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24-8-14 History & Geopolitics of Oil - gtbt > .22-2-24 Global Power Rivalry | Michael Buckley > .
Showing posts with label Mediterranean. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mediterranean. Show all posts
Saturday, July 24, 2021
Energy Geopolitics Eastern Mediterranean
Monday, December 28, 2020
● '41
1941 >> .
YEAR 3 - WW2 - 1941/1942 - WW2 >> .
41-1-22 Tobruk Captured ..
41-1-29 ABC-1, Europe First 41-3-27 ..
41-3-9 Edward R. Murrow reports on the mood in WWII Britain ..
41-3-27 Battle of Cape Matapan 14-3-29 ..
41-4-1 Iraqi coup d'état ..
41-4-27 Fall of Athens ..
41-5-9 Enigma machine, code book captured ..
41-5-10 Hess Flight to Scotland ..
41-5-20 Battle of Crete - 41-6-1 ..
41-5-27 Bismarck Sunk ..
41-5-27 Paris Protocols - Syria, Africa ..
40-10-28 Greco-Italian War 41-4-23 ..
41-8-14 Atlantic Charter ..
41-1-22 Tobruk Captured ..
41-1-29 ABC-1, Europe First 41-3-27 ..
41-3-9 Edward R. Murrow reports on the mood in WWII Britain ..
41-3-27 Battle of Cape Matapan 14-3-29 ..
41-4-1 Iraqi coup d'état ..
41-4-27 Fall of Athens ..
41-5-9 Enigma machine, code book captured ..
41-5-10 Hess Flight to Scotland ..
41-5-20 Battle of Crete - 41-6-1 ..
41-5-27 Bismarck Sunk ..
41-5-27 Paris Protocols - Syria, Africa ..
40-10-28 Greco-Italian War 41-4-23 ..
41-8-14 Atlantic Charter ..
Thursday, December 24, 2020
Sunday, May 31, 2020
Saturday, May 30, 2020
1848 European Tensions, WW1, Versailles
Versailles Treaty - Hitler’s Rise to Power - Ghost > .
1919-11-19: United States Senate votes to reject Treaty of Versailles -HiPo > .
1919-11-19: United States Senate votes to reject Treaty of Versailles -HiPo > .
However, a major obstacle to the treaty's ratification was Wilson's strained working relationship with Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, the influential chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Lodge, a prominent Republican, had fundamental disagreements with Wilson on key treaty provisions.
Article X of the Covenant of the League of Nations represented Wilson's unshakable belief in collective security. Lodge and his Republican counterparts, however, saw it as a threat to American sovereignty. Republicans preferred unilateral action, asserting that America should independently determine its involvement in global conflicts. Wilson was aiming for international cooperation, but many Republicans prioritized safeguarding American interests.
Wilson embarked on a nationwide tour to secure public support for the treaty, but his efforts were in vain. Lodge and Senate Republicans proposed amendments and, on November 19, 1919 the Senate voted down the Treaty of Versailles by 55 in favour to 39, falling short of the required two-thirds majority. It was the first time the Senate had rejected a peace treaty.
The rejection had profound consequences. While it signalled a definitive adoption of isolationism in American foreign policy, the absence of the United States from the League of Nations undermined the organisation's effectiveness from the outset.
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Saturday, May 16, 2020
Monday, December 30, 2019
1919-6-28 Versailles Treaty
Long Shadow & Impossible Peace → Global Conflicts - BePr >> .
The Treaty of Versailles (Traité de Versailles), signed on 28 June 1919, was the most important of the peace treaties that brought WW1 to an end.
On 10 January 1920 the Treaty of Versailles came into effect. Although the Treaty had been signed in June 1919, the terms weren’t activated until 10 January. As well as instigating the punishment of Germany, this meant that the League of Nations was officially founded as the Covenant of the League was now in operation.
The League was set up on the urging of US President Woodrow Wilson, who included it as one of his Fourteen Points. His desire was to create ‘a general association of nations formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.’ The League was therefore the first worldwide organisation established with the explicit aim of securing world peace. It intended to do this through collective security, disarmament, the promotion of international trade, and the improvement of social conditions.
Six days after its establishment, the League’s first Council meeting took place. The United States was notably absent, as opposition in the Senate meant the USA did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles. Although there were many reasons for not ratifying the Treaty, a key factor was opposition to Article X of the Covenant which stated that League members would come to each other’s defence if they were attacked.
The League therefore began with 42 members, of which 23 remained until the League was dissolved in 1946. It was replaced by the United Nations which, coincidentally, held its first General Assembly on 10 January 1946.
The League was set up on the urging of US President Woodrow Wilson, who included it as one of his Fourteen Points. His desire was to create ‘a general association of nations formed under specific covenants for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike.’ The League was therefore the first worldwide organisation established with the explicit aim of securing world peace. It intended to do this through collective security, disarmament, the promotion of international trade, and the improvement of social conditions.
Six days after its establishment, the League’s first Council meeting took place. The United States was notably absent, as opposition in the Senate meant the USA did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles. Although there were many reasons for not ratifying the Treaty, a key factor was opposition to Article X of the Covenant which stated that League members would come to each other’s defence if they were attacked.
