The Military History Thread

[Ennath]

May 28, 1982
Battle of Goose Green, Part 2

While the battle on Darwin Hill had been raging, B Coy had also been pinned down by Argentine forces in the ruins of Boca House, which was B Coy's next objective. It was decided to bring up Milan ATGM’s for sangar-busting, there being no need for them in their normal role.

D Company meanwhile had moved into the western lee of Darwin Hill to avoid the attention of enemy artillery, where they detected bypassed Argentineans moving along the western shoreline in an obvious attempt to rejoin their southerly positions. With little direct action possible but as the best possible preparation for what was shaping up to be a long day, D Coy had therefore elected to take breakfast. B & D Coy commanders then decided on a right flanking move along the coast, along the same route the Argentineans were taking. In the event, it proved impossible to gain a covered approach right up to Boca House, but it did bring the position well within range of the Company’s machine guns. With the addition of the Milan’s, they began to be used with deadly effect and white flags of surrender began to appear all over the position. As a consequence, and on the pretext that to delay would see them cut off by the in-coming tide, D Coy advanced from their protected position for the nerve-jangling 600 yard march across open ground to take the Boca House position, and the last major obstacle, it was believed, to the advance on Goose Green.

After this success, the Paris now had room to maneuver. D Coy moved from Boca House directly via the Airfield, to approach Goose Green from the west; B Coy moved further south down the isthmus and then turned inland to cut off Goose Green from the south. C Coy, until now in reserve, was ordered forward to Darwin Ridge to pass A Coy and approach the settlement from the north, reinforced by 3 Platoon from A Co. A Coy’s task became the defense of Darwin Hill.

AA guns at the southern end of the airfield were now being used in a ground role to fire on the Paras. To avoid the fire, D Coy, unaware of C Coy’s orders, deflected into a defile which led them towards the School House directly north of the settlement. This took them straight into a minefield just short of the School House and inhibited attempts to return to their original route. C Coy themselves were spotted moving down from Darwin Ridge and came under AA fire. The Patrols and Reconnaissance Platoons nevertheless continued their advance, joining up with D Coy among the outlying buildings of the school, to the surprise of both companies, as Neame was attempting to get artillery to support the assault on the School House – a reportedly strongly held enemy position. By this time, the area was subject to constant enemy artillery fire. The situation was becoming confused and difficult, but the true chaos of war then took hold. Neame had left No.12 platoon to provide covering fire onto the School House, having earlier detached No.10 platoon to clear an outlying position on the north of the airfield.

It was reported that white flags were flying at the main Argentine position (Flagpole) on the airfield. D Coy's 12 Platoon Commander decided to go forward with one of his sections and take the surrender. As they were approaching, a British machine gun Darwin Hill opened up in the mistaken belief they were giving covering fire to an attack. The Argentineans opened fire in return, killing the Platoon Commander and two NCOs instantly, and severely wounding several more and no surrender took place.

Next, the air forces of both sides took a hand. Warned of an imminent friendly air strike, D Coy were a little taken aback, when in-coming aircraft turned out to be two Argentine MB-339s and a pair of Pucaras from Stanley, who made rocket, napalm and gun. One Pucara was brought down by ground fire, and the pilot ejected, quickly being picked up by D Coy, and an MB-339 was also hit and later crashed.

For a brief moment, in the face of these set-backs and hemmed in by a minefield, there was just a hint of concern amongst the Paras. However, in quick succession, the School House fell and was razed to a cinder in a combined assault by D Coy’s 11 Platoon. 12 Platoon succeeded in destroying the Flag Pole position that had earlier tried to surrender, and ignited the nearby airfield ammo dump. This rendered it impossible to occupy the position, but afforded an entertaining firework display; as order began to be restored. Major Keeble decided it was best to consolidate and dig in where they were.

About this time three Harriers made an attack on the Argentine gun positions around the airfield. The strike was aimed only some 200 yards from the Paras forward positions and must have impacted heavily on Argentine morale.

Meanwhile about 100 men from B Coy of Argentine 12th Regiment had been flown down by helicopter from Mount Kent to a position a mile south of Goose Green. Greeted by British artillery fire on arrival, these men moved into Goose Green under cover of darkness but found themselves just part of the confused and demoralized garrison. Meanwhile, J Coy of 42 Commando (Major Mike Norman) was forwarded by helicopter to Camilla Creek House as were more artillery, support weapons and ammunition.

Meanwhile, Major Keeble, aided by Robert Fox, a BBC reporter with the battalion, sent 2 prisoners into the settlement with a note saying quite simply surrender or take the consequences. The threat of more Harrier strikes underlined the hopelessness of their situation. The Argentines had men and ammunition, but were effectively trapped by surrounding British troops, with no room to maneuver. The Argentine commanders, Air Commodore Pedroza and Lt.-Colonel Piaggi meet with Major Keeble at 0930 and after discussion agreed to surrender and paraded their men accordingly. The morning brought its own surprise for the Argentines as they surrendered their weapons, when they saw how few men they were surrendering to.

1500 prisoners were taken in the battle for Goose Green, and some 55 Argentine personnel are recorded as having been killed with under 100 wounded. 15 men from 2 Para, 1 from the Royal Engineers and a Royal Marine pilot were killed in the fighting, and 37 Paras were wounded. None of the inhabitants of the settlements were hurt.

2 PARA had battled its way over some 6 miles of terrain that offered limited scope for maneuver. However, it was not just the scale and the odds, but the significance of the victory that was important. Failure, or even a draw, could have been a strategic disaster. As it was, an outstanding success set the moral tenor for the war, achieving superiority over the Argentineans of confidence and will.

[Ennath]

May 29, 1108
Battle of Uclés

Tamim ibn Yusuf, leading Almoravid forces of Granada, set out for Jaén in early May 1108. Continuing north, he was joined by contingents from Cordoba, Murcia and Valencia. They marched on Uclés, which offered no resistance and was captured on May 27. The Almoravids then spread out, sacking other Christian settlements in the Tagus valley, while the inhabitants fled. The garrison of Uclés, meanwhile, took refuge in the citadel.

