The Military History Thread

[Ennath]

275 BC
Battle of Beneventum

The Pyrrhic War broke out when Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, in Greece sailed to southern Italy to aid the Greek city of Tarentum in southern Italy in a dispute with the Romans. Besides the Tarentines, 3 Italic peoples of southern Italy, the Samnites, Lucani and Bruttii, fought alongside the forces of the Greek king. Pyrrhus won the Battles of Heraclea and the Battle of Asculum (see postings), which did not gain him any great benefit as he suffered heavy casualties. He realized that he could not sustain more such battles with the Romans. Consequently, when he was asked by the Greek city-states of eastern and southern Sicily to help them against the Carthaginians in the western part of the island, he accepted. This aggrieved his allies in southern Italy, who were left to their own devices against the Romans. Pyrrhus seized all the Carthaginian possessions in Sicily except for Lilybaeum, which he failed to capture. He then decided to build a large fleet to attack the Carthaginians in Africa. In order to man and equip this fleet he treated the Greek city-states despotically. Many turned against him. This forced him to leave Sicily and return to Italy.

Plutarch gave the most detailed account of the battle. He wrote that during the 3 years Pyrrhus spent campaigning in Sicily the Samnites suffered many defeats at the hands of the Romans and lost a substantial part of their territory. This made them resentful towards Pyrrhus. Therefore, most did not join him when he returned to Italy. Cassius Dio wrote that the Samnites being hard pressed by the Romans caused Pyrrhus to come to their assistance. In Plutarch’s account, Pyrrhus engaged the Romans despite the lack of Samnite support. The 2 consuls for 275 BC, Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Caudinus and Manius Curius Dentatus, were fighting in Lucania and Samnium respectively.

Pyrrhus divided his forces into 2 divisions. He sent one against Cornelius Lentulus and marched with the other during the night against Manius Curius, who was encamped near Malventum (Bad Wind) and was waiting for help from Cornelius Lentulus. Pyrrhus was in a hurry to engage Manius Curius lest his colleague should show up. However, he chose a roundabout route through the woods in order to maintain surprise; many of his men lost their way and night fell before he could make his attack. Dionysius of Halicarnassus wrote that Pyrrhus marched through “long trails that were not even used by people but were mere goat-paths through woods and crags, would keep no order and, even before the enemy came in sight, would be weakened in body by thirst and fatigue.” This delayed Pyrrhus and at dawn he was in full view of the enemy as he advanced on them from the heights.

Plutarch wrote that Manius Curius led his men out of the camp and attacked the Greek advance guard and captured some elephants. This success brought him to the plain, where he could engage Pyrrhus in battle on level ground. He routed some of the enemy formations, but an elephant charge drove him back to his camp. He called on the camp guards who were standing on the parapets of the rampart. They threw javelins at the elephants, causing them to panic. They rampaged through the Greek ranks, which were thrown into disarray. The Romans then pressed their attack and Pyrrhus’ army was routed.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus wrote only one sentence about the battle: “When Pyrrhus and those with him had ascended along with the elephants, and the Romans became aware of it, they wounded an elephant calf, which caused great confusion and flight among the Greeks. The Romans killed two elephants, and hemming eight others in a place that had no outlet, took them alive when the Indian mahouts surrendered them; and they wrought great slaughter among the soldiers.”

Cassius Dio also related the story of the wounded calf. He wrote that Pyrrhus was put to flight because “a young elephant had been wounded, and shaking off its riders, wandered about in search of its mother, whereupon the latter became excited and the other elephants grew turbulent, so that everything was thrown into dire confusion. Finally, the Romans won the day, killing many men and capturing eight elephants, and they occupied the enemy's entrenchments.”

We have no information as to the number of troops deployed by either side or the number of casualties. Manius Curius, in commemoration of the victory, renamed Malventum as Beneventum (Fair Wind).

