The Military History Thread

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April 28, 1944
Slapton Sands Disaster

In late 1943, as part of the build-up to D-Day, the British government set up a training ground at Slapton Sands, Devon, to be used by the American forces tasked with landing on Utah Beach. Slapton Beach was selected for its similarity to Utah Beach: a gravel beach, followed by a strip of land and then a lake. Approximately 3000 local residents were evacuated.

Landing exercises started in December 1943. Exercise Tiger was one of the larger exercises in spring 1944. The exercise was to last April 22 to 30, and covered all aspects of the invasion, culminating in a beach landing at Slapton Sands. On board 9 large tank landing ships (LSTs), the 30,000 troops prepared for their mock landing, which also included a live-firing exercise.

Protection for the exercise area came from the Royal Navy. Two destroyers, three MTBs and two Motor Gun Boats (MGBs) patrolled the entrance to Lyme Bay and MTBs watched the Cherbourg area where German E-boats were based.

The first phase of the exercise focused on marshaling and embarkation drills, and lasted from April 22 to 25. On the evening of April 26 the first wave of assault troops boarded their transports and set off, the plan being to simulate the Channel crossing by taking a roundabout route through Lyme Bay, in order to arrive off Slapton at first light on April 27.

The first practice assault took place on the morning of April 27 and was marred by an incident involving friendly fire. H-hour was set for 0730, and was to include live ammunition to acclimatize the troops to the sights, sounds and even smells of a naval bombardment. During the landing itself, live rounds were to be fired over the heads of the incoming troops by forces on land, for the same reason. This followed an order made by General Eisenhower, who felt that the men must be hardened by exposure to real battle conditions. The exercise was to include naval bombardment by ships of Force U Bombardment Group 50 minutes prior to the landing.

Several of the landing ships that morning were delayed, and the officer in charge, American Adm. Don Moon, decided to delay H-hour for 60 minutes. Some of the landing craft did not receive word of the change. Landing on the beach at their original scheduled time, the second wave came under fire, suffering an unknown number of casualties. Rumors circulated along the fleet that as many as 450 men were killed.

On the day after the first practice assaults, early on the morning of April 28, the exercise was blighted when Convoy T-4, consisting of 8 LSTs carrying vehicles and combat engineers of the 1st Engineer Special Brigade, was attacked by 9 German E-boats under Korvettenkapitän Bernd Klug, in Lyme Bay. Of the 2 ships assigned to protect the convoy, only one was present. HMS Azalea, a corvette, was leading the LSTs in a straight line, a formation that later drew criticism since it presented an easy target. The second ship that was supposed to be present, HMS Scimitar, a World War I destroyer, had been in a collision with an LST, suffered structural damage and left the convoy to be repaired at Plymouth. Because the LSTs and British naval headquarters were operating on different radio frequencies, the American forces did not know this. HMS Saladin was dispatched as a replacement, but did not arrive in time to help protect the convoy.

The E-boats had left Cherbourg on patrol the previous evening and did not encounter the Allied patrol lines off Cherbourg or in the English Channel. They spotted the convoy and attacked. LST507 was sunk with the loss of 202 men, troops and crew. LST531 went down within 6 minutes of being torpedoed with the loss of 424 men, while LST 289 was damaged, but eventually made it back to shore with 123 dead. LST511 was damaged by friendly fire in the confusion. The remaining ships and their escort fired back and the E-boats broke off.

In total, 749 servicemen (551 Army and 198 Navy) were killed during Exercise Tiger, whereas 197 were killed in the actual Utah Beach landing on June 6. Many servicemen drowned or died of hypothermia in the cold sea while waiting to be rescued. Many had not been shown how to put on their lifebelt correctly, and placed it around their waist, the only available spot because of their large backpacks. In some cases this meant that when they jumped into the water the weight of their combat packs flipped them upside down, dragging their heads underwater and drowning them.

As a result of official embarrassment and concerns over possible leaks just prior to the real invasion, all survivors were sworn to secrecy. 10 missing officers involved in the exercise had BIGOT-level clearance for D-Day, meaning that they knew the invasion plans and could have compromised the invasion should they have been captured alive. As a result, the invasion was nearly called off until the bodies of all 10 were found.

Several changes resulted from the mistakes made in Exercise Tiger. Radio frequencies were standardized; the British escort vessels were late and out of position due to radio problems, and a signal of the E-boats' presence was not picked up by the LSTs. There was to be better life vest training for landing troops and plans were made for small craft to pick up floating survivors on D-Day.

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1925
Pacification of Spanish Sahara

Until 1910, the main resistance leader in the Spanish Sahara, a desolate but phosphate-rich area south of Morocco, was Ma el-Ainin, the Blue Sultan. After his death, the years 1910-18 saw a series of battles between the French, who were aiding the Spanish, and the local tribesmen, followed by sporadic unrest until the mid-1920s. Throughout this period, there was no single authority over the tribes, since Saharawi society was based strongly on tribal loyalty. Since the tribes could unite only if they agreed on a common war leader or emir, the French and Spanish were able to divide and rule.