Crown Prince Sancho of Castile initiated a counter-attack. Sancho had probably moved south in April in preparation for a summer of campaigning. His army included eight Leonese counts and Castilian magnates. Including Sancho’s personal guard, the number of Christian troops was probably about 400 knights and an equal number of squires and grooms, and about 750 town militia, mostly infantry but including some light cavalry. Almoravid numbers are unknown, other than that they had more troops than the Castilians.

The Christians arrived near Uclés and set up camp on May 28. Tamim assembled his force with the Cordobans in front, his own Granadans behind them; the Valencians and Murcians made up the flanks.

Battle began the next day with a Christian cavalry charge. Though initially successful against the Cordobans, the charging Christians were quickly surrounded while engaging the Granadans and the main force retreated to their camp. The Murcians and Valencians meanwhile attacked the Castilian baggage. The infantry was dispersed; the cavalry was caught in their own camp and slaughtered. Sancho, his horse killed and with a small force of 7 of his own men, escaped and fled towards Belinchón, but was killed by his Muslim subjects, who took advantage of the battle to revolt. The only count to escape was Alvar Fañez, who led a large body of horse north to organize the defense of the upper Tagus. In the aftermath, the Muslims lured the garrison of the Uclés citadel into sallying and defeated them. The Almoravids followed up their success by taking the castles of Huete and Ocaña, and a few small others.

[Ennath]

May 30, 1434
Battle of Lipany

For years, the Hussites of Bohemia had defeated army after army sent by the Holy Roman Empire. On October 15, 1431, the Council of Basel issued a formal invitation to the Hussites to take part in its deliberations. Prolonged negotiations ensued; but finally a Hussite embassy, led by Prokop the Great, their military commander, and including, the Taborite bishop Nicolas of Pelhrimov, the “English Hussite” Peter Payne and many others, arrived at Basel on January 4, 1433. No agreement could be reached, though. Negotiations were not, however, broken off, and a change in the political situation of Bohemia finally resulted in a settlement. In 1434, war again broke out between the Utraquists (the Hussite moderates) and the Taborites (the radicals).

An army of 13,000 Utraquist nobility and Catholics, called the Bohemian League, under Divis Borek, faced Prokop’s Taborite army, just over 10,000 strong, at Lipany, some 25 miles east of Prague.

The radicals set up a Wagenburg (“wagon fort” – an elaborate laager with protected wagons manned by troops) on a strategically advantageous hill, and both armies stood facing each other for some time. An attempt by the Utraquists to negotiate and resolve the conflict peacefully failed due to irreconcilable position of the radicals. Three days after the unsuccessful negotiations, the Leaguers advanced to the radicals' encampment; although the following mutual cannonade was harmless due to distance between the two armies, to the surprise of the radicals, the Leaguers began to retreat with all their wagons.

Thinking that the enemy was fleeing, the Taborite commanders opened the Wagenburg to attack; however, the retreat was a ruse to draw them out of their Wagenburg. As the radicals approached the League army, the Leaguers stopped and began to fire from their wagons. At the same time, the League heavy cavalry, which had been hidden near the Taborite camp, launched a surprise attack from the side and penetrated into the open Wagenburg. The Taborite army quickly collapsed and the commander of the cavalry, Capek of Sany, fled with all his men to the nearby town of Kolin.

The battle now became a massacre of the lightly equipped Taborites. Prokop the Great was killed in a last stand at the wagons. Some prominent radical leaders were captured, but about 700 ordinary soldiers who surrendered after promises of renewed military service, were burned to death in nearby barns. The Taborites lost 1300 men altogether in the battle, to 200 Leaguers.

As a consequence of the battle, the Taborite army was markedly weakened. The road towards acceptance of the Compact of Basel was now open, and it was signed on July 5, 1436 in Jihlava. The next month, Emperor Sigismund was accepted as King of Bohemia by all major factions. Sigismund commented on the Battle of Lipany that "the Bohemians could be overcome only by Bohemians."

The last force of Taborites under the command of Jan Rohac of Duba was besieged at his castle Sion near Kutna Hora. It was captured by Sigismund's forces, and on September 9, 1437, Rohac, still refusing to accept Sigismund as his King, was hanged in Prague. Many Hussite veterans would go on to take mercenary service, often with countries they had once fought against, but the Hussite Wars were over.

[Ennath]

May 31, 1213
Battle of Damme

By 1213, King John of England and King Philip II Augustus of France had been at war for 14 years, and so far Philip had been getting much the better of it. Normandy was lost to the Kings of England and King John was at feud with the Pope. The ambitious Philip began preparing for an invasion of England.

John was now facing his gravest threat since the loss of Normandy and made thorough preparations to meet it. A large army was raised to guard the coasts and the navy sharpened its fighting skills. John’s confidence in the navy was in sharp contrast to his confidence in his barons; a major reason that John placed so much emphasis on maritime defense was that there was less likelihood of being deserted on the field of battle, a real fear of his.

At this point, John played his masterstroke. He ended his feud with Rome by submitting to the Pope, paying damages and making England a Papal fief. Philip was not deterred, even though he was warned that an invasion of England would now mean excommunication. Convinced by baronial unrest in England that an invasion stood a good chance of success, he decided to press ahead and gathered his strength.

All he needed to proceed was the active support of Count Ferrand of Flanders, to secure French positions along the Flemish coast. Philip, however, was not prepared to return Flemish towns that he had seized and Ferrand declared that he was not prepared to join with France. Philip now turned his war machine on Flanders.

Philip advanced into Flanders, destroying everything in his path. He led about 10,000 men to the key point of Ghent, leaving behind a contingent to protect his large fleet, which had followed him along the coast from Gravelines to Damme. The fleet was too large to all beach or dock here (almost 1700 vessels), so the rest anchored at the mouth of the River Swin. Ferrand entered into a formal alliance with John, who quickly dispatched an expeditionary force under Renaud de Demmartin and William Longsword, Earl of Salisbury, containing 700 knights, plus foot, escorted by 500 ships.

On May 28, the English fleet carrying the troops arrived at Muiden, not far from Damme. The main French force was still besieging Ghent. Those left with the fleet were too preoccupied with ransacking Damme and surrounding countryside to notice the threat and so left the fleet largely without protection.

