The Military History Thread

[Ennath]

December 25, 2006
Diyala Campaign

In mid-October 2006, al-Qaeda announced the creation of the Islamic state of Iraq (ISI), replacing the Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC) and its al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI).

In 2006, Diyala province had special significance for the insurgents. When Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, he designated Diyala as the capital of the Islamic caliphate he planned to establish. He located his headquarters in a village northwest of Baqubah. In April 2006, on Saddam Hussein’s birthday, insurgents launched a coordinated offensive throughout the province, attacking Muqdadiyah, Balad Ruz, Kanaan, Khalis, Khan Bani Sa'ad and the capital Baqubah. The insurgents used the rural areas east and southeast of the capital as supply bases for their bombing campaigns in Baghdad and Diyala. They were also based in the Diyala River valley, northeast of Baqubah, where they fought for control of Muqdadiyah, an important line of communication to Kirkuk and Iran. The insurgents also had control of the tribal areas of Khan Bani Sa'ad south of Baqubah to Salman Pak, southeast of Baghdad.

In the autumn of 2006, insurgents began, little by little, moving their resources from Baghdad, now more than 80% under insurgent control, and Al Anbar province, which was also almost completely under insurgent control, to Diyala. The first signs of increased insurgent activity in Diyala came after US forces found an insurgent bunker complex near the village of Turki and destroyed it (November 15-16), killing 72.. A few weeks later fighting between police and insurgents shut down Baqubah, closing the university, schools and most stores. At least 55 militants are killed, according to anonymous police sources. During the fighting a mass grave with 28 bodies was discovered. After the announcement of a new attempt by US and Iraqi security forces to take back the streets of Baghdad the insurgents started to speed up their move and it is believed that the reason behind the little resistance found by the security forces in Baghdad during Operation Law and Order was that most of the insurgents had moved to Diyala.

On Christmas Day, it was reported that Baquba, had fallen under insurgent control. An Iraqi news cameraman went to the city and reported seeing hundreds of gunmen in cars and pickups parading through the city. There was no sign of the security forces except for the bodies of a few executed by the insurgents. After that, there were increased attacks on US and Iraqi forces in the province. In mid-January 2007, U.S. and Iraqi forces conducted a series of raids that resulted in 93 insurgents killed and 57 captured. Nevertheless, Sunni rebels kidnapped the mayor of Baquba and blew up his office, despite promises from military officials that the situation in the city was “under control”. The city at its peak had over 300,000 residents, but a February report labeled the city a “ghost town” as most residents had fled. In the next few months, over 50 Iraqi police and soldiers were captured and executed.

On March 24, the Coalition began operations to retake the Baqubah River valley. The operation began with an attack on the insurgent-held village of Qubah. 13 helicopters flew in 241 soldiers on the edge of Qubah and heavy street fighting ensued as artillery fire provided cover fire into the surrounding palm groves. At the same time, a convoy of 19 Humvees, 2 Bradley IFVs and several other vehicles approached from the opposite end. The soldiers encountered several machine gun nests in the town. Some of the fighting was almost hand to hand. By sunset 16 insurgents were killed and 3 American soldiers wounded. As the convoy tried to return to base, they were hit twice by roadside bombs. AH-64 Apaches identified the triggermen and killed up to 12 more insurgents. In one of the blasts, 4 American soldiers were killed. By the close of the operation on March 24 only the town of Zaganiya was left as the last insurgent stronghold in the Baqubah River valley.

By early April it was reported that insurgents had taken control of the roads between Diyala and Baghdad. Large swaths of territory were in insurgent hands and US forces were stretched thin. Meanwhile, sectarian warfare intensified in the province, which swelled the ranks of the Sunni insurgents and also brought a greater sense of hatred toward the Shi'a population, which dominated military and police units in the province. These were aided by elements of the Shiite Mahdi Army, fleeing Baghdad, though these new arrivals also continued to target Americans.

