On This Day ... in 1915 & Others
Private Mariner of the King's Royal Rifle Corps took advantage of a thunder storm to crawl unobserved across No Man's Land through heavy barbed wire entanglements to reach a fortified German gun emplacement which had proved invulnerable to conventional counter-measures. Having reached his target, he threw in a grenade, then remained concealed close by for a quarter of an hour before throwing in a second bomb to ensure destruction. The Germans reacted with an artillery barrage on No Man's Land - Mariner waited calmly for it to end, then returned to his own lines through gaps in the wire conveniently created by the barrage. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, but fell in action the following year on the first day of the Somme offensive.
1939: Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini signed a "Pact of Steel" committing Germany and Italy to a military alliance
1941: During the continuing heavy fighting following the German invasion of Crete on 20 May, Second Lieutenant Upham of the New Zealand Canterbury Regiment repeatedly distinguished himself, despite being badly wounded and suffering from severe dysentery. In particular, he rescued a wounded man on 22 May, and killed 22 Germans in a close-range firefight on 30 May. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, and the following year in the Western Desert, on 14 July, became the only man to win the Victoria Cross twice in the Second World War, and only the third man ever to receive the VC and Bar.
HMS Gloucester, a cruiser, was sunk off Crete by dive-bombers with the loss of 736 crew.
1942: Mexico declared war on Germany, Italy, and Japan
1943: German Admiral Karl Donitz withdraws his U-boats from the North Atlantic after mounting losses
1947: The Truman Doctrine was enacted as the US Congress appropriated military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey
1982: In the Falklands, the Argentine Coastguard craft, Rio Iguazu, was spotted in Choiseul Sound and strafed. She was beached and abandoned, 12 miles from Darwin.
Two Argentine Daggers and three A4Bs attacked ships in San Carlos Sound after approaching from the south.
HMS Broadsword and Coventry were tasked to patrol 50 miles west of the northern entrance to the Falkland Sound to use their Sea Dart/Sea Wolf combination to intercept and destroy incoming aircraft
Comments
Can anyone suggest a title or two re: the Falklands? I'm interested in memoirs as well as books dealing with the strategic situation. Obviously this conflict has not received the attention it deserves from US publishers, but I have access to a first class academic library which is able to provide virtually anything given sufficient time. Thanks MP
Posted by: MP | May 21, 2008 3:34 PM
For a starting point try Falklands Commando by Capt. Hugh McManners
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Falklands-Commando-Hugh-McManners/dp/0007141750
"Hugh McManners' Falklands Commando is unique in that most UK special forces books are written by former enlisted members who came from working class backgrounds. McManners comes from a more upper class background, having studied at Oxford. He was a Captain in the Royal Artillery, attached to 3rd Commando Brigade as the leader of a naval gunfire support team. As such, he often operated with SBS and SAS forces.
McManners writes well and describes how he saw the Falkland Islands conflict. Falklands Commando is not a comprehensive account of the South Atlantic War. You need not be familiar with all the details of that war, but the more previous knowledge you have, the more you can appreciate McManners' account.
McManners details the build-up, journey south, and the subsequent missions his team undertook to observe Argentinean positions and call naval fire upon them. All in all, it's an excellent account that puts a human face on conflict."
For a general commentary, try Max Hastings
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battle-Falklands-Pan-Grand-Strategy/dp/0330352849/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211382991&sr=1-2
The offical history
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battle-Falklands-Pan-Grand-Strategy/dp/0330352849/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211382991&sr=1-2
Col Huw Pike on 3 Para
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battle-Falklands-Pan-Grand-Strategy/dp/0330352849/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211382991&sr=1-2
Brig. Julian Thompson who ran the land war
http://www.amazon.co.uk/No-Picnic-Commando-Brigade-Atlantic/dp/0850523044/ref=sr_1_54?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211383352&sr=1-54
Nick Vaux on the Commandos
http://www.amazon.co.uk/March-South-Atlantic-Commando-Falklands/dp/1844156273/ref=sr_1_89?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211383529&sr=1-89
& 'Sharky' Ward on the airwar
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sea-Harrier-Over-Falklands-Maverick/dp/0850523052/ref=sr_1_93?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211383529&sr=1-93
although Sharky went a bit mad in the end
Hope that helps
Posted by: Mr Free Market | May 21, 2008 4:28 PM
Thank you, Sir.
Posted by: MP | May 22, 2008 6:48 PM
I have just read "Forgotten Voices of the Falklands" by Hugh McManners publishes by Ebury Press.A record of memoirs from ppl who were there.Very interesting.
Posted by: Mally | May 23, 2008 11:37 AM