2013 the year ahead

So only two weeks into 2013 and already it is shaping up to be a busy year for me and hopefully a very productive year research wise.

First up I have an ongoing research project for the Redoubt Fortress and Museum. I am currently researching the Royal Artillery for a display that needs refreshing. I have the initial plan for what I think would make an interesting and engaging exhibition.

This research has lead to me reading Paddy Griffiths excellent Battle Tactics of the Western Front: The British Army’s Art of Attack 1916 – 18.

The chapter on the artillery is very interesting and shows that far from just wasting shells in fruitless weeklong barrages, the artillery were innovating and constantly tinkering with various technologies, techniques and munitions. He finishes the chapter by saying that while there may have been wastage in previous battles “a new standard of economy and accuracy had certainly been attained during the final year of the war.”[1] 

I am also doing some research for an independent film “Sixth Monkey” while not related to conflict or military history directly this is useful experience for me. The themes of the film focus on animal rights and activism (or at least these themes I have researched so far). Check out the website for the film Sixth Monkey.

Finally I have a battlefield tour to Nasby to plan for my Wargames group that I belong to, so I have some research to do for that as well as a recce. A battlefield tour to the Market Garden area of operations is also in the pipeline subject to funds and time permitting. This will primarily be with friends as I must admit that I have never visited the area despite writing about Market Garden for my dissertation.

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[1] Griffiths, P.  Battle Tactics of the Western Front: The British Army’s Art of Attack 1916 – 18 P.158

Online Journal

So while looking on the internet for various conflict related articles I came across an interesting and relatively new online Journal. What is more is that the Journal is free to subscribe to.

Browsing the articles from the two issues the Journal is primarily based on current operational thinking. However there are a number of stand out articles that I plan on reading over the next week: “Vehicle Movement in High Threat Environments” by Mark Richards and “Whither Armor?” by Clint Ancker.

The Journal so far seems to have a good selection of backgrounds among the authors.

The title of the Journal is “The Journal of Military Operations” and can be accessed via the following link: https://www.tjomo.com/

Shot at Dawn

Currently I am reading an interesting book on the subject of executions during the First World War by authority of the British Army Act.

This is previously a subject that I have not had a great deal of interest in. It has so far made for an interesting reading and provided me with some food for thought for further research. It is also going to be a very useful aid for further writing on the First World War and for tours to the various First World War cemeteries that contain graves of these men.

So far the book presents a fair account of the crimes and subsequent trials of the men sentenced to be shot. When discussing this subject with people the old stereotype of shell shocked soldiers being sentenced to death by officers who have never set foot in the trenches rears its ugly head. For me this is where the book excels in its detail, it offers a fair bit of information on the individual trials where this was available at the time it was written as well as the general procedures that were followed during the different types of Court Martial and confirmation of the sentence.

There will be more detail to follow regarding this book once I have had a chance to finish reading it and write a more detailed review of it.

The book is J. Putkowski & J. Sykes, Shot At Dawn: Executions In World War One By Authority of the British Army Act.

The Great War

Recently there has been an increase in articles in the national press relating to the Great War. With just under two years left until the centenary of the outbreak of war this is understandable. The build up is going to result in an renewed interest and hopefully a desire to understand the battles of the Great War past the tired and worn stereotype of lions led by donkeys.

There are already a number of authors who hold this revisionist view and their number is growing especially among academic circles. I believe this will lead to a far better understanding of the British “Tommie” of 1914-18, what motivated him, what he was equipped with, how he was trained and importantly how he was commanded and controlled once in battle.

Mons and the subsequent retreat will be the first battle to be commemorated by the British. This was an important milestone for the British as it marked the first time in nearly a century that they had placed an army in north west Europe. It was also the first time that the BEF created by Lord Haldane would see action.  