The English fleet arrived off the Swin on May 31, taking the French completely by surprise. Salisbury seized the moment and launched an immediate attack on the huge, but vulnerable, target in front of him. In a short but violent fight, the English cut the cables of 300 vessels loaded with grain, wine, meat, flour and arms, along with other stores. They also stripped another 100 ships of supplies before burning them. It was the first great English naval victory and the effect on Philip’s planned invasion was terminal.

Two days later, Ferrand joined up with his English allies and attempted to recover Damme itself. However, King Philip hurriedly dispatched reinforcements under Duke Peter of Brittany and the allies were routed with heavy loss. This victory, however, was small consolation for Philip. He burned his remaining ships to keep them from capture.

Although Philip took Ghent, he had only hardened Flemish hostility and he withdraw back into France. John had gained a respite.

[Ennath]

June 1, 1794
The Glorious First of June

By early 1794, the food situation in France was growing desperate after the failure of the previous year's harvest. To prevent famine, the National Convention turned to its overseas colonies and the United States for aid. A large convoy, probably 120 ships, was assembled off Hampton Roads, VA, part of it provided by the US government, in both cargo and shipping, as repayment for French aid during the American Revolution. The Convention dispatched a squadron under Rear Admiral Pierre Vanstabel to escort the convoy back to France. Though possessing well-designed and built ships, the French Navy had been dramatically weakened by a series of purges executed by the National Convention. As a result, it had been stripped of many of its best and most experienced officers.

With the convoy assembled, Vanstabel departed the American coast on April 2. Learning of the French departure, the commander of the Channel Fleet, Admiral Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, sailed from Portsmouth a month later with 26 ships of the line, hoping to intercept the convoy before it could make port. Passing by Brest, he found that the main French fleet, led by Rear Admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse was still in port. Turning into the Bay of Biscay, Howe's ships searched fruitlessly for two weeks. Returning to Brest on May 18, he learned that Villaret had sailed the previous day.

Pursuing Villaret west into the Atlantic, Howe spotted a straggler from the French fleet on May 25. Revealed to be Audacieux (74), the British were able to follow it directly to Villaret's fleet. Forming a flying squadron of his fastest ships, Howe was able to cut off the rearmost ship in the French fleet, Révolutionnaire (110) on May 28. A violent action ensued in which the French ship was severely damaged but able to escape in the night. Receiving intelligence that the convoy was near, Villaret pressed west with the goal of leading the British fleet away. He still had 25 ships of the line.

Howe took the bait and continued his pursuit and attempted to engage the next day. Hoping to split the French fleet in two, Howe's plan collapsed when his lead ship, HMS Caesar (80), failed to maneuver correctly. In the inconclusive engagement that followed, both fleets took damage and Howe was able to obtain the weather gauge which would allow him to attack at will in the future. Though eager to resume the battle, Howe was stymied for two days due to thick haze. When this finally lifted on the morning of June 1, the two fleets were approximately 6 miles apart.

While most naval battles of the age saw opposing fleets close in line ahead, exchange shots, then withdraw or attempt to pierce the enemy line at one point, Howe had devised something new for June 1. Understanding and trusting to the professional skill of his officers and men, he had each ship turn towards the enemy and attack each gap in the French formation. As a British ship passed through the enemy line it was to rake the French ship on each side. This done, they were to move up on the leeward side of their opposite numbers, engage, and cut off their retreat.

Descending on the French fleet with his ships in a long line, Howe began exchanging long-range fire with the French at 9:24 AM. Signaling his plan to the fleet, he turned his flagship, HMS Queen Charlotte (100) towards Villaret's Montagne (118). What followed was a muddled movement which saw some British ships move as desired while others hung back either due to damage sustained earlier or confusion on the part of their captains. In Vice Admiral Thomas Graves' van squadron, Defense (74) and Marlborough(74) succeeded in breaking the French line as ordered.

Graves' flagship, Royal Sovereign (100) misjudged the range and engaged on the windward side. Bellerophon (74) and Leviathan (74), damaged in the earlier fighting, did the same, taking on Eole (74) and America (74). Other British ships, including the wayward Caesar failed to closely engage. In the center, Queen Charlotte passed through the French line, while Brunswick (74), Valiant (74), Orion (74), and Queen (90) closed and attacked. In the rear, only Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Hood's flagship, Royal George (100) and Glory (98) moved into the fight.

As the fleets collided, formations began to fall apart and the battle became a melee at close range. In the fighting, Graves was wounded but the British soon gained the upper hand. By 11:30, the British had succeeded in putting out of action or capturing Vengeur du Peuple (74), San Pareil (80), Juste (80), Northumberland (74), Achille (74), America (74), and Impetueux (74). Despite these victories, Howe's fleet had taken a severe beating and several ships, including Queen had been dismasted. Others such as Defense and Bellerophon were towed to safety by British frigates.

As the fighting calmed, Villaret was able to escape to north with Montagne and gathered 11 other ships of the line to form a new squadron. Seeking to lessen the severity of the defeat, he maneuvered towards the damaged Queen. Surprised by this action, Howe formed a new line of 6 ships and moved to engage the approaching French. The two lines passed and engaged at long range before Villaret turned away. Gathering several of his damaged ships, the French commander turned east towards France. Possessing only 11 ships capable of battle, the British elected not to pursue and focused on collecting their prizes.

With a large portion of his fleet no longer battleworthy, Howe was unable to resume his search for the French convoy. The Admiralty, though unaware of Howe's circumstances, knew a battle had taken place through the arrival of HMS Audacious in Portsmouth, and was preparing a second expedition under George Montagu. His 10 ships was intended to both cover Howe's withdrawal, and find and attack the grain convoy. Montagu put to sea on June 3, and by the 8th was off Ushant searching for signs of either the French or Howe; unknown to him, neither had yet entered European waters. At 3:30 PM, Montagu spotted sails and soon identified them as the enemy. He had located Cornic's French squadron, which was also patrolling for the convoy and the returning fleets. Montagu gave chase and drove Cornic into Bertheaume Bay, where he blockaded the French squadron overnight, hoping to bring them to action the following day. However, on June 9, Montagu sighted 19 French ships appearing from the west—the remnants of Villaret's fleet. Hastily turning, Montagu sailed south to avoid becoming trapped between two forces which might easily overwhelm him. Villaret and Cornic gave chase for a day before turning east towards the safety of the French ports. On June 12, the convoy from America finally arrived off France, having lost just 1 ship in passage during a storm.

