Podcasts about Royal Artillery

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2024 90:18

CONTENT The guest today is Neale Smiles a former Gunner now working in the defence industry. Neale often posts his thoughts on military matters on LinkedIn and was a guest on pod 51 where we discussed “Guns, Rockets & Training For War”. So if you have an interest in all things artillery it is worth a listen. Even if you don't check it out as Ukraine is proving, Gunners are still one of the biggest killers on the contemporary battlespace. On this episode we discuss the Past, Present And Future Of Drones In The British Army. We cover:The development of Artillery air OPs in WW2 .The pioneering work using drones post war by the Royal Artillery.Hermes 450 and Watchkeeper drones.The Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance process known as ISTAR which is the activity of "equipping forces' with information and intelligence to assist in combat roles and other operational duties. This often derives from linked information networks which improve upon situational awareness".where drones currently operate in this space and more importantly where they perhaps could operate.Should the Royal Artillery operate Watchkeeper.Drones in Ukraine.The future of drones in the British army. No Desert Island Dits on this episode as Neale has been on before however we do discuss his current read "First To Fight - The Polish War 1939" by Roger Moorhouse. WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICES Most of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales. "BUY ME A COFFEE" If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

S4 #057 Artillery Gun Raids On Op GRANBY (Gulf War 1991)

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Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2024 43:48

CONTENTThe guest today is former soldier Kev Brain who joined the Royal Artillery in 1975 completing 22 years service with the colours. He deployed on multiple operational tours to Northern Ireland and also on Operation GRANBY better known as the first Gulf War in 1991 as a Sergeant Gun number 1 in charge of a M110 203mm howitzer specifically built for general support and counter battery fire. He describes his career in the lead up to the deployment and what it was like to take part on the gun raids so effective at depleting the Iraqi artillery assets. In these raids, a battery would move forward to preselected positions near the enemy, fire a predetermined amount of rounds at selected targets, and move quickly back to avoid counterfire. These raids not only kept pressure on the enemy, but also afforded great live fire training, particularly gunnery and movement, which would be needed later to support the ground attack and the rapid advance into Iraq and Kuwait.WHERE TO GET OUR DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICESMost of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales. "BUY ME A COFFEE"If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here.SOCIAL MEDIACheck out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional SoldierInstagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod.Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473.Download these and other platforms via Link Tree.Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.NOTE: I would like to acknowledge the following sources for quotes and information used in my opening narrative "The Army Historical Foundation - The Gulf War & European Artillery" & RA Museum "Gunners In The Gulf War 1991". Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 156 - The Battle of Congella leaves 34 British soldiers dead on a moonlit Durban beach

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2024 21:19

When we left off last episode, Captain Thomas Smith and two companies of the 27th Inniskilling Regiment, an 18 pounder that had just arrived by ship, two six pounder field guns, a small section of the Royal Artillery, a hand full of Royal Engineers, Sappers and miners, along with a company of Cape Mountain Rifles had formed their laager at level area to then north of Durban CBD today - where the Old Fort can be seen. Just a note - the 27th Inniskilling were an Irish infantry regiment of the British army, formed in 1689 so they'd been around the block so to speak. Boer commander Andries Pretorius had called his men to where he'd setup camp at Congella and by the time this battle commenced, there'd be more than 200 ready to face Smith's professional soldiers. The British were hopelessly optimistic in their plans as you're going to hear. Some of the English traders left at Port Natal, Henry Ogle for example, had warned Captain Smith that his force was somewhat underwhelming and that the Boers were not to be taken lightly. Smith unfortunately had no choice but to impose himself. He'd marched to Durban from Umgazi, and the last orders he'd received from Cape Governor Sir George Napier was to secure the bay for the British Empire. I've already explained that back in England, the Secretary for War and the Colonies Lord Stanley had changed his mind and ordered Smith back to base but his letter was going to arrive woefully too late. Captain Smith was aware of the Boer capacity to fight in bush, so he ordered his men to march along the beachfront. A stunning full moon was shining, causing the waves to fluoresce. Anyone who's marched on a beach knows that its very difficult, made worse by the horses and of course, dragging the three guns along - while they were obviously now clearly visible to anyone lurking in the bush on the dunes. It was low tide, so the going was good at first as the hard sand made things a little easier. The British also deployed a howitzer on a long boat from the Mazeppa which was how folks made difficult trip between ships at anchor in Durban Bay and across the dangerous sandbar to the beach. Smith was hoping that the longboat could row to the beach at high tide to offload the howitzer — but that was seven hours away. There were a lot of what if's that dogged Smith's plan as you can see. Pretorius had also given strict orders that no Boer should fire until the British troops were within 100 metres of the camp. The burghers waited until at Pretoriu's command, five shots rang out. An ox at each of the three gun carriages was shot dead by the sharpshooters only a few metres away in the bush. That wasn't all, Lieutenant Wyatt and a private of the Inniskilling regiment were both shot in the head and killed instantly. Pandemonium broke out in the British ranks. The surviving oxen panicked, but were now dragging the gun and a dead ox with them, while the canon were actually pointed away from the Boer laager so couldn't even be brought to bear and fired. The British in their redcoats dived onto the sand, firing back into the darkness. The soldiers were caught in the full moon light which back in these days of zero light pollution, was like a flare in the sky. The English were in big trouble.

Episode 156 - The Battle of Congella leaves 34 British soldiers dead on a moonlit Durban beach

Manx Radio's Island Life Series - Specials

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2024 21:19

When we left off last episode, Captain Thomas Smith and two companies of the 27th Inniskilling Regiment, an 18 pounder that had just arrived by ship, two six pounder field guns, a small section of the Royal Artillery, a hand full of Royal Engineers, Sappers and miners, along with a company of Cape Mountain Rifles had formed their laager at level area to then north of Durban CBD today - where the Old Fort can be seen. Just a note - the 27th Inniskilling were an Irish infantry regiment of the British army, formed in 1689 so they'd been around the block so to speak. Boer commander Andries Pretorius had called his men to where he'd setup camp at Congella and by the time this battle commenced, there'd be more than 200 ready to face Smith's professional soldiers. The British were hopelessly optimistic in their plans as you're going to hear. Some of the English traders left at Port Natal, Henry Ogle for example, had warned Captain Smith that his force was somewhat underwhelming and that the Boers were not to be taken lightly. Smith unfortunately had no choice but to impose himself. He'd marched to Durban from Umgazi, and the last orders he'd received from Cape Governor Sir George Napier was to secure the bay for the British Empire. I've already explained that back in England, the Secretary for War and the Colonies Lord Stanley had changed his mind and ordered Smith back to base but his letter was going to arrive woefully too late. Captain Smith was aware of the Boer capacity to fight in bush, so he ordered his men to march along the beachfront. A stunning full moon was shining, causing the waves to fluoresce. Anyone who's marched on a beach knows that its very difficult, made worse by the horses and of course, dragging the three guns along - while they were obviously now clearly visible to anyone lurking in the bush on the dunes. It was low tide, so the going was good at first as the hard sand made things a little easier. The British also deployed a howitzer on a long boat from the Mazeppa which was how folks made difficult trip between ships at anchor in Durban Bay and across the dangerous sandbar to the beach. Smith was hoping that the longboat could row to the beach at high tide to offload the howitzer — but that was seven hours away. There were a lot of what if's that dogged Smith's plan as you can see. Pretorius had also given strict orders that no Boer should fire until the British troops were within 100 metres of the camp. The burghers waited until at Pretoriu's command, five shots rang out. An ox at each of the three gun carriages was shot dead by the sharpshooters only a few metres away in the bush. That wasn't all, Lieutenant Wyatt and a private of the Inniskilling regiment were both shot in the head and killed instantly. Pandemonium broke out in the British ranks. The surviving oxen panicked, but were now dragging the gun and a dead ox with them, while the canon were actually pointed away from the Boer laager so couldn't even be brought to bear and fired. The British in their redcoats dived onto the sand, firing back into the darkness. The soldiers were caught in the full moon light which back in these days of zero light pollution, was like a flare in the sky. The English were in big trouble.

The Forgotten Army

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2023 46:03

101-year-old Port Erin resident James Fenton was a Bombardier with 178 Field Regiment of the Royal Artillery during WWII. At the age of 20, he was sent to fight in the steamy jungles of Burma as part of the 14th Army, the so-called “Forgotten Army”. Listen now to James's incredible story in full, as part of Remembrance 2023. James recalls his exploits in Primary Training and thoughts on life when he was posted to the far east. From dealing with the hazards of malaria ridden mosquitos, snakes and scorpions to the daily onslaught of shelling by the Japanese army. James always had a passion for art and photography and recalls developing films whilst under a tarpaulin as the enemy sent wave after wave of mortars into his camp. After the war and a career in design, James moved to the Isle of Man to open the photographic museum in Port Erin.

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S4 #051 Guns, Rockets & Training For War

england memorial designed first world war western front royal artillery

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 30, 2023 90:19

CONTENT The guest today is Neale Smiles, a former Gunner now working in the defence industry. Neale often posts his thoughts on military matters on LinkedIn and it was one on the future of the Royal Artillery that got my attention. In it he stated that: “when you aren't equipped or established to fight in the traditional combined arms manner you have to change” In this episode Neale will set out the changes he feels the Army and specifically the Gunners should make and we discuss: The current state of the Army. How the army should train and the use of simulation. Future soldier concept and the shift from close to deep battle. Moving close support artillery to the infantry to be owned by the infantry and how that would look. The RA to be a missile only deep effects organisation Use of UAS on the battle space. The challenges of recruitment. Neale can be contacted at the following email address: neale@emessue.com. DESERT ISLAND DITS BOOK CHOICES Most of our book recommendations can be bought via the Unconventional Soldier Bookshop. 10% of each purchase supports the pod and helps independent book stores on line sales. My choice was Berlin: The Downfall 1945 by Antony Beevor. The guest's choice was Slow Horses by Mick Herron. "BUY ME A COFFEE" If you want to support the podcast you can buy me a coffee here. SOCIAL MEDIA Check out our blog site on Wordpress Unconventional Soldier Follow us on social media and don't forget to like, share and leave a review. Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod. Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473. Download these and other platforms via Link Tree. Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.

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Gunner Jaysley Beck's mother, Organist Anna Lapwood, Menopause tribunal, Mary McAleese, Grace Dent

Woman's Hour

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 7, 2023 54:04

Female teenage soldier Jaysley Beck is believed to have taken her own life after a period of relentless sexual harassment from one of her bosses, an Army investigation has found. Gunner Beck was serving in the Royal Artillery and was found dead at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in December 2021. Her mother, Leighann McCready, speaks to Emma Barnett. Nicknamed 'the Taylor Swift of classical music', Anna Lapwood is one of the world's most famous organists, and Director of Music at Pembroke College, Cambridge. To encourage more women to try the instrument, Anna initiated the social media hashtag #playlikeagirl. She joins Emma to talk about her music and her new album, Luna. We hear from Karen Farquharson who has been awarded £37,000 at an employment tribunal after her boss told her she used the menopause as an “excuse for everything”. She tells Emma how the process has impacted her and why she wants to help other women. This week marked the start of a Catholic synod that will take place throughout October in the Vatican to discuss the direction of the Catholic Church. Emma talks to former Irish president Mary McAleese about why she thinks women should play a bigger role. And the food writer Grace Dent joins Anita Rani to talk about her new book, Comfort Eating, inspired by her podcast of the same name. She'll explain why she's so fascinated by the foods that make us feel better behind closed doors. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Lottie Garton

Gunner Jaysley Beck's mother, Wild Hope, Earth Mama, Dangerous dogs

Woman's Hour

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2023 56:07

An army investigation has found that 19-year-old soldier Jaysley Beck is believed to have taken her own life after a period of relentless sexual harassment from one of her bosses. The gunner was serving in the Royal Artillery, and was found dead at the Larkhill army camp in Wiltshire in December 2021. Her mother, Leighann McCready, joins Emma along with Emma Norton, director and solicitor for the Centre for Military Justice. Poet Donna Ashworth has released a new collection of her work, Wild Hope. It is a selection of poems and passages that she hopes will help people to find hope in an increasingly pressurised world. She joins Emma to talk about why she picked up poetry in her 40s, and how it has changed her life. Savanah Leaf is a Team GB volleyball player turned film director, whose feature film Earth Mama is playing at the London Film Festival this week. Having competed in the 2012 Olympics, Savanah turned to filmmaking as a hobby when recovering from an injury. She joins Emma to discuss the transferable skills between sports and directing and tackling the US foster care system in her directorial debut. Lakaydia Reynolds was walking through a park in south London on her way to a driving lesson when she was attacked by three dogs. The dog's owner tried to intervene, but the dogs injured her arm, legs and face. A stranger saw the attack and filmed it happening, rather than moving to intervene. The footage was uploaded to social media, where it has been viewed tens of thousands of times. Emma talks to Lakaydia about what she experienced. Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Rebecca Myatt Studio manager: Emma Harth

mother olympic games beck team gb wiltshire savanah london film festival military justice earth mama dangerous dogs wild hope royal artillery emma norton