In mid-June the Americans mounted an offensive against Baghdad’s northern and southern flanks. In the north an operation dubbed Arrowhead Ripper targeted Baqubah. Some 2000 US combat troops, plus 4500 support troops, an Iraqi brigade, and US and British close air support, took part. Insurgent strength was 2-3000. The assault began on June 18 with air assaults under the cover of darkness. Heavy street fighting lasted throughout the first day, mainly in the city center and around the main market. Progress was slowed by a maze of booby-trapped houses. It took the Americans a week before they secured 80% of the western section of the city. The insurgents already had intelligence that the city would be attacked and their principle leaders had fled before the battle began.

After a month of street battles the fighting ceased in large parts of the city but the town of Al Khalis, about 10 miles to the north, seemed to have become a major rally point for insurgents retreating form Baqubah, despite the nearby presence of significant US forces at FOB Grizzly and People’s Mujahedin of Iran personnel at “Ashraf City”. By July 9, the focus of operations seemed to have shifted to the Baghdad-Baqubah road SW of the town. On August 19, operation Arrowhead Ripper ended and Baqubah was largely secured by Coalition forces; some insurgent presence remained in the city and surrounding areas but not in such large numbers as before. US forces lost 9 killed and 15 wounded. At least 227 insurgents were killed and over 100 captured.

On September 24, a suicide bomber attacked a meeting of high-level provincial officials in Baquba. The attacker detonated a suicide belt in a Shiite mosque in western Baquba during the daily breaking of the Ramadan fast. 28 people were killed, including Baquba police Chief Ali al-Deylan and Brig. Gen. Abdul Karim al-Obaidi, commander of Diyala’s police operations. The governor himself was wounded and one of the dead guards was his brother.

Nevertheless, insurgent activity in the province declined overall and the campaign was officially closed on October 1, though mopping-up continued. After Coalition troops entered previously insurgent-held territories of the province, they discovered large numbers of mass graves, mostly around Baqubah, which contained anywhere from 10 to 20 bodies. It was believed that the victims were civilians picked up by Al-Qaeda elements at check-points while it in control of the area. The bodies of more than 100 people were found in just one week. By late April 2008, more than 500 bodies were recovered.

[Ennath]

December 26, 1943
Battle of the North Cape

On December 20, 1943, Convoy JW55B, consisting of 19 freighters escorted by 2 destroyers and 3 smaller warships, departed Loch Ewe for Murmansk. Two days later, the convoy was spotted by German aircraft, which proceeded to shadow the convoy for the remainder of the day. This was reported by British Home Fleet chief Adm. Bruce Fraser, in charge of convoy escorts to the Arctic Sea. Suspecting that the Germans might react against this convoy with surface ships, possibly with the battlecruiser Scharnhorst, he dispatched the battleship HMS Duke of York, cruiser HMS Jamaica, destroyers Savage, Scorpion, Saumarez, and the Norwegian destroyer Stord to engage any German ships that might appear; meanwhile, Rear Adm. Robert Burnett, who was escorting the convoy at a distance with cruisers Belfast, Norfolk, and Sheffield, was notified of Fraser’s intent to seek out and destroy Scharnhorst if the German ship presented herself.

Fraser’s suspicion would turn out to be correct, as Scharnhorst, escorted by 5 destroyers, had indeed sortied from Altenfjord in Norway on the 25th, under Read Adm. Erich Bey. The following morning, in poor weather and heavy seas and with only minimal Luftwaffe reconnaissance to aid him, Bey was unable to locate the convoy. Believing he had overshot the enemy, he detached his destroyers and sent them south to widen the search area at the risk of leaving Scharnhorst unescorted.

Shortly after 0900, Norfolkand Sheffield detected Scharnhorst off the North Cape by the island of Mageröya; they opened fire at a distance of 13,000 yards, hitting Scharnhorst twice, one of which took Scharnhorst’s radar out of commission, leaving the ship virtually blind in a mounting snowstorm. Without radar, the German gunners were forced to aim at muzzle flashes. This was made more difficult because 2 of the British cruisers were using a new flashless propellant, leaving Norfolk the relatively easier target. German fire failed to score any hits.

Bey, believing he had engaged a battleship, turned south in an attempt to distance himself from the pursuers and perhaps draw them away from the convoy. Once the British cruisers were out of sight, Scharnhorst turned northeast to approach the cruisers at a more favorable angle. Burnett, instead of giving chase in sea conditions that limited his cruisers’ speed to 24 knots, positioned his force so as to protect the convoy. It was a decision that he had some personal doubts about and which was criticized in some quarters but supported by Fraser, but to Burnett's relief, shortly after noon Scharnhorst approached the cruisers once more.