In 1925, the Reguibat tribes (“the People of the Clouds”) engaged in a 3-day battle against the French and their Adrar allies, sparking a new insurgency. In 1931-32, a new leader, Mohammed el-Mamun, a Reguibat chieftain and nephew of Ma el-Ainin, declared a jihad and incited large raiding bands (razzi) from the Ouled Delim tribe to attack French outposts in Mauritania. Various small clashes occurred in the second half of 1931, and on one occasion the Emir of Adrar lured a French officer to a meeting and then murdered him while he was drinking tea. This led to retaliation by the French, and the Emir was tracked down and killed.

The skirmishes became more serious and in 1932 an Ouled Delim razzi decimated the Trarza camel squadron, killing 55 men. Several French camel squadrons assembled to defeat the insurgents, after which the Sahel Reguibat chieftains gathered at Atar on March 8, 1933 to make formal submission.

The final confrontation took place in 1934. French motorized units from southern Morocco under Col. Trinquet “pacified” the Reguibat, capturing their base at Tindouf (at the western tip of Algeria) and linking up with the occupying forces in the Adrar. Care was taken not to include any Moroccan troops in the French forces, for fear they might side with the nomads.

Reassured by the French “pacification” of the Sus, Atlas and Tindouf areas, which together encircled Spanish Sahara, the Spanish forces in their 3 coastal bases now ventured into the interior and also (in the 7th attempt) occupied the minute territory of Ifni. The Ouled Delim accepted French rule and many Saharawis joined Spanish police and camel units. At last occupying the interior of the protectorate, the Spanish installed a Foreign Legion garrison at Smara and established a few permanent forts to guard the waterholes. Spain had achieved its long-term aim of taking over the area with relatively little expenditure of blood or money.

[rupertramjet]

I was based at Plymouth for some time, and my family remained there when I moved around the globe playing soldiers. Slapton Sands Memorial is a testament to one mans work, Dean Small who worked for a memorial to be erected there. He succeeded: http://www.exercisetigermemorial.co.uk/

There is also a story of the sacrifice of the ordinary folk of the area, who evacuated their homes to allow the US Army to train there, and a beautiful 'request' to those soldiers by the people placed on the church door;
Our forefathers have worshiped here for hundreds of years, here we hope you will find peace and tranquility away from the horrors you are about to face, we pray for you, and pray too, that you will respect our church.

In the main they did!

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April 29, 1810
Siege of Lérida

In January 1810, Gen. Louis Gabriel Suchet commanded the French III Corps, with 3 infantry divisions under Anne-Gilbert Laval, Louis François Félix Musnier, and Pierre-Joseph Habert. He planned to move against the Spanish-held cities of Lérida and Mequinenza. However, he received positive orders to move directly against Valencia instead. King Joseph Bonaparte was in the process of overrunning Andalusia and believed that the Spanish armies were on the verge of collapse. Suchet reluctantly obeyed and his army reached the outskirts of Valencia on March 6. Lacking siege artillery and facing a determined defense, the French general retreated after blockading the city for only 4 days. Back in his base in Aragon, Suchet spent a few weeks suppressing guerillas before he was ready to march on Lérida.

Suchet's army arrived in front of Lérida on April 15. The 13,000 French soldiers were organized into 18 battalions and eight squadrons and supplied with 30 artillery pieces. The fortress of Lérida was armed with 105 cannons. Maj-Gen. Jaime García Conde led the 8000 Spanish defenders. In September 1809, García Conde successfully led a 4000-man re-supply convoy during the Siege of Gerona (see posting). During the operation he broke through the Italian defenders and delivered supplies and reinforcements before escaping.

While Suchet was preparing to invest Lérida, he received intelligence that a relieving column was hurrying toward the city. Determined to intercept it, Suchet set out with Musnier's division. After hours of futile searching, the French turned back toward Lérida and bivouacked 3 miles from the city on the evening of April 22. Unknown to Suchet, Maj-Gen. Henry O'Donnell's relief army had avoided detection and was camped nearby. The Spanish force had 7-8000 troops, including 300 cavalry and 6 cannons. Musnier's division had all of its components except the 121st Line and numbered 5500 men. In addition, there were 500 troopers of the 4th Hussars and 13th Cuirassiers.

On April 23, O'Donnell's lead division under Miguel Ibarrola Gonzáles bumped into Jean Isidore Harispe's small French force east of Lérida. Harispe managed to contain the numerically superior Spanish column until Musnier's division appeared on the scene. Ibarrola immediately beat a hasty retreat with Musnier in headlong pursuit. At the hamlet of Margalef, the Spanish were attempting to fend off the French when the 13th Cuirassiers charged into their flank. Ibarrola's division disintegrated as the heavy cavalrymen slashed at the fleeing foot soldiers. Just as the butchery ended, O'Donnell showed up with his second division. The Spanish general quickly backtracked but the French cavalry were soon at his heels. Again, the cuirassiers caught up with the Spaniards and rode down their rear guard, inflicting more casualties. O'Donnell lost 500 killed and wounded. In addition, the French seized 2500 prisoners, 3 guns, and 4 colors. The French lost 100 men, all from the 13th Cuirassiers.

Having disposed of O'Donnell's relief army, Suchet invested Lérida and demanded the city's surrender but García Conde refused his summons. The city lay on the west bank of the Segre River with a bridgehead on the east bank. A hill to the north was crowned by the citadel while Ft. Garden and 2 redoubts were located on a hill to the south. The northern wall between the citadel and the Segre was particularly weak. Suchet posted Musnier's men and the majority of his cavalry on the east bank to watch for any relief forces. Habert's troops faced the northern and western walls on the west bank. A temporary bridge connected the two parts of the besieging corps. The formal siege began on April 29. Suchet brought up his siege train and on May 7 had a battery of heavy cannons in action.