S1E113 - Royal Artillery Memorial

Random Knowledge

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 29, 2023 23:55

The Royal Artillery Memorial is a First World War memorial located on Hyde Park Corner in London, England. Designed by Charles Sargeant Jagger, with architectural work by Lionel Pearson, and unveiled in 1925, the memorial commemorates the 49,076 soldiers from the Royal Artillery killed in the First World War. The static nature of the conflict, particularly on the Western Front, meant that artillery played a major role in the war, though physical reminders of the fighting were often avoided in the years after the war. The Royal Artillery War Commemoration Fund (RAWCF) was formed in 1918 to preside over the regiment's commemorations, aware of some dissatisfaction with memorials to previous wars. The RAWCF approached several eminent architects but its insistence on a visual representation of artillery meant that none was able to produce a satisfactory design. Thus they approached Jagger, himself an ex-soldier who had been wounded in the war. Jagger produced a design which was accepted in 1922, though he modified it several times before construction. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Artillery_Memorial License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0;

Revisited – The Don Of The Southern Boundary with Les Bird

True Fiction Project

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 27, 2023 35:04

Welcome to this revisited episode of the True Fiction Project Podcast. I have the privilege of speaking with Les Bird about his fascinating history as a Marine Police Officer in 1976 during the Hong Kong Handover. Les has now written two books about his 21 years in the Marines and his work in helping Vietnamese refugees arrive safely in Hong Kong following the end of the Vietnam War. He recounts specific memories of rescuing refugees from hired criminals and pirates and details the less than ideal conditions of travel that so many Vietnamese braved in order to make it to Hong Kong. Also hear a short story based on Les' Marine adventures called, The Dawn of the Southern Boundary, from Anna Marie Evans. IN THIS EPISODE:[02:41] Who are the “Boatpeople” referenced in Les' book and why were they fleeing to Hong Kong?[07:25] Why did Hong Kong welcome these refugees when other countries were not as willing and what was Les' role as a Marine Police Officer?[10:44] What was Les' connection with a former soldier in South Vietnam?[16:23] What was the condition of the refugees as they arrived in Hong Kong?[19:15] Les recalls memories from his time as an officer and the corruption that he encountered.[29:45] Short story: The Dawn of the Southern Boundary by Anna Marie EvansKEY TAKEAWAYS:It's estimated that starting in 1975, between 1 and 2 million people fled by boat over the next 15 years from Vietnam to Hong Kong. Following the Vietnam War, Hong Kong became a hub for Vietnamese refugees to find safety and through the United Nations, be relocated to other countries like the US, Canada, and Australia.Many Vietnamese refugees arrived in Hong Kong in unsuitable conditions as they were crammed by the thousands on boats for four to five weeks with no sanitation and little fresh air or food. Check out HelloFresh and use my code 50truefictionproject for a great deal: https://www.hellofresh.com/Fiction Credits: Short story written and read by: Anna Marie EvansContact Information: Anna Marie Evans - hkhradio3@gmail.comBIO:Born in 1951, Les comes from a military family. His father, grandfather and three uncles all served in the Royal Navy, whilst his mother served as a gunner with the Royal Artillery during World War II. Les was the second from his family to serve in Hong Kong. His father was part of the British Royal Navy force that came to Hong Kong in August 1945 at the end of the Japanese military occupation and subsequently helped in the policing of the territory throughout 1946.Les Bird joined the Royal Hong Kong Police in 1976 and worked in the Marine Police for 21 years until June 1997. Bird's work was diverse – he was a rural inspector of West Lantau and in the early 80s he returned to launch-going duties overseeing the influx of tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees in the years that followed. During his service, Les commanded three of the five Marine divisions and also headed the SBU, the Marine Fast Pursuit Unit combating cross-border smuggling of people, arms, drugs and luxury cars.After leaving the police in 1997, Les moved into the private sector, working in the security industry across Asia. He is an endurance athlete and has taken part in Ironman events and long-distance triathlons worldwide. He represented Great Britain at the 2009 Ironman World Championship. In 201,1 he swam the English Channel and in 2012, summited Mont Blanc.In 2020, he spoke to a sold-out audience at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival about his memoir “A Small Band of Men: An Englishman's Adventures in Hong Kong's Marine Police.” And at the 2021 Festival, he presented photographs and stories from his second book “Along the Southern Boundary: A Marine Police Officer's Frontline Account of the Vietnamese Boatpeople and their Arrival in Hong Kong.”Les Bird WebsiteLes Bird on FacebookLes Bird on TwitterLes Bird on InstagramLes Bird on LinkedInOur Sponsors:* Check out HelloFresh and use my code 50truefictionproject for a great deal: https://www.hellofresh.com/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Honourable Artillery Company Business Network Event, London with Ed McGuinness and James Clark

Veterans In Politics by CampaignForce

Play Episode Play 29 sec Highlight Listen Later Aug 16, 2023 40:53

Veterans In Politics- Honourable Artillery Company Biz Network Special- with Ed McGuinness and James ClarkRecorded in front of a studio audience at the Honourable Artillery Company with their Business Network and our guests Ed McGuinness and James Clark from the Conservative Friends of the Armed Forces.This was a fun episode to record and it was great to have Ed and James return to the show as previous podcast guests. Ed served in the Royal Artillery and James in the Infantry, and our host Jonny even served with James in Afghanistan having done their pre-deployment training together.We cover off their military story, why they got into politics, cats, doorknocking and fighting Jeremy Corbyn in a General Election. It was great fun.Huge thanks to the Honourable Artillery Company for hosting.To find out more about the HAC see here:Home Main (hac.org.uk)LINKS:Join our Facebook Group community here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2314725475490967/Engage with us on LinkedIn here:https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13628154/Insta/Twitter/Facebook: @CampaignForceUKor email the host jonny@campaignforce.co.ukStand Up and Serve Again!Support the show✅Support The Show Help Us Grow! Help us reach more veterans by donating the cost of a cup of coffee today...

Our Friends in the North

Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2023 29:33

Dion and Joe debate and disagree about friendships and links between the north and south. They recall some fascinating incidents from the Troubles, including the forgotten heroism of Major Mike Guerin of the Light Air Defence regiment of the Royal Artillery, a real life Bruce Willis. And if a young man gets an excruciating tattoo after losing a bet in Vegas, you might think he would do it for a greater cause than Joe Brolly. Dion also reveals that some of his best friends are Protestants.Free State with Joe Brolly and Dion Fanning is a Gold Hat Production in association with SwanMcG.For more on Free State: https://freestatepodcast.com/To get in touch with the podcast: info@freestatepodcast.comTwitter: @dionfanning @JoeBrolly1993 @freestateirlInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefreestatepodcast/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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World War Two African victory and 'Kai Tak heart attack'

The History Hour

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2023 51:22

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service. We hear about the Allies' campaign in North Africa in the Second World War in 1943. Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in 2025, the BBC is trying to gather as many first-hand accounts from surviving veterans as possible, to preserve for future generations. Working with a number of partners, including the Normandy Memorial Trust and the Royal British Legion, the BBC has spoken to many men and women who served during the war. We are calling the collection World War Two: We were there. We also have the story of the last flight out of the old international Hong Kong airport in 1998. The approach to the airport was known as 'the Kai Tak heart attack' because of it's location between the mountains and the city. As well as the end of the uprising in the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw, the sinking of the 'Indian Titanic' and the United States' bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. Contributors: Peter Royle - British Army Captain in the Royal Artillery. Dr Helen Fry - author and historian, specialising in the Second World War. Simha "Kazik" Rotem - a Jewish fighter in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Arvind Jhani and Tej Mangat - survivors of the sinking of the SS Tilawa. Captain Kim Sharman - the pilot of the last passenger flight out of Kai Tak. (Photo: Tunis victory parade, 20 May 1943. Credit: Peter Royle)

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Episode 82 - Billy Moore meets Rusty Firmin

The All or Nothing Podcast with Billy Moore

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2023 69:52

Rusty Firmin was born in Carlisle in 1950. He joined the Royal Artillery at an early age and was then posted to 49 Field Regiment RA and subsequently to the 29 Commando RA. Getting a taste for commando ops, Rusty passed the SAS gruelling selection and joined B-Squadron 22 (SAS) Regiment in 1977. There were numerous desert training trips to the Middle East, four tours in Northern Ireland on both covert and overt operations, the Falkland Island conflict (image top right), four tours on the counter terrorist team and was heavily involved as a Blue Team leader as a lance corporal at the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege in London where he was directly involved with the incidents inside the embassy

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Dans le viseur #49 : Pluie de grenades en Afghanistan

afghanistan dans grenades pluie herrick viseur en afghanistan royal artillery

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2023 19:27

Dans ce nouvel épisode dans le viseur, Ryan Noordally, sergent dans la Royal Artillery britannique, raconte une attaque qu'il a subie lors de son déploiement en Afghanistan en 2012, au sein de l'opération Herrick.

- 65 - Pacific War - First Chindits expedition and Operation Longcloth, February 14-21, 1943

