Tonkin Gulf Ghosts

World War I in Film

Charles I at Edgehill
Texian Massacre
Death of a Journalist
Educating Warriors
HistoryNet.com

RED STAR
VERSUS
RISING SUN
SIR MAX HASTINGS
ON WORLD WAR II’S
LAST FIGHT

V-J DAY
JULY 2015
70 YEARS
 YOU DEFEND.
WE REWARD.
CardHub ranked the PenFed Defender Visa Signature® Card
among the “Best Military Credit Cards” in 2014. And, with
features like these, we can’t say we’re surprised.

• 1.5% unlimited cash

back on all purchases1
• Absolutely no fees
• No penalty APR
Available to the courageous men
and women of the United States
military — Active, Guard, Reserve,
Veterans and Retired.2

Easy to apply
Visit PenFed.org/DefenderVisaMH
or call 866-367-5318

Offers current as of July 1, 2015 and are subject to change. 1Cash advances, credit card checks, and balance transfers are
excluded from cash rewards.2You must be in an active military service status, a member of the Reserves or National Guard,
honorably discharged U.S. Military Veterans or retired from such service to qualify for this product. PenFed is Federally Insured
by NCUA. ©2015, Pentagon Federal Credit Union. All rights reserved.
 World War I, 1914-1918
The 17 cm mittlerer Minenwerfer (17 cm mMW) was developed by Rheinmetall
and entered German service in 1913. It was a muzzle-loading, rifled mortar
weighing 1,065 lbs. (483 kg) that had a standard hydro-spring recoil system
designed for destroying bunkers and field fortifications otherwise immune to
normal artillery.
It fired 110 lb (50 kg) HE shells, which contained far more explosive filler than
ordinary artillery shells of the same caliber. The low muzzle velocity allowed for
thinner shell walls, hence more space for filler. Furthermore, the low velocity
allowed for the use of explosives like Ammonium Nitrate-Carbon that were
less shock-resistant than TNT, which was in short supply. This caused a large
number of premature detonations that made crewing the minenwerfer riskier
than normal artillery pieces.
In action, the 17cm mittlerer Minenwerfer was placed in a pit, after its wheels
were removed, not less than 1.5 meters deep to protect it and its crew. Despite
its extremely short effective range of 300 m (325 yards), this mortar proved to
be very effective at destroying enemy bunkers and other strong points. With the
nature of static warfare on the western front, the number of mortars grew from
116 in service when the war broke out in 1914 to some 2,361 by the end of the
war in 1918.
Our new German Minenwerfer is a meticulously hand painted and assembled
metal and resin model in 1/30 scale and includes three crewman and accessories.
To see our complete range, please visit one of the fine retailers listed or visit:
www.wbritain.com

The figures above are just a small sampling of the World War I collection what W. Britain produces.
The figures shown and the entire W. Britain range can be purchased from the retailers listed below:

7R\6ROGLHU6KRSSH 7KH+LVWRU\6WRUH 6LHUUD7R\6ROGLHU *UHHQ·V&ROOHFWDEOHV

Tel: 414-302-1850 Tel: 740-775-7400 Tel: 408-395-3000 Tel: 973-627-4961
Fax: 414-302-1851 www.thehistorystore.net Fax: 408-358-3966 www.greenscollectables.com
www.toysoldiershoppe.net info@thehistorystore.net www.sierratoysoldier.com 46 Warren Trail
3775 S. 108th St. 101 North Paint St. 29 N. Santa Cruz Ave. Denville, New Jersey 07834
*UHHQ¿HOG:LVFRQVLQ Chillicothe, Ohio 45601 Los Gatos, California 95030

7KH7R\6ROGLHU&RPSDQ\ Tedtoy Miniatures Treefrog Treasures Hobby Bunker

Tel: (Toll Free)1-888-825-8697 Tel: 270-929-2876
www.toysoldierco.com www.tedtoy.com
1301 Walnut Street
Owensboro, Kentucky 42301
Tel: 866-394-2418 Tel: 781-321-8855
Outside U.S.: 1-507-545-2500 Fax: 781-321-8866
www.treefrogtreasures.com www.hobbybunker.com
248 Sandstone Drive NW 33 Exchange Street
Eyota, Minnesota 55934 Malden, Massachusetts 02148

Call and mention this ad to

recieve a FREE catalog!

WBA0415 ©2015 FIRST GEAR, INC.

July 2015

COVER STORY
26 Japan’s Last Fight
Though Hirohito surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945, soldiers on islands to the
north and in Manchuria kept fighting to the death against Soviet invaders
By Sir Max Hastings

FEATURES
36 Casting the Die at Edgehill
The seesaw clash that commenced the English Civil War By Christopher G. Marquis

44 ‘Biggest Story of My Life’

Behind enemy lines reporter Joe Morton found death—his own By Norman Goldstein

52 Bloody Goliad: Birth of a Republic

After the Alamo came a far worse—yet often overlooked—massacre By Ron Soodalter

60 War Ends!
World War II ended in a flurry of headline-grabbing events and memorable images

66 Great War Films

Movies that capture the horror and dark humor of World War I By Richard Farmer

DEPARTMENTS
6 LETTERS 22 HARDWARE
Type 95 Ha-Go Light Tank
8 NEWS
73 REVIEWS
LEFT: ENJOYZ/ISTOCKPHOTO; RIGHT: U.S. AIR FORCE/NATIONAL ARCHIVES

14 INTERVIEW Not Just Another ‘Great’ Opponent

General James Mattis
76 HALLOWED GROUND
17 HISTORYNET READER River Vale, New Jersey
19 VALOR 79 WAR GAMES
England’s Best Knight
80 CAPTURED!
21 WHAT WE LEARNED… War’s Unexpected Images
From the Tonkin Gulf, 1964

On the cover: In the closing days of World War II, and for some days afterward, Japan and the Soviet Union
kept fighting in Manchuria and on a contested island group. (National Archives; Flag Image: Enjoyz/Istockphoto)

MilitaryHistory.com
 Disabled Japanese

60 warplanes and castoff

propellers litter Atsugi
airfield, south of Tokyo,
in the days after Japan’s
August 1945 surrender.
 ANNOUNCING THE
RE-PUBLICATION
OF THE…
Order
Today!
$24.95 each plus
$3.95 S&H
PHOTOGRAPHIC
HISTORY
of the
CIVIL WAR
N
ow, almost 100 years after
its first appearance, a
true facsimile of the most
comprehensive photographic history
of the Civil War. This unique work
from Editor Francis Trevelyan Miller
first appeared in 1911 as a semi-
centennial tribute to the war.
Like the original, this edition from
the National Historical Society is
comprised of ten volumes.
● 3,488 pages with narrative and
more than 2,000 photographs
● Plus many more features
Try this risk-free offer on a 14-day
trial basis. If not interested, please
return the book and be under no
further obligation. If interested,
please pay the enclosed invoice
and expect to receive the nine
remaining books in this series, one
every 4-6 weeks. You may cancel
your subscription at any time.
Item Number: PH01
To receive Volume 1,
Call: 1-800-358-6327
Go Online: HistoryNetShop.com
J U LY 2 0 1 5
Or mail to: HistoryNet,
PO Box 8005, Dept. MH507B,
Aston, PA 19014
4 MILITARY HISTORY
Join the discussion at
militaryhistory.com
First Shots
of the
Cold War
In 1918 Woodrow Wilson
committed to an Allied
intervention in a reeling
Russia—but instead of
repelling the Germans,
U.S. troops clashed with
communists on their home turf.
By Anthony Brandt
Civil War historian James McPherson urges Americans to
Interview retain the lessons from that nation-shaping conflict
Britain’s versatile FV101 Scorpion tracked reconnaissance
Tools vehicle and its variants have fought worldwide since 1972
Stephen Cooper looks at the 1415 Battle of Agincourt on
Reviews the 600th anniversary of the pivotal English-French clash
Join an online debate or drop us an email about what you’ve
Sound Off read in the magazine
I N T H E ARC H IVES :
The Alamo,
Well Remembered
TOP: NATIONAL ARCHIVES; BOTTOM: WILLIAM H. BROOKER/PRIVATE COLLECTION/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES
In our sister magazine Wild West
Paul Andrew Hutton considers
the legacy of the 1836 battle that
prompted the birth of a republic
Our Online The Battle of Edgehill began the hands-on education of
Oliver Cromwell. What other noted military commanders
Reader Poll: learned mainly from experience rather than prior training?
Digital Subscription Let’s Connect
Military History is available in Learn more about what you’ve
digital format for any device. read or discuss a recent article
Visit historynet.com for info in depth on our Facebook page
 EDITOR IN CHIEF Roger L. Vance

Michael A. Reinstein CHAIRMAN & PUBLISHER

Dionisio Lucchesi PRESIDENT
William Koneval ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Vol. 32, No. 2 July 2015

EDITOR Stephen Harding

Brian Walker Art Director
David Lauterborn Managing Editor
Sarah R. Cokeley Senior Editor
Jennifer E. Berry Senior Photo Editor
Jon Guttman Research Director
David T. Zabecki Chief Military Historian

DIGITAL Brian King Director

Gerald Swick Editor
Barbara Justice Senior Graphic Designer

CORPORATE Paul Zimny EVP Digital

Greg Ferris EVP Strategy
David Steinhafel Operations & Finance
Karen G. Johnson Business Director
Rob Wilkins Military Ambassador and
Partnership Marketing Director
George Clark Single Copy Sales Director

ADVERTISING Karen M. Bailey

Production Manager/Advertising Services
KBailey@historynet.com
Richard  E. Vincent National Sales Manager
Panzers, Landsers
RVincent@historynet.com
Kim Goddard National Sales Manager
KGoddard@historynet.com
Rick Gower Georgia
rick@rickgower.com
and Politics
Terry Jenkins Tenn., Ky., Miss., Ala., Fla., Mass.
TJenkins@historynet.com
Kurt Gardner Creative Services Director
Short Stories and Epic Novels
Versailles to the Eastern Front
DIRECT RESPONSE Russell Johns Associates
ADVERTISING 800-649-9800
mih@russelljohns.com

© 2015 World History Group

Subscription Information
800-435-0715
Yearly subscriptions in U.S.: $39.95 Jagdpa
nzer Ve
Back Issues: 800-358-6327 rlag
List Rental Inquiries: Belkys Reyes, Lake Group Media, Inc.
914-925-2406; belkys.reyes@lakegroupmedia.com

Military History (ISSN 0889-7328) is published bimonthly by

World History Group, LLC
19300 Promenade Drive
Leesburg, VA 20176-6500
703-771-9400
Periodical postage paid at Leesburg, Va., and additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER, send address changes to
Military History
P.O. Box 422224
Palm Coast, FL 32142-2224
Canada Publications Mail Agreement No. 41342519
Canadian GST No. 821371408RT0001 Visit our website
The contents of this magazine may not be reproduced
in whole or in part without the written consent of World History Group

PROUDLY MADE IN THE USA

www.panzerschlacht.us

5
 Letters
Failed Intervention in Russia
didn’t change a damn thing.
It was a failure—but it was
a failure to nip communism
in the bud. Had the Western
powers intervened whole-
heartedly, they could have
helped the Whites defeat the
Reds, and that would have
changed history. Of course,
a more liberal peace treaty
with the Germans might have
prevented Hitler from rising
to power, too. There are a lot
of “might have beens,” but us
having a nicer relationship
with the communists wasn’t
something that was going to
happen. We were the people
the communists wanted to
destroy. What part of that do
Brandt and those who would
have us sit back on our hands
and do nothing not get?
Bob Frazier
SAN DIEGO, CALIF.
In his article on the Allied
intervention in Russia at the
end of World War I, Anthony
Brandt writes that this “mis-
step” by President Woodrow
Wilson would initiate the
Cold War and ruin whatever
chances there were for any
J U LY 2 0 1 5
sort of relationship between
the communists and America.
Brandt mentions the late dip-
6 MILITARY HISTORY
major forces—whole armies—
into Russia. Does anyone think
that would have been easy?
That the American public would
Anthony Brandt, in his article on the Allied intervention have accepted it? Ask Napoléon
in Russia [“First Shots of the Cold War,” May], seems Bonaparte if Russia was easy.
to have ignored a few salient figures—namely, Vladimir
Lenin, Joseph Stalin and those that followed them. These Falklands War
[Re. “Crags of Tumbledown,”
people may well have killed more Russians than Adolf
by Ron Soodalter, May:] There
Hitler. They were not a bunch of liberal idealists. Nothing are 1,513 good reasons for the
we could have done would have made these guys into Brits to punch the Argentines
anything other than enemies. So, Western intervention in the nose over the Falklands
—namely, the British resi-
lomat and historian George and British and French troops dents who want no part of
Kennan, who, in Brandt’s were exhausted; that the Ameri- a corrupt and incompetent
words, claimed that this “in- can troops there had only re- Argentine government. More
tervention killed whatever cently been well-enough trained important, the residents know
germ of hope existed for a to go into battle; that because their motherland will be ready
better relationship between of the Russian collapse in 1917 to fight for them no matter
the two countries.” Poppy- the Germans had been able to how many miles away.
cock! How can anyone be throw some 40 or so additional Anyone who questions this
so naive as to believe that if divisions at the Allies; and that fine example of loyalty should
the United States and its the whole purpose of the Allied visit the Falklands. Enter any
allies had not intervened in intervention was to reopen the of the shops where you see a
the Russian Civil War there Eastern Front and take pressure Union Jack flying and ask an
would have been a chance off the Western at a moment islander what he thinks about
for a better relationship be- when the outcome of the war the Argentine bullies. Take
tween the communists and remained in doubt. a bus tour to see the battle
America? Communism and Winston Churchill was the memorials—and where the
democracy are worlds apart. only Allied leader who really Argentines abandoned their
Lenin and later Stalin would had much interest in “nipping own dead for the Brits to bury.
have nothing to do with communism in the bud,” but The message is simple:
America. When the Bolshe- those who thought it might be “Don’t tread on me!” The
viks rose up in 1917, they not easy to invade Russia in force Falklands are British. The
only wanted Russia but also were soon enough disabused. islanders are British and very
wanted their rebellion to George Kennan wrote a two- proud and thankful for it. And
spread throughout the world. volume account of the inter- that is the way it will remain.
Tom R. Kovach vention, and his conclusions Robert F. Reynolds
NEVIS, MINN. seem wise to me. He admitted GEORGETOWN, TEXAS
the slim chance of cooperation
Anthony Brandt responds: Both between the United States and
correspondents seem to assume Russia had there been no inter- Send letters to
it would have been easy to vention, but he thought there Editor, Military History
HERITAGE IMAGE PARTNERSHP LTD/ALAMY
World History Group
“nip communism in the bud” was a chance. 19300 Promenade Drive
had the Allies only applied Oppose that to the “might Leesburg, VA 20176
themselves instead of going into have beens” these correspon- or via e-mail to
Russia halfheartedly. They dents suggest, and imagine the militaryhistory@
seem to have forgotten that consequences among the Amer- historynet.com
Please include name, address
at the time the Allies were fully ican public if, right after the and phone number
engaged on the Western Front, war was over, the U.S. had sent
Advertisement Int
ro Sho
$1 du ck

39
cto in
ry g
Pr
ice
!

Actual size
is 16.5 mm

Lock in Pure U.S. Gold Eagles for only $139

Secure New 2015 $5 Gold Eagles Now—at a low introductory price!

T ens of thousands of people collect the

American Gold Eagle. In fact it’s been
the country’s “Gold Standard” for over
two decades.
Try as they might, that makes it a very hard
“secret” to keep quiet. And right now, many
of those same people are lining up to secure
the brand new 2015 U.S. $5 Gold Eagle—
placing their orders now to ensure that they
get America’s newest Gold Eagle coin—in
stunning Brilliant Uncirculated condition—
before thousands of others beat them to it.
America’s Most Affordable
Gold Coin
Not only is the American Gold Eagle consid-
ered one of the most beautiful gold coins in
the world, but the $5 Gold Eagle is actually
the most affordable American gold
coin! Struck in a Tenth-ounce of pure gold,
the beloved coin features the inspiring image
of Miss Liberty carrying a torch—a design
first authorized for U.S. gold coins by Teddy
Roosevelt in 1907. The other side depicts a
family of nesting bald eagles alongside the
motto “In God We Trust”.
Government Guaranteed
Weight and Purity
Each Tenth-ounce $5 American Gold Eagle
is government guaranteed for its .917 purity,
authenticity, and legal tender status. The
gold content and $5 denomination are
struck directly into the surface of the coin.
Top Quality
These 2015 $5 Gold Eagles are freshly minted
and display blazing luster and stunning,
intricately sculpted details—the hallmarks
of coins crafted in Brilliant Uncirculated
(BU) condition. They are the perfect American
gold legacy for you and your family.
You Cannot Buy This Coin
from the Mint!
The U.S. Mint does not sell Brilliant Uncir-
culated Gold Eagles directly to the public.
You must obtain them through a distributor.
Luckily, we have just accepted delivery on a
fresh shipment of 2015 $5 Gold Eagles—
and are releasing them to the public at a
shocking low price.
Why the low introductory price? To introduce
you to what hundreds of thousands of smart
collectors and satisfied customers have
known since 1984: that GovMint.com is
the best source for coins worldwide.
Timing is Everything
Our advice? Keep this to yourself. The more
people who know about this offer, the worse
for you. Demand for Gold Eagles has surged
in recent years, and experts predict that 2015
Gold Eagles could easily surpass previous
records. Our supplies are limited.
30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
You must be 100% satisfied with your 2015
$5 American Gold Eagles or return them
within 30 days of receipt for a prompt refund
(less all s/h). Don’t miss out on this exciting
new release. Call immediately to secure these
$5 American Gold Eagles NOW!
2015 $5 U.S. Gold Eagle BU........
Introductory Price $ 139ea. (plus s/h)
LIMIT 4 AT THIS PRICE
Additional 2015 $5 Gold Eagles may be
purchased for $149 each (plus s/h).
Limited to 10 total coins per household.
For fastest service, call today
toll-free
1-888-201-7667
Offer Code GEB183-01
Please mention this code when you call.

GovMint.com • 14101 Southcross Dr. W. Dept. GEB183-01 • Burnsville, Minnesota 55337

Prices and availability subject to change without notice. Past performance is not a
predictor of future performance. NOTE: GovMint.com® is a private distributor of
worldwide government coin and currency issues and privately issued licensed collectibles
and is not affiliated with the United States government. Facts and figures deemed accurate
as of February 2015. ©2015 GovMint.com.

THE BEST SOURCE FOR COINS WORLDWIDE™

 News By Brendan Manley
U.S. Naval Reserve Celebrates
a Centennial of Global Service
The U.S. Navy Reserve, which contributed
the bulk of American naval manpower during
both world wars, marks its centennial this year
with a series of events at installations nation-
wide. The celebration kicked off in early
March with a Pentagon ceremony, the open-
ing of a related exhibit at the U.S. Navy Memo-
rial [www.navymemorial.org] in Washington,
D.C., and ceremonies at the Intrepid Sea, Air
& Space Museum [www.intrepidmuseum.
org] in New York, the USS Ward Gun Memo-
rial in Minneapolis and the USS Iowa Museum
[www.pacificbattleship.com] in Los Angeles.
Created by an act of Congress on March 3,
1915, the Navy Reserve [www.navyreserve.
navy.mil] has long been an integral com-
ponent of U.S. sea power. It entered World
War I in April 1917 with some 8,000 sail-
ors and by war’s end numbered more than
250,000 reservists (including 12,000 women)
—more than half of the wartime Navy. The
J U LY 2 0 1 5
‘Ready Now, Anytime, Anywhere’
—U.S. Navy Reserve motto
8 MILITARY HISTORY
By World War II reservists comprised
84 percent of U.S. naval manpower.
reserve played an even greater role in World
War II, contributing 84 percent of U.S. na-
val manpower. Manned by reservists, the
destroyer Ward’s deck gun fired the first
American shot of the war, sinking a Japanese
midget sub off Pearl Harbor on the morning
of Dec. 7, 1941. Among the reservists who
served during the war were future Presidents
John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard
Nixon, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush,
as well as 15 Medal of Honor recipients. Some
21,000 reservists served during the 1990–91
Gulf War, while more than 70,000 reserve
sailors have mobilized since Sept. 11, 2001.
The Navy Memorial exhibit continues
through April 2016. Other centennial events
include organized runs, honorary banquets,
family appreciation nights, parades and re-
lated happenings during annual Navy Weeks.
For more info visit the Navy Reserve Centen-
nial website [navyreservecentennial.com].
DISPATCHES
Team to Excavate
Waterloo Farm
This spring an international
team of battlefield experts
[www.waterloouncovered.
com] led by Tony Pollard
of Glasgow University will
begin the most comprehen-
sive excavation to date of
Hougoumont farm, south
of Brussels, Belgium, where
Anglo-allied troops led by
the Duke of Wellington re-
pelled French troops under
Napoléon Bonaparte during
the June 18, 1815, Battle
of Waterloo. The team will
include wounded veterans
from recent campaigns
as part of the Operation
Nightingale initiative of
the Defence Archaeology
Group [www.dmasuk.org].
HMS Victory
Restoration Begins
Britain’s National Museum
LEFT: U.S. NAVY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES; RIGHT: TOP: ARTERRA PICTURE LIBRARY/ALAMY; BOTTOM: MR1805/THINKSTOCK
of the Royal Navy [www.
royalnavalmuseum.org]
has begun its restoration of
HMS Victory, the 104-gun
flagship of Vice-Admiral
Horatio Nelson at the deci-
sive Oct. 21, 1805, naval
Battle of Trafalgar. In dry
dock at Portsmouth, Victory
[www.hms-victory.com]
is the world’s oldest com-
missioned warship. Initial
efforts will focus on water-
proofing and construction
of a new dry dock cradle.
 Museum to Display
Coat From Monitor
After a decade of pain-
staking restoration the
Mariners’ Museum [www.
marinersmuseum.org] in
Newport News, Va., will
soon display a Union sail-
or’s woolen coat retrieved
from the wreck of the Civil
War ironclad USS Monitor.
On Dec. 31, 1862, the 179-
LEFT: TOP: NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND; BOTTOM: CBS/LANDOV; RIGHT: TOP: LT TOBEI SHIRAISHI/NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND; BOTTOM: BETSY RICHERT/COURTESY BUGATTI 100P PROJECT
foot coastal steamer sank
off Cape Hatteras, N.C.,
during a violent storm. In
2002 Navy divers raised
its distinctive revolving
gun turret, which contained
the skeletal remains of two
crewmen and numerous
artifacts, including the coat.
Richard Hottelet, 97,
Last ‘Murrow Boy’
Richard Hottelet, 97—
the last of the “Murrow
Boys,” a cadre of World
War II–era CBS radio
reporters who worked
under famed broadcaster
Edward R. Murrow—died
in December. In 1941 the
German Gestapo held
Hottelet in Berlin for four
months on suspicion of
espionage. In wartime he
was the first CBS corre-
spondent to broadcast an
eyewitness report of the
June 6, 1944, invasion of
Normandy and later cov-
ered such major events
as the Battle of the Bulge.
Paul Allen Pinpoints WAR RECORD
Battleship Musashi June 14, 1930: Universal
Pictures premieres All Quiet
on the Western Front (see
P. 66) in London after Brit-
ish censors trim 2 minutes
from the epic war film.
Based on the novel by Ger-
man World War I veteran
Erich Maria Remarque, the
After an eight-year search Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen movie sees general release
announced in March that a remotely operated submersible stateside that summer.
launched from his expedition yacht Octopus had located the
wreck of the World War II Japanese battleship Musashi, 3,300 July 1839: Retired Texas
feet deep in the Sibuyan Sea off the Philippines. Footage posted army Colonel William
on Allen’s website [www.paulallen.com] shows unmistakable Parsons Miller is elected
probate judge in Victoria
details from the battleship’s hull and superstructure, including
County. Miller and the men
a space on the prow that once held a teak chrysanthemum,
of his Nashville Battalion
the seal of imperial Japan. were fortunate survivors of
Musashi and sister ship Yamato were the heaviest and most the March 27, 1836, Goliad
powerfully armed battleships ever built, each displacing Massacre (see P. 52) during
some 73,000 tons and carrying nine 18.1-inch naval guns. the Texas Revolution.
On Oct. 24, 1944, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, dozens of
carrier-based U.S. warplanes attacked and sank Musashi, July 9, 1945: An Associ-
claiming nearly half of its 2,399-man crew. ated Press investigation
concludes that German
guards executed its corre-
‘Would it not be a shame to have the fleet spondent Joe Morton (see
remain intact while our nation perishes?’ P. 44) on January 24 at the
—Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita Mauthausen concentration
camp in Austria. Morton
was the only Allied reporter
executed in World War II.
Replica Prewar Bugatti July 12, 1642: The British
May Take to the...Sky? Parliament votes to raise
an army to oppose King
Charles I and appoints
This fall a team of aviation enthusiasts hopes to fly a replica Robert Devereux, 3rd
of the Bugatti Model 100P [bugatti100p.com], a revolutionary Earl of Essex, as its com-
air racer built in 1939 by Italian-born French auto designer mander. The earl’s troops
Ettore Bugatti and see their first major fight
Belgian engineer on October 23 at the Battle
Louis de Monge. of Edgehill (see P. 36).
Fitted with twin
July 24, 1945: Its neu-
Type 50 480hp
engines driving trality pact with Japan
expired and tensions rising,
forward-mounted
the Soviet Union recalls
contra-rotating propellers, it was reportedly capable of speeds
all embassy staff from
up to 474 mph. But the original, owned by the EAA AirVenture that nation. On August 8
Museum [www.eaa.org] in Oshkosh, Wis., never flew. Bugatti the Soviets declare war
put the plane in storage for the duration of the war to keep and invade Japanese-held
its technology out of German hands. Manchuria (see P. 26).
9
 ADVERTISEMENT
The American Civil War
Taught by Professor Gary W. Gallagher
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
LECTURE TITLES
1. Prelude to War
2. The Election of 1860
TIME O
ED F 3. The Lower South Secedes
IT 4. The Crisis at Fort Sumter

