The Military History Thread

[Ennath]

May 11, 1857
Seizure of Delhi

On the morning of May 10, 1857, the 3rd Bengal Native Cavalry mutinied at Meerut (see posting), killing all Europeans they could find. When no word was received in Delhi, a signals officer left his post and crossed the Jumna River to inspect the wire line for breaks. While pacing the line, he encountered advance units of the 3rd dashing toward Delhi. They killed him instantly, but his Indian assistant escaped and returned to report the tragedy. He brought the alarming news that the 3rd was about to attack Delhi.

By 1857, the Mogul dynasty had withered to the point of near extinction. The last of the Moguls, Bahadur Shah II, “King of Delhi”, was a frail, opium-addicted old man deprived of any real power. A pensioner of the British, he was king in name only, and it was understood that on his death his title would no longer exist. Bahadur Shah’s keepers were British Commissioner Simon Fraser and a Captain Douglas, the commandant of the Palace Guards. On the ridge overlooking Delhi were the cantonments quartering the 38th, 54th and 74th Native Infantry and one battery of native artillery. By treaty agreement there were no British regiments. This modest force was commanded by Brig. Gen. Harry Graves.

The royal palace housed some 12,000 retainers of one sort or another, who lived a generally unproductive existence. Nevertheless, they spawned countless schemes to profit from their attachment to the throne. In the early hours of May 11, the king was jarred from his rest when news flashed through the court that the 3rd Native Cavalry from Meerut cantonment had dashed to Delhi and entered the city by the bridge over the Jumna. The old king asked Captain Douglas to investigate the disturbance.

Bahadur Shah was hesitant to accept titular leadership of the rising. It would mean exchanging a peaceful life in his luxurious palace for risk and turmoil. But he had no choice - he was, in effect, a prisoner of the mutineers. The 3rd Cavalry, now running wild in Delhi, would inevitably be joined by all native units in northern India, he was told.

For the moment the native regiments in Delhi continued to take orders from their British officers, realizing perhaps that British reinforcements were on the way. The 38th had been entrusted to guard the critical Kashmir Gate. But the spectacle of the 3rd Cavalry rampaging through the streets and killing Englishmen incited the 38th to open the gates and join their brothers in revolt. Some 150 troops from the 74th joined men of the 54th, who were taking the brunt of the attack, and tried to restore discipline at the Kashmir Gate. By afternoon, however, the gate had become untenable.

As the mutineers invested the city, Delhi magistrate Theophilus Metcalf warned Lt. George Willoughby, in charge of the main munitions magazine, to take all possible steps to keep the magazine from falling into rebel hands. Willoughby did what he could to make the arsenal defensible, but he knew he did not have the force to fully defend it. With his small staff of British officers, he prepared charges so that he could blow up the arsenal rather than let the mutineers take it, knowing full well that he and his men would likely be killed by the explosion. The sepoys were not long in laying siege to the arsenal. At 4 PM, Willoughby gave the order; a shattering explosion informed the British that Delhi was lost. While the arsenal’s destruction deprived the insurgents of one supply of munitions, another magazine, located 3 miles outside the city, had and would keep the rebels well-supplied. Miraculously, Willoughby and two of his officers had survived the blast and were able to reach British lines.

Watching from his command post on the Delhi Ridge, Brig. Graves could see the damage caused by the explosion. But more worrisome was the effect the explosion had on the native troops, who now revolted en masse. Some, including women and children, escaped the massacre in the city, some finding refuge in the Flagstaff Tower, where conditions were cramped and soon became unbearable.

Here, a debate was soon in progress among the senior officers. Captain Tytler of the 38th argued for a retreat to Karnal; he had gathered a loyal remnant, who he was sure would protect them all. Other officers were for making a stand at the tower, which was even now being fortified. Tytler was certain that this would end in massacre. Graves finally agreed with Tytler. What was intended as an orderly retreat, with carts and carriages carrying the women and children, escorted by sepoys, however, soon degenerated into panicked flight. Over the next days and weeks, scattered, small groups, hiding from roaming packs of mutineers and ruffians just seeking to profit from the chaos, made their way to safe territory. Others were found and killed.