The Pacific War - week by week

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 14, 2023 45:43

Last time we spoke about the successful execution of operation KE and the battle of Wau. Operation KE was a success and the Japanese had managed to evacuate 10652 men. Simultaneously while Operation KE was going on, the Japanese had refocused on New Guinea and sought to secure their important bases at Lae and Salamaua. In order to secure them the Japanese commenced a new offensive, this time aimed at Wau which held a significant airfield that could be used to threaten Lae and Salamaua. The Japanese managed to land significant forces to hit Wau, but the Australians tenaciously held them back long enough to get reinforcements to Wau to push the Japanese back. The Japanese offensive turned into a catastrophic failure, yet despite being pushed back the Japanese would regroup and plan another offensive to take Wau. But for today we are diving back into the CBI theater. This episode is the First Chindits Expedition: Operation Longcloth Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945. The story of Operation Longcloth and the actions that will take place in Burma require us to talk about some notable figures, one who is to put it frankly, a very bizarre but fascinating man. Orde Wingate was born into a military family in February of 1903, his father was a religious fundamentalist who became a member of the Plymouth Brethren. Wingate and his 6 siblings experienced a very repressed childhood and were kept away from other children for fear of spiritual contamination and would endure a regime of religious mania spending entire days reading and memorizing the Old Testament. For Orde, the religious indoctrination was accompanied by a spirit-shrinking spartan regime, something like a secular boot camp. When his family moved to Godalming, in 1916, Orde was sent to a Charterhouse school. He was very much an outsider there and did not mix with the other children nor participated in any sports. Then in 1921 he was accepted into the Royal Military academy at Woolwich, training as an officer in the Royal Artillery. At this point he suffered a salient trauma, Wingate began breaking all the rules and underwent a ritual known as “running”. The other military students summoned Wingate from his room, stripped him naked and had him run between lines of senior students who whacked him with knotted towels before he was tossed into a tank of icy water, it was the good old running the gauntlet. Wingate would stare the other boys right in the eyes and define them to do their worst to him. Many were intimidated by this and ceased hitting him as a result. Then Wingate would toss himself into the icy water tank. Wingate had thus shown himself to be a student of note at an early age. By 1923 Wingate received his commission as a gunnery officer and a post at Salisbury Plain where he soon gained a reputation for being a skilled horseman and particularly good at the fox hunt. But many who knew of him described him to have a dark side, yet again he always broke the rules and conventions. This became more of an issue by 1926 when he took a post at the military school of Equitation where he became very alienated by his peers and superiors by his arrogant insubordination. But Wingate enjoyed a powerful patronage for at this point in his life his fathers first cousin, “Cousin Rex”, Sir Reginald Wingate, the former Governor-General of Sudan and High commissioner in Egypt took him under his wing. Wingate took leave and began studying Arabic at the London School of Oriental and African Studies and then served in Sudan and Ethiopia. He also carried on a 5 year affair with a woman named Enid Peggy Jelley, to whom he got secretly engaged. But after 6 years after boarding the liner Cathay at Port Said, returning for his marriage to Peggy, he fell in love with a 16 year old girl named Lorna Paterson who was traveling home from Australia. As soon as he got home to Peggy he notified her he was in love with another. Wingate married Lorna in 1935, a woman 13 years younger. In 1936 Wingate became an intelligence officer with the British Mandate in Palestine and almost immediately became an ardent Zionist, though he was not himself Jewish. Palestine at this time had an enormous Jewish population since the end of the first world war and a large influx of those fleeing Nazi Germany in the 1930s. The Arab population saw them as a future threat and guerilla groups sprang up. Archibald Wavell the newly arrived commander in chief in Palestine had Wingate form the Special Night Squads (SNS) to combat Arab terrorism. Wingate was an early proponent of using paramilitary actions at night to induce a unique and singular terror in his enemies. He got the SNS to use slavering dogs, a very calculated piece of cruelty since the animals were regarded as unclean by Muslims. The SNS were basically legitimizing Zionist counterterrorism, using Jewish thugs to strike back at Arab thugs. Wingate performed war crimes and horrible atrocities while leading the SNS and was recalled. This should have been the end to his career, but Wavell and Sir Edmund Ironside kept making up excuses to cover for criticisms against him. These two men managed to get Wingate back into the game by 1941 where he was brought over to Ethiopia to help fight against the Italians. Backed by Wavell, he attempted another go at the SNS, this time named the Gideon Force, a band of irregulars made up of British, Sudanese, Ethiopians and some ex SNS. Wingates force proved spectacularly successful and this time with no controversy. But still because of his tactlessness and insubordination, Wingate ended up getting whisked out of Ethiopia at the end of hostilities. Wingate found himself in Cairo in a major depression, he tried to kill himself with a Ethiopian knife but was saved by a man who drove him to the hospital. There is considerable evidence to suggest Wingate was bipolar and had experienced an acute episode of downswing for his manic-depression. Wingates enemies and critiques were delighted at the news of his downfall and hoped he would be court-martialed and tossed into an asylum, but Wingates backers prompted him up yet again. His suicide attempt was attributed to delirium induced by malaria, but as Churchill's personal physician Lord Moran would write in his diary about Wingate ‘Wingate seemed to be hardly sane . . . in medical jargon a borderline case.' Wingate was certainly a bizarre person, he was also an exhibitionist and extremely eccentric as many sources put it. He was careless in dress, always unkempt, had zero respect for military convention and hierarchy and expected his superiors to satisfy his every whim. When General Auchinlack succeeded Wavell as commander in chief in the middle east he met Wingate who came to his office in shorts, with a dirty solar topi and a greasy blue jacket. Wingate loved to go around camps naked, often appearing out of a shower nude to bark orders at other men. He liked to wear an alarm clock around his wrist that would go off on odd occasions for no particular reason that anyone could figure out. He was rarely seen with his trademark Wolseley helmet and fly whisk. He carried on a string around his neck a raw onion which he occasional snacked upon, cant make that one up people. He had a lot of food fads which he imposed upon his subordinates, such as vegetarianism. He rarely changed his clothes and thought doing laundry was unnecessary. Wingate went through a limbo period until 1942 where Wavell asked for his services to help in South-East Asia. Originally Wingate was told he would be training Chiang kai-sheks forces guerrilla warfare and he was quite unenthusiastic for 2 reasons. 1) such an endeavor he deemed to be like teaching one's grandmother to suck eggs. 2) he wondered what the point was of sending a Middle East expert to the CBI theater? Yet as of February the 27th Wingate found himself departing to be the liberator of Delhi with the rank of major. It would take 3 weeks for him to get over to Wavell and by that time Rangoon had fallen. Wavell told him that his job had thus changed, now he would be in charge of all guerilla operations against the Japanese within Burma.Wingate was sent to Maymyo east of Mandalay to take over the Bush Warfare School being run by another colorful character named Michael Mad Mike Calvert. Calvert was coming back to Maymyo, returning from a failed operation and found Wingate sitting at his desk. Calvert glared at him and asked who he was and calmly Wingate simply stated his name. And would you know it, they got on perfectly fine and even became friends. The two men both decided their first task should be to go down to see Slim at Prome. Slim had met Wingate back in East Africa in 1940, both men serving under Wavell against the Italians. Upon discussing the matters of organized guerilla groups, Slim agreed to some of Wingates ideas but doubted his Ethiopian experience would be relevant for the task. As Slim was becoming very aware, jungle warfare in Burma was a special type of beast. Wingate was very impressed by Slim and said of the man ‘There is only one soldier worthy of the name East of Suez. He is a bad-tempered little terrier by the name of Slim.' When Chiang Kai-shek was departing back to China after a visit in March, Wingate managed to take a seat on the plan alongside him, hoping to learn about warfare in Burma from the generalissimo. However their aircraft was chased by Japanese fighters, ruining times for conversation. Wingate was informed at Chongqing that he would not be receiving Chinese fighters for his programs as they were now going to Stillwell as a result of the catastrophe in Burma. When he returned to Burma he was informed by Calvert they had sent 100 Bush warfare people into the Irrawaddy and only 11 survived, things were chaotic to say the least. Wingate then took Calvert for a week long car tour of the Burmese frontier making careful notes of animals, insects, reptiles, and terrain details. In Delhi on april 24th, Wingate announced he no longer had any interest on training a guerrilla group, but instead wanted to create a more proactive long-range penetration (LRP0 group. He had 3 major motifs for this, 1) the Japanese troops behind the lines had to be inferior to those as the front, thus the British should get behind. 2) They needed to use communications based on radio and supplied by air. 3) They had to cut the Japanese supply lines and destroy their arms dumps, thus typing up disproportionate numbers of the enemy. He continuously made his case to his superiors and many thought him nuts to think he could train men for jungle warfare in just 8 weeks time. But Wingate kept pushing for it, insisting also that all the men must be volunteers and that he needed at minimum 3000 men. The finer points of his idea brought up the need to supply special units with airdrops, not a particularly new idea, but certainly a gung-ho one. His superiors wanted to outright reject his ideas, but Wavell yet again was championing his cause. Wingate won out the day and it was agreed to allocate men to his project. The 77th Indian brigade was formed and it was certainly a motley collection. The main British component was the 13th battalion of the King's liverpool regiment raised in Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool in 1941. These were older, married men with no dreams of martial glory, typically employed in the coastal defense of Britain then suddenly shipped to India after the Japanese went supernova in the east. They displayed a lack of enthusiasm for Wingates ideas, many of them were also too old for jungle combat. Wingate rejected 250 of them off the bat and Wavell gave permission to fill the gaps with other units. The rest would come from two oriental units,the first being the 2nd battalion Burma rifles. These were mainly warriors from anti-Japanese hill tribes, the Kachins, Chins, Karens and such, those personally affected by Japans aggression and eager for payback. They were eager and better yet, they taught Wingate a lot about jungle warfare. The other were Gurkhas whom always held high regard amongst the British, though Wingate thought them arrogant, ill-disciplined and overrated. I find that truly bizarre, because all literature i have ever read about Gurkha's troops has been nothing, but praise and something out of a Rambo film. One historian of the Gurkhas said of Wingate ‘Wingate was the only officer in 130 years of service ever to criticise the performance of Gurkha soldiers, characterising them as mentally unsuited for their role as Chindits. Of course the same might be said of Wingate.' Likewise the Gurkhas found Wingate arrogant, overly domineering and someone who paid little heed to them who had vastly more experience fighting in Burma. They also really did not like him because of his rude and autocratic treatment of them. Wingate divided his force into 8 columns each commanded by a major and each given 15 horses and 100 mules. The columns would be sustained by airdrops, thus an RAF signaling section was attached to each. They trained in the central provinces of India and in the Saugur jungle due south of Gwalior. Within the jungle training the idea was to hit the men with every possible scenario they might face, to push them to the absolute limit. They endured hell. Encounters with giant snakes, mosquitoes, leeches, days filled with half rations deliberately to simulate living off airdrops. Men collapsed from heat, marching with full packs through vegetation. When the monsoons hit, they were marching through mud, rivers and torrential rain. Many days began at 6am with half an hours bayonet drill, followed by unarmed combat. After breakfast they learnt woodcraft, map reading, compass reading, how to forage and distinguish poisonous plants. They learnt how to blow up bridges, lay ambushes, how to storm airfields, how to properly clear paths in jungles, it was grueling. From the beginning of the training programme there were sickness levels allegedly as high as 70%. Wingate was ruthless, in the case of those saying they were suffering from dysentery, he ordered his officers into the bathrooms to inspect the mens stools to prove if they were lying. Amongst many of his enemies, the Medical Corps would be a large one. Wingate continued to alienate himself and made more and more enemies. At one point Wingate misunderstood the Burmese word for Lion “chinthe” as Chindit and declared it to be the name of his LRP group henceforth, thus they became known as the Chindits. His Burmese aide, Sao Man Hpa told him the word made no sense in Burmese, to which Wingate told the man Chinthe made no sense in English. Wingate defeated the 70 percent rate of illness, bringing down to a 3 percent, via brutal methodology, most genuinely ill men simply carried on too afraid to be punished. Wingates eccentric qualities spread amongst the men, like his necessity to wear shorts in the rain, to eat raw onions, and to keep a bunch of buffalo to milk because he believed their milk had salubrious qualities. Wingate should have been sacked at countless times, but the rubicon had been crossed and he was expected to lead his men by 1943. By December of 1942, the Chindits and Wingate were ready for action. They had been trained to carry 70 pounds on a march, were equipped with tropical uniform: army bots, mosquito nets, mess tins, sterilizing kits, each man had a rifle or Bren gun plus 50 rounds of .303 ammunition and 6 days worth of rations. The rations were 12 wholemeal biscuits, 2 ounces of nuts and raisins, 2 ounces of cheese, 4 ounces of dates, 2 ounces of chocolate, 20 cigarettes (which greatly annoyed Wingate as he deemed smoking a major hinderance), tea, sugar, powdered milk, salt and vitamin C tablets. The mules of his forces carried 3 inch mortars, ammunition, wireless radio sets and batteries. His force of 8000 were divided into 8 columns of around 400 men each: consisting of 3 rifle platoons, a support platoon with 2-3 inch mortars, 2 Vickers medium machine guns, a mule transport platoon and an RAF air liaison detachment. In addition he had 10 platoons for reconnaissance, scouting and sabotage operations. Now originally Wingates force was supposed to be part of a 3 pronged offensive, utilizing conventional British forces attacking Akyab and the ARakan while the Ledo and Yunnan forces led by Stilwell would secure northern Burma and reopen the land route to China. As we all know during this series, Burma was a colossal mess. Originally 4 Corps would assault Sitang and Kalewa while 15 Corps attacked Akyab and Arakan, but shortages in labour, transport and lack of skilled hands led to the cancellation of the major project. Even worse, Chiang Kai-Shek, greatly pissed off by the decisions made during the Casablanca conference, refused to sanction a Chinese expedition from Yunnan. With all hopes for the great 1943 offensive dashed, Wavell had to consider whether the Chindits were even relevant anymore. Wavell arrived to Wingates HQ on February 7th after countlessly telling the man things were simply postponed. In a 2 hour meeting Wingate fought bitterly to send his men into the fray, but Wavell stated he could not be party to the pointless waste of lives. Wingate made multiple arguments for sending his boys in, 1) cancellation would boost defeatism in the Indian army: 2) it was essential for the British to overcome their current ignorance of Japanese jungle fighting: 3) Fort Hertz, the remaining British outpost in Burma was in desperate need of relief: 4) without a Chindit crossing, the Japanese would dominate the jungle on either side of the Chindwin river: 5) the 77th brigade was not pitch perfect and any delay would be catastrophic to morale: 6) An attack by the 77th brigade would impair and set back Japanese preparations for an offensive. Wavell apparently impressed by Wingates enthusiasm agreed to let the Chindits have their day. The Chindits were not directed south-east to help with the Arakan operation, instead their assignments were to be to cut two railways, one between Myitkyina and Mandalay in northern Burma and the other, the Mandalay-Lashio line. The codename of the operation was Longcloth, which annoyed Wingate because it held no grandiloquence he sought. In early february the 7 Chindit columns marched south east from Imphal to Moreh on the Assam/Burma border. Once across the border they split into 2 groups, the southern group consisting of columns 1 and 2, around 1000 men and 250 mules which was a feint to throw off the Japanese and the Northern group consisting of columns 3,4,5,7 and 8, around 2000 men and 850 mules who would destroy the railways. Small patrols were sent across the Chindwin marching some 30 miles into enemy territory and coming back without any incident, however doing that with 3000 men was another matter entirely. On February 13th, an advance party of the Northern group crossed at Tonhe around 50 miles north to act as a a doubled bluff to cover for the southern groups feint. Meanwhile a disinformation party with the southern group marched south and ordered a huge quantity of supplies from a village known to be aiding the Japanese, providing a great ruse. The second wave of 2000 men from the Northern group crossed the Chindwin unopposed on the 14th. Crossing the Chindwin was not easy, while elephants and bullocks swam across with ease, the pack mules proved very skittish, most likely fearing crocodiles. Getting them to the far bank was a nightmare. The southern group also had its problems with their mule. They had the first task of ambushing a 250 strong Japanese garrison at Maingnyaung on the 18th, but ran into a skirmish with a Japanese patrol before they made it there. The enemy was thus alerted and bombarded them with mortars, this spooked the mules and the caused a stampede. Many mules were lost in the jungle, the element of surprise with it and the fiasco cost the southern group a delay of 3 days. The southern group slowly pulled away from the hill country east of the Chindwin, making for the Mandalay-Myitkyina railway. By the night of the 3rd of March they were ambushed in the Mu valley. It was a utter disaster. Radios, ciphers and most of their equipment were lost. Column 2 was almost annihilated, column 1 limped on to the banks of the Irrawady awaiting final orders from Wingate, who instead kept blaming their commander, Major Burnett. As for column 2 he said “the disaster to No. 2 Column, was easily avoidable and would never have taken place had the commander concerned understood the doctrines of penetration”. Meanwhile Wingate and the Northern group rendezvoused 5 miles inland from the Chindwin and received their parachute drops. Wingate then pondered his options, he could make for Tonmakeng where intelligence reported no enemy presence and wait for the next supply drop and attack the 200 strong Japanese garrison at Sinlamaung or they could bypass it and head into the Mu valley. He kept the men marching and some of his scouts reported a Japanese garrison was at a gold mining village called Metkalet 15 miles east of the Chindwin near Tonmakeng. He ordered columns 3 and 5 under Calvert and Fergusson to attack at once. Then another disaster struck. Fergusson's column got stuck in a swamp and scouts returned again with a new report that no Japanese garrison was in Matkalet after all. So Wingate and Calvert directed the columns to Tonmakeng. Wingates thinking was it was better to strike at an enemy strength he knew, rather than the Mu valley which was an unknown. They reached Tonmakeng without further incident by february 22nd and learnt a Japanese garrison was at Sinlamaung, 10 miles away so WIngate dispatched 3 columns to attack it while the rest of the men waiting for a supply drop expected 3 days away. Disaster struck. The 3 columns were unable to locate Sinlamaung after 3 days and when they finally found it on the 25th, the Japanese garrison had just pulled out. Wingate met with his officers and they decided to march to Zibyutaungdan with Calverts column 3 in the lead. On March 1st they made it to Zibyutaungdan and then proceeded to descend into the Mu Valley. Wingate then ordered the Northern group to disperse into its columns and rendezvous later at the Irrawaddy or beyond. He also dispatched an advance party across the Irrawaddy to the Kachin highlands northeast of Mandalay to try and raise a guerrilla force among the pro-british people there. By the night of March 3rd disaster struck. At the very same time the southern group was being ambushed, column 4 walked into an ambush, 2 miles west of Pinbon. Major R.B Bromhead, a descendant of the Bromhead famous for fighting the Zulu at Rorke's drift in 1879, did his best to get his panicked mules with their Gurkha handlers to disperse and regroup at a rendezvous point hoping to get help from columns 7 and 8, but while trying to do so, the men were attacked again and by the time they reached the rallying point columns 7 and 8 had moved on. With no food or radios and just a handful of mules left, the column had no choice but to retreat back to India. Within a days time, columns 2 and 4 were broken and on their way back to India. Wingate was livid, his credibility was at stake, but fortunately for him and his men the Japanese assumed when they whipped out Column 2 they had destroyed the entire invasion effort. By March 6th, Calvert and Fergussons columns were within striking distance of the Wuntho-Indaw railway. Calvert and Fergusson hatched a bold and daring plan to assault what was a 800 strong garrison at Pinlebu. They spoke with Major Walter Scott leading Column 8 and told him to attack Punlebu while they supervised a massive supply drop north-east of the town. The idea was that the attackers and supply collectors would support another. Doing so they would set up roadblocks to the north and east of Pinlebu and call upon the RAF to bombard the town, making the Japanese believe they were facing a huge force. The attack turned into an amazing success. The Japanese were quickly confused as Calvert and Fergusson had the railway line demolished. It was a bloody fight, but the line was blown up in several places. The Japanese counterattacked in force trying to stop the demolition. Calverts men also mined 2 railway bridges, one of them a 3-span 120 footer. In the bloody mayhem, Calvert and Fergussons men killed about a third of the Pinlebu defenders and cut railway lines in 70 separate places. During the evening Fergussons column no 5 blew up the 40 foot rail bridge at Bongyaung gorge, leading also to hundreds of rock and rubble going over railway lines around the gorge. Now 10 mites north of Wuntho, Wingate established his HQ in the Babwe Taung hills. He had a tough decision to make, should he retreat back to India or press further and cross the Irrawaddy? Wingate even considered turning his HQ into a new fort like Fort Hertz, to try and push the Japanese to give up the Irrawaddy towns. Wingate as you probably have guessed went with option number 2, despite how unbelievably dangerous it was. The Japanese were hard on their tail as the Chindits made their way trying to cross the Irrawady river. This is where I have to leave our story of the Chindits, but they will come back throughout the war. We need to make a small detour to speak about the Casablanca conference that took place from January 14 to the 24th. Chiang Kai-Shek had been begging the Americans and British for more aid. FDR told Chiang Kai-shek he would champion his demands to Churchill at the Casablanca Conference, but Churchill brushed this all aside. The conference ended with two large decisions, the first being the controversial doctrine of unconditional surrender. The allies were now confident after the success of operation Torch, the victories at Alamein and at Stalingrad that the Germans were on the run. But over in southeast asia, the Japanese looked impregnable. Thus the 2nd decision made was basically to keep the Europe First course steaming ahead, the Pacific was simply second banana. But for America, the situation in the Pacific had distinctly changed, they had won the initiative and now sought to consolidate their conquests in the east. Admiral King applied considerable pressure to the matter, in private he began urging that if the Pacific did not get 30% of allied resource quote “it would necessitate the US regretfully withdrawing from the commitments in the European theater”. Admiral King wanted to continue the momentum in the Pacific by seizing the Solomones, the eastern New Guinea-Rabaul area, capture back Kiska and the Attu islands in the Aleutians begin operations in the Gilberts, Marshalls, Carolines, take Truk and extend the occupation of New Guinea to the Dutch borders. The British opposed this as they continued to argue the best course was to defeat Germany first then devote all resources against Japan. Now as for the CBI theater, plans were continuing for Operation Anakim and the Burma offensive, but the British were not looking to extend their commitments in the theater very much. They argued that the depleted condition of the eastern fleet prevented them from carrying on a naval supremacy campaign in the Bay of Bengal, and this led Chiang Kai-shek to refuse to support an offensive through northern burma, because of the lack of British naval forces at hand. Thus operation Anakim looked like it was only going to get off in late 1943. For all the failures of the conference, FDR did try to remedy the situation as best as he could with their Chinese allies. FDR made it known he wanted to treat China as a great power that the allies would help build up for the current war and postwar. He also acknowledged the dramatic need to keep supply routes to China open. Stilwell advised 5000 tons of supplies be sent over the Hump per month as a goal to hit by February of 1943, this would require 140 aircraft during good weather and 300 aircraft during monsoon seasons. But Washington at this time could only spare 75 aircraft, another disappointment to Chiang Kai-shek. Another important side aspect to the Casablanca conference was brought forward by Generals Charles de Gaulle and Henri Giraud who were vying to become recognized partners to the allies with their Free French Forces. Until this point, the Japanese had a pretty awkward relationship with their technical ally, Vichy France. This awkward situation led them to simply ignore the Free French forces and by proxy they decided to not touch the French concession of Guangzhouwan which had declared itself part of Free France. French Indochina of course was fully invaded prior to 1941 and remained under nominal Vichy French control, but Guangzhouwan was beginning to stick out like a sore thumb. Chiang Kai-shek recognized Free France's authority over Guangzhouwan and many Chinese forces of the 4th Area Army led by General Zhang Fukui fled into the concession to escape the Japanese. This drew Tokyo's attention and they finally decided to put an end to the Free French presence in China. The 23rd army of General Sakai lent 2 battalions of the 23rd independent mixed brigade from Hong Kong to go over to the Luichow Peninsula. They landed at the village of Peichatsun on February 17th and began skirmishing with some Chinese defenders. They soon overwhelmed the defenders and seized the towns of Hsinlaitsun and Haikang, forcing the Chinese to withdraw towards Suichi. From there the Japanese continued north, seizing Suichi and Chihkan. After these seizures, the Japanese had fully encircled the French concession of Guangzhouwan. The Japanese and representatives of Guangzhouwan soon fell into negotiations and the Free French were forced to declare the concession an open city, allowing the Japanese to occupy it without a fight. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The eccentric or better said madman Wingate got his wish to send the Chindits into the fray, despite just about no one other than Wavell wanting him to do so. With Onions wrapped around their necks they made their first strike against a Japanese railway and it was a surprising mixed success.