FE
LIM
5. The Opposing Sides, I

70%

R
6. The Opposing Sides, II
7. The Common Soldier
8. First Manassas or Bull Run
9. Contending for the Border States

off 10.
11.
Early Union Triumphs in the West
Shiloh and Corinth

13
12. The Peninsula Campaign
RD

O
NE
13. The Seven Days’ Battles
ER
BY J U 14.
15.
The Kentucky Campaign of 1862
Antietam
16. The Background to Emancipation
17. Emancipation Completed
18. Filling the Ranks
19. Sinews of War—Finance and Supply
20. The War in the West, Winter 1862–63
21. The War in Virginia, Winter and Spring 1862–63
22. Gettysburg
23. Vicksburg, Port Hudson, and Tullahoma
24. A Season of Uncertainty, Summer and Fall 1863
25. Grant at Chattanooga
26. The Diplomatic Front
27. African Americans in Wartime, I
28. African Americans in Wartime, II
29. Wartime Reconstruction
30. The Naval War
31. The River War and Confederate Commerce Raiders
32. Women at War, I
33. Women at War, II
34. Stalemate in 1864
35. Sherman versus Johnston in Georgia
36. The Wilderness to Spotsylvania
37. Cold Harbor to Petersburg
38. The Confederate Home Front, I
39. The Confederate Home Front, II
40. The Northern Home Front, I
41. The Northern Home Front, II
42. Prisoners of War
43. Mobile Bay and Atlanta
44. Petersburg, the Crater, and the Valley
45. The Final Campaigns
46. Petersburg to Appomattox
47. Closing Scenes and Reckonings
48. Remembering the War

Explore Our Nation’s The American Civil War

Course no. 885 | 48 lectures (30 minutes/lecture)

Most Dramatic Conflict SAVE UP TO $390

Between 1861 and 1865, the epic clash between the Union and the
Confederacy turned places such as Gettysburg, Antietam, and Bull
Run into names that will endure forever. In The American Civil War, NOW $129.95
leading Civil War historian and professor Gary W. Gallagher richly +$20 Shipping, Processing, and Lifetime Satisfaction Guarantee

details the war’s effect on our nation’s past. NOW $89.95

Professor Gallagher’s recounting of these great battles is compelling.
He brings complex patterns of events into focus, reveals the influential
role of leaders such as Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee, and quotes
memorably from a wealth of first-hand accounts. By the end of these
fascinating 48 lectures, you’ll have a clear grasp of the Civil War’s front
lines and home fronts.
Offer expires 06/13/15
THEGREATCOURSES.COM/5 MTH
1-800-832-2412
+$15 Shipping, Processing, and Lifetime Satisfaction Guarantee
Priority Code: 109539
For 25 years, The Great Courses has brought
the world’s foremost educators to millions
who want to go deeper into the subjects
that matter most. No exams. No homework.
Just a world of knowledge available anytime,
anywhere. Download or stream to your
laptop or PC, or use our free mobile apps for
iPad, iPhone, or Android. Over 500 courses
available at www.TheGreatCourses.com.
 News
Battle of Britain
Chapel Kept Open Britons Remember Churchill on
London Biggin Hill Airport,
on the site of the wartime
RAF Biggin Hill Aerodrome
50th Anniversary of His Death
in Kent, has pledged to foot
the £50,000 annual oper-
ating cost of St. George’s
Wartime PM Winston Churchill
Chapel of Remembrance
[www.rafchapelbigginhill. ranks among the most influential
com], dedicated to the 454 leaders of the World War II era.

local RAF members who

died during the 1940 Battle
of Britain. The Ministry of
Defence, citing spending
cuts, had threatened its
closure. Built in 1951, Britain is holding a series of events this year where they cast the wreath into the water.
St. George’s features a to commemorate the 50th anniversary of The ship bears a commemorative plaque,
floor hewn from wooden wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s presented by the International Churchill
propellers, while wartime death. On Saturday, Jan. 30, 1965, six days Society [churchillsociety.org], inscribed with
Spitfire and Hurricane
after Churchill’s passing at age 90, officials broadcaster Richard Dimbleby’s words: AND
fighters flank its gate.
held a state funeral service for him at St. Paul’s SO HAVENGORE SAILS INTO HISTORY ... NOT EVEN
Cathedral in London. Attended by throngs of THE GOLDEN HIND HAD BORNE SO GREAT A MAN.
Researchers: PTSD Britons and representatives from 112 nations, The National Railway Museum [www.nrm.
LEFT: TOP: HERITAGE IMAGE PARTNERSHIP LTD/ALAMY; BOTTOM: JOHN GOMEZ/THINKSTOCK; RIGHT: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

As Old as Warfare
British researchers poring
over ancient texts have
identified likely instances
of post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) dating
far earlier
than pre-
viously
recorded
—roughly
3,000 years
back dur-
ing the As-
syrian dynasty in ancient
Mesopotamia (present-day
Iraq). Excerpts from their
paper, titled “Nothing
New Under the Sun,”
describe how the king of
Elam’s “mind changed”
after battle, while soldiers
attributed their anxiety to
ghosts of their fallen foes.
with a worldwide television viewing audi- org.uk] in York is displaying the restored
ence of some 350 million, it marked history’s locomotive (renamed Winston Churchill)
largest state funeral to date. and Pullman carriage that carried Churchill’s
Fifty years later Britons marked the date family from Waterloo Station in London to
with a service and wreath-laying at the Houses Oxfordshire. Churchill is buried in the
of Parliament, a memorial service at West- family plot at St. Martin’s Church, Bladon,
minster Abbey and the rebroadcast by BBC near his birthplace at Blenheim Palace.
Parliament [www.bbc.co.uk] of the original More information and a full list of events
live funerary coverage. A ceremonial flotilla are available at the Churchill Central website
down the Thames centered on Havengore, [www.churchillcentral.com]. Meanwhile, the
the very launch that bore Churchill’s coffin. Royal Mint [www.royalmint.com] has issued
This time Havengore took Churchill family a series of silver and gold commemorative
members from the Tower of London to coins, including one patterned after a 1965
a point on the river opposite Parliament, design by Churchill sculptor Oscar Nemon.
‘I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared
for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter’
—Sir Winston Churchill

11
 News
Congress Honors
‘Devil’s Brigade’
The U.S. Congress has
awarded the Congres-
sional Gold Medal to
the American-Canadian
1st Special Service Force
(aka “Devil’s Brigade”),
an elite commando unit
that served during World
War II. Activated in 1942,
the brigade saw heavy
action in 1944, from the
Allied amphibious landing
at Anzio, Italy, through
the siege of Monte Cas-
LEFT: TOP: CALEB SMITH/U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; BOTTOM: U.S. ARMY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES; RIGHT: TOP: VIS PIERRE-ETIENNE COURTEJOIE/U.S. ARMY; BOTTOM: NATIONAL ARCHIVES
sino and capture of Rome
to the invasion of south-
ern France. During the
war the 1,800-man force
tallied some 12,000 Ger-
man casualties and 7,000
prisoners. Seventy-five
brigade members survive.
Belgium May Close
Bastogne Barracks
Faced with spending cuts,
the Belgian army may shut-
ter the Bastogne Barracks
Museum, wartime head-
quarters of the 101st Air-
borne Division during the
December 1944 siege and
the place from which U.S.
Army Brig. Gen. Anthony
McAuliffe issued the
famous one-word reply
“NUTS!” to a German
demand for surrender.
Museum supporters have
circulated a change.org
petition to Belgian Defence
Minister Steven Vandeput
to keep the barracks open.
LOST AND FOUND
Re-enactors Mark 70th
Anniversary of ‘Bulge’ While the 863-foot Japa-
nese battleship Musashi
(see P. 9) is undoubtedly
the largest military relic
American and Belgian
in the news, there’s no
re-enactors gathered shortage of smaller finds.
in December in the Other discoveries include:
Ardennes region of
Belgium to portray Norse Trader: Norwegian
the winter 1944–45 archaeologists examining
Battle of the Bulge, a Viking-era grave near
the costliest clash for Trondheim recovered a
U.S. forces in World leather purse containing
War II. In similarly frigid, snowy conditions uniformed Islamic coins. The purse was
concealed in a shield boss
participants conducted mock maneuvers with such mili-
that dates to the year 950.
tary vehicles as a U.S. M36 Jackson tank destroyer and a As the Vikings traded as far
German Jagdpanther tank destroyer. The commemorations
south as Constantinople, re-
extended to Bastogne, where Belgium’s royal family laid searchers surmise the coins
wreaths at Place Général McAuliffe, a memorial dedicated may have been payment for
to the wartime commander of the 101st Airborne Division. such items as ivory or furs.
Fought from Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 25, 1945, along a 70-mile
front, the Bulge pitted more than 82,000 dug-in Allied troops Windbreakers: During
restoration work to a hut
against a 200,000-man German offensive targeting Antwerp.
By the time German troops withdrew, the battle had claimed at Bletchley Park, Britain’s
World War II code-breaking
some 76,000 Allied and 84,000 German casualties.
center, workers found stuffed
within its walls papers tied
‘We should thank God that such men lived’ to efforts to crack the Ger-
—General George S. Patton man Enigma code. Crypt-
analysts apparently used
them to block drafts.
Germans to Revive Aerial Assassin: Owners
of a wartime resistance safe
Iconic Nazi Sites house in Czechoslovakia
found the radio antennae
agent Jiri Potucek used to
Nuremberg officials are pushing to coordinate the June 1942
renovate that city’s decaying Nazi assassination of Nazi chief
party rally grounds [www.museums. Reinhard Heydrich.
nuremberg.de]. Proponents tout the
historical significance of the site, Spee Spat: Salvors are
which includes 6 square miles of pushing the Uruguayan
structures and roadways, a ghost rail- government to auction a
6-foot bronze eagle they
way station and secret rooms for the
recovered in 2006 from
Nazi elite. Detractors cite the pro-
the prow of the scuttled
posed $90 million cost and concern
World War II German heavy
the restored site would become a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis.
cruiser Admiral Graf Spee.
Meanwhile, this summer the Top Secret Spy Museum The eagle, legally seized by
[www.topsecret-oberhausen.de] in Oberhausen plans the government, could fetch
to open five rooms modeled after Adolph Hitler’s Berlin $15 million, half of which
Führerbunker, where the Nazi leader made his last stand. would go to the finders.
13
 Interview General James Mattis
On Educating Warriors
Mattis insists that a study of history
and shared knowledge from combat
are essential elements of training.
In 2013 General James N. Mattis retired
after a 41-year Marine Corps career that
included field commands in the Persian
Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan. In the
theater of combat the hard-charging gen-
eral was known by the call sign “Chaos.”
But it was his respect for history and stu-
dious commitment to training in strategy
and tactics that earned him the moniker
“Warrior Monk.” As head of the Marine
Corps Combat Development Command,
Mattis furthered the efforts of MCCDC’s
Center for Lessons Learned and helped
compile the U.S. Army/Marine Corps
Counterinsurgency Field Manual. He
rose through the ranks to head up U.S.
J U LY 2 0 1 5
Joint Forces Command in 2007 and to
replace General David Petraeus at the
helm of U.S. Central Command in 2010,
14 MILITARY HISTORY
with responsibility for ongoing U.S. mili-
tary operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Since retiring, Mattis, 64, has been a
visiting fellow at Stanford University’s
Hoover Institution and taught courses on
various subjects at other colleges nation-
wide. He also plans to write a book about
leadership. Mattis paused long enough
to speak with Military History about
the importance of educating warriors for
the challenges of modern-day warfare.
You often quote Ecclesiastes 1:9:
“There is nothing new under the
sun.” What does it mean to you?
Read about history, and you become
aware that nothing starts with us. It
started long ago. If you read enough
biography and history, you learn how
people have dealt successfully or un-
successfully with similar situations or
patterns in the past. It doesn’t give you
a template of answers, but it does help
you refine the questions you have to ask
yourself. Further, you recognize there is
nothing so unique that you’ve got to go
to extraordinary lengths to deal with it.
How did the Marine Corps
prepare you for warfare?
The Corps made very clear that I was
responsible for my own learning, and
LAURA RAUCH/ASSOCIATED PRESS
that it would guide me with a required
reading list. We learned the Corps was
as serious about that as it was about
3-mile runs and pull-ups. It set an
institutional expectation with a moral
tone to it: War is bloody enough with-
 out having to have amateurs send
young men into a fight.
Don’t superior firepower and
combat training alone adequately
prepare a warrior?
We deal with a fundamentally unpre-
dictable phenomenon called war, and
the idea you’re going to solve this with
just technology or training alone does
not hold up in a study of history. Yes,
the training is critical, that you have
ingrained the muscle memory, so when
you employ this force in close contact
with the enemy, you have a vicious
level of harmony built on brilliance in
the basics. But you educate them for
what we don’t know will happen. They’re
like two rails of a railroad track. If you
want to run your locomotive down a
track, you need both rails.
How did such training inform
your decisions?
It meant I was never really bewildered
for very long by anything an adversary
did. I remember in 2001 when the fleet
commander [Vice Adm.
Charles W. Moore Jr.]
asked if I could get the
Marines from the Medi-
terranean and the Pa-
cific together and move
against Kandahar, Af-
ghanistan. I did my re-
connaissance in a Navy
antisubmarine plane
with beautiful telescopes
on board. I could see the
fighting up north, a little
bit going on further east.
Out west there wasn’t
much. And then down
south at Kandahar, this big dark area—
no one down there, not scouts, not even
patrols. And I knew right away.…I didn’t
care how brave their boys were. I didn’t
care how many guns they had. I knew
I was going to stick a knife in their back.
Based on all that reading the Marine
Corps had required at each rank, I could
see exactly how to take this enemy down.
BRETT AFFRUNTI
What are the origins of the
Center for Lessons Learned?
It goes back to the interwar period,
when the Marines were doing experi-
ments with amphibious warfare and
encapsulating lessons from fighting in
their Small Wars Manual. Another key
development came in World War II,
in the midst of the Guadalcanal cam-
paign, when Maj. Gen. Alexander Vande-
grift realized his men were not fully
prepared for jungle warfare and cre-
ated schools to take lessons learned
and teach the Marines. When I got to
Quantico [Marine Corps Base Quan-
tico, Virginia], the formal organization
was already in place.
What changes did you
implement?
We simply prioritized the center’s mis-
sion, incorporating lessons learned.
We had to have product, to put out
things that changed pre-deployment
training, so we put out the Small Unit
Leaders’ Guide to Counterinsurgency
and the Counterinsurgency (or COIN)
Field Manual, written by both the
Army and the Marines. It changed the
way we trained and codified what we
were already doing in
some cases.
Who tops your
reading list?
Colin Gray from the
University of Reading is
the most near-faultless
strategist alive. Then
there’s Sir Hew Strachan
from Oxford, and Wil-
liamson Murray, the
American. Those three
are probably the lead-
ing present-day military
theorists. You’ve got to
know Sun-tzu and Carl von Clausewitz,
of course. The Army was always big on
Clausewitz, the Prussian; the Navy on
Alfred Thayer Mahan, the American;
and the Air Force on Giulio Douhet,
the Italian. But the Marine Corps has
always been more Eastern-oriented.
I am much more comfortable with
Sun-tzu and his approach to warfare.
How do you structure your
personal reading?
I tried to read very broadly during my
early years in the Marine Corps. Then,
under the guidance of various senior of-
ficers who coached us juniors, I turned
to reading deeply about a few battles or
a few campaigns, and that really helped.
I studied the Geronimo campaign in
detail, the Great Sioux War, went deeply
into Waterloo and Gettysburg.
Henry Kissinger once said that as
you fill a kettle full of water, you fill
your mind with knowledge, and then,
when you’re on those high-tempo jobs,
you pour it out. Then you get out of
those jobs and refill it.
And then pour out that
knowledge to the next vessel
in line?
Well, yeah. We have an obligation to
pass on the lessons we learned often-
times at great, great cost. I would liken
it to running the elevator down, open-
ing the doors, bringing on board young
guys, and carrying them up a couple
of levels, sharing what we learned so
they can go make their own mistakes,
not the same ones we made.
What lessons would you like to
impart to warriors in training?
That small groups of committed people
can change things. That ethical, com-
petent and admired leadership is badly
needed nowadays. For young officers,
certainly to gain trust and respect from
their subordinates. But they also have
to be able to gain the affection of their
troops. Not popularity—affection. By
doing that they’ll find people who have
coequal commitment across all ranks.
That’s what you see in forces that have
shown spirit even when a lot of things
went wrong.
How would you answer critics
who accuse you of espousing
“old school” values?
It takes a military with what could be
considered old-fashioned values or
quaint values to protect the country.
There’s always going to be a bit of a ten-
sion, a dynamic that has to be under-
stood by those responsible for leading
a progressive America that does not
want to be militarized yet needs certain
military attributes for protection. MH
15
HistoryNet Reader
A sampling of remarkable adventures, decisive moments and great ideas
from our sister publications, selected by the editors of Military History
AMERICAN HISTORY
Southern Revolution
In the late 1770s the
red-hot action in New
England often over-
shadowed fighting in
the South. In the June
2015 issue of Ameri-
can History Edward
G. Lengel spotlights the intense struggle
between Patriots and Loyalists in the
Carolinas and Georgia in his article
“Southern Showdown,” excerpted here:
In 1778 it was clear to the British that
three years of fighting in New England
and the Mid-Atlantic had settled noth-
ing. Loyalist uprisings expected in
New York and Pennsylvania had not
materialized. As the British probed for
American weaknesses elsewhere, they
thought they discovered the soft under-
belly in the South, where Loyalist sen-
timents were strong and Patriot military
forces were weak and scattered.
In December a British expedition
captured Savannah, Ga. It was to be
the first step in a campaign to conquer
the entire region. Instead, it touched off
America’s first civil war, as Patriot and
Loyalist militias squared off. Militia-
men rarely wore uniforms, and their
rationales for fighting could be ob-
scure. True, many fought because they
disagreed over whether to form a new
nation independent from Great Britain.
But some fought because they had per-
sonal, social or economic grievances or
because they had private scores to settle.
Others sought to protect their families
and homes. More than a few probably
just aimed for plunder. Whatever the
motivation, the results were tragic. Brit-
ish Redcoats weren’t the worst perpe-
trators of violence in the Southern war.
Most atrocities there were committed
by Americans against Americans.
WORLD WAR II
Industrial-Grade Attack
With Adolf Hitler’s
death and an immi-
nent unconditional
surrender, it’s no
wonder the Battle
of the Ruhr Pocket
is overlooked. Robert
Citino recounts the Americans’ late-
war victory that crushed any hope of
a German rebound in “Death in the
West,” in the May/June 2015 issue
of World War II.
The Army hit the Ruhr hard and well.
When American armies were encir-
cling and crushing the last Wehrmacht
force in the west, Germany was weeks
from unconditional surrender. Amid
the war’s final tumult, it’s easy to over-
look the Battle of the Ruhr Pocket.
By 1945 German losses were soar-
ing, replacements were not keeping
up, and much of the Reich’s army con-
sisted of old men and boys, sketchily
trained and equipped. Field Marshal
Albert Kesselring, German supreme
commander in the west, once com-
plained that leading German armies in
those days was like “playing a Beetho-
ven sonata on an old, rickety, out of
tune piano.”
But the U.S. Army was mobile and
lethal. The intensity of American artil-
lery never ceased to shock the Germans,
who had to obliterate more selectively.
And overhead, American airpower
nearly paralyzed German forces by day.
In 1945 these advantages coalesced.
In the Ruhr Pocket the U.S. Army lived
and fought the dream: establishing
dominance to achieve, at minimal
cost, the greatest American victory
of the European war.
MHQ
Modern Artillery Expert
Brig. Gen. Thomas
Jackson Rodman de-
veloped an alternate
process for casting
smoothbore gun tubes,
reducing the possibil-
ity of potential explo-
sions during use—and it wasn’t even
his most important invention. David T.
Zabecki profiles Rodman and his inven-
tions in “The Man Behind the Rodman
Gun,” in the Spring 2015 issue of MHQ.
The Rodman gun, developed in the
mid-19th century, was the technolog-
ical apex of smoothbore, muzzle-
loading artillery. Cannons using chem-
ical explosives to propel a projectile
had made their first appearance on
the battlefield in the 14th century, and
for the next 500 years the technology
changed very little. Almost all artillery
pieces, cast of either iron or bronze,
were smoothbore, muzzle-loaded and
used propellant charges based on black
powder. Then, near the end of the 19th
century, artillery technology made a
radical leap forward with the intro-
duction of rifled steel barrels, breech-
loading systems, recoil mechanisms
and improvements in propellants.
During the 40 years between 1830
and 1870 the older types of artillery
also underwent drastic scientific im-
provements, culminating in the Rod-
man gun. Although in the long run the
gun was a technological dead end, the
advances introduced by its designer,
Rodman, revolutionized gun-barrel
production and propellant design.
To subscribe to any World History
magazine, call 1 (800) 435-0715
or visit us online at HistoryNet.com.
17
 MODERN WAR STUDIES
Thunder and Flames
Americans in the Crucible of Combat,
1917–1918
%DWARD',ENGEL
“Lengel has done an admirable job cutting through the decades of
legend and half-truths surrounding the American Expeditionary
Forces in the First World War. Students of the war will owe him
a great debt for this comprehensive and effective book.”
—Michael S. Neiberg, author of Dance of the Furies: Europe and
the Outbreak of World War I
PAGESPHOTOSMAPS#LOTH%BOOK

