The Military History Thread

[Ennath]

November 16, 1831
Death of Clausewitz

Karl von Clausewitz was born on June 1, 1780 in Burg bei Magdeburg in the Prussian Duchy of Magdeburg as the youngest son of a middle-class family, though it made claims to noble status that Karl accepted. His father, once a lieutenant in the Prussian army, held a minor post in the internal revenue service. Clausewitz entered the Prussian military service at the age of 12 as a Lance-Corporal, eventually attaining the rank of Major-General.

Clausewitz served in the Rhine Campaigns (1793–1794) and entered the Kriegsakademie in Berlin in 1801, probably studied the writings of the philosopher Immanuel Kant, and won the regard of Gen. Gerhard von Scharnhorst, the future first chief-of-staff of the newly reformed Prussian Army (appointed 1809). Clausewitz served during the Jena Campaign of 1806 as aide-de-camp to Prince August. At the Battle of Auerstädt (October 14, see posting), he was one of the 25,000 prisoners taken as the Prussian army disintegrated. Clausewitz was held prisoner with his prince in France from 1807 to 1808. Returning to Prussia, he assisted in the reform of the Prussian Army.

On December 10, 1810 he married the socially prominent Countess Marie von Brühl, whom he had first met in 1803. The couple moved in the highest circles, socializing with Berlin’s political, literary and intellectual elite. Marie was well-educated and politically well-connected - she played an important role in her husband’s career progress and intellectual evolution.

Opposed to Prussia’s forced alliance with Napoleon, Clausewitz left the Prussian Army and served in the Imperial Russian Army in 1812-13, taking part in the Battle of Borodino (see posting). Like many Prussian officers serving in Russia, he joined the Russian-German Legion in 1813. In the service of the Russian Empire, Clausewitz helped negotiate the Convention of Tauroggen (1812), which prepared the way for the coalition of Prussia, Russia, and Britain that ultimately defeated Napoleon.

In 1815 the Russian-German Legion was absorbed into the Prussian Army and Clausewitz re-entered Prussian service as a colonel. He was soon appointed chief-of-staff of Johann von Thielmann’s III Corps. In that capacity he served at the Battles of Ligny and Wavre (see postings) in 1815. After the war Clausewitz served as the director of the Kriegsakademie, where he served until 1830. In that year he returned to duty with the army. Soon afterwards, the outbreak of several revolutions around Europe and a crisis in Poland appeared to presage another major European war. Clausewitz was appointed chief of staff of the only army Prussia was able to mobilize in this emergency, which was sent to the Polish border. Its commander, Gneisenau, died of cholera (August 1831), and Clausewitz took command of the Prussian effort to construct a cordon sanitaire to contain the great cholera outbreak (the first time cholera had appeared in modern heartland Europe, causing a continent-wide panic). Clausewitz himself died of the same disease shortly afterwards, on November 17, 1831.

His widow edited, published, and wrote the introduction to his magnum opus on the philosophy and practice of war in 1832. (He had started working on the text in 1816, but had not completed it.) Soldiers before this time had written treatises on various military subjects, but none had undertaken a great philosophical examination of war on the scale of that written by Clausewitz.

Clausewitz's work is still studied today, whereas his 19th-century rival Jomini has faded from influence. One historian said this “may be explained by the fact that Jomini produced a system of war, Clausewitz a philosophy. The one has been outdated by new weapons, the other still influences the strategy behind those weapons.” Jomini did not attempt to define war. Clausewitz did, providing (and comparing) a number of definitions. The first is his thesis: “War is thus an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will.” The second, often treated as Clausewitz's bottom line, is in fact merely his dialectical antithesis: “War is merely the continuation of policy by other means.” The synthesis of his examination of the nature of war is his famous statement that war is “a fascinating trinity - composed of primordial violence, hatred, and enmity, which are to be regarded as a blind natural force; the play of chance and probability, within which the creative spirit is free to roam; and its element of subordination, as an instrument of policy, which makes it subject to pure reason.”

Clausewitz introduced systematic philosophical contemplation into Western military thinking (though he always disclaimed any philosophical pretensions), with powerful implications not only for historical writing but also for practical policy, military instruction, and operational planning. He sees all wars as the sum of decisions, actions, and reactions in an uncertain and dangerous context, and also as a socio-political phenomenon. He also stressed the complex nature of war, which encompasses both the socio-political and the operational and stresses the primacy of state policy.

Marie von Clausewitz wrote the preface for On War and had published most of her husband’s collected works by her own death in January 1835. The works are still required reading at military schools worldwide.

[Tmee2020]

November 16, 1831
Death of Clausewitz

"Karl von Clausewitz was born on June 1, 1780 in Burg bei Magdeburg in the Prussian Duchy of Magdeburg as the youngest son of a middle-class family, though it made claims to noble status that Karl accepted...

Marie von Clausewitz wrote the preface for On War and had published most of her husband’s collected works by her own death in January 1835. The works are still required reading at military schools worldwide."

I doubt our political leaders would know anything about this great book, even if it popped up in their Corn Flakes tomorrow morning.

And that's a shame, because if they did, maybe they would not be so quick to put the lives of our young men and women in mortal danger, and inflict pain and suffering on others.

[Ennath]

November 17, 1700
Battle of Olkieniki

Since the second half of the 16th century, the Sapieha family of Lithuania had risen to prominence and attained a premier rank among the magnate families of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Over the course of the century, the family came to monopolize most of the top government offices of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. While these offices were not hereditary, the Sapiehas ensured that they remained within the family. This contributed to growing resentment among Lithuania’s other magnate clans and opposition to the Sapiehas began to form in various quarters. The Sapiehas’ attempts to control local politics through the local diets and their threats to other nobles’ lands also led to dissatisfaction among gentry.