The League therefore began with 42 members, of which 23 remained until the League was dissolved in 1946. It was replaced by the United Nations which, coincidentally, held its first General Assembly on 10 January 1946.
The Treaty ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed in Versailles, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which had directly led to the war. The other Central Powers on the German side signed separate treaties. Although the armistice, signed on 11 November 1918, ended the actual fighting, it took six months of Allied negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. The treaty was registered by the Secretariat of the League of Nations on 21 October 1919.
Of the many provisions in the treaty, one of the most important and controversial required "Germany [to] accept the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage" during the war (the other members of the Central Powers signed treaties containing similar articles). This article, Article 231, later became known as the War Guilt clause. The treaty required Germany to disarm, make ample territorial concessions, and pay reparations to certain countries that had formed the Entente powers. In 1921 the total cost of these reparations was assessed at 132 billion marks (then $31.4 billion or £6.6 billion, roughly equivalent to US$442 billion or UK£284 billion in 2019). At the time economists, notably John Maynard Keynes (a British delegate to the Paris Peace Conference), predicted that the treaty was too harsh—a "Carthaginian peace"—and said the reparations figure was excessive and counter-productive, views that, since then, have been the subject of ongoing debate by historians and economists. On the other hand, prominent figures on the Allied side, such as French Marshal Ferdinand Foch, criticized the treaty for treating Germany too leniently.
The result of these competing and sometimes conflicting goals among the victors was a compromise that left no one satisfied, and, in particular, Germany was neither pacified nor conciliated, nor was it permanently weakened. The problems that arose from the treaty would lead to the Locarno Treaties, which improved relations between Germany and the other European powers, and the re-negotiation of the reparation system resulting in the Dawes Plan, the Young Plan, and the indefinite postponement of reparations at the Lausanne Conference of 1932.
Although it is often referred to as the "Versailles Conference", only the actual signing of the treaty took place at the historic palace. Most of the negotiations were in Paris, with the "Big Four" meetings taking place generally at the Quai d'Orsay.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailles .
---
In January 1919, John Maynard Keynes traveled to the Paris Peace Conference as the chief representative of the British Treasury. The brilliant 35-year-old economist had previously won acclaim for his work with the Indian currency and his management of British finances during the war. In Paris, he sat on an economic council and advised British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, but the important peacemaking decisions were out of his hands, and President Wilson, Prime Minister Lloyd George, and French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau wielded the real authority. Germany had no role in the negotiations deciding its fate, and lesser Allied powers had little responsibility in the drafting of the final treaty.
It soon became apparent that the treaty would bear only a faint resemblance to the Fourteen Points that had been proposed by Wilson and embraced by the Germans. Wilson, a great idealist, had few negotiating skills, and he soon buckled under the pressure of Clemenceau, who hoped to punish Germany as severely as it had punished France in the Treaty of Frankfurt that ended the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. Lloyd George took the middle ground between the two men, but he backed the French plan to force Germany to pay reparations for damages inflicted on Allied civilians and their property. Since the treaty officially held Germany responsible for the outbreak of World War I (in reality it was only partially responsible), the Allies would not have to pay reparations for damages they inflicted on German civilians....
Keynes, horrified by the terms of the emerging treaty, presented a plan to the Allied leaders in which the German government be given a substantial loan, thus allowing it to buy food and materials while beginning reparations payments immediately. Lloyd George approved the “Keynes Plan,” but President Wilson turned it down because he feared it would not receive congressional approval. In a private letter to a friend, Keynes called the idealistic American president “the greatest fraud on earth.” On June 5, 1919, Keynes wrote a note to Lloyd George informing the prime minister that he was resigning his post in protest of the impending “devastation of Europe.”...
At Smuts’ urging, Keynes began work on The Economic Consequences of the Peace. It was published in December 1919 and was widely read. In the book, Keynes made a grim prophecy that would have particular relevance to the next generation of Europeans: “If we aim at the impoverishment of Central Europe, vengeance, I dare say, will not limp. Nothing can then delay for very long the forces of Reaction and the despairing convulsions of Revolution, before which the horrors of the later German war will fade into nothing, and which will destroy, whoever is victor, the civilisation and the progress of our generation.”https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/keynes-predicts-economic-chaos .
Dishonorable mention ...
“It is a natural propensity to attribute misfortune to someone’s malignity. When prices rise, it is due to the profiteer; when wages fall, it is due to the capitalist. Why the capitalist is ineffective when wages rise, and the profiteer when prices fall, the man in the street does not inquire. Nor does he notice that wages and prices rise and fall together. If he is a capitalist, he wants wages to fall and prices to rise; if he is a wage earner, he wants the opposite. When a currency expert tries to explain that profiteers and trade unions and ordinary employers have very little to do with the matter, he irritates everybody, like the man who threw doubt on German atrocities. (In World War I) We do not like to be robbed of an enemy; we want someone to have when we suffer. It is so depressing to think that we suffer because we are fools; yet taking mankind in mass, that is the truth. For this reason, no political party can acquire any driving force except through hatred; it must hold someone to obloquy. If so-and-so’s wickedness is the sole cause of our misery, let us punish so-and-so and we shall be happy. The supreme example of this kind of political thought was the Treaty of Versailles. Yet most people are only seeking some new scapegoat to replace the Germans.”
― Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays
1925-10-5_16 Locarno Treaties ..
Of the many provisions in the treaty, one of the most important and controversial required "Germany [to] accept the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage" during the war (the other members of the Central Powers signed treaties containing similar articles). This article, Article 231, later became known as the War Guilt clause. The treaty required Germany to disarm, make ample territorial concessions, and pay reparations to certain countries that had formed the Entente powers. In 1921 the total cost of these reparations was assessed at 132 billion marks (then $31.4 billion or £6.6 billion, roughly equivalent to US$442 billion or UK£284 billion in 2019). At the time economists, notably John Maynard Keynes (a British delegate to the Paris Peace Conference), predicted that the treaty was too harsh—a "Carthaginian peace"—and said the reparations figure was excessive and counter-productive, views that, since then, have been the subject of ongoing debate by historians and economists. On the other hand, prominent figures on the Allied side, such as French Marshal Ferdinand Foch, criticized the treaty for treating Germany too leniently.
The result of these competing and sometimes conflicting goals among the victors was a compromise that left no one satisfied, and, in particular, Germany was neither pacified nor conciliated, nor was it permanently weakened. The problems that arose from the treaty would lead to the Locarno Treaties, which improved relations between Germany and the other European powers, and the re-negotiation of the reparation system resulting in the Dawes Plan, the Young Plan, and the indefinite postponement of reparations at the Lausanne Conference of 1932.
Although it is often referred to as the "Versailles Conference", only the actual signing of the treaty took place at the historic palace. Most of the negotiations were in Paris, with the "Big Four" meetings taking place generally at the Quai d'Orsay.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Versailles .
---
In January 1919, John Maynard Keynes traveled to the Paris Peace Conference as the chief representative of the British Treasury. The brilliant 35-year-old economist had previously won acclaim for his work with the Indian currency and his management of British finances during the war. In Paris, he sat on an economic council and advised British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, but the important peacemaking decisions were out of his hands, and President Wilson, Prime Minister Lloyd George, and French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau wielded the real authority. Germany had no role in the negotiations deciding its fate, and lesser Allied powers had little responsibility in the drafting of the final treaty.
It soon became apparent that the treaty would bear only a faint resemblance to the Fourteen Points that had been proposed by Wilson and embraced by the Germans. Wilson, a great idealist, had few negotiating skills, and he soon buckled under the pressure of Clemenceau, who hoped to punish Germany as severely as it had punished France in the Treaty of Frankfurt that ended the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. Lloyd George took the middle ground between the two men, but he backed the French plan to force Germany to pay reparations for damages inflicted on Allied civilians and their property. Since the treaty officially held Germany responsible for the outbreak of World War I (in reality it was only partially responsible), the Allies would not have to pay reparations for damages they inflicted on German civilians....
Keynes, horrified by the terms of the emerging treaty, presented a plan to the Allied leaders in which the German government be given a substantial loan, thus allowing it to buy food and materials while beginning reparations payments immediately. Lloyd George approved the “Keynes Plan,” but President Wilson turned it down because he feared it would not receive congressional approval. In a private letter to a friend, Keynes called the idealistic American president “the greatest fraud on earth.” On June 5, 1919, Keynes wrote a note to Lloyd George informing the prime minister that he was resigning his post in protest of the impending “devastation of Europe.”...
At Smuts’ urging, Keynes began work on The Economic Consequences of the Peace. It was published in December 1919 and was widely read. In the book, Keynes made a grim prophecy that would have particular relevance to the next generation of Europeans: “If we aim at the impoverishment of Central Europe, vengeance, I dare say, will not limp. Nothing can then delay for very long the forces of Reaction and the despairing convulsions of Revolution, before which the horrors of the later German war will fade into nothing, and which will destroy, whoever is victor, the civilisation and the progress of our generation.”https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/keynes-predicts-economic-chaos .
Dishonorable mention ...
“It is a natural propensity to attribute misfortune to someone’s malignity. When prices rise, it is due to the profiteer; when wages fall, it is due to the capitalist. Why the capitalist is ineffective when wages rise, and the profiteer when prices fall, the man in the street does not inquire. Nor does he notice that wages and prices rise and fall together. If he is a capitalist, he wants wages to fall and prices to rise; if he is a wage earner, he wants the opposite. When a currency expert tries to explain that profiteers and trade unions and ordinary employers have very little to do with the matter, he irritates everybody, like the man who threw doubt on German atrocities. (In World War I) We do not like to be robbed of an enemy; we want someone to have when we suffer. It is so depressing to think that we suffer because we are fools; yet taking mankind in mass, that is the truth. For this reason, no political party can acquire any driving force except through hatred; it must hold someone to obloquy. If so-and-so’s wickedness is the sole cause of our misery, let us punish so-and-so and we shall be happy. The supreme example of this kind of political thought was the Treaty of Versailles. Yet most people are only seeking some new scapegoat to replace the Germans.”
― Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays
Saturday, December 28, 2019
47-11-29 UN partition plan - Palestine
23-10-12 Free Palestine? No thanks! (The Israeli perspective) - travel > .
∞ Against Judaeiphobia ⇻
24-2-1 Why [despite weakist antisemitism] US Supports and Funds Israel | WSJ > .
23-2-16 Why you too, should be against a Palestinian state - travel > .
Free Palestine? - Understanding the Arab Israeli Conflict - travelingisrael.com >> .
Free Palestine? - Understanding the Arab Israeli Conflict - travelingisrael.com >> .
The UN partition plan for Palestine was adopted on November 29th, 1947 by the UN General Assembly Resolution 181. The plan divided Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state. Greater Jerusalem should be under international control. Palestine was divided in such a way that within the various areas either of the two groups constituted the majority of the population. In addition, areas of economic interest should be shared as equally as possible. (original sound bite) The majority of Jews accepted the plan, but the radical nationalists felt it did not go far enough. The Arab leaders rejected it outright. On May 14th, 1948 the Jews moved forward and founded the State of Israel. The next day the Arab League declared war on Israel.
1848 Middle East 2020 ..
47-11-29 UN partition plan - Palestine ..
47-11-29 UN partition plan - Palestine ..
Friday, September 20, 2019
Israel's High-Tech Rise
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23-11-7 Scientific Progress & War - [Counterproductive for Ruscia] (subs) - Katz > .First Arab - Israeli War 1948 - Cold War Doc - K&G > .Yom Kippur War 1973 - Sinai Front Doc - K&G > .GMD - Ground-Based Midcourse Defense > Air Defense >>
24-4-19 GMD - America's Missile Defense - T&P > .
47-11-29 UN partition plan - Palestine ..
Israel's High-Tech Rise ..
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Rommel
Rommel Storms Into North-Africa - 1941, March 24 - WW2> .
Rommel, German Press and Polish Resistance - WW2 - OOTF 001 > .
Rommel's Dilemma With Taking Africa For Hitler - Time > .
Rommel - Life of Erwin Rommel, Desert Fox - tpp > .
Why is Rommel so complicated? - Erwin Rommel vs. Desert Fox - MHV > .
Erwin Rommel: The General Who Defied Hitler - Biog > .
Erwin Rommel - Infantry Attacks During WW1 - tgw > . Out of the Foxholes - WW2 >> .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Rommel .
Saturday, February 16, 2019
Malta - Siege of Malta
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Surviving The Siege Of Malta - time > .Malta - History, Geography, Economy and Culture - Geodiode > .
40-7-31 Operation Hurry 40-8-4 > .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Hurry .
41-1 Operation Excess - Luftwaffe attacks Malta > .
41-1 Operation Excess - Luftwaffe attacks Malta > .
HMS Illustrious and Operation Excess - Fliegerkorps X - Drach > .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Excess .
42-8-3 Operation Pedestal 42-8-15 > .
Operation Pedestal: The Convoy That Saved Malta > .
Operation Pedestal: The Convoy That Saved Malta > .
Indomitable - WoW > .
Operation Pedestal: HMS Indomitable bombed > .
Stuka pilot interview 47: Attack on HMS Indomitable August 1942 > .
The Only Country That Has Been Awarded A George Cross > .
Operation Pedestal: HMS Indomitable bombed > .
Stuka pilot interview 47: Attack on HMS Indomitable August 1942 > .
This Tiny Island Was Key for Allied Forces to Secure North Africa > .
SS Ohio and the Siege of Malta (Pedestal) > .
Mediterranean Theatre & Malta - 42-4-3 - WW2 > .
Operation Pedestal: The Convoy That Saved Malta > .
Operation Pedestal: HMS Indomitable bombed > .
Malta bombing
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-grand-opera-house-bombed-to-ruins-by-the-luftwaffe
The Battle for Malta
Caught in a struggle between Britain and Germany to control the Mediterranean, Malta became the most bombed place on Earth. Beyond unimaginable austerity, the island was close to starvation by the summer of 1942, and the magnitude of the attacks reflected the importance of its strategic position. Like ants, the Maltese were forced to move by their thousands into man made caves and tunnels carved in island’s limestone. Historian James Holland presents a fresh analysis of this vicious battle and argues that Malta’s offensive role has been underplayed.
Clash of Wings 5/13 The African Tutorial > .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGiw5Lo0hxg
playlist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtq7-dtiDy8&list=PLSawWIooz_XpVAxHUUkN42HyHUy-uYhFC .
Ġgantija & Ancient Malta ..
SS Ohio and the Siege of Malta (Pedestal) > .
Mediterranean Theatre & Malta - 42-4-3 - WW2 > .
Operation Pedestal: The Convoy That Saved Malta > .
Operation Pedestal: HMS Indomitable bombed > .