america australia english china men japan americans british french germany chinese european australian german japanese kings italian jewish east indian middle east tokyo disasters hong kong britain muslims old testament lion dutch manchester liverpool bush pacific operation glasgow palestine bay southeast asia ethiopia encounters northern arab mu arabic sudan slim corps backed hq rambo casablanca london school churchill expedition ethiopian franklin delano roosevelt delhi nazi germany torch east africa karens burma oriental generals commander in chief column sns zionists suez zulu bengal hump radios sudanese burmese gaulle governor general calvert vickers african studies cbi stalingrad new guinea chiang marshalls orde wingate carolines yunnan mandalay opium wars chongqing ledo stillwell pacific war chins cathay moreh stilwell fergusson rangoon gurkha woolwich chiang kai anakim rorke british mandate aleutian lae kiska vichy france wau gurkhas gilberts lrp chiang kai shek plymouth brethren kachin truk equitation french indochina port said wolseley imphal salisbury plain attu gwalior godalming free french medical corps royal artillery alamein charterhouse irrawaddy arakan craig watson wavell myitkyina

EP57 - Mike Browne | Golf SAVED my life & NOW I have a new unit

onepodlife

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2023 36:14

As inspiring stories go, Mike Browne's journey is one that will definitely sit up there. Mike suffered a broken left leg during a routine training exercise serving for the Royal Artillery unit in 2011, but his injury hadn't healed almost two years later due to a rare infection which led him to undergo amputation. It was the best thing for Mike, as it gave him a better quality of life straight away. We talk through his journey from being in the Army to playing professional golf with the help of a charity called On Course Foundation. Mike also talks through what he thinks an aspiring golfer should be doing to fulfil their dreams. **Do you listen to onepodlife regulary? If so, could you fill this questionnaire for me please - https://forms.gle/tWvs8Y4pcRUprjgPA **If you enjoyed this episode, please SHARE it with friends and head over to Instagram to follow @oneputtlife and @onepodlife**

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Dans le bunker #53 : "Rogue Heroes" de Stephen Knight (2022), par E. Tenenbaum et R. Noordally

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Play Episode Listen Later Dec 30, 2022 37:24

Invités : - Elie Tenenbaum, directeur du Centre des études de sécurité de l'IFRI, auteur de "Partisans et centurions" (Perrin, 2018) - Ryan Noordally, sous-officier dans la Royal Artillery britannique

S3 #033 Post Conflict Reconstruction & Dealing With The Aftermath

world army aftermath linktree balkans reconstruction bosnia highlander royal artillery matt harding

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 27, 2022 68:50

CONTENT Our guest today is Matt Harding a former officer who served in the Royal Artillery. We talk with Matt about his Army career, his deployment to Bosnia and the impact operations in that country had on him. We finish off with how he dealt with what he saw in the Balkans and his work with charities such as Pilgrims Bandits. DESERT ISLAND DITS On Desert Island Dits Matt's choice of film is Highlander and his book is The Times Complete History of The World. The teams book choices this week are Afghan Napoleon by Sandy Gall and The Wall Rome's Greatest Frontier by Alistair Moffat . SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us on social media and don't forget to like, share and leave a review. Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod. Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473. Download on other platforms via Link Tree. Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.

