Archive for September, 2010
The Actions of the Churchill’s Secret Army
Posted by: | CommentsEven though it was officially formed in July 1940, the SOE (Special Operations Executive) had been created in 1938 with the combination of 3 active, top secret departments immediately following Germany annexed Austria. Churchill’s Secret Army was instructed to “Set Europe Ablaze”.
SOE operatives were despatched to many Nazi occupied nations to at the same time cause mayhem behind German lines and in addition try to uncover local resistance groups they would certainly work with once the time for invasion arrived. Theatres of Operation involved France, Belgium, Poland, Germany, Yugoslavia, Greece, Hungary, Albania, Czechoslovakia, Norway, Denmark, Romania, Abyssinia and the Far East.
As agents had to operate deep in occupied territory and they were chosen from many social group and background. The primary qualification was that the probable agent had meticulous awareness of the country they would function in and able to pass as a native of that country. Accordingly, those with dual nationality were highly coveted.
The famous aircraft utilised by the Special Operations Executives in France was the Westland Lysander. It was a small plane which meant it was significantly more challenging to see and was sturdy enough to land on make shift landing strips. It was used to transport agents to and from the United Kingdom together with picking up people who had to be debriefed in London. Airmen who had been shot down were also occasionally brought back to the UK by Lysander.
Amongst the Special Operations Executive numbers were a number of female operatives and roughly 30% of the female operatives dropped into France from Section F, did not survive. The sorts of operations in each country differed. For example, in Poland, there was hardly any need to encourage the locals as there was already widespread hate of the Germans. This was in comparison to regions like as Vichy France where some locals collaborated with the Germans and the risk of SOE operatives being betrayed was enormously increased.
During World War II, the SOE had made use of approximately 13,000 people who directly helped or provided somewhere in the region of 1 million operatives.
The Christmas Truce of 1914
Posted by: | CommentsOn the outbreak of World War I in 1914, a good number of people thought it would be concluded by Xmas. Patriotic teenage men were keen to enlist in the army as soon as possible as they feared they would lose out on the fighting. Regardless, history has demonstrated that their positive outlook was misdirected as the war would not cease right up until 1918. The German advance was stopped at the First Battle of Marne and the race for the sea started out as the Allies and Germans both dug in. It was the beginning of the trench warfare of the Western Front.
The outcome was lines of trenches going from the North Sea to Switzerland along a 440 mile front. The battle lines moved hardly at all as a war of attrition broke out. Initial trenches weren’t well made and were susceptible to cave in. Even by trench warfare standards, 1914 was pretty horrific. As winter approached, the boys on the front line realised that the war wouldn’t be finished by Xmas after all.
The Western Front ran through both Belgium and France with men from France, Belgium and Great Britain guarding different sectors. In some sectors, the German trenches were not more than 30 yards away. Being in such close proximity allowed the infantry to call to their opponents or even hold up signs. On the German belt buckles was the inscription “Gott Mitt Uns” (God is with us). The British reply was “We’ve got mittens too”. Some of the verbal exchanges were a bit more black humour. A volley of shots would lead to the reply “Missed” or “Left a bit”.
Even so, it was these exchanges that laid the foundations of a handful of amazing scenes across the Western Front on 24th December 1914. The Germans celebrate Christmas on the 24th as opposed to UK and France who celebrate on the 25th). The weather had improved and on the 24th, the voices from the German trenches were different. They began singing carols and placed Xmas Trees across their trenches. Infantry began calling to each other and in due course, some embarked into no mans land where they chatted and exchanged cigarettes, food and souvenirs. Stories of the truce may differ a lot as there were in fact a number of truces up and down the lines. They were principally in the parts manned by the British as the Germans had occupied Belgium and French soil so the Christmas spirit was less in evidence amongst these soldiers.
The Christmas Creasefire of 1914 was unofficial but as many as 100,000 soldiers were believed to have been involved. As well as fraternisation, the chance was also taken to recover and bury the dead. One of the most notable parts of the truce was the football match between the British and Germans. There are a number of conflicting stories concerning the match with an array of finals scores. This would suggest there were various games at several locations.
The duration the truce lasted also varied but generally, it was over on Christmas Day. Often, hostilities started again by mutual arrangement. In one case, on the morning of the 26th December 1914, Captain Stockwell of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers fired into the air and stood above the parapet. His opposite number in the German trench also stood up, they saluted and stepped down. Captain Stockwell heard the German fire a couple of shots into the air and World War I started again. Suffice to say, the Xmas Ceasefire was very much against the wishes of British commanders and in the following years, artillery barrages were ordered for Xmas Eve.
In 2008, a plaque to the Christmas Ceasefire on the Western Front was unveiled at the village on Frelinghen and was the 1st memorial to the incidents of Xmas 1914. The legacy the truce left behind is substantial with a number of books being written and published and it was also the inspiration for various songs.
Battle of Britain
Posted by: | CommentsThe summer time of 1940 saw World War II come to the English skies as the Royal Air Force bravely stand up to the endless attacks of Hitler’s Luftwaffe. Following a period of time identified as the ‘Phoney War’, Hitler had instructed his army to invade other European countries and there was limited opposition in Belgium, Netherlands and France.
Operation Dynamo had seen around 300,000 men of the BEF plucked to safety by a flotilla of boats who made journey over from England to Dunkirk over a number of days. So now Hitler had his sights on England. The white cliffs of Dover were clearly in view as the German High Command looked past the English Channel from Calais.
Even so, until such time as the skies over England were under German control, Hitler wasn’t able to authorise Operation Sealion – the invasion of Great Britain. With America being unwilling to join the war at this stage and her Allies overcome, United Kingdom would have to face the Germans on it’s own.