After this defeat Pyrrhus went back to Tarentum and gave up the war. He sailed back to Epirus and soon became embroiled in a war with Macedon. He besieged Sparta and aimed to gain control of the Peloponnese by taking this city. However, he met fierce resistance and gave this up. He was then called to intervene in a dispute in Argos, but was killed in a street battle there.

That same year, the Romans took Tarentum, ensuring control of Lucania and Apulia. Rhegium fell 2 years later, giving Rome control of all of southern Italy.

[scoundrel]

Originally Posted by Ennath

The Ethiopian offensive was ultimately stopped due to the Italian forces’ superior modern weapons. More importantly, on December 26, Badoglio asked for and was given permission to use chemical warfare agents such as mustard gas. On December 30, Haile Selassie formally filed a complaint with the League of Nations. He claimed that Italy’s use of poison gas was yet another addition to the long list of international agreements contravened by Italy. In response, the Italians denied that poison gas was being used and, instead, decried the use of dum dum bullets and the misuse of the Red Cross by the Ethiopians.

In addition to being granted permission to use poison gas, Badoglio received additional ground forces; elements of Italian III and IV Corps arrived in Eritrea during early 1936. On January 20, the beginning of the inconclusive 1st Battle of Tembien marked the end of the Ethiopian Christmas Offensive and also marked a shift of the initiative back to the Italians.

Pietro Badoglio should have been hanged for this. Better still, he should have been handed over to the Ethiopian people together with free use of a steamroller. I gather he avoided retribution thanks to post WW2 politics and because he backed the right horse when it was time to depose Mussolini in 1943. Just such another as Emperor Hirohito.

[Ennath]

December 16, 1944
Battle of St Vith

As a part of the German Operation Wacht am Rhein, the Ardennes Offensive, the ultimate goal following the capture of St. Vith was to cross the Meuse River and seize the city of Antwerp. Hitler had planned the offensive as far back as September 1944, though the date had to be pushed to the end of the year in order to gather the necessary reserves of men and material. While the weather would prove a hindrance to troops trying to advance, it provided the advantage of a grounded Allied air force. What is perhaps most notable is that it was conducted in almost complete secrecy, the reserves of troops being shipped to the front lines explained as reinforcing for the new year.

The commander of 5th Panzer Army, tasked with breaking through St. Vith, was Gen. Hasso von Manteuffel. Following reconnaissance that he had conducted himself, Manteuffel judged that the best course would be to send in small assault groups to infiltrate and break American lines. However, due to Hitler’s wishes, Manteuffel was forced to use a preparatory bombardment, eventually settling for sending some of his units to infiltrate prior to alerting the Americans with the barrage. The units fighting in and around the St. Vith area were the 116th Panzer Division, 18th and 62nd Volksgrenadier (VG) Divisions, and the Führerbegleitbrigade, an armored brigade.

At the time, most Allied commanders were busy planning the next step on the road to defeating the German army. Generally, these were aimed at other parts of the front. This left the forest itself an inactive zone, where bloodied divisions were sent to rest and green divisions were sent to become acquainted with light combat. Though American leaders recognized how thinly held the Ardennes was, it was deemed a non-issue as the decrypted Enigma traffic that was so relied on did not hint at any sign of a possible attack, largely because of German efforts to maintain radio silence prior to the assault. The commander of 7th US Armored Division, tasked with defending St. Vith along with 106th Infantry Division and 9th Armored Division, was Brig. Gen. Bruce Clarke.

Artillery fire of mixed accuracy began falling on St. Vith on the morning of December 16. At the same time, 2 regiments 106th Division, a green unit, began reporting attacks on the Schnee Eifel before losing contact with their HQ in St. Vith and their commander, Maj. Gen. Alan Jones. The Germans used radio jamming stations that made wireless communications difficult. This had the effect of breaking the defense into isolated positions, and denying corps and army commands information. The VG Divisions began pushing ahead, seizing bridges over the Our. American cavalry squadrons conducted delaying actions. The Germans were soon running behind schedule. German traffic jams before St. Vith were so severe that Field Marshal Mödel himself went to direct traffic.

