Why So Many Western Covert Operations Have Failed Since World War II

Shots in the Dark – Why So Many Western Covert Operations Have Failed Since WW2

 

A Great read both from a historical point of view and practical, Civilian Operator POV on the RELEVANCE of Guerilla Warfare in the 21st Century.

You have to Understand the Lessons of History in order not to repeat the mistakes of the past….this is why every Warrior needs to be a Scholar and Historian FIRST!

Read this article twice and look up the links and read about them…this is a study worthy of your time I promise you.

Stay Alert, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!

 

World War Two History: The Nazi’s Plan To Grab Gibraltar

“Even before France had fallen, Hitler’s generals lobbied the German leader for permission to roll on into Spain and wrest control of Gibraltar from the British.”

SHORTLY AFTER THE defeat of France in 1940, Adolf Hitler directed his generals to begin preparations for Nazi Germany’s next bold plan — the seizure of Gibraltar.

Few in Berlin doubted the ultimate success of the operation, codenamed Felix. After nearly a year of uninterrupted military triumphs, it seemed a safe bet that the swastika would soon be flying over Britain’s enclave in southern Spain. Of course, events unfolded very differently.

Fortress Gibraltar

Located on the north shore of the eight-mile strait that separates Europe from Africa, the 2.6-square mile Gibraltar peninsula is dominated by a 1,300-foot tall mountain known simply as “the Rock.” Britain has controlled the vital outpost that commands the narrow waterway linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean since the 1701 to 1714 War of Spanish Succession.

Home to a Royal Navy fleet as well a sizeable RAF presence, the Gibraltar station represented a key link in a chain of bases that connected the United Kingdom to its vast Empire in the east. When war broke out in 1939, the tiny territory became a strongpoint from which the Allies could challenge any Nazi moves into the Western Med and even the South Atlantic.

Even before France’s capitulation, Hitler’s generals lobbied the German leader for permission to roll on into Spain and wrest control of Gibraltar from the British. In fact, the Third Reich’s most senior military commander, Reichsmarshal Hermann Goering, had been pressing the Fuhrer all summer to shelve plans to invade the U.K., known asOperation Sea Lion, and grab Gibraltar as a prelude to a thrust into North Africa. With the crucial straits closed to Allied shipping, the Luftwaffe chief argued, access to the Suez, the Middle East, and even India would be effectively cut off, driving yet another nail into Britain’s coffin. By summer’s end, the Fuhrer was convinced. And while plans would proceed against the British Isles, Operation Felix would go ahead as well.

 Read the Remainder at Military History Now

Middle Ages History: The Battle of Bouvines

Although not as famous as Hastings, Crécy or Agincourt, the 1214 Battle of Bouvines would have far-reaching consequences. In fact, the little-known clash indirectly contributed to the rise of modern-day constitutional democracy.

A fighting bishop unhorses and captures a royal bastard in an obscure medieval battle and in one swift blow changes European history for centuries. The event leads to the downfall of an emperor and a king and brings new justice to the whole world.

 

WHEN THE CRUSADER clergyman Philip of Dreux went to war for his king in 1214, he expected merely to kill a few Englishmen. Instead, the ringing blows he struck with his heavy mace on the helmet of William Longsword, the Third Earl of Salisbury echoed down through the centuries. They still resonate today.

The obscure yet momentous event occurred at the Battle of Bouvines. The stunned English earl crumpled to the ground under Philip’s wallops and was swiftly captured. Demoralized at the sight of their felled lord, the English soldiers fled, leaving their entire army’s right flank exposed and and tipping the battle in France’s favour. The resulting rout set off a chain of events that would change European and ultimately world history.

Read the Remainder at Military History Now

 

World War Two History: Hitler’s Foreign Legions

For those of you that enjoy WW2 Historical Fiction, check out the book ‘The Last Citadel’ by David L. Robbins. It is about a Spanish Tiger Tank Unit that fought for the Nazi’s on the Eastern Front during the famous Battle of Kursk. -SF

“Hundreds of thousands of foreign troops flocked to Nazi Germany to fight in World War Two. Known as Freiwillige or “volunteers,” they came from a surprisingly diverse array of nations.”

IT WAS IN the bombed-out ruins of the Berlin, just a few hundred meters from Hitler’s notorious Führerbunker, that the dying Third Reich decorated one of its last (and most unlikely ) heroes.

On April 29, 1945, a SS general by the name of Wilhelm Mohnke took advantage a lull in the savage street-to-street fighting to award a Knight’s Cross to the commander of one particularly stubborn band of soldiers.

Henri Joseph Fenet, a 25-year-old veteran of the Eastern Front, had won the prestigious commendation for his unit’s destruction of more than 50 Soviet tanks over the preceding five days. Facing certain defeat, Fenet and his comrades were determined to fight to the death rather than surrender. That’s because their unit, the 1^st Battalion of the 33rd Waffen Grenadiers, was part of the  SS Charlemagne Division, a unit comprised almost entirely pro-Nazi Frenchmen. Each member of the brigade had been branded a traitor by the Allies — each expected to be shot if captured.