Ed McGuinness Conservative candidate and how pets can help win elections

Veterans In Politics by CampaignForce

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2022 36:00

Veterans In Politics- Season 5, Episode 6 with Ed McGuinnessEd McGuinness is a Conservative campaigner and former British Army officer, chairman of Islington Conservatives, President of Conservatives in the City and board member of CF Armed Forces. He was also a Parliamentary candidate in the 2019 General Election.Ed's passions are providing exciting policies for young people, ensuring the economy is secure and the Union.In this episode we ask him about his childhood, his military career, his campaigning experience and who inspires him.Ed grew up in Belfast in the 1990s and early 2000's during the transition from the Troubles to a lasting, but vulnerable peace. It was during this time he realised the value politicians can make to a country and community. During his youth, Conservative values of hard work and public service were instilled in him notably by his mother and father; a teacher and an accountant respectively, who gave a strong sense of family and community.Through school, and mostly through the influence of the Combined Cadet Force, Ed developed a keen interest in the military and, whilst studying Mathematics at the University of St Andrews, in Scotland, he commissioned into the Territorial Army (now known as the Reserves) in 2010. Following graduation, Ed was selected to attend the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and commissioned as a regular British Army officer in August 2012.During his six years in the Royal Artillery, Ed deployed to Afghanistan in 2014, running an intelligence gathering platform to secure the withdrawal of British Forces from Helmand. Following this he went on to lead teams in Kenya and in Canada. Ed finished his regular military service in 2018 as a Forward Air Controller, leading a team of specialist soldiers to co-ordinate the airspace in a highly pressured environment – a role he considers a highlight of his career. Speaking of his military career Ed says, “leading the fine men and women of the British Army was a true privilege, I learned so much from them and their capacity for selflessness is astonishing. It has shaped who I am today”In February 2018 Ed moved to Islington, London, and began to work for a leading financial services company. Ed also become active in his local Conservative Federation. Quickly taking on the role of deputy Chair Political, Ed also ran in the local London Borough Council elections in 2018 and was the Federation transport spokesman. In late 2018 Ed become the Treasurer of the Federation and in February 2019 was elected Chairman of Islington Conservatives. During this tenure Ed has been a passionate advocate of his local area, but also has taken the lead in the NE London GLA campaign as co-Chair. Ed is also active in the community as a school governor.In November 2019 Ed was selected as the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Hornsey & Wood Green. He is passionate about the local community, the Union and fundamental campaigning such that everyone's voices can be heardFor more info on Ed see here https://www.edmcguinness.org.uk/Ed McGuinness | FacebookEd McGuinness, CFA | LinkedInTo help us please visit our website to keep our podcast going with a small donation and dont forget to rate and share the show! See here: Donate - CampaignForce #StandUpServeAgain #Veterans

S2 EP 6 - The Don of the Southern Boundary

True Fiction Project

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2022 35:04

Welcome to this week's True Fiction Project Podcast. I have the privilege of speaking with Les Bird about his fascinating history as a Marine Police Officer in 1976 during the Hong Kong Handover. Les has now written two books about his 21 years in the Marines and his work in helping Vietnamese refugees arrive safely in Hong Kong following the end of the Vietnam War. He recounts specific memories of rescuing refugees from hired criminals and pirates and details the less than ideal conditions of travel that so many Vietnamese braved in order to make it to Hong Kong. Also hear a short story based on Les' Marine adventures called “The Dawn of the Southern Boundary” from Annemarie Evans. IN THIS EPISODE: [02:34] Who are the “Boatpeople” referenced in Les' book and why were they fleeing to Hong Kong? [06:31] Why did Hong Kong welcome these refugees when other countries were not as willing and what was Les' role as a Marine Police Officer? [09:20] What was Les' connection with a former soldier in South Vietnam? [14:23] What was the condition of the refugees as they arrived in Hong Kong? [17:41] Les recalls memories from his time as an officer and the corruption that he encountered. [25:53] Short story: “The Don of the Southern Boundary” by Annemarie Evans KEY TAKEAWAYS: It's estimated that starting in 1975, between 1 and 2 million people fled by boat over the next 15 years from Vietnam to Hong Kong. Following the Vietnam War, Hong Kong became a hub for Vietnamese refugees to find safety and through the United Nations, be relocated to other countries like the US, Canada, and Australia. Many Vietnamese refugees arrived in Hong Kong in unsuitable conditions as they were crammed by the thousands on boats for four to five weeks with no sanitation and little fresh air or food. Fiction Credits: Short story written and read by: Annemarie Evans Contact Information: Annemarie Evans - Annemarie's email BIO: Born in 1951, Les comes from a military family. His father, grandfather and three uncles all served in the British Royal Navy, whilst his mother served as a gunner with the Royal Artillery during World War II. Les was the second from his family to serve in Hong Kong. His father was part of the Royal Navy force that came to Hong Kong in August, 1945, at the end of the Japanese military occupation and subsequently helped in the policing of the territory throughout 1946. Les Bird joined the Royal Hong Kong Police in 1976 and worked in the Marine Police for 21 years until June, 1997. Bird's work was diverse – he was a rural inspector of West Lantau, and in the early 80s he returned to launch-going duties overseeing the influx of tens of thousands of Vietnamese refugees in the years that followed. During his service, Les commanded three of the five Marine divisions and also headed the SBU, the Marine Fast Pursuit Unit combating cross-border smuggling of people, arms, drugs and luxury cars. After leaving the police in 1997, Les moved into the private sector, working in the security industry across Asia. He is an endurance athlete and has taken part in Ironman events and long-distance triathlons worldwide. He represented Great Britain at the 2009 Ironman World Championship. In 2011, he swam the English Channel and in 2012, summited Mont Blanc. In 2020, he spoke to a sold-out audience at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival about his memoir A Small Band of Men: An Englishman's Adventures in Hong Kong's Marine Police. At the 2021 Festival, he presented photographs and stories from his second book Along the Southern Boundary: A Marine Police Officer's Frontline Account of the Vietnamese Boatpeople and their Arrival in Hong Kong. Les Bird Website Les Bird on Facebook Les Bird on Twitter Les Bird on LinkedInOur Sponsors:* Check out HelloFresh and use my code 50truefictionproject for a great deal: https://www.hellofresh.com/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Bonus: Steve Hoyland, 148 Commando Battery

Battleground: The Falklands War

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2022 60:52

Steve Hoyland, who in 1982 was a parachute-qualified radio operator in the Royal Artillery's 148 Commando Battery, gives a hair-raising account of his time on operations with the Special Forces during the campaign. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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L'artillerie, reine des batailles ? [Les armes à l'épreuve de la guerre d'Ukraine #4]

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Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2022 45:05

Invité : Ryan Noordally, sous-officier dans la Royal Artillery britannique 4:00 L'artillerie, essai de définition 12:15 L'artillerie russe et sa réputation 19:00 L'état des lieux de l'artillerie ukrainienne 27:30 Y a-t-il un vainqueur à la bataille d'artillerie ? 34:00 L'apport occidental et ses bénéfices opérationnels Extrait audio : Tchaïkovski, Ouverture solennelle "1812", Op. 49 - Choral Version par le St.Petersburg Chamber Choir - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrsYD46W1U0

S2 #028 The Battle Of Hondeghem 27 May 1940

Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2022 66:46

CONTENT On this podcast we discuss one of the lesser known rear guard actions on the retreat to Dunkirk that allowed so many troops to get to the beaches and their subsequent evacuation back to England. This is the Battle of Hondeghem which took place on the 27 May 1940 when K Battery Royal Horse Artillery engaged lead elements of 6 Panzer Division halting them at the village in vicious street fighting and firing their 18 pounder guns at ranges of under 100 yards. The battery suffered heavy losses, with 'F' Troop alone losing 45 men out of 63. However, they were rewarded with Major Hoare winning the DSO, Captain Teacher the MC, Battery Sergeant Major Millard the DCM, and Gunner Kavanagh was honoured with the MM. In addition three men were Mentioned In Despatches. In recognition of their gallantry the unit was awarded the honour title Hondeghem and K (Hondeghem) Battery is still on the order of battle in the Royal Artillery today. GUEST Our guest is Mark Martin who served as a Regular soldier and officer in the Royal Artillery from 1983 to 2018. Mark enlisted as a Private soldier, known in the Artillery as a Gunner, serving in every rank up to Warrant Officer Class One. His non-commissioned final appointment was the Regimental Sergeant Major of a regular MLRS and UAV Regiment. Mark commissioned from the ranks as a Late Entry Captain in 2003 and commanded K (Hondeghem) Battery on two operational tours of Afghanistan. He promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 2015. Mark's grandfather was a member of the Royal Artillery as part of the British Expeditionary Force who fought at Dunkirk. He was severely wounded during the fighting but was evacuated back to the UK. DESERT ISLAND DITS On Desert Island dits Marks's book choice is SAS Survival Handbook by John "Lofty" Wiseman. His film choice is Cockleshell Heroes. The teams book choice this episode is Mussolini His Part In My Downfall by Spike Milligan and the TV series Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us on social media and don't forget to like, share and leave a review. Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod. Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473. Download on other platforms via Link Tree. Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.

Episode 66 – The Fourth Frontier war bursts into flame, Chungwa is shot and Stockenstrom is assegai'd

british flame cape town frontier cape bursts cradock royal artillery

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2022 23:36

This is episode 66 – it's late 1811 and Sir John Cradock has just dispatched Lieutenant Colonel John Graham into the eastern Cape frontier to rid the Zuurveld of the amaXhosa. Cradock suffered from none of his predecessors inhibition against taking military action. This did not reflect a change of policy in London – in fact, far from it. As you'll hear next podcast he was subsequently reprimanded by the government and sharply reminded that his main aim was to keep all the troops available for the defence of Cape Town. But the colonists applauded him, along with Major Jacob Cuyler the Uitenhage landdrost. As you heard last episode, by December Graham had assembled 167 light dragoons, 221 infantry of the line, 431 men of the Cape Regiment and a detachment of Royal Artillery. His troops were joined by 450 mounter burgher volunteers on commando and about 500 of their agteryers. Anders Stockenstrom, the landdrost of Graaff-Reinet, had been posted north of the Zuurveld with the trekboers, just beyond the Zuurveld proper, in order to defend Bruintje's Hoogte and its farms. When he received Graham's message on the night of 27th, he questioned the wisdom of concentrating all the British firepower on the thickets.

Episode 66 – The Fourth Frontier war bursts into flame, Chungwa is shot and Stockenstrom is assegai'd

british flame cape town frontier cape bursts cradock royal artillery

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2022 23:36

This is episode 66 – it's late 1811 and Sir John Cradock has just dispatched Lieutenant Colonel John Graham into the eastern Cape frontier to rid the Zuurveld of the amaXhosa. Cradock suffered from none of his predecessors inhibition against taking military action. This did not reflect a change of policy in London – in fact, far from it. As you'll hear next podcast he was subsequently reprimanded by the government and sharply reminded that his main aim was to keep all the troops available for the defence of Cape Town. But the colonists applauded him, along with Major Jacob Cuyler the Uitenhage landdrost. As you heard last episode, by December Graham had assembled 167 light dragoons, 221 infantry of the line, 431 men of the Cape Regiment and a detachment of Royal Artillery. His troops were joined by 450 mounter burgher volunteers on commando and about 500 of their agteryers. Anders Stockenstrom, the landdrost of Graaff-Reinet, had been posted north of the Zuurveld with the trekboers, just beyond the Zuurveld proper, in order to defend Bruintje's Hoogte and its farms. When he received Graham's message on the night of 27th, he questioned the wisdom of concentrating all the British firepower on the thickets.

Episode 66 – The Fourth Frontier war bursts into flame, Chungwa is shot and Stockenstrom is assegai'd

british flame cape town frontier cape bursts cradock royal artillery

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2022 23:36

This is episode 66 – it's late 1811 and Sir John Cradock has just dispatched Lieutenant Colonel John Graham into the eastern Cape frontier to rid the Zuurveld of the amaXhosa. Cradock suffered from none of his predecessors inhibition against taking military action. This did not reflect a change of policy in London – in fact, far from it. As you'll hear next podcast he was subsequently reprimanded by the government and sharply reminded that his main aim was to keep all the troops available for the defence of Cape Town. But the colonists applauded him, along with Major Jacob Cuyler the Uitenhage landdrost. As you heard last episode, by December Graham had assembled 167 light dragoons, 221 infantry of the line, 431 men of the Cape Regiment and a detachment of Royal Artillery. His troops were joined by 450 mounter burgher volunteers on commando and about 500 of their agteryers. Anders Stockenstrom, the landdrost of Graaff-Reinet, had been posted north of the Zuurveld with the trekboers, just beyond the Zuurveld proper, in order to defend Bruintje's Hoogte and its farms. When he received Graham's message on the night of 27th, he questioned the wisdom of concentrating all the British firepower on the thickets.

Episode 66 – The Fourth Frontier war bursts into flame, Chungwa is shot and Stockenstrom is assegai'd

british flame cape town frontier cape bursts cradock royal artillery

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2022 23:36

This is episode 66 – it's late 1811 and Sir John Cradock has just dispatched Lieutenant Colonel John Graham into the eastern Cape frontier to rid the Zuurveld of the amaXhosa. Cradock suffered from none of his predecessors inhibition against taking military action. This did not reflect a change of policy in London – in fact, far from it. As you'll hear next podcast he was subsequently reprimanded by the government and sharply reminded that his main aim was to keep all the troops available for the defence of Cape Town. But the colonists applauded him, along with Major Jacob Cuyler the Uitenhage landdrost. As you heard last episode, by December Graham had assembled 167 light dragoons, 221 infantry of the line, 431 men of the Cape Regiment and a detachment of Royal Artillery. His troops were joined by 450 mounter burgher volunteers on commando and about 500 of their agteryers. Anders Stockenstrom, the landdrost of Graaff-Reinet, had been posted north of the Zuurveld with the trekboers, just beyond the Zuurveld proper, in order to defend Bruintje's Hoogte and its farms. When he received Graham's message on the night of 27th, he questioned the wisdom of concentrating all the British firepower on the thickets.