On the morning of December 17, Clarke and his combat command along with elements of Brig. Gen. William Hoge’s 9th Armored Division entered St. Vith at 1030 to support the 106th. Arriving somewhat later, the remnants of the utterly destroyed 14th Cavalry Group entered St. Vith with German troops approaching soon after. Jones’ situation was in complete disarray with absolutely no communication with 2 regiments in threat of destruction, one of them including his son. Seeing as Clarke’s command was the most able to defend the town, Jones handed over command.

The 18th VG captured the bridge at Schoenberg by 0845, cutting off American artillery units attempting to withdraw west of the Our. The southern pincer of the 18th, advancing from Bleialf against scattered American resistance, was slower than the northern group. As a result, Manteuffel’s trap on the Schnee Eifel did not close until nightfall. Gen. Jones had given the troops east of the Our permission to withdraw at 0945 AM, but it was too late to organize an orderly withdrawal by that time. This order, and the slow German southern arm, gave more Americans a chance to escape, but since they were new to the area, and had few compasses or maps, most were unable to take advantage of the opportunity. The American positions east of the Our had become the Schnee Eifel Pocket.

Just a mile east of St. Vith, an American force consisting of 2 57mm M1 AT guns, 6 tank destroyers, and a group of bazooka-equipped engineers was attacked by a mixed German force of tanks and infantry at around 1500. The engagement was broken off after an air-to-ground liaison officer managed to call in a fighter-bomber attack which managed to knock out a German tank despite the harsh weather conditions. In the meantime, Clarke’s reinforcements trickled in bit by bit on clogged “one-tank” roads that barely fit all of the traffic on them, ranging from panic-stricken truck drivers trying to escape the German onslaught to American tankers trying to defend the front. Though lacking many resources, Clarke was able to gather the services of the 275th Armored Field Artillery Battalion to serve as the only American artillery in St. Vith. Clarke and his command spent the rest of the 17th preparing defenses around the town and readying themselves.

That night, Manteuffel argued with German commander Walter Mödel about how best to proceed. He had anticipated that St. Vith would fall on the first day, yet it remained a thorn in the German side. Mödel suggested sending in the elite Führerbegleitbrigade to crush the defenders of St. Vith. Manteuffel agreed, though the FBB and the Volksgrenadier divisions could not be organized to attack fully until the night of December 19-20.

Initial attacks by the FBB were repulsed, though stepped up in intensity with additional reinforcements pouring in. One notable confrontation on December 18 occurred between an American M8 Armored Car and a Tiger I heavy tank. This M8 from Troop B, 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Battalion had been parked in a concealed position when the tank passed it. The driver of the M8 carefully began to follow, though in an effort to keep up, the M8’s engine sounded loud enough for the Tiger’s turret crew to notice it. The Tiger’s turret immediately began turning to engage the small armored car while the Greyhound’s driver sped up to get the armored car’s 37mm gun close enough to be able to penetrate the Tiger’s rear armor. The Greyhound closed to within 22 yards and fired 3 shots, setting the Tiger on fire before returning to its original hiding spot.

Meanwhile, resistance in the Schnee Eifel pocket was weakening under heavy assault, though significant German forces were tied down here. Finally, at 1600 on December 21, the remaining 7000 men surrendered; it was the largest American surrender in the European theater.