Lérida's defenses proved no match for Suchet's artillery. The French guns took the Carmen and Magdelena bastions under fire, causing serious damage. Within 6 days, the siege guns had battered a breach in the wall. Meanwhile, the French attacked the forts on the southern hill. After one repulse, the French overran the redoubts on the night of May 12-13. Late on May 13, assault columns rushed the breach and seized it. The defenders had built a new line behind the breach, but the French overcame these defenses also. At this, García Conde ordered his soldiers to withdraw into the citadel.

Showing no scruples, Suchet ordered his soldiers to drive the civilian population under the castle's walls. Any person who resisted was instantly killed. After the Spanish commander admitted the non-combatants into the citadel, the French began a high-angle bombardment, using howitzers and mortars. These killed most of the 500 civilians who died during the siege. Horrified at the slaughter, García Conde asked for terms at noon on May 14. The surrender netted 7000 Spanish prisoners. During the siege, the Spanish garrison suffered 1700 killed and wounded. French casualties numbered about 1000 killed and wounded.

The seizure of Lérida was the beginning of a remarkable series of successful sieges by Suchet's apparently invincible army. The III Corps began the Siege of Mequinenza on May 15, 1810 and the place fell on June 5. The Siege of Tortosa ended on January 2, 1811 when General Conde de Alacha Lilli capitulated with 3974 survivors, 182 guns, and 9 colors. Suchet followed this success with the Siege of Tarragona. After a climactic assault on June 28, Juan Senen de Contreras was captured and his large garrison was annihilated. For this victory, Emperor Napoleon I made Suchet a Marshal of France.

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April 30, 1706
Battle of Kletsk

Russia, Denmark–Norway and Saxony formed a coalition against the Swedish Empire in order to regain what was lost in earlier wars. The Swedish king Charles XII, however, then invaded the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in his 1701–1706 campaign and removed the Saxon Augustus the Strong from the Polish throne in 1704, replacing him with pro-Swedish Stanislaw Leszczynski.

In January, 1706, a large Russian force was trapped at Grodno, by Charles XII and his army. This caused Russian Tsar Peter to assemble a major relief force. He also ordered the Cossack Hetman, Ivan Mazeppa - who at the time was an ally of Russia - to gather 14,000 men to harass the Swedish troops blockading Grodno. However, the Swedes defeated the Cossacks in a number of actions, with heavy loss. In one of these, Swedish Col. Carl Gustaf Creutz, with 2000 men, trapped a large force of Cossacks and Poles at Lyakhavichy. Mazeppa diverted a force of 4700 men heading for Grodno to the relief of Lyakhavichy. After some days marching this force reached Kletsk, and set up camp. Creutz got wind of this and immediately marched with 1500 cavalry against Kletsk, leaving 500 dragoons to maintain the siege. He arrived the next morning.

Immediately on arrival, the Swedes charged some Cossacks under the command of Danylo Apostol guarding a 1600-foot long bridge over the marshes into Kletsk. The Cossacks were quickly overwhelmed and began to flee in disorder to the bridge, but got trapped due to some wagons blocking their escape route. The trapped men were overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, the besieged Russian commander Semjon Neplyuyev tried to gather troops and artillery to assist the Cossacks from the city, but chose rather to retreat when learning of the defeat at the bridge. The majority of the defenders at Kletsk now fortified themselves inside the city itself to withstand the charging cavalry. This is where the hardest fighting took place and it's told: "All the walls were scratched by their shots and bullets" according to a Swedish note. After a while, the Russian and Cossack remnants were in full disorganized retreat the forest lines. However, the majority of these were cut down in the fields, while others were drowned in the swamps.

A German major, Johan Heinrich Cibinski, later announced that he had counted and buried 2025 dead Russian and Cossack soldiers inside the city of Kletsk, but that there should be at least as many bodies lying around the outskirts, in all the fields, forests and swamps. The Swedish casualties were 15 killed and 16 wounded.

Neplyuyev, who had been shot in the arm during the fighting, later sent a message to the Tsar Peter I, in which he claimed the Swedish forces outnumbered his own, and blamed Mazeppa for having incorrectly calculated the numbers of the Swedes at Lyakhavichy, which he said, did not exceed 800 men.

On May 17, Charles XII visited the battlefield and noted the victory to have been bigger than he initially thought. Not long after, , Carl Gustaf Creutz was promoted to general for his actions.

Even though the battle of Kletsk wasn't decisive to the overall campaign, it was a hard setback for the Russians trapped in Grodno, who, after the battle of Fraustadt (see posting) and this, were forced to break out and retreat with total losses of up to 17,000 dead. The battle also had a morale effect on the 1300 soldiers besieged in Lyakhavichy, who surrendered just days after the return of Creutz and his men.

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May 1, 1169
Norman Invasion of Ireland

In the 12th century, Gaelic Ireland was made up of several over-kingdoms, which each comprised several lesser kingdoms. At the top was the High King, who received tribute from the other kings but did not rule Ireland as a unitary state. The five port towns of Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Cork, and Limerick were inhabited by the Norse-Irish and had their own rulers.

