The Military History Thread

[rupertramjet]

Originally Posted by Mal Hombre

Most if not all of the men shot for desertion in WW1 had deserted more than once.

I would like to acknowledge the points made by both Dr.P and Harold in this comment!

There is a tendency today, to criticise the past, the biggest example in the apologist argument is 'Today, the sentences would not have been passed.' True the sentence would not have been death, but there is little doubt that the sentences passed, were lawful and correct at the time. There was an appeal process, brief I admit, and there was the chance for additional circumstances to be taken into account.

The arguments surrounding mental health, and our far better modern understanding bear some weight, but Harold points out that the majority had already been accused before. John Major, a compassionate man, with great sympathy and understanding for the armed forces, pondered the idea of pardons long and hard, as Prime Minister, and the easy option would have been to go along with the pressure and hive amnesty, he did not, after a serious review of cases he held with the original decisions, that I find very telling. Seventy years later he refused a points scoring decision because he felt the original one had been right.

Cowardice is a deliberate decision, I have been scared, I have been frightened, and there has always been someone who knows it, but somehow a look has kicked me into motion, even a smile, but it would have been safer and easier to just sit and quiver!

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November 19, 1924
Mutiny in the Sudan

Early in 1924, authorities in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan became aware of a “White Flag” Society, seeking union with Egypt. They did not take it seriously until 2 mass demonstrations in June and July, causing unrest to spread throughout the Sudan. Then on August 9, students at the Military School in Khartoum mutinied and seized arms, and elements of the Egyptian Railway Battalion damaged the rail works at the Atbara junction. Events took an even more serious turn on November 19 when, as a direct result of the mounting anti-British agitation, Sir Lee Stack, Governor-General of the Sudan and Sirdar (commander-in-chief) of the Egyptian Army, was assassinated while driving home from the War Ministry in Cairo. Finally, the 11th Sudanese and 2 companies of the 10th Battalion came out in open mutiny.

The High Commissioner in Egypt, Lord Allenby, ordered acting Sirdar H.J. Huddleston to withdraw all Egyptian officers and troops from the Sudan, including the 3rd and 4th Battalions and 3 batteries of artillery based in Khartoum. Huddleston had available the Argylls and the 2nd Leicesters, 3 companies of the Camel Corps who remained loyal, 8 armored cars and several Lewis guns. He dispatched the Camel Corps to el-Obeid, while the Leicesters went upriver to Khartoum. On November 24, the battleships Iron Duke and Malaya took up station off Alexandria and Port Said. This show of force proved sufficient and no resistance was encountered on the Nile apart from a section of the 11th Sudanese who holed up in a building in Khartoum on the 28th and refused to surrender. The British brought up a 4.5” howitzer and fired 30 rounds in quick succession, followed by 170 more over 7 hours. The building was completely demolished and none of the garrison emerged alive.

By December 4, the last Egyptian battalion had left the Sudan. It was abundantly clear that henceforth neither Egyptian nor Sudanese infantry could be relied upon to keep order in the Sudan. The Sirdar therefore disbanded the Sudanese battalions and the Railway Battalion. Members of the latter were deported to Egypt in detachments under armed guard.

Thereafter the authorities relied on a system of air control, backed up as required by the loyal Camel Corps, renamed the Sudan Defense Force and consisting of companies of 150-200 men with a high percentage of machine-guns and camels, horses and mules for transport.

Through the 1920s and 1930s aircraft based in Khartoum were used to maintain law and order in the Sudan. A small British garrison was stationed at Khartoum as a precaution, equipped from 1926 onwards with a motorized machine gun section and Rolls-Royce armored cars, replaced in the 1930s by Ford trucks armed with Vickers guns.

Air policing was not always successful. In 1927-28, 2 patrols were dispatched to chastise a Nuer prophet called Guek Wonding by destroying his power center, a ceremonial pyramid. This action was followed up on December 19, 1927, by an attack on the pyramid by 4 DH-9s. For several days, the planes flew over the desert, strafing the Nuer and killing 2 tribesmen and several hundred cattle. One plane was put out of action and a pilot wounded. Further air attacks were called off on political instructions, giving rise to a Nuer belief that their magic had driven the enemy away. Ground action proved more decisive. On February 8, 1929, Guek and 200 followers gathered at the pyramid to oppose 200 troops and police, including the Equatorial Corps from Mongalia and the Camel Corps, all under the command of Col. F.P. Nosworthy Pasha. Rashly, Guek advanced to meet this strong force, driving a large white bull in front and carrying a great brass pipe. In a few minutes it was all over. Guek and 17 of his followers were killed and the rest dispersed.

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November 20, 1917
Battle of Cambrai

By the autumn of 1917 the popular reputation of tank effectiveness had suffered. Aside from their undoubted initial value as a surprise tactic they were deemed to be of limited use, unwieldy and prone to malfunction. So much so indeed that the German High Command, having overcome their initial alarm at the sudden appearance of the huge mechanical beasts on the battlefield, came to regard the tank with disdain, a device readily destroyed by use of concentrated field artillery. Given such an attitude it was perhaps unsurprising that German tank development came relatively late in the war.

Nevertheless the British Tank Corps remained convinced that earlier disappointments would be overcome once the new weapon was used in conditions less ill-suited than the muddy quagmire that characterized the 3rd Battle of Ypres, where once again the tank had succeeded only in generating cynicism. Thus Lt-Col. J.F.C.Fuller of the Tank Corps recommended wide-scale use of tanks on the dry battlefield sited between the Canal du Nord and the St. Quentin Canal. Fuller's proposal was promptly taken up by 3rd Army commander Julian Byng, but was vetoed by Commander-in-Chief Sir Douglas Haig who preferred to continue with operations at Passchendaele.