By the morning of December 20, St. Vith had not yet fallen, proving incredibly damaging to the German timetable. Though the Americans on the Schnee Eifel had surrendered, German armored losses also increased and failed to break through American lines. At 1100 on December 21, the German attack renewed, far more ferocious than before. Initially attacking the northern and eastern portions of the St. Vith perimeter, the attack spread to just about every part of the US line. A battalion of the FBB had even managed to seize a road between St. Vith and Vielsalm, though it was pushed back. Now free of the traffic jam of the earlier days, German artillery opened up fully on the defenders, allowing the Germans to breach the line in several locations. By 2200, General Clarke pulled his troops out of St. Vith, having lost almost half his strength during that day’s fighting alone. On the morning of December 22, the town was finally secured by 18th Volksgrenadier-Division. The Americans had taken 12,500 casualties and lost 88 tanks. German losses are unknown. By this time, it was too late for the Germans to make use of the tactical success.

Though the town was secured by German troops, fighting continued around the St. Vith Salient, with heavy attacks by 2nd SS-Panzer Corps near Rodt on December 22. US 82nd Airborne Division moved into Vielsalm promptly to secure an escape path for all those fighting within the St. Vith Salient. By December 23, all remaining American troops had cleared out of the salient. The fighting around St. Vith had proven to be decisive, ruining the German timetable, giving the Allies time to regroup, and ultimately helping to turn the tide of the Battle of the Bulge.

[haroldeye]

Pietro Badoglio should have been hanged for this. Better still, he should have been handed over to the Ethiopian people together with free use of a steamroller. I gather he avoided retribution thanks to post WW2 politics and because he backed the right horse when it was time to depose Mussolini in 1943. Just such another as Emperor Hirohito.

I seem to recall the Ethiopeans were far more inventive with their punishments than simple steamrollering. At least the Italian Army wouldn't run short of sopranos.

[Dr Pepper]

Originally Posted by haroldeye

Pietro Badoglio should have been hanged for this. Better still, he should have been handed over to the Ethiopian people together with free use of a steamroller. I gather he avoided retribution thanks to post WW2 politics and because he backed the right horse when it was time to depose Mussolini in 1943. Just such another as Emperor Hirohito.

I seem to recall the Ethiopeans were far more inventive with their punishments than simple steamrollering. At least the Italian Army wouldn't run short of sopranos.

They obviously hadn't heard about the 'goolie chit' ...which IIRC came about due to the activities of Afghani women....

...surprisingly-still in vogue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_chit

[Rogerbh]

I recall that in High School I gave a presentation on the Roman Military and one specific fact I mentioned was regarding their opponent Pyrrhus. I told the class that he met his end when a woman dropped a pot on his head from a second floor balcony. I just noticed now that Wiki says the general was fighting in the streets of Argos, when the elderly mother of the soldier he was fighting threw a tile from the rooftop, knocking him off his horse and paralyzing him from the fall. He got beheaded after that turn of events. Not quite similar descriptions, but the end result is the same.

Another reason to love your mothers, boys.

[Mal Hombre]

"Another such victory and I am undone" Prryhus

[Rogerbh]

I have to tell this story of the use of "Pyrrhic victory" in a non-military setting. Billy North, an Oakland A's baseball player was being interviewed after a win in which one of the star players of the A's had been injured. In reply to one of the reporter's questions, he stated, "Well, it was a Pyrrhic Victory, wasn't it?"

The look of cluelessness on the face of the reporter as he turned to stare blankly at the cameraman was priceless.

[Ennath]

December 17, 1398
Tamerlane’s Sack of Delhi

By the time Timur the Lame (Tamerlane) considered invading India in 1398, he had already conquered most of the Middle East. However, his appetite for conquest had not been quenched. With the west secured there was no remaining kingdom in that region that could really put a dent into his empire. Therefore, he looked east as he always had a desire to conquer China and bring it back under the fold of the Mongol Empire. However, India was closer; this multi-kingdom subcontinent bordered his empire. The grand prize here was the powerful Delhi Sultanate. Timur knew that Delhi was no pushover, but given that it was weakened due a state of civil war, it seemed ripe for the sacking. The army he assembled for the invasion was probably about 60,000 strong, almost all cavalry.