Malta bombing
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-grand-opera-house-bombed-to-ruins-by-the-luftwaffe
Caught in a struggle between Britain and Germany to control the Mediterranean, Malta became the most bombed place on Earth. Beyond unimaginable austerity, the island was close to starvation by the summer of 1942, and the magnitude of the attacks reflected the importance of its strategic position. Like ants, the Maltese were forced to move by their thousands into man made caves and tunnels carved in island’s limestone. Historian James Holland presents a fresh analysis of this vicious battle and argues that Malta’s offensive role has been underplayed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGiw5Lo0hxg
playlist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtq7-dtiDy8&list=PLSawWIooz_XpVAxHUUkN42HyHUy-uYhFC .
Ġgantija & Ancient Malta ..
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Fleet Comparisons, WW2
.WW2 Navy Comparison — Fleets Evolution 1939–1946 > .
On the brink of WW2, the emergence of effective radar systems, as well as the development of submarines and carrier-borne aviation, drastically changed the nature of naval warfare. Even the most innovative doctrines became hopelessly obsolete on the battlefields of the new war.
Saturday, September 22, 2018
German Raiders
.Hitler's Raiders in the Pacific - K&G > .
Theodor Detmers, gentleman pirate and his Kriegsmarine crew plundered their way from Germany to Australia, capturing or sinking all Allied ships they came across. This is the story of Kormoran's raids in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and her final battle with the redoubtable HMAS Sydney.
The German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran (HSK-8) was a Kriegsmarine (German navy) merchant raider of WW2. Originally the merchant vessel Steiermark ("Styria"), the ship was acquired by the navy following the outbreak of war for conversion into a raider. Administered under the designation Schiff 41, to the Allied navies she was known as "Raider G." The largest merchant raider operated by Germany during World War II, Kormoran ("cormorant") was responsible for the destruction of 10 merchant vessels and the capture of an 11th during her year-long career in the Atlantic and Indian oceans.
She is also known for sinking the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney during a mutually destructive battle off Western Australia on 19 November 1941. Damage sustained during the battle prompted the scuttling of Kormoran. While 318 of the 399 aboard the German ship were rescued and placed in prisoner of war camps for the duration of WW2, there were no survivors from the 645 aboard the Australian cruiser. The wreck of Kormoran was rediscovered on 12 March 2008, five days before that of her adversary.
Kormoran's success against HMAS Sydney is commonly attributed to the proximity of the two ships during the engagement, and the raider's advantages of surprise and rapid, accurate fire. Prior to the discovery of the wrecks in 2008, the cruiser's loss with all hands compared to the survival of most of the German crew created controversy and spawned numerous conspiracy theories; some alleged that the German commander, Theodor Detmers, used illegal ruses to lure Sydney into range, others that a Japanese submarine was involved, or that details of the battle were concealed through a wide-ranging coverup. None of these claims got substantiated by any evidence.
She is also known for sinking the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney during a mutually destructive battle off Western Australia on 19 November 1941. Damage sustained during the battle prompted the scuttling of Kormoran. While 318 of the 399 aboard the German ship were rescued and placed in prisoner of war camps for the duration of WW2, there were no survivors from the 645 aboard the Australian cruiser. The wreck of Kormoran was rediscovered on 12 March 2008, five days before that of her adversary.
Kormoran's success against HMAS Sydney is commonly attributed to the proximity of the two ships during the engagement, and the raider's advantages of surprise and rapid, accurate fire. Prior to the discovery of the wrecks in 2008, the cruiser's loss with all hands compared to the survival of most of the German crew created controversy and spawned numerous conspiracy theories; some alleged that the German commander, Theodor Detmers, used illegal ruses to lure Sydney into range, others that a Japanese submarine was involved, or that details of the battle were concealed through a wide-ranging coverup. None of these claims got substantiated by any evidence.
Merchant raiders are armed commerce raiding ships that disguise themselves as non-combatant merchant vessels.
Germany used several merchant raiders early in WW1 (1914–1918), and again early in WW2 (1939–1945). The most famous captain of a German merchant raider, Felix von Luckner, used the sailing ship SMS Seeadler for his voyage (1916–1917). The Germans used a sailing ship at this stage of the war because coal-fired ships had limited access to fuel outside of territories held by the Central Powers due to international regulations concerning refueling of combat ships in neutral countries.
Germany sent out two waves of six surface raiders each during WW2. Most of these vessels were in the 8,000–10,000 long tons (8,100–10,200 t) range. Many of these vessels had originally been refrigerator ships, used to transport fresh food from the tropics. These vessels were faster than regular merchant vessels, which was important for a warship. They were armed with six 15cm (5.9 inch) naval guns, some smaller guns, torpedoes, reconnaissance seaplanes and some were equipped for minelaying. Several captains demonstrated great creativity in disguising their vessels to masquerade as allied or as neutral merchants. Kormoran sank the Australian cruiser Sydney in one of the most well-known episodes involving merchant raiders during WW2.
Italy intended to outfit four refrigerated banana boats as merchant raiders during WW2 (Ramb I, Ramb II, Ramb III and Ramb IV). Only Ramb I and Ramb II served as merchant raiders and neither ship sank enemy vessels. The New Zealand cruiser Leander sank Ramb I off the Maldives (February 1941); Ramb II sailed to the Far East, where the Japanese prevented her from raiding, ultimately took her over and converted her to an auxiliary transport ship. (Ramb III served as a convoy escort and Ramb IV was converted for the Italian Royal Navy to a hospital ship.)
