Military History Archives - Page 5 of 6

Stalin’s Duplicity and Perfidy during WW2

By Dean McCleland in History, Military History 5 October 2014 0 Comment

Stalin played a very cynical and cunning game during WW2. Having deliberately killed millions of kulaks in Russia what more could the West expect when dealing with this brute of a man, a murderer of more people – his own Russians – than the Germans in total.

The full extent of Stalin’s duplicity and perfidy during WW2 was purposely understated or even whitewashed during WW2 by the British and the Americans. The reason for attaching little importance to these heinous crimes, for that is what they were, was the need to defeat the Nazis.

Adolf and Eva: A Highly Unusual Relationship

Eva was a naïve youngster when Hitler, who was 22 years her senior, locked eyes with hers in a Munich shop. Such was her insularity from the major events of the period that in 1931 she was unable to connect the interested older man with the prominent moustache with Hitler.

In no ways could this be considered a partnership of equals. In every respect it can be considered that Hitler required a mistress and that is what Eva became: nothing more and nothing less.

Should Speer also have been sentenced to death at Nuremburg?

By Dean McCleland in History, Military History 7 September 2014 0 Comment

Of all the Nazis in Hitler’s inner circle, only Albert Speer escaped the hangman’s noose. How was he able to achieve this when the armaments’ industry used slave labour on an epic scale?

Unlike most of Hitler’s circle, Albert Speer and Hermann Goering were not regarded as archetypal Nazi thugs. Most such as Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy until his arcane mission to Britain in 1941, were wastrels and professional thugs in keeping with their narrow-minded views on society and the solutions to social problems. If there had to be a psychological attribute for being a member of the Nazi inner circle, that trait would be sociopathy.

The Middle East Imbroglio: Selective Outrage & Morality

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Military History 3 September 2014 0 Comment

What was the Muslim response to release of the United Nation’s report on the civil war in Syria condemning it as the greatest human tragedy in decades? A deafening silence! The displacement of 6 million people, the creation of 2 million refugees and the deaths of 200,000 civilians in the space of 3 years did not rate a mention.

This flagrant hypocrisy does not relate solely to Syria’s heinous crimes but also to the whole of the Middle East. What has been the Arab response to the genocidal actions of the ISIS forces against the Iraqi Yazidi Sect. In fact why has Adam Habib, a vocal support of the Palestinian cause, not issued a sharp rebuke to Abu Bakr al-Bagdahi’s forces for the mayhem, death & destruction caused by their forces against a peace-loving Sunni sect. It was left to the “hated imperialist” American air force to prevent the ultimate slaughter of the Yazidis in their mountain fastnesses.

D-Day: Then and Now

By Dean McCleland in Historical, Military History 27 August 2014 0 Comment

D-Day was the largest military operation ever in history. Maybe this is not true as regards the sheer number of men involved but more so in terms of the amount of equipment: ships, tanks and aircraft. Not only that but the area into which these forces were operating was a mere 70kms as compared with 1500kms on the Eastern Front.

This was the Second Front that the Russians had been demanding since 1942. Whereas the Americans and the British understood that a naval landing into the heart of German controlled France would result in a titanic struggle which if unsuccessful would set back the Allies plans for the ultimate defeat of the Germans by years, if not forever.

Shocking Images of the Israeli-Gaza Conflict

By Dean McCleland in Historical, History, Military History 9 August 2014 0 Comment

These shocking images illustrate not only the destruction of property in Gaza but also the impact upon the people who reside there. These images are both graphic and disturbing and highlight the futility of war.

As this war is unlikley to resolve any of the underlying issues driving this tension, this battle will be proceeded by yet more wars as the cycle of violence never abates. Hatreds based upon religion, dispossession and culture are indubitably intractable and not subject to facile solutions.

Gaza: Can Somebody Please Press the Pause Button?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Military History 2 August 2014 3 Comments

Due to inflamed religious and ethnic tensions, peace in ineluctable. Why the current confrontation has wider and deeper roots than the current Hamas / Israeli conflict?

Like everybody else, to avoid becoming involved in arguments as intractable as this conflict itself, most of us refuse to apportion blame or even to provide an opinion albeit muted. Adam Habib, the Wits University Vice-Chancellor has just become embroiled in such a fracas by tweeting his support for Hamas.

Why were 19,240 British soldiers killed on Day 1 of the Somme Battle?

By Dean McCleland in History, Military History 20 July 2014 0 Comment

After 7 days of bombardment, the British expected to walk across no man’s land and overrun the Germans without a fight. Instead they were mowed down in their thousands. What went wrong?

Prologue

On the morning of the 1^st July 1916, the British soldiers would climb up their wooden ladders, clamber over the sandbagged parapets of their trenches and then move towards the German lines. The exact instruction as regards their motion was given as walk: not run, not practice fire and movement but walk. The British High Command expected a docile German force dazed and shell-shocked after 7 days of continuous bombardment not to respond at all or if they did, not with alacrity. Amongst many others, this would become a cardinal error of this battle.

Instead, in short order, the British forces were pinned down and massacred.

65T Olifant Tank overturns on Van Reenen’s Pass

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Military History 14 July 2014 0 Comment

An Army Transport Vehicle carrying an Olifant Tank loses its brakes on Van Reenen’s Pass. The tank rolled off across the road.

According to the Ladysmith Gazette, on 20^th June 2014 an army transport vehicle allegedly lost its brakes while coming down Van Reenen’s Pass. The driver attempted to stop the truck at an emergency arrestor bed which is specially designed to slow trucks if their brakes fail. The 65-ton Olifant main battle tank was thrown off the truck and ended up lying upside down on the north bound carriageway. Damage to the tank is unknown at this stage. A private breakdown service was used to remove the tank from the road, as the military recovery team was not able to reach the scene until much later the following day.

Did the Exploits of Mata Hari justify her Execution?

By Dean McCleland in History, Military History 10 July 2014 0 Comment

For me, the exploits of spies have always held an enduring fascination as espionage exerts a powerful hold over my imagination. Mata Hari falls into that category.

Why write a blog about Mata Hari and not Sydney Reilly the self-proclaimed Ace of Spies? For me that fascination revolves around the fact that Mata Hari was a woman.

Mata Hari, the archetype of the seductive female spy was ultimately convicted for espionage. This culminated in her execution by a French firing squad at Vincennes outside of Paris.

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