Some of the initiative for invasion may have come from Anglo-Norman church leaders who wanted to control the Irish church. Pope Adrian IV (the only English pope) issued a papal bull which authorized King Henry II to conquer Ireland as a means of promoting the Gregorian Reforms. John of Salisbury, Secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury, spoke in Rome about the "barbaric and impious" people of Ireland. In 1149, influential French abbot Bernard of Clairvaux had written a book, in which he described Ireland as barbaric and semi-pagan.

In 1166, Diarmait Mac Murchada was ousted as king of Leinster by a coalition led by High King Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair. Diarmait sought help from Henry II, who gave Diarmait permission to recruit mercenaries and authorized his subjects to help. In return, Diarmait was required to swear loyalty to Henry. Several Marcher Lords agreed to help: Richard de Clare (also known as Strongbow), Robert FitzStephen, Maurice FitzGerald, and Maurice de Prendergast. Diarmait promised Strongbow his daughter in marriage and the kingship of Leinster upon Diarmait's death. He promised Robert and Maurice the town of Wexford and 2 neighboring cantreds. Under Irish law, Diarmait had no right to do this. Having secured their help, he returned to Ireland in 1167 and awaited the arrival of the mercenaries.

On May 1, 1169, FitzStephen and Prendergast landed at Bannow Bay, on the south coast of Leinster, with a force of at least 40 knights, 60 men-at-arms and 360 archers. This force joined with about 500 men led by Diarmait. They set about conquering Leinster and the territories Diarmait had claimed. First they besieged Wexford, which surrendered after 2 days. They then raided and plundered the territories of north Leinster, which had refused to submit. They also raided the neighboring kingdom of Ossory, defeating the forces of King Donnchad Mac Gilla Patraic in the battle of Achad Úr. However, Donnchad withdrew his forces to safety and remained defiant.

In response, High King Ruaidrí led an army into Leinster to confront Diarmait and the Normans. An agreement was reached at Ferns: Diarmait was acknowledged as king of Leinster, in return for acknowledging Ruaidrí as overlord and agreeing to send his foreign allies away. To ensure compliance, Diarmait agreed to give Ruaidrí hostages, one of whom was his son. However, Diarmait apparently sought to use his Anglo-Norman allies to make himself High King. Shortly after the Ferns agreement, Maurice FitzGerald landed at Wexford with at least 10 knights, 30 mounted archers and 100 foot archers. In a show of strength, Maurice and Diarmait marched an army north and laid waste to the hinterland of Dublin.

In May 1170, Raymond FitzGerald landed at Bannow Bay with at least 10 knights and 70 archers. This was the advance guard for Strongbow's army and was to be the springboard for an assault on Waterford. Raymond's force occupied an old promontory fort at Baginbun and plundered the surrounding countryside. They were then besieged by a much larger force of Irish and Norse. The outnumbered Anglo-Normans drove a large herd of cattle into the opposing army. In the ensuing havoc, the Normans routed the besiegers, killing up to 500 and capturing 70. These captives were then executed.

On August 23, Strongbow landed at Passage with at least 200 knights and 1000 soldiers. They met with Raymond's force and assaulted Waterford. The walls were eventually breached and there followed fierce fighting in the streets, in which 700 defenders were killed. Diarmait and the other Norman commanders arrived in Waterford and there Strongbow married Diarmait's daughter Aífe. The Normans and Diarmait held a council of war and agreed to take Dublin. Ruaidrí deployed a large army to intercept them. The Normans and Diarmait bypassed them over the Wicklow Mountains, forcing Ruaidrí's army to abandon their plans.

When they reached Dublin, Diarmait began negotiations with its king, Ascall mac Ragnaill. On September 21, while talks were ongoing, a force of Normans under Miles de Cogan and Raymond FitzGerald stormed the town and took it. Ascall and his followers fled by ship but vowed to retake the town. Strongbow and Diarmait then launched "a devastating campaign" through Meath and into Breffny, burning Clonard, Kells, and several other monastic towns. In response to these violations of the Ferns agreement, Ruaidrí executed 3 hostages, including Diarmait's son. Diarmait returned to Ferns and died there suddenly in May 1171. Strongbow then declared himself king of Leinster. However, he had no right to do this under Gaelic law and he was opposed by Diarmait's brother Murchad.

Shortly after Diarmait's death, the Anglo-Normans faced a general rising, both from within Leinster and from outside. The Irish of Desmond launched a devastating attack on Norman-held Waterford. At about the same time, a Norse-Gaelic army, in a fleet of at least 60 ships, landed outside Dublin. Led by Ascall, they tried to retake the town, but were repulsed by de Cogan's forces. Ascall was captured and publicly executed. A great army, led by Ruaidrí, now surrounded Dublin. A Norse-Gaelic fleet of 30 ships, sent by Godred Olafsson, blockaded Dublin bay. Robert FitzStephen sent his best troops out of Wexford to help the Anglo-Norman garrison. The remaining garrison in Wexford was then attacked and forced out of the town. The Normans fled to a military encampment at nearby Carrick, where they were besieged. The siege of Dublin went on for two months. There were several skirmishes, but the Irish were apparently content to starve out the Normans.

