month in military history ... June This month in military history ... June member of Special Forces to in action. Khoi) Chief Gonnema from killed when his Defence Fly- Oudtshoorn while on a call- 26 June ever receive the Louw Wep- • 1917 - Russian Black Sea 1676, concludes ‘a good, ing Club Piper Cub crashed out to investigate a case. He • 1917 - First American com- ener Decoration. He was 22. fleet mutinies at Sebastopol. lasting peace’. and burnt out near Pretoria was 41. bat troops arrive in France. • 1980 - Sergeant Jacobus • 1940 - France signs an armi- • 1862 - Custer’s Last Stand. while on a routine general • 1981 - Signaler Dirk Jaco- • 1934 - Germany and Poland Daniel Cilliers from 17 stice with Italy. 250 men of the US 7th Cav- flying training flight. He was bus Venter from 84 Signals sign a non-aggression pact. Squadron was Killed in ac- • 1945 - Victory parade in Red alry, under General George 24. Unit was killed in a military • 1939 - Polish anti-aircrft tion when his Alouette III Square in Moscow. Armstrong Custer, are at- • 1972 - Rifleman Arno vehicle accident. He was 22. gunners down a German was shot down by an RPG- • 1978 - Private Anton Nel tacked by between 2,000 and Roesstroff from 1 SAI was • 1982 - Two members from plane that had “strayed” over 7 anti-tank rocket during the from 1 Satellite Radar Sta- 4,000 Indian Braves near the killed after being struck by a 32 Battalion were acci- the Hela Peninsula. later stages of Ops Sceptic. tion at Mariepskop died Little Bighorn River. Only bullet resulting from an acci- dentally shot dead by own • 1977 - Gunner Willem Chris- He was 23. from head injuries received one scout and one horse on dental discharge of a fellow forces in a friendly fire inci- tiaan Lentink from 14 Artil- • 1982 - A Defence Amend- in a private motor vehicle the US side survive the bat- soldiers rifle. He was 19. dent near Evale in Southern lery Regiment was killed in a ment Bill provides for a accident. He was 20. tle. • 1979 - Gunner Jeffrey James Angola during Operation Military Vehicle Accident in re-organisation of the de- • 1980 - Private Michael Jo- • 1940 - Hitler tours Paris, tak- Mitchell from 4 Artillery Groenslang. They were: Pretoria. He was 20. fence system intended to hannes Range from the South ing in the Eiffel Tower, Na- Regiment died in 1 Military Corporal James Conroy • 1977 - Rifleman Christiaan give the South African De- African Defence Force Insti- poleon’s Tomb, and the Op- Hospital after suffering ex- (20). Rifleman Antonio Pe- Hendrik van der Westhuizen fence Force (SADF) ade- tute (SADFI/SAWI) in Pie- era. tensive burns accidentally dro Manuel (32). from the Witwatersrand Ri- quate manpower to deal with tersburg was killed when the • 1941 - Finland declares war sustained when a fuel tank • 1983 - Leading Seaman fles was killed when he acci- almost every conceivable military vehicle in which he on the Soviet Union. exploded at the Regiment in George Edward Wellington dentally fell off the back of a threat. was travelling, overturned. • 1942 - World War II: Gen- Potchefstroom. He was 20. Ford from the 1st Marine moving Unimog. He was 21. • 1984 - Corporal Johannes He was 18. eral Sir Claude Auchinleck • 1980 - Two Members from Brigade, South African Ma- Christiaan Theunissen from • 1983 - Corporal George Lou- becomes commander of the Central Flying School Dun- rines was killed in a military 27 June 7 SAI was Killed in Action. is Steytler from 1 Parachute British Eighth Army in North nottar were killed when their vehicle accident while on • 1905- Mutiny in the Russian He was 21. Battalion Died of Wounds Africa. AT-6 Harvard crashed 1,6 deployment in Eastern Ca- battleship ‘Potemkin’. • 1994 - Some 2,500 French after being critically wound- • 1942 - World War II: British kilometres North of