Military History Archives - Page 3 of 6

Landing with no Rudder or Elevator

By Dean McCleland in Military History 24 May 2016 1 Comment

Essentially this feat is akin to driving without a steering wheel. All wars produce incredible stories of people or machines surviving the most horrendous damage. So it was with this South African Air Force Dakota in May 1986. WW2 produced many such examples; the most notable was that of a B17 returning from a bombing mission over Europe. This story originally appeared on the SA Military History website but I would like to share it.

Main picture: A most graphic picture of the Dakota’s non existent rudder and shattered elevators

Demyansk: The Template for Hitler’s Disaster at Stalingrad

In many ways, the Demyansk Pocket [German: Festung Demjansk or Kessel von Demjansk] was the forerunner of what was to occur later in 1942 except that in the latter instance, the outcome was tragic. Hitler, the Commander of the German Wehrmacht, had drawn the wrong conclusions from this action. The consequences of Stalingrad were immense: the elimination of Germany’s strategic initiative in the war forever.

Main picture: Like Napoeon’s forces before them, the Germans during the winter of 1941/1942 literally freeze to death in inappropriate clothing.

An Innovative Method of Clearing Land Mines

By Dean McCleland in Military History 6 May 2016 1 Comment

Princess Diana would have endorsed this method of clearing mines if she were still alive. Initially the only way to clear land mines fields was by hand using bayonets. The hand held mine detector came next. This meant certain death to the Engineer slowly advancing through a mine field into the emplaced machine guns. After countless deaths, more mechanised methods were adopted such as the flail tank where chains were mounted on rotating drums on an armoured vehicle. Many other techniques have subsequently been employed such as pushing rollers or using dogs. Recently a brand new technique with African origins has been developed. Tell me whether you endorse this method.

Main picture: The African pouched rat hard at work sniffing out mines

Hitler: The Formative Years

By Dean McCleland in History, Military History 30 December 2015 1 Comment

From around fourteen years of age – no precise age can be determined – Hitler started experiencing delusions of grandeur. He wanted to become a world famous painter. More insightful into Hitler’s character than this fantasy, was the fact that he scorned the notion of having to earn one’s daily living. Being a loner he seldom had friends. To use an expressive modern term, Hitler was an odd-ball, the archetypal non-entity, the little grey man who blended into the background. As such, detailed records and acounts of Hitler’s youth are sparse at best but whatever is extant all points to an eccentric misanthropic youth. What was Hitler like as a child and why did he develop these surreal notions about life?

Main picture: One of Hitler’s water colours

Hitler’s Wunderwaffen: The Horten Stealth Bomber

By Dean McCleland in Military History 29 December 2015 0 Comment

The origin of this article was pure serendipity. First I came across an article about National Geographic producing a documentary on the Horton Flying Wing which the Germans were designing at the end of WW2. In spite of their abhorrent social policies, I have a grudging respect for their technology which was pivotal in the development of the next generation of military equipment.

I then searched for the equivalent documentary which I own but produced by The History Channel. After reading the review which Amazon ranked as the best one, I was impressed. The sentiments accorded exactly with my thoughts – 100%. Then I searched for the name of the author. Under the heading Excellent Overview of Advanced WW2 German Aircraft Designs was the date of the review – 16^th June 2008 and then the author’s name – DF McCleland! No wonder I thought that the reviewer was spot on

Main picture: The Horten Ho 2-29 Flying Wing Continue reading

General Bernard Law Montgomery Re-Assessed

By Dean McCleland in Military History 28 December 2015 0 Comment

My original Blog entitled Rating the Generals of WW2 arose in response to an emailed query by Blaine. This blog attracted a slew of replies and comments some of which can be read on the Comments Section under the relevant blog. The three most note-worthy – of which this is one – is a rebuttal of my comments and rating on the generalship of Bernard Law Montgomery. This excellent re-assessment is by my brother Blaine who obviously has time during retirement to read all my blogs diligently as he should be doing. His points are detailed and well presented. Herewith is the full unabridged reply by Blaine.

Main picture: Montgomery and his American rivals – Bradley and Patton

Victory as a Yardstick to Rate the Generals of WW2

By Dean McCleland in Military History 24 December 2015 0 Comment

Many measures can be applied when assessing the performance of Generals. One could focus on strategic or tactical competence. Maybe success is another. What about race or sexual orientation? My judgment was based on competence conflated with a 21^st century concept of human rights. The blog Rating the General of WW2 elicited a number of comments of alternative ratings. This was one from an old hiking friend Malcolm. After presenting Malcolm’s view, I will critique it.

Main picture: Based upon victory as being the measure of greatness, Eisenhower was the greatest general of WW2

Erwin Rommel: A Man of Many Contradictions

By Dean McCleland in Military History 20 December 2015 0 Comment

From a purely military perspective – both strategic and tactical – and a personal bravery standpoint, Rommel had few peers during WW2 except perhaps for George Patton. In other aspects there were contradictions and these behaviours and actions were not so unambiguous as to be able to categorise Rommel’s viewpoint one way or the other. This blog will not focus on his military accomplishments as these have been extensively dealt with but rather these other aspects of his life.

One of the issues which has always intrigued me is at what point did Rommel decide to support the plot to assassinate Hitler. What was Rommel’s relationship with his men? Was it as Goebbels had portrayed it in his propaganda films as collegial or not? Was Rommel a committed Nazi or was he, as he claims, an apolitical military officer? Lastly when did Rommel finally become disillusioned with Hitler?

Main picture: Rommel with the 15th Panzer Division in North Africa Continue reading

The Generalship of “Uncle Bill” Slim Assessed

By Dean McCleland in History, Military History 18 December 2015 1 Comment

I have received a number of responses to my blog rating the Generals of WW2. Some of the correspondance is highly provocative but as none of these respondents used the comments facility, I will instead engage them in future blogs. Their cogent comments deserve a wider audience that my inbox. This is the first of them that I will share.

Main picture: “Uncle Bill” Slim in his classic pose.

Rating the Generals of WW2

By Dean McCleland in History, Military History 17 December 2015 12 Comments

My brother Blaine posed me a question the other day. “How do you rate the Generals of WWII and why? I’ve listed my candidates and was wondering what your opinion of them is?” To do this topic justice, I would have to do some extensive research. Due to time constraints, my opinion would not be based upon an ex libris search. Instead I would do the equivalent of an ad-lib speech and improvise.

Main picture: Erwin Rommel in North Africa during June 1942. Many, if not most pundits, would rate Rommel as the best General of WW2. His ability to smash the Allies line at its most vulnerable point on numerous occasions begrudgingly made him a hero in many Allies eyes.

The Opinion Pieces are an eclectic bunch on current affairs & history often with a human interest aspect. The Movie/DVDs reviews are mainly on documentaries with a smattering of movie reviews.

Category Archives: Military History