The volatile situation was furthered acerbated by the actions of the King of Poland, Augustus II “the Strong”. Augustus aimed to transform the weak position of the Polish-Lithuanian monarch into one based on the then current Western model of an absolute monarch. He saw the potential conflict in Lithuania as a possible excuse for an intervention which could then be utilized to strengthen royal power, as well as a means of weakening powerful magnate families in the region. Augustus allowed the Grand Hetman of Lithuania, Jan Kazimierz Sapieha the Younger to conscript further forces for the Sapiehas’ private army, while at the same time he issued proclamations calling on the lesser nobility to defend their ancient privileges.

The anti-Sapieha coalition consisted of members of the Radziwill, Pac and Oginski families, and had the support of meddle and lesser nobles. It was further strengthened in April 1700, when Sapieha soldiers and courtiers mistook a procession of the Princely Wisniowiecki family in Vilnius for that of the anti-Sapieha Kociell family, attacked it and wounded 2 of its most prominent members. As a result, the Wisniowieckis joined the anti-Sapieha cause, with Michal Serwacy Wisniowiecki (one of the wounded) given overall command of the coalition.

Initial military engagements, at Lipniszki and on the Ashmyanka River, were favorable to the Sapiehas who commanded well trained professional troops against irregular forces of the rebels. In October the rebels gathered in a camp near the town of Olkieniki (today Valkininkai, Lithuania). Sapieha forces, under Michal Franciszek Sapieha, left Vilnius in early November and arrived near Olkieniki in the middle of the month. The armies numbered 12,000 for the rebels and around 3000 for the Sapiehas. It is generally agreed that the Sapieha troops were of superior quality.

Last minute negotiations and an attempt at a truce were made by Bishop of Vilnius Konstanty Kazimierz Brzostowski, a long time Sapieha opponent, who was genuinely worried about the extent of destruction that the civil war was going to cause in Lithuania. Brzostowski met with the Sapiehas at a tavern in nearby Leipalingis. The details of the proposed truce are unknown but the conditions were rejected by Sapiehas, who declared that matters would have to be “settled with sabres”.

The rebels placed their infantry in the center; the majority of the nobles were on the right or in reserve, and the left wing was taken up by hired Wallachian cavalry. Wisniowiecki placed his troops between Valkininkai and Leipalingis, while a detachment of cavalry made a wide swing through the local forests in an encircling maneuver. The Sapiehas also placed their infantry in the center, their rajtars on the left, with the right taken up by Tatar troops.

The Saphiehas opened with an advance by their right, which was repulsed only after hard fighting. Meanwhile, the rebel right was forced to give ground; part of the reserves were committed to stabilize the situation, but these were thrown back by the Sapieha horse.

At this point, Wisniowiecki changed his tactics. The Sapieha front was well defended and possessed strong earthworks. A first attempt to envelop the smaller Sapieha army was stymied when a collection of cavalry and camp servants were rushed to the threatened sector. The battle had been going on for about 5 hours by now and the troops were becoming tired. At this point the detachment sent in the wide encirclement (probably a few hundred strong) hit the rear of the Sapieha army. At the same time, the rebels launched a general attack along the whole front. Hit on both sides, the Sapieha army dissolved, although most of the Tatars fought to the end.

In the aftermath of the battle, a drunken mob, encouraged by the Canon of Vilnius, whose brother had been executed by the Sapiehas the previous year, murdered many of the Sapieha leaders, including several prominent members of the family itself. Most notably, a mob lynched Michal Franciszek Sapieha, who was kept after the battle imprisoned in a nearby abbey. The battle and the subsequent slaughter marked the end of the dominance of the Sapiehas in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in general, and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in particular. Jan Kazimierz Sapieha managed to escape capture and fled to Prussia. Most of the Sapieha lands were confiscated.

With the Swedish threat growing, talks were held to try and resolve the dispute and present a united front to the invaders, but these failed. The Sapiehas eventually threw in their lot with the Swedes.

[Ennath]

November 18, 1799
Siege of Cuneo

The siege of Cuneo saw the Austrians capture the last French stronghold on the northern Italian plains at the end of a year that saw the French position in Italy collapse. The defense of Cuneo had been the main concern of Gen. Jean-Etirenne Championnet, the commander of the French Army of Italy from September 1799, but he suffered a major defeat at Genola, northeast of the city, on November 4, and by mid-November the last French troops had been forced back from the area.

Cuneo was defended by 3000 men under Gen. Clement. Cuneo was protected by octagonal defenses, with strong bastions and external works, and had withstood sieges in 1691 and 1744, but Clement was in a weak position. As well as the garrison the city contained around 800 wounded from Genola, and in the weeks before the siege Championnet had been forced to use the stores in the city to keep his army in the field.

The conduct of the siege was given to the Prince of Lichtenstein, with around 15,000 men and 5000 local workers. The blockade began on November 18. Three days later the Austrians cut the channel of the Stura River which powered the watermills inside the city, further worsening the supply situation. The formal siege began on the night of November 26-27, when work began on the first trench, opposite the part of the walls between the Stura and Gesso Rivers. Despite the near-frozen ground enough progress was made on the first night to protect the works. On November 27 the defenders conducted a heavy but ineffective bombardment of the siege works. Clement conducted an active defense within his limited means, and was even able to restore the canal, but work on the trenches continued at some speed. By the night of November 29-30 the first gun batteries were in place, and the first parallel was complete by December 1. Nineteen gun batteries were mounted on the night of December 1-2, and the bombardment began the following morning.

The bombardment was very effective. By midday the defenders had been forced to abandon the last outer works, and one of the redoubts had been destroyed by a powder explosion. On the night of December 2-3 the Austrians managed to gain a foothold in that redoubt, and began work on the second parallel. On the next morning, with part of the town on fire and most of his guns out of use, Clement realized that his situation was hopeless, and opened negotiations. Terms were agreed very quickly. The 2800 surviving men of the garrison and 800 lightly wounded were to march out on December 4 with the full honors of war, pile up their guns and go into captivity. They would be followed by the more seriously wounded once they had recovered.