Têtes chercheuses #14 : Guerriers et soldats

Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2022 31:18

Invité : Ryan Noordally, sous-officier dans la Royal Artillery britannique, autour d'un article de 2020 sur le site "Wavell Room" : https://wavellroom.com/2020/04/28/on-the-toxicity-of-the-warrior-ethos/

soldats guerriers royal artillery wavell room

S2 #025 The Borneo Graveyard 1941 - 45

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2022 56:45

CONTENT Our guest on this podcast is John Tulloch who served in Vietnam with the New Zealand Army and later transferred to the British Army. John advised and instructed on the British Army's Jungle Warfare Instructors' Course (JWIC) in Brunei and supported major jungle exercises in Belize. Retiring from the Army in 2003 and becoming a MOD Civil Servant, John continued to instruct on JWIC until May 2015. John was honoured with the MBE in 2003 and the Royal Artillery Medal in 2011. An author of several articles about the Vietnam War and Borneo, he also gives talks on these subjects to the military, history groups and schools. Since retiring from the Civil Service in 2015, John began writing ‘The Borneo Graveyard 1941-1945', the product of 12 years of research. This is his first book. THE BOOK Borneo, the land of the head hunters, was a World War II graveyard for POWs, internees, locals, Javanese and Japanese. John's book follows the raising of five Royal Artillery air defence regiments in 1939, their deployment in late 1942 to South East Asia, their short campaign in the Netherlands East Indies and eventual captivity as POWs in Java and North Borneo. The account describes the invasion of Borneo and the subsequent four years of Japanese occupation. It depicts the sadistic treatment of Australian, British, Dutch and Indian POWs in the various POW camps in North Borneo at Jesselton, Sandakan, Ranau, Labuan and Batu Lintang. It also describes the three Death Marches from Sandakan to Ranau. The internee account covers the men, women and children from all over Borneo interned in Batu Lintang. They experienced the unspeakable behaviour of the guards. Several internees were killed trying to escape the Japanese regime or gratuitously executed before liberation. The locals of Borneo suffered terribly. Torture, executions and massacres occurred throughout. Malnutrition, starvation and death were endemic. Tribes exacted their revenge and over 8,000 Japanese died during their withdrawals in Sabah. The secretive Z Force gathered intelligence, trained local guerrilla fighters who harassed and exacted a heavy toll on the Japanese. They also engaged in bitter fighting for the liberation of Borneo. Finally the book finishes with POW convalescence at Labuan followed by repatriation to the UK and the dreadful wall of silence experienced by so many of the returning Far East POWs and internees to the UK. You can order a copy of John's book by contacting him by email: johntulloch4145@gmail.com SOCIAL MEDIA Follow us on social media and don't forget to like, share and leave a review. Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod. Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473. Download on other platforms via Link Tree. Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.

S2 #023 An ANZAC FOO In Vietnam Part 1

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Play Episode Listen Later Feb 21, 2022 45:40

Our guest on this podcast is Vietnam veteran John Tulloch. John's military career began in 1965 and he was commissioned into the Royal New Zealand Artillery (RNZA) in 1966. John developed his jungle warfare expertise whilst serving in Vietnam with 161 Battery from July 1968 to July 1969 as a Forward Observation Officer (FOO) nowadays referred to as a Fire Support Team commander. John transferred to the British Army and Royal Artillery in March 1973 and completed two tours in Northern Ireland , followed by a two year secondment to the Sultan of Oman's Artillery in 1978. In 1994 John began as a visiting advisor and instructor for the next 21 years on the British Army's Jungle Warfare Instructors' Course in Brunei. He also supported major jungle exercises in Belize for 10 years. Retiring from the Army in 2003 and becoming a MOD Civil Servant, John continued to instruct on Jungle Warfare Instructors Course until May 2015. John was honoured with the MBE in 2003 and the Royal Artillery Medal in 2011. An author of several articles about the Vietnam War and Borneo, he also gives talks on these subjects to the military, history groups and schools. This is the first of two podcasts in which John discusses why he joined the Army, his pre deployment training in preparation for active duty in Vietnam and what it was like fighting in the jungles of South East Asia. Follow us on social media and don't forget to like, share and leave a review. Instagram @the_unconventional_soldier_pod. Facebook @lateo82. Twitter @TheUCS473. Download on other platforms via Link Tree. Email us: unconventionalsoldier@gmail.com. This episode brought to you in association with ISARR a veteran owned company.

Cold War British Army fighting tactics in West Germany (221)

Cold War Conversations History Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2022 68:24 Transcription Available

Frank Baldwin was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1979 and served for ten years, rising to the rank of Major. The first battlefield study he planned was in 1989 for HQ 4th Armoured Division. Since then, he has been a guide or historian for over 200 realities of war tours, battlefield studies and staff rides. Frank reels off lots of great anecdotes as he takes us through the initial years of the BAOR and the British Army's plans for the defence of West Germany. He talks about the evolution of doctrines, on both the Soviet and NATO sides including their nuclear war-fighting techniques.Frank also describes working with Warsaw Pact observers of NATO military exercises and the British view of the effectiveness of other NATO armies as well as the armies of the Warsaw Pact.Maps and material to accompany this episode are here https://www.staffrideservices.com/?p=461Now if you are enjoying these podcasts I'm asking for you to support my work with a small monthly donation. Your donations enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available for free to others. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.I am delighted to welcome Frank Baldwin to our Cold War conversation…Battlefield tour websiteStory of a BAOR Cold war tourMaps and material on BAOR and the Cold war. Cold war background materialFrank Baldwin's blog The Observation PostThank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.Ever wanted to ask a nuclear missile submarine commander some questions? This Sunday 13th February at 8 pm GMT I'm speaking live on YouTube with Rob Forsyth a former Commander of HMS Repulse. Viewers will be able to ask questions online in this unique interactive interview. Set a reminder or view the interview here https://youtu.be/01YkC5ha58o Have a look at our store and find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life? Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)

Arthur W. Gullachsen, "Bloody Verrieres: The I. SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges" (Casemate, 2021)

New Books in British Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2022 60:24

South of the Norman city of Caen, the twin features of the Verrières and Bourguebus ridges were key stepping stones for the British Second Army in late July 1944--taking them was crucial if it was to be successful in its attempt to break out of the Normandy bridgehead. To capture this vital ground, Allied forces would have to defeat arguably the strongest German armored formation in Normandy: the I. SS-Panzerkorps "Leibstandarte." The resulting battles of late July and early August 1944 saw powerful German defensive counterattacks south of Caen inflict tremendous casualties, regain lost ground and at times defeat Anglo-Canadian operations in detail. Viewed by the German leadership as militarily critical, the majority of its armored assets were deployed to dominate this excellent tank country east of the Orne river. These defeats and the experience of meeting an enemy with near-equal resources exposed a flawed Anglo-Canadian offensive tactical doctrine that was overly dependent on the supremacy of its artillery forces. Furthermore, weaknesses in Allied tank technology inhibited their armored forces from fighting a decisive armored battle, forcing Anglo-Canadian infantry and artillery forces to further rely on First World War "Bite and Hold" tactics, massively supported by artillery. Confronted with the full force of the Panzerwaffe, Anglo-Canadian doctrine at times floundered. In response, the Royal Artillery and Royal Canadian Artillery units pummeled the German tankers and grenadiers, but despite their best efforts, ground could not be captured by concentrated artillery fire alone. Arthur W. Gullachsen's book Bloody Verrieres: The I. SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges (Casemate, 2021) a detailed account of the success of I. SS-Panzerkorps' defensive operations, aimed at holding the Vèrrieres-Bourgebus ridges in late July 1944. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/british-studies

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Arthur W. Gullachsen, "Bloody Verrieres: The I. SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges" (Casemate, 2021)

New Books in Military History

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2022 60:24

South of the Norman city of Caen, the twin features of the Verrières and Bourguebus ridges were key stepping stones for the British Second Army in late July 1944--taking them was crucial if it was to be successful in its attempt to break out of the Normandy bridgehead. To capture this vital ground, Allied forces would have to defeat arguably the strongest German armored formation in Normandy: the I. SS-Panzerkorps "Leibstandarte." The resulting battles of late July and early August 1944 saw powerful German defensive counterattacks south of Caen inflict tremendous casualties, regain lost ground and at times defeat Anglo-Canadian operations in detail. Viewed by the German leadership as militarily critical, the majority of its armored assets were deployed to dominate this excellent tank country east of the Orne river. These defeats and the experience of meeting an enemy with near-equal resources exposed a flawed Anglo-Canadian offensive tactical doctrine that was overly dependent on the supremacy of its artillery forces. Furthermore, weaknesses in Allied tank technology inhibited their armored forces from fighting a decisive armored battle, forcing Anglo-Canadian infantry and artillery forces to further rely on First World War "Bite and Hold" tactics, massively supported by artillery. Confronted with the full force of the Panzerwaffe, Anglo-Canadian doctrine at times floundered. In response, the Royal Artillery and Royal Canadian Artillery units pummeled the German tankers and grenadiers, but despite their best efforts, ground could not be captured by concentrated artillery fire alone. Arthur W. Gullachsen's book Bloody Verrieres: The I. SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges (Casemate, 2021) a detailed account of the success of I. SS-Panzerkorps' defensive operations, aimed at holding the Vèrrieres-Bourgebus ridges in late July 1944. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

german south norman bloody defence normandy allied confronted caen viewed ridges orne verri royal artillery anglo canadian

Arthur W. Gullachsen, "Bloody Verrieres: The I. SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges" (Casemate, 2021)

New Books in History

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2022 60:24

South of the Norman city of Caen, the twin features of the Verrières and Bourguebus ridges were key stepping stones for the British Second Army in late July 1944--taking them was crucial if it was to be successful in its attempt to break out of the Normandy bridgehead. To capture this vital ground, Allied forces would have to defeat arguably the strongest German armored formation in Normandy: the I. SS-Panzerkorps "Leibstandarte." The resulting battles of late July and early August 1944 saw powerful German defensive counterattacks south of Caen inflict tremendous casualties, regain lost ground and at times defeat Anglo-Canadian operations in detail. Viewed by the German leadership as militarily critical, the majority of its armored assets were deployed to dominate this excellent tank country east of the Orne river. These defeats and the experience of meeting an enemy with near-equal resources exposed a flawed Anglo-Canadian offensive tactical doctrine that was overly dependent on the supremacy of its artillery forces. Furthermore, weaknesses in Allied tank technology inhibited their armored forces from fighting a decisive armored battle, forcing Anglo-Canadian infantry and artillery forces to further rely on First World War "Bite and Hold" tactics, massively supported by artillery. Confronted with the full force of the Panzerwaffe, Anglo-Canadian doctrine at times floundered. In response, the Royal Artillery and Royal Canadian Artillery units pummeled the German tankers and grenadiers, but despite their best efforts, ground could not be captured by concentrated artillery fire alone. Arthur W. Gullachsen's book Bloody Verrieres: The I. SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges (Casemate, 2021) a detailed account of the success of I. SS-Panzerkorps' defensive operations, aimed at holding the Vèrrieres-Bourgebus ridges in late July 1944. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

german south norman bloody defence normandy allied confronted caen viewed ridges orne verri royal artillery anglo canadian

Arthur W. Gullachsen, "Bloody Verrieres: The I. SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges" (Casemate, 2021)

New Books in German Studies

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2022 60:24

South of the Norman city of Caen, the twin features of the Verrières and Bourguebus ridges were key stepping stones for the British Second Army in late July 1944--taking them was crucial if it was to be successful in its attempt to break out of the Normandy bridgehead. To capture this vital ground, Allied forces would have to defeat arguably the strongest German armored formation in Normandy: the I. SS-Panzerkorps "Leibstandarte." The resulting battles of late July and early August 1944 saw powerful German defensive counterattacks south of Caen inflict tremendous casualties, regain lost ground and at times defeat Anglo-Canadian operations in detail. Viewed by the German leadership as militarily critical, the majority of its armored assets were deployed to dominate this excellent tank country east of the Orne river. These defeats and the experience of meeting an enemy with near-equal resources exposed a flawed Anglo-Canadian offensive tactical doctrine that was overly dependent on the supremacy of its artillery forces. Furthermore, weaknesses in Allied tank technology inhibited their armored forces from fighting a decisive armored battle, forcing Anglo-Canadian infantry and artillery forces to further rely on First World War "Bite and Hold" tactics, massively supported by artillery. Confronted with the full force of the Panzerwaffe, Anglo-Canadian doctrine at times floundered. In response, the Royal Artillery and Royal Canadian Artillery units pummeled the German tankers and grenadiers, but despite their best efforts, ground could not be captured by concentrated artillery fire alone. Arthur W. Gullachsen's book Bloody Verrieres: The I. SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges (Casemate, 2021) a detailed account of the success of I. SS-Panzerkorps' defensive operations, aimed at holding the Vèrrieres-Bourgebus ridges in late July 1944. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/german-studies

german south norman bloody defence normandy allied confronted caen viewed ridges orne verri royal artillery anglo canadian

Arthur W. Gullachsen, "Bloody Verrieres: The I. SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges" (Casemate, 2021)

New Books Network

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2022 60:24

South of the Norman city of Caen, the twin features of the Verrières and Bourguebus ridges were key stepping stones for the British Second Army in late July 1944--taking them was crucial if it was to be successful in its attempt to break out of the Normandy bridgehead. To capture this vital ground, Allied forces would have to defeat arguably the strongest German armored formation in Normandy: the I. SS-Panzerkorps "Leibstandarte." The resulting battles of late July and early August 1944 saw powerful German defensive counterattacks south of Caen inflict tremendous casualties, regain lost ground and at times defeat Anglo-Canadian operations in detail. Viewed by the German leadership as militarily critical, the majority of its armored assets were deployed to dominate this excellent tank country east of the Orne river. These defeats and the experience of meeting an enemy with near-equal resources exposed a flawed Anglo-Canadian offensive tactical doctrine that was overly dependent on the supremacy of its artillery forces. Furthermore, weaknesses in Allied tank technology inhibited their armored forces from fighting a decisive armored battle, forcing Anglo-Canadian infantry and artillery forces to further rely on First World War "Bite and Hold" tactics, massively supported by artillery. Confronted with the full force of the Panzerwaffe, Anglo-Canadian doctrine at times floundered. In response, the Royal Artillery and Royal Canadian Artillery units pummeled the German tankers and grenadiers, but despite their best efforts, ground could not be captured by concentrated artillery fire alone. Arthur W. Gullachsen's book Bloody Verrieres: The I. SS-Panzerkorps Defence of the Verrieres-Bourguebus Ridges (Casemate, 2021) a detailed account of the success of I. SS-Panzerkorps' defensive operations, aimed at holding the Vèrrieres-Bourgebus ridges in late July 1944. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

german south norman bloody defence normandy allied confronted caen viewed ridges orne verri royal artillery anglo canadian

Ep73: Richard Nugee 'Waging War on Climate Change'

Cleaning Up. Leadership in an age of climate change.

