Norwich Museums

 I was in Norwich today, I think for the first time, to give a talk about the Cyprus conflict. With a couple of hours to spare, I headed for the castle and its museum.

The original castle was built by the Normans after 1066, and then strengthened throughout the Middle Ages. It is on a steep mound in the centre of the city, and became the local prison. From the outside, it looks more like a prison than a typical medieval castle.

The interior has been renovated to restore the main floors to their medieval original state. 

The rest of the castle is now used as the regional museum. Taking the story of the Iceni, Romans, Saxons and Vikings up to the Norman conquest.

The Royal Norfolk Regimental Museum is also in the castle. There are just a few display cases, but they feature some interesting items. These include a beaded snake made by a Turkish PoW, something I have seen before, but I can't recall where. The Norfolks did a tour of Cyprus, so those exhibits came in handy.

I was impressed with the city centre and found two good secondhand bookshops and a fine memorial to Edith Cavell, who hails from these parts.

After my talk, I headed out to the airport and the Aviation Heritage Museum. The star turn is the Vulcan, but they also have a Lightning, Meteor, Jaguar, Nimrod, Hunter, T33 and more, as well as civilian aircraft. They also have displays covering the region's flight heritage.

This Lockheed T-33 was on its way to the Turkish Air Force when its engine failed.

The Nimrod is huge.

There is also a tank museum outside the city, but it was closed today.

On the way back to my hotel, I broke my journey at Castle Rising, near King's Lynn. This is an imposing castle that was once owned by Bishop Odo, the brother of the Conqueror. Massive mounds and ditches surround the site, and the keep is in decent condition. 

I had dinner in King's Lynn, which has a fascinating history, particularly during the Civil War.

Lincolnshire Aviation

I am in the east of England this week, part of the country I am not familiar with. A couple of days golf with old pals, two book talks and footie on Sunday. With time to spare today, I drove up to Lincolnshire to visit some museums and castles.

Lincolnshire is dotted with airfields, a legacy of the World War II bomber bases. Handy for the bomber offensive against Nazi Germany, and it's flat. My first stop was RAF Coningsby, home of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. These are the WW2 aircraft you see at air shows and major events, flown by RAF pilots. You can visit the hangar with a guided tour. These are volunteers, and ours was a fountain of knowledge. I expected a quick visit, but the tour took two hours and was well worth the time.

There is a small exhibition area and shop.

Then over to the hangar and the aircraft.

RAF Coningsby is one of two RAF Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Stations which protect UK airspace. RAF Lossiemouth is the other. It is home to two frontline, combat-ready squadrons and is the training station for Typhoon pilots. There was a major exercise going on today, and Typhoons were regularly taking off and landing. They have a spectacular short take-off routine, with aircraft taking off almost vertically after leaving the runway.

Next stop was the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Museum. Situated on another nearby airfield, the buildings are filled with aircraft memorabilia, often rescued from the surrounding area. The star attraction is a Lancaster bomber that doesn't fly, but can taxi around the site. They also have a Mosquito and a Mitchell. 

It would be rude not to visit the nearby castles. Tattersall is a rare (for the UK) brick-built castle. There was an earlier stone castle, but it was rebuilt by Lord Cromwell in 1434. The keep is well preserved, and the site is surrounded by a brick-built moat. There is also a huge church. You can watch Typhoons taking off from Coningsby from the roof.

Finally, a quick look at Bolingbroke Castle. This was a major fortress, but there is not much left after the Roundheads wrecked it, and the locals pinched the stones.

Rebellion Against Henry III - The Disinherited Montfortians

The Barons' Wars have been a popular period for wargamers in recent years, with playable rules and figure ranges. While I am pretty familiar with these wars and Simon de Montfort, my knowledge tends to come to a halt after the Battle of Evesham in 1265. A battlefield that is well worth a visit. David Pilling's book, Rebellion Against Henry III: The Disinherited Montfortians 1265-1274, opens up a whole new chapter of the conflict, for me at least. 

After Evesham, Henry disinherited the supporters of Simon de Montfort, rewarding his own supporters with their estates. This drove the Montfortians into guerrilla warfare, utilising large areas of woodland, such as Sherwood Forest, or fenlands like the Fens around Ely. Eventually, Henry and his son Edward were forced to compromise through the Dictum of Kenilworth. This allowed the rebels to buy back their lands. 

There wasn't always a coordinated resistance from the Disinherited. They often had different motivations and adopted other tactics. The book covers all the leading players and their actions. Many were unattractive characters, even by the standards of the era. However, their resilience and determination are worthy of remembrance. 