In the wake of the battle, both sides declared victory. For the British, they had won a decisive victory and had captured 6 ships of the line (the seventh, Vengeur du Peuple sank shortly after the battle). On the French side, the battle was a strategic victory in that it diverted the British from the grain convoy and allowed it to safely arrive on June 12, averting famine and arguably saving the Revolution. Casualties for the fighting are not known with certainty but British losses were around 1200 men while the French may have been around 4000, with another 3000 captured. Following the battle, the French fleet retired to port allowing the Royal Navy to begin blockade operations.

[Ennath]

June 2, 1899
Surrender at Baler

The Philippine Revolution against Spanish colonial rule started in 1896. The Spanish garrisoned Baler, on the east coast of Luzon about 140 miles from Manila, in September 1897to prevent the rebels from receiving smuggled arms. By the time of the Spanish-American War in1898, Baler was still reachable only by ship or on foot through nearly impassable jungle trails across the Sierra Madres, that were often washed out by torrential tropical rains. It was no wonder that Captain Enrique de las Morenas y Fossí, the commander of a 57-man Spanish detachment of the 2nd Expeditionary Rifle Battalion knew nothing of the defeat of the Spanish fleet at Cavite by Commodore George Dewey on May 1 1898. And, more importantly, he was unaware that the fighting had ended with an armistice on August 13. Nevertheless, Captain Las Morenas was fully cognizant of the threat posed by Filipino insurgents. Earlier, on June 1, he began work to dig a well, stock food supplies and ammunition and to fortify the church compound of San Luís de Toledo in Baler's town square against a possible attack. The church was the only stone building in the area.

On June 28, 1898 Las Morenas received a report that the towns residents had fled into the surrounding jungle and on the afternoon of the 29th, Filipino rebels bombarded the church with their "Lantaca" cannons made of hollowed out palm tree trunks and strengthened with bands of iron. They used mostly stone shot and caused little damage, but made a tremendous noise when they hit the church's metal roof. Following the noisy cannonade, a flag of truce appeared in the square in front of the church. It was carried by the town's priest, Father Candido Gomez Carerro, who also bore a message from the Filipino commander, Colonel Calixto Villacorte, who had a force of approximately 800 men. His note said, in part, "surrender now and you will be treated as gentlemen and if you do not, I will leave no stone standing in your stronghold." It was the first of many offers made over the following months that were refused by the Spanish. On that first day, Las Morenas' defiant answer was, "Commence firing any time you like.” Outside, the Filipinos were digging trenches to surround the church.

At the start of the siege, the Spanish had provisions of flour, rice, beans, chickpeas, bacon, canned Australian beef, sardines, wine, sugar, and coffee - but no salt. Supplementing their food supplies, the Spanish foraged for pumpkins, pumpkin leaves, oranges, plantain shoots, various herbs, and planted a garden of peppers, tomatoes and pumpkins. The Filipinos attempted to smoke them out by setting fires beside the church wall but this was repulsed and their timber captured.

The Spanish had to endure confinement in a small, hot, humid space. As the siege progressed, their food supply began to diminish through usage and spoilage. Enemy rifle fire did cause casualties but diseases such as beriberi, dysentery, and fevers did more damage. The first to die was Father Gomez who had elected to stay with his countrymen. In September, Captain las Morenas went down with beriberi. Command fell to Lt. Saturnino Martin Cerezo when Las Morenas died in December.

By mid-November, having failed to dislodge the Spanish defenders, Villacorte, under a flag of truce, left newspapers on the church steps that told of Spain's planned departure from the Philippines and that the Spanish-American conflict was over. Lt. Martin Cerezo refused to believe it. As far as he was concerned this was simply a Filipino ruse. Next Villacorte brought in Spanish civilians and ultimately a uniformed Spanish officer left behind to wrap up Spain's affairs on the island, to no avail. To the Lieutenant, they were just Spanish turncoats in the employ of the Filipinos.

By December, there were only 35 Spanish troops left. Of these, only 23 were effective, with the rest sick. The Filipinos also had suffered casualties, mostly from rifle fire the Spanish were able to inflict on them from their protected firing positions. Martin Cerezo embarked on a bold plan to replenish the dwindling food supply. Under intense covering fire he sent Privates Chamiso and Alcaide out of the church and into a nearby house and set it afire. This fire rapidly spread to adjoining houses being used by the Filipino troops and forcing them to move further way from the church. The fire also burned a stand of trees that deprived the Filipinos of much needed cover. In the confusion of the fire. the Spanish recovered a considerable amount of food the insurgents left behind as well as vegetable seeds.

Unbeknownst to the defenders, on December 10, 1898, the Treaty of Paris was signed, in which Spain transferred the Philippines to the U.S. for a payment of $20 million. From that time, technically the Spanish defenders at Baler were fighting to defend U.S. territory. The new year brought more Spanish emissaries to Baler but again Lt. Martin Cerezo turned them away. In early March, the defenders had a stroke of luck when a water buffalo wandered near the church during a lull in the siege. A well aimed shot brought the animal down and the Spanish dragged the carcass back to the church yard where it was butchered and they had meat for the first time in months.

In April the Americans got into the act when Lt. Cmdr. James Gilmore and U.S. Marines from the gunboat USS Yorktown attempted to rescue the Spanish, but shortly after coming ashore, he and his twenty-five Marines were ambushed by the Filipino forces, by this time at war with the Americans. Several Marines were wounded and Gilmore was captured and held prisoner for 8 months before he escaped and made his way through the jungle and Filipino lines to Manila.

When their food ran out on 24 April, the Spanish resorted to eating stray dogs, cats, reptiles, snails and crows.

