Table of contents for No. 109 in History of War

The old adage of truth being the first casualty of war is as relevant and apt today as it was decades ago. In fact, that very truth is often the focus of fiery debates many years after the guns have stopped firing, as the clash of words between scholars and historians endures. The failed raid on Hitler’s Atlantic Wall in August 1942, dubbed Operation Jubilee, was later chalked up as a valuable dry run for D-Day. However, as Dr Tim Cook of the Canadian War Museum explains this issue, the attack at Dieppe was a tragic disaster, since justified, by some, in light of the triumph on 6 June 1944. In truth, the thousands of men captured, killed and wounded at Dieppe was an horrific blow for the Allies and…

30-31 October 1918 01 ARMISTICE OF MUDROS The armistice between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies is signed aboard the Royal Navy’s HMS Agamemnon, anchored off Mudros, bringing an end to the conflict in the region. The ruinous armistice grants the Allies direct control of Constantinople and the Bosporus Strait. Later the Treaty of Sèvres, declared on 10 August 1920, almost partitions Anatolia but it is never ratified. 15 May 1919 02 MEGALI ON THE MARCH As Allied forces take over portions of the Ottoman homeland, a Greek expedition at least 30,000-strong crosses the Aegean to annex western Anatolia. The campaign proves a success in its first year since the Turkish nationalists can barely muster an army from scratch. 19 May 1919 03 ENTER MUSTAFA KEMAL PASHA Renowned for his leadership during…

One date is indelibly seared into English memory: 1066. Even those with little interest in or knowledge of history know enough about that fateful year to recall the crucial incidents, portrayed with such skill and attention to detail in the Bayeux Tapestry. Following the death of King Edward ‘The Confessor’ on 5 January, Harold became king amid controversy over a promise that Edward had made to William of Normandy for him to inherit his kingdom. The Normans prepared to invade, but were prevented from leaving their harbours by foul weather. It was then that the Viking army unexpectedly attacked, led by King Harald Hardrada of Norway and Godwinson’s brother, Tostig. They were defeated by Harold at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. All these events and Harold’s dash south to confront…

1070: BUILDING BOOM William begins a period of castle building to garrison his reluctant new realm. Within four years, wooden motte and bailey castles are replaced by stone. These quickly spring up across the country. 1066: ENGLAND’S DESTINY With England’s throne up for grabs, three imperfect claimants make their case through force of arms. William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy – soon to be William the Conqueror – is among them. 1204: NORMANDY FALLS Philip II of France ends the intransigent Duchy of Normandy, absorbing it into his domain. The Norman heartland is no more and England’s ruling class increasingly identify as English. 911: THE NORTH MEN ARRIVE A Norse army sails down the River Seine to besiege Paris. Charles III cedes their leader Rollo land in the north in…

There was little hope that Private First Class Robert F Scherdin was still alive. He was last seen wounded and under heavy fire, and an accompanying Montagnard soldier had been unable to move him. Scherdin was lost during a covert US Army MACV-SOG mission behind enemy lines in Cambodia on 29 December 1968. The role of MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group) was to conduct hit-and-run raids from Vietnam into neighbouring Cambodia and Laos, hopefully disrupting enemy operations at the height of the Vietnam War. Within hours of the engagement, a mission was mounted to find Scherdin, but the situation deteriorated quickly. Another jungle fight Men of Hatchet Force, specially trained in secret search-and-destroy operations and the rescue of missing soldiers, boarded helicopters and sped toward…

FIRST BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN Fought during 1-27 July, the First Battle of El Alamein was part of the Western Desert Campaign in North Africa. German-Italian forces commanded by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel fought the Allied British Eighth Army led by General Claude Auchinleck. Located only 106km from Alexandria, El Alamein was dangerously close to Allied ports and bases in Egypt that protected the Suez Canal. Rommel’s 96,000 troops (most of whom were Italian) failed to break through the defences of Auchinleck’s 150,000-strong force, largely because of logistical problems. Allied casualties were 13,250 compared to Axis losses of 17,000. Although much less famous than the Second Battle of El Alamein in October-November 1942, the first battle halted an Axis advance into Egypt. “EL ALAMEIN WAS DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO ALLIED PORTS…