The loss of Cuneo meant that the French no longer had any strongholds on the northern Italian plains. They had also been driven out of the foothills of the Alps and Apennines in most places, so Baron Melas and the Austrians were able to enjoy a relatively peaceful winter, secure from any serious French attack.

[Ennath]

279 BC
Battle of Thermopylae

Celtic groups, originating from the various La Tène chiefdoms (in modern Switzerland), began a southeastern movement into the Balkan peninsula from the 4th century BC. Although settlements were concentrated in the western half of the Carpathian basin, there were notable incursions, and settlements, within the Balkan peninsula itself.

From their new bases in Pannonia (modern Hungary), the Celtic invasions climaxed in the early 3rd century BC, with the invasion of Greece. The invasion was preceded by a series of campaigns waged in the southern Balkans and against the kingdom of Macedonia, aided by the state of confusion ensuing from the complex succession wars following Alexander the Great’s sudden death.

The Celtic pressure toward Greece reached its turning point in 281 BC. In 280 a great army, allegedly comprising about 85,000 warriors, approached from Pannonia and split into three divisions. These forces marched south to Macedon and central Greece. Under the leadership of Cerethrius, 20,000 men moved against the Thracians and Triballi. Another division, led by Brennus and Acichorius moved against the Paionians (in modern Macedonia) while a third division, headed by Bolgios, headed towards the Macedonians and Illyrians.

Bolgios inflicted heavy losses on the Macedonians, whose young king, Ptolemy Keraunos, was captured and decapitated. However, Bolgios’ contingent was repulsed by the Macedonian nobleman Sosthenes and, satisfied with the loot they had won, Bolgios’ men turned back. Sosthenes, in turn, was attacked and defeated by Brennus and his forces, who were then free to ravage the country. After these expeditions returned home, Brennus urged and persuaded them to mount a third united expedition against central Greece, led by himself and Acichorius.

A Greek coalition made up of Aetolians, Boeotians, Athenians, Phokians, and other Greeks north of Corinth took up positions at the narrow pass of Thermopylae, on the east coast of central Greece. During the initial assault, Brennus’ forces suffered heavy losses. Hence he decided to send a large force under Acichorius against Aetolia. The Aetolian detachment, as Brennus hoped, left to defend their homes.

Realizing that the Celts were more formidable at close quarters, the Aetolians resorted to skirmishing tactics. The Celts destroyed Kallion, on the borders between Eurytania and Aetolia, committing horrible atrocities, but the resistance of the entire Aetolian population at Kokkalia, where the elderly and the women and children all joined the fight, dealt a decisive blow to the Celtic threat. According to Pausanias, only half the number who had set out for Aetolia returned.

Eventually Brennus found a way around the pass at Thermopylae but the Greeks escaped by sea. Brennus pushed on to sack the sacred oracle at Delphi where he was defeated and forced to retreat, after which he died of wounds sustained in the battle. His army fell back to the river Spercheios where it was routed by the Thessalians.

Some of the survivors of the Greek campaign, led by Comontoris (one of Brennus’ generals) settled in Thrace, founding a short-lived city-state named Tyle. Another group, who split off from Brennus’ army in 281 BC, were transported over to Asia Minor by Nicomedes I to help him defeat his brother and secure the throne of Bithynia. They eventually settled in the region that came to be known as Galatia. They were defeated by Antiochus I, and as a result, they were confined to barren highlands in the center of Anatolia. Here their kingdom lasted until annexed by Rome in 25 BC.

In contrast, the Aetolian League strengthened its position in mainland Greece and for about a century the League controlled Delphi. The Aetolians set up an honorary stele on a base which presumably depicted pieces of armor from the Celts. They also erected the so-called Portico of the Aetolians or Western Portico, one of the largest buildings close to the sanctuary of Apollo. As a token of gratitude, the Aetolians were accorded the right to participate at the amphictyonic convention. The Amphictyonic Soteria were organized, and evolved into the Panhellenic Games which took place every 5 years.

[Ennath]

November 19, 1942
Operation Uranus, Part 1

By November 1942, German 6th Army had occupied most of Stalingrad, pushing the defending Red Army to the banks of the Volga River. By this stage, there were indications of an impending Soviet offensive around the city. However, the German command was intent upon finalizing its capture of Stalingrad. In fact, head of Army General Staff Franz Halder had been dismissed in September after his efforts to warn about the danger which was developing along the over-extended flanks of 6th Army and 4th Panzer Army. As early as September the Soviet Stavka (high command) began planning a series of counteroffensives to encompass the destruction of German forces in the south. Ultimately, command of Soviet efforts to relieve Stalingrad was put under the leadership of General Alexander Vasilevsky.

Stavka developed 2 major operations to be conducted against Axis forces near Stalingrad, Uranus and Saturn, and also planned for Operation Mars designed to engage German Army Group Center in an effort to distract reinforcements and inflict as much damage as possible. Operation Uranus involved the use of large forces to encircle Axis forces directly around Stalingrad. The start points were positioned on stretches of front that Axis units were too overstretched to occupy effectively. Soviet mechanized forces would penetrate deep into the German rear north of the city, while another attack would be made closer to 6th Army in an effort to attack German units there directly in the rear. While the Red Army prepared, the German commanders, influenced by their belief that the Red Army, building up opposite Army Group Center to the north, was incapable of mounting a simultaneous offensive in the south, continued to deny the possibility of an impending Soviet offensive.

In fact, Soviet policy was to commit only small parts of divisions at a time, but German intelligence assumed that when these parts were destroyed the whole unit could be written off. They thus overestimated Soviet losses and underestimated the size of Soviet reserves. The Soviet practice of briefly blooding new divisions in other sectors also contributed to the faulty German appreciations. The Germans tended to assume that these divisions were being held in the central sector when in fact they were moved south after a brief spell in the front line.