In time however Haig, disappointed at the lack of progress at Passchendaele, turned back to Fuller and Byng’s scheme, attracted by the notion of achieving a useful victory using the new weapon before the year was out. Byng, buoyed with the opportunity, rejected Fuller’s initial plan calling for an immediate withdrawal once the massed tank formation had successfully raided the German lines. Instead he aimed at achieving a major Allied breakthrough. He scheduled the attack for November, even though weather conditions were predictably worsening. Consequently Tank Corps commanders feared that the planned attack would merely serve once again to further undermine the tank’s doubtful reputation as an effective attacking weapon.

Proposals for an operation in the Cambrai area originated from Brig. Hugh Elles of the Tank Corps. In August, Henry Hugh Tudor, commander of the 9th (Scottish) Division artillery, conceived the idea of a surprise attack in IV Corps sector, he suggested a primarily artillery-infantry attack, which would be supported by a small number of tanks, to secure a breakthrough of the Hindenburg Line. The German defenses were formidable; Cambrai having been a quiet stretch of front thus far enabled the Germans to fortify their lines in depth and the British were aware of this. Tudor’s plan sought to test new methods in combined arms, with emphasis on artillery and infantry techniques and see how effective they were against strong German fortifications. He advocated using the new sound ranging and silent registration of guns to achieve instant suppression fire and surprise. He also wanted to use tanks to clear paths through the deep barbed wire obstacles in front of German positions, while supporting the tank force with the #106 Fuse, designed to explode without cratering the ground to supplement the armor.

The battle began at dawn on November 20, with a bombardment by 1003 guns, followed by smoke and a creeping barrage to cover the first advances. Despite efforts to preserve secrecy, the Germans had received sufficient intelligence to be on moderate alert: an attack on Havrincourt was anticipated, as was the use of tanks. The attacking force was 6 infantry divisions of the III Corps (Sir William Pulteney) on the right and IV Corps (Sir Charles Woollcombe) on the left, supported by 9 battalions of the Tank Corps with about 437 tanks. In reserve was a division of IV Corps and the 3 divisions of the Cavalry Corps (Sir Charles Kavanagh). Facing the British attack was German 2nd Army (Georg von der Marwitz). Initially, there was considerable success in most areas; the Hindenburg Line was penetrated with advances of up to 5 miles, taking 4200 prisoners.

On the IV Corps front, 51st (Highland) Division was held at Flesquières, its first objective, which left the attacking divisions on each flank exposed to enfilade fire. The commander of 51st Division had used a local variation of the tank drill instead of the standard one laid down by the Tank Corps. Flesquières was one of the most fortified points in the German line and was flanked by other strong points. Its defenders acquitted themselves well against the tanks, almost 40 being knocked. The Germans abandoned Flesquières during the night.

Of the tanks, 180 were out of action after the first day, although only 65 had been destroyed; 71 had suffered mechanical failure and 43 had ditched. The German command was quick to send reinforcements and was relieved that the British did not manage fully to exploit their early gains. When the battle was renewed on November 21, the pace of the British advance was greatly slowed. Flesquières and Cantaing were captured in the very early morning but in general the British took to consolidating their gains rather than expanding. Attacks by III Corps were terminated and attention was turned to IV Corps.

The effort was aimed at Bourlon Ridge. Fighting was fierce. German counterattacks squeezed the British out of Moeuvres on November 21 and Fontaine on the 22nd; when Anneux was taken, 62nd Division found itself unable to enter Bourlon Wood. The British were left exposed in a salient. Haig still wanted Bourlon Ridge, as its possession would provide a commanding view of German rear areas, and the exhausted 62nd Division was replaced by 40th Division on November 23. Supported by almost 100 tanks and 430 guns, 40th Division attacked into the woods that morning and made little progress. The Germans had put 2 divisions of Gruppe Arras on the ridge with another 2 in reserve and Gruppe Caudry was reinforced. 40th Division’s commander did not adhere to the new combined arms doctrine of tank-infantry cooperation and relied on the linear infantry attacks of the past; the attack reached the crest of the ridge but was held there, taking over 4000 casualties in 3 days. More British troops were pushed in to move beyond the woods but the British reserves were rapidly depleted and more German reinforcements were arriving. The final British effort was on November 27 by 62nd Division aided by 30 tanks. Early success was soon reversed by a German counterattack. The next day, the offensive was halted and the British troops were ordered to lay wire and dig in. The Germans were quick to concentrate their artillery on the new British positions.

The Germans were reinforcing the area. As early as November 23, they felt that a British breakthrough would not occur and began to consider a counter-offensive. 20 divisions were arrayed in the Cambrai area. The Germans intended to retake the Bourlon salient and also to attack around Havrincourt while diversionary attacks would hold IV Corps; it was hoped to at least reach the old positions on the Hindenburg Line. The Germans intended to employ the new tactics of a short, intense period of shelling followed by a rapid assault using Hutier infiltration tactics, leading elements attacking in groups rather than waves and bypassing strong opposition. For the initial assault at Bourlon 3 divisions of Gruppe Arras under Otto von Moser were assigned. On the eastern flank of the British salient, Gruppe Caudry attacked from Bantouzelle to Rumilly and aimed for Marcoing. Gruppe Busigny advanced from Banteux. The 2 corps groups had 7 infantry divisions.

The German attack began at 0700 on November 30; almost immediately, the bulk of III Corps was heavily engaged. The German infantry advance in the south was unexpectedly swift, gaining 3 miles. In the south, the German advance came within a few miles of the vital village of Metz and its link to Bourlon.