On May 12, Bahadur Shah, now restored as Emperor, appointed a governor for the city, with the task of restoring order. He was still hoping to play for time - his physician managed to get a message out to the Lt. Governor of the Punjab, appealing for help - but his family would have none of it. His sons, in particular, were not keen to see their chance of sitting on the throne vanish on their father’s death. The eldest, Mirza Mogul, accepted the post of commander-in-chief and lesser military titles went to his brothers.

Despite this, many mutineers were still suspicious of the King and acted swiftly to implicate him further in their revolt. A number of European refugees had taken shelter in the palace; one lady had sheltered with the Queen. The mutineers now demanded that the lady be turned over to them. The king complied, on a promise that she would not be harmed, but she was then taken to the main bazaar and shot. The remaining 50 fugitives, mainly women and children, were housed near the Lahore Gate and fed at the King’s expense. After 4 or 5 days, the mutineers decided to bring them out for execution. Rejecting the King’s pleas (“We will kill them, and in your palace so that, whatever be the result, you too shall be considered one in this business and you will be thought equally guilty by the British.”) The prisoners were herded out into the courtyard and hacked to death by members of the King’s household.

Shortly after the announcement of the revived Mogul Empire, a royal proclamation was issued, calling on all Indians to unite in the struggle - while, of course, maintaining the existing social order. It was intended as a call to arms for all the people of India, but words, like everything else in India at the time, traveled slowly. They moved less slowly, however, for the British and ,even as the newly restored Emperor was settling uneasily on his silver throne, they prepared their counterstroke.

[Ennath]

May 12, 1940
Battle of Hannut

With the German invasion of Belgium, the northern French armies were ordered forward to support the Belgian Army. The defense was to be centered on the Dyle River between Antwerp and Namur to check what was seen as the main enemy effort. However, with Belgium neutral up until the attack, it had been impossible to prepare this defense line. Therefore, the mechanized Cavalry Corps (2nd and 3rd Light Mechanized Divisions - DLMs) of Gen. René Prioux was to fight a delaying battle, somewhere between Gembloux and Maastricht to allow French 1st Army sufficient time to dig in. 3e DLM was a recently formed unit , manned with reservists and still insufficiently trained. Nevertheless, Prioux still considered his forces sufficient to either contest a river-crossing at Maastricht, or wage a maneuver battle or, as a third alternative, defend an improvised line. He was at liberty to choose any option, provided the enemy was kept from Gembloux long enough. He decided to keep all possibilities open and act as the situation would demand.

The German plan for this sector called for a rapid crossing of the Albert Canal, after which Erich Hoepner’s XVI Corps (3rd and 4th Panzer and 20th Infantry Divisions) would seize the area around Gembloux before French infantry could dig in here and so draw more Allied forces north, away from the main thrust through the Ardennes. Here his corps was to protect 6th Army’s flank.

The battleground which Prioux chose consisted of a plateau with occasional woods, a dense road network, and a few isolated large farms. But the key terrain feature was the ridge from Hannut through Crehen and Merdorp. North of the ridge, the Petite Gette stream flowed north into the Escaut river; south of it, the Mehaigne flowed south into the Meuse. This ridge formed a natural corridor for mechanized forces. By placing 3e DLM on a 10 mile front, only 8 partly covered by anti-tank obstacles. Prioux was straining the limits of French doctrine. This warned that on a wide front on open terrain against massed armor, the DLM was to abandon decentralized defense and to concentrate its forces for action.

On the morning of May 12, 4th Panzer Division reached the Hannut area. Noting a lack of fuel and his divisional artillery and infantry support that had not yet caught up with the armor, Maj.-Gen. Johann Stever of 4th Panzer requested an air-drop of fuel. Concluding that he was only facing 1 French battalion, he engaged the defenses. That morning the division made contact with a French force of some 25 tanks. The Germans destroyed 7 for no loss.