The battles of Mons and Le Cateau followed by the rearguard actions as the BEF retreated would see the BEF tested to its limits both at an individual and command level. It provides an interesting contrast to the image of mud and trenches and was one of the last times in the war that the artillery would be deployed in the traditional sense and firing over open sights at the enemy.

Some books I would recommend are:

Richard Holmes – Riding the Retreat. This book is as much a battlefield tour as it is a history of the opening actions and retreat. Filled with plenty of great accounts and told in the usual highly readable style of Richard Holmes.

John Terraine – Mons: The Retreat to Victory. Again another book by a respected author and one that I admittedly haven’t read in a few years but was a very good account of the actions.

This months Military History Monthly has an interesting article on Mons as well.

Photo source - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/6461635/Poppy-Appeal-pinning-down-poppy-etiquette.html

An update.

So it has been quite a while since my last post. IT has been a busy and hectic last few months. Now that winter is upon us I plan to try and update the blog roughly once every week.

What have I been up to that has kept me away from my blog.

Well I have been on a number of battlefield tours as a member of the Guild of Battlefield Guides. I have been to Mons and Le Cateau and the route that the BEF retreated down in 1914.

I have visited the sites of Dieppe and Bruneval raids. Both occurred in 1942 and both were very different and had very different outcomes.

I have also had a day trip to Dunkirk and a few of the locations related to the 1940 campaign in France.

I am also about to start some research into the Royal Artillery.

Hopefully this will give me plenty of inspiration for writing and provide some interesting updates to this blog. 

Own Goal

Well the Argentinean Olympic advert that became news last week has proved to be a bit of an own goal. As ever Kirchner championed this latest swipe at British sovereignty over the islands. As ever laying claim to the islands with politically charged stunts. It does finish with a statement about veterans of the conflict, but fails to mention that it was a conflict that Argentina started. As provocative as the advert is, it now looks like the athlete (Fernando Zylberberg) who features in it, has been deselected from the Argentine team.

This will be a bit of an embarrassment to Kirchner having made such a big deal of the advert by endorsing it. It will also be an embarrassment to the Argentine government as they are always quick to condemn any British publicity over the islands. Not only that but international politics should be left out of sport and really goes against everything the Olympics stands for. Thankfully even the Argentine Olympic Committee has distanced itself from the advert.

With the Olympics drawing ever closer it will be interesting to see what else the Argentine government can come up with to highlight their dispute over the sovereignty of the islands.

Kabul 2012

April saw the deadly attacks on Kabul from within the city. These attacks were significant as it showed not only the vulnerability of the city but also the ability of the reinvigorated Taliban to strike where they please.

While the attacks may not have caused an enormous amount of physical damage, the attacks were a spectacular PR victory for the Taliban. The PR success was then made all the greater by President Karzai declaring it a failure on the part of NATO intelligence, once more showing Karzai to be playing at political point scoring.

It is true that this was a failure on the part of NATO to prevent these attacks, however it must be remembered that Afghan forces should also be able to detect and stop such attacks occurring as it is not long until the NATO forces that Karzai likes to criticize so much withdraw from the country.

While people may like to make comparisons with the American involvement in Vietnam, the Taleban are unlikely to achieve a military victory over the coalition forces. Once the coalition forces have withdrawn from the country and there are only “advisors” left then it might be a different matter. This is where American involvement may become a little closer to the Vietnam comparison and the Taliban will no doubt be prepared to bleed American and Afghan forces until the final American forces depart from the country. If the Taliban are then able to take on and defeat Afghan government forces then it will add a further perceived “cut and run” laurel to the American reputation.

That is not to say that it is inevitable that the Taliban will emerge as the victors. There are many factors that could prevent that including some of the powerful tribal forces of various warlods switching sides once the foreign forces have left.

It will be interesting over the coming weeks to see if there are further “spectacular” attacks carried out and claimed by the Taliban. It will also be interesting to see the long term implications on the drawdown of forces and the timetable for the exit. 

Photo source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2012/apr/15/kabul-attacks-live-updates