By May the Filipinos had more modern artillery and, on the 8th, a shell hit the improvised cell that held three Spaniards who had attempted to desert earlier in the siege. One of them, the heretofore heroic Pvt. Alcaide dashed out and joined the Filipinos. This was a blow to the Spanish as the deserter had important intelligence to share about their dire straits, and helped fire the cannon on the church to good effect.

On May 28, 1899, there was yet another attempt to get Martin Cerezo to surrender. Another Spanish officer, Lt. Col. Cristobal Aguilar y Castaneda, appeared under a flag of truce and was turned away. Before leaving he left among other items, a copy of a Madrid newspaper which the lieutenant dismissed as bogus. However the paper contained an article in the social column concerning the upcoming wedding of a fellow officer he knew in Malaga. Since there was no way the Filipinos could have known many of the facts in the column including the name of the bride and her parents with whom he was also familiar, Martin Cerezo realized that the paper he held in his hand was genuine and that, indeed, Spain had lost the war.

On June 2, 1899 he communicated to the Filipinos that he was now ready to give up the fortress-church he held for so long. General Aguinaldo decreed that they were to be considered “Not as prisoners of war but as friends”. He further stated that “They realized an epic as glorious as the legendary valor of the sons of El Cid and of Pelayo”.

3 months later, on September 1, the 33 survivors, including Martin Cerezo, arrived in Barcelona where they were received and honored as heroes. Captain las Morenas was posthumously promoted to Major and awarded the Lauerate Cross of San Fernando, Spain’s highest military medal. His widow received a pension of 5000 pesetas. Lt. Saturnino Martin Cerezo was promoted to Major with an annual pension of 1000 pesetas and awarded the Royal Cross as well as the Military Order of San Fernando and went on to become a major general. The enlisted men received the Silver Cross of Military Merit and each of them received a monthly pension of 60 pesetas

[Ennath]

June 3, 1692
Battle of La Hogue

King Louis XIV and his naval minister, Count Pontchartrain, planned to land an army in England and restore James II to the throne. They first planned to launch the invasion in April 1692 before the English and Dutch fleets put to sea and joined up. Troops were collected at Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, and the cavalry and guns were to be loaded into transports at Le Havre. Admiral Anne Hilarion de Tourville, victor of Beachy Head (1690), was to bring the French fleet up from Brest and collect the transports and the troops, then fight off the Allied fleet and land the army in England.

However, the French fleet was unable to concentrate in time; D’Estrees and the Toulon fleet were beaten back at the Straits of Gibraltar, losing two ships in a storm, and Villette Mursay with the Rochefort squadron was delayed. Tourville's Brest fleet was undermanned, and when he sailed, on 29 April, he was forced to leave 20 ships behind. His fleet was further delayed by adverse winds and did not clear Berteaume Roads until May 2. Tourville entered the Channel and was joined on May 15 by Villette, giving Tourville a combined fleet of 44 ships of the line, plus attendant vessels 70 or 80 sail altogether.

Meanwhile the allied fleet was assembling at the Isle of Wight. Bt May 14, Admiral Sir Edward Russell had a fleet of over English and Dutch 80 ships of the line; the French strategic aim of acting with a concentrated force while the allies were scattered was already lost. However, Louis XIV had given Tourville strict orders to seek battle, “strong or weak”, and he had no choice but to do so.

The fleets sighted each other at first light on May 29, 1692, off Cap Barfleur. The first inclination of Tourville and his officers was to avoid action; however Tourville felt bound by royal orders to engage. He may also have expected some defections by English captains with Jacobite sympathies, though in this he was to be disappointed. In the light southwesterly breeze the fleets slowly closed, Russell from the northeast, and Tourville from the south, on a starboard tack to bring his line of battle into contact. Both fleets were in three squadrons, each split into three divisions. The fleets engaged at about 11:00 AM. Tourville strengthened his center to engage with close to equal numbers, while trying to keep the van and rear out of action. The battle lasted all day and into the night. Despite heavy firing, no ships on either side were lost, though much damage was done. During the night, Tourville disengaged and moved down the Channel; Russell, when he realized what had happened, gave chase.

First light on May 30 saw the French fleet scattered over a wide area. Four ships were heading north, skirted the English coast and eventually made Brest. Six more were heading southeast toward Normandy; two beached as St. Vaast la Hogue, one made Le Havre, while another was wrecked at the harbor entrance; the last two went north around Britain and eventually reached Brest safely. The main body, heading west, was able to close up during the day, but the French were down to just 34 ships of the line. The English were also scattered, with only Philips van Almonde and his Dutch squadron pursuing.

On May 31, the French anchored off Cap de la Hogue. As the weather deteriorated, ships began to drag their anchors and were forced to cut and run before the wind. Three of the most badly damaged were forced to beach at Cherbourg, two at St. Vaast la Hogue.

Vice Admiral Pannetier, in order to escape the pursuing allied fleet, sought to make the hazardous passage through the Alderney Race. Almonde and Rear Admiral Ashby did not try to follow him and were criticized later by Russell for not doing so, although the only flag officer who knew the waters, Carter, had died of his wounds. Almonde attempted pursuit by taking his squadron west of Alderney, but the delay allowed Pannetier to pull too far ahead, and Almonde abandoned the chase. Pannetier later reached Saint-Malo in safety, while Almonde and Ashby turned east to rejoin Russell at La Hogue.

Meanwhile, Russell was chasing Tourville eastward along the Cotentin coast. Without anchors, Tourville was unable to do more than beach his ships, which he was able to do, leaving 3 at Cherbourg and taking the remaining 12 to St Vaast la Hogue. The Soleil Royal, Admirable, and Triomphant, beached at Cherbourg, were destroyed on June 3 by attacks from boats and with fireships. The remaining 12 French ships of the line sought refuge at La Hogue where they would be under the protection of the assembled land forces and a battery. The fleet was also joined 200 boats and 3 oared galleys mounting 12 guns each, though an offer by James II to station troops on the ships to guard against boarding was not taken up.

Russell started to arrive on the evening of June 1; the rest of the fleet joined during the night and over the next two days. Russell immediately organized an inshore squadron under Rear Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, to attack the French position, but Shovell later collapsed from wounds received at Barfleur, and had to be replaced by Rear Admiral George Rooke, while the waters around St Vaast and La Hogue had to be sounded, which took up most of the 2nd, so the assault did not start until the following day. Russell also used the 2nd to organize a blockade line close inshore, while the bigger ships were set to organize boats and boarding crews.