Meanwhile, Prioux’s defense suffered at setback at HQ. British and French aircraft had been providing him some ground support, at some cost. But that afternoon, air priority was shifted south to the Sedan area, leaving the French at Hannut with little air cover. Having surrendered the initiative and with only limited air recon, Prioux could only wait to see where the Panzers would concentrate.

35th Panzer Regiment advancing toward Hannut ran into fierce resistance. The French tanks were deployed under cover but counterattacked several times. But the German Panzer regiment pushed the French back, while the rest of the 4th Panzer destroyed 9 French S35 tanks for the loss of 5 Germans as they advanced toward Crehen, encircling the French 2nd Cuirassiers. However a French armored counterattack breached the German line and the French units broke out, though with heavy loss. The right flank of 4th Panzer Division was now dangerously exposed.

3rd Panzer Division raced to cover the right flank of the 4th. After a requested air recon, the Luftwaffe reported French armor at Orp and motorized units at Gembloux. Hoepner, ordered 3th Panzer to attack to prevent the Allies from organizing an effective defense. Coming under intense artillery fire from French strong points at Wansin and Thisnes the German force fell back. The French again counterattacked and both forces’ armor engaged in a fire-fight. The result was a stalemate as both retreated to their starting points.

At 2000 hours, having found out that 2 French mechanized divisions were in the area, Stever and Hoepner agreed to mount a major offensive the next day. The Germans again launched their attack during the night, testing the French defenses. The French strongpoint at Wansin fought all night against German infantry, but withdrew in the early hours of May 13. The front of 3e DLM remained, holding positions near Tienen, Jandrenouille and Merdorp. 2e DLM also held its original front. The only breach of the line occurred at Winson, where the 2 divisions met. Hoepner had failed to take his objective.

On May 13, the Germans began their assault over the Meuse around Sedan. To the north, Hoepner launched spoiling attacks and tied down the powerful French 1st Army, so that it could not intervene. Hoepner believed the newly arrived 3rd Panzer Division had only weak forces before it and that 4th Panzer Division faced strong French forces at Hannut and Thisnes, which the French had in fact already abandoned. The Luftwaffe struck in the late morning to soften the enemy defenses while 3rd Panzer Division advanced on Thorembais. 4th Panzer was to move in parallel on Perwez, against a strong Belgian anti-tank line.

The French the 12th Cuirassiers and to the south the 3rd Battalion of the 11th Dragoons fought off waves of German infantry supported by armored vehicles. But German 18th Infantry Division infiltrated the French positions, punching holes in the line. French command plans to counter-attack with tanks from the 1st Cuirassiers were dropped due to developments on the rest of 3e DLM’s front. In the afternoon the French command ordered a retreat. The Allied force escaped as the German infantry was too slow in following up their success. 2e DLM was positioned just south of the planned axis of Hoepner’s attack. In the early morning 2e DLM sent some 30 S-35s to relieve the pressure on the 3e. Nevertheless, this French counterattack was repulsed by heavy German tank and AT fire near Crehen.

Gen. Bougrain, commanding 2e DLM, signaled enemy infiltrations and attacks by armored cars over the Mehaigne river at Moha and Wanze, just north of Huy, which threatened to cut off the large Belgian garrison in Huy. He diverted his tank reserves to try and relieve the situation; however, at 3 PM, there were already large concentrations of German tanks south-east of Crehen and 2e DLM no longer had reserves available to intervene. Bougrain’s Dragoons and motorized infantry were strung out in a series of isolated strongpoints and thus were vulnerable to infiltration. Then the German forces attacked again. After heavy fighting the German Divisions forced elements across the Mehaigne.

Near Orp, large concentrations of French and German armor units clashed. The Panzers were concentrated and numerically superior while the French operated in small groups. 3rd Panzer Division was flanked and attacked in the rear but this was repulsed by elements of its 3rd Panzer Brigade. By 4 PM, German infantry had captured Orp. As French morale began to sink, 3e DLM began to retreat. 2e DLM desperately launched raids against 4th Panzer’s flanks, but these small attacks were quickly dealt with.