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2022 55:53

Lieutenant General (Retd) Richard Nugee is the lead author of the UK Ministry of Defence's Climate Change and Sustainability Strategic Approach report.Richard spent over 35 years in the military. He was first commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1985. During his service he reached the rank of Lieutenant General and was the Chief of the Defence People between 2016 and 2020.He led the works on UK MoD's Climate Change and Sustainability Review between 2020 and 2021 and retired from the army in May 2021.Richard was appointed MBE in June 1998, CBE in January 2012, CVO in September 2016, and CB in January 2020, he was awarded the US Legion of Merit for his services in Afghanistan in 2014. He holds BA degree from Durham University and MA from King's College London.Further reading: Ministry of Defence Climate Change and Sustainability Strategic Approach (March 2021)https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-defence-climate-change-and-sustainability-strategic-approach/ministry-of-defence-climate-change-and-sustainability-strategic-approach-accessible-version

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Korean War: The Veterans Of Imjin River

Dan Snow's History Hit

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2022 61:38

Fought between the 22nd-25th of April 1951, the battle of Imjin River was part of a Chinese counter-offensive after United Nations forces had recaptured Seoul in March 1951. The assault on ‘Gloster Hill' was led by General Peng Dehuai who commanded a force of 300,000 troops attacking over a 40-mile sector. The 29th Independent Infantry Brigade Group, under the command of Brigadier Tom Brodie, of the 1st Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment, was responsible for defending a 15-kilometre section of the front, over which General Peng Dehuai sent three divisions of his force. What resulted was the bloodiest battle that involved British troops in modern history since the Second World War.Taken from the 2021 Gloucester History Festival, Dan is joined by two battle veterans of the 1951 Korean War battle, Tommy Clough and Brian Hamblett. Tommy served as a gunner with the Royal Artillery which was attached to the Gloster, Brian served in the British military in Infantry manning machine guns in his platoon - both were Chinese prisoners of war for more than two years. They join Dan to explore the battle of the Imjin River on what was its 70th anniversary.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

apple british chinese veterans world war ii android united nations seoul fought korean war infantry history hit gloster royal artillery

Korean War: The Veterans Of Imjin River

Channel History Hit

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2022 61:38

Fought between the 22nd-25th of April 1951, the battle of Imjin River was part of a Chinese counter-offensive after United Nations forces had recaptured Seoul in March 1951. The assault on ‘Gloster Hill' was led by General Peng Dehuai who commanded a force of 300,000 troops attacking over a 40-mile sector. The 29th Independent Infantry Brigade Group, under the command of Brigadier Tom Brodie, of the 1st Battalion Gloucestershire Regiment, was responsible for defending a 15-kilometre section of the front, over which General Peng Dehuai sent three divisions of his force. What resulted was the bloodiest battle that involved British troops in modern history since the Second World War.Taken from the 2021 Gloucester History Festival, Dan is joined by two battle veterans of the 1951 Korean War battle, Tommy Clough and Brian Hamblett. Tommy served as a gunner with the Royal Artillery which was attached to the Gloster, Brian served in the British military in Infantry manning machine guns in his platoon - both were Chinese prisoners of war for more than two years. They join Dan to explore the battle of the Imjin River on what was its 70th anniversary.If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

apple british chinese veterans world war ii android united nations seoul fought korean war infantry history hit gloster royal artillery

Cyprus Remembered – George Seear, 57 HAA Regt. Royal Artillery

CyprusScene.com

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 21, 2021 1:25

CyprusScene review by George Seear who would like to find old army pals who he served with in Cyprus during 1956/57.......Click below to see pictures. This episode is also available as a blog post: https://cyprusscene.com/2021/12/18/cyprus-remembered-george-seear-57-haa-regt-royal-artillery/ Don't forget to select FOLLOW on our channel listing to hear more news and reviews from Northern Cyprus CyprusScene Podcasts can be found on the following apps Anchor, Google Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, PocketCasts, Breaker, Castbox, Apple Itunes

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Mike Browne, British Royal Artillery

Downrange: A No Laying Up Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2021 75:41

Mike Browne is a veteran of the British Army serving time in the Royal Artillery. Mike broke his leg during a routine training exercise that ultimately changed his life forever. Soon after, the broken leg was riddled with infection. Twenty-two operations later, Mike made the decision to have the limb amputated to not only relieve the pain but improve his quality of life. During recovery, Mike noticed a flyer for the On Course Foundation. On Course is a UK and US based origination focused on building personal confidence and sharing experiences of injured and sick veterans through the game of golf. After starting golf in 2014, Mike progressed quickly and in 2016 turned professional. His story is not without its low points, as Mike discusses metal health throughout the podcast. It was an absolute honor to meet Mike and the rest of the warrior athletes at the 2021 Simpson Cup. For now, enjoy Mike's story! Have a question, comment or suggestion for the podcast? Reach out to Cody at cody@nolayingup.com or on social @codymcbrideNLU. To learn more about the On Course Foundation, please visit: http://www.oncoursefoundation.com/

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H-Hour Podcast #133 John Beamson – former Royal Artillery, founder Robustours + Escape the Lakes UK

H-Hour: A Sniper's Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2021 92:44

John Beamson served with the Royal Artillery, deploying on several operations before leaving the British Army and establishing Robustours and Escape the Lakes - organisations and events which provide extreme challenges around the UK. Become a patron of H-Hour at https://patreon.com/hkpodcasts

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"On en parlera quand il faudra porter quelque chose de lourd", le conditionnement physique du soldat, entretien avec Ryan Noordally

Signal sur bruit

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2021 26:14

Pour cet épisode, nous revenons avec Ryan Noordally, sous-officier dans la Royal Artillery, sur le conditionnement physique du soldat, sur la manière dont le sexisme peut s'y exprimer, sur la construction d'un esprit d'équipe, des capacités de résilience, etc. en puisant dans son parcours et ses rencontres.● L'article de Ryan Noordally qui a entraîné cet épisode :https://wavellroom.com/2021/03/19/blackbelt-in-bullshito/● L'article incriminé :https://wavellroom.com/2020/09/24/rethinking-women-in-ground-close-combat/● et sa réponse :https://wavellroom.com/2020/10/13/its-time-to-stop-rethinking-women-in-ground-close-combat/● Et le texte introduction :Goya, Michel, Du bon usage du soldat augmenté, in Le soldat : XXe-XXIe siècle, sous la direction de François Lecointre, Folio Histoire 2018Crédits musiques : Nightwalk (Airtone) ● DJ Muxol ● Hell Broke Luce (Tom Waits) ● Blood (OSI)

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The Royal Artillery

British Army 1914-18

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2021 21:33

In this episode, I talk about the organisation of the Royal Artillery from brigade level down to the gun crews. I then look at the specification of the field guns and howitzers and the types of ammunition they used. Finally, I take a look at how anti-aircraft defence developed.

royal artillery

Organising the Royal Artillery

British Army 1914-18

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 8, 2021 13:23

In this episode i discuss the organisation of the Royal Artillery, from the artillery brigade right down to the gun crew. I then look at how the gun was kept supplied with shells and how batteries were split between the gun lines and the wagon lines, when they deployed for battle. I also discuss the several reorganisations of the artillery brigade, made necessary by the challenges of trench warfare. Finally, I examine the methods introduced to help spot targets and the techniques used to improve the accuracy of artillery fire; two important requirements on the battlefield.

organising royal artillery

The Guns of the Royal Artillery

British Army 1914-18

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 8, 2021 13:11

In this episode, I look at the small calibre guns and howitzers deployed by the Royal Horse Artillery and the Royal Field Artillery. I then look at the large calibre guns and howitzers deployed by the Royal Garrison Artillery. In each case, I look at the range of the gun and any special features. I also look at the characteristics of the different types of ammunition they fired; shrapnel and high explosive. (Gas shells are discussed in an episode on gas). Finally, I look at the increasing role of anti-aircraft guns on the Western Front.

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Lets Remember our fallen Players and Fans together.

That Millwall Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 11, 2020 61:05