Army Group B seemed strong on paper: it included the 2nd and 6th German, 4th Panzer, 4th and 3rd Romanian, 8th Italian, and 2nd Hungarian Armies. 48th Panzer Corps, with the strength of a weakened panzer division, and a single infantry division were the reserves. For the most part the flanks were held by non-German armies, while German forces were used to spearhead operations in Stalingrad and the Caucasus.

These non-German units, specifically the Romanians in the path of the attack, were in a bind. Their equipment was largely obsolete, but the Germans were miserly about upgrading them. They detected the Soviet buildup and requested reinforcements and better equipment, especially anti-tank guns. Considering such equipment wasted on Romanians, the Germans refused. The resulting Romanian collapse, due in part to the lack of sufficient anti-tank weapons, merely confirmed the Germans in their prejudices. The Romanians were thus caught in a vicious spiral, being misused and then blamed when things went wrong. Germany’s other allies in Russia were in a similar situation.

Generally, German forces were in little better shape; they were weakened by months of fighting and, while Stavka raised new armies, the German high command attempted to maintain its existing mechanized units. Furthermore, during the course of the German offensive between May and November 1942, two elite mechanized divisions were redeployed to the West, to provide a mechanized reserve in case of an Allied landing in France. 6th Army had also suffered many casualties during the fighting in the city. In some cases, such as that of the 22nd Panzer Division, their equipment was no better than that of the Romanians. German formations were also overextended along large stretches of front; the XI Army Corps, for example, had to defend a front around 60 miles long.

The Red Army allocated an estimated 1,100,000 men, 804 tanks, 13,400 artillery pieces and over 1000 aircraft for the upcoming offensive. Opposite 3rd Romanian Army, the Soviets placed 5th Tank Army, and 21st and 65th Armies, in order to penetrate and overrun the German flanks. The German southern flank was targeted by Stalingrad Front’s 51st and 57th Armies, led by 13th and 4th Mechanized Corps; these would punch through 4th Romanian Army, in order to link up with the 5th Tank Army near the town of Kalach.

Preparations were, however, far from perfect; on November 8, Stavka postponed the launch date as transportation delays had kept many units from being in place. In the meantime, units at the front went through a number of war games to practice repelling an enemy counterattack and exploiting a breakthrough. These movements were masked by a decrease of radio traffic, camouflage, operational security, using couriers for communication instead of radio, and active deception, such as increasing troop movements around Moscow. The Red Army also stepped up attacks against Army Group Center and set up dummy formations to maintain the idea of a main offensive against German forces in the center.

On November 17 Vasilevsky was recalled to Moscow, where he was shown a letter written to Stalin by Gen. Volsky, commander of 4th Mechanized Corps, who urged calling off the offensive. Volsky believed the offensive was doomed to failure due to the state of the forces earmarked; he suggested postponing the offensive and redesigning it entirely. Many Soviet soldiers had not been issued with winter garments, and many died of frostbite. Although Soviet intelligence made honest efforts to collect as much information as possible on the disposition of the Axis forces, there was not much information on the state of German 6th Army. The Soviet commanders, overruling Vasilevsky, agreed the offensive would not be called off, and Stalin personally rang Volsky, who reiterated his intention to carry out the operation if ordered to do so.

Operation Uranus was again postponed for 2 days when Gen. Georgy Zhukov was told the air units allotted were not ready; it was finally launched on November 19. Although commanders suggested postponing the bombardment due to poor visibility due to thick fog, front headquarters decided to proceed. At 0720 Moscow time Soviet artillery commanders received the codeword “Siren”, signaling an 80-minute bombardment directed almost entirely against the non-German units protecting the German flanks. Some 3500 guns opened up against 3rd Romanian Army and the northern shoulder of German 6th Army. Although thick fog prevented the Soviet artillery from correcting their aim, weeks of preparation and ranging allowed them to lay down accurate fire all along the front. The effect was devastating, as communication lines were breached, ammunition dumps destroyed and forward observation points shattered. Many Romanian personnel who survived the bombardment began to flee to the rear. Soviet heavy artillery aimed at Romanian artillery positions and second-echelon formations also caught the retreating Romanian soldiers.

The offensive began at 0850, led by 21st and 65th Armies and 5th Tank Army. The first 2 assaults were repulsed by the Romanian defenders, and the effects of the heavy bombardment had actually made it more difficult for Soviet armor to navigate through the minefields and terrain. However, the lack of heavy anti-tank weapons caused the Romanian defense to collapse; a breakthrough was achieved by noon. Soon after, 5th Tank Army was able to score a breakthrough against the 2nd Romanian Corps, followed by 8th Cavalry Corps. As Soviet armor navigated through the thick fog by compass, overrunning Romanian and German artillery positions, 3 Romanian infantry divisions began to fall back in disarray; 3rd Romanian Army had been outflanked to the west and east. After receiving news of the Soviet attack, 6th Army headquarters failed to order 16th and 24th Panzer Divisions, hitherto engaged in Stalingrad, to reorient themselves to bolster the Romanians; instead the task was given to the seriously understrength and poorly equipped 48th Panzer Corps.

48th Panzer Corps had fewer than 100 serviceable modern tanks. Furthermore, they lacked fuel, and the shortage of tanks forced commanders to organize tank crews into infantry companies; 22nd Panzer Division, part of the corps, was almost completely destroyed in the fighting that ensued. The 22nd had entered the fighting with fewer than 30 working tanks, and left with a company of tanks. Romanian 1st Armored Division, attached to 48th Panzer Corps, engaged Soviet 26th Tank Corps after having lost communications with their German corps commanders, and were defeated by November 20. As the Soviets continued to advance south, many Soviet tank crews began to suffer from the worsening blizzard, which affected men and equipment, and blocked gunsights. It was not uncommon for tanks to lose traction on the ground, and for a crew member to have an arm broken as he was thrown around inside the hull. However, the blizzard also neutralized the German corps’ coordination.