At 6 AM on the June 3, the ships of the inshore squadron were ordered to attack the French ships on the north beach. After a preliminary bombardment, the boats were dispatched, and about 8.30, one of the fireships grappled the Terrible, which was in a more exposed position. Finding her deserted the fireship captain refrained from igniting, but boarded Terrible and started fires with what material was to hand; for this he was much commended in saving his charge for a better occasion. Meanwhile the boats closed with the other ships, accompanied by another fireship, which drew the fire from the French batteries; the supporting ships countered, sweeping the French gun platforms, which were too exposed to continue. One boat, from the Eagle, grounded on the shore, and was attacked by French cavalry before the boat was refloated. Resistance melted away as the attack was pressed, and the English sailors were able to board and fire the remaining great ships.

The second action opened at 5 AM on June 4, when Rooke again sent in his boats, to attack the 6 great ships on the south beach. Supported by gunfire, the English were able to board and fire all 6. The French seamen, and the troops ashore, were demoralized by this point, and had abandoned the ships with little resistance in the face of the determined assault. This episode was seen by James II, who had been watching from his camp at Marsaline; he was moved to remark, with the lack of tact for which he was notorious, “Only my English tars could have done such a deed”.

Rooke now saw an opportunity to follow up the success with an attack, at high water, on the transports in La Hogue harbor. The boats, led by Rooke, with 2 fireships in tow, entered the harbor on the flood tide, despite gunfire from both the fort and the ships. Both fireships grounded in the shallows below the fort, and had to be burned without result, but a number of ships in the harbor were boarded and set alight, mostly transports, but also a small warship and a hulk. Several other of the transports were captured and carried away when the boats retreated on the ebb, but most of the transports were too far up the harbor to be boarded, and escaped serious damage.

The French invasion plan was foiled, but La Hogue was not the devastating blow to the French Navy it was once thought. French losses were quickly made good, and by the following year Tourville was able to inflict a defeat on the Allies at Lagos. Although the French dropped their invasion plans for the rest of the conflict and switched to a guerre de course (commerce war), this was a matter of policy rather than necessity. Nevertheless, the Allies were able to secure control of the sea for the rest of the war.

[Ennath]

June 4, 1859
Battle of Magenta

At the start of the war the Franco-Austrian War, France’s Piedmontese allies had been outnumbered by the Austrians, but the Austrians failed to seize their chance to win an early victory and moved very slowly, giving Napoleon III the time he needed to move his army into place in Piedmont. By May 12, the two sides were roughly equal in strength. The Austrians had crossed the Ticino River and invaded Piedmont, but had stopped along the Po and the Sesia. The first battle of the campaign had been fought south of the Po, at Montebello (May 20) and had convinced the Austrians that Napoleon intended to move east around their left flank.

The Austrian commander, Franz Count Gyulai, moved his army south, leaving his right flank rather weak. Napoleon III decided to take advantage of this by using Piedmont's railway network to shift his army left, around the Austrian right flank. This would allow the Allies to threaten Milan and hopefully force the Austrians to retreat out of Piedmont without fighting a major battle.

The plan worked exactly as hoped. The French move took place on May 27-29 and by the 30th, most of the Allied army was at Casales or further north at Vercelli. On May 30, the Piedmontese crossed the Sesia and pushed back the Austrian defenders at Palestro. On the following day they repulsed an Austrian counterattack and established a sizable bridgehead across the river (Battle of Palestro, May 30-31).

By June 1, Gyulai had finally realized what had happened. His first reaction was to plan to attack the Allied columns at Novara, the site of Radetzky's victory in 1849, but Gyulai was not as capable a commander. The chance slipped away, and by the end of the day the Allies were safe from such an attack; 4 French corps were in a line from Vercelli to Novara, shielded by 40,000 Piedmontese. The Allies were moving too fast for Gyulai, who decided that his only chance of saving Milan was to order a retreat to the line of the Ticino River.

On June 2, the Austrians began their retreat. They spent much of the 3rd arguing about which side of the Ticino to defend. Heinrich von Hess arrived at Gyulai's headquarters to act as Franz Josef's envoy. He preferred to stay on the west bank, but eventually had to concede that this wasn't possible. The retreat continued despite the arguments.

While the Austrians were arguing about which side of the river to defend, the Allies were already across. Their advance guard had found the ferry crossing at Turbigo unguarded on June 2, and had a bridge the next day. MacMahon's II Corps crossed the river on June 3 and defeated the local Austrian forces. More importantly they also crossed the Naviglio Grande (Grand Canal), in some ways a more significant barrier than the Ticino. On June 4, the Austrians successfully defended the limited crossing points over the Canal nearer to Magenta for some time.

By the morning of June 4 the bulk of the French army was still approaching the Ticino and the Canal, delayed by terrible road conditions. The Imperial Guard was on the river, while MacMahon's II Corps was already across. Fanti's 2nd Piedmontese Division was just behind MacMahon. Canrobert's III Corps was next in the line of march, followed by Niel's IV Corps. The Allies had finally outrun the railways, and the roads were blocked with supply wagons, greatly slowing Canrobert and Niel. Magenta was held by Clam Gallas's I Corps and elements of II Corps.

Neither side expected a major battle that day. The Austrians expected to have a day to recover from the retreat, while the Allies prepared for a major river crossing, unaware that MacMahon was already across. Napoleon III didn't expect the Austrians to try and defend the east bank, having failed to hold onto the easier to defend western bank. His plans for the day were thus for a fairly simple operation to seize control of the canal bridges west of Magenta in preparation for an advance on Milan. The main road crossed the canal at Ponte Nuovo, while there was another crossing a little further north at Buffalora and a third just to the south at Ponte Vecchio. Mellinot's Guard Grenadier division was to make a frontal assault on these bridges, with the 2nd Grenadier Regiment attacking at Buffalora and the 1st and 3rd at Ponte Nuovo. MacMahon was expected to arrive at Buffalora at about the same time as the Grenadiers, so the canal crossing wouldn't have been opposed. The Piedmontese would cover MacMahon's left flank, while Canrobert would cover the Guard's right. Only part of each army would be involved at Magenta. The French managed to get around 50,000 men into the battle, while the Austrians probably used around 58,000.