On May 14, the German launched an attack on Perwez. Gen. Stumpff’s 3rd Panzer Division was to engage the new Allied line near Gembloux, while Stever and the 4th Panzer were to break through at Perwez. Hoepner had ordered the attack to begin without infantry support, but could not break through the French positions. Bitter fighting ensued and the appearance of large numbers of French tanks panicked the German Command into thinking a major counterattack was underway, when in fact they were just rearguard actions. Both sides suffered significant losses in armor, but as night fell 2e DLM halted rearguard actions and the German Command regained its composure. The Allied forces had gained themselves time to reorganize their forces.

The first major tank-versus-tank battle in history cost the French 121 armored vehicles destroyed, damaged or abandoned. The Germans lost 160. The Germans failed to forestall French 1st Army at Gembloux, despite their victory over 3e DLM. They had hoped that Hoepner’s panzers and their neighboring corps would tie down and neutralize 1st Army but on May 15, forces of 1st Army, properly settled into position, checked the Panzers (see posting Battle of Gembloux), gaining time and space to maneuver.

[Ernesto75]

Although forced to step back and unable to use all his forces, General Prioux's DLM succeded in his mission which was a delaying mission.

This battle prooves the good qualities of French tanks like the Somua S-35 when in good hands.
The used tactics, i.e. concentration of tanks, shows a good knowledge of the use of tanks by General Prioux, which is a very rare case in the Battle of France.

Anyway that was a victory in some sense.

Alas the French army lacked cruelly air cover.

Not all French generals were idiots, but alas there were also the others and they finally won (temporarily I would say).

My father, who fought on this war, saw tanks which were brand new but without cannons; such was the haste in which they were sent to the front.
What a shame.

[Ernesto75]

The French Tanks were deemed so good by the Germans that after the 1940 armistice they used them (the remaining ones) on the East front when they attacked Russia.

After DDay, we were forced to use American materiel.
We had no choice.

[Ennath]

May 13, 1649
Defeat of the Levellers

The Levellers were political radicals initially associated with John Lilburne, Richard Overton and William Walwyn. They had no special name for themselves; the term “Leveller” was coined by their enemies to imply that they favored the abolition of property rights and the equalization of wealth, which they strenuously denied. The Leveller program included reform of the law, religious toleration and free trade. Their principal constitutional demands were for an extended franchise, for individual rights guaranteed under a written constitution and for a government answerable directly to the People rather than to King or Parliament.

The movement first emerged among middle-ranking civilians in London and southern England as the 1st Civil War drew to an end. In protest at John Lilburne’s imprisonment by Parliament for criticizing MPs who lived in comfort while common soldiers fought and died for the cause, William Walwyn published England’s Lamentable Slaverie in October 1645 in the form of a public letter to Lilburne. Walwyn stated that Parliament’s authority derived from the people who elected it and that Parliament should be answerable directly to them. This was restated in A Remonstrance of Many Thousand Citizens, published in July 1646, along with calls for the dissolution of the present House of Commons, the abolition of the House of Lords, religious toleration, equality before the law and an ending of trade monopolies. The Remonstrance also expounded the theory of the “Norman yoke”, which maintained that the English people had enjoyed full constitutional rights and liberties until the Norman conquest, and that William the Conqueror and his successors were tyrannical usurpers who held power by virtue of the oppressive laws that they had imposed. This theory remained central to radical English politics into the 18th century.

The Leveller movement was never united behind a consistent set of policies and cannot be compared to an organized political party in the modern sense. While concern for individual rights and liberties was a common theme in Leveller writings, the few years during which the movement was active were extremely volatile, calling for rapid adaptation to changing situations.

Leveller proposals for revolutionary changes to the constitution and legal system were disseminated through effective use of the printing press. Pamphlets and petitions were circulated by a network of activists, with regular meetings of supporters and organizers to coordinate activity. A weekly newspaper, The Moderate, ran from July 1648 until its suppression in October 1649.

Their opponents were able to undermine the movement by deliberately associating it with the radical True Levellers (“Diggers”) who wanted to restructure the social order by challenging concepts of land ownership and property rights. Ironically, Lilburne and his colleagues denied any association with the “levelling tendency” and disliked the name “Leveller” itself, which was coined to discredit the movement.