The Mediterranean
Air War
Airpower and Allied Victory
in World War II
2OBERT3%HLERS*R
“Ehlers combines comprehensive
research and insightful analysis in
equal measure. This study rightly
establishes the centrality of airpower
in the struggle in the Mediterranean
theater.”—Sebastian Cox, head of Air
Historical Branch, Royal Air Force
and editor of The Strategic Air War
against Germany, 1939–1945 The Russian Army in the Great War
PAGESPHOTOSMAPS The Eastern Front, 1914–1917
#LOTH%BOOK
$AVID23TONE
The Pacific War and “Stone’s long-awaited new standard on the Russian perspective of the First
World War is a really great book and a pleasure to read.”—Wolfram Dornik,
Contingent Victory coauthor of The Emperor’s Hawk
Why Japanese Defeat Was PAGESPHOTOSMAPS#LOTH
Not Inevitable
-ICHAEL7-YERS General Lesley J. McNair
“A provocative book that should be Unsung Architect of the US Army
read by all interested in the Pacific -ARK4#ALHOUN
War, and further debate on the issues
“An insightful portrait of a large, enigmatic, and controversial figure in American
Myers raises will surely contribute to
military history. General Lesley J. McNair finally has the biographer he deserves.”
a better understanding of the Pacific
—Rick Atkinson, author of The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe,
War.”—Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, author
1944–1945
of Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman,
and the Surrender of Japan PAGESPHOTOS#LOTH%BOOK
PAGES#LOTH%BOOK NEW IN PAPERBACK
NEW IN PAPERBACK Through the Maelstrom
The War for Korea, A Red Army Soldier’s War on the Eastern Front, 1942–1945
"ORIS'ORBACHEVSKY
1945–1950
4RANSLATEDANDEDITEDBY3TUART"RITTONs&OREWORDBY$AVID-'LANTZ
A House Burning PAGESPHOTOS0APER
!LLAN2-ILLETT
PAGESPHOTOSMAPS
0APER University Press of Kansas
0HONE

s&AX

sWWWKANSASPRESSKUEDU
 Valor England’s Best Knight
By David T. Zabecki
William Marshal
Knights Templar
Order of the Temple
1219
W
illiam Marshal, 1st Earl
of Pembroke and lord
marshal and regent of
England, was considered
the greatest fighting man
of his day. Reportedly defeated only
once in personal combat, he was per-
haps the only man to unhorse Richard I
“the Lionheart” and live to tell about it
Marshal, the younger son of an im-
poverished Wiltshire baron, was born
circa 1146. As a child he was sent to his
father’s cousin, William de Tancarville,
chamberlain of Normandy, to train for
the knighthood. At 6 feet Marshal was
tall for his era, and he displayed an in-
stinctive skill for weaponry that made
TOP: CLASSIC IMAGE/ALAMY; BOTTOM: ANDREY KUZMIN/SHUTTERSTOCK
him a formidable warrior. Still, when
knighted in 1167 he had to borrow
a horse to enter his first tournament.
Tournaments in those days were no
mere sporting events; they were deadly
affairs fought on a winner-take-all basis.
Marshal claimed to have defeated some
500 knights without a loss during his
long career on the tournament circuit
in England and France.
In 1168 Marshal was helping escort
Eleanor of Aquitaine, wife of King
Henry II, when her convoy was attacked
near Poitiers, France. Eleanor reached
the safety of her castle while William
delayed the attackers. The enemy even-
tually overwhelmed and captured him,
marking his only recorded defeat in
combat. Eleanor personally arranged for
his ransom, and in gratitude King Henry
selected Marshal to train his eldest living
son, Henry, for the knighthood. When
son Henry—who reigned alongside his
father as “the Young King”—died in
1183, he made a deathbed request of
Marshal to carry his Crusader’s cloak
to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in
Jerusalem. After making the pilgrimage,
Marshal remained in Syria several years
fighting alongside the Knights Templar.
On his return to England in 1187
Marshal joined the royal household
and the following year accompanied
Henry II on campaign against Philip II
of France. Prince Richard had allied
with Philip in an ongoing dispute over
territory and alliance through mar-
riage. In the spring of 1189 Richard led
a pursuit of his ailing father’s convoy
in the Loire Valley. As Richard
galloped after Henry’s train,
Marshal drove a lance into
Richard’s horse, killing it and
leaving the Lionheart sitting
in the dust. Within days Henry
died, and Richard rose to the
throne, yet one of his first acts
was to pardon William’s ac-
tions in defense of Henry and Marshal’s remains,
reconfirm his position in the in robes bearing 1219, having secured the En-
royal court. the order’s symbol, glish throne for Henry III and
Marshal served Richard loy- lie in London’s
ally for a decade, thwarting Temple Church. Just before death he assumed
Prince John’s power grab while
Richard was off at the Third Crusade
and later serving the Lionheart during
his many small wars in France. On the
death of his older brother in 1194 Wil-
liam served the king as sole marshal of
England. When Richard died in 1199,
Marshal transferred his loyalty to King
John, serving him in the continuing
conflict with France and during the
First Barons’ War in England. In 1215
Marshal was a signatory of the Magna
Carta, a document intended to limit
royal powers and thus resolve the dis-
pute between John and his barons.
When John died the following year,
his son Henry was only 9 years old.
With internal tensions smoldering in
England, and France’s Prince Louis
installed in London by the barons as
pretender to the throne, the marshal
remained the only universally trusted
man in the kingdom. Marshal knighted
the boy and oversaw his coronation as
Henry III. He was also appointed Henry
III’s protector and given the title Rector
Regis et Regni, making him England’s
de facto military and political leader.
Marshal’s first act was to confirm and
reissue the Magna Carta. Despite that
overture, conflict with the barons soon
resumed. Although in his 70s, Marshal
commanded the Royalist forces in the
field for two years. In 1217 Marshal led
his forces to victory against the
French and rebel barons at the
Battle of Lincoln. As the battle
was ending, French commander
Thomas, comte du Perche, who
was young enough to be Mar-
shal’s grandson, challenged the
English commander to single
combat. It was a fatal mistake.
Marshal died on May 14,
the Magna Carta for humanity.
the habit of a Knight Templar.
He was entombed in London’s Temple
Church, where his recumbent effigy
remains. Presiding at Marshal’s funeral,
Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen
Langton said, “Here lies all that remains
of the best knight of all the world.” MH
19
 ADVERTISEMENT Lo
ng Sou Bet

EW
“My friends all hate their er nd ter
Ba a
tt nd
er
N
y
cell phones… I love mine!” FREE
Li
fe
No
t Car
C on t r a c
Here’s why. Charge
r

Say good-bye to everything you hate about cell phones. Say hello to Jitterbug.
Basic 14 Basic 19
“Cell phones have gotten so small, I
Monthly Minutes 50 NOW 200
can barely dial mine.” Not Jitterbug®,
Monthly Rate $14.99 $19.99
it features a larger keypad for easier dialing.
Operator Assistance 24/7 24/7
It even has an oversized display so you can
911 Access FREE FREE
actually see it.
Long Distance Calls No add’l charge No add’l charge
“I had to get my son to program it.” Your Voice Dial FREE FREE
Jitterbug set-up process is simple. We’ll even Nationwide Coverage YES YES
pre-program it with your favorite numbers. Friendly Return Policy1 30 days 30 days

“I tried my sister’s cell phone… More minute plans available. Ask your Jitterbug expert for details.
I couldn’t hear it.” Jitterbug is designed “I’ll be paying for minutes I’ll never use!”
with an improved speaker. There’s an Not with Jitterbug, unused minutes carry over to
adjustable volume control, and Jitterbug the next month, there’s no roaming fee and no
is hearing-aid compatible. additional charge for long distance.
“I don’t need stock quotes, Internet sites or
games on my phone, I just want to talk with “My phone’s battery
my family and friends.” Life is complicated only lasts a couple of
enough… Jitterbug is simple. days.” The Jitterbug’s
battery lasts for up to
“What if I don’t remember a number?” 25 days on standby.
Friendly, helpful Jitterbug operators are available
24 hours a day and will even greet you by name Enough talk. Isn’t it
when you call. time you found out
more about the cell
“I’d like a cell phone to use in an emergency, phone that’s changing
but I don’t want a high monthly bill.” Jitterbug all the rules? Call
has a plan to fit your needs… and your budget. now, Jitterbug product
“My cell phone company wants to lock me in experts are standing by.
on a two-year contract!” Not Jitterbug, there’s
no contract to sign and no penalty if you discontinue
your service.
Available in Blue, Red (shown) and White.

Order now and receive a NEW Jitterbug5 Cell Phone

FREE Car Charger for your Jitterbug – Call toll free today to get your own Jitterbug5.
Please mention promotional code 60655.
a $24.99 value. Call now!
1-877-556-8361
www.jitterbugdirect.com
47625

We proudly accept the following credit cards.

®

IMPORTANT CONSUMER INFORMATION: Jitterbug is owned by GreatCall, Inc. Your invoices will come from GreatCall. All rate plans and services require the purchase of a Jitterbug phone and a
one-time set up fee of $35. Coverage and service is not available everywhere. Other charges and restrictions may apply. Screen images simulated. There are no additional fees to call Jitterbug’s 24-hour U.S.
Based Customer Service. However, for calls to an Operator in which a service is completed, minutes will be deducted from your monthly balance equal to the length of the call and any call connected by
the Operator, plus an additional 5 minutes. Monthly minutes carry over and are available for 60 days. If you exceed the minute balance on your account, you will be billed at 35¢ for each minute used over
the balance. Monthly rate plans do not include government taxes or assessment surcharges. Prices and fees subject to change. 1We will refund the full price of the GreatCall phone and the activation fee (or
set-up fee) if it is returned within 30 days of purchase in like-new condition. We will also refund your first monthly service charge if you have less than 30 minutes of usage. If you have more than 30 minutes
of usage, a per minute charge of 35 cents will be deducted from your refund for each minute over 30 minutes. You will be charged a $10 restocking fee. The shipping charges are not refundable. Jitterbug and
GreatCall are registered trademarks of GreatCall, Inc. Samsung is a registered trademark of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. ©2015 Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC. ©2015 GreatCall, Inc. ©2015
firstSTREET for Boomers and Beyond, Inc.
 What We Learned...
From the Tonkin Gulf
By Stephan Wilkinson
Senior Pentagon officers sought
to grasp a confused situation
unfolding half a world away.
W
hat happened on the night
of Aug. 4, 1964, in the
Gulf of Tonkin—a large
body of water pinched be-
tween North Vietnam and
China—changed the course of military
history. The murky events involved the
U.S. Navy destroyers Maddox and Turner
Joy and constituted the second of two
closely linked Tonkin Gulf incidents.
The first had occurred two days earlier,
on the afternoon of August 2.
The United States was not yet at war
in Vietnam, but the presence of Maddox
within a dozen miles of North Viet-
nam’s offshore islands (inside that gov-
ernment’s claimed territorial limits)
certainly offered provocation. This was
no mere “show the flag” cruise, either.
ALBERT MOLDVAY/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CREATIVE
Maddox was there to gather electronic
intelligence from North Vietnam’s radar
installations, communications facilities
and coastal defenses. So it’s not sur-
prising the tiny North Vietnamese navy
sent three fast torpedo boats to inter-
cept Maddox. In the attack the U.S. de-
stroyer evaded several torpedoes, neatly
outmaneuvered the PT boats and dam-
aged at least one with gunfire. Pursu-
ing jet fighters from the aircraft carrier
USS Ticonderoga damaged all three
North Vietnamese boats, leaving one
dead and burning in the water. Damage
to Maddox comprised a single hole from
a 14.5mm machine-gun bullet.
Little more than 48 hours later Mad-
dox, joined by Turner Joy, fought another
three-hour running battle far out in the
Tonkin Gulf with…well, ghosts, phan-
toms on a stormy, lightning-laced night.
Maddox and Turner Joy fired more than
300 3- and 5-inch shells and several
depth charges at false radar and sonar
targets, perhaps reflected from the
wave tops and the ships’ own rudders.
At one point radar operators on Maddox
even identified Turner Joy as a possible
target. The destroyers reported having
evaded at least 26 torpedoes, and to this
day former crewmen of the ships insist
the attacks were real.
Three days later President Lyndon
Johnson used the “battle” as a means
to push through Congress the Gulf of
Tonkin Resolution, which gave him
the war-making power that ultimately
led to the deaths of more than 58,000
Americans and countless Vietnamese.
Lessons:
Good gunnery takes practice. In the
August 2 incident Maddox expended
283 3- and 5-inch rounds yet inflicted
significant damage on only one of
the three attacking PT boats. A dozen
of the rounds were illuminating star
shells, useless in daytime combat.
Micromanagement is never a good
tactic. The commanders of Maddox
and Turner Joy were bombarded by
scores of distracting radio queries from
officials in Washington, D.C. If you
are nearly 9,000 miles from a battle,
hold that thought until it’s over.
Say again? Lacking a dedicated
communications ship, the destroyers’
radios were so swamped by their
own traffic that legitimate traffic
from Pacific Fleet commanders didn’t
reach the ships until after the action.
Radar and sonar can lie. Though
experienced operators knew better,
novice techs were fooled by sonar
returns off their own ships’ rudders
and by “Tonkin spooks”—radar
returns generated by atmospheric
and maritime phenomena.
The fog of war is thick. Maddox and
Turner Joy had the entire Pacific Fleet
wound tight with requests for help.
Ticonderoga launched numerous air-
craft, none of which saw a single target.
Once the camel gets its nose under
the tent, the hump is sure to follow.
Within hours of the phantom battle
Johnson ordered retaliatory air strikes
against North Vietnamese torpedo boat
bases, while the Gulf of Tonkin Reso-
lution gave him the authority to further
escalate the conflict without a formal
declaration of war from Congress—
and the rest, as they say, is history. MH
21
 Hardware
Type 95 Ha-Go Light Tank 7
By Jon Guttman / Illustration by Peter Bull
8
4
6
5
3

1 2

25 26
24

23

22

21
14

15
20 17
16
18
19

22
 Crew: Three

I
n July 1933 Japan’s infantry and cavalry
schools—responding to complaints Combat weight: 8.1 tons
that the Type 89 medium tank was too Armor: 12mm hull and
slow and the Type 92 cavalry tank too turret, front, rear and sides;
lightly armed (machine guns only)— 9mm top and bottom
collaborated on the design of a tank that Power-to-weight ratio:
would combine greater speed with better 16.2 hp/ton
armament. The result was a 7.7-ton light tank Overall length: 14 feet
(half the weight of the Type 89B, but using 4 inches
9 the same diesel engine) armed with a 37mm Width: 6 feet 9 inches
cannon. Mitsubishi had a prototype ready Height: 7 feet
for trials by June 1934. After further modifi- Engine: Mitsubishi A6120VD
cations, including the addition of a rear- 120 hp six-cylinder diesel
10
11 facing machine gun in the one-man turret, engine with a five-speed
the machine went into production in 1936 as transmission
the Type 95 Ha-Go (“third issue”) light tank. Fuel capacity: 27 gallons
The Ha-Go entered service in Manchuria, (main tank), seven gallons
12 (reserve)
and at the outset of World War II it supported
the invasions of Malaya, Singapore and the Max. speed: 28 mph (road),
Philippines, where it held its own against 18 mph (cross-country)
the Allies’ M3 Stuart light tanks. Although its Max. range: 130 miles
quarters were cramped and its armor scarcely Fuel consumption: 5.4 mpg
able to withstand a heavy machine-gun round, Ground clearance: 15 inches
attempts to produce an improved design— Armament: Type 94 or
including an amphibious variant—amounted Type 98 37mm tank gun;
to little. Mitsubishi and the Hino Motor Co. two Type 97 7.7mm
built 2,300 Ha-Gos, which Japan deployed machine guns
everywhere from western Burma to Kiska in Ammunition: 130 rounds
the Aleutian Islands. But as the Allies forced 37mm; 3,300 rounds 7.7mm
Japan onto the defensive, the Ha-Go suc- Muzzle velocity: 2,300 fps
cumbed to more advanced opposition, such Max. effective range:
as the M4 Sherman medium tank. When 1.8 miles
Soviet forces stormed Manchuria in August
1945 (see related story, P. 26), the Ha-Go
and its medium-weight stablemates found
themselves outnumbered and hopelessly
outclassed by the armored columns that had
13
just prevailed over Nazi Germany’s best. MH

1. Main gun trunnion 15. Helical compression springs under

2. Type 94 37mm gun armored cover for suspension
3. Right side ammunition storage for 37mm gun 16. Return roller
4. Turret 37mm ammunition ready rack 17. Front Type 97 7.7mm machine gun
5. Engine bulkhead 18. Road wheel in twin bogie mount
6. Rear turret Type 97 7.7mm machine gun 19. Drive sprocket
7. Engine muffler 20. Steel tracks
8. Air intake for engine 21. Transmission
9. Mitsubishi A6120VD diesel engine 22. Brake pads for vehicle steering
10. Oil filler cap 23. Tank headlight
11. Tank repair jack 24. Driver’s forward visor
12. Tank tools 25. Driver’s instruments
13. Idler wheel (electrical switches)
14. Power train to transmission 26. Driver’s seat
(cover omitted for clarity)
IMAGE FROM NEW VANGUARD NO. 137 JAPANESE TANKS
1939–1945, BY STEVEN J. ZALOGA, © OSPREY PUBLISHING, LTD.

23
WARS BEGIN
FOR A VARIETY
OF REASONS—
to spread or combat an ideology,
to gain or defend territory, to
punish a nation for some real
or perceived wrong, prompted by
some minor dynastic struggle or
even resulting from a calculated misrepresentation of actual events.
Once begun, military conflicts—whether between nations, members
of different ethnic groups or adherents of differing faiths—all tend to
include the same ingredients.
There is, of course, actual combat, the struggle of armed forces over
well-defined battlefields or, increasingly, across far-flung cityscapes
whose residents are suddenly thrown into the midst of combat. There
is also the accompanying war of words, ideas and beliefs, in which
each side attempts to justify itself to its own people and to the larger
world, while at the same time working to vilify the enemy and undercut
support for him both at home and abroad. And, of course, there are the
concurrent diplomatic and financial battles, as the war’s participants
seek to achieve through other means what they might not be able to
accomplish with weapons.
Yet those who fight wars, either as aggressor or victim, all have the
same ultimate goal: to conclude the conflict as quickly and successfully
as possible, hopefully at the lowest cost in blood and treasure. Whether
the war lasts six days or 30 years, the purpose is to defeat the enemy
and prevent the destruction of one’s own homeland, culture or political
system. Nations that revel in the conduct of war for its own sake, without
regard for its costs or consequences, seldom survive.
When wars finally do end, the victors seek to ritually demonstrate
the superiority of their cause and the extent of their martial prowess.
The demonstrations have historically involved the execution of a
defeated monarch, a parade of captives, the destruction of an enemy
capital or, in more recent times, solemn surrender ceremonies aboard
mighty warships. However conducted, the event has conveyed one
clear message: We won, you lost, and the war is definitively over.
Until, of course, the next time. MH

25
 JAPAN’S
LAST FIGHT
On Aug. 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito
broadcast Japan’s surrender to his people—
but on islands to the north and in Manchuria
many Japanese kept fighting to the
death against Soviet invaders
By Sir Max Hastings

CORBIS
In August 1945 Joseph
Stalin committed Soviet
troops to helping the
Allies defeat Japan. But
the forces the Soviets met
weren’t about to give in.