These commerce raiders carried no armour because their purpose was to attack merchantmen, not to engage warships. Also it would be difficult to fit armour to a civilian vessel. Eventually most were sunk or transferred to other duties.
The British deployed Armed Merchant Cruisers in WW1 and WW2. Generally adapted from passenger liners, they were larger than the German merchant raiders:
Germany sent out two waves of six surface raiders each during WW2. Most of these vessels were in the 8,000–10,000 long tons (8,100–10,200 t) range. Many of these vessels had originally been refrigerator ships, used to transport fresh food from the tropics. These vessels were faster than regular merchant vessels, which was important for a warship. They were armed with six 15cm (5.9 inch) naval guns, some smaller guns, torpedoes, reconnaissance seaplanes and some were equipped for minelaying. Several captains demonstrated great creativity in disguising their vessels to masquerade as allied or as neutral merchants. Kormoran sank the Australian cruiser Sydney in one of the most well-known episodes involving merchant raiders during WW2.
Italy intended to outfit four refrigerated banana boats as merchant raiders during WW2 (Ramb I, Ramb II, Ramb III and Ramb IV). Only Ramb I and Ramb II served as merchant raiders and neither ship sank enemy vessels. The New Zealand cruiser Leander sank Ramb I off the Maldives (February 1941); Ramb II sailed to the Far East, where the Japanese prevented her from raiding, ultimately took her over and converted her to an auxiliary transport ship. (Ramb III served as a convoy escort and Ramb IV was converted for the Italian Royal Navy to a hospital ship.)
These commerce raiders carried no armour because their purpose was to attack merchantmen, not to engage warships. Also it would be difficult to fit armour to a civilian vessel. Eventually most were sunk or transferred to other duties.
The British deployed Armed Merchant Cruisers in WW1 and WW2. Generally adapted from passenger liners, they were larger than the German merchant raiders:
Armed Merchantmen ↠
During World War I, the British Royal Navy deployed Q-ships to combat German U-boats. Q-ships were warships posing as merchant ships so as to lure U-boats to attack them; their mission of destroying enemy warships differed significantly from the raider objective of disrupting enemy trade.
Modern Warfare series: http://bit.ly/2W2SeXF .
Winter War: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6TK... .
Russo-Japanese War - Battle of Khalkhin Gol 1939: https://youtu.be/GGwUlET2tbw .
Battle of Hong Kong 1941: https://youtu.be/TrqlSSA2xUc .
Battle of Greece: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... .
Battle of Stalingrad: https://youtu.be/Aupnv5n19K4 .
Battle of Kursk: https://youtu.be/IKtD2kht1ZI .
Battle of the Bulge: https://youtu.be/kKiLyEuIAPE .
During World War I, the British Royal Navy deployed Q-ships to combat German U-boats. Q-ships were warships posing as merchant ships so as to lure U-boats to attack them; their mission of destroying enemy warships differed significantly from the raider objective of disrupting enemy trade.
Modern Warfare series: http://bit.ly/2W2SeXF .
Winter War: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6TK... .
Russo-Japanese War - Battle of Khalkhin Gol 1939: https://youtu.be/GGwUlET2tbw .
Battle of Hong Kong 1941: https://youtu.be/TrqlSSA2xUc .
Battle of Greece: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... .
Battle of Stalingrad: https://youtu.be/Aupnv5n19K4 .
Battle of Kursk: https://youtu.be/IKtD2kht1ZI .
Battle of the Bulge: https://youtu.be/kKiLyEuIAPE .
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Hitler's Spies
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Suez Crisis (1956)
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Chokepoints - Suez Canal ..Suez Crisis - Propaganda Film (1956) ..
Canal of the Pharaohs - Ancient Suez Canal ➧
Operation Musketeer (Opération Mousquetaire) was the Anglo-French plan for the invasion of the Suez canal zone to capture the Suez Canal during the Suez Crisis in 1956. The operation had initially been given the codename Operation Hamilcar, but this name was quickly dropped when it was found that the British were painting an air recognition letter H on their vehicles, while the French, who spelled Hamilcar differently were painting an A. Musketeer was chosen as a replacement because it started with M in both languages. Israel, which invaded the Sinai peninsula, had the additional objectives of opening the Straits of Tiran and halting fedayeen incursions into Israel. The Anglo-French military operation was originally planned for early September, but the necessity of coordination with Israel delayed it until early November. However, on 10 September British and French politicians and Chiefs of the General Staff agreed to adopt General Charles Keightley's alterations to the military plans with the intention of reducing Egyptian civilian casualties. The new plan, renamed Musketeer Revise, provided the basis of the actual Suez operation.
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Operation Musketeer was a failure in strategic terms. By mischance it covered the Soviet Union's military intervention in Hungary on 4 November. On this issue and, more generally, on the principle of premature military action against Egypt, the operation divided public opinion in the UK. It demonstrated the limitations of the UK's military capacity, and exposed errors in several staff functions, notably intelligence and movement control. Tactically successful, both in the sea and airborne assaults and the subsequent brief occupation.
