Battle
ANZACs Blocking a Blitzkrieg: the battle of Vevi, 10–13 April 1941 Part 3
The dispositions of forces on 10 April. The blue arrows indicate German advances and the Allied lines are shown in red. Vevi and the Klidi Pass are upper centre, 19th Brigade HQ is in the centre and Mackay Force HQ is at Perdika, lower centre. The hasty assembly of the defending force showed in myriad ways, one of the more…
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“Lee’s Warhorse”
General James Longstreet’s disagreement with Robert E. Lee over tactics at Gettysburg did not affect their close friendship. “The relations existing between us were affectionate, confidential and even tender, from first to last,” Longstreet later wrote. “There was never a harsh word between us.” During the night of July 1…
Guelphs and Ghibellines
Battle of Benevento – Charles I defeats Frederick II’s son, Manfred, in 1266, to secure Sicily and put an end to Italian Hohenstaufen rule. The importance of this victory to the Angevins finds testimony in this painting, made almost 200 years later. Italy witnessed mounting opposition between emperors and popes…
Festungs SchneidemĂĽhl redux
Festung SchneidemĂĽhl was formally constituted on 12 Oct 1944 with the appointment of a Festungs-Kommandant, but not much was done to prepare the defenses of the small city until the Soviet winter offensive began on 12 January. By 8 Feb 1945 the fortress garrison consisted of four static regiments made…
Photos: Festung Breslau – 1945
Hitler Youth defend Festung Breslau LINK The city was besieged as part of the Lower Silesian Offensive Operation (8–24 February 1945) on 13 February by the 6th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front commanded by Marshal Ivan Koniev, and the encirclement of Breslau was completed the following day. The 1st…
Zhukov restores order
Zhukov seized the opportunity to restore order, declaring martial law on 19 October 1941 and putting nine reserve armies into place behind the river Volga. Although they consisted mostly of raw recruits and previous military rejects, they numbered 900,000 men in all and would, Stalin and Zhukov hoped, provide a…
Stalin Stays at Moscow
As the Barbarossa invasion proceeded, the wear and tear of flying almost continual missions began to tell on the German aircraft. By the end of July 1941 there were only just over 1,000 planes in operation. Command of the air counted for little if there were too few bombers to…