27
 For all the Red Army’s experience of continental warfare,
it knew pitifully little about opposed landings from the sea
T
he Soviet Union joined the Allied war against
Japan on Aug. 9, 1945, just weeks before Tokyo’s
formal surrender. The opening of hostilities was
in keeping with Moscow’s commitment at the
November 1943 Tehran Conference to enter the
war in the Pacific once Nazi Germany had been
defeated, and with its further pledge at the February 1945
Yalta Conference to join the campaign against Japan within
three months of Berlin’s surrender. The Soviets first invaded
Japanese-occupied Manchuria and then conducted amphib-
ious landings in Korea and on Sakhalin Island and the Kuril
Islands, with the ultimate goal of both gaining control of
the territories and winning a role in the occupation of Japan.
E
ven as Soviet armies completed the occupation of
Manchuria, amphibious units were assaulting the
Pacific islands promised to Joseph Stalin at Yalta.
Eight thousand men were dispatched across 500 miles
of sea to the Kurils, a chain of some 50 islands situated
northeast of Japan. The northern Kurils were defended by
25,000 imperial troops, of which 8,480 were deployed on
the northernmost, Shumshu, 18 miles in length by 6 wide.
Their morale was not high. This was, by common consent,
one of the most godforsaken postings in the Japanese empire.
Marines of the Soviet Pacific Fleet sail to Port Arthur (in Japanese-
J U LY 2 0 1 5
occupied China) aboard a U.S.-provided landing ship in 1945. Moscow
sought access to the port as a precondition for joining the Pacific War.
28 MILITARY HISTORY
On the night of August 14 Shumshu’s senior officer,
Maj. Gen. Fusaka Tsutsumi, was alerted by Fifth Area Army
to listen with his most senior staff to Emperor Hirohito’s
broadcast next day. Having done so, Tsutsumi awaited the
arrival of an American occupation force, whom he had
no intention of fighting. Instead, however, at 4:22 a.m.
on August 18, without warning or parley, a Russian divi-
sion assaulted Shumshu—and met resistance. For all the
Red Army’s experience of continental warfare, it knew piti-
fully little about the difficulties of opposed landings from
the sea. From the outset the Shumshu operation was a
shambles, perfunctorily planned and chaotically executed.
The landing force was drawn from garrison troops without
combat experience.
At 5:30 a.m. Japanese shore batteries began to hit
Soviet ships as they approached. Some assault craft were
sunk, others set on fire. Those who abandoned founder-
ing boats found themselves swept away by the currents.
The invaders’ communications collapsed as radios were
lost or immersed when their operators struggled ashore.
Sailors labored under Japanese fire to improvise rafts to
land guns and tanks—the Russians possessed none of
the Western Allies’ inventory of specialized amphibious
equipment. A counterattack by 20 Japanese tanks gained
some ground. What was almost certainly the last kami-
kaze air attack of the war hit a destroyer escort. Early on
the morning of the 19th the Soviet commander on Shum-
shu received orders to hasten the island’s capture. Soon
afterward a Japanese delegation arrived at Russian head-
quarters to arrange a surrender. Yet next morning some
coastal batteries still fired on Soviet ships in the Second
Kuril Strait and were heavily bombed for their pains.
Tsutsumi’s men finally quit on the night of August 21,
having lost 614 dead.
S
akhalin Island represented a less serious challenge,
for its nearest point lay only 6 miles off the Asian
RIA-NOVOSTI/THE IMAGE WORKS (2)
coast, and its northern part was Soviet territory. But
the island was vastly bigger—560 miles long and
between 19 and 62 miles wide. Japan had held the south-
ern half since 1905, a source of bitter Russian resentment
now to be assuaged. Sakhalin’s terrain was inhospitable—
swamp-ridden, mountainous, densely forested.
Soviet forces began combat operations on August 9,
three months to the day after the German surrender.
They initially invaded Japanese-occupied Manchuria,
then moved against Korea, Sakhalin and the Kurils.
For reasons of prestige, the Japanese had lavished precious
resources on fortifying the island. The consequence was that
when Soviet troops began an assault on August 11, their
advance made little headway. Only after bitter fighting did
they capture the key Honda strongpoint, whose defenders
fought to the last man. The weather was poor for air sup-
port, and many tanks became bogged. Russian infantrymen
were obliged to struggle through on foot to outflank Japa-
nese positions. Early on August 16, however, after the im-
perial broadcast, the Japanese obligingly launched “human
wave” counterattacks, which enabled the Russians to in-
flict much slaughter. Next day, yard by yard, Soviet troops
forced passages through the forests, battering the defenders
with air attacks and artillery barrages. On the evening of
August 17 the local Japanese commander in the frontier
defensive zone surrendered.
Elsewhere on Sakhalin, however, garrisons continued to
resist. When the Soviets’ Northern Pacific Flotilla landed a
storming force at the port of Maoka (present-day Kholmsk) on
August 20, the invaders mowed down civilians at the shore-
side. Japanese troops opened fire. Thick fog hampered gunfire
observation. Defenders had to be painstakingly cleared from
the quays and then the city center. “Japanese propaganda
had successfully imbued the city’s inhabitants with fears of
‘Russian brutality,’” declared a Soviet account disingenuously.
“The result was that much of the population fled into the
forests, and some people were evacuated to Hokkaido. Women
were especially influenced by propaganda, which convinced
them that the arriving Russian troops would shoot them and
strangle their children.” The Soviets claimed to have killed
300 Japanese in Maoka and taken a further 600 prisoners.
The rest of the garrison fled inland. Sakhalin was finally
secured on August 26, four days behind the Soviet schedule.
From the book Retribution, by Sir Max Hastings,
copyright © 2008 by Max Hastings, published by
arrangement with Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of
The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division
of Penguin Random House LLC. Originally published
in Great Britain in 2007 as Nemesis, by Harper Press,
an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, London.
29
 U.S.S.R. vs. Japan
T
he Soviet Union declared war on Japan on Aug. 8, 1945, three months
to the day after the German surrender, in compliance with agree-
ments signed at the Yalta Conference that February. Among other
preconditions, the Soviets demanded postwar access to Port Arthur
on mainland China, a share in the operation of the Manchurian railways and
possession of southern Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Soviet forces launched a
three-pronged invasion of Manchuria on August 9. Though Emperor Hirohito
broadcast his nation’s decision to surrender on the 15th, pockets of Japa-
nese troops in Manchuria continued to fight the Soviet invaders, and the
Soviets went ahead with amphibious landings on Sakhalin and the Kurils.

Hutou Fortified Region

Fighting persisted the longest at Hutou, a reinforced
concrete fortress complex centered on five hilltop
artillery positions overlooking key roads and rivers.
For more than two weeks Hutou’s 1,500 defenders
held out with their families from deep within the
subterranean stronghold. When combat ceased
on August 26, only 46 Japanese remained alive.

30
 Invasion of South Shakhalin
Japan had held the southern half of 560-mile-long
Sakhalin Island since the 1905 Russo-Japanese War,
a sore point the Soviets sought to remedy. Invading
the island on August 11, they faced unexpectedly
stubborn Japanese resistance, even after Hirohito’s
broadcast. With superior artillery and air support,
the Soviets finally secured the island by the 26th.

Invasion of the Kuril Islands

On August 18, three days after Japan’s surrender
announcement, Soviet forces invaded the Kurils
from Kamchatka, striking first at Shumshu. The
operation exposed the Soviets’ inexperience with
amphibious landings, costing them 1,567 casualties
to just over 1,000 for the Japanese. Japan and Russia
continue to contest the sovereignty of the islands.

Battle of Shumshu
The Soviets faced a tough fight from the 8,480-man
Japanese force on Shumshu. In the wake of Japan’s
surrender, Shumshu’s garrison commander had
expected a U.S. occupation force and not a Soviet
amphibious invasion on August 18. But his artillery
and tanks inflicted a steep toll on the Soviets before
the last Japanese holdouts surrendered on the 23rd.

N
E T U NIO
SO V I
U.S.

HUTOU
s
nd

a
uri
la

Is
nc
h r il DETAIL AREA
M
a Ku

PORT TOKYO
ARTHUR
J A PA N
CHINA Pacific Ocean

Hawaii

MAPS BY STEVE WALKOWIAK/SWMAPS.COM

31
 S
talin harbored more far-reaching designs on Japanese
territory. Before the Manchurian assault was launched,
Soviet troops were earmarked to land on the Japanese
home island of Hokkaido and to occupy its northern
half as soon as north Korea was secure. On the evening
of August 18 Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky, commander of
Soviet forces in the Far East, signaled Moscow, asking permis-
sion to proceed with a Hokkaido attack scheduled to last from
August 19 to September 1. For 48 hours Moscow was silent,
brooding. On August 20 Vasilevsky signaled again, asking for
orders. Continue preparations, said Stalin: The assault force
should be ready to attack by midnight on August 23.
Meanwhile, the Americans also dallied with possible
landings in the Kurils and at the mainland port of Dalian,
China, to secure bases—in breach of the Yalta agreement—
before the Soviets could reach them. Both sides, however,
finally backed off. Washington recognized that any attempt
to preempt the Soviets from occupying their agreed terri-
tories would precipitate a crisis. Likewise, President Harry
S. Truman cabled Moscow, summarily rejecting Stalin’s Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky
proposal that the Russians should receive the surrender of commanded Soviet units in
Japanese forces on north Hokkaido. At midday on the 22nd the Far East, preparing his
Moscow dispatched new orders to Far East Command, forces far in advance of the
cancelling the Hokkaido landings. The Americans confined scheduled August 9 invasion.
themselves to hastening Marines to key points on and near
the coast of mainland China, to hold these until Chiang
Kai-shek’s forces could assume control. A huge American
commitment of men and transport aircraft alone enabled
the Nationalists to re-establish themselves in the east during Chinese assert that the 30,000 slave laborers who built the
the autumn of 1945. fortress were killed when their work was complete, and
indeed many bodies were exhumed after 1945.

T
he last battle of World War II was fought at a place few To the Japanese, Hutou was an unpopular posting, remote
Westerners have ever heard of. Hutou means “tiger’s from any pleasures or amenities. For those who occupied
head” in Chinese. In 1945 there were still some tigers its echoing caverns, it was also chronically unhealthy—mois-
in the Wanda Mountains, where the ture dripped off the concrete walls, rusted
town stands beside the great Ussuri River, weapons, spoiled food. In winter the bun-
eastern frontier of Manchuria. On the Rus- Soviet Forces kers were icy cold; in summer stiflingly
sian shore forests stretch for miles across hot. Through the years of war, veteran
flat country. On the Manchurian side, 1,577,725 troops* units had been removed from the fortress

ALEXANDER IVANOVICH LAKTIONOV/FINE ART IMAGES/HERITAGE/THE IMAGE WORKS

however, steep bluffs rise from the swamps 27,086 artillery pieces garrison and replaced by less impressive
and railway yard at the waterside. There, human material. Despite evidence of Soviet
beginning in 1933, the Japanese Kwantung 3,721 aircraft patrolling and the discovery of pontoons
Army created the most elaborate defensive 3,705 tanks drifting on the Ussuri River, Hutou’s com-
system in Asia: Its commanders were rash mander was absent at a briefing on the
enough to call it their “Maginot Line.” 1,852 self-propelled guns night of the initial attack and was never
Hutou was centered on five forts built able to return to his post. The defense was
on neighboring hills that rise up to 400 * TRANS-BAIKAL FRONT: 654,040; 2ND FAR EASTERN therefore directed by the local artillery
FRONT: 337,096; 1ST FAR EASTERN FRONT: 586,589
feet above the riverbank. The concrete commander, Captain Masao Oki.
roofs and walls were 9 feet thick, with generators, store- The initial Soviet barrage cut road links and spread terror
rooms and living quarters sunk deep underground, linked among the few hundred hapless civilians living behind the for-
by tunnels. The whole system was almost 5 miles wide and tress. On August 9 the Chinese inhabitants of Hutou township,
J U LY 2 0 1 5

4 deep, supported by some of the heaviest artillery in Asia, a wattle-and-wooden settlement, were awakened in the early
including 240mm Krupp guns and a 410mm howitzer. The morning darkness by the roar of aircraft overhead, the whistle

32 MILITARY HISTORY
 In their engagements with Japanese forces Soviet
units usually wielded far greater firepower, from
PPSh-41 submachine guns like those above to
rocket launchers, artillery and columns of tanks.

of falling bombs and the thud of shells. Some fell on the Japa- Oki was preoccupied with directing the infantry defense.
nese defenses, others among the houses, killing five Chinese. All that day and the next Soviet troops continued to shuttle
After two hours the shelling stopped, and hundreds of across the river. The local Japanese army commander, Lt.
villagers ran out into the street. They saw the horizon rip- Gen. Noritsune Shimuzu, telephoned Hutou on the evening
pling with gun flashes from the Russian shore of the Ussuri of the 9th to deliver a wordy injunction to Oki to hold fast:
and at once understood that the Soviets were coming. Japa- “In view of the current war situation and the circumstances
nese soldiers ran into the town. Though of the garrison, you are all requested to
some buildings were already blazing after fight to the last breath and meet your fate,
being hit by bombs and shells, they merely
claimed that an air-raid practice was taking Japanese Forces when it comes, as courageously as flow-
ers, so that you may become pillars of our
place. All civilians must move immedi- nation.” After this heady torrent of mixed
ately into the nearby woods. There was
1,217,000 troops *
metaphors all contact was lost between
no time to gather food or possessions. 6,700 artillery pieces the defenders and the outside world.
The defenders exploited a lull in Russian By nightfall on August 10 the surround-
artillery fire to move all the garrison’s family
1,800 aircraft ing area was securely in the hands of the
members and nearby immigrant Japanese 1,215 tanks invaders. When darkness came the Soviets
farmers into the tunnel system. As well as began attacks on the bunker system. All
600 regular troops, there were then shelter- failed. It became plain that against such
ing underground 1,000 civilians, some with * KWANTUNG ARMY: 713,000; KOREA, SAKHALIN, strong defenses subtler tactics would be
KURIL ISLANDS: 280,000; MANHUKUOAN ARMY:
170,000; INNER MONGOLIAN FORCES: 44,000
ITAR-TASS PHOTO AGENCY/ALAMY

militia training and weapons. An hour later necessary. Through the days that followed,
shelling resumed, and at 8 a.m. Soviet infantry started crossing artillery was used to keep Japanese heads down, while in-
the Ussuri. The Japanese responded with mortar fire. This fantry and engineer groups inched forward among the
inflicted some casualties, but within three hours the attackers trenches. Soon they had isolated the individual forts and
had secured a bridgehead. Amazingly, Hutou’s biggest artillery destroyed Japanese artillery observation posts. The condi-
pieces did not fire. They were short of gunners, and Captain tion of the defenders became grim.

33
 In Harbin, Manchuria,
on Aug. 20, 1945,
a Red Army officer
takes inventory as
Japanese troops
file past to surrender
their small arms.
“After the first [Soviet] salvo we knew the battle could
have only one outcome,” wrote one of the few Japanese
survivors, gunner Gamii Zhefu. “In the tunnels beneath the
fort it was incredibly hot. We were desperate for water. The
women were terrified. Then one soldier produced a canteen
and gave everyone a sip, which did wonders for our morale.
We were also very hungry, however, and started looking for
food. We found some cans, ate—and started feeling thirsty
again. Soon, for all of us, water became an obsession. It over-
came even our fears about the battle and the threat of death.
We were reduced to animal needs and desires.”
On August 13, adopting a technique familiar in the Pacific
island battles, the Russians poured gasoline down the fortress’
ventilation inlets and ignited it. Hundreds of defenders and
their families perished in the conflagrations that followed. Yet
the Japanese continued to surprise Russian troops with sal-
lies, sometimes dislodging the attackers from newly occupied
positions. One Japanese rush was led by a 22-year-old pro-
bationary officer brandishing a sword, who fell to a Russian
grenade. Hutou’s gunners, unable to use their huge weapons,
destroyed them with demolition charges and formed suicide
squads. A Japanese artillery piece was destroyed by a round
J U LY 2 0 1 5
from its neighbor, firing at point-blank range. The central
heights of the fortress changed hands nine times.
34 MILITARY HISTORY
The wretched defenders of Hutou knew nothing of the
emperor’s broadcast on August 15, nor of their country’s
surrender. They rejected all Russian calls to lay down their
arms. On the 17th a five-man party of local Chinese and
captured Japanese carrying a white flag was dispatched from
the Soviet lines to tell the garrison that the war was over.
The officer who received them dismissed such a notion with
contempt. He drew his sword and beheaded the elderly
Chinese bearing the Soviet proposals. “We have nothing to
say to the Red Army,” he declared, before retiring into his
bunker. The Soviet barrage resumed. Conditions under-
ground became unendurable. Many of those in the tunnels
and casemates suffered carbon monoxide poisoning.
“There were plenty of bodies down there,” wrote Zhefu. “I
heard a wounded man crying repeatedly, ‘Water, water,’ but no
one took any notice of him. I was momentarily excited by seeing
AKG-IMAGES/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP/SOVFOTO
a trickle of fluid running across the floor, until I realized that it
was leaking from a corpse. I drank it. Another man said, ‘That
stuff will kill you.’ I didn’t care. I was dying of thirst anyway.”
For hundreds of peasants sheltering in the woods in the
first days there was nothing to eat save a few berries and wild
plants. They drank water from the river and listened to the
appalling cacophony of battle on the Hutou hills. A few Japa-
nese immigrants huddled among them, but most had sought
 Today, a huge Soviet war memorial on the site declares
Hutou to be the scene of the final battle of World War II
the shelter of the fortress. On the fourth day, while fighting
still raged, Red soldiers appeared and herded the civilians
down to the riverbank, which was now secure. The Russians
smashed open a big Japanese food store and invited the Chi-
nese to help themselves. They were able to make rice soup
to sustain them through another 10 days of uncertainty and
gunfire on the hills above.
On August 19 a large party of Japanese from the fortress
attempted a break for freedom. They were cut down by Russian
machine guns. By the 22nd almost all the underground bun-
kers had become untenable. Soviet troops probing cautiously
down the steps met a ghastly stench of humanity, cordite and
death. In one bunker the bodies of men, women and 80 chil-
dren aged between 1 and 12 were heaped together. In a cavern
beneath Strongpoint “Sharp” lay another pile of women’s
corpses. There was also the detritus of the dead—cooking pots,
wire-rimmed spectacles, gramophones, a few bicycles, pinup
pictures of surprisingly smartly dressed “comfort women.” The
Soviets declared the Hutou Fortified Region secure. Yet for four
days more one isolated Japanese company continued its resis-
tance. Only on August 26 was this remnant snuffed out. Thus,
today, a huge Soviet war memorial on the site declares Hutou
to be the scene of the final battle of World War II. Almost 2,000
Japanese men, women and children perished in and around
the fortress, days after the rest of the world celebrated peace.
R
ussians told the Chinese fugitives in the woods behind
Hutou that it was now safe to come out. In a curious
introduction to their new lives these bewildered peas-
ants were shown a propaganda film about the Russian
Revolution. A commissar addressed them through an inter-
preter: “Red soldiers have made great sacrifices in this battle
to bring you liberty, and now it is yours.” The Japanese were
all dead, he said. The villagers could go home. Home? They
drifted uneasily back to their huts to find only ruins and
blackened earth. In the ashes of Jiang Fushun’s family home
lay the body of his father, a bullet through his head, the price
of his rashness in staying behind. Every Chinese who ven-
tured into the village during the battle had met the same fate.
RIA-NOVOSTI/THE IMAGE WORKS
Those who had relatives elsewhere began long treks in search
of sanctuary, but Jiang’s family had no one to go to. They
lingered among the ruins, scrabbling to build themselves
a shelter, scavenging for food. The task was made no easier
by the fact that Russian soldiers began to remove everything
edible or of value. The Chinese were appalled to see the
liberators drive off the horses on which their tiny farms
depended. Women were raped in the usual fashion.
Soviet soldiers warned peasants not to approach the forts,
which were still littered with mines and munitions. After
a few days, however, Jiang and a few others wandered up
to the blackened casemates, gazing in revulsion at the un-
buried corpses of Japanese soldiers and their women. When
the Russians finally departed, taking with them even the
tracks of the local railway, the 1,000 or so desolate people
left in Hutou found themselves existing in a limbo. The vil-
lage headman was dead. For more than two years thereafter
no one attempted to exercise authority over them, nor to
provide aid of any kind. When the communists eventually
assumed control of their lives, “things became a little better.”
Only 46 Japanese are known to have escaped from the
fortress with their lives. “The defense was extraordinarily
brave,” says Chinese historian Wang Hongbin, “which usu-
ally demands respect. But it was also completely futile. It is
hard to admire blind loyalty to the emperor at that stage.
They all died for nothing.” MH
Sir Max Hastings is the author of 20 books. He has served as
a foreign correspondent and as the editor of Britain’s Evening
Standard and The Daily Telegraph and has received numerous
British Press Awards, including Journalist of the Year in 1982
and Editor of the Year in 1988. He resides outside London.
In the wake of the Japanese defeat cheering civilians in Dalian, China,
greet Red Army tank crews. Though liberated, many Chinese returned
to their villages only to find burned-out ruins and blackened earth.
35
 CASTING
T H E D IE AT
EDGE HILL
AN INCONCLUSIVE RESULT TO THE FIRST

SIR ANTHONY VAN DYCK/HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF NORFOLK, ARUNDEL CASTLE/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES
PITCHED BATTLE OF THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR
AUGURED A DECADE OF BLOODY, SEESAW
CONFLICT BETWEEN THE ROYALISTS
AND PARLIAMENTARIANS

BY CHRISTOPHER G. MARQUIS

36
King Charles I, clad in armor
in this period painting by Sir
Anthony van Dyck, took on the
Parliamentarians in 1642 at the
Battle of Edgehill, the opening
clash of the English Civil War.
 England’s King Charles I was an exile in his own kingdom. In early January he had marched
By the on the House of Commons to arrest five of his harshest critics—leaders of a movement
intended to curb the monarch’s royal prerogative and nullify his insistence on the divine right
summer of kings to rule solely as they saw fit. When Charles’ infringement of parliamentary privilege
had failed, sparking an outcry in the Commons and on the streets of London, the royal family
of 1642 had fled the capital city.
In the intervening months, as Charles and his supporters prepared for war against the
Parliamentarians, the king had learned who his friends were. For example, when he sought
to enter the town of Hull and seize munitions stored there, its governor, Sir John Hotham, refused him—twice—and
Charles lacked sufficient numbers to force the issue. By August the king could only count on horse troops of about
700 or 800 men and no more than a few hundred foot soldiers. When Charles later arrived at Coventry to head off
an approach by the Parliamentary army, he found its gates shut to him as well.
The raising of the royal standard at Nottingham on Aug. 22, 1642, made for a pathetic scene, according to
Royalist statesman and historian Edward Hyde, later the Earl of Clarendon:

Melancholic men observed many ill presages about that time. There was not one regiment of foot yet levied and
brought thither; so that the train-bands, which the sheriff had drawn thither, was all the strength the king had
for his person and the guard of the standard. There appeared no conflux of men in obedience to the proclamation;
the arms and ammunition were not yet come from York, and a general sadness covered the whole town, and the king
himself appeared more melancholic than he used to be.