As fire was again exchanged, Scharnhorst scored hits on Norfolk, disabling a turret and her radar. Following this exchange, Bey decided to return to port, while he ordered the destroyers to attack the convoy at a position reported by a U-boat. The reported position was out of date and the destroyers missed the convoy.

Scharnhorst ran south for several hours. Burnett pursued, providing the approaching battleship group with regular updates, but both Sheffield and Norfolk suffered engine problems and dropped back, leaving Belfast dangerously exposed for a while. The lack of working radar aboard Scharnhorst prevented the Germans from taking advantage of the situation, allowing Belfast to reacquire the German ship on her radar set.

Meanwhile, the battleship Duke of York, with her 4 escorting destroyers already pressing ahead to try to get into torpedo launch positions, had been informed of Belfast’s contact and they themselves picked up Scharnhorst on radar at 1615. Scharnhorst was unaware of these new arrivals.

At 1648, Belfast fired star shells to illuminate Scharnhorst, which was unprepared with her turrets trained fore and aft, and clearly visible from Duke of York. Duke of York opened fire at a range of 11,920 yards and scored a hit on the first salvo disabling Scharnhorst’s foremost turrets, while another salvo destroyed the ship’s hangar. Bey turned north, but was engaged by Norfolk and Belfast, and turned east at high speed (31 knots). Bey was able to put some more distance between Scharnhorst and the British to increase his prospects of success. Two shells passed through Duke of York’s masts, severing all the wireless aerials, and more serious still, the wires leading from the radar scanner to the gunnery control radar set.

Bey’s fortunes took a dramatic turn for the worse at 1820 when a shell from Duke of York, fired at extreme range, pierced his ship’s armor belt and destroyed the No. 1 boiler room. Scharnhorst’s speed dropped to only 10 knots, and though immediate repair work allowed it to recover to 22 knots, it was now vulnerable to torpedo attacks by the destroyers. Five minutes later, Bey sent his final radio message to the German naval command: “We will fight on until the last shell is fired.”

At 1850, Scharnhorst turned to starboard to engage Savage and Saumarez, but this allowed Scorpion and Stord to attack with torpedoes, scoring a hit on the starboard side. As Scharnhorst continued to turn to avoid the torpedoes, Savage and Saumarez scored 3 hits on her port side. Saumarez was hit several times by Scharnhorst’s secondary armament, suffering 11 killed and 11 wounded.

Due to the torpedo hits, Scharnhorst’s speed again fell to 10 knots, allowing Duke of York to rapidly close the range. With Scharnhorst illuminated by starshells, Duke of York and Jamaica resumed fire, at a range of only 10,400 yards. At 1915, Belfast joined in from the north. The British vessels subjected the German ship to a deluge of shells, and Jamaica and Belfast fired their remaining torpedoes at the slowing target. Scharnhorst’s end came when British destroyers fired a further 19 torpedoes. Wracked with hits and unable to flee, Scharnhorst finally capsized and sank at 1945, her propellers still turning. Of her total complement of 1968, only 36 were pulled from the frigid waters. Neither Rear Adm. Bey nor Captain Hintze were among them.

Fraser ordered the force to proceed to Murmansk, making a signal to the Admiralty: “Scharnhorst sunk”, to which the reply came: “Grand, well done”.

[Ennath]

December 27, 1941
3rd Battle of Changsha

On December 27, 1941, Japanese 3rd, 6th, and 40th Divisions massed at Yueyang and advanced southward in 3 columns, crossed the Xinqiang River, and tried again to cross the Miluo River to reach Changsha. They had tried earlier that autumn and failed. Reinforcements would bring the offensive’s strength to 120,000 men, backed by 200 aircraft. Korechika Anami was in command. The Chinese would face them with 300,000 troops under Xue Yue.

The offensive was originally intended to prevent Chinese forces from reinforcing the British Commonwealth forces engaged in Hong Kong. With the capture of Hong Kong on December 25, however, it was decided to continue the offensive against Changsha in order to maximize the pressure on the Chinese government.

