Stalin's War on Japan

 The Soviet Union's war with Japan is one of the less well-known aspects of the Second World War. I was drawn to the subject back in 2013 by a couple of books on The Nomonhan Incident of 1939 and built the armies in 15mm. The title is misleading because these were army level encounters between the Japanese Kwantung Army and the Soviets commanded by the as then relatively unknown Zhukov. The Japanese were defeated, suffering 25,000 casualties.

That conflict forms the starting point for Charles Stephenson's 'Stalin's War on Japan: The Red Army's Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation 1945. It is currently available as a Kindle book for a bargain price at £1.99.

The common understanding is that Stalin invaded the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo on 9 August 1945, 'scenting easy meat' as J.F.C Fuller described it. In fact, he was encouraged to do so by the Allies, who saw it as a way to weaken Japan and encourage an early surrender. As US Secretary Stimpson put it, 'Russian entry will have a profound military effect in that almost certainly it will materially shorten the war and thus save American lives.' He also understood that Stalin would only undertake the project if it suited his own ambitions in the region, mainly about undoing the losses suffered by Tsarist Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. Roosevelt was happy to concede these as a price worth paying, recognising that the US was in any case not in a position to stop him. The US did more than not stop him. They supplied him with many small warships, which played an important part in the naval operations, and lend-lease armoured vehicles pop up throughout the narrative.

The ill-defined border that caused the Nomonhan Incident continued as a cause of friction throughout the war. Soviet sources list 1,850 incidents between 1932 and 1945. Although the Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact of 13 April 1941 did reduce tension and allowed the Soviets to shift significant numbers of troops to face the Germans in the battles before Moscow later that year. 

Despite their commitments in the Pacific, by 1945 the purely Japanese Kwantung Army consisted of 713,000 personnel divided into thirty-one infantry divisions, plus nine independent infantry brigades, two tank brigades and one special purpose brigade. Equipment-wise, these forces possessed 1,155 light tanks, 5,360 guns and 1,800 aircraft. In addition, there were some 300,000 Manchukuoan troops ‘of questionable combat value, but capable of guarding lines of comunications and performing service duties.'

After this context, the author describes the Soviet battle plan based on the Russian/Soviet concept of maskirovka: the totality of measures taken to deceive an enemy. Many troops shifted from Germany thought they were going home, instead of being shifted the huge distances to the Far East. The offensive into Manchukuo was to be conducted across three active fronts amounting to some 2,700km. Together there would be nine major coordinated strikes aiming to penetrate to a maximum depth of around 800km. The object of the exercise, as the commander of the First Far Eastern Front, Marshal Kirill Meretskov, later put it, was to ‘cut the Kwantung Army into pieces’. 

Manchuria Operation map (Tazadeperladerivative work: Rowanwindwhistler)

This wasn't simply the Russian steamroller either. Infiltration tactics were extensively used to breakdown the Japanese fortifications, as well as bypassing them where possible. The tactical expertise learned in the war against Germany was deployed with lethal effect on an outdated Japanese army. However, the fortifications had a number of key weaknesses, primarily being situated too far forward with insufficient depth and camoflage. The Japanese doctrine of attack was the driver for this design. Soviet engineers played an important role, using innovative techniques to get through the terrain.

The terrain was horrendous with mountains, deserts, marshland and rivers to be crossed. High temperatures and water shortages were reported by many troops, 'The temperature was 40 Centigrade … The Shermans’ armor was like a burning skillet.' There was a type of thorn called the taiga. These prickly barriers could, literally, tear the clothes off inexperienced people in a few minutes and pierce the soles of boots. 

The book takes the reader through each of the stages of the offensive on each front. I am a big fan of David Glantz's work on Soviet campaigns, but the detail can be very hard work. Stephenson has made large scale and complex operations quite readable, with lots of interesting stories to break up the big picture. It was this campaign that featured the well known picture and models of the commander of the 11th Tank Regiment, Colonel Sueo Ikeda, waving a samurai sword and Japanese flag from the turret, during a counter attack.

On the impact of the offensive there are basically two schools of thought. Those who conclude that the Soviet invasion of Manchukuo was decisive in the Japanese surrender decision, and those who consider the nuclear attacks, particularly the first, were the more important. Either way, this is an excellent study of the campaign and its wider impact. Not least the Soviet Korean contingent that included a Captain Jin Zhi-cheng, history records him as Kim Il Sung. And the transfer of significant quantities of captured Japanese equipment to the Chinese Communist forces including 3,700 guns, mortars and grenade launchers, 600 tanks, 861 aircraft, about 1,200 machine guns, plus the contents of almost 680 military depots.  

This book was a good excuse to dust down my armies for the earlier conflict. The Japanese forces were little changed and the Soviets kept most of the earlier equipment. I really need some Shermans, DUKWs and T34s, but I'll try and restrain myself!

Japanese Infantry

Japanese HaGo tanks attacking Soviet infantry

Hellenic Navy during the Cyprus conflict 1974

 In 1974 Greek and Turkish troops did engage in Cyprus, but a direct war between the two countries was narrowly averted. The Greek military junta was undoubtedly prepared to go to war, but the military leaders argued that Greece could not win such a conflict. Even when the junta was replaced by the civilian leadership, there was a plan to reinforce the island by sea after the Turkish intervention, when it seemed clear that the Geneva peace conference would fail. Britain and the USA also worked hard to avoid a conflict between two NATO allies that would seriously affect NATO's southern flank. Greece left NATO and didn't rejoin until 1981 over perceived US support for Turkey during the Cyprus conflict.