MacMahon moved southeast in 2 columns, La Motterouge's division on the right, close to the canal, with Espinasse's division further to the east, heading towards Inveruno, north of Magenta. Camou's Guard division was some way behind, with Fanti's Piedmontese further behind. MacMahon had not expected to run into any significant resistance, so when his advance guard found Kudelka's brigade from II Corps and Recznicek's brigade from I Corps north of Magenta he decided to pause to allow all of his troops to arrive before launching a formal assault. This meant that the eastern bank of the canal remained in Austrian hands far longer than Napoleon III had expected.

The Imperial Guard began its attack at around 1.30 PM. The 32nd Grenadiers attacked towards Buffalora, the zouaves and 1st Grenadiers to Ponte Nuovo and the 3rd Grenadiers to Ponte Vecchio. The French were able to seize the western end of the bridges, but the Austrians managed to blow the bridge at Ponte Vecchio while Boffalora Bridge was already blown. In the center the zouaves captured the Ponte Nuovo intact, but the Austrians still held the higher ground east of the canal.

At around 1.30, Gyulai and Hess finally reached Magenta. At this point the situation didn’t look too bad. MacMahon had apparently stalled in the north while the canal line was still just holding. When the Ponte Nuovo fell he ordered Reischach's Division up to restore the line, and then left to organize a full counterattack. Schwarzenberg's III Corps was ordered to advance north along the west bank of the canal, towards the fighting at the bridges.

Reischach's counterattack was a great success and the French Grenadiers were forced back into a small bridgehead east of the canal. At about 4.30, the first part of the Austrian counterattack hit the French right. Brigade Kintzl of II Corps pushed the French back from Ponte Vecchio back to Ponte Nuovo, nearly isolating the troops on the east bank. This might have resulted in an Austrian victory if French reinforcements had not arrived. Just in time, Picard's Brigade of Canrobert's III Corps reached the battle, and helped to push the Austrians back. The French were still outnumbered at Ponte Nuovo, as Schwarzenberg had joined the attack, but Canrobert managed to hold them off. At around 5:00, Vinoy's Brigade of Niel's IV Corps also reached the battle. They moved behind Canrobert and reached the battle at Ponte Nuovo, finally securing that bridge and expanding the bridgehead.

MacMahon's attack in the north began at around 3.30. La Motterouge forced the Austrians out of Buffalora, and made contact with the French on the west side of the canal. Espinasse advanced south towards Magenta, but was attacked by Baltin's and Reznicek's brigades. The Austrian counterattack forced the French to retreat for a short distance but was eventually beaten off. Clam Gallas was forced to pull back into Magenta, where he prepared to defend the line of the railway.

At around 7:00, MacMahon launched his final attack on Magenta. The French supported their attack with two large gun batteries, 69 guns altogether. The guns had a devastating effect. Most Austrian troops in the town attempted to escape, although fierce street fighting went on for some time. The fall of Magenta was the signal for a general Austrian retreat. Lilia's division of VIII Corps and Brigade Dormus of V Corps, both so far unengaged, provided an effective rearguard. On the west bank, Schwarzenberg retreated after fresh French troops arrived.

The battle had been a close and costly affair. The French lost 682 dead, 3537 wounded and 655 missing. The Austrians lost 1368 dead and 4358 wounded and 4500 missing, many them deserters. Regnaud St Jean d'Angély, commander of the Imperial Guard, was promoted to Marshal, while MacMahon was made Marshal and Duc de Magenta.

In the aftermath of their defeat, the Austrians were forced to retreat southeast. This exposed Milan, and on June 8, King Victor Emmanuel and Napoleon entered the Lombard capital in triumph. Gyulai withdrew to the Chiese River, east of Milan. The defeat and the loss of Milan resulted in a major reorganization of the Austrian army. Gyulai resigned on June 18, and the Emperor Franz Josef took direct control. The war was yet to be decided.

[Ennath]

June 5, 1967
Operation Moked

In May 1967, after a Syrian bombardment of Galilee villages from the Golan Heights, the Arab artillery positions were attacked by Israeli aircraft. The Syrian Air Force responded, leading to air battles in which the Syrians lost heavily. Damascus called on Egypt, with which it had allied in November 1966. Egyptian President Nasser demanded that the UN withdraw its peacekeeping force from Sinai; the demand was met without a murmur and Egyptian divisions were soon crossing the Suez Canal and moving toward the Israeli border as Cairo radio proclaimed the coming destruction of Israel. The Strait of Tiran, through which shipping from Eilat must pass, was closed. On May 30, Jordan joined the alliance and the next day, at Amman’s invitation, Iraq began deploying troops to Jordan.

Israel prepared for war. Full mobilization would bring the nation’s economy to a virtual standstill, so doctrine called for a short war, necessitating taking the offensive. Vital to this would be control of the air. Israel had some 300 combat aircraft under Major General Mordechai Hod facing 450 Egyptian, 120 Syrian, 40 Jordanian and 200 Iraqi machines. A preemptive air strike was planned to ease this problem before ground operations got fully underway.

The attack was timed for 0845 Egyptian time, during which time senior Egyptian officers would be stuck in Cairo traffic and after the early morning mists over the Nile Delta had lifted. By this time, Egyptian air patrols and radar surveillance had been stood down with the passing of the time for a classic “dawn attack”, and watches in the air command would be changing. To ensure maximum surprise, the Israelis chose not to make radar stations their first objective, but used some aircraft on a strike out over the Mediterranean to take Egyptian airfields from the rear. The Egyptians themselves made matters worse by shutting down their radars entirely, worried that rebels might shoot down the plane carrying Field Marshal Abdel Hakim Amer, the army commander and Nasser’s brother-in-law, en route from a visit to Sinai. In this event it did not make a great deal of difference as the Israeli pilots came in below Egyptian radar cover and well below the lowest point at which Egypt's SA-2 surface-to-air missile batteries could fire. No airfields were yet equipped with hardened shelters.