At Bourlon, the Germans suffered heavy casualties. Despite this, the Germans closed and there was fierce fighting. The concentration of British effort to hold the ridge was impressive but allowed the German advance elsewhere greater opportunity. Only counterattacks by the Guards Division, the arrival of British tanks and the fall of night allowed the line to be held. By the following day, the impetus of the German advance was lost, but pressure on December 3 led to the German capture of La Vacquerie and a British withdrawal on the east bank of the St Quentin canal. The Germans had reached a line looping from Quentin Ridge to near Marcoing. The German capture of Bonavis ridge made the British hold on Bourlon precarious. Haig ordered a partial retreat from the north salient. In the south, the Germans actually pushed beyond the British start line. A French corps arrived to bolster the British line here. By December 7, the British gains were abandoned except for a portion of the Hindenburg line around Havrincourt, Ribécourt and Flesquières.

During the battle casualties were high: the Germans suffered losses of approximately 47,000 and the British 45,000. Though the front was left largely unchanged, both sides had developed tactics able to break the trench stalemate and the battle saw more movement than any Western Front battle since 1914 and pointed the way toward the fighting of 1918.

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November 21, 1855
Bleeding Kansas

As tensions grew over the increasingly popular abolitionist movement, the US Congress maintained a tenuous balance of political power between Northern and Southern representatives. In May 1854, the Kansas–Nebraska Act created from unorganized Indian lands the new territories of Kansas and Nebraska for settlement by US citizens. Though the Missouri Compromise of 1820 had explicitly forbidden the practice of slavery in all U.S. territory north of 36°30' latitude west of the Mississippi River, except for the state of Missouri, the 1854 act directly contradicted this agreement by permitting settlers of Kansas and Nebraska to determine their state’s status by popular vote, under the doctrine of “Popular Sovereignty”.

Immediately, supporters of both sides of the slavery question arrived in the Kansas Territory to establish residency and the right to vote. Among the first settlers were citizens of slave states, especially Missouri, many of whom emigrated specifically to secure the expansion of slavery. Pro-slavery immigrants settled towns including Leavenworth and Atchison. The administration of President Franklin Pierce appointed territorial officials in Kansas aligned with its own pro-slavery views and, heeding rumors that the frontier was being overwhelmed by Northerners, thousands of non-resident slavery proponents soon entered Kansas with the goal of influencing local politics. Pro-slavery factions captured many early territorial elections, often by fraud and intimidation. In November 1854, thousands of armed pro-slavery men known as Border Ruffians, mostly from Missouri, poured into the territory and swayed the vote in the election for a non-voting delegate to Congress in favor of a pro-slavery Democrat. The following year, a congressional committee reported that 1729 fraudulent votes were cast compared to 1114 legal votes.

At the same time, Northern abolitionists encouraged their own supporters to move to Kansas in the effort to secure the territory as a free state, flooding Kansas with so-called free-soilers, or Free-Staters. These were often assisted by Emigrant Aid Societies. Efforts like these were directly responsible for the establishment of towns which later became strongholds of Republican and abolitionist sentiment, including Lawrence, Topeka and Manhattan.

On March 30, 1855, Kansas Territory held the election for its first Territorial Legislature. Crucially, this legislature would decide whether the territory would allow slavery. Just as had happened in November 1854, Border Ruffians from Missouri again streamed into the territory to vote, and pro-slavery delegates were elected to 37 of the 39 seats. Due to questions of electoral fraud, Territorial Governor Andrew Reeder invalidated the results in 5 districts, and a special election was held on May 22 to elect replacements. 8 of the 11 chosen in this election were Free-Staters, but this still left the pro-slavery camp with an overwhelming 29-10 advantage. To help counteract the fraud, around 1200 New Englanders emigrated to the Kansas Territory by the summer of 1855. Abolitionist Henry Ward Beecher armed many of them with Sharps rifles, which allegedly became known as “Beecher's Bibles” for their shipment in wooden crates so labeled.

The pro-slavery legislature convened in the new territorial capital in Pawnee on July 2, 1855. It immediately invalidated the results from the special election in May and seated the pro-slavery delegates elected in March. After a week in Pawnee, the legislature moved the capital to the Shawnee Mission on the Missouri border, where it reconvened and began passing laws favorable to slaveholders. In August, anti-slavery residents met to formally reject the pro-slavery laws. They elected their own delegates to a separate legislature based in Topeka, which stood in opposition to the pro-slavery government, and drafted the first territorial constitution. In a message to Congress on January 24, 1856, President Pierce declared the Free-State Topeka government insurrectionist in its stand against pro-slavery territorial officials.

In October 1855, outspoken abolitionist John Brown arrived in Kansas to fight slavery. On November 21, violence began when a Free-Stater named Charles Dow was shot by a pro-slavery settler. Free-Stater Thomas Barber was shot and killed near Lawrence on December 6. On May 21, 1856, 800 Missourians invaded Lawrence and burned the Free State Hotel, destroyed two newspaper offices, and ransacked homes and stores.

The violence continued to increase. John Brown led his sons and other followers to plan the murder of settlers who spoke in favor of slavery. At a proslavery settlement at Pottawatomie Creek on the night of May 24, 1856, the group seized 5 pro-slavery men from their homes and hacked them to death with broadswords. Brown and his men escaped and began plotting a full-scale slave insurrection to take place at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, with financial support from Boston abolitionists (see posting).
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The pro-slavery Territorial government had been relocated to Lecompton. In April, a Congressional committee arrived there to investigate voting fraud. The committee found the elections improperly elected by non-residents. President Pierce refused recognition of its findings and continued to authorize the pro-slavery legislature, which the Free State people called the “Bogus Legislature.” On July 4, proclamations of President Pierce led to nearly 500 US Army troops arriving in Topeka from Ft. Leavenworth and Ft. Riley. With their cannons pointed at Constitution Hall and the long fuses lit, Colonel E.V. Sumner ordered the dispersal of the Free State Legislature.