The Chinese formed a deep pocket around the city and set up ambush parties around the Luoyang River. Halfway from the Miluo River to Changsha, the Japanese faced strong resistance and the eastern column was forced to take a detour further east; the other 2 columns had to move closer together than originally planned. During the southward advance the Japanese encountered 3 Chinese divisions that were pushed aside but not crushed; they retreated into the eastern mountains.

Changsha was evacuated except for the Chinese army and some 160 civilians who wished to stay to assist the defense. The defense was also stiffened by a significant number of British-supplied mortars, 2 batteries of French-supplied 75mm field guns and several 2 pdr anti-tank guns. Also of great importance were 8 new U.S.-supplied M2A1 medium tanks, which were deployed within the city itself. On December 31, the Japanese troops attacked the southeastern defenses of the city but failed to make any gains. Subsequently, they attacked the southern and then the eastern parts of the defenses. Meanwhile, the northern part of the city suffered heavy bombardment from Japanese artillery. The Japanese eventually cut through the first line of defense, but were unable to breach the second line near the city center.

On January 1, 1942, a Chinese counterattack surprised the Japanese, starting with a bombardment using heavy guns, inflicting heavy casualties. At about the same time, the divisions that had retreated to the mountains during the Japanese advance swept down to attack the Japanese supply lines with the aid of local guerrillas. The Japanese position collapsed on January 4. The Japanese divisions were isolated and requested the help of Japanese 9th Independent Brigade stationed in Yueyang. However, on January 9, this unit faced heavy fighting and was unable to relieve the besieged divisions.

The besieged Japanese then attempted to retreat across the Luoyang River, not knowing that an ambush force was already stationed in the region. Losing heavily at the river crossing, the Japanese eventually reached the Xinqiang River on January 15 to complete the retreat. The Chinese lost about 30,000 men killed, wounded or missing. Japanese official casualties were 1591 killed and 4412 wounded. The Chinese claimed Japanese losses at 56,000.

The 3rd Battle of Changsha was the only significant Allied victory in the Asia-Pacific theater in late-1941/early-1942. It earned Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek’s government much prestige abroad and legitimacy in China. Changsha would remain in Chinese hands for a further two and a half years.

[Ennath]

201 BC
Battle of Chios

In 205 BC, the 1st Macedonian War came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Phoenice, by which the Macedonians were not allowed to expand westwards. Rome, meanwhile, was preoccupied with Carthage, and Macedonian King Philip V hoped to take advantage of this to seize control of the Greek world. Having defeated Pergamum, the dominant Greek state in Asia Minor, and formed an alliance with the Aetolian League, Philip was now opposed by no major Greek power other than Rhodes. The island state dominated the southeastern Mediterranean economically and militarily, was formally allied to Philip, but was also allied to his enemy Rome. Philip also worked towards consolidating his position as the major power in the Balkans. Marching his forces north, he inflicted a crushing defeat on the Illyrians; with his northern frontier secured, Philip was able to turn his attention towards the Aegean Sea. The result was the Cretan War (205-200 BC).

Philip encouraged his allies to begin pirate attacks against Rhodian ships. Philip convinced the Cretans, who had been involved in piracy for a long time, the Aetolians, and the Spartans to take part. Additionally, Philip sent an agent to Rhodes who succeeded in burning 13 boat-sheds. By the end of 205 BC, Rhodes had been significantly weakened, and Philip convinced several cities in Eastern Crete to declare war on Rhodes. Rhodes asked for Roman aid, but the Romans were recovering from the war with Carthage and not ready for another major war, despite appeals by the Senate.

Philip captured and razed Cius and Myrleia, on the Sea of Marmara, and handed them over to his brother-in-law, Prusias I of Bithynia. In return, Prusias promised that he would continue expanding his kingdom at the expense of Pergamum. The seizure of these cities enraged the Aetolians, as both were members of the Aetolian League. The Aetolian-Macedonian alliance continued to fray as more League members were picked off. In 202 BC, they attempted to ally with Rome, but without success. This further encouraged Philip.