With Dublin and Carrick under siege, Strongbow and his council agreed to negotiate. Strongbow proposed that if the Anglo-Normans be allowed to keep what they had conquered, they would acknowledge Ruaidrí as overlord. Ruaidrí responded that he would only allow the Normans to keep Dublin, Wexford, and Waterford. This was unacceptable to Strongbow. A Norman sortie made a surprise attack on Ruaidrí's camp at Castleknock. The Normans killed hundreds of soldiers and seized supplies. Following this defeat, the Irish army withdrew. In the meantime, FitzStephen had surrendered at Carrick. When they learned that Strongbow was on his way, the Irish burnt Wexford and withdrew to a nearby island with FitzStephen as hostage.

By September 1171, King Henry had decided to lead an expedition to Ireland. He wanted to establish his control over both the Irish and the Norman warlords. On October 17, Henry landed at Waterford with at least 500 knights and 4000 foot. This was the first time a King of England had set foot on Irish soil, and marked the beginning of English and later British rule in Ireland. The Norman warlords affirmed their loyalty to Henry and handed over the territory they had conquered. Fifteen Irish kings and chiefs submitted, likely in the hope that he would curb Norman expansion into their territories. Those who did not submit included Ruaidrí and the kings of Meath and the Northern Uí Néill. The Irish church also submitted to Henry. Henry left Ireland on April 17, 1172.

Shortly after Henry left, Hugh de Lacy invaded Meath and was confronted by Tigernán Ua Ruairc. The two leaders met on the Hill of Ward for negotiations. During these negotiations, there was a dispute, and de Lacy's men killed Ua Ruairc. His head was then impaled over the gate of Dublin Castle. Strongbow also invaded and plundered Offaly, but failed to subdue it. In late 1173, Raymond FitzGerald led a successful plundering raid into the kingdom of the Déisi, by both land and sea. As their king had submitted to Henry, the kingdom should have been exempt from attack. The Norman raid on the monastic town of Lismore was interrupted by a Norse-Irish fleet from Cork. After a naval engagement, the Normans withdrew to Waterford. FitzGerald then returned to Wales, due to the death of his father.

In late 1173, Diarmait Mac Murchada's son Domhnall Caomhánach attacked Strongbow's forces in Leinster, killing 200 troops. Around the same time, an Irish army from Thomond and Connacht, led by Domnall Ua Briain forced the Normans out of Kilkenny and destroyed Strongbow's motte-and-bailey there. Strongbow responded in early 1174 by marching an army into Thomond and advancing towards Limerick. At Thurles, Domnall's forces defeated a contingent of Strongbow's army, killing hundreds and forcing him to abandon the march to Limerick. Shortly after this, the Norse-Irish of Waterford rose up and killed the Norman garrison. Ruaidrí gathered an army and marched into Meath, destroying the castles at Trim and Duleek, before advancing on Dublin. Raymond FitzGerald landed at Wexford with at least 30 knights, 100 mounted soldiers and 300 archers. When this army arrived at Dublin and reinforced the garrison there, Ruaidrí's army withdrew. In 1175, the Anglo-Normans rebuilt their castles in Meath and raided or "laid waste" the province from Athlone in the west to Drogheda in the east. They also hanged the Irish king of Meath, Magnus Ua Máel Sechlainn.

On October 6, 1175, Henry II and High King Ruaidrí agreed to the Treaty of Windsor. The treaty divided Ireland into 2 spheres of influence: Henry was acknowledged as overlord of the Norman-held territory, and Ruaidrí was acknowledged as overlord of the rest of Ireland. Ruaidrí also swore fealty to Henry. However, the Windsor Treaty soon fell apart. Henry was "unable or unwilling" to rein in the Anglo-Norman lords, and Ruaidrí was unable to control all of the Irish kings. In April 1176, a large Anglo-Norman army from Dublin marched north into Oriel, a kingdom meant to be free from encroachment under the treaty. However, the Irish forced the Anglo-Normans to retreat and killed up to 500. That summer, the forces of Oriel and the Northern Uí Néill invaded Meath, and forced the Anglo-Normans to abandon Galtrim, Kells, and Derrypatrick.

Strongbow died in May 1176, and Henry appointed William FitzAldelm as his new representative in Ireland. He was replaced the following year by Hugh de Lacy. In February 1177, John de Courcy left Dublin with a force of about 22 knights and 500 soldiers. De Courcy marched north at speed, into kingdom of Ulaid, and captured the town of Downpatrick. The Ulaid tried to retake the town but were repelled after a fierce battle.

King Henry held a council at Oxford in May 1177, and declared his son John (aged 10) to be "Lord of Ireland"; the territory held by the Anglo-Normans thus became known as the Lordship of Ireland and formed part of the Angevin Empire.

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May 2, 1736
Russian-Austrian-Turkish War

By 1735, Russia had managed to secure a favorable international situation by signing treaties with the Persian Empire (which was at war with Turkey and supporting the accession to the Polish throne of Augustus III. Austria had been Russia's ally since 1726. The casus belli was raiding by the Crimean Tatars on the Cossack Hetmanate at the end of 1735 and the Crimean khan's military campaign in the Caucasus. The Russian commanders intended to gain revenge for the humiliating 1711 Treaty of the Pruth and envisioned the seizure of Azov and the Crimea.