Operation Musketeer (Opération Mousquetaire) was the Anglo-French plan for the invasion of the Suez canal zone to capture the Suez Canal during the Suez Crisis in 1956. The operation had initially been given the codename Operation Hamilcar, but this name was quickly dropped when it was found that the British were painting an air recognition letter H on their vehicles, while the French, who spelled Hamilcar differently were painting an A. Musketeer was chosen as a replacement because it started with M in both languages. Israel, which invaded the Sinai peninsula, had the additional objectives of opening the Straits of Tiran and halting fedayeen incursions into Israel. The Anglo-French military operation was originally planned for early September, but the necessity of coordination with Israel delayed it until early November. However, on 10 September British and French politicians and Chiefs of the General Staff agreed to adopt General Charles Keightley's alterations to the military plans with the intention of reducing Egyptian civilian casualties. The new plan, renamed Musketeer Revise, provided the basis of the actual Suez operation.
...
Operation Musketeer was a failure in strategic terms. By mischance it covered the Soviet Union's military intervention in Hungary on 4 November. On this issue and, more generally, on the principle of premature military action against Egypt, the operation divided public opinion in the UK. It demonstrated the limitations of the UK's military capacity, and exposed errors in several staff functions, notably intelligence and movement control. Tactically successful, both in the sea and airborne assaults and the subsequent brief occupation.
Friday, June 9, 2017
41-1-22 Tobruk Captured
.41-1-22 Capture of Tobruk - 1941, 22 January - BrMo > .
On January 22nd, 1941 British and Australian forces entered the port of Tobruk, in Libya. The cameraman was with an Australian unit approaching Tobruk. Damage was inflicted by the RAF and Fleet Air Arm.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
42-10-24 El Alamein - day 3
42-10-24 El Alamein - Day Three - 1942, 24 Oct > .
The Battle of El Alamein [doc] > .
In early August, Winston Churchill and General Sir Alan Brooke—the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS)—visited Cairo on their way to meet Joseph Stalin in Moscow. They decided to replace Auchinleck, appointing the XIII Corps commander, William Gott, to the Eighth Army command and General Sir Harold Alexander as C-in-C Middle East Command. Persia and Iraq were to be split from Middle East Command as a separate Persia and Iraq Command and Auchinleck was offered the post of C-in-C (which he refused). Gott was killed on the way to take up his command when his aircraft was shot down. Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery was appointed in his place and took command on 13 August.
In August 1942, General Claude Auchinleck had been sacked as Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command and his successor, Lieutenant-General William Gott was killed on his way to replace him as commander of the Eighth Army. Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery was appointed and led the Eighth Army offensive.
The Allied victory was the beginning of the end of the Western Desert Campaign, eliminating the Axis threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal and the Middle Eastern and Persian oil fields. The battle revived the morale of the Allies, being the first big success against the Axis since Operation Crusader in late 1941. The battle coincided with the Allied invasion of French North Africa in Operation Torch on 8 November, the Battle of Stalingrad and the Guadalcanal Campaign.
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El Alamein was an Allied victory, although Rommel did not lose hope until the end of the Tunisia Campaign. Churchill said,
The Allies frequently had numerical superiority in the Western Desert but never had it been so complete in quantity and quality. With the arrival of Sherman tanks, 6-pounder anti-tank guns and Spitfires in the Western Desert, the Allies gained a comprehensive superiority. Montgomery envisioned the battle as an attrition operation, similar to those fought in the First World War and accurately predicted the length of the battle and the number of Allied casualties. Allied artillery was superbly handled and Allied air support was excellent, in contrast to the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica, which offered little or no support to ground forces, preferring to engage in air-to-air combat. Air supremacy had a huge effect on the battle. Montgomery wrote,
Historians debate the reasons Rommel decided to advance into Egypt. In 1997, Martin van Creveld wrote that Rommel had been advised by the German and Italian staffs that his army could not properly be supplied so far from the ports of Tripoli and Benghazi. Rommel pressed ahead with his advance to Alamein and as predicted, supply difficulties limited the attacking potential of the axis forces. According to Maurice Remy (2002), Hitler and Mussolini put pressure on Rommel to advance. Rommel had been very pessimistic, especially after the First Battle of El Alamein, and knew that as US supplies were en route to Africa and Axis ships were being sunk in the Mediterranean, the Axis was losing a race against time. On 27 August, Kesselring promised Rommel that supplies would arrive in time but Westphal pointed out that such an expectation would be unrealistic and the offensive should not begin until they had arrived. After a conversation with Kesselring on 30 August, Rommel decided to attack, "the hardest [decision] in my life".
The Battle of El Alamein [doc] > .