Dunno- privi. He was 20. • 1918 - First use of para- troops head into Rwanda ed in the head when his Pa- Air Force stages 1,000-bomb- ttar while carrying out simu- • 1988 - Angolan, Cuban, chutes to escape an aircraft to protect civilians, the first trol TB was attacked by a er raid on Bremen, Germany. lated instrument flying. They South African and United in combat: two German air- outside forces sent there FAPLA/Cuban force while • 1942 - Eisenhower takes were: Lieutenant Donald States officials meet in Cai- since UN. Secretary-Gen- in an area approximately command of U.S. forces in Gordon Stanbury (22). Can- ro, in search of independ- eral Boutros Boutros-Ghali 38km from Cahama. He suc- Europe. didate Officer Lloyd Doug- ence for in tandem appealed for international cumbed to his wounds while • 1950 - The Korean War las Liebenberg (19). with a withdrawal of Cuban involvement to stop the gen- on the Casevac helicopter breaks out. Nearly 90,000 • 1981 - Lance Corporal Fred- troops from Angola. ocide. ferry flight back to AFB On- North Korean soldiers and erick Aspeling from North • 1991 - The last Soviet troops • 1997 - In the Central African dangwa. He was 19. hundreds of Russian-built West Command was killed leave Czechoslovakia. Republic, soldiers fire on • 1997 - Defence Minister T-34 tanks cross the border in a Military Vehicle Acci- foreign peacekeepers in the Joe Modise warns that the into South Korea. South Af- dent, at Oudtshoorn. He was third major rebellion since proposed R1, 4 billion cut rica, as one of the founding 19. May. in the defence budget could members of the United Na- • 1981 - Corporal Johan Cor- Boutros seriously disrupt the defence tions, decide to assign a fight- nelius Du Toit from Reg- Boutros-Ghali 24 June force’s ability to function er squadron to the UN forces iment Langenhoven was • 1916 - World War I: The first and to contribute to the fight to help defeat North Korea. Killed in Action in Southern Battle of the Somme begins. against crime. The Korean War claimed Angola. He was 24. It lasted five months and the the lives of thirty-six SA Air • 1981 - Staff Sergeant Willem death toll of more than 1 25 June Force members. Marthinus Roothman from million resulted in an allied • 1677 - Governor Johan Bax • 1960 - Corporal Petrus Cor- the South African Corps of advance of 125 square miles. of the Cape, who waged war nelius van der Merwe of the Military Police was killed in Many SA troops were killed against the Hottentot (Khoi- was a military vehicle accident in 84 85 This month in military history ... June This month in military history ... June men jump. • 1986 - Rifleman Frikkie Car- Chimongaia from 201 Battal- known and burned to death. Killed in Action during a Joseph Kasavubu as presi- • 1941 - The Germans capture olus from the South African ion Died from Natural Causes He was 20. contact with SWAPO/PLAN dent and Patrice Lumumba Bialystok. Cape Corps died from a gun- at Omega. He was 27. insurgents. He was 22. as prime minister. Civil war • 1942- As the Eighth Army shot wound sustained during • 1995 - SA signs a protocol of 29 June • 1982 - Lance Corporal Jaco- soon erupts. abandons Mersa Matruhin, the accidental discharge of intent on military coopera- • 1913 - Bulgarian troops ini- bus Johannes Gerhardus van • 1962 - The French Foreign North Africa, Rommel’s a fellow soldiers rifle at De tion between the Ministry of tiate hostilies with Serbia in Staden from 61 Base Work- Legion leaves Algeria for the forces claim to have captured Aar. He was 26. Defence of South Africa and Macedonia, triggering the shops was accidentally killed last time. another 6,000 British troops. • 1988 - 2nd Lieutenant Mul- the Ministry of Defence of Second Balkan War. when he was crushed be- • 1980 - Corporal Theo Bence • 1944 - American