In 203 BC, Philip allied with the Seleucid king Antiochus III and planned the partition of the Ptolemaic Empire. Philip agreed to help Antiochus to seize Egypt and Cyprus, while Antiochus promised to help Philip take control of Cyrene, the Cyclades and Ionia.

Philip’s army attacked Ptolemaic holdings in Thrace. Upon hearing that the King of Pergamum, Attalus I, had joined with Rhodes, Philip angrily invaded Pergamene territory. However, Attalus had strengthened his capital’s defenses, and Philip retreated. Philip and his fleet headed south and after subduing the Cyclades, took the island of Samos, capturing the Egyptian fleet stationed there. He then turned north and laid siege to the island of Chios. Philip was planning to use the northern Aegean islands as stepping-stones as he worked his way down to Rhodes. The siege was not going well for Philip and the situation worsened as the combined fleets of Pergamum, Rhodes and their new allies, Kos, Cyzicus and Byzantium approached from both the north and south. Philip, comprehending that the allies were attempting to seal his line of retreat, lifted the siege and began to sail for a friendly harbor. However, he was confronted by the allied fleet.

The Macedonian fleet of around 200 ships significantly outnumbered the coalition fleet of 65 large warships, 9 medium vessels and 3 triremes. The battle began with Attalus, commanding the allied left, advancing against the Macedonian right, while the allied right flank under the command of the Rhodian admiral Theophiliscus attacked the Macedonian left. The allies gained the upper hand on their left and captured Philip’s flagship; Philip's admiral, Democrates, was killed in the fighting. Meanwhile, on the allied right, the Macedonians were initially successful in pushing the Rhodians back. Theophiliscus received three fatal wounds but managed to rally his men and defeat the Macedonian boarders. The Rhodians were able to use their superior seamanship to incapacitate large numbers of Macedonian ships, swinging the battle back in their favor.

On the allied left flank, Attalus had strayed some distance from his fleet and Philip sailed to attack him with 7 ships. Attalus fled and was forced to run his ships aground. Upon landing he spread coins, purple robes and other splendid articles on the deck of his ship and fled to the city of Erythrae. When the Macedonians arrived, they stopped to collect the plunder. Philip, thinking that Attalus had perished in the chase, started towing away the Pergamene flagship. Following the flight of their monarch, the Pergamene fleet withdrew north. However, having been bested by the Rhodians, the Macedonian left disengaged and retreated to join its victorious right. This permitted the Rhodians to sail unmolested back into Chios harbor.

While the battle was not decisive, it was a significant setback for Philip, who lost 92 ships destroyed and 7 captured. The Pergamenes lost 5 ships and the Rhodians 3. The Macedonians lost 6000 rowers and 3000 marines killed and had 2000 men captured. The casualties for the allies were significantly lower. On the way back to Rhodes, Theophiliscus died of his wounds and was replaced by Cleonaeus. Off Lade, the Rhodians were attacked and defeated by Philip’s reinforced fleet.

Philip now advanced his army into Caria, taking several towns in order to keep himself supplied. While Philip's fleet was wintering in Bargylia, a combined Pergamene-Rhodian fleet blockaded the harbor. The situation became so grave that the Macedonians were close to surrender. Philip, however, managed to get out by trickery. He sent an Egyptian deserter to the allies to say that he was preparing to attack the next day. Upon hearing the news, Attalus and the Rhodians started preparing. While the allies were making their preparations, Philip slipped past them by night with his fleet, leaving numerous campfires burning to give the appearance that he remained in his camp.

Meanwhile, Philip’s Acarnanian allies went to war with Athens after the Athenians murdered two Acarnanian athletes. Philip sent a force to assist, which plundered Attica and attacked the city, before Roman ambassadors ordered them to retreat or face war with Rome, which was beginning to finally assert itself. Philip ordered a squadron to Athens, which sailed into Piraeus and captured 4 Athenian ships. As the Macedonians were withdrawing, the allied fleet, which had followed Philip across the Aegean, appeared from their base at Aegina and attacked, defeating the Macedonians and retaking the Athenian ships. Attalus and the Rhodians convinced the Athenian assembly to declare war on the Macedonians. The Pergamene fleet sailed back to Aegina and the Rhodians set out to conquer all the Macedonian islands from Aegina to Rhodes, taking all except Andros, Paros and Cythnos. Philip ordered his prefect on the island of Euboea, Philoces, to assault Athens once again; Philocles was unable to capture Athens, but ravaged the surrounding countryside.