The First Battle of El Alamein (1–27 July 1942) was a stalemate, but it had halted the Axis advance on Alexandria (and then Cairo and ultimately the Suez Canal). The Eighth Army had suffered over 13,000 casualties in July, including 4,000 in the 2nd New Zealand Division, 3,000 in the 5th Indian Infantry Division and 2,552 battle casualties in the 9th Australian Division but had taken 7,000 prisoners and inflicted heavy damage on Axis men and machines. In his appreciation of 27 July, Auchinleck wrote that the Eighth Army would not be ready to attack again until mid-September at the earliest. He believed that because Rommel understood that with the passage of time the Allied situation would only improve, he was compelled to attack as soon as possible and before the end of August when he would have superiority in armour. Auchinleck therefore made plans for a defensive battle.[113]
In early August, Winston Churchill and General Sir Alan Brooke—the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS)—visited Cairo on their way to meet Joseph Stalin in Moscow. They decided to replace Auchinleck, appointing the XIII Corps commander, William Gott, to the Eighth Army command and General Sir Harold Alexander as C-in-C Middle East Command. Persia and Iraq were to be split from Middle East Command as a separate Persia and Iraq Command and Auchinleck was offered the post of C-in-C (which he refused). Gott was killed on the way to take up his command when his aircraft was shot down. Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery was appointed in his place and took command on 13 August.
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The Second Battle of El Alamein (23 October – 11 November 1942) was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented the Axis from advancing further into Egypt.In August 1942, General Claude Auchinleck had been sacked as Commander-in-Chief Middle East Command and his successor, Lieutenant-General William Gott was killed on his way to replace him as commander of the Eighth Army. Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery was appointed and led the Eighth Army offensive.
The Allied victory was the beginning of the end of the Western Desert Campaign, eliminating the Axis threat to Egypt, the Suez Canal and the Middle Eastern and Persian oil fields. The battle revived the morale of the Allies, being the first big success against the Axis since Operation Crusader in late 1941. The battle coincided with the Allied invasion of French North Africa in Operation Torch on 8 November, the Battle of Stalingrad and the Guadalcanal Campaign.
......
El Alamein was an Allied victory, although Rommel did not lose hope until the end of the Tunisia Campaign. Churchill said,
The Allies frequently had numerical superiority in the Western Desert but never had it been so complete in quantity and quality. With the arrival of Sherman tanks, 6-pounder anti-tank guns and Spitfires in the Western Desert, the Allies gained a comprehensive superiority. Montgomery envisioned the battle as an attrition operation, similar to those fought in the First World War and accurately predicted the length of the battle and the number of Allied casualties. Allied artillery was superbly handled and Allied air support was excellent, in contrast to the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica, which offered little or no support to ground forces, preferring to engage in air-to-air combat. Air supremacy had a huge effect on the battle. Montgomery wrote,
Historians debate the reasons Rommel decided to advance into Egypt. In 1997, Martin van Creveld wrote that Rommel had been advised by the German and Italian staffs that his army could not properly be supplied so far from the ports of Tripoli and Benghazi. Rommel pressed ahead with his advance to Alamein and as predicted, supply difficulties limited the attacking potential of the axis forces. According to Maurice Remy (2002), Hitler and Mussolini put pressure on Rommel to advance. Rommel had been very pessimistic, especially after the First Battle of El Alamein, and knew that as US supplies were en route to Africa and Axis ships were being sunk in the Mediterranean, the Axis was losing a race against time. On 27 August, Kesselring promised Rommel that supplies would arrive in time but Westphal pointed out that such an expectation would be unrealistic and the offensive should not begin until they had arrived. After a conversation with Kesselring on 30 August, Rommel decided to attack, "the hardest [decision] in my life".
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
41-5-20 Battle of Crete 41-6-1
Mercury - German invasion of Crete: a Bloody Mess - WW2 - May 20 1941 > .
British defeated in Crete - WW2 - June 1 1941 > .
The Battle of Crete (Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, Unternehmen Merkur, "Operation Mercury"; Μάχη της Κρήτης) was fought during WW2 on the Greek island of Crete. It began on the morning of 20 May 1941, when Nazi Germany began an airborne invasion of Crete. Greek and other Allied forces, along with Cretan civilians, defended the island. After one day of fighting, the Germans had suffered heavy casualties and the Allied troops were confident that they would defeat the invasion. The next day, through communication failures, Allied tactical hesitation and German offensive operations, Maleme Airfield in western Crete fell, enabling the Germans to land reinforcements and overwhelm the defensive positions on the north of the island. Allied forces withdrew to the south coast. More than half were evacuated by the British Royal Navy and the remainder surrendered or joined the Cretan resistance. The defence of Crete evolved into a costly naval engagement; by the end of the campaign the Royal Navy's eastern Mediterranean strength had been reduced to only two battleships and three cruisers.
The Battle of Crete was the first occasion where Fallschirmjäger (German paratroops) were used en masse, the first mainly airborne invasion in military history, the first time the Allies made significant use of intelligence from decrypted German messages from the Enigma machine, and the first time German troops encountered mass resistance from a civilian population. Due to the number of casualties and the belief that airborne forces no longer had the advantage of surprise, Adolf Hitler became reluctant to authorise further large airborne operations, preferring instead to employ paratroopers as ground troops. In contrast, the Allies were impressed by the potential of paratroopers and started to form airborne-assault and airfield-defence regiments.
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sī vīs pācem, parā bellum
igitur quī dēsīderat pācem praeparet bellum therefore, he who desires peace, let him prepare for war sī vīs pācem, parā bellum if you wan...