Leveller ideas took hold in the New Model Army in 1647 when Agitators were appointed from among the common soldiers to lobby Parliament for arrears of pay and to protest at Parliament’s plans for disbanding part of the Army and committing the rest to an invasion of Ireland. In June 1647, the military Levellers adopted A Solemn Engagement of the Army and succeeded in setting up the Army Council where representatives of the rank-and-file sat alongside the senior officers, or “Grandees”. The Leveller-influenced manifesto The Case of the Armie Truly Stated called for a radical new constitution, in contrast to the Grandee Henry Ireton’s Heads of the Proposals which outlined a moderate settlement with King Charles. The military Levellers supported the Agreement of the People, which was discussed at the Putney Debates of October-November 1647 between the Levellers and the Grandees. By this stage, however, the Grandees were determined to purge the Army of Leveller influence.

Despite a minor military mutiny at Corkbush Field in support of the Agreement, Fairfax, Cromwell and Ireton kept control of the Army during the 2nd Civil War and throughout the revolutionary period of the trial and execution of King Charles. After the establishment of the Commonwealth, the Levellers soon clashed with the newly-appointed Council of State. Lilburne, Overton, Walwyn and others were imprisoned in March 1649 for publishing England’s New Chains Discovered which criticized the new government for seizing power from the people.

In April 1649, lots were drawn to select regiments for service in Ireland. The soldiers were told that they would not be compelled to go, but any who chose to remain in England would be dismissed from the Army. 300 infantrymen of Colonel Hewson’s regiment threw down their weapons and declared that they would not go to Ireland unless the Leveller demands were granted. They were promptly cashiered without arrears of pay. Discontent at their treatment spread rapidly through the Army.

On April 24, around 30 troopers in Colonel Whalley’s regiment, refused orders to leave the City of London for a rendezvous at Mile End Green. They seized the regimental colors, took over the Bull Inn at Bishopsgate and refused to obey their officers’ orders, including those of Col. Whalley himself. It was not until Fairfax and Cromwell arrived on the scene the following day that they finally backed down. 15 soldiers were arrested and court-martialed, of whom 5 were to be cashiered after riding the wooden horse and 6 were sentenced to death. In a gesture of reconciliation, Cromwell pleaded for mercy and all were pardoned except for Robert Lockier, a former Agitator within the regiment, who was believed to be the ringleader. Lockier was executed by firing squad in front of St Paul’s Cathedral on April 27. His funeral occasioned a massive Leveller-led demonstration in London, with thousands of mourners wearing ribbons of sea-green - the Levellers' colors - and bunches of rosemary for remembrance in their hats.

Mounting anger over the Irish expedition and Parliament’s refusal to settle arrears of pay or to call new elections led to two extensive mutinies in early May 1649. Scrope’s regiment of horse was one of those selected for service in Ireland. Having marched as far as Salisbury, Leveller-inspired soldiers seized the regimental colors and elected new officers. An attempt by Col. Scrope to pacify the mutineers was rejected, with only 80 officers and men remaining loyal. The mutineers issued a declaration stating their refusal to leave England until their grievances over arrears were settled. They demanded a political settlement in line with the Agreement of the People and the restoration of the elected Army Council of 1647. The discontent quickly spread and similar declarations were issued by the regiments of Ireton, Reynolds, Harrison and Skippon. Meanwhile at Banbury, the Leveller William Thompson issued a manifesto entitled England’s Standard Advanced and led a mutiny of local troops in support.

When news of the mutinies reached London, security was increased at the Tower, where the Leveller leaders were imprisoned. Fairfax and Cromwell reviewed their loyal cavalry regiments at Hyde Park and marched to confront the mutineers. Maneuvering swiftly to keep mutinous units isolated from one another, Fairfax succeeded in surrounding the main body at Burford in Oxfordshire. On May 13, he ordered a surprise night attack which was led by Cromwell. After a few shots were exchanged, most of the mutineers surrendered. Several hundred were kept locked in Burford Church for several days, after which 3 of the ringleaders were executed by firing squad in the churchyard. The rest were pardoned by Fairfax. William Thompson, with two troops of horse, was chased into Northamptonshire by Col. Reynolds. Refusing to surrender, Thompson killed 2 of his pursuers before being killed himself in a skirmish near Wellingborough. His brother was one of the ringleaders executed at Burford. On May 25, Cromwell reported to Parliament on the successful suppression of the Levellers in the Army.