That night, a strong wind arose and knocked down the standard.

P
arliament had been quite active during the king’s
absence from London. On March 5, 1642, the
Commons had passed the Militia Ordinance, en-
abling Parliament to act independently of the king
to raise militias in defense of the realm. On May 26
Parliament had issued a remonstrance stating that
evil counselors had seduced the king, and that anyone who
assisted him was a traitor. In June it voted to raise a 10,000-
man Parliamentary army—the majority of soldiers recruited
from London and the eastern and central counties—and
appointed Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, its captain-
general and chief commander.
Born in 1591, Essex had gained experience as colonel of
a foot regiment serving with the Dutch. Though brave and
dedicated to the Parliamentary cause, he lacked initiative and
was a poor tactician. “As a strategist he must be considered
PRIVATE COLLECTION/LOOK AND LEARN/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES

distinctly suspect,” British historian Peter Young wrote of

Essex. “What other general fought three of his major battles
with the enemy between his army and his base?” Essex,
seemingly aware of his own limitations, often employed
simple tactics even green recruits could understand.
In September 1642 when Essex coalesced his army in
Northampton, he had some 15,000 men at his command,
Though this engraving depicts a crowd cheering in support of including 20 regiments of foot and 77 troops of horse. His
J U LY 2 0 1 5

King Charles, eyewitnesses present at the raising of the royal instructions from Parliament were to rescue the king from the
standard at Nottingham described a pitifully somber scene. clutches of his evil counselors and disband the Royalist army.

38 MILITARY HISTORY
 On the eve of the Battle of Edgehill the
Royalist war council—including Prince
Rupert (seated) and the Earl of Lindsey
(in red sash)—advises Charles (in blue
sash) on the disposition of his troops.
At the time there was little to disband. Charles’ fortunes
were only slightly better than they had been when he first
raised the standard at Nottingham, his supporters remaining
widely scattered. Gradually, however, men of integrity
and military experience—mostly from the north and west,
including Wales—rallied to his cause, and with each passing
day his army grew stronger.
The king had at his command several talented officers.
Charles had appointed Robert Bertie, 1st Earl of Lindsey,
commander of the Royalist army. Born in 1582, he had
CHARLES LANDSEER/WALKER ART GALLERY, NATIONAL MUSEUMS LIVERPOOL/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES
fought in Spain and the Low Countries and took part in
the 1627 La Rochelle expedition. Lindsey and son Montagu,
the self-styled Lord Willoughby d’Eresby, were among the
first to come to the king’s aid. Commanding the royal
cavalry was Charles’ nephew Rupert, Count Palatine of the
Rhine, Duke of Bavaria and a wholly different personality.
Although only 22, Rupert was already a seasoned veteran of
the Thirty Years’ War. He could fight with sword or pistol,
was an expert rider and had introduced to England such
military innovations as horse artillery and mining in siege
warfare. But for all his tactical prowess, he lacked tact in
his personal interactions. Other members of the king’s war
council regarded him as haughty. “The uneasiness of the
prince’s nature, and the little education he had in courts,”
Hyde recalled, “made him unapt to make acquaintance with
any of the lords, who were likewise thereby discouraged
from applying themselves to him.” The clashing personali-
ties of Lindsey and Rupert complicated matters for the king,
in spite of their other admirable qualities.
In October, Charles’ war council debated whether to
attack Essex’s army at Worcester or march on London and
capture the capital. The latter argument carried the day,
and the Royalists set out from Shrewsbury.
Once Essex realized the king’s intentions, he led his Par-
liamentarian army from Worcester on a course to intercept
Charles. On the night of October 22 it arrived at Kineton,
a market town midway between Stratford-upon-Avon and
the Parliamentary garrison at Banbury. A few miles to the
southeast sat the long, steep ridge known as Edgehill.
M
oving at a swifter pace than its opponent, the
Royalist army had deployed in and around
Edgecote, several miles east of the Parliamen-
tary army. Charles planned a morning assault
on Banbury, as Rupert sent out parties of quar-
termasters to secure billets. On the outskirts
of Wormleighton one of those parties ran into a patrol of
Parliamentarians. Rupert informed Charles, who ordered
the army to muster atop Edgehill the next morning.
Early on October 23, as the forces prepared for battle,
another debate erupted in the Royalist camp, this time
regarding formation of the brigades—called “tertias” by
39
 King Charles I Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex
the Royalists. Rupert favored the Swedish formation, each
tertia comprising four mixed regiments of pikemen and
musketeers. These regiments were arranged in a checker-
board formation, the musketeers on the outside. At close
range the musketeers would rush to the inside, screened
by the pikemen. It was an effective tactic but perhaps too
complicated for a newly formed army with many raw
recruits. Lindsey favored the Dutch formation, comprising
simple phalanxes eight ranks deep. This, it turns out, was
the formation Essex had chosen. Predictably, Charles sided
with Rupert and informed Lindsey that Patrick Ruthven,
1st Earl of Forth, would oversee the placement of soldiers.
Offended by the king’s lack of trust, Lindsey left the council
and placed himself at the head of a regiment of foot.
J U LY 2 0 1 5
40 MILITARY HISTORY
Robert Bertie, 1st Earl of Lindsey
Around midday Royalist forces descended the hill and
TOP: LEFT TO RIGHT: SIR ANTHONY VAN DYCK/HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF NORFOLK, ARUNDEL CASTLE/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES; PRIVATE COLLECTION/KEN WELSH/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES; GEORGIOS KOLLIDAS/123RF;
took up positions, right to left.
Estimates vary on the relative sizes of the armies. James—
the king’s 9-year-old son, who was at the battle with older
brother Charles, Prince of Wales—later estimated about
8,000 foot and 2,500 horse on the Royalist side, while Par-
liamentary records place the king’s overall force at between
14,000 and 18,000 men. Similarly, numbers for Parliamen-
tary forces vary from 10,000 to 13,000 foot and horse. The
Royalists likely held a slight edge in overall numbers, with
an advantage in horse. Parliament was more concentrated
in its foot regiments and had three times as many artillery
pieces as the Royalists.
One problem Essex faced was that his Parliamentarians
remained strung out along the route of march between
Worcester and Kineton, with two full regiments of foot still
half a day’s march away. Several troops of horse—including
those belonging to Captains Oliver Cromwell, John Fiennes
and Edward Kightley—were quartered several miles from
Kineton and also not present when the army took up position
around 2 p.m.
Parliamentarians fired the first shot. Artillery on both
BOTTOM; PRIVATE COLLECTION/THE STAPLETON COLLECTION/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES
sides then opened a duel. The barrage lasted no more than
an hour and was largely ineffective. Meanwhile, at Rupert’s
direction, the Royalist horse spurred into action. Thunder-
ing down on musketeers crouched behind hedges on the
extreme left of the Parliamentary line, the dragoons beat
them back with little resistance. Rupert then led the entire
right wing of Royalist horse against a wavering Parliamen-
tarian regiment of horse under Sir James Ramsay. At their
approach the astoundingly misnamed Sir Faithful Fortescue
and his troop of horse promptly defected to the Royalists,
turning on their heretofore comrades in arms. This sudden
switch of allegiances had a crippling effect on the morale
of the remaining troops in Ramsay’s wing. Consequently,
 Prince Rupert of the Rhine
Lord Basil Feilding
the defenders panicked, fired their weapons early and
wildly, and broke at first contact. Ramsay, facing a court-
martial after the battle, claimed to have been swept away
by the tide of horses and men. He was absolved of blame.
The right wing of the Parliamentary line also came under
attack. Sir Arthur Aston, a veteran of Russian and Polish
service and the lone overtly Catholic officer on the field, first
led his dragoons to clear the Parliamentarian musketeers
from the field. Then Lord Henry Wilmot led his Royalist
horse against the outnumbered horse of Lord Basil Feilding.
As with Ramsay’s wing, Feilding’s troops broke and fled,
along with a regiment of foot under Sir William Fairfax.
Having broken both wings of the Parliamentary army,
Wilmot and Rupert’s horse—instead of launching immedi-
ate flanking attacks against Essex’s center—wildly pursued
the fleeing troops to Kineton and commenced plunder-
ing the baggage train. Rupert and Sir Charles Lucas sought
to rally the pursuers for a flanking assault, but only a frac-
tion of the Royalist horse responded. The consensus
among those present—and historians ever since—was that
this was the great missed opportunity of the battle and
perhaps the war.
LEFT TO RIGHT: GEORGIOS KOLLIDAS/THINKSTOCK; 123RF; CHRONICLE/ALAMY
For the moment it seemed fortune had smiled on the
Royalists. The foot now advanced to finish off the Parlia-
mentarian rebels and bring Essex and his cohorts to the
mercy of the king. On contact the opposing foot soldiers
engaged in a “push of pike,” with pikemen in the vanguard
of each side locking their weapons together in an epic trial
of strength and endurance. The Royalists found the rem-
nants of the enemy force more formidable than expected.
Even so, the Royalists continued to tilt the scales in their
favor. A Parliamentarian brigade under Colonel Charles
Essex (not to be confused with the Earl of Essex) was the
next to break and run. The official Parliamentary account
records that the colonel, “being forsaken by his whole bri-
Sir Edmund Verney
gade, went himself into the van, where both by direction
and his own execution he did most gallant service, till he
received a shot in the thigh, of which he is since dead.”
With Parliamentary fortunes at their nadir, the reserve
horse pulled off a daring assault on the Royalist center.
First, Sir Philip Stapleton’s regiment charged Sir Nicholas
Byron’s infantry tertia. Though beaten back, Stapleton’s
men withdrew intact and provided relief to the hard-pressed
pikemen on their front lines. Next, Sir William Balfour,
lieutenant-general of the Parliamentarian horse, led his
regiment against the Royalist tertia under Colonel Richard
Feilding (no relation to Parliamentarian Lord Basil Feilding),
breaking the king’s men and capturing Feilding. Balfour
drove his men forward all the way to the Royalist artillery.
According to the Parliamentary account (to which Balfour
was a contributor), he “laid his hand upon the cannon and
called for nails to nail them up…but finding none, he cut
the ropes belonging to them, and his troopers killed the
cannoneers.” Unlike Rupert and Wilmot’s unruly horse,
Balfour’s men were mindful of the ongoing battle to their
rear. After spiking the Royalist guns, they wheeled about
and returned to the fight. The reserve horse of the Parlia-
mentarians had turned the tide of the battle.
A
s he watched events transpire, Charles quickly
realized that not only had a swift victory slipped
his grasp, but also his army was in peril. He
couldn’t even rely on protection from his per-
sonal guard, as they had taken leave to partici-
pate in Rupert’s charge. Whatever shortcomings
he may have had as a king, Charles exhibited courage and
levelheadedness at this critical juncture, remaining in the
fight to rally his remaining tertias. Unwilling to risk his
sons, however, he had a trusted officer escort young Charles
and James to the rear.
41
 The Parliamentarians had taken up arms and waged battle
against their own king, and they would have to do so again
Meanwhile, pressing his advantage, Essex ordered two
fresh regiments of foot from Sir John Meldrum’s brigade
to concentrate on Byron’s tertia. Byron, having repelled the
charge from Stapleton’s horse, found himself hard-pressed
by this new assault. His men soon came under a renewed
charge from Stapleton’s horse and were encircled when
Balfour’s regiment fell on them from the rear. At that
moment a regiment from Sir Thomas Ballard’s brigade
attacked, finally breaking Byron’s tertia.
Its collapse was particularly damaging to the Royalists.
When a mortally wounded Lindsey fell into enemy hands,
his son, Lord Willoughby, came to his father’s aid at great
peril. “[Willoughby] was left ingaged in the midst of the
Realizing victory would be hard won, the king had an officer escort
J U LY 2 0 1 5
his young sons—Charles, Prince of Wales, and James, Duke of York
—to safety in the rear, from where they watched the battle unfold.
42 MILITARY HISTORY
enemies,” James later recalled, “chusing rather to be taken
with his father, that so he might be in a condition of render-
ing him what service was in his power.” If the loss of their
field commander wasn’t startling enough, the Royalists
also watched in horror as the Parliamentarians captured
the royal standard, in the process killing standard-bearer
Sir Edmund Verney.
To the rear of the Parliamentary right, Lucas finally
managed to organize a Royalist charge against Essex’s vul-
nerable center with the small group of horse he’d been
able to rally. But his potentially devastating blow fell apart,
ironically, at the approach of a gaggle of fleeing Parliamen-
tarians. Lucas could only watch in frustration as several of
his men broke off to pursue the routed enemies rather than
attack those still fighting. The effort was not completely
squandered, however, as Captain John Smith managed to
retake the royal standard, apparently by masquerading as
a Parliamentarian officer and offering to relieve Essex’s
own secretary of the banner.
Continuing the string of unforeseen consequences, the
arrival of Parliamentary reinforcements may actually have
saved the day for the Royalists. Colonel John Hampden’s
regiment of foot had finally reached Kineton, halting the
Royalist assault on the baggage train and forcing Rupert’s
cavalry into retreat. As it happens, the Royalists were in dire
need of cavalry to support their tenuous position, their lines
having been reduced by half since the start of the fighting.
Rupert’s arriving dragoons managed to fire a volley or two
into the oncoming Parliamentary lines, stopping them in
their tracks. By this time twilight had settled over the field,
and neither side was willing to press on for a better outcome.
The following morning, when the reinforced Parlia-
mentary lines formed for battle, Charles boldly dispatched
herald Sir William le Neve with a proclamation of pardon
to all who would lay down their arms. Essex forbade le Neve
to read it, insisting Charles was not even in the field. Still,
having sized up his own forces and those arrayed against
him, Essex decided he had had enough and retired with his
W.F. YEAMES/WELLCOME LIBRARY, LONDON
army to Warwick Castle to recover from this first conflict.
By disengaging to the north, however, he left Charles an
open road south to London.
Initial reports of the battle at Edgehill—carried by Par-
liamentarians who had fled the battle—threw the capital
into a panic. The sudden appearance of the king at the head
of a battle-tested army could have led to an unconditional
 Charles’ nephew Prince Rupert—a veteran
of the Thirty Years’ War—commanded the
royal cavalry and led a charge that stopped
the Parliamentarian reinforcements cold.
surrender. But the lethargic pace of the Royalist advance
allowed the people time to find their courage. And while
HENRY A. PAYNE/PRIVATE COLLECTION/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES
Charles’ army marched south by southeast before turning
due east at Reading, Essex’s army took a more direct south-
easterly route from Warwick and reached London by
November 8. By the time the Royalists advanced on the
capital, 24,000 Parliamentarians were arrayed against
them. Charles again yielded the capital to his foes and
withdrew to Oxford, his wartime capital.
The Battle of Edgehill was a significant but inconclusive
start to a long, bloody campaign. The Royalists initially
displayed superior tactics and discipline but allowed early
successes to distract them from finishing off their foes. The
event was even more profound for the Parliamentarians.
They had taken up arms and waged battle against their
own king, and they would have to do so again. The die
had been cast. MH
Christopher G. Marquis, an officer in the U.S. Air Force,
has also written for American History. For further reading
he recommends Edward Hyde’s The History of the Rebellion,
Edwin Walford’s Edgehill From the Keyhole and Winston
Churchill’s A History of the English-Speaking Peoples,
Volume 2: The New World.
43
 ‘BIGGEST
STORY OF
MY LIFE’
Shadowing the war wherever it led, World War II Associated Press
correspondent Joseph Morton ventured behind enemy lines to report
the full story—and to face his own tragic end By Norman Goldstein

Joe Morton jumped at his first opportunity to

cover World War II as a foreign correspondent,
traveling to West Africa in May 1942. First landing
in Liberia, where he sat for this official portrait,
ASSOCIATED PRESS

he went on to report stories throughout Europe.

45
 D
uring World War II the U.S. War Department
accredited some 500 correspondents to
cover American military forces in the field.
Among the reporters were such names
as Scripps-Howard’s Ernie Pyle; UPI’s
Walter Cronkite; Hal Boyle, Larry Allen
and Lynn Heinzerling of the Associated
Press; the New York Herald Tribune’s
Marguerite Higgins; and Time magazine’s John Hersey.
Sadly, 54 correspondents—including Pyle—were killed
in action, falling to enemy fire on land and sea and in the
air. Each of these deaths was tragic, but one stands out
for its unique circumstances: Joe Morton of the Associated
Press holds the dubious double distinction of being the
first American war correspondent executed by a foreign
enemy in wartime and the only Allied correspondent
executed by the Axis during World War II.
J
oseph Morton Jr. was born in St. Joseph, Mo., in 1911.
The son of an attorney, Morton attended the Uni-
versity of Nebraska and the University of Iowa, where
his skill as a wordsmith eventually led to a career in
journalism. He wrote for the St. Joseph News-Press and the
Gazette, The Des Moines Register and The Omaha Bee-News.
Two years after marrying Letty Miller in 1935, Morton
joined the Associated Press in Lincoln, Neb.
Members of a black Army engineer task force pose in their ship bunks
J U LY 2 0 1 5
while en route to Liberia in 1942 to build an Allied military base. The War
Department, citing security, embargoed Morton’s reports for months.
46 MILITARY HISTORY
Morton earned quick promotion from Lincoln to AP’s
bureau in Omaha and later Cleveland. In 1940 he moved up
to the agency’s New York office, working as an editor. He
had long wanted to be a foreign correspondent, however,
and in May 1942 he jumped at the chance to go abroad.
His initial wartime assignment did not go as well as he
had hoped. Boarding a troopship bound for Liberia, Morton
was to cover the embarked task force of black U.S. soldiers
whose secret mission was to build an Allied military base
in the heart of West Africa. But due to the classified nature
of the mission the War Department embargoed Morton’s
stories for months. Not until early December, when the
department officially disclosed the presence of Allied forces
in Liberia, was he permitted to file.
Meanwhile, after German forces capitulated in French
West Africa and American troops headed for Dakar, Morton
traveled overland and reached the French colonial capital
20 days before any other correspondent. He contracted dys-
entery but was released from the hospital in time to talk his
way aboard the formerly Vichy French battleship Richelieu,
which left Dakar for refitting in New York in late January
1943. He was the only reporter aboard.
On July 19, 1943, Morton became one of the first Allied
correspondents to see Rome since the start of the war. He
achieved that feat aboard a Martin B-26 Marauder bomber
participating in the first American air raid on the Italian
capital and reported in vivid firsthand detail the aerial
assault on the city’s rail yards. Later that summer, during the
invasion of Sicily, Morton talked the U.S. Army Air Forces
into flying his jeep to the island, enabling him to run circles
around his fellow journalists.
S
oon after returning stateside in September 1943 for
treatment of his persistent dysentery, Morton learned
he was to become a father. Family members and friends
quietly hoped impending parenthood on the home
front would give him pause about taking risks on the war
front, but apparently that was not in his professional nature.
Morton returned to Europe, and after the June 1944 fall
of Rome he expanded his coverage into the Balkans. In
August he accompanied Major Walter Ross, chief of opera-
tions for the Office of Strategic Services, to Romania, where
Morton became the first American correspondent to report
on the entry of Soviet troops into Bucharest. He returned to
BETTMANN/CORBIS
the Romanian capital in early September to cover Operation
Reunion, the evacuation of newly liberated American airmen,
held as POWs since being shot down in August 1943 while
 The July 19, 1943, air raid on Rome
targeted its rail yards. Morton, who
observed from a B-26 Marauder, was
among the first Allied correspondents
to see Rome since the start of the war.
raiding the Ploieşti oil fields. The wily Morton had flown
there aboard a Fifteenth Air Force bomber and was again the
only Allied reporter present.
As soon as he landed in Bucharest, Morton raced off to
the royal palace to get the scoop on how Romania’s 22-year-
old monarch, King Michael I, had recently summoned the
fascist Prime Minister Ion Antonescu to the royal palace,
had him seized by guards and then proclaimed Romania’s
allegiance to the Allies.
In the late afternoon Morton met the young king, Queen
Mother Helen and various aides and advisers. Throughout that
HULTON-DEUTSCH COLLECTION/CORBIS
evening and the next day the American correspondent and
the Romanian royals swapped stories about politics, the war,
rationing, sports and Hollywood. They played table tennis and
toured the estate by car. Morton left the following day, wrap-
ping all the details of his visit into a widely published story,
the first to explain events leading to the ouster of Antonescu.
E
xpressing a particular interest in clandestine opera-
tions, Morton was allowed to cover missions under-
taken by the OSS and the Fifteenth Air Force in the
Balkans to rescue downed American airmen and
support anti-Nazi partisans. The OSS, established by Presi-
dent Franklin Roosevelt’s military order in 1942, had teamed
up with the British Special Operations Executive to send
agents in support of the Slovak National Uprising, a resis-
tance movement launched against the Nazis in August 1944.
The Fifteenth Air Force, based at Bari Airfield, Italy, trans-
ported the agents into Slovakia. On Sept. 17, 1944, a six-
member team departed Bari in two B-17G Flying Fortresses,
landing the huge bombers behind enemy lines for the first
time. In the successful mission they rescued 14 American
and two Australian airmen.
At the OSS base in Bari, Morton learned of a similar but
far more dramatic mission to Slovakia in the works. It was
47

to be led by Navy Lieutenant James Holt Green and would
include intelligence officers, weapons and demolition ex-
perts, translators and a radio operator. Six B-17s—escorted
by 32 P-51 Mustang fighters—would transport the OSS and
SOE agents and their equipment, as well as a cache of arms
and ammunition for the partisans.
Meanwhile, an additional 20,000 German soldiers had
entered Slovakia in an effort to quell the uprising, and
by September it was clear the Slovak fighters were losing
ground, the revolt nearing collapse. Green, stationed in the
rebel capital of Banská Bystrica, reported to OSS head-
J U LY 2 0 1 5
quarters that the German offensive was closing in and “would
probably be successful. Situation here is considered hope-
48 MILITARY HISTORY
Eager to cover clandestine operations,
Morton began reporting on OSS and
Fifteenth Air Force missions from Bari,
Italy, writing about rescue missions
and the tense situation in Romania.
less.” He advised against sending in more agents. However,
despite Green’s warnings, his superiors in Bari decided to
proceed with the larger second mission.
During the last week of September, Morton phoned the AP
bureau in Rome seeking authorization to shadow a mission
he said would require two to three weeks. Morton shared
no specifics of the operation, but the bureau editor surmised
it would be similar to earlier trips the reporter had covered—
flying supplies, weapons and ammo to Slovak partisans and
returning with rescued Allied flyers. Morton got his approval,
ASSOCIATED PRESS
provided he would return on the next available flight.
Before leaving Bari with portable typewriter in hand,
Morton sent a dispatch to the AP bureau in Rome announcing
 Morton, a man who knew a scoop when he saw one, decided to
remain with the OSS/SOE team to cover the Slovak uprising

his departure. He provided no further details on the assign-

ment but said, “I’m off on the biggest story of my life.”
The planes took off from Bari on the morning of October 7
and flew over the Allied air base at Foggia on the Adriatic
coast. To avoid suspicion the aircraft continued north, join-
ing a scheduled bombing mission. As the formation crossed
the Alps and entered Austrian airspace, the B-17s carrying
Morton and the OSS/SOE team dropped out and headed
northeast toward Slovakia.
Hundreds of cheering Slovak partisans were on hand
when the bombers landed at Tri Duby airfield. The B-17s
remained on the ground about 30 minutes, the fighters
circling protectively overhead while 28 Allied airmen
boarded for the return flight to Italy. Major Ross, the OSS
operations chief, was walking to one of the waiting planes
when he spied Morton pecking away on his typewriter,
set atop a box beneath a wing of one of the huge bombers.
“Aren’t you coming with us?” he asked the journalist.
Morton, the only Western journalist in the region and
a man who knew a scoop when he saw one, said he had
decided to remain in Banská Bystrica with the OSS/SOE
team to cover the Slovak uprising. He asked Ross to carry
his hastily written story on the latest rescue of downed
airmen back to Bari. Ross did so, but military censors
deemed the piece too revealing and never passed it on
to the AP bureau in Rome.
No one would hear directly from Morton again.

