The Military History Thread

[palo5]

^
That was embarrassing, because almost everyone in the West who read about it thought Soviet radar didn't pick him up at all, which of course wasn't true

Good he didn't try that in a B52

[richardoe]

What suprises me is that when the pilots told the Air Defence Controller what they saw was that the Russians didn't try and launch a helicopter such as a Hind to escort him to an airfield somewhere.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by richardoe

What suprises me is that when the pilots told the Air Defence Controller what they saw was that the Russians didn't try and launch a helicopter such as a Hind to escort him to an airfield somewhere.

Hard to say. Maybe they thought he was another defector with an unusual escape plan

[richardoe]

A couple of years before Rusts escapade a bloke stole a Cessna light aircraft from an airfield in the south of England, and he headed for France. The RAF sent an SAR helicopter to shadow him, the French sent up a Mirage fighter. I saw a picture of the Mirage alongside the Cessna, the Mirage was almost stalling!

[haroldeye]

For Normandy 60 the French issued a NOTAAM banning any overflights of the invasion beaches. One chap chose to ignore it and flew over Gold. The French Mirages buzzed him and he was forced to land and given a hard time. Bet his trousers were in a right state.

[Ennath]

May 29, 1176
Battle of Legnano

The Lombard League was formed in 1167, as a Union of Lombard cities promising each other support against Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. After the disastrous defeat of Pope Alexander III at the Monte Porzio in May 1167 by the Imperial forces, the Lombard League remained as the last legitimate fighting force opposing the emperor and was therefore heavily backed by the pope.

In September 1174, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa began his fifth major campaign in Italy. Crossing the Alps, Frederick sought to destroy the Lombard League and firmly establish imperial control over Italy. Capturing Susa, he had the town burned before moving on to Asti. After a brief 7-day siege, the city capitulated. By late October, Frederick had reached Alessandria. Founded by refugees who had fled Milan during Frederick's 1164 campaign, the town held special significance for both sides. Unable to storm Alessandria, Imperial forces were forced to lay siege.

After spending the winter before the city, Frederick's men tunneled under the walls and attacked on Holy Saturday. In a fierce battle, their assault was repulsed. Alerted to the approach of the Lombard army, Frederick elected to break off the siege and withdrew to Pavia to consolidate his forces. On April 16, 1175, Frederick met with representatives of the Lombard League at Montebello Castle to discuss peace. These talks proved fruitless and both sides departed determined to continue the hostilities.

Departing Pavia in the company of Philip I of Heinsberg and Archbishop Wichmann of Magdeburg, Frederick rode north to meet the new troops. Meeting them near Lake Como in April 1176, he found that these included 1,000 knights and 1,000 infantry. Supplementing the German forces were an additional 1,000 men from the Como region. Moving south, Frederick sought to rejoin his main army. Alerted to Frederick's presence, the leaders of the Lombard League assembled 3,500 men to block the emperor's route to Pavia. Consisting of 1,450 knights and 2,050 infantry, the Lombard force also included a war wagon known as a carroccio, carrying a sacred standard. The core of the Lombard infantry was an elite unit known as the "Company of Death" which was supposedly led by Alberto da Giussano (probably legendary).

Assuming a position near Borsano, the Lombards awaited Frederick's approach. On the morning of May 29, the Lombard dispatched 700 cavalry to reconnoiter north of their position. These horsemen encountered Frederick's vanguard and a brief but bitter battle ensued. With the main body of Imperial troops approaching, the Lombards fled the field. Having swept this force aside, Fredrick advanced on the main Lombard position at Borsano.

Launching a full attack on the Lombard lines, Frederick's men quickly drove the enemy knights from the field and began to focus their attack on the infantry around the carroccio. In brutal fighting, the Company of Death struggled to protect the wagon from the Germans. Despite this stiff resistance the Imperial troops continued to gain ground. As this struggle raged, the Lombard cavalry was able to reform. Reinforced by additional horsemen from Brescia, they returned to the field and attacked the Imperial rear.

The decisive assault was made by the Brescians, who managed to break through the lines and attack Frederick directly. Charging through the Emperor’s lines, they managed to kill many of his personal guard and struck down his standard bearer. In the fighting, Frederick was thrown from his horse and was believed to have been killed. Under assault from two sides, and thinking their leader dead, the Imperial troops fled the field towards Pavia.

While casualties for the Battle of Legnano are not known, sources indicate that they were heavy on both sides. Thinking Frederick dead, his family and army began mourning him at Pavia. This proved premature as he arrived outside Pavia several days later, battered but alive. Unable to defeat the Lombard League, Frederick sued for peace and negotiations began. Peace between Frederick and Pope Alexander III was finally achieved in 1177, when both parties signed the Treaty of Venice. Frederick's rule over Lombardy was decisively broken.