In August 1856, thousands of pro-slavery men formed into armies and marched into Kansas. That same month, Brown and 40 followers engaged 250 pro-slavery soldiers in the Battle of Osawatomie. The hostilities raged for another two months until Brown departed the Kansas Territory, and a new territorial governor, John Geary, took office and managed to prevail upon both sides for peace. This was followed by a fragile peace broken by intermittent violent outbreaks for two more years. The last major outbreak of violence was touched off by the Marais des Cygnes massacre in 1858, in which Border Ruffians killed 5 Free State men. In all, approximately 60 people died by the time the violence ended in 1859. After the start of the American Civil War in 1861, additional guerrilla violence erupted on the border between Kansas and Missouri. Meanwhile, the term “Bleeding Kansas” is said to have been coined by Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune.

A major confrontation of the Bleeding Kansas era was in the writing of constitutions that would govern a state of Kansas. The first such documents was the 1855 Topeka Constitution, written by antislavery forces. This was the basis for the Free State Territorial government that resisted the illegitimate, but federally authorized government elected by non-resident, and thus unqualified, Missourians. In 1857, the second convention drafted the Lecompton Constitution, a pro-slavery document promoted by President James Buchanan. Congress instead ordered another election because of voting irregularities uncovered. On August 2, 1858, Kansas voters rejected the document. While the Lecompton Constitution was pending before Congress, a third document, the Leavenworth Constitution, was written and passed by Free-State delegates. It was more radical in that it would have extended suffrage to “every male citizen”, regardless of race. The proposed constitution was forwarded to the US Senate, where it was met with a tepid reception and left to die in committee. The Wyandotte Constitution drafted in 1859 represented the Free-State view of the future of Kansas. It was approved in a referendum by a vote of 10,421 to 5,530 on October 4, 1859. With southern states still in control of the Senate, Kansas awaited admission to the Union until January 29, 1861.

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606
Conquests of Harsha

After the downfall of the Gupta Empire in the middle of the 6th century, North India was split into several independent kingdoms. The northern and western regions passed into the hands of a dozen or more feudatory states. Prabhakarana Vardhan was the first king of the Vardhana dynasty with his capital at Thaneswar, modern-day Haryana. After Prabhakarana Vardhan’s death in 605, his eldest son, Rajya Vardhana, ascended the throne. Harsha Vardhana was Rajya’s younger brother. This period of kings from the same line has been referred to as the Vardhana dynasty in many publications.

This was a period of tension as India had to frequently deal with the invasion of the White Huns (Hephthelites, or Hunas) of Central Asia. Emperor Skandagupta of the Gupta Empire had inflicted a crushing defeat on these barbaric tribes, yet these constant fights were so costly that they weakened the empire and eventually led to the downfall of the Gupta Empire. As the western frontiers of India and areas adjoining the Indus river were under the occupation of Huns, skirmishes between them and Thaneshwar were regular.

Meanwhile, in the east, greater events were happening. King Sasaka of Gauda, modern-day Bengal, attacked and killed King Grahvarmana, husband of Rajya and Harsha’s sister Rajyashri, and then kidnapped her. The kidnapping of his sister forced the elder Vardhana brother to march east and confront Sasaka. Sasaka invited Rajya for a meeting and treacherously killed him. After his brother’s death, at the age of 16, Harsha Vardhana became the undisputed ruler of Thaneshwar and declared war on Sasaka to avenge his brother and embarked upon a campaign of Digvijay, i.e. to conquer the world (which in this context meant conquering the whole of India). The first enemy was now Sasaka who had to face an angry brother’s wrath. Harsha issued a proclamation to all the kings known to him to either declare allegiance or face him on the battlefield. As Sasaka’s enemies responded to Harsha’s call, he marched on to Kannuaj.

Although there is no evidence, a story claims that Rajyashri, when released from prison, took refuge in the forest of Vindhyas. Hearing this, Harsha hurriedly went into the forest to save her and found her just when she was about to commit suicide by throwing herself in a fire. Rescuing his sister, he rejoined his army at the bank of Ganges. After this, Harsha easily conquered Kannauj as Sasaka went back to Bengal, and thus began a long enmity. It was only after Sasaka’s death that Harsha was able to control entire eastern India including Bengal and Kalinga.

Harsha’s Digvijay had now begun. After Kannauj, he turned his attention towards Gujarat. He defeated the local Valabhi kingdom and expanded his empire. Yet, this rapid expansion led to tensions between him and the Chalukya king Pulakesin II. It was now, in the winter of 618-19 that the most powerful kingdoms of northern and southern India came face-to-face on the battlefield on the banks of river Narmada. In the end, the southerners, under the able leadership of Pulakesin, prevailed. Harsha concluded a peace treaty with the Chalukya king, which established Narmada river as the southern boundary of his empire and after that he never advanced south again. Yet, this did not halt his conquest of the north. He took the title of sakal uttara patha natha (lord of northern India).

The Vardhana Empire consisted of two distinctive types of territories: areas directly under Harsha's rule such as Central Provinces, Gujarat, Bengal, Kalinga, Rajputana, and the states and kingdoms which had become feudatories under him including Jalandhar, Kashmir, Nepal, Sind, Kamarupa (modern-day Assam). Thus, many historians do not find the title justified as he was never able to bring the entire north under a single rule. Yet, this does not mean his power was not felt beyond the limits of his direct rule. His writ ran across all of north India.