Without the support of the Army, Leveller influence faded very quickly. It had ceased to exist as an organized movement by the end of 1649. After the establishment of Cromwell’s Protectorate in December 1653, some of the most radical of the former Levellers became involved in conspiracies to overthrow the Cromwellian regime, which they regarded as a betrayal of the principles for which the civil wars had been fought.

[Ennath]

394 BC
Battle of Coronea

The Corinthian War began in 395 BC when Thebes, Argos, Corinth, and Athens, with Persian support and funding, united to oppose Spartan intervention in Locris and Phocis. The Spartans almost immediately suffered a setback that cost them two of their leaders. The great war leader Lysander, largely responsible for their victory in the Peloponnesian War, was killed at the battle of Haliartus in Boeotia. King Pausanias, who arrived a day or two later, was put on trial for arriving late and failing to fight to retrieve Lysander's body, and fled into exile. The second Spartan king, Agesilaus, was absent in Ionia, campaigning against the Persians, but in the aftermath of Haliartus he was recalled to Greece.

Agesilaus decided to take the land route home and bring a sizable army with him. He had no trouble convincing the Greeks of Asia Minor to accompany him, but his Peloponnesian contingents were less keen on the idea of abandoning a war against the Persians to fight fellow Greeks and had to be tempted west with promises of prizes for the best contingent. Agesilaus left Asia Minor in the early summer of 394; his route took him west through Thrace, where he had to fight off attacks and win over a number of cities. At Amphipolis he learnt of the Spartan victory at Nemea, west of Corinth, and ordered the news to be spread. He bluffed his way through Macedon, then in the middle of a period of chaos that followed the murder of King Archelaus. He faced more attacks as he advanced through Thessaly, but won a cavalry victory that cleared his route. After a rapid march from Asia Minor he reached the borders of Boeotia in August 394 BC. Gathering to oppose him was a force composed primarily of Thebans, allied Boeotians, and Argives.

Agesilaus crossed into Boeotia from the northwest just before a partial eclipse of the sun. On that day news reached him of the disastrous Spartan naval defeat at Cnidas. The Spartan fleet had been destroyed and its commander Peisander had been killed. Agesilaus must have been aware that this meant that the Greek cities of Asia Minor would probably fall to the Persians, making the loyalty of that part of his army suspect. In order to maintain the morale of his men, and probably also to ensure their loyalty, he announced that the battle had been a victory, although he did acknowledge the death of Peisander.

Agesilaus’ forces were composed of a regiment and a half of Spartiates, augmented by a force of freed helots, and a sizable force of allied troops from the Peloponnese and Ionia, plus troops from some of the cities he passed on his march, and hoplites from Orchomenus and Phocis, some 15,000 hoplites. He was faced by an allied army of almost 20,000 that had moved back into Boeotia from Corinth. According to Xenophon this included contingents from Boeotia, Athens, Argos, Corinth, Aeniania, Euboea, Western Locris and Eastern Locris. The cavalry forces of the two sides were roughly equal, but Agesilaus had substantially more light troops. The defeat at Nemea weighed heavily on the Argives and Corinthians. The Athenians were too familiar with the ups and downs of their previous long and disastrous war against Sparta, and the willingness of the Persians to switch support from one side to the other, to be overly confident. Only the Boeotians seemed assured.

The two armies clashed just to the east of Coronea, on the shores of Lake Copais. Agesilaus had moved to Orchomenus then moved south along the western shores of the lake, while the allied army moved to intercept him, taking up a position on the northern foothills of Mount Helicon, south of the lake. As Agesilaus crossed the River Cephisus and advanced into the plains east of Coronea, the allies moved north from the mountains to intercept him.