Once Timur and his forces pushed out in March 1398, his advanced guard and right wing under the command of his grandson, Pir Mohammed, pushed into Punjab. Once there, his mission was to capture Multan. With Pir Mohammed busy in Punjab, Timur’s other grandson Mohammed Sultan, marched by way of Lahore. Timur, took a more difficult route, with a much smaller force into the Hindu Kush before making his way south to join his main force east of the Indus by September. As he pushed across India, he declared: “The people of Samana and Kaithal and Aspandi are all heretics, idolaters, infidels, and misbelievers. They had now set fire to their houses and had fled with their children and property toward Delhi, so that the whole country was deserted.”

In late December 1398, Timur marched to Panipat, where he encamped. There he found that, “in obedience to orders received from the ruler of Delhi, all the inhabitants had deserted their dwellings and had taken flight.” As his army advanced “They plundered every village and place they came to, killed the men, and carried off all the valuables and cattle, securing much booty; after which they returned, bringing with them a number of Hindu prisoners, both male and female.” Before advancing to battle, most of these prisoners, said to number 100,000 (certainly an exaggeration) were slaughtered. Delhi’s ruler, Mahmud Tughluk, finally mustered an army to fight.

On December 17, Timur prepared his army for battle. Pir Mohammed was in charge of the right wing. Sultan Hussein and Khalil Sultan, were in command of the left wing. The reserve was under Prince Rusam, while Timur held the center. Mahmud Tughluk commanded an army of 10,000 horse, 40,000 infantry, and 125 elephants covered with armor, and with crews armed with bows, naphtha grenades, and rockets. The Delhi cavalry was good, but the foot were almost all Hindu levies, mostly archers and unenthusiastic.

Part of Indian force separated from the vanguard; this advance-guard was suddenly cut off and routed with heavy loss. Pir Mohammad then attacked and put the Indian left to flight. The Indian right was similarly forced into retreat, all the way to the gates of Delhi. Sultan Mahmud, in the center of his army, was more numerous and with its strong war elephants, made an attack on Timur’s center. While this was engaged, the victorious Timurid wings closed in behind and the trapped Delhi army was destroyed.

Timur soon entered Delhi. At first, everything was fine; officials came forward to offer gifts. While the regal ceremony and the state of affairs were taking place within the court, the city was about to erupt. When Timurid troops attempted to apprehend the fugitives from the defeated army who had fled to the city, fighting broke out in the streets. The invaders went berserk, killing indiscriminately. Hindus set fire to their homes, burned their families and made suicidal attacks on the Timurids. By the time the sack ended 2 days later, the spoils were so great that each man secured 20-100 prisoners as slaves. There was likewise an immense booty in gems and gold. Estimates for the massacre in Dehli range from 100,000 to 200,000 people. Timur collected and carried the wealth, captured women and slaves, and returned to Samarkand. He had again earned his sobriquet, “The Prince of Destruction”.

The Delhi Sultanate was left in a state of anarchy, chaos, and pestilence. Nasir ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluk, who had fled to Gujarat during Timur’s invasion, returned and nominally ruled as the last ruler of Tughluk dynasty, as a puppet of various factions at the court. Not until the rise of the Lodi dynasty in 1451 would the Sultanate really recover.

[Ennath]

December 18, 1669
Battle off Cadiz

The Mary Rose, a frigate of the Royal Navy carrying 48 guns, conveyed Lord Henry Howard, with an entourage of 70 attendants and £4000 in gifts, to Tangier in January 1669. Howard’s mission was to negotiate a commercial treaty with the Sultan of Morocco, Mulay Rashid, also known as “Tafiletta”. Rear Adm. John Kempthorne commanded the ship. The meeting with Mulay Rashid was delayed for 11 months and ended up not taking place at all; then, Howard obtained a “Letter of Security” from Mulay Rashid and set out for Salé.