Meanwhile, delegations traveled to Rome to appear before the Senate. In response to their complaints the Romans sent three ambassadors to Egypt with the orders to go to Rhodes after speaking with Ptolemy.

Meanwhile, Philip reduced the remaining Ptolemaic holdings in Thrace. Philip then ordered another attack on Athens; his army failed to take either Athens or Eleusis, but subjected Attica to the worst ravaging it had seen since the Persian Wars. In response, Rome declared war on Philip and invaded his territories in Illyria, beginning the 2nd Macedonian War. Philip was forced to abandon his Rhodian and Pergamene campaigns.

This left the Rhodians free to attack Philip’s Cretan allies. The Cretan city of Knossos saw that the war was going in Rhodes’ favor and decided to join in an attempt to gain supremacy over the island. Many other cities in central Crete subsequently joined. Pro-Macedonian Hierapytna surrendered and the war in Crete ended, although the Roman war continued. Rhodes was left with control of a significant part of eastern Crete and the Cyclades. The conclusion of the war left the Rhodians free to help their Roman allies. The Pergamenes came out of the war having gained several Aegean islands and went on to become the supreme power in Asia Minor, rivaled only by Antiochus.

The war was costly for the Macedonians, losing them a fleet that had taken 3 years to build as well as triggering the defection of their allies, the Achaean League and the Aetolian League, to the Romans. In the war's immediate aftermath the Dardani swarmed across the northern border of Macedon, but Philip was able to repel this attack. In 197, however, Philip was defeated in the Battle of Cynoscephalae (see posting) and forced to surrender.

[Ennath]

December 28, 1824
End of the Bathurst War

Attempts to cross the Blue Mountains of New South Wales had been made from 1790 onwards with convicts seeking a way to escape and adventurers eager to explore the region. However, it was to be over 20 years before a way across was found. In May 1813, Gregory Blaxland, William Lawson and William Charles Wentworth set out to find a passage through the impenetrable mountains. After 21 days of traveling through 50 miles of rugged terrain, the party reached Mount Blaxland. From here they saw a vast expanse of forest and grass in which Blaxland wrote was rich enough “to support the stock of the colony for the next thirty years”.

This was the land of the Wiradjuri people, one of the largest language groups in Australia. The Wiradjuri inhabited an area bounded by the Blue Mountains in the east, the western slopes in the south, and the change of open forest to grassy plains in the north and west. The tribes led by Windradyne lived in the eastern parts of this territory, connected to the other groups by a common language as well as cultural and trade links.

After passage had been secured, assistant surveyor George Evans and his party had been instructed to further explore the country. Evans’ reports confirmed excellent pastures beyond the mountains to which Governor Lachlan Macquarie ordered a road be built from the Nepean River. In less than 6 months the 100-mile road had been completed. Soon after, Macquarie and a large party set out to view the country. Macquarie's welcoming ceremony was observed by 7 Wiradjuri. Macquarie inaugurated the town of Bathurst, then continued to tour the surrounding country.

In 1820, the population of Bathurst was only 114 due to Macquarie's slow and cautious approach to new settlement. His experience of the Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars of 1795–1816 may also have made him hesitant to start a new conflict. It seems that the Wiradjuri were willing to tolerate this slow level of growth and peaceful relations were maintained during this period.

In December 1821, Macquarie resigned, partly due to undermining forces within his own government. His replacement was Thomas Brisbane who had different views. Under Brisbane’s hand, settlement laws were changed leading to a flood of land grants across the Blue Mountains. An enormous influx onto the Wiradjuri lands put great strain on traditional food sources, and destroyed some of the Wiradjuri social and sacred sites.

Following Brisbane's decision, various attacks were soon made against the growing settlement. Well aware that they had no chance against guns, the Wiradjuri adopted a guerrilla approach in which attacks were made against outlying and undefended stations.