Agesilaus himself commanded the Spartans on the extreme right flank of his army, the veterans of the Ten Thousand were next to the Spartans, the Asian Greeks were next to them, then came the Phocians, and the Orchomenians held the extreme left. The Thebans faced the Orchomenians and the Argives faced the Spartans.

The two sides approached each other in silence, until they were one stade apart (about 650 feet). At this point the Thebans shouted a battle cry and advanced at double speed. At about 300 feet, the veterans of the Ten Thousand, enfranchised helots and Asian Greeks countercharged. The veterans and the Asians quickly routed the troops opposite them. The Argives panicked before the Spartans under Agesilaus could even make contact and fled to Mount Helicon.

The troops near Agesilaus assumed the battle was over and offered him a garland to commemorate his victory. Just then news came that on the other flank, the Thebans had broken through the Orchomenians and were already at the baggage train, ransacking the loot taken from Asia. This triggered the second phase of the battle, this time with the opposing forces facing in the opposite direction to the first.

Agesilaus immediately wheeled around and headed for the Thebans. Xenophon was rather critical of Agesilaus’ decision to fight face to face with the Thebans, suggesting that it would have been safer to let them through then attack them from the rear. Agesilaus had at least two possible motives - at this stage his Spartans hadn’t actually fought, and so he may have wanted to make sure they played an active part in the battle. He may also have been attempting to win a crushing victory that would knock the Thebans out of the war. At that moment, the Thebans noticed that their allies had fled to Mount Helicon. They formed up with the desperate design of breaking through to rejoin the rest of their army. The result was a period of vicious melee combat, fought in a strange silence. As Xenophon described it, “So shield pressed upon shield they struggled, killed and were killed in turn.” In the end, a few Thebans broke through to Mount Helicon but, in the words of Xenophon, “many others were killed on their way there.” Agesilaus himself was wounded in this phase of the battle. According to Diodorus Siculus, more than 600 of the Boeotians and their allies fell, and the Spartans lost 350 men.

In the aftermath of the battle, 80 of the enemy were found taking shelter in a sanctuary of Athena Itonia, north of the battlefield. Agesilaus made sure they were escorted safely back to their own side.

The result of the battle only became clear on the following morning, when the Spartans drew up in battle order while the Thebans asked for a truce to bury their dead, an admission of defeat. However the allied army was still largely intact, and refused to fight a second battle. Agesilaus decided that it wasn't worth attempting to force his way through the foothills of Mount Helicon to reach Thebes, and retreated west into Phocis.

The Spartans suffered a minor setback in the aftermath of the battle. A raiding force commanded by the polemarch Gylis was sent on a raid into Locris, but he was harassed by Lorcrian light troops as he retreated. The polemarch and all 18 Spartans present were killed, and only a few of the troops escaped. This ended the campaign. Agesilaus disbanded his army, sending the various contingents home or back to their previous posts, and sailed south across the Gulf of Corinth to return to Sparta.

The battle of Coronea was the last full scale battle of the war. It was followed by a period of comparatively small scale warfare around Corinth, raids into the territory of Argos, and fighting in other outlying areas, but the war was eventually decided by the Persians, who made peace with the Spartans and helped impose a pro-Spartan peace agreement in 386 BC (the King's Peace or Peace of Antalcides).

[VintageWomble]

Originally Posted by Ernesto75

The French Tanks were deemed so good by the Germans that after the 1940 armistice they used them (the remaining ones) on the East front when they attacked Russia.

After DDay, we were forced to use American materiel.
We had no choice.

Also, something which is often forgotten, the Germans used en masse captured Czechoslovakian tanks such as the LT Vz. 35 and especially the LT Vz.38, which was at the start of the 2nd World War one of the best tanks (if not THE best tank).

But you're right about the Char Somua. C'etait une bete de se- uhhh de guerre.