On May 2, 1736, the Russian Dnieper Army (62,000 men) under Field Marshal Burkhard Christoph von Münnich stormed the Crimean fortifications at Perekop and occupied Bakhchisarai, the khanate’s capital, on June 17. The Tatar nobles took to the hills and the khan fled by sea. Meanwhile, a second army, under Field Marshal Count Peter Lacy captured Azov after a fierce struggle, but lost so heavily in the campaign that Lacy abandoned the fortress and retreated back to Ukraine. The situation of Münnich’s army also deteriorated. Losses from disease, exhaustion and hunger resulted in a mutiny and Münnich retreated, having lost 30,000 dead out of his army of 62,000. The depleted Russian armies would spend the winter dealing with retaliatory Tatar raids into Ukraine.

In January 1737, Austria declared war on the Ottomans and sent an army under Marshal Count Friedrich von Seckendorf into Bosnia, Wallachia and southern Serbia, capturing Nish. However, they were heavily defeated at Banja Luka on August 4 and ejected from most of their conquests. The Austrians and Russians made no effort to coordinate their operations.

In Ukraine, one Russian army raided Ottoman and Tatar territory, reoccupying Azov without serious opposition, Münnich marched against the fortress of Ochakov, at the mouth of the Bug, storming it in July. Lacy and an army of 40,000 entered Crimea and captured Karasubazar. However, the Russians were again decimated by disease and Münnich was fortunate to withdraw without serious interference from Ottoman forces waiting passively in Moldavia and Bessarabia.

In 1738, the Turks went on the offensive on the Balkan front. and by the end of the campaign had thrown an army across the Danube into the Banat and were threatening Belgrade. There were no major battles as Austrian Count J. G. Königsegg-Rothenfels conducted a slow-moving war of maneuver.

In the east, the Russians retained the initiative. Russian forces launched an inconclusive and meaningless raid into Crimea, while Münnich threatened Moldavia. Repulsed at the Battle of Bendery, in an effort to cross the Dniestr River, he was once more forced to retreat. leaving half of his army dead, and abandoning almost all of his artillery.

In the Balkans in 1739, Marshal Georg Olivier de Wallis had direct orders from Emperor Charles VI to engage the enemy at the first possible opportunity. On July 21, his army of 40,000 encountered the Ottoman army of 100,000 under the Grand Vizier Ivat Mehmet Pasha. The Austrian cavalry made contact first and attacked immediately, without waiting for the infantry; half was destroyed. The infantry managed a drawn battle, but the Austrian army retired with 3000 dead and 7000 wounded after nightfall. The Ottomans did not pursue. On July 23, the Austrians withdrew further to Belgrade. The Ottoman Army followed and laid siege to the city.

In the east, Münnich’s 4th offensive finally achieved success. Advancing through Polish Podolia, he invaded Moldavia with an army of 68,000. He defeated 90,000 Turks at the Battle of Khotin on August 17 and captured the fortress there, before taking Jassy, the Moldavian capital. He now prepared for an advance toward Constantinople.

The Austrians, dismayed by the successes of their Russian allies, immediately began negotiations with the Turks at Belgrade. On September 18, they signed a treaty, by which they abandoned all of the gains of the 1718 Treaty of Passarowitz, save for the Banat, giving up northern Serbia, Belgrade and portions of Bosnia and Wallachia. The victorious Turkish army now moved to threaten the flank of Münnich’s army in Moldavia.

The Russians were now fighting alone and threatened by the convergence of 2 large Ottoman armies. In addition, Ottoman diplomats had concluded alliances with Prussia, Sweden and Poland. The Russians made peace. By the Treaty of Nish (September 29), they surrendered all of their important conquests save for Azov, where they agreed to demolish the fortifications. They also agreed not to build a navy or merchant marine in the Black Sea. As a result of the war, however, the effective Russian frontier in the Ukrainian steppes was pushed about 50 miles to the south.

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535 BC
Battle of Alalia

Phocaea was the northernmost city of Ionia, bordering the Aeolian territories that extended from Ionian Smyrna in the south to the Troad in the north. They developed notable trading and maritime skills, establishing their first colony, in cooperation with Miletus, another Ionian city, at Lampsacus, on the northern shore of the Hellespont. They conducted pioneering voyages to the Adriatic, Etruria, Iberia and Tartessus (situated in the southern Iberian peninsula). They were friendly with the powers that controlled the Strait of Messina and had been granted the privilege of safe passage. They planted a series of colonial outposts on Ischia, off Naples, Sardinia, the Balearics, and along the Spanish cost. Some have even suggested that Phocaean captains ventured further into the Atlantic, along both the Spanish and Moroccan coasts. This expansion could succeed since the other predominant traders of the Mediterranean, the Phoenicians, were preoccupied by Tyre in wars in the Levant, while Carthage was fighting in Sicily against the local Greek settlers.

There is no record of Phocaea going to war with its Aeolian neighbors during the first couple of centuries of its existence. The city was too preoccupied with trade to the west to interfere in its own hinterland.