Harsha’s kingdom was one of the earliest Indian kingdoms where we can see the practice of feudalism. This was similar to the feudal grants of Europe. Independent rulers, collectively known as Mahasamantas, paid tribute to Harsha and also helped him by supplying military contingents. This played an important role in the expansion of Harsha’s empire. However, it also led to the weakening of the empire by giving rise to local feuds. Harsha had to be in constant movement to keep things in order.

Harsha died in 647, and the empire and dynasty died with him. The death of Harsha is not well documented. It is said that he had two sons named Vagya and Kalyan. The story goes that they were killed by a minister in his court, even before the death of Harsha himself. Therefore, Harsha died without an heir. As a result, Arjuna, one of the chief ministers took up the throne.

In 648, Tang emperor Taizong sent Wang Xuance to India in response to Harsha sending an ambassador to China. However once in India he discovered Harsha had died and the new king attacked Wang and his 30 subordinates. Wang escaped to Tibet and then, mounting a joint force of over 7000 Nepalese mounted infantry and 1200 Tibetan infantry and defeated Arjuna.

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November 22, 1848
Battle of Ramnagar

The 1st Sikh War ended in 1846 with the Treaty of Lahore, leaving the Punjab dependent on Britain but stopping short of outright annexation. The treaty required that the Khalsa, the Sikh army, be reduced in size and number of guns, although it is doubtful that this was complied with. The Sikh government agreed to pay a large sum in reparations to the British, with compliance secured on Kashmir. When the Sikhs found themselves unable to pay, Kashmir became forfeit, to the dismay of the British who lacked the resources to occupy the remote Himalayan province.

Difficulties over Kashmir were followed by the killing of two British officers by Sikh soldiers in Multan in April 1848. A force of Sikh troops moved against the rebels commanded by a British officer, Herbert Edwardes, but the Sikhs began to desert, and it became apparent that the rebels were acting with the encouragement of the Sikh rulers. Edwardes intended to conduct a siege of Multan (see posting), while Maj. Gen. Sir Hubert Gough, the British commander-in-chief, gathered his forces on the River Chenab.

Edwardes did not have sufficient strength for a siege, and the enterprise passed to Maj. Gen. Whish with 2 brigades of infantry, a brigade of cavalry and a siege train. Until this force captured Multan and re-joined him, Gough was forced to delay taking the offensive against the Sikhs, with his newly named Army of the Punjab.

At this stage in the Second Sikh War, it was far from clear who would be fighting against the British. A Sikh general, Sher Singh, revolted against the Punjab government and marched with his army up the Chenab towards the north of the province. Gough feared that Sher Singh would join his father, Chattar Singh, in the area of Peshawar. The rebels also held the capital of the Punjab, Lahore.

Sher Singh halted with his troops at Ramnagar, on the northern bank of the Chenab, and pushed outposts and guns across the river. While the plain itself was good cavalry country, at this time of year the wide Chenab shrank to a thin winding stream in a wide sandy bed, treacherous for horses and guns. The troops needed to ensure that they kept out of the river bed.

Gough decided to attack the Sikh troops on the southern side of the river, and, on November 21, sent Sir Colin Campbell with a brigade of infantry and Robert Cureton with the cavalry. In the early hours of the 22nd, Gough joined Campbell’s division and ordered an attack on the Sikhs who were hurrying to cross back over the Chenab. Two batteries of horse artillery, accompanied by cavalry, advanced to the edge of the river and opened fire on the retreating Sikhs.

A force of mounted Sikh Gorcharras crossed from the north bank to protect their infantry. As the Gorcharras advanced onto the plain, they were charged by Brig. White with the 3rd King’s Own Light Dragoons, who drove the Sikhs back into the river bed, where White sensibly declined to follow.

One of the guns of the Bengal horse artillery, following in support, stuck in the mud of the river bed. The gunners were unable to extract the gun and it had to be abandoned. Their success in forcing the horse artillery to abandon a gun caused the Sikhs to push more cavalry across the river, this time against Gough’s right flank. Gough ordered the 14th Light Dragoons to drive this new force back across the river. The colonel of the 14th, William Havelock, led his regiment and the 5th Bengal Light Cavalry in a headlong charge and, without stopping at the edge of the bank, led his men into the river. It was apparent to his commander, Gen. Cureton, that Havelock was taking his 2 regiments into considerable danger. Cureton led a party of the 5th Bengal Light Cavalry in an attempt to halt the 14th in its charge, but was shot dead as he rode forward. Havelock was killed in the melee in the river, while 12 other officers and 84 men of the two cavalry regiments became casualties before the 14th turned back and the battle ended.

British and Bengali casualties were around 150. Sikh casualties are estimated at a few hundred.

Sher Singh had skillfully used every advantage of ground and preparation. Although the Sikh forces had been driven from their vulnerable positions on the east bank of the Chenab, their main positions were intact, and the morale of Sher Singh's army rose. On the British side, several shortcomings were obvious. There had been little reconnaissance or other attempts to gain information on the Sikh dispositions. Gough and Havelock had both ordered reckless charges. The death of Brig. Gen. Cureton, a cavalry commander of great experience and ability, was considered a grave loss to the British Army.

Gough decided to hold the Sikh force at Ramnagar, while Gen. Sir Joseph Thackwell, who had taken over command of the Cavalry Division on the death of Cureton, marched upstream and crossed to the north bank. Thackwell, with a force of cavalry, infantry and guns marched up the Chenab, and crossed to the north side. To Gough’s chagrin no full action materialized, but the Army of the Punjab had forced the River Chenab.