[Ennath]

May 14, 1982
PebbleIsland Raid

Immediately after the Argentineans had seized the Falkland Islands, they established a small airbase, Aerodromo Auxiliar Calderon, on Pebble Island (Isla Borbon) using the local airstrip on which were based Air Force's FMA IA58 Pucara light attack aircraft and some Naval Aviation T-34 Mentor armed trainers. Reconnaissance by these aircraft could have compromised the Royal Navy’s moves before its intended landing on East Falkland. SAS elements embarked on HMS Hermes were tasked with eliminating the threat, with naval support from the Type 22 frigate HMS Broadsword as Hermes’ defensive escort and the County class destroyer HMS Glamorgan to provide naval gunfire support.

Initial intentions were for a Squadron strength air insertion from Hermes using personnel from D Squadron, 22nd SAS Regiment. The raiding party would destroy the aircraft, radar site, ground crew and the force protection garrison before helicopter exfiltration to return to the deck before daybreak. Reconnaissance for the raid was conducted by personnel from the Boat Troop of D Squadron, conducting an infiltration by Klepper canoe. The patrol found that strong headwinds would increase the time taken to fly in from Hermes, delaying time on target and reducing the available offensive window to 30 minutes, rather than the planned 90. In light of this information the planning emphasized the importance of destroying the aircraft as a priority, with support personnel as a secondary priority.

During the night of May 14, two Westland Sea King HC4 helicopters of 846 Naval Air Squadron, part of the Commando Helicopter Force, departed with 45 members of D Squadron on board. The delivery point was 3.7 miles from the airstrip on Pebble Island. Mountain Troop was tasked with the destruction of the Argentine aircraft, while the remaining personnel acted as a protection force, securing approaches to the airstrip, and forming an operational reserve. Approach navigation was conducted by a member of the Boat Troop who had carried out the reconnaissance.

As the raiding party approached the target they spotted an Argentine sentry but were not seen, allowing them to enter the target and lay charges on 7 aircraft. Once all the aircraft had been prepared the raiding team opened fire on the aircraft with small arms and AT rockets. All of the aircraft were damaged, with some having their undercarriages shot away. Following this cue, Glamorgan began shelling the Argentine positions on the airfield using high-explosive rounds, hitting the ammunition dump and fuel stores.

The defending force did not engage until the entire raiding party had regrouped and were preparing to move out. One British soldier was wounded while the raiding party returned fire, resulting in the death of the Argentine Commanding Officer (according to British assessments) and the suppression of any defensive effort.

The Argentine version states that their marines remained in shelters during Glamorgan’s shelling, so they were unable to face the SAS in combat. The British wounded were the result of shrapnel from exploding charges placed by the Argentines under the airstrip in order to deny its use to the enemy. The blasts were triggered in the belief that the operation was a full-scale assault.

The wounded man was hauled back to the recovery site with the raiding party, reaching the aircraft by the required time for transportation back to Hermes before daybreak. The decision was made to proceed with exfiltration rather than returning to attack the defending force.

Assets destroyed during the raid totaled: 6 Pucaras, 4 T-34s, 1 Short Skyuvan utility transport, and the fuel and ammo dumps. The Argentine forces continued occupying the position until they were evacuated later in the war; the last troops were recovered on June 1 by 2 Argentine Navy Sea King helicopters.

[rupertramjet]

Little side story here.

When the wounded got back on board, the jubilation was quite err.. enthusiastic! With all the back slapping their was an accidental discharge, and apparently the round just missed the wounded guy on the way to the sick bay, he later commented that as the Argies had missed his so called mates were determined to see it right!

[Ernesto75]

Originally Posted by VintageWomble

Also, something which is often forgotten, the Germans used en masse captured Czechoslovakian tanks such as the LT Vz. 35 and especially the LT Vz.38, which was at the start of the 2nd World War one of the best tanks (if not THE best tank).

But you're right about the Char Somua. C'etait une bete de se- uhhh de guerre.

You are right VintageWomble, after the German invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938 this LT Vz.38 was kept in production and renamed Pz Kpfw 38 by the Germans.

The German crews liked it because it was simpler than the German tanks whose main default was essentially the complexity.

Being simpler it was easier to repair.

In all there were 1 400 units produced in 8 versions.