Could Britian hold on until the autumn when the weather would hold off the Germans from crossing the Channel? British destiny lay in the hands of the bold pilots of the RAF, “The Few” as Churchill later referred to them. It was not exclusively British pilots in the RAF, the Commonwealth was represented with pilots from quite a few colonial outposts like as South Africa and Rhodesia and as well Poles and even a few Americans.
Hitler despatched the Luftwaffe over to hammer UK into submission but crucially, their fighter escorts only had the fuel for a few minutes combat before they would have to go back leaving the bombers unprotected. For the very first time, the Luftwaffe were up against firm resistance and there was to be no repeat of their quick victories on the Continent. Britain’s airfields in the south east were being dealt a hammering till one night in August 1940, a German aircraft got lost and dropped its bombs over London before heading home. In retaliation, the RAF launched an air raid on Berlin.
Hitler was furious and instructed his bombers to attack London and not the RAF airfields. This was a vital turning point as it offered the Royal Air Force some much called for relief. The German Air Force was unable to gain the initiative at any point and in the middle of September, Hitler indefinitely postponed Operation Sealion. The immediate risk of attack was gone and Churchill spoke of the contribution of Fighter Command in a widely known speech “Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few”.
The foremost fighter ace was Sgt Frantisek from the Czech Republic with a score of seventeen kills. He piloted a Hawker Hurricane which was the true workhorse of Fighter Command even if everybody remembers the legendary Spitfire. Sgt Frantisek was killed in action in October 1940.
The Battle of Britain was the first occasion the Germans had experienced a miltary defeat during World War II.
The Legends of the KwaZulu Natal Battlegrounds
Posted by: | CommentsFor practically the whole of the 19th century, several of the most ferocious struggles in history were conducted among Zulu, Briton and Boer for the possession of the territory and sovereignty. Typically these were concentrated in an immense battlefield that extends from the Drakensberg Mountains, north to Volksrust and east into Zululand, embracing plains of amazing natural beauty that offer far more than merely renowned battlefield places to the visitor.
It is really difficult to fully grasp that this scenic and now peaceful land once rang with the bitter conflict. Rather, the hills, valleys and ridges now echo with the call of wildlife, an renowned selection of birdlife or are simply just breathtakingly tranquil, permitting sightseers to emerse themselves in the undeniable ambiance.
From straightforward, comfortable campgrounds to exclusive private game ranches, accommodation is obtainable to suit every taste, standard and budget, combined with numerous pursuits as wide as the plains for which the place is well-known. White water rafting, mountain biking, abseiling, 4×4 trails, horse riding and hiking are some of the possible choices available to the more adventurous, whereas those searching for other pastimes can enjoy a few holes of golf at various 9 and 18-hole courses, casino thrills or the opportunity to test their fishing skills.
The rugged magnificence of the terrain is marked with reminders of the violent history, which include haunting memorials on the field of Isandlwana, where the Zulu army defeated over 1,000 British soldiers, gravestones at Fort Pearson and the monument at Spion Kop, certainly one of the most fiercely fought struggles of the Anglo-Boer War.
The location of the infamous Battle of Blood River amongst Voortrekker and Zulu is home to the Ncome Museum, where the historical past of the Zulu people is documented. The museum and authentic laager reconstruction memorial provide you with an amazing alternative interpretation of the battle, in both their accounts recorded and in the style by which they commemorate those who fought here. The location of the Battle of Rorke’s Drift among the British and Zulu is much unchanged since that bloody battle with stone walls constructed to shield the British still virtually intact.
A number of monuments and well-preserved artifacts present the best backdrop to an place where re-enactments of the Colonial-era wars involving British troops and Zulu warriors, permit modern day tourists to live through the bloody dramas with pretty much frightening reality. Trained guides bring their own personal touch in terms of detail, emotion and historical interest to the encounters in contrast to the often stark visual landscape.
The Menin Gate and the Last Post
Posted by: | CommentsThe Menin Gate in an impressive memorial to the soldiers who died in World War I in the Belgium town of Ypres (Iepers). In the course of the war, the Ypres Salient was the scene of terrible fighting and was nicknamed “Wipers” by the British infantry who fought there. Around 250,000 men from UK and the Commonwealth fell in the fighting in the vicinity of this old town. Of those men, around 100,000 have no acknowledged burial plot and close to half of those are commemorated on the Menin Gate. This memorial to the missing bears the names of 54,000 men from all around the earth.
Across the Western Front battlefields of Belgium and France, there are many memorials but the Menin Gate is compelling for more than just its over all size. The gate is located at the Eastern exit of the town and the road leads right to the old front line. The memorial was constructed by the British government and was unveiled in 1927. Its location seems best suited and lots of the soldiers whose names are commemorated on the Menin Gate, will have marched along this same road to the front line, never to come home.
The people of Ypres were all to mindful of the debt of appreciation they owed the fallen that they came up with an idea to honour them. From 1928, every night at 8pm, cars are stopped from passing under the Menin Gate and a short ceremony takes place. Buglers from the Last Post Association and district fire brigade gather to play the “Last Post”. The ceremony should not be seen as amusement, it is a solemn occasion and although the public are welcome to be present at the ceremony, they should remember the reasons that it happens.
The ceremony has taken place each and every night since 2nd July 1928, only disrupted during World War II as the town was occupied by Germany. For the duration of the occupation of Ypres, the ceremony occurred at Brookwood Military Cemetery in Surrey, Great Britain. The very day that Ypres was liberated from the Germans in World War II, was once again carried out at the Menin Gate.