Some, like Sir John Deyville, came from a family with a long history of rebellion. When the Montfort base in Kenilworth was eventually captured, the resistance relocated to Ely and the Fens. The disinherited generally avoided being couped up in castles, as a long siege without the prospects of relief was not a sound option, given the Royalist superiority in numbers. When they held castles, a common tactic was to leave a small garrison while keeping the main force nearby. This copied English tactics in Gascony and Welsh revolts. For example, Kenilworth was held with a modest garrison, while the main force relocated to the isle of Axholme, from where they could attack the besiegers and plunder their lands.

Even Henry's allies on paper could quietly engage in negotiations with rebel groups. The Duke of Gloucester is just one example. All of this had a devastating impact on the English economy, with tax revenues in 1267 at less than a third of those in 1260. 1267 saw a general peace, but the conflict broke out again in 1272. While Edward was on the Crusade, old divisions reopened. When he returned after Henry's death, he defeated some of the rebels and passed the Statute of Westminster in 1275. This crackdown on abuses of local administration and royal authority helped to bring about a wider peace.

One interesting case study in the book relates to the story of Robin Hood. This is traditionally attributed to the reign of Richard I during his Crusade. However, some historians link the story to that of the Disinherited. Sherwood Forest was certainly the base for Disinherited knights like John Deyville and Roger Godberd. The stories of their actions bear a striking resemblance to those of Robin Hood.

For wargamers, this period presents numerous opportunities for games using Lion Rampant. I don't play Barons War, but that would also work.

The Volga

 My non-fiction holiday reading was Janet Hartley's, The Volga, A History of Russia's Greatest River. 

The Volga is the longest river in Europe. It flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of 3,531 km (2,194 mi), and a catchment area of 1,360,000 km2 (530,000 sq mi). It has a rich history, which the author captures well in this book.

The author begins with the early history of the Volga, which has been inhabited since prehistoric times. In antiquity, it was a key route for trade and cultural exchange between the Vikings, Slavs, and other peoples. The early Slavs settled along the river, utilising it for transportation and fishing. During the Middle Ages, the Volga became an important part of the Russian principalities. It facilitated trade with the Vikings and Persians, and the city of Volgograd (formerly Tsaritsyn) grew as a strategic trading hub.

In the 16th century, the river's significance increased with the expansion of the Russian state. It served as a major artery for commerce, particularly in the trade of salt, grain, and minerals. The construction of cities like Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan along the Volga boosted its economic importance. This also involved significant conflict as the Russian state colonised the huge territory on both sides of the river. There were also religious differences between the Orthodox Church, which sought to convert the Old Believers, and the Tatar tribes, which were mainly Islamic. This is not simply a narrative history; she also covers the way of life in towns and villages along the river.

The Volga played a key role in the Civil War that followed the Bolshevik Revolution. In the 20th century, large-scale infrastructure projects, including the construction of the Volga-Don Canal and numerous hydroelectric dams, significantly transformed the river's landscape. These developments supported industrial growth and energy production. Probably the most famous battle of WW2, Stalingrad, is on the Volga. Today, the Volga remains crucial for Russia’s transportation, industry, and energy sectors. Sadly, pollution and damming have posed significant environmental challenges, prompting efforts to conserve the environment.

This is a fascinating study of an important feature of Russian history, its rivers. Not a quick read, but well worth the effort.

I was going to insert some Cossacks, but the Tatars were much more important, and are still a significant minority community along the river today.

Lieutenant Douglas SAS Series

My holiday fiction reading consisted of Douglas Jackson's series of six novels, which chronicle the exploits of an SAS officer during World War II. There is currently a Kindle deal on Amazon for £1.99. 

This is ideal holiday reading. Each book is relatively short and requires little effort. Old school action fiction is the best description I can give.

Douglas is a tank officer, fighting in the desert war, when he is recruited into the SAS. The first volume starts just before the Battle of El Alamein, with our hero being inducted into the ways of the SAS. He takes part in the typical SAS raids against airfields behind enemy lines. This is Rogue Heroes in print, except that Douglas is a bit more sane. He is also drawn into a relationship with a British nurse who turns out to be a German spy. All very much in The Key to Rebecca territory. The action shifts to Tunisia, where his team targets the German command HQ. There is also a parallel story with a team of German Brandenburgers who clash with Douglas's team in most volumes.

The next volume sees Douglas being landed in Yugoslavia to make contact with Tito. Needless to say, this was my favourite. He arrives just as one of the major German offensives starts against the partisans. Fighting across rivers, over mountains, etc. There are a couple of historical errors here; the worst is placing the Serbian collaborationist government led by Nedic in Croatia!