The Phocaean colonization of the west did not cause any significant confrontation between Ionians and Carthaginians until the mid 6th century BC, when events in Anatolia ignited a chain reaction. Persian expansion into western Anatolia created a dilemma for the Ionian cities: either they willingly accepted Persian hegemony, sacrificing their hard sought independence, or they fought. The first Ionian city confronted by the Persian general Harpagus, appointed by King Cyrus himself, was Phocaea. He brought his troops to the city walls and laid siege, but also proclaimed that he would be satisfied if the Phocaeans tore down a single tower and razed one house. These actions would symbolize the city’s submission to Persian rule, while leaving the city walls themselves intact. The Phocaeans asked for a day’s time to deliberate. However, the citizens had already decided not to submit to foreign rule. Harpagus agreed to the pause, though apparently already aware of the true situation. He withdrew his troops and the Phocaeans at once launched their galleys, putting aboard their women and children and moveable property, including the statues and other sacred objects from their temples, and sailed for the island of Chios. The Persians were left to occupy an empty city.

Finding themselves without a city, the Phocaeans offered to buy the island of Oinousses from the Chians, but the offer was refused. The Phocaeans then prepared to sail to Corsica, where 20 years earlier, on the advice of an oracle, they had founded a colony called Alalia. This was situated on the eastern coast, opposite the shores of Etruria on mainland Italy.

Before starting the voyage, the refugees returned to Phocaea, killing the Persian garrison. They then dropped a lump of iron into the city and swore never to return until it floated up again. However, a sizeable portion of the population decided to remain regardless. The rest sailed to Corsica. There they joined the existing colonists to expand the town and increase its influence in the region. Over the next 5 years, they created a bustling town that increased its trade markedly, due to its location in the middle of the trade routes between Spain and the East.

What they had not counted on was the response of their non-Greek neighbors. The Carthaginians had expanded their mercantile empire throughout the western Mediterranean and felt threatened by a rival right at the geographic center of their trade routes. To add insult to injury, according to Herodotus, the Phocaeans also plundered and pillaged Etruscan and Carthaginian outposts. About 535 BC, the Etruscans and Carthaginians forged an alliance and raised a fleet. It is not known whether Carthage’s alliance was with the Etruscan League or with individual Etruscan cities.

It is assumed that the Phocaean Greeks had 60 pentekonters (ships with 48 oars and 2 rudders for steering); the allied fleet was twice as large, also composed of pentekonters. Details of the battle are sketchy, but it is known that although the Greeks drove the allied fleet off, they lost almost 2/3 of their own fleet in doing so. The rams of the surviving ships had been severely damaged. The allies drew lots to determine possession of their prisoners. According to legend, the Etruscans stoned their prisoners to death, while the Carthaginians sold theirs into slavery. Carthaginian and Etruscan losses are not known.

Realizing that they could not withstand another attack, the Greeks evacuated Corsica, and initially sought refuge in Rhegion in Italy. They then founded a new city at Elea, in southern Italy.

Corsica passed into Etruscan hands, while Carthage retained Sardinia. Carthage would fight two more major naval battles with Greek Massalia, losing both, but still managing to close the Pillars of Hercules (Gibraltar) to Greek shipping and thus containing Greek expansion in Spain by 480 BC. Attempts by Etruscans to conquer Greek areas in Southern Italy would be opposed by the Greek city of Cumae. They would defeat an Etruscan invasion in 524 BC.

[Ennath]

May 3, 1917
French Army Mutinies

Nearly a million French soldiers, out of a population of 20 million French males, had been killed in fighting by early 1917. The losses had destroyed the French will to attack. In April 1917, Gen. Robert Nivelle promised a war-winning decisive victory. He proposed to break through the German lines with a great attack against the Chemin des Dames, a long and prominent ridge that runs east to west, just north of the Aisne River. His enthusiasm communicated itself to the troops.

Nivelle's attack completely failed to achieve its war-winning objective. At the cost of very high casualties, the offensive accomplished some of its objectives: it exhausted the German reserves and conquered some strategic positions. The failure was widely felt. Nivelle was removed from his command on May 15 and was replaced by General Philippe Petain. The losses of about 190,000 casualties (to 160,000 German) might not have seemed excessive compared to earlier battles, had not Nivelle so extravagantly promised victory. The morale of the French Army collapsed. On May 3, French 2nd Division refused to follow its orders to attack, and the mutiny soon spread throughout the army.

On May 16-17, there were disturbances in a Chasseur battalion of 127th Division and a regiment of 18th Division. Two days later, a battalion of 166th Division staged a demonstration and on May 20, regiments of 3rd and 18th Divisions refused orders. Over the next two days, spokesmen were elected in two regiments of 69th Division to petition for an end to the offensive. By May 28, mutinies broke out in 9th Division, 158th Division, 5th Division and 1st Cavalry Division. By the end of May, units of 8 more divisions had mutinied. A record 27,000 French soldiers deserted in 1917; the offensive was suspended on May 9.

There can be little doubt that rumors - spread with speed among the troops - did a great deal to cause problems. In particular, 2 caused a great deal of anger. The first was that Gen. Duchene had ordered that every 10th man in battalions of 32nd and 66th Infantry regiments was to be shot for refusing to obey orders when these battalions were ordered to go back to the front line. Three mutineers from these battalions were sentenced to death but only one was actually executed. The rumor - though nonsense - did stir up much anger, though ironically those battalions actually affected were under the control of their officers with due speed. The second rumor was that women and children in Paris were being attacked and abused by rioters in the city while they were at the front engaged in useless attacks. There had been disturbances in the capital but the rumors had greatly outgrown what had actually happened.