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November 23, 1795
Battle of Loano

In September 1795, Barthélemy Schérer replaced Francois Kellermann in command of the Army of Italy. Facing the French were the Austrians and Sardinians under the overall command of Joseph Nikolaus de Vins and Benedetto of Savoy, Duke of Chablais. Relations between the Austrians and Sardinians were touchy, even though the latter force was led by an Austrian officer, Michelangelo Colli. The Austro-Sardinian army was 53,000 strong. On its left its defensive works touched the sea at Loano on the Italian Riviera. Its right was anchored in the Piedmont mountains. This position was made up of apparently impregnable posts, linked together by trenches and defended by 100 artillery pieces.

The politicians in Paris insisted that Schérer mount an offensive. This was urged on by Brig. Gen. Napoleon Bonaparte, then a military planner at the War Ministry. The center of the French army, under André Masséna, was formed of 2 old Army of Italy divisions. A 3rd Army of Italy division formed the left wing, commanded by Jean Sérurier. The right wing, under Pierre Augereau, had recently arrived with Schérer from the armies of the Pyrénées. One more division, remaining at Col de Tende, covered Saorge. This army of 40,000 men lacked provisions, decent clothing and munitions, since the British Royal Navy had cut off its supply lines to Genoa.

Schérer arrived in terrain he did not know, but was modest enough to recognize his limitations, and put planning of the attack in the hands of worthier generals in his camp. Masséna had already proved himself the most able of Schérer's colleagues and was put in charge of the planning. One of the most painful privations suffered by the French soldiers was the lack of shoes in the midst of snow, rocky crags and stony roads. They wrapped their feet in linen, bandages and straps but these proved insufficient. Luckily a brig got past the British warships and arrived before the battle, bringing 100,000 biscuit rations and 24,000 pairs of shoes, raising morale throughout the camp. These were distributed to the weak and suffering first, then to those who had distinguished themselves in action, though many in the army still remained barefoot. One old grenadier quipped that, from tomorrow, the enemy would be responsible for supplying them with shoes.

On November 17, Étienne Charlet attacked the Austro-Sardinians at Campo di Pietri, surprising them, destroying their trenches and capturing 3 cannon and 500 prisoners. However, a spell of bad weather forced Masséna to give up the attack he had planned on the right, and he resolved to operate in the center, take the enemy positions there, pass beyond them and take the other enemy positions in the rear. Masséna was instructed to carry out this bold plan himself. Unaware of the impending attack, de Vins pleaded illness and gave up his command on November 22. Olivier Romigius, Count von Wallis took command of the combined allied armies.

The French made 3 attacks, 1 a feint and the other 2 in earnest. Schérer sent Augereau and the right wing at Borghetto Santo Spirito to overrun the enemy left flank. Meanwhile, Sérurier and the left wing at Ormea would hold the enemy facing them in check. On November 22 Masséna set out at nightfall from Zuccarello with 2 divisions to attack the enemy center.

On the 23rd Masséna seized all the enemy positions as far as Bardineto. There the Austrians put up a fierce and long resistance and Masséna, indignant at the delay, called in his reserve and renewed the assault. Étienne Charlet rushed the first of the enemy trenches but received a mortal wound. His death whipped the French troops into rage and they charged in a compact mass and put the Austrians to rout.

During this time Augereau successfully attacked the left wing from Loano to the heights occupied by Eugène-Guillaume Argenteau, taking the positions one by one. The Grand Castellaro, defended by Mathias Rukavina and 1200 men, put up greater resistance. Augereau finally ordered Rukavina to lay down his arms but refused to accept the Austrian's condition that he be allowed to leave the redoubt with his arms and baggage train. Instead, the French general give him 10 minutes to surrender unconditionally. Rukavina refused though Augereau showed him Claude Victor’s brigade deployed in front of him. It was initially believed that this was a bluff, but Rukavina, determined to die gloriously, made a sortie from the redoubt, falling on the 117th and 118th Demi-Brigades. He forced them to retreat despite fire from other units. This greatly astonished the French troops, who admired the Austrian's resolution.

The Austro-Sardinians moved on Mont Carmelo to snatch victory from an enemy they believed to be exhausted after 10 hours of fighting. Realizing this, Schérer advanced against them with his right but hesitated, uncertain of what had happened to Masséna in the center. He was reassured by a message from Masséna and continued his advance but all at once a wet fog accompanied by snow flurries and hail descended, cutting off the light and putting an end to his pursuit. Whole ranks were knocked over or turned to retreat by the storm gusts and many of the dead and wounded on the battlefield were victims of the weather rather than enemy action. The Austrians took advantage of the storms to retreat, abandoning cannon, caissons and tents. Augereau pursued with light troops, whilst Masséna marched on despite the problems and had Col. Barthélemy Joubert occupy the defiles of Saint-Jacques. All that remained for the Austrians were the mountain trails and the Bormida valley.

It was then the turn of Sérurier who, on the 23rd and 24th, only had to contain the Austro-Sardinian right wing. He carried out an impetuous attack on the Sardinian army, completely beat it, captured all its artillery and forced them to join back up with the remains of Argenteau's force at the entrenched camp at Ceva. Of 25,000 engaged, the French lost 2500 killed and wounded, plus 500 captured. Allied losses numbered 3000 killed and wounded, and 4000 men and 48 cannons captured out of 18,000 troops engaged.