The third story takes his team into occupied France to destroy a Luftwaffe squadron using glider bombs to attack Allied convoys. Here, he meets the inevitable stunning female SOE agent, and a relationship that continues for the rest of the series.

The fourth story involves attacking a secret nerve gas research establishment near Penamunde. This is where the storyline becomes a bit too far-fetched, but needless to say, our hero pulls it off and even manages to whisk the evil SS scientist away. Only for the Russians to pinch him.

In the fifth book, Douglas is tasked with assassinating Rommel just before D-Day. The basic premise here is fine. However, an SOE operative goes with his team, who not only knows the planned date and landing beaches, but also about the plot to kill Hitler. Even worse, this operative tells Douglas all this. It is just like Overlord security didn't matter a jot!

The final book is a joint SAS/US Ranger operation to destroy a German atomic bomb research site. In this version of history, the Germans are ahead of the Allies and have a bomb and aircraft ready to bomb New York. Needless to say, the parallel Brandenburgers meet up, and all is well. We like a 'good' German ending.

If all this sounds a bit too far-fetched, even for fiction - well, it is. However, if you can put your historical sensitivities to one side while lounging on the beach, then this is fast-paced boys' own adventure writing at its best.  At this price, you can't go far wrong.

Byzantine defences of Corfu

 We hired a car on Saturday to explore the island. The roads on Corfu are in reasonable condition, if narrow in places. The terrain is hilly, so travel times are slow. The biggest challenge is the poor mobile phone coverage and the limited traffic signs. Mrs Google took us on some unwanted diversions!

We started at the Ioannis Kapodistrias Museum, which is in the hills not far from our hotel. He was a 19th-century Greek statesman, politician, and diplomat, and the first governor of Greece after the war of independence. He was born in Corfu, although his family originates from the city of Capodistria (also called Koper) in Slovenia. He served in the Septinsular Republic after the Russians and Ottomans defeated the French on Corfu in 1799.  When the French returned, he entered the Russian diplomatic service, serving throughout Europe. In 1827, the newly formed Greek National Assembly elected him as the first head of state. Greek politics was severely split, and he was assassinated in 1831. It is a small but fascinating museum in one of the family's former homes.

The primary focus of the day was to visit the Byzantine castles, which were built to defend the island.

Outwith Corfu Town, there were three. The best is Kassiopi, a lovely fishing village located at the northeast tip of the island, just over the Corfu Channel from Albania. The first Byzantine castle may have been built in the 6th century AD, but the walls today are likely from a later period. It is a short walk up from the harbour to the entrance gate and walls. Nothing much is left of the interior. The Venetians made little use of it until the 18th century.

Our next stop was going to be Angelokastro on the north west coast, but this was where Google, or to be fair, the signal coverage, sent us on a diversion, so we only saw it from a distance. It was probably built after 1214 by Michael II Komnenos and was named after his father, Angelokastro. 

The final stop was Gardiki, in the south of the island. It was probably built either by Michael I Komnenos or his son Michael II Komnenos, rulers of the Despotate of Epirus in the 13th century, as part of their triangular defence of the island. It is built on a low hill, although overlooked by the nearby village, which seems a bit strange. It would have been fairly useless in the era of gunpowder. The outer walls are in reasonable condition, but nothing of the interior remains.

The Normans captured the island twice. First, in 1081, when Robert Guiscard captured the island to secure a base for his campaign against the Byzantine Empire. Roger II of Sicily returned to take the island in 1147 and held it for two years. Kassiopi was handy, with its small harbour and strategic position opposite Albania. This is the Corfu Channel with Albania in the background.

It wasn't the best castle hunt I have done, but they are worth a look. Anything to do with the Normans in the Balkans is good for me. This book by Georgios Theotokis effectively covers the campaigns. 

Central European Wars 1918–21

 I love obscure wars, and a new Osprey, Central European Wars 1918–21, by Philip Jowett, certainly hits the mark.

The hastily raised armies that emerged from the demise of the Habsburg Empire were soon fighting each other for control of territory and to defend their own borders. All these armies were desperately short of the necessities of war, including uniforms, equipment and weaponry. This book covers the scratch forces assembled by Romania, Hungary, Austria, Serbia, and Czechoslovakia. 

These were often short border wars, largely forgotten today. The Carinithian War started as a Slovene insurgency aimed at bringing the region into the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which was to become Serbian-dominated Yugoslavia. Serbian troops got involved in the fighting in April 1919 after an earlier ceasefire ended. As they launched the first of two offensives against the Austrians, the Entente powers intervened, and a plebiscite was held, which determined that the region would remain in Austria.