[Ennath]

November 19, 1942
Operation Uranus, Part 2

The rout of 3rd Romanian Army began by the end of the 19th. The Soviets took some 27,000 Romanian prisoners - the bulk of 3 divisions. Soviet cavalry was used to exploit the breakthrough, sever communications between the Romanians and Italian 8th Army, and to block any possible counterattack against the Soviet flank. While the Red Air Force strafed retreating Romanian soldiers, the Luftwaffe provided only negligible opposition. The withdrawal of 1st Romanian Cavalry Division, originally positioned on the German 376th Infantry Division's flank, allowed 65th Army to bypass German defenses. As German forces began to react late on the 19th, another attack developed on the 6th Army's flank to the south.

In the early morning of November 20 Stavka phoned Stalingrad Front commander Andrei Yeremenko asking if he would begin his portion of the offensive on schedule, at 0800. He responded he would do so only if the fog lifted; although 51st Army opened its barrage on time because front headquarters could not contact the division, the rest of the forces received orders to postpone the attack until 1000. 51st Army engaged Romanian 6th Corps, taking many prisoners. As 57th Army joined the attack, the situation developed in such a way that the Stalingrad Front could throw its armored corps into battle. German 297th Infantry Division watched as its Romanian support failed to hold. However, confusion and lack of control caused Soviet 4th and 13th Mechanized Corps to stumble as they began to exploit the breakthroughs.

The Germans responded quickly by redeploying their only reserve in the area, 29th Panzergrenadier Division. Despite initial successes against Soviet armor, the Romanian collapse forced the division to again redeploy in an attempt to shore up defenses to the south. 29th Division’s counterattack had cost the Red Army around 50 tanks, and caused Soviet commanders to worry about the safety of their left flank. However, the German division’s redeployment meant that by the end of the day only 6th Romanian Cavalry Regiment was positioned between advancing Soviet forces and the Don River.

While Stalingrad Front launched its offensive, 65th Army continued to apply pressure to German 11th Corps along the northern shoulder of 6th Army. Soviet 4th Tank Corps advanced beyond 11th Corps, while 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps crashed into the German rear. German 376th and 44th Infantry Divisions began to redeploy to face the enemy on their flanks, but were hindered by shortage of fuel. 14th Panzer Division’s remaining panzer regiment destroyed a flanking regiment of Soviet 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps, but its AT artillery was overrun by Soviet forces. By the end of the day Soviet 1st Tank Corps was chasing the retreating 48th Panzer Corps, while 26th Tank Corps had captured the town of Perelazovsky, almost 80 miles northwest of Stalingrad.

The Red Army’s offensive continued on November 21, with Stalingrad Front achieving penetrations of up to 30 miles. By this time remaining Romanian units in the north were being destroyed in isolated battles, while the Red Army began to engage portions of the 4th Panzer and 6th Armies. 22nd Panzer Division, despite attempting a short counterattack, was reduced to little more than a tank company and forced to withdraw to the southwest. 26th Tank Corps, having destroyed a large portion of Romanian 1st Armored Division, continued its advance southeast, avoiding engaging enemy left behind, although remnants of Romanian 5th Corps were able to reorganize and put up a hastily constructed defense in the hope that it would be aided by 48th Panzer Corps. That day Gen. Friedrich Paulus, commander of 6th Army, received reports that the Soviets were less than 25 miles from his HQ; furthermore, there were no remaining units which could contest the Soviet advance.

In the south, after a brief halt, Soviet 4th Mechanized Corps continued its advance north, ousting German defenders from several towns in the area. As German forces in and around Stalingrad were at risk, Hitler ordered them to establish an all-around defensive position and designated forces between the Don and Volga rivers as “Fortress Stalingrad”, to be held at all costs, rather than allow 6th Army to attempt to break out. 6th Army, other Axis units, and most of 4th Panzer Army’s German units were caught inside the growing Soviet encirclement. Only 16th Panzergrenadier Division began to fight its way out. Lack of coordination between Soviet tanks and infantry along the southern flank allowed much of 4th Romanian Army to escape destruction.

On November 22, Soviet forces began to cross the Don and continued their advance towards Kalach. German forces defending Kalach, mostly maintenance and supply personnel, were not aware of the Soviet offensive until November 21, and even then did not know in what strength the Red Army was approaching. The task of taking the bridge at Kalach was given to 26th Tank Corps, which used 2 captured German tanks and a scout car to approach it and fire on the guards. Soviet forces broke into the town by mid-morning, allowing them and 4th Tank Corps to link up with 4th Mechanized Corps approaching from the south. The encirclement of German forces in Stalingrad was complete. That day Soviet formations also continued to fight pockets of Romanian resistance, such as that put up by Romanian 5th Corps.

Fighting continued on November 23 as the Germans attempted in vain to mount local counterattacks to break the encirclement. By this time Axis personnel inside the encirclement moved east towards Stalingrad to avoid Soviet tanks, while those that managed to escape the encirclement moved west toward German and other Axis forces.

Operation Uranus trapped between 250,000 and 300,000 Axis soldiers in an area stretching 30 miles east-west and 25 miles north-south. The pocket contained 4 infantry corps, a panzer corps, surviving elements of 2 Romanian divisions, a Croat regiment and other specialist units. Trapped equipment included around 100 tanks, 2000 artillery pieces and mortars and 10,000 trucks. Bridges spanning the Don River were jammed with traffic, as surviving Axis soldiers hastily made their way east in the cold weather, attempting to escape Soviet armor and infantry threatening to cut them off from Stalingrad. Many wounded Axis personnel were trampled, and many of those who attempted to cross the river on foot on the ice fell through and drowned. The last stragglers crossed the Don by November 24, and demolished the bridges to seal off the Germans in Stalingrad.