troops lib- ler Meiring of 61 Mecha- the Slovak Republic. • 1944 - Bobriusk: Soviets tween two military vehicles van Niekerk from 1 Recon- erate Cherbourg from the nised Battalion was Killed encircle portions of German during a vehicle recovery naissance Regiment died Germans. in Action North East of Cal- 28 June Army Group Centre. operation at Tsumeb. He was from a gunshot accidentally • 1950 - North Korean ueque. He was 19. • 1914- Archduke Frans Fer- • 1945 - Operation Olympic: 22. sustained while at Fort Dop- troops reach Seoul, as the • 1988 - Eleven members of dinand, Austrian heir to the President Truman set the • 1985 - Rifleman H. Andreas pies, Caprivi Strip. He was Security Council calls on UN the SADF were Killed in Ac- throne, and his wife are shot invasion of Japan for 1 No- from 101 Battalion SWATF 22. members to aid South Korea tion during a retaliatory air and killed by a student in Sa- vember. died from a gunshot wound • 1986 - Rifleman L.N.D. Jonas and Truman orders USAF & strike by Angolan Air Force rajevo. This leads to World • 1949 - US troops withdraw accidentally sustained while from 101 Battalion SWATF USN into action. MiG-23 aircraft on SADF War I. from Korea after World War in Northern Owamboland. was Killed in Action during a • 1950 - US sends 35 military positions near the Calueque • 1919 - The signing of the II. He was 23. Contact with SWAPO/PLAN advisers to South Vietnam. Dam after SADF Artillery Treaty of Versailles formally • 1965 - Lieutenant Lourens • 1988 - Rifleman Christiaan insurgents in Southern Ango- • 1971 - The Chairman of had accurately bombarded ended World War I. Benjamin Schlesinger from Fick from 1 SAI was critical- la near the Cut-line. He was Armscor announces that Cuban and FAPLA positions • 1942 - British 8th Army in 1 Squadron was killed near ly injured in a private vehicle 26. under an agreement with a in the town of Techipa on 26 North Africa retreats from Louis Trichardt when his accident and died later that • 1988 - The SA Defence Force French aviation company, and 27 June 1988 causing German attack to El Alamein. Canadair CL13B Sabre suf- day. He was 19. claims that 200 Angolan and Mirage III and F jet fighters heavy casualties. The casu- • 1942 - North Africa. Gener- fered a suspected bird strike. Cuban troops died in a clash will be built in South Africa alties were: Lieutenant Noah al Rommel and his Panzer- He failed to eject from the 30 June at Calueque earlier in the with the help of French per- Tucker of 8 SAI (23). Cor- armee Afrika capture Fuqa. aircraft before it struck the • 1851 - The Battle of Viervoet, week. sonnel. poral Ewert Phillipus Koorts • 1965 - President Johnson or- ground, exploding on im- in the British-Basotho War, • 1988 - Zimbabwe foils a • 1976 - First women cadets of 8 SAI (19). Lance Corpo- ders US ground forces to Vi- pact. He was 24. takes place. The British un- South African commando at- enter the Air Force Academy. ral Johannes Reinhard Ger- etnam. • 1965 - Captain Peter Max- der Warden suffers a reverse. tempt to rescue five alleged • 1977 - Private Hendrik Jo- hardus Holder 8 SAI (19). • 1975 - Private Gerhard Eras- well from Central Flying • 1917 - Greece declares war South African agents awaiting hannes Naude from 42 Rifleman Johannes Mat- mus Smith De Beer from 1 School Dunnottar, a veteran on the Central Powers. trial for bomb attacks against Squadron was killed in a pri- theus Strauss Venter of 8 Maintenance Unit was killed of the Korean War, was killed • 1934 - “The Night of Long the ANC in Zimbabwe. vate motor vehicle accident. SAI (19). Rifleman Thomas in a military vehicle accident instantly when his AT-6 Har- Knives”: Hitler’s “blood • 1989 - Sudanese military He was 18. Benjamin Rudman of 8 SAI in Grootfontein. He was 18. vard crashed at Potchef- purge”. leader