M
orton only spent a brief time in Banská Bystrica, but
he made every minute count. Seeking a balanced
understanding of the Slovak uprising, he inter-
viewed its communist supporters as well as the
nationalists. Cecilia Wojewoda, a Polish journalist who had
fled Hungary with her husband and was working for a Slovak
news service in support of the uprising, described Morton as
having “a sort of recklessness” about him, “a carelessness
of a fine sort” that “made only his work important for him.”
The German encirclement of Banská Bystrica tightened
following the departure of the U.S. aircraft. OSS headquarters
in Bari put together a rescue mission, but bad weather
TOP: AKG-IMAGES; BOTTOM: ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Red Army occupied Bucharest, top, after Romanian King Michael I
switched his nation’s allegiance to the Allies in August 1944. Morton,
in the company of OSS agents, was the first American to report on
the Soviets’ entry. Bottom, Romanian Prime Minister Ion Antonescu
(seated on left) and family meet Queen Mother Helen and King Michael
(far right) in a more cordial meeting months before the royal coup.
civilians fleeing into the mountains. En route the refugees
took fire from German aircraft and artillery and faced relent-
less pursuit by enemy ground units. All was chaos.
Morton, Gaul and Piontek eventually linked up with the
Americans from Donovaly. Among the latter was 23-year-old

grounded all aircraft. On October 25, as organized resis-
tance by the Slovak forces collapsed, most of the Ameri-
cans—comprising the OSS team and remaining airmen—
traveled by bus to Donovaly, about 16 miles north. However,
Morton and Navy Lieutenant James Gaul, an OSS team
member, remained in the threatened city a further two days.
With only hours to spare, they left with translator Josef
Piontek and joined the column of soldiers, partisans and
Maria Gulovich, a multilingual Slovakian schoolteacher
recruited by the OSS as a guide and translator. The consoli-
dated group decided to withdraw farther into the Tatra
Mountains and make for the Soviet lines, thought to be about
a week’s march away.
For six weeks Morton, members of the OSS team, partisans
and others evaded their German pursuers in the thick forests,
seeking to reach the front lines of the advancing Red Army. The

49

U.S. Navy Lieutenant James Gaul remained with Morton in Banská Bystrica
for two tense days after other OSS members had fled the encircled city.
weather was a constant threat. Howling winds, a blizzard, crip-
pling icy streams that froze boot leather to skin—all took their
toll. Some desperate souls slaughtered packhorses for food.
Scores froze to death. Others suffered frostbite and pneumonia.
Morton had tucked packets of antimicrobial sulfa powder
in the hatband of his uniform cap and shared them with Gulo-
vich and Nelson Paris, a U.S. Navy photographer. “Many times
others could walk much better than we did,” Gulovich later
recalled, “so we kind of stayed together. That powder helped.…
Our wounds started healing after application.” All three were
soon on the mend, but others were not so lucky—one group
of 83 partisans who chose to sit out the storm all froze to death.
In late November, after escaping another German attack,
the group headed for the central Slovakian village of Po-
lomka, reaching it on December 14 after several close calls
with German patrols. As a blizzard closed in, Morton and
companions, joined by a few SOE agents, made a six-hour
uphill slog to a remote mountainside retreat.
On Christmas Eve the OSS/SOE team members held a
party in the hut, which they had decorated with drawings of
American and British flags and a small tree adorned with stars
cut from red and blue paper. On Christmas Day the group
celebrated with a holiday feast—black bread and thin soup.
It was at that point Gulovich, two Americans and two Brits
left for another partisan hideout some two hours away. Gulo-
vich said Morton “walked with us half an hour or longer, and
then he said, ‘Well, I have to go back,’ and we hugged.” Years
later she recalled their parting. “Joe wore a hat, a green knit-
ted cap. I turned back after he left me. I can see it even now.
He was walking alone with that green hat on top of his head.”
After two more weeks of hiking in bitter temps, Gulovich
and team did finally reach Soviet lines, only to face arrest
and interrogation by secret police who suspected them of
J U LY 2 0 1 5
being spies. Taken to Bucharest, they soon secured release
through diplomatic channels.
50 MILITARY HISTORY
A
s difficult as conditions were for Morton and the
others who remained in the hut, things soon got con-
siderably worse. On the day after Christmas some 300
troops of a German anti-partisan unit, operating on a
tip from a local Nazi sympathizer, stormed the cabin, captured
its occupants and then burned the structure to the ground.
Their captors first took Morton and the others to Bratislava
for initial questioning, after which they were transported by
truck to the Mauthausen concentration camp, east of Linz,
Austria. There the OSS agents faced further interrogation and
torture under the direction of Gestapo officers. Postwar testi-
mony described how interrogators placed Holt Green in a
crouch, his hands tied behind his knees, then severely whipped
him across the face and buttocks till his blood ran freely. They
bound another agent’s hands behind his back before suspend-
ing him from the ceiling by a chain wrapped around his wrists.
A uniformed Morton, protesting that he was not a soldier
but an Associated Press reporter, pointed to his war corre-
spondent’s insignia and even produced his ID card. But while
he was not harmed during the interrogations, his status was
ultimately of no help. On Jan. 24, 1945, a telegram from SS
headquarters in Berlin ordered the Mauthausen commander
to execute all members of the Slovak mission.
The death warrant was based on Adolf Hitler’s Oct. 18,
1942, order to ignore the Geneva Convention on the treat-
ment of POWs and execute any Allied commandos captured
behind German lines. The order, of which only 12 copies were
distributed, declared, in part, “From now on all enemies on
so-called commando missions in Europe or Africa challenged
by German troops, even if they are to all appearances soldiers
in uniform or demolition troops, whether armed or unarmed,
in battle or in flight, are to be slaughtered to the last man.”
SS guards set up a camera in Mauthausen’s execution
room. The prisoners, lined up in the courtyard outside,
were individually escorted into the room and told they were
to be photographed. As each man turned to face the camera,
a guard with a pistol stepped in and shot him in the nape of
the neck. Their bodies were cremated.
A
llied investigators and the OSS received the first
definitive information about Joe Morton’s fate in
April 1945 after Allied troops captured Werner
Müller, who had served as translator during the
interrogations of the OSS agents at Mauthausen. He accu-
rately recalled the names of the OSS agents and specifically
mentioned “AP reporter Morton.” OSS investigators sat on
the information until further proof surfaced.
The details of Morton’s fate remained a secret until war’s
end, when fellow AP correspondent Lynn Heinzerling was
NATIONAL ARCHIVES
assigned to investigate the disappearance. He and a member
of the Allied War Crimes Commission visited Mauthausen,
where they were provided with details from Müller’s testi-
 German guards interrogated and killed
Morton and the captured OSS agents
scant weeks before the liberation of
Mauthausen concentration camp by the
U.S. 11th Armored Division in May 1945.
mony and interviewed a prisoner who removed the bodies
after the executions. They also met with Wilhelm Ornstein, a
Polish Jew and former prisoner, who shared the details of Mor-
ton’s and the others’ final moments. Heinzerling was stunned.
“This was my first visit to a concentration camp and gave
me my first inkling of the scope of Hitler’s madness and
crimes,” Heinzerling later wrote to his wife. “I had of course
heard about the camps in the early days in Berlin [where
he was based from 1938 to 1941], and I knew that French-
IAM/AKG-IMAGES
men were being shipped away to them during the German
occupation of Paris in 1940, but I had no conception of the
systematic killing in progress.”
Having established the facts surrounding Morton’s death,
Heinzerling returned to Rome to write the first complete report
on the murder of his friend and fellow war correspondent. MH
For further reading Norman Goldstein recommends
Inappropriate Conduct, by Don North; World War II:
OSS Tragedy in Slovakia, by Jim Downs; and Sisterhood
of Spies: The Women of the OSS, by Elizabeth P. Mc-
Intosh. The author is grateful to Larry Heinzerling for
providing access to his unpublished account “The Execution
of Joe Morton” and for sharing information from the files
of his father, Lynn Heinzerling.
51
 BIRTH OF A REPUBLIC
PAUL L’OUVRIER/COLLECTION OF THE NEW-YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES

The ruthless Mexican General Santa Anna ordered the mass execution
of captured Texian rebels at Goliad, but their deaths only further
fanned the flames of the Texas Revolution By Ron Soodalter

52
Mexican army commander
General Antonio López de
Santa Anna, pictured here
in an 1858 official portrait,
enforced a merciless
death sentence on some
400 Texian prisoners
at Goliad in March 1836.
 E B
arly on the morning of March 27, 1836—
Palm Sunday, exactly three weeks after the
fall of the Alamo—Mexican soldiers under
General José de Urrea formed more than 300
Texian prisoners into three columns in the
courtyard of the presidio in Goliad, a settle-
ment on a bluff overlooking the San Antonio
River. At the command of Lt. Col. José Nico-
lás de la Portilla the soldiers marched the
prisoners from the fort on three separate roads—east toward
Victoria, south toward San Patricio and northwest toward
Béxar (present-day San Antonio). A rumor circulated they
were being escorted to the coast, where they would be
paroled to board ships for New Orleans and freedom.
Before they had proceeded a mile along their separate
routes, however, the military escorts abruptly halted each
column and lined up the prisoners. The soldiers then
cocked and aimed their weapons. Several of the Texians,
staring suddenly down the muzzles of Mexican muskets,
wept and begged for their lives. Others stoically accepted
what was about to befall them. One of their number,
19-year-old North Carolina native Robert Fenner, exhorted
his comrades to accept their fate with courage: “Don’t take
on so, boys! If we have to die, let’s die like brave men!”
At their officers’ command the soldiers fired into
their prisoners at point-blank range, killing most of
them instantly. Others ran, only to be chased down by
mounted lancers and slashed or skewered. Miraculously,
28 managed to escape. The officers then marched their
troops back to Goliad, where they fell upon several dozen
wounded Texian prisoners, who had listened helplessly
to the musket fire and cries of their dying comrades.
The soldiers killed them to a man.
The morning’s mass execution was the single bloodiest
massacre of the Texas Revolution. Mexican soldiers had
slaughtered some 400 men at Goliad on the order of their
commanding general, Antonio López de Santa Anna. Yet
for the past 179 years the battle and subsequent massacre
have taken a back seat to what one chronicler refers to as
the “inseparable alpha and omega of the Texas creation
myth”—the fall of the Alamo and the vindicating triumph at
San Jacinto. And when historians do speak or write about
Goliad, it often comes across as a best-forgotten subtext to
J U LY 2 0 1 5
the real tragedy that ended the lives of the Texas trinity—
William Travis, James Bowie and David Crockett.
54 MILITARY HISTORY
y New World standards Goliad was a venerable settle-
ment, built by and for early Spanish explorers and
colonists. It had its origins in a mission and fort sited
in the early 1720s on a Gulf Coast bay, or bahía. Given
impossibly long names, the structures were known simply
as Mission la Bahía and Presidio la Bahía. The missionaries
were to bring Christianity to the natives, while the presidio
garrison served as a deterrent to French, English and, later,
American interlopers and as a bastion against marauding
tribes of Lipan Apaches and Karankawas. In time a commu-
nity grew up around the presidio, and residents applied the
name La Bahía to the entire district, just as the presidio of
San Antonio de Béxar came to be known simply as Béxar.
Spanish officials moved La Bahía progressively further
inland, ultimately to the bluff on the San Antonio River, at
the crossroads of various military and trade routes. In 1829
its Mexican overseers renamed the settlement Goliad, in
honor of a martyred rebel priest. On Oct. 10, 1835, after a
brief clash at the outset of the Texas Revolution, the strate-
gic presidio fell into the hands of the Texians, as early white
Texans were known.
A
mericans had had their sights set on Texas since the
1803 Louisiana Purchase. Freebooters—adventurers
who invaded foreign territories with conquest and
treasure in mind—made subsequent forays into Span-
ish Texas, all without success. Beginning in 1821 Spanish
authorities, and soon Texas’ new Mexican rulers, cautiously
welcomed Americans as colonists, under certain restrictions.
Some of the provisos—such as a restriction on the number of
slaves—particularly galled Southern-born Texians, who often
ALFRED WAUD/PRIVATE COLLECTION/THE STAPLETON COLLECTION/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES
circumvented or ignored the law. In 1830 Mexican President
Anastasio Bustamente cracked down, outlawing further Amer-
ican immigration to Texas. By 1832 President Andrew Jack-
son and his loyal acolyte Sam Houston were on the stump,
pushing for the annexation of Texas into the Union.
Friction steadily increased between the Texian colonists
and the Mexican government. When Santa Anna installed
himself as dictator in 1834 and tried to rein in the largely
independent Mexican state, Tejanos—residents of Mexican
origin—joined the Texian opposition. Seeking a return to
the old federalist system, they made uneasy and sometimes
fatal alliances with the Texians against a common enemy.
By the fall of 1835, after several earlier clashes with Mexican
forces, the revolution began in earnest.
On March 6, 1836, the Alamo, held by some 200
Texians, fell to Mexican forces after a 13-day siege.
Its defenders were massacred to a man. Goliad
commander Colonel James Fannin had vowed to
reinforce the Alamo, but his expedition fizzled.

The Texas Revolution has often been painted as a grass-
roots juggernaut, peopled by men of singular purpose and a
clear objective. Nothing could be further from the truth. From
the outset the Texian chain of command was badly fractured
and often crippled by jealousy and resentment, with the result
that, despite early victories, several subsequent campaigns
were ill-conceived, poorly planned and ended in disaster.
For many participants the actual objective of the revo-
lution was unclear: an independent republic, annexation
into the United States, a return to the original federalist con-
stitution of 1824, or perhaps the overthrow of the self-
appointed dictator, Santa Anna. Many volunteers had taken
up arms solely in the interest of self-enrichment, conducting
themselves more as freebooters than soldiers, and in turn
alienating both Tejano and Texian settlers.
Texian Philip Dimmitt, commanding Goliad during the
fall and early winter of 1835, took it upon himself to father
the Goliad Declaration of Independence, declaring Texas
“a free, sovereign and independent state.” For emphasis,
he created what was ostensibly the first Texas free-state flag:
a bloody arm, holding a bloody, dripping sword against a
white field (see opposite page). However, the provisional
General Council rejected the declaration as ill-advised and
likely to alienate their Tejano allies, prompting Dimmit to
resign his post. Not until delegates to the Convention of
1836 formally declared an independent Texas Republic on
March 2 did the various factions begin to coalesce.
J U LY 2 0 1 5
Still, dissension prevailed among a number of command-
ers. Among them was Colonel James Walker Fannin Jr., the
56 MILITARY HISTORY
Within days of the Alamo’s fall Texian army commander Sam Houston
ordered Fannin to abandon the Goliad garrison, Presidio la Bahía,
and retreat toward Victoria. But Fannin dallied another full week,
exposing his poorly supplied troops to surrounding Mexican forces.
man who replaced Dimmitt at Goliad. A 32-year-old Georgia-
born plantation owner, slave trader and opportunist, Fannin
proved himself a lethal liability as a leader of men. He had
dropped out of West Point after two years, having absorbed
few if any of the skills required of a good officer. Tragically,
his flaws would soon become all too apparent.
Fannin joined the ranks of the revolution as an agitator
as early as August 1835. By January 1836 he had been com-
missioned a colonel in the Texian army and assigned as a
governmental agent to raise troops and supplies. He had
initially showed promise as a soldier, fighting at the opening
Battle of Gonzales in early October and, alongside Jim Bowie,
leading Texian troops at Concepción later that month. The
fact he had some military training had made him an attractive
choice for command. He arrived at Goliad in early February
1836, and his garrison soon swelled to an often-fractious
force of more than 400 regulars and volunteers.
However, as some of his men noted in letters home, Fannin
proved a less than ideal commander. “Colonel Fannin,” wrote
GALLERIES, DALLAS
Captain Burr Duval to his father, “is unpopular—and nothing
but the certainty of hard fighting, and that shortly, could have
kept us together so long.” Joseph Ferguson, of the Alabama
AUCTION DALLAS
Red Rovers volunteer company, wrote his brother, “Our
AUCTION GALLERIES,
commander is Colonel Fannin, and I am sorry to say the
BOREN/HERITAGE
majority of the soldiers don’t like him, for what cause I don’t
BOREN/HERITAGE
know, whether it is because they think he has not the interest
of the country at heart, or that he wishes to become great with-
ERWIN
JAMES ERWIN
out taking the proper steps to attain greatness.” One historian
JAMES
labeled Fannin the “most reluctant soldier in all of Texas.”
 Personality aside, Fannin was indecisive, made poor tacti-
cal decisions and habitually defied authority, sometimes by
simply ignoring orders. When Santa Anna invested the Alamo
on February 23, Travis beseeched Fannin to march to his aid.
Two days later Fannin set out from Fort Defiance—as he had
renamed Presidio la Bahía—at the head of some 300 men and
four cannon. They didn’t get far, as a wagon broke down,
and Fannin had failed to procure sufficient provisions for
the 90-mile trek. The following morning he tucked tail and
turned back to the post. Once again Fannin had failed to act
decisively. He would do so again, with tragic results.
Desperate for reinforcements, Travis had dispatched
multiple couriers, receiving in response only 32 volunteers
from Gonzalez. On March 3 he sent an angry missive to the
president of the convention, bitterly indicting Fannin:
Colonel Fannin is said to be on the march to this place
with reinforcements, but I fear it is not true, for I have
repeatedly sent to him for aid without receiving any.
Colonel Bonham, my special messenger, arrived at
La Bahía 14 days ago, and on the arrival of the enemy
in Béxar, 10 days ago, I sent an express to Colonel F.,
which arrived at Goliad on the next day, urging him to
send us reinforcements; none have yet arrived.
A week after the fall of the Alamo, then General Houston
—commander of the Texian army and a man never above
covering his own flank—wrote to a friend of his irritation:
“Colonel Fannin should have relieved our brave men in the
Alamo. He had 430 men with artillery at his command and
TOP: LEFT: SAMUEL F. B. MORSE/DALLAS HISTORICAL SOCIETY, TEXAS/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES; RIGHT: MATHEW BRADY/LIBRARY OF CONGRESS; FLAG: 123RF
had taken up the line of march with a full knowledge of the
situation of those in the Alamo, and owing to the breaking
down of a wagon abandoned the march, returned to Goliad
and left our Spartans to their fate!”
Of course, had Fannin succeeded in reaching the Alamo
—by no means a certainty, given the presence of the Mexi-
can army between Goliad and Béxar—it can be argued his
men would merely have added to the number of Texian
dead. Instead, he elected to hold his ground and fortify
Goliad in preparation for an imminent Mexican attack.
Indeed, Fannin’s aide-de-camp, John Sowers Brooks, pre-
dicted in a March 9 letter to a friend, “As soon as Béxar falls,
we will be surrounded by 6,000 infernal Mexicans.”
However defensible Fannin might have found his actions,
in the eyes of most Texians his failure to rush to the aid of
the Alamo branded him indecisive at best, a coward at worst.
O
n returning to Fort Defiance, Fannin foolishly split
his forces, sending 150 of his men in two separate
parties to relieve the Texians at Refugio. Mexican
forces under Urrea swiftly engaged, defeated and
captured both relief expeditions. On March 11 Houston
ordered Fannin to immediately abandon Goliad and retreat to
Victoria before Urrea’s advancing army cut him off. By then
Fannin was aware of not only the fall of the Alamo, but also
James Fannin Sam Houston
Inexperience and indecisiveness were
Fannin’s gravest faults, and both Houston
and William Travis openly criticized his
lack of judgment. Left, Philip Dimmitt’s
Goliad flag struck a grimly defiant tone.
the defeat of Texian forces at San Patricio and Agua Dulce.
Texians had also abandoned the seaport of Copano—a vital
link to Goliad. Thus Fannin’s requests for more men, weapons
and supplies were met with the same silence as Travis’ letters.
Urrea was on his way with an overwhelming force. There was
no strategic reason to stay. Yet Fannin continued to fortify
Goliad, biding his time once again—until time ran out.
When Fannin finally marched his men from the fort on
March 19, they were hauling nine cannon and some 500 spare
muskets—but insufficient food and water. Lumbering along
at the pace of his slowest oxen, which Fannin had neglected
to feed, he ordered a stop for lunch after traveling only a few
hours. When Urrea’s men—most of whom had participated
in the Alamo fight—rode into view, instead of hurrying his
column to the relative protection of tree-lined Coleto Creek,
Fannin formed a defensive square on a low open plain, expos-
ing his entire command to enemy fire. The next morning
Urrea’s artillery arrived, rendering a Texian defeat inevitable.
Fannin surrendered his men in hopes of securing favor-
able terms, and Urrea’s soldiers promptly escorted the
Texians back to Goliad. Two days later 80 Texians who had
eluded Urrea at Refugio also surrendered. Retaining nearly
30 of them at Victoria as laborers, Urrea ordered the rest
of the men marched to Goliad.
M
uch has been made of Santa Anna’s practice of
refusing quarter to rebels. In fact, the infamous
slaughter of the Alamo defenders was not unprec-
edented. Santa Anna had established the practice
of executing prisoners at the outset of the insurrection.
In December 1835, following the execution of 28 Mexi-
can rebels captured after an abortive attempt to seize Tam-
pico, Santa Anna pushed a law through Congress mandating
the execution of any captured armed rebels as “pirates.” He
57
 When he surrendered to General José de Urrea at Coleto Creek, Fannin
had hoped for lenient terms, but he and his men instead faced execution.
believed such a policy would act as a deterrent and put a fast
end to the insurrection. It proved his greatest miscalculation.
There is reason to believe many more Texians would
have faced execution during the war but for the merciful
leanings of Urrea. As one Texian contemporary described
him, “Urrea, though a man of not much capacity or princi-
ple, was not bloodthirsty and when not overruled by orders
of a superior, or stirred by irritation, was disposed to treat
prisoners with lenity.” When Fannin surrendered at Coleto,
he requested terms that specified treatment as prisoners
of war, medical attention for the wounded and parole back
to the United States. Urrea, painfully aware of Santa Anna’s
execution order, told Fannin he could accept only uncondi-
tional surrender “at the discretion of the Supreme Govern-
ment of Mexico.” He assured Fannin he would attempt to
intercede on behalf of the Texians and would treat them
J U LY 2 0 1 5
well until such time as the government determined their
fate. “In spite of my great desire of offering them guarantees
58 MILITARY HISTORY
as humanity dictated,” Urrea wrote in his campaign journal,
“this was beyond my authority. Had I been in a position to
do so, I would have at least guaranteed them their life.”
According to survivor accounts, Fannin apparently could
not bring himself to share these terms with his men, and,
consequently, they surrendered their arms on the assumption
ALFRED R. WAUD/PRIVATE COLLECTION/THE STAPLETON COLLECTION/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES
of fair and honorable terms.
True to his word, Urrea wrote to Santa Anna, recalling
in his journal, “I wished to elude these orders as far as possi-
ble without compromising my personal responsibility.”
Before resuming his campaign, he sought yet another
means of shielding the prisoners from execution—sheer
numbers. “I issued several orders to Lt. Col. Portilla, in-
structing him to use the prisoners for the rebuilding of
Goliad. From that time on I decided to increase the number
of the prisoners there in the hope that their very number
would save them, for I never thought that the horrible
spectacle of that massacre could take place in cold blood…
a deed proscribed by the laws of war and condemned by
the civilization of our country.” Throughout their weeklong
imprisonment, the captives honored their promise not to
 attempt escape, although many might well have saved their
own lives through flight.
In his reply to Urrea on March 26 a furious Santa Anna
rebuked the general, demanding the immediate execution
of the “perfidious foreigners.” To ensure his order would be
carried out, Santa Anna sent a copy to presidio commander
Portilla and dispatched an officer to witness the executions
and make a report. Within an hour of receiving the exe-
cution order, Portilla was handed a dispatch from Urrea,
instructing him to “treat the prisoners with consideration,
and particularly their leader, Fannin.”
Portilla’s journal records that he spent a troubled night
but rose the next morning resolved to obey Santa Anna’s
superior orders. In the end he spared what men he could—
blacksmiths, wheelwrights, interpreters—about 20 skilled
workers who could serve the Mexican army. He also culled
out the two surgeons in the command, one of whom would
lose a son and two nephews to the massacre. And, finally,
he reprieved William Miller’s entire Nashville Battalion of
75 volunteers, who had sailed from New Orleans to Copano
but were seized by Urrea’s men as they landed on March 20.
to a new low; and American men, and American money, for
the Texan venture would have been scarce indeed.” Instead,
Santa Anna—through callous and shortsighted adherence
to his own bloody edict—created enough martyrs at Béxar
and Goliad to impel Sam Houston’s furious rebels, Texian
and Tejano alike, to a stunning, improbable final victory at
San Jacinto that April, driven home to the echoes of their twin
battle cries, “Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!” MH
Ron Soodalter is a regular contributor to Military History. For
further reading he recommends Gone to Texas: A History of
the Lone Star State, by Randolph B. Campbell, and Sleuthing
the Alamo: Davy Crockett’s Last Stand and Other Mysteries
of the Texas Revolution, by James E. Crisp. Also browse the
Handbook of Texas Online [www.tshaonline.org/handbook].
U N I T E D S TAT E S
1836
Sabine