The Mary Rose was accompanied by 3 ships: a pink (small narrow-sterned ship of shallow draught), the 2-masted Roe ketch which had come from England with her, and a Hamburg merchantman, called the Hamborough frigate. After midnight, they overtook a large flyboat of 300 tons, loaded with timber, tobacco, salt, and malt. This proved to be the King David, an English trader bound from New England to Cadiz. Off Cape St. Vincent, she had been captured by a party of Algerians, Barbary pirates, and the captain and crew were taken as slaves. When the Mary Rose and convoy found her, she carried a prize-crew of 22 Algerians, as well as a Russian and 2 Englishmen; Mary Rose retook the ship.

An English prize-crew was sent aboard, and the King David was to follow the convoy to Salé. However, the ship was both poorly built for speed and laden with cargo, and the Mary Rose was obliged to tow her, retarding the convoy’s progress. Consequently, they did not arrive at Salé until the 11th, where they met a 2-masted brigantine from Tangier with Englishmen aboard. This vessel told them that there was an insurrection in progress and that they could not land, and recommended that they try to pick up some of the people ashore.

The convoy remained until the 13th, though failing to bring anyone aboard as they were detained. A storm forced them to leave the shore, towing the brigantine astern. The storm continued for the next few days, during which the Mary Rose took on the brigantine’s crew and passengers and let her go. On the 15th they sighted Rota, but were unable to put in because of the contrary wind. On the 17th the convoy was joined by 2 merchantmen, 1 French and 1 Scottish, bound from the Canary Islands to Cadiz. Several times during these few days the Mary Rose saw two Algerian men of war; these merchantmen had also seen the men of war and come to the convoy for protection.

At dawn on the 18th, the Mary Rose sighted 7 Algerian warships. Mary Rose immediately cleared for action, taking on the prize-crew of the King David and abandoning her to be driven by the wind, and throwing overboard anything that might prove a hindrance. The Algerians passed near noon; one of the prisoners, a Dutchman, identified them as the Golden Lion (36), Orange Tree (36), Half Moon (41), Seven Stars (32), White Horse (30), Blewhart (28), and Rose Leaf (18). The Half Moon, not built for speed and also loaded down with men, fell behind and the others sent 2 boats to tow her; Adm. Kempthorne sent out a boat to intercept theirs, but the Algerians sent out another boat, well-armed, and Kempthorne recalled the English boat.

The Algerian ships stood close together, and around 3:00, 6 of them attacked Mary Rose, while the Rose Leaf chased the abandoned King David. A hot action ensued, with apparently significant damage to both sides. The Algerians retired at nightfall.

Early the next morning the squadrons engaged again. The Algerians approached in a line from the southeast: the Half Moon was first, and she and subsequent ships fired their broadsides as they came to bear, before steering away to the northeast. Mary Rose replied firing every other gun, in order to be able to keep up a consistent fire on all the approaching ships. Golden Lion, the Algerian flagship, was in the rear, intending to board. However, the Mary Rose hit her hull below the waterline with one shot and destroyed her mainsail with another, and the Algerians retreated.

English casualties were 12 killed and 18 wounded; Mary Rose had all 3 masts damaged, and her mainmast, foremast, and both topmast yards disabled.

The Mary Rose arrived in Cadiz on the 20th. Kempthorne sold the 22 Algerian prisoners from the King David as slaves; 2 were bought by the English consul there. Mary Rose returned to England in April 1670 with a 30-ship convoy from the Mediterranean, whereupon Kempthorne was knighted for “his very great valor and conduct shown against the pirates of Algiers.”

King David, which had been taken by the Rose Leaf, was recaptured by Sir Thomas Allin, who ordered her to be sold with her cargo as a prize at Malaga; the original owners successfully petitioned to have it restored. In July 1670, Charles II ordered that money earned from selling Moorish prisoners should henceforth be put into a fund for the redemption of Englishmen taken as slaves, beginning with King David’s crew.