6th Army, in the midst of chaos, began to build defensive lines, hampered by lack of fuel, ammunition and rations, and further burdened by the advancing winter. It was also tasked with plugging gaps in the line caused by the disintegrating Romanians. On November 23, after the Germans had abandoned their winter bunkers, Soviet 62nd Army was able to destroy German 94th Infantry Division on the open ground; survivors were attached to 16th and 24th Panzer Divisions. Although German commanders were of the opinion that forces caught in the encirclement should break out, Hitler decided instead to hold the position and attempt to resupply 6th Army by air.

In the meantime, the Red Army strengthened its encirclement. Soviet armies would attack German units to the east and the south, aiming to split German units into smaller groups. These orders became effective on 24 November, and were to be executed without a major regrouping or movement of reserves. The outer encirclement ran for an estimated 200 miles, although only 3/4 of that distance was actually covered by Soviet troops; the distance between the outer and inner encirclements was around 10 miles.

German forces in the area had been further split up, as Gen. Erich von Manstein was given command of the newly created Army Group Don. Although the situation looked bleak for the Germans, a moment of relative calm had settled after the end of Operation Uranus; German and Soviet forces were planning their next moves.

[Ennath]

November 20, 1979
Siege of the Grand Mosque

Juhayman al-Otaybi was a member of an influential family in Najd, the central region of Saudi Arabia. He was a preacher, a former corporal in the Saudi National Guard, and a former student of Sheikh Abdel Aziz al-Baaz who went on to become the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia. In the late 1970s, he declared his brother-in-law Mohammed Abdullah al-Qahtani to be the Mahdi, or redeemer, who arrives on earth several years before Judgment Day. The date of the attack was the first day of the year 1400 according to the Islamic calendar; this ties in with the tradition of the mujaddid, a person who appears at the turn of every century of the Islamic calendar to revive Islam, cleansing it of extraneous elements and restoring it to purity.

Juhayman had turned against al-Baaz, and began advocating, among other things: a repudiation of the West; abolition of television and expulsion of non-Muslims. He proclaimed that that the Al-Saud dynasty had lost its legitimacy because it was corrupt, ostentatious and had destroyed Saudi culture by an aggressive policy of Westernization. Al-Otaybi and Qahtani had met while being imprisoned together for sedition, when al-Otaybi claimed to have had a vision sent by God telling him that Qahtani was the Mahdi. Their declared goal was to institute a theocracy in preparation for the imminent apocalypse.

Many of their followers were drawn from theology students at the Islamic University in Medina. Al-Otaybi joined the local chapter of the Salafi group Al-Jamaa Al-Salafiya Al-Muhtasiba (The Group That Commands Right and Forbids Wrong) in Medina. The followers preached their radical message in different mosques in Saudi Arabia without being arrested. The government was reluctant to confront religious extremists. When Al-Otaybi, al-Qahtani and a number of followers were locked up as troublemakers by the security police in 1978, members of the ulema (including al-Baaz) cross-examined them for heresy but they were subsequently released as traditionalists and, therefore, not a threat. Even after the seizure of the Grand Mosque, a certain level of forbearance by the clergy for the rebels remained. When the government asked for a fatwa allowing armed force in the Grand Mosque, the language of the senior ulema was restrained.

Because of donations from wealthy followers, the group was well-armed and trained. Some members, like al-Otaybi, were veterans of the National Guard. Some sympathetic National Guard troops smuggled weapons, ammunition, gas masks and provisions into the mosque compound over a period of weeks before the new year.

In the early morning of November 20, 1979, the imam of the Grand Mosque, Sheikh Mohammed al-Subayil, was preparing to lead prayers for the 50,000 worshippers who had gathered for prayer. At around 5:00 AM, he was interrupted by insurgents who produced weapons from under their robes, yelling “The Madhi has appeared!”, chained the gates shut and killed 2 policemen who were armed with only wooden clubs for disciplining unruly pilgrims. The number of insurgents has been given as 400-500, including several women and children who had joined al-Otaybi's movement.

At the time, the Grand Mosque was being renovated by the Bin Ladin Group. An employee was able to report the seizure to the outside world before the insurgents cut the phone lines.

The insurgents released most of the hostages and locked the remainder in the sanctuary. They took defensive positions in the upper levels of the mosque, and sniper positions in the minarets, from which they commanded the grounds. No one outside the mosque knew how many hostages remained, how many militants were in the mosque and what sort of preparations they had made. Crown Prince Fahd was in Tunisia for a meeting of the Arab League. The commander of the National Guard, Prince Abdullah, was also abroad for an official visit to Morocco. Therefore, King Khalid assigned responsibility to Prince Sultan, then Minister of Defense, and Prince Nayef, then Minister of Interior.

Soon after the seizure, about 100 security officers of the Ministry of Interior attempted to retake the mosque, but were repulsed with heavy casualties. The survivors were quickly joined by units of the Saudi Arabian Army and National Guard. At the request of the Saudi monarchy, Pakistani special forces units, operatives and commandos were rushed to assist.

By evening, the entire city of Mecca had been evacuated. Prince Sultan appointed Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, head of Saudi Intelligence, to take over the forward command post several hundred yards from the mosque, where he would remain for the next several weeks. However, the first order of business was to seek the approval of the ulema. Islam forbids violence within the Grand Mosque, to the extent that plants cannot be uprooted without explicit religious sanction. The required fatwa was issued.

With religious approval granted, Saudi forces launched frontal assaults on 3 of the main gates. Again the assault force was repulsed. Snipers continued to pick off soldiers who exposed themselves. The insurgents aired their demands from the mosque’s loudspeakers throughout the streets of Mecca, calling for the cut-off of oil exports to the United States and the expulsion of all foreign civilian and military experts from the Arabian Peninsula.