Red
Portilla spared them because they had surrendered without

Tr
Br

ini
D I

azo
resistance. All the others perished.

ty
s
Fannin was the last to die. He had been quartered with
T E X A S
S P

the wounded at Fort Defiance, having been shot in the thigh

U T

Co
at Coleto Creek. When informed of his fate, he walked reso- lora
Guadalu do
lutely to the courtyard, leaning for support on the shoulder pe
E D

SAN JACINTO
of Joseph Spohn, one of the Texians spared for his language ALAMO Gonzales
skills. With Spohn translating, the captain in charge of the Béxar
T

Victoria
E

firing squad read the execution order: “For having come

Rio

Goliad
R

with an armed band to commit depredations and revolu- COLETO

R
Gr a

Refugio
I T

tionize Texas, the Mexican government is about to chastise

n

San Patricio Gulf of

de

you.” According to Spohn, Fannin maintained his composure

O

Agua Dulce Mexico

R

throughout. Handing the captain his gold watch, a purseful

Y

of doubloons and a wad of dollars, Fannin secured the man’s

0 100 mi
promise to shoot him in the chest (not the head), to avoid MEXICO
0 100 km
scorching his face by firing too closely and to have his body
properly buried. The captain so promised. He then sat Fannin
in a chair, blindfolded him, stepped back and gave the order
to fire. The muzzles of the soldiers’ muskets were less than
a yard from Fannin when they shot him in the head. They
rolled his body into a ditch. The soldiers then threw the
TOP: MARTIN WALZ/PEGMOTIONS GROUP; BOTTOM: WITOLD SKRYPCZAK/ALAMY

Texians’ bloodied corpses into carts, hauled them from the

fort, piled them up with loose brush and burned them. Only
partially cremated, their grisly remains were left exposed to
the weather and scavengers for two months till fellow Texians
buried them with military honors in an unmarked common
grave. Some of the survivors attended the ceremony.
As Texas historian Harbert Davenport observed more than
a century later, had Santa Anna merely “seized the oppor-
tunity of Fannin’s surrender to dump his men with Miller’s
on the wharves of New Orleans, humiliated, starving, half-
naked, penniless, homesick and forlorn, and each with his Mission la Bahía, which briefly held the wounded Texians captured
painful story of Texan mismanagement and Texan neglect, at Coleto, is part of present-day Goliad State Park and Historic Site.
Texas’ standing with the American people would have fallen On its grounds stands a memorial to Fannin and his slaughtered men.

59

WAR
ENDS!
For three months the world
held its breath before a weapon of
‘prompt and utter destruction’
brought Japan to its knees
60
The unconditional surrender of Germany
on May 8, 1945, sparked wild celebrations
throughout the Allied nations, with millions
of people taking to the streets in joyous
observance of victory in Europe—V-E Day.
The defeat of Nazism and all it stood for had
long been the prime objective of the grand
and often-fractious coalition that included
the United States, the British Common-
wealth and the Soviet Union. Berlin’s capitu-
lation was a clear sign the most destructive
war in human history was nearing its end.
However, Japan, the sole remaining Axis
power, seemed more than willing to con-
tinue the fight.
By May 1945 Japan had lost most of the
territory it had conquered in the Central and
South Pacific, had seen its once-proud navy
reduced to little more than a coastal-defense
force and could not prevent armadas of
Allied bombers and carrier-based strike air-
craft from systematically reducing its major
cities and industrial centers to smoking
rubble. It nonetheless remained a formi-
dable foe, with more than 1 million troops
under arms on the Home Islands, in occu-
pied China and Manchuria, and in Southeast
Asia. Pentagon analysts estimated that the
combined military and civilian resistance to
Operation Downfall—the planned two-part
invasion of Japan in late 1945 and early
1946—could result in more than 700,000
Allied dead and wounded. Japanese casu-
alties were expected to be much higher.
Yet by late summer 1945 the entire situ-
ation had changed. Following the atomic
bombings of Hiroshima on August 6 and
Nagasaki three days later, the Japanese gov-
ernment on August 15 announced its accep-
tance of Allied demands for unconditional
surrender. Despite an attempted coup in
Tokyo by diehard members of the armed
forces, as well as several violations of the mu-
tually agreed-upon cease-fire, Allied occu-
pation units began landing in Japan on
August 28. Representatives of the partici-
pant nations signed the instrument of sur-
render aboard the battleship USS Missouri in
NATIONAL ARCHIVES
Tokyo Bay on September 2, officially ending
World War II. After nearly four years of war
V-J Day had finally arrived. MH
Colonel Paul Tibbets waves
from the cockpit of his B-29
Superfortress before takeoff
on the flight that would change
history—the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic
 A mushroom cloud towers
over Nagasaki on Aug. 9,
1945. Less than a week later
the Japanese government
accepted the Allied demand
for unconditional surrender.

62
LEFT: U.S. AIR FORCE/LIBRARY OF CONGRESS; RIGHT TOP: NATIONAL ARCHIVES; BOTTOM: U.S. AIR FORCE/NATIONAL ARCHIVES

The atomic bombs inflicted

catastrophic destruction and
loss of life on Hiroshima, above,
and Nagasaki. The attacks helped
convince Emperor Hirohito that
continuation of the war was futile,
a belief he communicated to Japan’s
senior political and military leaders.

Aircraft of the Imperial Japanese

Navy, left—disabled by the removal
of their propellers or fuel tanks, in
keeping with Allied instructions—
litter Atsugi airfield, just south of
Tokyo. Atsugi’s pilots were among
the last of Japan’s airmen to cease
hostilities following the surrender.

63
 Crew members, journalists and other onlookers
crowd the decks of USS Missouri, above, as the
Sept. 2, 1945, surrender ceremony gets under way.

Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz signs the instrument

U.S. ARMY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES; BOTTOM: U.S. NAVY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES

of surrender as the United States’ representative,
right. Standing behind him are, from left, General of
the Army (and Supreme Commander for the Allied
Powers) Douglas MacArthur, Admiral William Halsey
and Nimitz’ deputy Rear Admiral Forrest Sherman.
J U LY 2 0 1 5

64 MILITARY HISTORY
 Foreign Minister Mamoru
Shigemitsu and Chief of the
Imperial Japanese Army General
Staff General Yoshijiro Umezu
lead the Japanese delegation.

Representatives
signed the
instrument of
surrender aboard
Missouri in Tokyo
Bay on September 2,
U.S. ARMY/NATIONAL ARCHIVES; BOTTOM: U.S. AIR FORCE/NATIONAL ARCHIVES

officially ending
World War II.
After nearly four
years of war V-J Day
had finally arrived
Shigemitsu signs the surrender
document on behalf of Hirohito
and the Japanese government.

65
 GREAT
WAR Films

WARNER BROS/THE KOBAL COLLECTION AT ART RESOURCE, NEW YORK

66
Like many of the standout World War I films, The Fighting
69th is based on actual events. James Cagney stars as
the fictitious Private Jerry Plunkett, a black sheep in the
regiment who earns redemption through self-sacrifice.

J
uly 2014 marked the centennial of the outbreak
of World War I, and museums, archives and
governments worldwide will continue commem-
orations through November 2018. While exhibits
of uniforms, weapons, vehicles and other artifacts
will certainly help illuminate the causes, conduct
and consequences of the war, those seeking a more personal
and visceral perspective can turn to a host of feature and
documentary films that detail virtually every aspect of
that first truly global conflict.
A
mong the first motion pictures to depict World
War I’s grim realities was All Quiet on the West-
ern Front (1930), and it remains one of the best.
Based on the eponymous novel by wartime
German army veteran Erich Maria Remarque, the
film follows a group of German friends as they transition
from students to soldiers and experience the insanity and
horrors of war firsthand. All Quiet depicts life and death in
the trenches with unflinching realism that shocked audi-
ences of the time. It also captures the alienation soldiers
often feel while home on leave that makes them long to
return to the front. Released by Universal Pictures when the
war remained fresh in people’s minds, the film may have led
star Lew Ayres to declare himself a conscientious objector
early in World War II, though he served in the Pacific as
a medic. A television version, airing in 1979, features sturdy
performances by Richard Thomas (John-Boy of The Waltons
fame), Ernest Borgnine and Donald Pleasence.
The Fighting 69th (1940) is based on the exploits of
the New York Army National Guard’s 69th Infantry Regi-
ment, which at the outset of the war was folded into the 42nd
“Rainbow” Infantry Division. While the central character,
Jerry Plunkett (James Cagney), is fictional, other characters
J U LY 2 0 1 5
are based on actual members of the 69th, including Medal of
Honor recipient Major William “Wild Bill” Donovan, poet
68 MILITARY HISTORY
All Quiet on the
Western Front (1930)
Sergeant Joyce Kilmer and military chaplain Father Francis
Duffy. Structured around actual events, the story line relates
the transformation of young tough Plunkett into a solid, self-
sacrificing soldier. Along the way the movie introduces view-
ers to the difficulties America faced in raising an army capable
of participating in the largest war the world had yet seen.
Moving from the city to the country, Sergeant York
(1941) profiles real-life doughboy Alvin York, a pacifist
from rural Tennessee whose change of heart regarding
combat led to action that earned him the Medal of Honor.
Starring Gary Cooper, with perennial co-star Walter Brennan
as his hometown pastor, the film addresses York’s attempt
to claim conscientious objector status on religious grounds
and the negative view many Americans then held of anyone
taking such a moral stand. The action that brought him
fame is only a small part of a movie focused more on
personal character. While York’s marksmanship stood out,
he was otherwise typical of millions of men from rural
America who, despite their limited understanding of the
war and its causes, left home to do their duty as they saw it.
After repeated refusals, York finally agreed to authorize the
movie in order to finance construction of a Bible school.
LEFT: HERITAGE AUCTION GALLERIES, DALLAS; RIGHT: UNIVERSAL PICTURES/PHOTOFEST
Paths of Glory (1957), director Stanley Kubrick’s first
significant box office success, is loosely based on mutinies
in the French army in the spring and early summer of 1917.
In order to quell dissent among frontline units, France’s
military and political leaders ordered mass trials of the muti-
neers, more than 40 of whom faced execution. Paths of Glory
depicts one such trial. It is an intense film, and Kirk Douglas
is riveting as Colonel Dax, an officer assigned to defend three
of his soldiers arbitrarily charged with cowardice. An ironic
footnote is an appearance by actor Wayne Morris, a deco-
rated seven-victory U.S. Navy fighter ace during World War II,
in the role of a cowardly lieutenant.
A classic film that encompasses not only the war but also
the social upheaval it wrought is Jean Renoir’s La Grande
 Illusion (1937). Captured by the Germans, two French
aviators, aristocratic Captain de Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay)
and working-class Lieutenant Maréchal (Jean Gabin), are
transferred from several POW camps after failed escape
attempts. Arriving at a fortressed mountain prison, de
Boeldieu enjoys a more comfortable relationship with camp
commandant Rittmeister von Rauffenstein (Erich von Stro-
heim) than with fellow Frenchmen of lesser pedigree (the
noblemen often converse in English so French and German
subordinates won’t understand them). Still, de Boeldieu
agrees to provide a distraction for an ultimately successful
escape by Maréchal and nouveau riche French Jew Lieu-
tenant Rosenthal (Marcel Dalio). Shot by a reluctant von
Rauffenstein, de Boeldieu dies pitying his German counter-
part, who must adjust to the upended postwar world they
both foresee.
Among the many surrealist looks at the war, one of the
most entertaining is director Philippe de Broca’s King of
Hearts (1966), a comedy-drama that takes a literal view of
the conflict’s insanity. Sent to a French town to disarm a
bomb planted by the retreating Germans, a kilt-wearing
Scottish soldier (Alan Bates) finds it populated by escapees
from the local insane asylum, whom he mistakes for the
townspeople, who have fled. While trying to find the bomb,
the young soldier tries to make sense of the residents’ antics,
leading to a surprising but fitting ending.
L
ooking beyond the war of attrition on the Western
Front, some movies remind viewers it was a global
HERITAGE AUCTION GALLERIES, DALLAS (3)
conflict. In 1932, for example, two films depicted the
Italian front. The Doomed Battalion, co-directed
by Cyril Gardner and war veteran and champion
skier Luis Trenker (who wrote and stars in the film), deals
with a unit of Austrian mountain troops holding a position
12,000 feet in the Tyrolean Alps against an Italian force that
occupies the town in the valley below where most of the
Austrians’ families reside. That year also saw the release of
Frank Borzage’s A Farewell to Arms, based on the semi-
autobiographical novel by Ernest Hemingway. Although less
notable for the horrors of war in Italy than for the romance
between the American medical volunteers played by Gary
Cooper and Helen Hayes, the film won two Academy Awards.
Moving to the Middle East, Gallipoli (1981) relates the
futility of the failed 1915–16 Allied campaign in the Darda-
nelles against the German-allied Ottoman empire through
the eyes of two Australian friends, portrayed by actors Mark
Lee and a pre–Mad Max Mel Gibson. Like many, if not most,
of their contemporaries, these young men start out as ideal-
ists in search of adventure, only to be confronted by the
war’s brutal realities. Peter Weir directed this critically
acclaimed Australian film.
While Gallipoli bogs down in bloody stalemate, the
sweeping desert epic Lawrence of Arabia (1962) centers
on the bold exploits of legendary British officer T.E. Law-
rence, who convinced the disparate tribes of the Arabian
Peninsula to revolt against their Ottoman overlords. Although
based on historical characters and events, the film takes
literary license in many areas and generally advances the
legend more than the real man—who, for one thing, was
much shorter than starring actor Peter O’Toole. Directing
the film was David Lean, who also related Russia’s World
War I experience of revolution, civil war and communist
domination in his monumental and hugely entertaining
1965 film Doctor Zhivago.
For a unique take on the war in a forgotten corner of
the world, there is no better film than The African Queen
(1951). Directed by John Huston and set in German East
Africa, it spins the tale of a grizzled, hard-drinking Cana-
dian riverboat captain (Humphrey Bogart), a British mission-
ary (Katherine Hepburn) and the rundown eponymous
vessel they plan to take downriver to Lake Tanganyika and
there transform it into a makeshift torpedo in order to sink
69
 the enemy gunboat Queen Louisa. Very loosely based on
events in the region, the film was shot in Africa—reportedly
so Huston could go elephant hunting—and is a delightful
change from most adventure films of the period, which were
largely shot on Hollywood soundstages. The film gave
Bogart his first real opportunity to play someone other than
a smooth gangster, and the role won him the 1951 Academy
Award for best leading actor.
W
hile many films thrilled audiences with tales of
dashing, scarf-wearing World War I aviators,
most of the films made in the 1920s and ’30s
are more memorable for their aerial stunt work
than their often-hokey screenplays. Among the
best of the genre is the silent film Wings (1927), directed
by former Lafayette Flying Corps fighter pilot William Well-
man and starring Buddy Rogers, Richard Arlen, Clara Bow
and Gary Cooper (in a brief appearance that helped launch
his career). The film was also the first to receive the Acad-
emy Award for best picture. Howard Hughes’ 1930 action
film Hell’s Angels is better remembered for its spectacular
dogfight sequence—arguably the last of its kind—and for
Jean Harlow than for its story. The same might be said
for its contemporary, director Howard Hawks’ The Dawn
Patrol, with Richard Barthelmess and Douglas Fairbanks
Jr., a film whose flying sequences were reused in a far more
dashing 1938 Edmund Goulding remake starring Errol
Flynn, Basil Rathbone and David Niven.
Perhaps the best combination of an engrossing story
mated to convincing air action is John Guillermin’s The
Blue Max (1966). The film follows German Army Air Ser-
vice Lieutenant Bruno Stachel (George Peppard), a cynical
field-commissioned officer of low birth who seeks to rise
through the ranks by achieving acedom and attaining the
J U LY 2 0 1 5
Pour le Mérite—the fabled Blue Max award for extraordinary
valor. The movie’s array of aircraft (most modified from
70 MILITARY HISTORY
1930s de Havilland Tiger Moths and Stampe SV.4 biplane
trainers) saw much use in later and lesser films, but The Blue
Max, co-starring James Mason, Jeremy Kemp and Ursula
Andress, still holds up admirably.
More dubious is the mixture of replica and computer-
generated aircraft that inhabit Flyboys (2006), a movie
based on French fighter squadron N.124, better known as
the Lafayette Escadrille, whose pilots were largely American
volunteers. The film characters are loosely based on real
members of either the escadrille or the Lafayette Flying Corps,
which channeled excess volunteers to other units. An exam-
ple of the latter is “Skinner,” a black member of N.124 based
on Eugene Bullard, a bone fide lightweight boxing champion
who served in the Foreign Legion before qualifying as a pilot
and flying with escadrilles N.93 and SPA 85. Sorry to say,
most of the actual flyboys serving in N.124 were vastly more
interesting than anyone in this cast, and the film’s dogfights
generally pit Nieuport 17s against Fokker Dr.I triplanes—
German fighters nobody in the Lafayette Escadrille ever
encountered during its time at the front.
I
f documentaries are more to your liking, several provide
excellent footage and commentary.
Produced by CBS and narrated by actor Robert Ryan,
the three-disc series The Complete Story: World
War I (1963) features black-and-white historical film
clips from the era. Generally viewing the war from a U.S.
perspective, it relates the controversial sinking of the British
liner RMS Lusitania and events on the home front, including
HERITAGE AUCTION GALLERIES, DALLAS (2)
opposition to the United States’ entry in the conflict. The
series does venture beyond Western Europe, however, to
explore the Allied intervention in Russia (see “First Shots
of the Cold War,” by Anthony Brandt, May) in the wake of
its 1917 revolution and to discuss how the war prompted
the rise of communism and fascism in postwar Europe.
Bonus episodes cover a range of headline prewar events,

including Robert Peary’s 1909 journey to the North Pole and
the 1912 sinking of the British liner RMS Titanic, as well as
such postwar events as Prohibition and women’s suffrage.
The more recent five-disc Trenches: Battleground
WWI (2006), an eight-episode series with three bonus
episodes, combines frontline footage and photographs with
no-nonsense narration some viewers might find dry. Actors
liven up the script with period quotes from soldiers, leaders
and civilians, and the producers include interviews with
veterans of both the Allied and Central Powers forces. One
annoying aspect for the purist, however, is that the pro-
ducers have reused footage—sometimes in mirror image—
to illustrate different battles.
The First World War (2003) is a well-produced four-
disc, 10-episode series that combines period black-and-white
footage with color segments from recent visits to key loca-
tions and incorporates clips from postwar movies to illustrate
certain battles. The script features passages from the journals
and letters of everyday soldiers and citizens, as well as quotes
from political and military leaders. Voice actors provide much
of the narration, though the producers use period recordings
MIDDLE: UNITED ARTISTS/PHOTOFEST; OTHERS: HERITAGE AUCTION GALLERIES, DALLAS (2)
of wartime leaders whenever possible. The narrative style
is more personal than that in Trenches and less dramatic
than Robert Ryan’s delivery in The Complete Story. The series
devotes several episodes to Africa, the Middle East and other
overseas locales largely ignored in the other documentaries.
If you want a break from the forced march of a documen-
tary series, consider two outstanding recent single-episode
documentaries, The Last Day of World War One (2008)
and Paris 1919 (2009).
The Last Day of World War One, an episode of the British
television series Timewatch, is among the most captivating
documentaries about the war, in which narrator Michael
Palin recounts the events on Nov. 11, 1918, the day fighting
ceased on the Western Front. It also features commentary
by Joseph E. Persico, author of Eleventh Month, Eleventh
The African
Queen (1951)
Day, Eleventh Hour: Armistice Day, 1918. In one scene illus-
trative of the war’s lasting legacy, Palin examines a pile of
relics, including unexploded ordnance, recently unearthed
by a farmer. The program ends with the stories of the last
men killed in action just before the armistice went into
effect at 11 a.m., the unnecessary loss of life and the contro-
versy that resulted.
Paris 1919 is a unique docudrama based on the postwar
framing of the Treaty of Versailles, which formally ended
hostilities between Germany and the Allies. It combines
actor portrayals of the major participants with narrated
period footage and photos of the Paris Peace Conference
and its participants. The film focuses on the background
and behind-the-scenes events of the conference, including
how cartographers redrew the map of Europe and how
economists and accountants sought to calculate the massive
monetary damages inflicted by the Germans. It also re-
creates private discussions among the primary Allied leaders
as they work out a strategy to punish Germany for the war
and keep it from regaining its prewar strength. At times
actors address the camera directly, bringing the audience
into the moment. The production is entertaining enough to
hold a casual viewer’s attention and informative enough for
anyone interested in the history behind the war’s end. MH
Richard Farmer retired as a master sergeant after a 34-year
Army career, in which he served with the 101st Airborne
Division, the 24th Infantry Division and various units of
the Ohio Army National Guard. He deployed for Operation
Enduring Freedom in 2004 and Operation Iraqi Freedom
in 2008. For further reading Farmer recommends Eleventh
Month, Eleventh Day, Eleventh Hour: Armistice Day,
1918, by Joseph E. Persico; All Quiet on the Western
Front, by Erich Maria Remarque; and Father Duffy’s Story:
A Tale of Humor and Heroism, of Life and Death With the
Fighting Sixty-Ninth, by Francis P. Duffy.
71
 ADVERTISEMENT

The stories of the Unknown Wars of Asia, Africa and The Americas were cataclysmic and
bloody events that took the lives of millions and impact our world to this day. Yet, most of
these wars are hardly mentioned in articles or even textbooks.