One major difference between what happened in the French Army and the Russian Army about the same time was the treatment of officers. There were almost no attacks on them by the men, who remained under command to defend their positions, and often continued to treat the officers with respect, but the men also made it clear that they would not attack.

In 1967, Guy Pedroncini examined French military archives and discovered that 49 infantry divisions experienced episodes of mutiny. Of these, 9 were gravely affected, 15 were seriously affected, and 25 divisions were affected by isolated but repeated instances of mutinous behavior. As the French Army comprised 113 infantry divisions by the end of 1917, 43% had been affected. The crisis of morale occurred mainly in the infantry, which had borne the overwhelming brunt of casualties. Branches such as the heavy artillery, which was far behind the front lines, and the cavalry regiments that were still mounted remained unaffected by the mutinies, providing detachments to round up deserters and restore order. Only 12 field artillery regiments were affected by the crisis of indiscipline.

The most common complaint among the mutineers was the lack of leave they were given. There were very few instances of soldiers simply refusing to face the enemy, though this did happen in early June with the infantrymen of the 60th Battalion, 77th Infantry Division. In total, it is thought that about 35,000 men were involved out of an army of 3,500,000 men – about 1%. Though on paper this was a very small number of men, senior commanders were worried for a number of reasons. Some did equate it to the situation that had occurred in Russia and worried that such a situation might rear its head again. Another reason why the French High Command was concerned was that nearly all the problems had occurred in units being held in reserve - ones that would be used to relieve the front. If the Germans attacked and these men were unwilling to be moved to the front, what would happen?

In fact, Germany did not exploit the mutinies simply because they did not know about them. Amazingly efficient censorship by French counterintelligence kept the Germans in the dark. Luderndorff first knew about the crisis in the French Army on June 30, when it was nearly at an end. He viewed the events from a different angle however. How would the German troops react if and when they found out about the French mutinies? Would they, stimulated by the French, start their own? Luderndorff was aware that workers were striking in Germany and he would have been fully aware of what had happened in Russia.

Activists in some Russian Legion units in France had been spreading word of the revolution underway in Russia and encouraging other Russians and Frenchmen to join them. The rebellious 1st Russian Brigade was encircled by loyal Russian troops in September 1917 at Camp de La Courtine and bombarded with cannon, killing 8 and wounding 28. That episode became the basis of widespread false rumors that the French had bombarded French units. The troops (about 10,000 men) were demobilized and transferred into labor battalions, and the ringleaders were sent to North Africa in penal service.

From June 8, the military authorities took swift and decisive action: mass arrests were followed by mass trials. Those arrested were selected by their own officers and NCOs, with the implicit consent of the rank and file. There were 3427 conseils de guerre (courts-martial). There were 2878 sentences of hard labor and 629 death sentences, but only 43 executions were carried out.

Pétain, on the other hand, made it their policy to mend the French Army's morale and to avoid acting in a way that could aggravate the morale. Until he deemed that the time was right, he ordered that the French Army should take no further part in major offensives. He ordered that leave was to be granted when time came for a soldier to be given it at the end of 4 months - many commanders had been guilty of ignoring this. Rest became just that; Pétain was aware that many soldiers were given extra duties to do at the rear when they should have been resting. He also did what he could to improve the quality of food that the soldiers got and thousands of proper beds were ordered for barracks built behind the lines. He combined this with an effort to engender a feeling of patriotism in the army. His approach worked. A secret report for the Grand Quartier Général by the Special Service Bureau stated, “the sense of discipline is returning. The average opinion among the troops is that at the point we have reached it would be absurd to give up. But the officers must not treat their men with haughtiness.” The report was written on July 21 - just three weeks after the end of the mutinies. By autumn, Petain was able to begin limited offensive action.

[Ernesto75]

His military career was undistinguished and seemed at an end before the start of WW I.
At 58 in 1914, he had only attained the grade of colonel and in july 1914 was retired.

With the war, he was brought back to the military life.
Promoted general he won small unimportant victories.

But in 1916 he reorganised the divisions under his command.
He was the commanding officer when the battle of Verdun occurred.

At the opening of the Battle of Verdun in 1916, Pétain is said to have been fetched during the night from a Paris hotel by a staff officer who knew that he could be found with his mistress Eugénie Hardon.

At the same time the British were engaged in a great offensive which stalled.
As a result, the Germans could no more sent reinforcements for the battle of Verdun and they lost it.

So Philippe Petain was the victor of Verdun by accident.
Anyway the real victors were the common soldiers, the NCO and the officers who refused to give up.
Without them and their remarkable obstination, Verdun would have been lost.

Thanks to a very clever propaganda his prestige was immense.
He was promoted to Marshall by the French President.
After WW I, he was sent to North Africa as a replacement of Maréchal Lyautey and, with Spanish help, won the Rif War.
In 1934 he was minister of the war.
In 1939 he was named ambassador to General Franco's Spain.

Aged 84 he should have definitively retired from public life.
He had obtained all the honors and prestige a military could normally hope for.

It is then that things became sour: WW II, the armistice, the Chief of State.

Psychologically speaking he was a most unpleasant character bent only on his ambition.

A phrase, finally, can sum up up his life. It is General De Gaulle who wrote it in his 'Mémoires de Guerre' (war memories) :
'The sad and tragic thing is that the maréchal has died in 1925 and nobody noticed it.'