Frederick and Pope Alexander III were reconciled. The emperor acknowledged the pope's sovereignty over the Papal States, and in return Alexander acknowledged the emperor's overlordship of the Imperial Church. The Peace of Venice was heavily instigated by Archbishop Wichmann of Magdeburg, who was amongst the defeated at Legnano. The cities of Lombardy, however, continued to fight until 1183, when, in the Peace of Constance, Frederick conceded their right to freely elect town magistrates. The Treaty was cast in bronze.

[Ennath]

May 30, 1967
Biafran Secession Sparks Civil War in Nigeria

Of the ethnic groups that made up Nigeria, the largest were the largely Muslim Hausa in the north, the Yoruba in the half-Christian, half-Muslim south-west, and the Igbo in the predominantly Christian south-east. At independence a conservative political alliance had been made between the leading Hausa and Igbo political parties, which ruled Nigeria from 1960 to 1966. This alliance excluded the western Yoruba people. The well-educated Igbo people were considered by many to be the main beneficiaries of this alliance, taking most of the top jobs and leading business opportunities in the Nigerian federation.

The elections of 1965 saw the Nigerian National Alliance of the Muslim north and the conservative elements in the west, face off against the United Progressive Grand Alliance of the Christian east and the progressive elements among the Yoruba westerners. The Alliance of North and West won a crushing victory under Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, amid claims of widespread electoral fraud.

The claims of fraud led to a military coup by left-leaning Igbo officers. General Ironsi became head of state. Some months later, a counter coup by northern officers placed General Yakubu Gowon into power. Ethnic tensions increased, with massacres of Christian Igbos living in the Muslim north. The discovery of large quantities of oil in the south-east of the country had led to the prospect of the south-east becoming self-sufficient and increasingly prosperous. However the exclusion of easterners from power made many fear that the oil revenues would be used to benefit areas in the north and west rather than their own. All these factors led to a growing pressure in the Igbo east for secession.

The military governor of the Igbo-dominated southeast, Colonel Odumegwu Ojukwu, citing the northern massacres and electoral fraud, proclaimed the secession of the south-eastern region from Nigeria as the Republic of Biafra, an independent nation on 30 May 1967. Although the very young nation had a chronic shortage of weapons to go to war, it was determined to defend itself. There was much sympathy in Europe and elsewhere, only five countries (Tanzania, Gabon, Côte d'Ivoire, Zambia and Haiti) officially recognized the new republic.

Several peace conferences collapsed and a shooting war soon followed. The Eastern region was very ill equipped for war, outmanned and outgunned by the Nigerians. Their advantages included fighting in their homeland, support of most Easterners, and use of limited resources. The UK and the Soviet Union supported (especially militarily) the Nigerian government while Canada, Israel, and France helped the Biafrans. The United States seemed to be neutral but helped the Biafrans through the Red Cross.

At first Nigerian progress was slow, and failures of its larger army to invade the territory of the new republic led to a growth in worldwide support for Biafra. Biafran troops crossed the Niger River, entered the mid-western region, and launched attacks close to Lagos, the then Nigerian capital.

However reorganization of the Nigerian forces, and the effects of a naval, land and air blockade of Biafra led to a change in the balance of forces. Biafran forces were pushed back into their core territory, and the capital of Biafra, the city of Enugu was captured by Nigerian forces. The Biafrans continued to resist in their core Igbo heartlands, which were soon surrounded by Nigerian forces.

By the end of the war in 1970, Biafra was no more and the Igbo population had been reduced from 12 million to 2 million.

[haroldeye]

An old friend of mine served with one of the Nigerian Bn's of the Kings African Rifles in the early 1950's. He had a problem one night and sent the duty clerk to the RSM's house to get the RSM.

The RSM arrived but the clerk didn't. Apparently the clerk was Ibo and the RSM and most of the married men were Hausa. The Ibo had gone into the married quarters and even though he was on duty he was beaten badly. No one batted an eyelid.

The next morning my friend had an interview with the CO who pointed out tribal sensitivities.

[richardoe]

Sorry to be pedantic, but the Kings African Rifles was a regiment from East Africa. Most of the West African British colonies had their own regiments such as the Nigeria Regiment.

On this day in 1656 the First or Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards was formed.

[haroldeye]

A quick check says it was the Hausa Bn of the KWAFF (Kings West Africa Frontier Force).

With an equal lack of pedantry, the Regiment formed in 1656 was Lord Wentworth's Regiment, not the Grenadiers. It merged with John Russell's Regiment of Guards in 1665 to form the Grenadier Guards.