Among some of the wars covered are:

s The wars that involved the Great Wall of China over its’ 1,865 year history as a defensive barrier.
s The longest war in history which was the 1,049 year long Vietnamese War of Independence from China and the
lessons that should have kept France and the US out of Indo-China.
s The wars of the Khmer Empire (802 – 1431)
and the unlikely hero that emerged in a time
of crisis in 1177.
s The Jewish Bar Kokhba Revolt (132 – 136) that
caused the Emperor Hadrian to cover up the
massacre of two veteran Roman Legions and
the truth about how close the revolt came to
succeeding.
s The wars of the Spanish Conquistadors to
conquer the American Southeast and South-
west in the sixteenth century and the Native
American apocalypse in North America
that followed.
s The Cherokee Wars that came very close to
wiping out the colony of South Carolina.
s The wars of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
that took the lives of more than 12 million
Africans and the slave revolts of the Caribbean
and South America.
s The Taiping Rebellion (1851 – 1871) that was
caused by a Confucian scholar who misun-
derstood a poorly translated gospel tract
and started a rebellion that led to over 30
million deaths.
s The 74 year Mongol conquest of China and
disasters in Syria, Japan, Vietnam, and Java
that led to the breakup of the Mongol Empire.
s Before the Holocaust of World War II, there
was a mutual Christian holocaust that took
the lives of close to 8 million lives during
the Thirty Years War (1618 – 1648) between
Catholics and Protestants. Some of the
battles of this war were actually fought in
Africa and in the Caribbean.
s England’s Pirate Wars — The French Conquest
of Indo-China 1857 – 1884.
s The future wars that half of the world’s population
of Jews, Christians, and Muslims are expecting in the near future.
THIS CHAPTER EXPLAINS HOW THE CURRENT CONFLICTS IN IRAQ, SYRIA,
GAZA, AND THE WEST BANK ARE ROOTED IN ISLAMIC LAST DAYS PROPHECIES AND IS A
MUST READ FOR ANYONE WANTING TO UNDERSTAND THE CONFLICTS OF THE MIDDLE
EAST THAT ARE TAKING PLACE NOW.
ORDER
Available at: amazon.com (US) your cop
y
4/$!9

AMAZONCOUK'REAT"RITAIN sAMAZONCA#ANADA s!LIBRISCOM
Reviews
Not Just Another
‘Great’ Opponent
Darius in the Shadow of
Alexander, by Pierre Briant,
translated by Jane Marie
Todd, Harvard University
Press, Cambridge, Mass.,
2015, $39.95
Pierre Briant, professor of
history and civilization
of the Achaemenid world
at the Collège de France
in Paris, is a renowned
expert on the history of
ancient Persia from Cyrus the Great to its destruction
by Alexander the Great during the reign of Darius III.
The difficulty in understanding Persian history is
that most of our knowledge derives from the works
of Greco-Roman authors (Quintus Curtius Rufus,
Arrian, Justin, Diodorus Sic- ciopolitical/socioeconomic
ulus and Plutarch) writing structure of the Persian
about the exploits of Alex- empire and the Alexander
ander, in which they por- narrative. Focusing on Da-
tray Persia and its kings in rius III’s actions with regard
a largely negative light. The to Alexander, Briant raises
scarcity of Persian sources legitimate questions about
makes obtaining an accurate key conclusions proffered in
historical record of Persia the Greco-Roman accounts
even more difficult. This is and offers fresh historical
the first dedicated biography interpretations about both
of Darius III. Parsing the por- Darius and Alexander.
trayals of Darius in Greco- The book is a magnificent
Roman sources, Briant reads work of classical scholar-
between the lines to bring to ship, and Briant rewards
light the “Achaemenid kernel readers with insights the
embedded in a Greco-Roman source authors either failed
interpretive shell.” to see or deliberately omit-
Briant takes a strong ana- ted. He also gives Alexan-
lytical approach, analyzing der biographers reason for
the texts against his prodi- pause, reiterating that the
gious knowledge of the so- five sources on which Alex-
ander scholarship is based
are simply not reliable.
Darius in the Shadow of
Alexander is an important
book that makes a major
contribution to our under-
standing of ancient Persia
and the narrative of Alexan-
der the Great, and we highly
recommend it to students
of the classics.
— Richard A. Gabriel
A Box of Sand: The
Italo-Ottoman War, 1911–
1912, by Charles
Stephenson,
Tattered Flag,
Ticehurst, England,
2014, $22.95
With the centennial
of World War I upon
us it is worthwhile to
reflect on the events that
brought about that monu-
mental conflict. Among
them is the 1911 war be-
tween Italy and the Otto-
man empire. The conflict
had far-reaching effects with
present-day reverberations.
From a military standpoint
it is notable as the first war in
which armored vehicles and
airplanes played a role. On a
political level it was equally
important, as it precipitated
the creation of the state that
became modern-day Libya.
A newcomer among the
modern-day European great
powers, Italy was eager to
jump on the imperial band-
wagon and establish its own
colonies in Africa. With that
in mind, along with an aware-
ness of the Ottoman empire’s
weakness, Italy invaded Tur-
key’s North African territo-
ries of Cyrenaica and Tripoli.
The ensuing conflict was
the first to combine land, sea
and air elements to achieve
victory. While Italy swiftly
deposed Turkey as ruler over
the region, however, it had
a far more difficult time
imposing its rule over local
inhabitants. The conflict de-
generated into a guerrilla
war for which the Italians
were not prepared and which
dragged on for decades. Hos-
tilities ceased only when the
Allies drove the Italians from
the country during
World War II.
A Box of Sand is the
first English-language
study of a conflict that
set the stage for World
War I as well as much
of the current politi-
cal situation in Libya.
It is a must for students of
military history, particularly
events in the present-day
Middle East and North Africa.
—Robert Guttman
Marshal Joffre: The
Triumphs, Failures and
Controversies of France’s
Commander in Chief in
the Great War, by André
Bourachot, translated
by Andrew Uffindell,
Pen and Sword, Barnsley,
U.K., 2014, $39.95
On July 28, 1911, the Jour-
nal officiel de la Republique
française published a decree
73
 ADVERTISEMENT

Perfect Choice HD™ is simple to use, hard to see and easy to afford…

Invention of the Year

PERSONAL SOUND AMPLIFICATION PRODUCTS (PSAPs)

THEY’RE NOT HEARING AIDS

Personal Sound Amplification Products use advanced digital processing
to amplify the frequencies of human speech. Thanks to the efforts
of a doctor who leads a renowned hearing institute, this product is
manufactured in an efficient production process that enables us to
make it available at an affordable price.
Call now toll free for
the lowest price ever.
The unit is small and lightweight enough to hide behind your ear... only
you’ll know you have it on. It’s comfortable and won’t make you feel like
you have something stuck in your ear. It provides high quality audio so
1-866-752-5239
soft sounds and distant conversations will be easier to understand. Please mention promotional code 60656.
™
Need an extra volume boost? Try Perfect Choice HD for yourself with 1998 Ruffin Mill Road,
our exclusive home trial. Colonial Heights, VA 23834

WEIGHT Less than 1 ounce

SOUND QUALITY Excellent: Optimized for speech
FITTING REQUIRED? No
ONE-ON-ONE SETUP Free
81016

RETURN POLICY 60 Days

Reviews
appointing as chief of the
French General Staff Joseph
Joffre, 59. He immediately
became commander in chief
designate of the French ar-
mies as well, meaning he
would command in the event
of war. It was the first and
last time an engineer officer
held such a high position of
responsibility. Bourachot, an
expert on French army his-
tory and himself a former en-
gineer in chief, examines the
period from Joffre’s assump-
tion of command until 1916,
the year of his disgrace.
In the war’s eventful first
month Joffre was forced to
deal with a lack of unity of
command among the French
army, Belgian army and Brit-
ish Expeditionary Force, as
well as the complete absence
of useful intelligence on the
real intentions of the German
army. Examining the subse-
quent dispute between Joffre
and General Joseph Gal-
lieni over who was the prin-
cipal agent of victory in the
First Battle of the Marne, the
author concludes
without question
that it was Joffre.
Bourachot de-
fends Joffre against
the accusation he
left the Verdun sec-
tor unprepared,
pointing out he had
already reinforced Verdun
with six divisions before the
Germans launched their
offensive. Marshal Joffre
should provide scholars of
World War I plenty of ma-
terial over which to mull
and debate, along with some
satisfying answers.
—Thomas Zacharis
Secret Warriors: The
Spies, Scientists and Code
Breakers of World War I,
by Taylor Downing, Pegasus
Books, New York, $28.95
British TV producer and
writer Downing argues per-
suasively that almost every
significant modern-
day military advance
originated in 1914
and, less persua-
sively, largely in Brit-
ain. His book focuses
on advances in code
breaking, aviation,
communication,
medicine and weapons.
Six hours after the dec-
laration of World War I a
British ship cut Germany’s
undersea cables. That left
radio as its only means of
overseas communication,
and the British could listen
in. Those familiar with the
World War II Bletchley Park
geniuses may not realize
Britain did even better in
World War I, deciphering
most German transmissions
from the outset.
Although dog-
fights dominated
headlines, recon-
naissance was the
airplane’s leading
wartime contribu-
tion. No reader will
be surprised that
early airmen recognized the
import of strategic bombing.
Had the war continued, Brit-
ain would have introduced
a four-engine bomber, the
Handley-Page V/1500, which
could carry a heavier payload
than a World War II B-17.
Holding the traditional
military view of journalists
as a nuisance, the British RECOMMENDED
War Office banned reporters
from the front. It was 1915
before five reporters and a
few photographers got near
the fighting. This included
two cinematographers,
whose 100-pound camera
produced mostly bland
scenes of soldiers
marching and artil-
lery firing. The fa- The Handy Military History
miliar clips of troops Answer Book, by Samuel
Willard Crompton
going “over the top”
Considering the course
were staged. of military history,
World War I was Crompton explores the
the first recorded pivotal conflicts and
the strategies, politics
conflict in which and weaponry that
more soldiers died from determined their out-
combat wounds than dis- come. With more than
1,400 snapshots in a
ease. Sanitation and anti- question-and-answer
sepsis saved many lives, but format, the book is
Downing also addresses an excellent reference,
with short, digestible
dazzling advances in sur- answers and surprising
gery and the organization trivia for military histo-
of an efficient military med- rians of any level.
ical service. The high com-
mand at first tolerated a
sympathetic treatment of
“shell shock” (aka post-
traumatic stress disorder),
but disturbed at the loss of
so many men, it ultimately
cracked down. Oddly, the
rate of recovery seemed
little different.
Discussing iconic weap-
ons, Downing gives poison
gas, artillery and the ma- Men of War,
by Alexander Rose
chine gun their due but
Seeking to answer one
points out that the hand question, What is it like
grenade became essential being in a battle? Rose
in trench warfare, and that studies Bunker Hill,
Gettysburg and Iwo
the tank was a game changer. Jima, drawing from
Readers bored by the de- firsthand accounts to
bate over which was the first relate American sol-
diers’ experience before,
modern war will enjoy this during and after war.
skillful history and likely Deviating from strate-
agree that World War I de- gic analysis, he offers a
rare peek into the mind
serves that distinction. of the common soldier.
—Mike Oppenheim
75
 Hallowed Ground
River Vale, New Jersey
By Robert Guttman

I
t must have been terrifying. One moment the 3rd Conti-
nental Light Dragoons were resting peacefully in what
they had assumed was friendly territory, and the next
they awoke to plunging bayonets and screaming in the
early morning hours of Sept. 27, 1778. The attack took
place amid the houses and barns of the Blauvelt and
Haring families in a northern New Jersey village then known
as Overkill—the ominous-sounding name merely signifying
a place with a bridge over de kille (Middle Dutch for “over
the channel”). The village is known today as River Vale.
British Maj. Gen. Charles
“No Flint” Grey had his
men remove the flints
from their muskets
to ensure surprise in
The troops under attack that night, com-
manded by Colonel George Baylor, were from a
somewhat elite Virginia regiment that had pre-
viously served as escort to Martha Washington.
That September, however, the dragoons were
some 260 miles from home, having been posted
to duty in the Hudson Valley region. They must
have considered the region somewhat foreign,
as many of the residents still spoke Dutch.
The early morning assault by the British
was a sideshow, meant to divert attention
from an attack elsewhere in New Jersey. Carry-
ing out the raid were some 650 British infan-
trymen under Maj. Gen. Charles “No Flint”
Grey, an officer experienced in night attacks.
In fact, his peculiar nickname derived from
his practice of having his men remove the
flints from their muskets and use only bayo-
nets during night raids, ensuring none of them
could accidentally fire his weapon and give
away the attack. Using this tactic a year earlier
against 2,500 Continental troops under Brig.
Gen. “Mad Anthony” Wayne, bedded down
near Paoli Tavern (present-day Malvern, Pa.)
on the evening of Sept. 20, 1777, Grey’s troops
had killed 53 Patriots, wounded 113 and taken 71 prisoner

RIGHT: FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF THE BERGEN COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

at a cost of four British dead and seven wounded. Grey
LEFT: ANNE S.K. BROWN MILITARY COLLECTION, BROWN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY;
the night attack on
used the identical tactic against Baylor’s dragoons, and
dragoons at River Vale.
it proved just as effective.
Heavily outnumbered and literally caught sleeping,
Baylor’s dragoons succumbed quickly with little opportu-
nity to offer resistance. Of the unit’s 116 members, 11 were
killed outright, four were mortally wounded, and 54 were
captured. Baylor himself took a bayonet through the lung
and was captured, though later released. He returned to
combat and ended the war as a brigadier general, but he never
recovered from his wound and died in convalescence in 1784.
J U LY 2 0 1 5

While the engagement was a success for the British, it was

a disastrous embarrassment for the Americans. As they had

76 MILITARY HISTORY
after their defeat at Paoli, they labeled the Overkill raid
a massacre. It is still referred to as the “Baylor Massacre”
despite the relatively low death toll. Ironically, less than a
year later, on July 16, 1779, Wayne—perhaps in payback
for, or emulation of, Paoli—employed similar tactics in a
successful night attack on the British fortified position at
Stony Point, N.Y., just up the Hudson from Overkill.
Tradition held that local militiamen had hastily buried
some of Baylor’s dead on-site, prompting local historian
Thomas Demarest to research the incident. In 1967 he per-
suaded the county to fund an archaeological dig at the former
site of a tannery on the Blauvelt farm. There diggers unearthed
the skeletal remains of six Continental dragoons in aban-
doned tanning vats capped by an old millstone. Metal buttons
In 1967 an archaeological team unearthed the skeletal
remains of six of Colonel George Baylor’s dragoons from a
makeshift grave near the massacre site on the Blauvelt farm.
and other artifacts found positively identified the dead as
members of B Troop, 3rd Continental Light Dragoons.
When development threatened the massacre site in 1972,
the Bergen County Board of Chosen Freeholders bought the
property and transformed it into a park. There, in a quiet,
wooded glade beside the Hackensack River, the freeholders
had the remains of the six Virginia soldiers reinterred. Along-
side the grave stands the millstone that had capped their
makeshift burial site. What had been their only marker for
nearly two centuries now serves as a simple memorial. MH
77
 Affordable Luxury
with the Latest
Walk-In Jacuzzi®
Jacuzzi Walk-In Tub
®

Call Toll Free NOW

Ask how you can get a FREE $200 gift
1-888-672-6362
Call now Toll-Free and mention your

81351
special promotion code 60936.

Civil War • WWI • WWII

Korea • Vietnam & beyond
Real War Photos, P.O. Box 414,
Somerset Center, MI 49282

 




 


 


SPECIAL EVENTS
7/13TH ARTILLERY (VIETNAM) Item:
REUNION ALL RED DRAGON W2D5
www.treefrogtreasures.com $149.99
BATTERIES Gettysburg, PA, 9/27/15 - Email: sales@treefrogtreasures.com set
10/2/15 at Gettysburg Wyndham Hotel. US (toll free): 1-866-394-2418
Intl: 1-507-545-2500
Call Robert Adams 859-806-5199 or Jon 248 Sandstone Dr. NW, To Order Today! MH507A
Eyota MN 55934 United States Go Online: HistoryNetShop.com
Taylor 603-677-6570. FREE SHIPPING on international orders $250
or more and within the US $50 or more Or Call: 1-800-358-6327

For information on placing a Direct Response or Marketplace ad in Print and Online contact us today:
Military History (800) 649-9800 • Fax: (800) 649-6712 mih@russelljohns.com • www.russelljohns.com
 War Games
Arab-Israeli Arms
Modern-day Arabs and Israelis first
clashed in 1948–49 with some of the
following weapons. Recognize any?
____ A. Czech-made MG 34 (Israel)
____ B. Hotchkiss H39 (Israel)
____ C. Bren light machine gun (Arabs)
____ D. Avia S-199 (Israel)
Men of Noble Service
____ E. Renault FT-17 (Lebanon)
English knight William Marshal had
____ F. M3A1 Scout Car (Israel) martial colleagues of comparable valor
____ G. M22 Locust (Egypt) and loyalty. Know ye these men?
____ H. Marmon-Herrington Mk IVF 1. In the service of which Muslim
(Lebanon) kingdom did Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar
earn the legendary moniker El Cid
1 (“The Lord”)?
A. Zaragoza B. Leon
To the Last Man
C. Aragon D. Andalusia
Match the wartime massacre (or
LEFT TO RIGHT: TOMBSTONE ON THE LITTLE BIGHORN BATTLEFIELD: NATIONAL PARK SERVICE; MATCHING: BLUEPRINTS.COM; EL CID BUST IN THE PLAZA DE ESPANA: ISTOCK/THINKSTOCK

so-called massacre) to the number 2. Who was appointed guardian and

of people who perished in it. protector of Scotland in 1297?
3 A. Andrew Moray
1. Béziers, 1209 2
B. William Wallace
2. Drogheda, 1649
C. Robert the Bruce
3. Boston, 1770
D. William Douglas
4. Paoli, 1777
5. Fort Pillow, 1864 4 3. Who attained martial renown for
the defense of Hennebont in 1342?
6. Little Bighorn, 1876
A. Jean I de Montfort
7. Khartoum, 1884
B. Charles de Blois
8. Frog Lake, 1885
C. Joanna of Flanders
9. Odessa, 1941 D. Bertrand du Guesclin
10. Srebrenica, 1995
4. How many Spanish knights did
____ A. 53 5 Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard,
single-handedly defeat at
____ B. 268 Garigliano Bridge in 1503?
6
____ C. 11,000 A. 50 B. 100
____ D. 3,552 C. 200 D. 500
____ E. 25,000 5. After the 47 Ronin avenged their
____ F. 8,372 slain lord in 1703, what did they do?
A. Laid Kira Yoshinaka’s head at
____ G. 20,000
7 8 Asano Naganori’s grave
____ H. 9 B. Turned themselves in to the shogun
____ I. 277+ C. All but one committed seppuku
____ J. 5 D. All of the above
Answers: A4, B6, C7, D2, E9, F10, G1, H8, I5, J3 Answers: A2, B8, C4, D1, E5, F6, G7, H3 Answers: A, B, C, C, D

79
 Captured!
J U LY 2 0 1 5

80 MILITARY HISTORY