The French victory was entirely due to Masséna’s boldness and planning. The triumph was not followed-up because of Schérer’s caution, a “poorly conducted” pursuit, and the onset of winter weather. Soon after, both armies entered winter quarters. However, Loano enabled the French access to resupply and provided a foothold in the Ligurian Alps which would be exploited in April 1796 by Gen. Bonaparte.

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November 24, 1759
Battle of Chinsurah

Following the British capture and destruction of the French outpost at Chandernagore in 1757, Mir Jafar, the Nawab of Bengal, opened secret negotiations with representatives of the Dutch East India Company to bring troops into Dutch holdings in the area with the goal of using them against the British. Britain and the Dutch Republic were at peace, although tensions were high due to the Seven Years' War, and British East India Company administrator Robert Clive was preoccupied with fighting the French. The Dutch directors of the outpost at Chinsurah, not far from Chandernagore, seeing an opportunity to expand their influence, agreed to send additional troops to Chinsurah. A fleet of 7 ships, containing more than 1500 European and Malay troops, came from Batavia and arrived at the mouth of the Hooghly River in October 1759, while the Nawab was meeting with Clive in Calcutta.

The Nawab had been forced to ask the British for assistance against threats on his northern border in the interim, and told Clive that he would return to Hooghly, summon the Dutch directors, and demand the departure of their ships. After meeting with the Dutch, he informed Clive that he had granted the Dutch some privileges, and that they would leave as soon as circumstances permitted. This news, combined with reports that the Dutch were recruiting in and around Chinsurah, led Clive to treat the situation as a military threat.

Of 4 ships he had available, Clive sent one out in an attempt to request assistance from Adm. Samuel Cornish, who was patrolling the coast. The Dutch captured this ship when they seized several smaller British vessels on the Hooghly River. Clive called out the militia and put out calls for volunteers, increased the fortifications on the river batteries, and sent Col. Francis Forde with 500 men toward Chandernagore with an eye toward capturing the Dutch outpost at Barnagore and intercepting the Dutch should they try to take Chandernagore. The Dutch landed their troops on the northern shore of the Hooghly on November 21, just beyond the range of the English river batteries, and marched for Chinsurah.

The 3 remaining British ships had followed the Dutch up the river at some distance. When the Dutch had finished landing the troops, their ships began moving back down river. On November 23, Commodore Charles Wilson, commander of the British flotilla, indicated that he wanted to pass the Dutch, who threatened to fire on the British if they did. The next day, after the rejection of an ultimatum from Clive demanding restitution for the earlier Dutch seizures, the two squadrons engaged. In a 2-hour battle, the Duke of Dorset forced the Dutch flagship Vlissingen to strike her colors, while Hardwicke and Calcutta chased off 2 ships and grounded a third before the remaining ships also struck their colors. (Other British ships arriving at the mouth of the river eventually captured the 2 fleeing Dutch ships.)

On the night of November 23, Forde and his men encamped near Chandernagore, having successfully taken control of Barnagore (now Baranagar). The Dutch, hoping to trap Forde between the arriving troops and the Chinsurah garrison, sent their arriving troops out to camp in the ruins of Chandernagore that night. The following morning the two forces engaged. Forde’s men routed the Dutch, forcing them back to Chinsurah, and captured the Dutch field artillery. There, additional troops sent from Calcutta joined Forde, raising the size of his force to about 1200 men. The Nawab also sent 100 cavalry to the British camp, ostensibly to assist the British; these were likely placed to observe the battle and side with the victors. With reports from prisoners that the Dutch reinforcements would be arriving the next day, Forde rushed a message to Clive in Calcutta requesting advice, as attacking the Dutch force could be viewed as an act of war. Clive responded by writing on the back of Forde’s message, “Dear Forde - Fight them immediately”, and sending it back.

Forde chose as his location the plain of Biderra, between Chinsurah and Chandernagore. His troops occupied the village of Biderra on the right and a mango grove to the left; a wide ditch secured the center. At about 10 AM on November 25, the Dutch force arrived. As soon as they came within range, Forde ordered his field artillery to fire. The Dutch continued to advance in spite of the British fire until they reached the ditch, something they had not apparently been aware of. When the front of the Dutch lines stopped, the rear continued to press forward, throwing their forces into confusion. As their position was then within range of British musket fire, they suffered significant casualties before managing to retreat. At this point Forde sent out his cavalry, inviting the nawab’s men to join the charge. However, these held back and did not join the British until the second charge, when it seemed clear they would be victorious. The British victory was so complete that, of the Dutch troops sent, only 16 Europeans successfully reached Chinsurah.

In the wake of their victory, the British overthrew Mir Jafar and replaced him with his son-in-law Mir Kasim Ali Khan. Along with the Battle of Plassey (see posting), the battle helped establish British supremacy in Bengal. The battle did not affect Dutch neutrality and they remained one of the few European states not involved in the war.

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752
Siege of Narbonne

In 752, after obtaining the Pope’s recognition and the dignity of King of the Franks and deposing the last Merovingian king, Pepin the Short felt free to focus all his might on subduing Muslim-held Septimania, conquered by them in the 720s. Previously his father Charles Martel failed to conquer the whole region, and left a deep scar by devastating various cities that had failed to support him. While the Gothic magnates did not support the Franks formerly, things were changing this time: Nîmes, Agde and Béziers were handed over to him by the Gothic count Ansemundus. Count Miló was at the time ruling in Narbonne as a vassal of the Andalusians, but when Ansemundus handed over his cities to Pepin, Miló did not do likewise, probably deterred by the strong Muslim garrison stationed in the city.