Nearly all of Israel’s combat strength was committed to the attack, only 12 planes being reserved to patrol Israeli airspace. The first Israeli wave attacked 8 bases, catching much of the Egyptian Air Force on the ground. Intelligence was superb and target identification outstanding; dummy installations and aircraft were ignored, while real targets were systematically destroyed. Runway busting bombs put airfields out of action even after their air groups were dealt with. The second and third waves kept up the success; Israeli aircraft achieved a turn-around time of 7 minutes and a 90% serviceability rate. A further 9 Egyptian airfields were also hit.

It was hoped that the strike against Egypt would deter Syria, Iraq and Jordan, but it did not. When those air forces hit Israeli targets (with little effect), the IAF diverted air assets from Egypt. During the afternoon, a single strike virtually demolished Jordan’s air force and destroyed 60 Syrian planes. An attack on H3, the only Iraqi airbase in range, destroyed another 17. Some Israeli aircraft now began operating in support of the ground war.

A total of 418 Arab aircraft were destroyed by the end of the day, for an Israeli loss of 27 planes. The embarrassed Arabs, unable to believe that the Israelis could achieve such success on their own, claimed that American and British aircraft had taken part in the attacks. The operation guaranteed Israeli air supremacy for the rest of the war.

[Ennath]

June 6, 1813
Battle of Stony Creek

On May 27, 1813, American forces succeeded in capturing Fort George on the Niagara frontier. The defeated British commander, Brigadier General John Vincent, abandoned his posts along the Niagara River and withdrew west to Burlington Heights with around 1600 men. As the British retreated, the American commander, Major General Henry Dearborn, consolidated his position around Fort George. A veteran of the American Revolution, Dearborn had become an inactive and ineffective commander in his old age. Ill, Dearborn was slow to pursue Vincent.

Finally organizing his forces to chase Vincent, Dearborn delegated the task to Brigadier General William Winder, a political appointee from Maryland. Moving west with his brigade, Winder halted at Forty Mile Creek as he believed the British force was too strong to attack. Here was joined by an additional brigade commanded by Brigadier General John Chandler. Senior, Chandler assumed overall command of the American force which now numbered around 3400 men. Pushing on, they reached Stoney Creek on June 5 and encamped. The two generals established their headquarters at the Gage Farm.

Seeking information on the approaching American force, Vincent dispatched his deputy assistant adjutant general, Lieutenant Colonel John Harvey, to scout the American camp. Returning from this mission, Harvey reported that the American camp was poorly guarded and that Chandler's men were badly positioned to support each other. In the event, only some 1400 US troops would be able to engage. As a result of this information, Vincent decided to move forward with a night attack against the American position at Stoney Creek. To execute the mission, Vincent formed a force of 700 men. These included 5 companies of the 1/8 (King’s) Regiment and the main body of 49th Foot. Though he traveled with the column, Vincent delegated operational control to Harvey.

Departing Burlington Heights around 11:30 PM on June 5, the British force marched east through the darkness. In an effort to maintain the element of surprise, Harvey ordered his men to remove the flints from their muskets. Approaching the American outposts, the British had the advantage of knowing the American password for the day. Stories regarding how this was obtained vary from Harvey learning it to it being passed on the British by a local. In either case, the British succeeded in eliminating the first American outpost they encountered.

Advancing, they approached the former camp of the US 25th Infantry. Earlier in the day, the regiment had moved after deciding that the site was too exposed. As a result, only its cooks remained at the campfires making meals for the following day. Around 2:00 AM, the British were discovered as some of Major John Norton's Indian warriors attacked an American outpost and noise discipline was broken. As the American troops rushed to battle, Harvey's men re-inserted their flints as the element of surprise had been lost.

Situated on high ground with their artillery on Smith's Knoll, the Americans were in a strong position once they had regained their poise from the initial surprise. Maintaining a steady fire, they inflicted heavy losses on the British and turned back several attacks. Despite this success, the situation began to quickly deteriorate as the darkness caused confusion on the battlefield. Learning of a threat to the American left, Winder ordered the US 5th Infantry to that area. In doing so, he left the American artillery unsupported and created a gap in the line.

As Winder was making this error, Chandler rode to investigate firing on the right. Riding through the darkness, he was temporarily removed from the battle when his horse fell (or was shot). Hitting the ground, he was knocked out for some time. Seeking to regain the momentum, Major Charles Plenderleath of the British 49th Regiment gathered 20-30 men for an attack on the American artillery. Charging up Gage's Lane, they succeeded in overwhelming Captain Nathaniel Towson's artillerymen and turning the four guns on their former owners.

Returning to his senses, Chandler heard fighting around the guns. Unaware of their capture, he approached the position and was quickly taken prisoner. A similar fate befell Winder a short time later. With both generals in enemy hands, command of the American forces fell to cavalryman Colonel James Burn. Seeking to turn the tide, he led his horsemen forward but due to the darkness mistakenly attacked the US 16th Infantry. After forty-five minutes of confused fighting, and believing the British to have more men, the Americans withdrew east. The battle had lasted only 45 minutes.

Concerned that the Americans would learn the small size of his force, Harvey retreated west into the woods at dawn after carrying off two of the captured guns, spiking the others. The next morning, they watched as Burn's men returned to their former camp. Burning excess provisions and equipment, the Americans then retreated to Forty Mile Creek. British losses in the fighting numbered 23 killed, 136 wounded, 52 captured, and 3 missing. American casualties numbered 16 killed, 38 wounded, and 100 captured, including both Winder and Chandler.

Retreating to Forty Mile Creek, Burn was joined by reinforcements from Fort George under Major General Morgan Lewis. Bombarded by British warships in Lake Ontario, Lewis became concerned about his supply lines and began retreating. Having been shaken by the defeat, Dearborn lost his nerve and consolidated his army into a tight perimeter around the fort. The situation worsened on June 24 when an American force was captured at the Battle of Beaver Dams. Angered by Dearborn's repeated failures, Secretary of War John Armstrong removed him on July 6 and dispatched Major General James Wilkinson to take command. Winder would later be exchanged and commanded American troops at the Battle of Bladensburg in 1814.