Opened in 2014, the Soldiers of Oxfordshire (SOFO) Museum – located in Woodstock – tells the story of how conflict has affected the county and its people, from service personnel on the front lines to civilians on the Home Front. Its new exhibition, unveiled on 2 June, is continuing its work by examining the lives of children whose family members are in the British Armed Forces. The display, focusing primarily on Oxfordshire, will likewise showcase the often harrowing experiences of children who become victims of war, including the Second World War’s evacuee programme and today’s refugees and asylum seekers. The SOFO Museum has partnered with two charities, Little Troopers and Brian McCarty’s War Toys, to bring together the collection of objects and photos featured in the exhibition. Visitors will be…

On 30 October 1918 representatives of the Allies and the Ottoman Empire signed the Armistice of Mudros aboard HMS Agamemnon in Mudros harbour, ending hostilities between the two sides. Before the ink was dry, the Allies commenced talks on partitioning the Ottoman Empire and a series of agreements led to the Middle East becoming dominated by the Western Powers. During early 1919 the British were keen to see Greece take control of the Vilayet of Aidin, an Ottoman province in Anatolia. Both the British and the Greeks argued that local Christian populations in the province were under threat from the Turks and sought the backing of the US and France for Greek troops to land and take control of Smyrna (Izmir). By May, Western warships began moving to support a…

The Dieppe Raid took place on 19 August 1942 during one of the darkest periods for the Allies. Organised by Vice-Admiral Lord Mountbatten and his staff at Combined Operations Headquarters (COHQ), a predominantly Canadian force landed at the German-held seaport of Dieppe tasked with occupying the French coastal commune, destroying fortifications, damaging harbour facilities and gathering enemy intelligence – all within a few hours. A series of blunders, including a gross underestimation of the German defences, a failure to take the enemy by surprise and issues navigating the terrain led to what is today perceived as a debacle. The Allies suffered over 3,000 casualties, most of whom were Canadian. Both sides nevertheless spun it as a victory in what became a propaganda war, and the raid remains a topic of…

In some ways the Duchy of Normandy was a simulacrum of the Danelaw in England, the area which had fallen under Danish control. The Normans were similar to Vikings, and had been granted the dukedom in 911 when Charles ‘the Simple’, the king of France, had come to an accommodation with a Norwegian adventurer called Rollo, who was granted lands around Rouen. As a condition of the settlement Rollo had been baptised and all his followers with him. The Norman Vikings had become devout Christians. Within a few generations they had adopted the French language as their own, and had co-mingled with the native population. Just as in England, their actual numbers were small and they were primarily a military feudal aristocracy ruling over a Norman duchy, which grew considerably…

This single-seat aircraft looks like an unlikely candidate to be one of the most successful fighters and fighter bombers of the Second World War. It lacks the streamlined grace of other fighters, with its massive rotary engine creating a blunt, stubby profile – but its brute force and unstoppable power led to the nickname Juggernaut, or just Jug, among its pilots. It was fast, reliable and very rugged, able to survive a surprising amount of damage and still bring its pilot home. Its eight machine guns packed a powerful punch, and once coupled with adequate external fuel tanks it was able to escort American bombers all the way to Germany and, with the P-51 Mustang, destroy the German air force. Based on the pre-war P-43 and P-44 designs, Republic Aviation…

Learn about restoration work to a Dunkirk painting at Churchill’s former house, the UK’s top WWII festival, an exhibition on children of service personnel, and the opening of the Wrens Museum Located near Westerham, Kent, Chartwell is the former home of Sir Winston Churchill and present-day National Trust property. The house has long highlighted the life of Britain’s most iconic wartime leader and now, following extensive conservation work, it has put on public display a painting of the Dunkirk evacuation once owned by the late prime minister. The oil canvas piece, created by artist Ernest Townsend and gifted to Churchill by the painter’s son after the war, depicts several of the 300,000 soldiers who, in May and June 1940, were rescued from France after the Nazi invasion. Churchill said he…

Once the sleeping quarters of Liverpool’s Western Approaches – the headquarters for the coordination of the Battle of the Atlantic from 1941 to 1945 – a new Wrens Museum has been opened to explore the contribution made by women in the Royal Navy service. The recently unveiled collection chronicles the branch from its inception in 1917 until its integration into the Royal Navy in 1993, exploring not only their service but also the individual stories involved in it and the personal experiences obtained through it. Its placement in Western Approaches, which is today a museum unto itself, has a historical significance in that 80 percent of the former headquarters’ staff were women during WWII. Their time at the Liverpool-based facility – across an expansive and critical range of roles –…