Officially, the Saudi government took the position that it would not aggressively retake the mosque, but rather starve out the militants. Nevertheless, several unsuccessful assaults were undertaken, at least one of them through the underground tunnels in and around the mosque.

A team of 3 French commandos from the GIGN arrived in Mecca. Because of the prohibition against non-Muslims entering the holy city, they ostensibly converted to Islam in a brief ceremony. The commandos trained and equipped the Saudi forces and devised their attack plan (which consisted in drilling holes in the floor of the Mosque and firing gas canisters wired with explosives through the perforations), but did not take part in the action and did not set foot in the Mosque.

On December 4, the Pakistanis led the final assault on the Mosque. The Saudis pumped the gas into the underground chambers, but perhaps because the rooms were so bafflingly interconnected, the gas failed and resistance continued. With casualties climbing, Saudi forces drilled holes into the courtyard and dropped grenades into the rooms below, indiscriminately killing many hostages but driving the remaining rebels into more open areas where they could be picked off. More than two weeks after the assault began, the surviving rebels finally surrendered. According to a US embassy cable, several of the militant leaders escaped and days later sporadic fighting erupted in other parts of the city. The siege had officially left “255 pilgrims, troops and fanatics” killed and another 560 injured, although diplomats suggested the toll was higher. Military casualties were 127 dead and 451 wounded.

Shortly after news of the takeover was released, Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini told radio listeners, “It is not beyond guessing that this is the work of criminal American imperialism and international Zionism.” Anger fuelled by these rumors spread anti-American demonstrations throughout the Muslim world. In Islamabad, Pakistan, on the day following the takeover, the US embassy was overrun by a mob, which burned the embassy to the ground. A week later, in Tripoli, Libya, another mob attacked and burned the US embassy. Soviet agents also spread rumors that the US was behind the Grand Mosque seizure.

Al-Qahtani was killed in the recapture of the mosque but Juhayman and 67 of his fellow rebels who survived were captured; they were not shown leniency. On January 9, 1980, 63 rebels were publicly beheaded in the squares of 8 Saudi cities. Saudi King Khalid however, did not react by cracking down on religious puritans in general, but by giving the ulama and religious conservatives more power over the next decade. He is thought to have believed that “the solution to the religious upheaval was simple - more religion.” Photographs of women in newspapers were banned, then women on television. Cinemas and music shops were shut down. School curriculum was changed to provide more hours of religious studies, eliminating classes on subjects like non-Islamic history. Gender segregation was extended “to the humblest coffee shop”. The religious police became more assertive.

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November 21, 1806
Continental System

Great Britain was the central force in encouraging and financing alliances against Napoleonic France. In addition, the British government enacted a naval blockade of the French and French-allied coasts on May 16, 1806. As France lacked the naval strength to invade Britain or to decisively defeat the Royal Navy at sea, Napoleon resorted instead to economic warfare. Britain was Europe’s manufacturing and business center. Napoleon believed it would be easy to take advantage of an embargo on trade with the European nations under his control, causing inflation and debt to undermine British strength.

The Berlin Decree was issued in Berlin by Napoleon on November 21, 1806, following the French success against Prussia at the Battle of Jena (see posting). It became known as the Continental System. As an island nation, trade was Britain’s most vital lifeline. Napoleon believed that if he could isolate Britain economically, he would be able to defeat the nation after its economic collapse. The decree forbade the import of British goods into European countries allied with or dependent upon France, or export to Britain. All connections were to be cut, even the mail. Any ships who had been discovered trading with Britain were liable to French maritime attack and seizure. All merchant ships wishing to do business in Europe must first stop at a French port in order to ensure that there could be no trade with Britain.

The UK responded with the Orders in Council of 1807 issued November 11, 1807. These forbade French trade with the UK, its allies or neutrals, and instructed the Royal Navy to blockade French and allied ports. Napoleon retaliated with the Milan Decree of 1807, which declared that all neutral shipping using British ports or paying British tariffs were to be regarded as British and seized.

The embargo encouraged British merchants to seek out new markets aggressively and to engage in smuggling with continental Europe. Napoleon’s exclusively land-based customs enforcers could not stop these smugglers, especially as these operated with the connivance of Napoleon’s chosen rulers of Spain, Westphalia and other German states. The System had mixed effects on British trade, with British exports to the Continent falling 25%-55% from 1806 levels. However, trade sharply increased with the rest of the world, covering much of the decline.

The British countered the Continental system by threatening to sink any ship that did not come to a British port or chose to comply with France. This double threat created a difficult time for neutral nations like the United States. In response to this prohibition, the U.S. government adopted the Embargo Act of 1807; it was designed as an economic counterattack to hurt Britain, but it proved even more damaging to American merchants. Together with the issues of the impressment of foreign seamen, and British support for Indian raids in the American west, these tensions led to the War of 1812.

The embargo also had an effect on France itself. Ship building, and trades such as rope-making declined, as did many other industries that relied on overseas markets, such as the linen industries. Many industries were closed down. Southern France, especially the ports of Marseille and Bordeaux, suffered from the reduction in trade. Moreover, the prices of staple foods rose for most of continental Europe. Napoleon’s St. Cloud Decree in July 1810 opened the southwest of France and the Spanish frontier to limited British trade, and reopened French trade to the United States. It was an admission that his blockade had hurt his own economy more than the British. It also failed to reduce British financial support to its allies. The industrialized north and east of France saw significantly increased profits due to the lack of competition from British goods (particularly textiles, which were produced much more cheaply in Britain). In Italy, the agricultural sector flourished. The Dutch economy, predicated on trade, suffered greatly as a result of the embargo.