11th November 2020 - Armistice Day - marks 102 years since the end of the First World War.In remembrance of those Millwall players and Fans who gave their all in both the First and Second World Wars, Micky And Neil recall some of those heroes who gave their today for our tomorrow.John 'Ginger' WilliamsJohn, or Jack as he was commonly known, was born in Buckley, North Wales - the same place as future Lion Johnny Lyons - in 1885, and was Millwall's most prominent loss in the Great War.He began his senior career with Atherton Church Street, Lancashire, in around 1906, before signing for Accrington in October the following year. Jack's stay there lasted less than a year when a move to Birmingham beckoned before a transfer back to Stanley, as they became known, occured in February 1909.However, his return to Lancashire lasted a mere four months before Crystal Palace secured his signature in June. Jack's form at Palace over the next couple of seasons brought him to the attention of the Welsh selectors. He was rewarded with two appearances in 1912, against Scotland where he replaced Ted Vizard of Bolton, and was Billy Meredith's deputy for the match with Ireland. Observers described 'Ginger' as plucky, fearless and clever, while another concluded that he was full of fire and his shooting was generally on target.It was Ginger's excellent performances against The Lions that probably persuaded the club to sign him for their biggest-ever fee at the time. He enlisted in the Footballer's Battalion in November 1915, only to be killed in action the following June.Joe DinesProbably the most illustrious of Lions casulties at the front, Joe was an amateur for the whole of his career and assisted the club throughout the First World War when available.Joe found fame as a member of Great Britain's Olympic winning side of 1912 and, on top of this accolade, he also won 24 amateur caps for England from 1910-1914 inclusive. His one Football League appearance came for Liverpool against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in September 1912.A teacher by profession, Joe originally came from Kings Lynn and, when his job brought him to London, he became a member of Ilford FC.Joe was commissioned as 2nd Lt in the King's (Liverpool) Regiment and was killed on 27th September 1918, less than two weeks after playing his last game for The Lions.----------------------Some other men with Millwall connections lost at the front were David Glen, whose sole Southern League game came in a 1-0 home defeat to Croydon Common in September 1909. Davie, a sergeant in the Royal Scots, was killed in action at Arras, nine days after his 36th birthday in 1917.George Porter, from Bow, served as a Lance Corporal with Somerset Light Infantry. Like Dines, Porter remained an amateur player. He made two Southern League appearances for Millwall, but it was in a reserve team game at Highbury that George suffered a broken leg. He had only come into the team because Jack Williams was indisposed and how ironic was it that both the selected player and then his replacement were to lose their lives in the ensuing war. George did, however, have the consolation of a return to England before drawing his last breath.Fred Griffiths, a giant goalkeeper standing at 6'2" tall and weighing 15 stone, was another Welsh international who also gained two caps. His sheer physical presence must have worried the life out of any onrushing forward who was brave enough to challenge him, and in one season with Millwall made 34 appearances. Fred later became a coalminer in Derbyshire and, following the declaration of war, would enlist in the Sherwood Foresters. At the relatively senior age of 44, he was to lose his life 1917.Another Lion added to the number killed in action was Charles Green, of whom nothing is known, other than that he was a Londoner and performed at right-back. He, along with Williams, Dines and Porter, are remembered on a memorial plaque, which is in the possession of Millwall to this day.While we remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, Millwall did have many combatants who returned the country safe and sound. One surviving casualty, however, was Johnny Borthwick; so traumatic were his wounds he was forced the hang up his boots as a result.John, like Green, was a member of the 17th Battalion Middlesex Regiment (1st Footballers), as were locally born outside-right Teddy Bassett, Joe Orme, who kept goal, winger Fred Whittaker, full-back Joe Kirkwood and half-back John Nuttall, most of whom got to play for the Battalion when they were not fighting.A future player and manager of The Lions belonging to the same outfit was Jack Cock, who, at one stage, was reported as killed in action. Eventually he came through unscathed with a Military Medal to his name.Another recipient of the same gong was Arthur 'Nippy' Wileman, who served as Sergeant with the Royal Sussex Regiment, but was to lose his life in the spring of 1918.A post WWI team-mate of Jack was another free-scoring performer named Bob Parker, who served with the Northumberland Fusiliers.Welsh international Wally Davis was another prolific goal-scorer who, while playing for Bedfordshire Regiment, sustained such a serious injury it forced his retirement from the game.Two of Millwall's finest full-back pairings, Jack Fort and Dick Hill, served with gallantry in the 5th Dragoon Guards and the Grenadier Guards respectively. The two others to see service with Royal Artillery were goalkeeper Joe Lansdale and the highly-decorated Billy 'Banger' Voisey.In World War Two, Millwall, like many other clubs, saw their players enlist or call up to serve their conuntry. But the loss of just two players, outside-right Freddie Fisher and Harry Salmon, who left Millwall in 1936, hardly lessened the blow. Fred was a pocket dynamo standing at 5'5" and was signed for £1,600 from Chesterfield. Before his tragic death as a tail-end, Charlie, with RAFVR, won an unofficial cap against Wales in 1941.Harry, who came to The Den as an inside-forward from Stoke City in 1934, and whose excellent passing was matched by his prodigous heading, was switched to centre-half when regular Frank Hancock was injured. Both Fred and Harry were to die within four days of each other in July 1944, Harry at Caen whilst serving as sergeant with Royal Warwickshire Regiment.We will remember them.17th Service (Football) Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. Cricket and rugby competitions stopped almost immediately after the outbreak of the First World War. However, the Football League continued with the 1914-15 season. Most football players were professionals and were tied to clubs through one-year renewable contracts. Players could only join the armed forces if the clubs agreed to cancel their contracts.On 12th December 1914 William Joynson Hicks established the 17th Service (Football) Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. This became known as the Football Battalion. According to Frederick Wall, the secretary of the Football Association, the England international centre-half, Frank Buckley, was the first person to join the Football Battalion. At first, because of the problems with contracts, only amateur players like Vivian Woodward, and Evelyn Lintott were able to sign-up.As Frank Buckley had previous experience in the British Army he was given the rank of Lieutenant. He eventually was promoted to the rank of Major. Within a few weeks the 17th Battalion had its full complement of 600 men. However, few of these men were footballers. Most of the recruits were local men who wanted to be in the same battalion as their football heroes. For example, a large number who joined were supporters of Chelsea and Queen's Park Rangers who wanted to serve with Vivian Woodward and Evelyn Lintott.According to Ian Nannestad of Soccer History: "The organisers hoped to enlist a full battalion of 1,350 men apparently from the ranks of both amateur and professional players and staunch supporters of senior clubs... Recruitment at the time was principally aimed at unmarried men, of whom there were estimated to be around 600 amongst the ranks of professional footballers. A significant proportion of these were based in the north of England, although the battalion announced it would only recruit men from clubs south of the River Trent. Initial interest was high, with 4-500 present at the meeting, but of these only 35 enlisted on the day, and by the end of the year The Sportsman recorded just 34 additional names."(Source 4) Recruitment Poster (December, 1914)By March 1915, it was reported that 122 professional footballers had joined the battalion. This included the whole of the Clapton Orient (later renamed Leyton Orient) first team. Three of them were later killed on the Western Front. At the end of the year Walter Tull who had played for Tottenham Hotspur, Northampton Town and Glasgow Rangers joined the battalion. Major Frank Buckley soon recognised Tull's leadership qualities and he was quickly promoted to the rank of sergeant.Three members of the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee visited Upton Park and made an appeal for volunteers during half-time. Joe Webster, the West Ham United goalkeeper, was one of those who joined the Football Battalion as a result of this appeal.On 15th January 1916, the Football Battalion reached the front-line. During a two-week period in the trenches four members of the Football Battalion were killed and 33 were wounded. This included Vivian Woodward who was hit in the leg with a hand grenade. The injury to his right thigh was so serious that he was sent back to England to recover. Woodward did not return to the Western Front until August 1916.The Football Battalion had taken heavy casualties during the Somme offensive in July. This included the death of England international footballer, Evelyn Lintott. The battle was still going on when Woodward arrived but the fighting was less intense. However, on 18th September a German attack involving poison gas killed 14 members of the battalion.Major Frank Buckley was also seriously injured during this offensive when metal shrapnel had hit him in the chest and had punctured his lungs. George Pyke, who played for Newcastle United, later wrote: "A stretcher party was passing the trench at the time. They asked if we had a passenger to go back. They took Major Buckley but he seemed so badly hit, you would not think he would last out as far as the Casulalty Clearing Station." Buckley was sent to a military hospital in Kent and after operating on him, surgeons were able to remove the shrapnel from his body. However, his lungs were badly damaged and was never able to play football again.Members of the Hearts team in France in 1916.Walter Tull also took part in the major Somme offensive. Tull survived this experience but in December 1916 he developed trench fever and was sent home to England to recover. Tull had impressed his senior officers and recommended that he should be considered for further promotion. When he recovered from his illness, instead of being sent back to France, he went to the officer training school at Gailes in Scotland. Despite military regulations forbidding "any negro or person of colour" being an officer, Tull received his commission in May, 1917. Lieutenant Tull was sent to the Italian front. This was an historic occasion because Tull was the first ever black officer in the British Army. He led his men at the Battle of Piave and was mentioned in dispatches for his "gallantry and coolness" under fire.In January 1917 Major Frank Buckley was back on the Western Front. The Football Battalion attacked German positions at Argenvillers. Buckley was "mentioned in dispatches" as a result of the bravery he showed during the hand-to-hand fighting that took place during the offensive. The Germans used poison gas during this battle and Buckley's already damaged lungs were unable to cope and he was sent back home to recuperate.Walter Tull stayed in Italy until 1918 when he was transferred to France to take part in the attempt to break through the German lines on the Western Front. On 25th March, 1918, 2nd Lieutenant Tull was ordered to lead his men on an attack on the German trenches at Favreuil. Soon after entering No Mans Land Tull was hit by a German bullet. Tull was such a popular officer that several of his men made valiant efforts under heavy fire from German machine-guns to bring him back to the British trenches. These efforts were in vain as Tull had died soon after being hit. Tull's body was never found.Major Frank Buckley kept a record of what happened to the men under his command. He later wrote that by the mid-1930s over 500 of the battalion's original 600 men were dead, having either been killed in action or dying from wounds suffered during the fighting.Above Text taken fromhttps://spartacus-educational.com/FWWfootballBN.htmPRIVATE Thomas P Mahoney Service Number: 2436 Regiment: London Regiment 22nd Bn. Date of Death: Died 09 July 1916 Age 19 years old Buried: TRANCHEE DE MECKNES CEMETERY, AIX-NOULETTE G. 5. France Country of Service: United Kingdom Son of Joseph and Theresa Mahoney, of 3, Sedan St., Walworth, London.f you could give a mention on the podcast for my great uncle (nans brother on my dad's side) James Vallance who died at The Battle of JUTLAND 31st May/1st June on HMS DEFENSE. WW1Ships boy 1, coal shoveler I think.17yrs of age. Out of Walworth.There's another from WW2 on my mums side but only just found out recently about my grandads twin brother he never spoke of him or his own Dunkirk experience (complete mystery) who flew for the Canadian Royal force (again a mystery) but died on a mission, we think in Egypt but enquiries ongoing.My Grandad was a right Herbert by the way out of Clerkenwell who was orphaned as a kid and taken in off the streets by a family so possibly he lost contact with his brother. My grandad was John Bromhead sometimes Johnson he fought bare nuckle as John Johnson his brother was Donald Bromhead.In some way very lucky that my family didn't suffer any casualties - deaths or injuries in WW2. I'm sure there are many on here whose families suffered a lot with these both armed forces and civiliansMy great grandfather perished at the Battle of Jutland WW1 .I suppose we shouldn' laugh but my Middle Name ('Richardson' - i know :)) was asked for by my Nan in memory of her father who she hardly knew.So yes the legacy of that day lives on.My Grandad George Emerson Markham private E Yorkshire RegimentKilled in Action St George's day 23rd April 1917.no known grave commemorated Arras MemorialSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/that-millwall-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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Firepower 51: Coxen as Commander Royal Artillery

The Principles of War - Lessons from Military History on Strategy, Tactics and Leadership.

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2020 19:10

This presentation, part of the Royal Australian Artillery Historical Company's Firepower: Lessons from the Great War Seminar Series. It looks at the career of MAJ GEN Walter Coxen. This episode is presented by COL Jason Cooke. Check out the show notes for the podcast for all of the information that we cover in this episode as well as the images and other details that didn't make it into the podcast. Join the conversation on Twitter or Facebook.

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Caged Steel - My Journey To Become An MMA Fight Promoter | Dom Gibbs | Bought The T-Shirt Podcast #99

Chris Thrall's Bought the T-Shirt Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 8, 2020 96:11

Dom's bio: Starting my martial arts journey at the age of 6 in Judo and then going on to do 10 different martial arts. Being the Son of a Royal Artillery soldier, martial arts was a big part of my life, my hero was Bruce Lee, acting out all the moves from Enter the Dragon. As a young adult, my journey was put on hold due to work and life getting in the way, having spent around 5 years away my life was taking a very different turn, one which saw me involved in football crowds and ‘gangs’. After a few charges against me and me realising that my life was not where I wanted it to be I decided that I had to make changes and the only way I knew how was to walk into a martial arts dojo again. I needed respect and discipline back in my life. My life changed, I got promoted at work reaching senior Management status within a local authority and then leaving to set up my own businesses. Read 'Eating Smoke: One Man's Descent into Crystal Meth Psychosis in Hong Kong's Triad Heartland.' Paperback UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0993543944 Paperback US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0993543944 Support the podcast at: https://www.patreon.com/christhrall (£2 per month plus perks) https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-our-veterans-to-tell-their-story https://paypal.me/TeamThrall Sign up for my NON-SPAM newsletter and FREE books: https://christhrall.com/mailing-list/ Social media Links: https://facebook.com/christhrall https://twitter.com/christhrall https://instagram.com/chris.thrall https://linkedin.com/in/christhrall https://youtube.com/christhrall https://discord.gg/yqvHRUN https://christhrall.com

POVERTY LODGE by Gordon Pound

This Week in America with Ric Bratton

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2020 21:08

POVERTY LODGE by Gordon Pound Gordon Pound was born in rural Oxfordshire into a farming family and enjoyed the benefits of country living during the dark days of WW2 and post-war austerity. Later he boarded at a grammar school that was founded in 1571 and appeared to retain the original plumbing and some of the original masters. Subsequently, he attended Seale-Hayne Agricultural College, graduating just in time to be conscripted into the Army, where he obtained a short service commission. Following that service, finding that he enjoyed army life, he transferred to the Australian Army, where he served in various capacities at locations throughout Australia and Asia. Retiring after 20 years soldiering and anxious to resume a rural life style, he convinced his family that moving to a ramshackle farmhouse on a rundown farm in Tasmania would be a good idea. How the enterprise worked out is what this tale is all about. Gordon Pound was born and brought up on a farm in England’s rural Oxfordshire and grew up with the expectation of a life spent in rural pursuits. To this end he attended a boarding school that had an agricultural stream and its own farm and followed this with a stint at agricultural college. Not long after graduation he fell victim to British National Service and was conscripted in to the army. Apparently possessing qualities thought appropriate he was invited to train for a commission, did so and after Officer Cadet School became a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery on a three-year short service commission. Unfortunately, by this time the family farm had been sold and with no farm to go back to he began to think that the army might offer a worthwhile career. Nearing the end of his service he noticed advertisements offering ex-British Army officers positions in the expanding Australian Army a prospect he found pleasing, he applied, was accepted and moved to Australia just in time to join an artillery battery bound for Vietnam where it became part of the US 173rd Airborne Brigade(Sep) based at Bien Hoa. He subsequently undertook a second tour in Vietnam followed by service in various parts of Australia and Asia rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel and becoming inevitably deskbound, not what he joined the army for. With frustration setting in a long-supressed yearning for the land became too strong to resist and he bought a run-down farm in rural North-East Tasmania and moved in with his wife, two children, in-laws and an assortment of animals. The property was called Poverty Lodge and the family’s adventures, trials, tribulations and triumphs have been recorded in a book of the same name told with a combination of inherited English humour and acquired Australian laconicism. https://www.amazon.com/Poverty-Lodge-Gordon-Pound-ebook/dp/B07CQMK16C/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Poverty+Lodge+by+Gordon+Pound&qid=1594673718&s=books&sr=1-1 http://www.bluefunkbroadcasting.com/root/twia/gorpound.mp3

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#002 In The Beginning With Major General A Stone CB