The Charlemagne Division, which was formed in 1943 by fascist paramilitaries and collaborators from across France, boasted 7,000-soldiers at its peak; now less than 400 men remained. Ironically, turncoats like these would put up some of the stiffest resistance in the war’s final hours. The few French volunteers that did survive the conflict’s final inferno were captured by the Soviets and turned over to their countrymen for judgement; many were executed outright. Surprisingly, Fenet escaped a firing squad but was tried in 1949 and sentenced to 20 years hard labour. He earned his freedom in 1959 and became a small businessman. He died in Paris in 2002 at the age of 83.

Interestingly, hundreds of thousands of foreign troops flocked to Germany to fight under the Swastika in World War Two. Most were ardent nationalists who looked to the Nazis to liberate their homelands from the communists or Western imperialists. Others were motivated by racial hatreds. Some were simply enemy POWs who chose to enlist rather than spend the war in prison camps. Known as Freiwillige or “volunteers,” they came from a surprisingly diverse array of nations. Here are SOME examples:

Read the Remainder at Military History Now

Military History: Six Astounding 18th Century Rules of War

“Yes, the objective of any general is to defeat the enemy, but that doesn’t mean you should be a boor about it.”

Editor’s Introduction

THE GENEVA CONVENTION is in the news of late, thanks to Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump.

The bombastic billionaire-turned-politician has been taking aim at international lawsgoverning the use of military force, characterizing them as impediments to the war on terror.

His remarks, along with earlier vows to implement torture programs and order the killing of terrorists’ families if elected, have drawn fire from a gamut of former commanders.“The problem is we have… all sorts of rules and regulations, so the soldiers are afraid to fight,” Trump said during a campaign speech in Wisconsin last month.

Earlier this year, retired USAF general and CIA director Michael Hayden suggested that the U.S. military would likely ignore orders if a Trump White House directed the Pentagon commit war crimes.

“The armed forces would refuse to act,” he said in an interview on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher.

The continuing controversy has ignited discussions about both the Geneva Convention and the ‘rules of war’ in general.

Of course, laws governing the conduct of armies in the field are nothing new. As far back as the Old Testament, there have been attempts to regulate how combatants fight each other. Later during the Medieval period, the Code of Chivalry established the ‘proper’ way for knights to behave both on and off the battlefield. By the 18^th Century, a surprisingly comprehensive set of principles for commanders of armies emerged that instructed officers on how to fight like gentlemen. Military history writer Josh Proven of the site Adventures in Historyland explores some of these widely followed conventions, many of which may seem hard to believe to modern readers. Consider the following:

Don’t Make It Personal

During the wars of 18th Century Europe, it was usual for armies to campaign in set seasons — usually from March to September. With the onset of autumn, armies would go into winter quarters and many officers would head home. Some would have to cross long distances and oftentimes travel through enemy territory.In such cases, officers would apply to their foes for passes of safe conduct. Usually, their requests would be granted.

Even with a permission to travel, it could still be dangerous to move through hostile country. In fact, the Duke of Marlborough himself was once held up by enemy troops while making for home. Yet inconveniencing an enemy that had fallen into your hands was further seen as bad form. Marlborough was known for his chivalry. After capturingMarshal Tallard at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704, the duke offered up his own coach for the enemy commander to recuperate while he continued the battle.

Give Fair Warning

On May 11, 1745, the Duke of Cumberland‘s allied army engaged that of the French under Marshal de Saxe at the Battle of Fontenoy. As the coalition launched its attack against the French positions, the British 1st Foot Guards approached the enemy’s eliteGardes Françaises. Upon closing to within musket range, elegantly dressed officers from both sides walked out in front of their men and an exchange of hat doffing occurred. Lord Charles Hay was the first to speak.

“We are the English Guards, and we hope you will stand till we come up to you, and not swim the Scheldt as you did the Main at Dettingen,” he gibed, after which he invited the enemy to fire the first volley. “Gentlemen of the French Guards, fire,” he called. Comte d’Auteroche replied. “We never fire first; fire yourselves.” As it turned out, the French did let fly the first shots, after which the British closed advanced to within a few paces and delivered a devastating fusillade that killed or wounded as many as 700 enemy soldiers.

Don’t Be an Inconvenience

Yes, the objective of any general is to defeat the enemy, but that doesn’t mean you should be a boor about it. It did a general’s reputation no end of good if, during a long siege he displayed some sportsmanship. During the 1758 blockade of Louisbourg,General Geoffrey Amherst called several truces with the enemy commander, Chevalier de Drucourt. While offering the services of his doctor to tend the French wounded, it had come to Amherst’s attention that Madame Drucourt had been firing the fort’s guns at him in retaliation for British shot striking her quarters. Impressed, he offered his apologies and sent her some West Indian Pineapples to make amends. It was also entirely common for opposing commanders to keep up a lively correspondence in between battles and during sieges. The French were duly offered the Honours of War when they capitulated.

Read the Remainder at Military History Now