Omar Hassan al- • 1980 - Rifleman Nicolaas Jo- (20). Rifleman Phillipus Ru- • 1976 - Three British mer- stroom Airfield after the left • 1936 - Emperor Haile Selas- Bashir topples the civilian hannes Kruger from 25 Field dolph Marx of 8 SAI (19). cenaries, Andrew McKen- wing of the aircraft struck the sie of Ethiopia appears be- administration of Sadeq Squadron was Killed in Ac- Rifleman Andries Stepha- zie, John Barker and Costas ground when he attempted to fore the League of Nations al-Mahdi. tion when he stepped on and nus Johannes Els of 8 SAI Georgiou and an American, execute a roll at low level. to appeal for help following • 1992 - Four members from detonated a boosted anti-per- (19). Trooper Michael John Daniel Gearhert, are sen- He was 42. Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia 9 SAI were killed when their sonnel mine near Okatope in van Heerden of 8 SAI (19). tenced to death in Luanda for • 1966 - North Vietnam: US and his exile. Samil 20 vehicle overturned Northern Owamboland. He Lance Corporal Wynand Al- their part in the Angolan civil bombs fuel storage facilities. • 1941 - Leading German at Middelrust. The casual- was 20. bert van Wyk of 1 SSB (19). war. • 1970 - US/ARVN end two Protestant clergymen con- ties were: Sergeant Clinton • 1985 - Rifleman J. Filimon Trooper Gregory Scott of • 1986 - Rifleman Geelbooi month military offensive into gratulate Hitler on the inva- Donavan Elliot (25). Lance from 101 Battalion SWATF 2 SSB (19). Trooper Emile Zamblenzini Mthimunye Cambodia. sion of the Soviet Union. Corporal Cleston Beukes was Killed in Action during a Erasmus of 10 Armoured from was mur- • 1977 - Rifleman M. Make- • 1960 - The Belgian Congo (19). Rifleman Jacobus Ad- contact with SWAPO/PLAN Car Squadron (20). dered at Weltevrede after be- he from 34 Battalion (Later becomes the independent ams (24). Rifleman Aubrey insurgents. He was 23. • 1990 - Lance Corporal C ing attacked by persons un- 202 Battalion) SWATF was Republic of the Congo, with John Ruiter (19). 86 87 quiz SADF Stuff answers 1. 1967. Namibia’. known as a ‘skiet balkie’. 2. Skirmishing. 11. Slang term for a padre. It 22. 1 Military Hospital. 3. A DD1 (Defence Document is Afrikaans for ‘Soul Me- 23. Midshipman. Navy equiva- 1). chanic’. lent of a Candidate Officer. 4. Elephant virgins. 12. SADF issued underpants. 24. Army Gymnasium. 5. A ‘Flossie’. 13. Vorster Orrel. 25. State President’s Guard. 6. A ‘killick’. 14. Varkpan. 26. Three South African Infan- 7. An Eland-60 armoured car. 15. Toilet paper. try Battalion (3 SAI). 8. A slang expression for Com 16. A stick with a wedge shaped Ops. tip used to probe for land- 9. A member of the army. Re- mines. fers to the often unavailabil- 17. A term used to signify the ity of washing facilities. The end of a smoke break. expression; “Everywhere 18. 1 Signal Regiment. the army goes, the pong 19. Physical Training Instructor 20 goes,” was the origin of this. (PTI) badge. 10. The military wing of 20. Star 9 mm pistol. The stand- SWAPO. It stood for ‘Peo- ard issue side arm. 24 issues ple’s Liberation Army of 21. Marksman badge. Also 375 articles 1,668 pages Useful links Over 100,000 monthly readers in 32 countries Happy Second Birthday Military Despatches Every month we will be featuring a few useful links to military websites, newsletters and on- line magazines. Stuff that we think our readers will appreciate. Here are two of our favourites. The first one is Nongqai, the unofficial police newsletter for veterans of the former South African Police Force and for those interested in Police History. The second is Jimmy’s Own, the official newsletter of the South African Signals Association. Click on the magazine covers to go to the respective websites.

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