In 1822, Wiradjuri warriors attacked a station on the Cudgegong River in which they drove away the stockman, let the cattle out of the yard and killed several of the sheep. More attacks followed with the murder of convict hut-keepers, scattered herds and speared cattle. Stockmen were intimidated and would not leave their huts to round up the cattle and bring them in without protection. The government center at Swallow Creek was soon abandoned in fear of attack. In late 1823, Windradyne (known as Saturday by the British) was captured for the first time.

In early 1824, on the river flats opposite of the town of Bathurst, a farmer in a friendly gesture offered a group of passing natives some potatoes. The next day the families returned to the field, however, with no concept of private ownership of food supplies they began helping themselves. The farmer then fired upon the group and in the mayhem several natives were killed and others wounded. One of the survivors of this misunderstanding was Windradyne; enraged at the attack he and his warriors immediately began a series of violent attacks against nearby stations.

Similar attacks occurred nearby, at “The Mill” and “Warren Gunyah”. These attacks included men being speared, weapons stolen, buildings burned and stock killed. While Windradyne and his warriors engaged the area northeast of Bathurst, to the south related tribes also attacked, terrorizing settlers and driving off cattle. Revenge parties were formed in which a group of armed servants attacked and killed three Wiradjuri women. For several months the attacks by the Wiradjuri continued; they struck at unexpected locations then retreated back to the bush. By August, the Sydney Gazette described it as “to have exposed the strength and wealth of the Colony... to destruction”. On August 14, Governor Brisbane issued a proclamation of martial law.

A detachment of the 40th Regiment was rushed to Bathurst, bringing the total number of soldiers to 75, aided by 200 settlers’ militia. Despite martial law being declared it seemed to have had little impact on the activities of the Wiradjuri. The natives, with perhaps 1500 men in the field, continued with their attacks and skirmishes were followed by massacres of warriors attempting to bury their dead. However, the majority of victims were native women and children gunned down from horseback, poisoned or driven into gorges. In October, the Sydney Gazette summed up the situation stating that “Bathurst and its surrounding vicinity is engaged in an exterminating war”.

The Battle of Bathurst began on September 10 when a Wiradjuri war party attacked a station on the Cudgegong River, they drove off the cattle before being pursued by the station hands. In an ambush, the stationhands were chased back and in the retreat 3 warriors were shot. The following day the station hands returned to find the war parties’ camp deserted as they were burying their dead; however most of the weapons were left in the camp and were subsequently destroyed. As the Wiradjuri returned to the war camp, the station hands fired on them killing at least 16 and wounding many more.

At the outset of martial law, Windradyne’s people had been informed that military operations against them would continue until their leaders were given up. Windradyne himself had a reward of 500 acres of land. By late 1824, large numbers of Wiradjuri were surrendering themselves to the government, but Windradyne continued to elude the soldiers and martial law remained in place for a further 7 weeks. On December 11, martial law was finally lifted, and on December 28, Windradyne appeared at the head of his people in Parramatta to attend the Governor’s annual feast. He wore the word “peace” on his hat and knew the soldiers could not arrest him because of the possibility of a riot with so many Aborigines there.

Windradyne reportedly stayed at Parramatta for some time after the conference, before returning to Bathurst, and did not attend the feast the following year. Reports from later years occasionally implicated him in raids on crops and altercations with settlers around Lake George. With little substantial evidence, however, these may have simply been vexatious claims against the “notorious Saturday”, or attempts by individuals to glorify themselves by association with him. He died in 1829.

[Estreeter]

Originally Posted by Ennath

December 28, 1824
End of the Bathurst War

Ennath, one day you gotta tell us about "The Great Emu War"

[Ennath]

Originally Posted by Estreeter

Ennath, one day you gotta tell us about "The Great Emu War"

At first, I thought this was a joke, but I looked it up. It has to be one of the oddest military operations ever.

[haroldeye]

Tricky things Emu's.

[Estreeter]

Originally Posted by Ennath

At first, I thought this was a joke, but I looked it up. It has to be one of the oddest military operations ever.

Would I ever joke

Originally Posted by haroldeye

Tricky things Emu's.

Well, we did lose

[haroldeye]

Told you they were tricky!