Portugal openly refused to join the Continental System. In 1793, Portugal signed a treaty of mutual assistance with Britain. After the Treaty of Tilsit of July 1807, Napoleon attempted to capture the Portuguese Fleet and the House of Braganza, and to occupy the Portuguese ports. He failed. King John VI of Portugal took his fleet and transferred the Portuguese Court to Brazil with a Royal Navy escort. The Portuguese population rose in revolt against the French invaders, with the help of the British Army under Arthur Wellesley. Napoleon intervened and forced the Spanish royal family to resign their throne in favor of Napoleon’s brother, Joseph. The result was the Peninsular War.

Britain’s first response to the Continental system was to launch a major naval attack on the weakest link in Napoleon’s coalition, Denmark. Although ostensibly neutral, Denmark was under heavy French and Russian pressure to pledge its fleet to Napoleon. London could not take the chance. In the Second battle of Copenhagen in August–September 1807, the Royal Navy bombarded Copenhagen, seized the Danish fleet, and assured control of the sea lanes in the North Sea and Baltic Sea for the British merchant fleet. The island Heligoland outside the west coast of Denmark was occupied in September 1807. This base made it easier for Britain to control the trade to the ports of the North sea coast and to facilitate smuggling. The attacks against Copenhagen and Heligoland started the Gunboat War against Denmark which lasted until 1814.

Sweden, Britain's ally in the 3rd Coalition, at first refused to comply with French demands and was attacked by Russia in March 1808. At the same time, a French force threatened to invade southern Sweden but the plan was stopped as the British Navy controlled the Danish straits. The Royal navy set up a base outside the port of Gothenburg in 1808 to simplify the operations into the Baltic sea. The Baltic campaign was under the command of Adm. James Saumarez. In November 1810 France demanded that Sweden should declare war on Britain and stop all trade. The result was a phony war between Sweden and Britain. A second base was set up on the island of Hanö in the south of Sweden in 1810. These bases were used to support convoys from Britain to Gothenburg, then through the Danish straits. From Hanö the goods were smuggled to the many ports around the Baltic sea. To further support the convoys, the small Danish island of Anholt was occupied in May 1809. A light house on the island simplified the navigation through the Danish straits.

Russia also chafed under the embargo, and in 1810 reopened trade with Britain. Russia’s withdrawal from the system was a motivating factor behind Napoleon's decision to invade Russia in 1812, which proved the turning point of the war.

[Ennath]

November 22, 1970
Raid on Conakry

In 1952, Ahmed Sékou Touré became the leader of the Guinean Democratic Party (PDG). In a 1957 election, the PDG won 56 of 60 seats. It conducted a plebiscite in September 1958 by which Guineans overwhelmingly opted for immediate independence rather than for continued association with France. The French withdrew and, on October 2, 1958, Guinea proclaimed itself a sovereign republic with Touré as its President. He established a one-party Marxist state, running unopposed every 5 years.

In 1960, Touré welcomed to Guinea and supported Amílcar Cabral and his organization, the PAIGC, which was seeking the independence of Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau) and Cape Verde from Portugal. In 1963, the PAIGC began the Guinea-Bissau War of Independence. Touré provided support for the rebels.

In the early hours of November 22, 1970 about 200 armed Guineans, attired in uniforms similar to those of the Guinean Army and commanded by Portuguese officers, and 220 African-Portuguese and Portuguese mercenaries invaded some points around Conakry, Guinea’s capital. The soldiers landed from 4 unmarked ships, including an LST and a cargo vessel, and destroyed 4 or 5 PAIGC supply vessels. Others landed near President Touré’s summer home, which they burnt. Touré was in the Presidential Palace at the time. Other raiders captured 2 army posts, took control of the city’s main power plant, captured the headquarters of the PAIGC (but not Amílcar Cabral), and freed 26 Portuguese POWs being held by the PAIGC at Camp Boiro. Guinean forces fought the raiders with little success. Since both Cabral and Touré couldn’t be found, the raiders retreated after suffering minor casualties (1 dead, 7 wounded). Guinean casualties are given as from 52 to 500.

On December 8, the UN Security Council condemned Portugal for invading Guinea, and called upon Portugal to respect the principles of self-determination and independence with regard to Portuguese Guinea. On December 11, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) passed a resolution unanimously condemning the invasion. Nigeria and Algeria offered support to Guinea and the Soviet Union sent warships to the area to prevent further military operations against Touré’s regime and against the PAIGC bases in Guinea.

Within a week of the invasion, Touré set up a 10-person committee known as the High Command. Staffed with loyal members of the Political Bureau, it ran Guinea by decree. The High Command oversaw arrests, detentions without trial, and executions. Its actions decimated the ranks of government and police officials. After a five-day trial, on January 23, 1971, the Supreme Revolutionary Tribunal ordered 29 executions, 33 death sentences in absentia, 68 life sentences at hard labor, and 17 orders of confiscation of all property. The Portuguese-African troops who had defected to Guinea received life sentences at hard labor. 89 of those charged were released, but dissidents say some people “disappeared” into prison or were executed extrajudicially. Those sentenced to execution included members of the governing party (including the neighborhood party chiefs in Conakry), Conakry’s Chief of Police, a secretary to the President, an Assistant Minister of Finance, and at least 5 soldiers. Those who had their property confiscated were either French or Lebanese. The fate of other Europeans who were arrested is unknown. Among those who received life sentences were former government ministers, heads of state industries, a former regional governor, and the top 2 officials of the National Museum. In July 1971, Touré purged the army of some of its officers. In April 1973, he purged his regime of some of its ministers.

By Touré’s death in 1984, Guinea’s economy had declined dramatically, tens of thousands of exiles had fled the country, and more had been imprisoned. As a result of mass graves found in 2002, some 50,000 people are believed to have been killed under the regime of Touré in concentration camps such as Camp Boiro.