King Pepin finally laid siege to Narbonne in 752. The Franks had little experience in siege operations against a strongly-held city and the siege dragged on. The Narbonnese garrison was able to hold out thanks to the supplies provided by sea by the Andalusian navy. Pepin suffered a major blow when his main local ally, Ansemundus was killed by a rival Gothic faction in 754. The death of the count was followed by a revolt in Nîmes that was put down by Pepin, and a Frankish governor imposed. Furthermore, the Aquitanian rival duke Waifer is recorded about this period leading an army of Basques against the rear of the Frankish siege of Narbonne. He failed to relieve the city.

By 759, Narbonne was receiving no more support from Al-Andalus, rife as it was with internal fights. Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri, wali of al-Andalus, had to quash a rebellion in Zaragoza in 756, and immediately head south to fight Abd ar-Rahman I, who defeated him. Northeastern Iberia and the remainder of Septimania was left without any relevant commander in charge. Finally, the defenders of Narbonne surrendered after killing the Andalusian garrison and opening the gates of the stronghold to the investing forces. Previously, King Pepin had promised to uphold and respect Gothic laws and probably their own government, so garnering the allegiance of the Gothic nobility of Septimania.

After the conquest of Narbonne, the Saracens (Arabs and Berbers) retreated to their Andalusian heartland. The government of the city was assigned to the Gothic Count Miló, who had fled the city 5 years before, and had retreated to Trausse (Aude). The submission of Septimania allowed the Frankish king to divert his attention to his only remaining regional opponent, the independent ruler of Aquitaine, Waifer.

In 760, after conquering Roussillon from the Muslims and denouncing Waifer’s actions, Pepin moved his troops to Toulouse and Albi, ravaged with fire and sword most of Aquitaine, and, in retaliation, counts loyal to Waifer ravaged Burgundy. Pepin, in turn, attacked the Aquitanian-held (urban non-Frankish “Romans”) Clermont and Bourbon, defended by Waifer’s Basque troops, who were defeated captured and deported to northern France with their children and wives. In 763, Pepin advanced further into the heart of Waifer’s domains and captured major strongholds (Poitiers, Limoges, Angoulême), after which Waifer counterattacked and the war became even more bitter. Pepin resorted to terror, burning villas, destroying vineyards and depopulating monasteries. By 765, the brutal tactics seemed to pay off for the king, who destroyed resistance in central Aquitaine (Waifer’s capital city Bordeaux fell in 767) and devastated the whole region. As a result, Aquitanian nobles and Basques from beyond the Garonne too saw no option but to accept a pro-Frankish peace treaty in 768. Waifer escaped but was soon assassinated by his own frustrated followers.

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November 25, 1876
Dull Knife Fight

After soldiers from Wyoming Territory under Brig. Gen. George Crook fought the Northern Cheyenne in inconclusive battles at Powder River (March 17, 1876), Prairie Dog Creek (June 9), the Rosebud (June 17) and Slim Buttes (September 9-10), Crook received reinforcements at his Goose Creek, Wyoming supply base and began to move up the old Bozeman Trail towards the main centers of Indian resistance. After learning of a large village of Cheyennes in October, Crook sent Col. Ranald Mackenzie into the Southern Powder River Country to locate it.

Mackenzie departed Camp Robinson, Nebraska with nearly 1100 soldiers in 11 companies of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Cavalry Regiments. He also had a large contingent of 400 Indian scouts, including Pawnee, Shoshone, Arapaho and Bannocks. The expedition left Ft. Fetterman on November 14, accompanied by 4 dismounted companies of the 4th Artillery and 11 companies of infantry from the 4th, 9th, 14th and 25th regiments under Col. R.I. Dodge, and a medical staff of 6 surgeons. The Indian scouts covered the front, flank and rear up to 40 miles. The cavalry then pushed forward, ready to fall back on the infantry if necessary. A train of some 168 wagons, 7 ambulances, 219 drivers and attendants, 400 mules and 65 packers in the pack-train supplied the column. They waited out a snowstorm at Cantonment Reno until November 22.

On November 23., a Cheyenne Indian from the Red Cloud Agency informed the soldiers of an “extremely large” Cheyenne village at the source of Crazy Woman Creek, further upstream from the current US camp, in a Bighorn Mountains canyon. Col. Mackenzie was ordered to take the Indian scouts, and all of the cavalry except one company, in search of the village. He led 1000 men, one third of them Indians.

Eventually on November 25, Mackenzie found the camp of Dull Knife and Little Wolf on the Red Fork of the Powder River. The Cheyenne warriors were having a celebration because of a recent victory over a Shoshone village. Mackenzie waited until dawn, then attacked and drove the warriors from the village. Some were forced to leave their clothes, blankets and buffalo robes behind and flee into the frozen countryside. Dull Knife began to offer stiff resistance, and hard fighting continued. The Pawnee accompanying the soldiers fought with exceptional ability. Chief Dull Knife’s warriors finally retreated, abandoning their village. The village of 200 lodges and all its contents were destroyed, and the soldiers captured about 700 “head of stock”. Mackenzie’s force lost 7 men killed and 26 wounded. About 40 Cheyenne were killed and an unknown number wounded.

The Dull Knife Fight ended Northern Cheyenne resistance for all practical purposes. General Crook telegrammed the War Department, “This will be a terrible blow to the hostiles, as those Cheyennes were not only their bravest warriors but have been the head and front of most all the raids and deviltry committed in this country.”

Dull Knife’s followers were left in the freezing November weather without sufficient clothing, and many suffered from frostbite. A large number of the band traveled north along the Bighorn Mountains, eventually reaching the upper Tongue River regions. Some joined Crazy Horse’s Oglala Sioux camp on Beaver Creek.