How a lowly Russian Political Officer prevented a Nuclear Armageddon

By Dean McCleland in History, Military History 0 Comment

If not for courageous actions of Vasily Arkipov, the Cuban Missile Crisis would have become known as the Cuban Missile War

History is normally portrayed from the viewpoint of the person in charge: the King, the President or the Commander-in-Chief. Their memoirs – and more importantly history – are recorded from their point of view – the strategic level. I can well imagine a Montgomery or an Eisenhower gently sipping their 20 year old red wine in a plush air-conditioned mobile home 150 miles from the front while the ordinary soldier was enduring temperatures of minus ten degrees somewhere in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium during December 1944 at the height of the Battle of the Bulge.

Continue reading

Michael Wittmann and the Tiger 1 Tank

By Dean McCleland in History, Military History 2 Comments

A Metaphor of German Brilliance and Flawed Thinking in WW2

Wittmann and the Tiger 1 represented the very best of German manhood and Engineering. Joined together they represented an invincible combination. Both had fatal flaws.

Michael Wittmann was emblematic of WW2 German Panzer Tank Commanders. He was credited with the destruction of 138 tanks and 132 anti-tank guns, along with an unknown number of other armoured vehicles, making him one of Germany’s top scoring panzer aces, together with Johannes Bölter, Ernst Barkmann, Otto Carius and Kurt Knispel who was the top scoring ace of the war with 168 tank kills.

Continue reading

This Day in History: 6th June 1944 – D-Day

By Dean McCleland in History, Military History 0 Comment

The largest beach landing in history

The 6th June 2014 represented the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Nazi occupied Europe and has widely become recognised by the generic military term known as D-Day or the first day of the attack. Hence D+1 would be the second day et cetera. Due to this conflation, the term D-Day in common parlance is synonymous with the landing on the Normandy Beaches.

As a tribute to the men who fought and died there, on every tenth anniversary of the battle, paratroop veterans would parachute into Normandy. On the 60th anniversary, ten years ago, this practice was abandoned due to the superannuation of the veterans being a minimum of 80 years of age. On this anniversary, ten years later, one brave solitary soul, a Scotsman, Jack Hutton, elected to show that he was made of sterner stuff and represented all those still alive but now too fragile to do so.

Continue reading

The Narvik Landings Fiasco: In its wake why was its progenitor Churchill appointed as Prime Minister

By Dean McCleland in History, Military History 0 Comment

A Personal View – April 2014

The Parliamentary Session in the British House of Commons on the 9th May 1940 was acrimonious. The emergency debate revolved around the catastrophe in Norway.

This campaign had been Churchill’s brainchild as the First Lord of the Admiralty. As Churchill rose to speak, he instinctively knew that this speech would probably be the most important speech in his entire political career. At 64 years of age, his life-long ambition of holding high political office could possibly remain a pipe-dream.

Main picture: Untrained British forces landing at Narvik, Norway

Continue reading

Hitler: Was he complicit in the death of his half-niece Geli Raubal?

By Dean McCleland in History, Military History 0 Comment

A Personal View – April 2014

Hitler was unable to form normal relationships with other people. During WW1 he rarely if ever fraternised with his fellow soldiers but studiously avoided them. Bravery he had in abundance which is attested by the fact that he was awarded the Iron Cross not once but twice; one was First Class while the other was Second Class.

Fellow soldiers describe him as a loner. He was considered for promotion but it was declined on the basis of his anti-social tendencies.

Main picture: Hitler with his niece Geli Raubal

Continue reading

The Victoria Cross: What it takes to Acquire One

By Dean McCleland in Military History 0 Comment

The use of an obtuse title with the word acquire instead of earn in it was purposeful as Victoria Crosses can be acquired but not earned. Currently the unissued medals total seven waiting to be awarded. They are valued at a paltry £1.80 each. Essentially this junk metal is worthless. On the other hand, the issued medals are estimated to be worth between £150,000 & £250, 000. The physical differences between the two versions are the details engraved on its rear: the name of the recipient, the Regiment & the date of the action.

Continue reading

Take these Men by Cyril Joly

By Dean McCleland in Books, Military History 0 Comment

Summation: A vivid evocation & excellent cupola eye view of the armoured battles of the Desert war from 1940 to 1943.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Even though this is written as a work of fiction, the author based it 100% on fact. Presumably the main reason for this decision, I believe, was to protect his incompetent subordinates & fellow officers.

Unlike most of the other soldiers in the to and fro desert war, Cyril Joly served with the Armoured Corps throughout this part of the war. Unlike the other theatres of war, the desert was eminently suitable for armoured warfare. Without the distractions of civilisation such as towns & people, the true potential of armoured vehicles was unleashed.

Continue reading

Nazi Germany: Was there Passive Resistance?

By Dean McCleland in Military History 0 Comment

A Personal View – April 2014

Like in all dictatorships, collaboration with the Regime is the norm. Is one prepared to risk one’s life in passive resistance let alone supporting some form of insurrection? Hardly ever as it requires a special type of person! Within Nazi Germany itself, it made no difference to the punishment but it was the fact that it was less risky that might have tempted people to engage in passive resistance.

Inasmuch as there were many intelligent people who understood the abhorrent nature of the regime, very few chose to actively take any active form of resistance but a few did practice passive resistance.

Continue reading