Romania invaded Hungary and even occupied Budapest, although the war aim was to secure Transylvania.  Hungary was itself engaged in a civil war between left and right-wing forces, with Admiral Horthy's White forces defeating the Communist Government. 

The Polish–Czechoslovak War was fought for just seven days over a region of southeastern Silesia on the border between the newly established states of Poland and Czechoslovakia. The disputed region had a mixed population of Czechs, Poles, Germans, Silesians and Jews, who lived in relative peace before 1919. Poland was preoccupied with a separate conflict with Ukraine, and the region was subsequently incorporated into Czechoslovakia.

The Czechoslovak Republic then addressed the disputed territories around its borders and claimed rights over Slovakia and Subcarpathian Ruthenia, which were part of Hungary. There were smaller conflicts in Burgenland, allocated to Austria. Most of these disputes arose from the provisions of the Treaty of Trianon, which largely remain the current boundaries of Hungary.

For wargamers with WW1 armies, these conflicts are relatively easy to replicate on the tabletop, aided by the colour plates in this book. The uniforms and equipment were essentially the same as in WW1, with changed unit names. French equipment was also commonplace. Some can be played as skirmish games, although the Hungarian wars involved large numbers of troops.

Some of my 28mm Austro-Hungarian figures

The Defences of Corfu Town

 I wrote a bit about the Ionian islands, and Corfu in particular, in my book, The Frontier Sea: The Napoleonic Wars in the Adriatic. However, this is the first time I have visited them, the only part of the Adriatic coast I haven't been to before.

The ancient name for Corfu was Corcyra. It was a significant ancient Greek city-state, renowned for its powerful navy and its pivotal role in trade and politics. This is commemorated in the archaeological museum in Corfu Town, which houses a collection of artefacts from the period, including those from the Roman occupation. 

During the Byzantine period, the island was part of a naval theme, although this didn't prevent the Goths from sacking the town. The Normans also used it as a staging post for their invasion of the Empire. The Byzantines built several castles, including one that is now located within the Old Fortress you can see today.

The Venetians had the most significant impact on the island when they took control around 1400. They developed the fortifications you can see today, including the Old Fortress and the New Fortress, built to defend the harbour. You have to visit to understand the strength of these fortifications. The outer walls are strong enough, but they are followed by two more with a moat and ditch, before you even face the citadel.

The fortifications withstood several Ottoman sieges, with the most notable ones occurring in 1537 and 1716. 

This is the view of the town from the top of the old fortress, with the new fortress rising above the port.

The French Republic gained Corfu as part of its capture of Venice. Napoleon wrote in his diary, ‘I think that henceforth the chief maxim of the French Republic should be never to give up Corfu, Zante, etc....With Malta and Corfu we should soon be masters of the Mediterranean.’ Writing to his brother Joseph, then King of Naples, he said, ‘Corfu is so important to me that its loss would deal a fatal blow to my plans. The Adriatic would be closed, and your kingdom would have on its left flank a port where the enemy could assemble to attack you. You must regard it as more valuable than Sicily. Mark my words: in the current situation in Europe the worst misfortune that can happen to me is to lose Corfu.’

It was the Russians with rare Ottoman support that eventually took the fortress. There are two small islands off the town, and they used Vido as a base for the final attack. A bombardment by eight hundred naval guns killed one-third of the six hundred French defenders and destroyed all their artillery. This was followed by the landing of 1,000 Russian troops in the north and 1,000 Ottoman soldiers in the west. Even though the attacks on the main fortress had failed, the French were short of supplies and asked for terms, which included their repatriation to Toulon. The siege is dramatised in the Russian 1953 film, Korabli shturmuyut bastion (Attack from the Sea), which I recommend watching on YouTube.

The Russians lost interest in the Mediterranean, and the islands reverted to French control. The British started an island-hopping campaign in 1810 but stopped short of Corfu. The British assessment of Corfu was that ‘French engineering during the last three years has rendered the fortress of Corfu impregnable to every power in Europe but Great Britain owing to her naval superiority.’ It would take a force of four or five thousand to capture it, which was not available.

The French abandoned Corfu in 1814, and the British took over as a protectorate, rather than a colony. They improved the defences during their fifty-year stay, before handing it over to the Greek Republic in 1864. There are graves of British troops from this period in the CWGC cemetery.

The British were back in WW1, as I covered in the last blog. The Italians and Germans occupied the island in WW2, and Vido Island was used as a concentration camp. 

In summary, while the island has had many different occupiers, few have managed to capture the fortresses of Corfu Town.