LEAPING INTO ACTION 26 April 1941 British soldiers of 2nd Battalion, Monmouthshire Regiment jump from their Universal Carrier during an exercise near Newry in Northern Ireland. During WWII, this Welsh battalion fought extensively in the Normandy Campaign, particularly at the Battles of Caen and Falaise Gap. They went on to liberate Merville in northern France, advanced into the Netherlands and fought at the Battle of the Bulge. The 2nd Monmouths entered Germany on 8 February 1945 and ended their war at Hamburg. THE NIGHT WATCH Painted 1642 Created by the renowned artist Rembrandt van Rijn, De Nachtwacht (The Night Watch) is one of the most famous paintings of the Dutch Golden Age. Measuring a colossal 363x467cm, it was commissioned by Captain Frans Banninck Cocq to depict him and over a…

Following the initial landings, the Greeks sought to strengthen their position by pushing into surrounding territory. The Hellenic Army of Occupation in Izmir was renamed the Occupation Field Army of Asia Minor in December 1919. The Greeks were supported by the British, who supplied naval, land and air power, and by the Kuvâ-i Inzibâtiyye (Forces of Order), an Ottoman force established to counter the Türk Ulusal Hareketi (Turkish National Movement). Reinforcements were dispatched to Smyrna, and by May 1920 the Greek force totalled 3,248 officers and 91,063 men. Initial moves were made the same month: the Kuvâ-i Inzibâtiyye attempted to seize Geyve and Izmit but were repelled. Nevertheless, they dug in outside Izmit while British troops acted in support. The following month, Turkish forces attempted to drive back the Kuvâ-i…

Two years and 14 days after the Dieppe raid – 1 September 1944 – the first group of men from the 2nd Canadian Division entered the town. The lead reconnaissance unit had prepared for gunfire, but instead they encountered crowds of cheering people thronging the streets. “There’s an operation that’s going to bring in heavy bombers,” says Dr Cook. “They’re going to saturate-bomb [Dieppe]. And at the last moment… a Canadian scout who goes in and sees the Germans have fled… they call off this operation. And wouldn’t that have been a bit of a different story — if the Canadians were waiting on the outskirts about to attack, guns ablaze, artillery smashing, tanks hurling shells, and with this massive carpet bombing of several hundred heavy bombers? That didn’t happen.…

Taking place between 22-24 July 2022 at the Blackpit Brewery in Buckinghamshire, We Have Ways Fest is Britain’s number-one Second World War festival. A packed weekend full of entertainment for all the family, it includes an exciting combination of incredible displays of military hardware and fascinating historical talks and debates. Back for its second year, the festival has its origins in the hugely successful podcast We Have Ways of Making You Talk, which is co-hosted by bestselling author and broadcaster James Holland with award-wining comedian and keen historian Al Murray. Since its launch three years ago, the podcast has been downloaded 20 million times and is one of the biggest podcasts in the UK. We Have Ways Fest includes more than 50 talks and discussions, including with Jack Mann, one…

Author: Robert Verkaik Publisher: Welbeck Price: £20 (hardback) Released: Out now The story of Colditz is well-trodden ground, being the inspiration for numerous movies, TV series and books. Colditz Castle in Saxony was supposedly escape-proof, but the Allied prisoners held there excelled in proving otherwise. Accomplished author and journalist Robert Verkaik now brings an intriguing new spin to the tale – one of betrayal by Nazi collaborators. At the height of the Second World War the Nazis placed a double agent in Colditz to gather intelligence on British escape plans. The operation involved Walter Purdy, a former member of Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists (BUF). He had been captured in 1940 after the ship he was serving on was sunk off Norway. Rather than remain a prisoner of war…

On May 12 1982 a remarkable and somewhat unexpected discovery was made ahead of building work in Coppergate, York. Excavations in the area, carried out by the York Archaeological Trust, had been completed a year earlier and, in the process, had shed greater light on the Viking city of Jorvik. However, in advance of the development of a local shopping centre, a mechanical excavator struck a solid object that later turned out to be a wood-lined pit. Within it was one of the best-preserved helmets to have survived Anglo-Saxon Britain, today known as the York Helmet. Deliberately buried and partly deconstructed, the piece of armour, which is stylistically Northumbrian and dates back to the second half of the 8th century, has since been restored to its original state by the…