The Hellenic and Turkish navies did not engage during the conflict, but they very nearly did. So, I have been building a Greek fleet to game 'what-if' scenarios. For example, early in the conflict, a Greek convoy assembled at Rhodes but was recalled. This intervention led to the friendly fire incident where Turkish aircraft sank the Turkish destroyer TCG Kocatepe, believing it to be a Greek ship. 

In 1974 the Hellenic Navy was equipped with similar US-supplied ships to the Turkish Navy. One of the factors that led to the Kocatepe incident. The last cruiser had been discarded in 1964, leaving destroyers as the major surface ships. There were six ex-US Fletcher Class ships, built in 1942-43 with four 5" guns, six 76mm AA guns and torpedos. They were also beginning to receive modernised WW2 destroyers, one of the Allen. M. Sumner Class and four Gearing Class. They also had four WW2 era ex-US Cannon Class destroyer escorts. The submarine fleet consisted of two ex-US Balao Class and one ex-US Tench Class upgraded to GUPPY configurations. Four modern submarines in the form of West German Type 209 were just completed, known as the Glavkos (Glafkos) Class in Greece. The Hellenic Navy also had a variety of landing ships, corvettes and MTBs.

Ex-US Fletcher Class, HS Velos, is now a museum ship (Picture Wikiwand)

Glavkos (Glafkos) Class submarine (Picture Hellenic Navy)

I decided to go for the Crete convoy scenario for the first tabletop encounter. On 14 August 1974, the Greeks asked Britain to provide air cover for a naval convoy (with a division of 10,000 troops) coming from Crete, as the Hellenic Air Force aircraft had insufficient range to cover such a convoy all the way to Cyprus. The British refused as it believed more Greek troops on the island would simply increase the risk of a direct conflict with the Turkish Army. The Greeks did consider a quick dash under cover of night, although given the distance involved (783km), the convoy would have to travel some of the journey in daylight, exposed to Turkish bombers. The Turkish Navy also had ships tasked with stopping such a convoy from reaching the island.

Unlike the Turks, the Hellenic Navy would have access to ports on the south of the island so could use a variety of ships to transport the troops. They are escorted by two Fletcher and two Gearing Class destroyers for this scenario. Three Greek submarines are also shadowing the convoy. The Turkish Air Force spots the convoy and has a limited opportunity to attack at long range during daylight. Three Turkish Navy Gearing Class destroyers with three submarines plot an interception course. 

The addition of submarine and surface warfare was a bigger test of the Naval Command rules I used last time. These fleets are essentially the WW2 era; even the modernisations are pre-missile age, so there was nothing too complex to handle. 

The Turkish airstrikes were not very effective. One landing ship crippled but the destroyer escorts survived. 

Surface fleet gunfire caused only limited damage, but the submarine attacks were devastating. Two destroyers on each side sink.

The next move results in another Greek destroyer being sunk by submarines. Time to head back to Crete!

The Naval Command rules were not too complex. Not sure I have understood the number of weapons firing, but otherwise they are playable.

Castle Campbell

 This week, it was our daughter's birthday, and part of the celebrations involved shopping. I managed to extricate myself from that joy to pop down the road to make my first castle visit of the year. I haven't been to Castle Campbell, in Dollar Glen near Stirling, for many years. It was called Castle Gloom when it was built in the 15th-century but became Castle Campbell when taken over by that family as their lowland pad, far from their lands in Argyll. The clan base is Inveraray Castle, although today's castle is an 18th-century castle-style house. The magnificently situated Kilchurn Castle is more representative of the period.

The castle is situated near the top of a glen, not as defensive as it may seem because it is overlooked by Gloom Hill, where I took this photo.

However, defence wasn't the primary purpose of this castle. Being near the royal castle at Stirling and not far from Edinburgh, it was where the Earl of Argyll would entertain and plot, safe from casual violence, if not a serious siege with gunpowder weapons.

The Campbell's were pretty good at plotting, and the eighth Earl became a Marquis in 1641. However, he later picked the wrong side, backing Cromwell and was executed for treason at the Restoration. The castle was burned in retaliation for hosting English troops, and while the family regained its status, including a dukedom in 1701, it was never restored as a family home.

The castle is significantly larger than the typical tower houses of the area. 

The original main hall

This was the site of the new main hall, sans burnt roof!

A model of the castle at its high point.

There is a fine view from the castle over the village of Dollar and this part of Clackmannanshire.

Operation Meghdoot - India's War in Siachen 1984-2020

 The Siachen conflict has to rate near the top in the list of pointless conflicts. Once described as 'two bald men fighting over a comb'. The highest battlefield in the world, where casualties (2,700 so far) from cold-induced illness and accidents are far more common than combat. Sanjay Badri-Maharaj explains why a disputed ridge line holds such strategic significance for India and the fighting over many years, which has yet to be resolved.

The Siachen Glacier is 700 square kilometres of ice mass situated in the eastern Karakoram Range of the Himalayas. The Saltoro Ridge above the glacier rises from 17,880 feet to 25,330 feet. Its strategic benefit for India is that it enables them to threaten the Karakoram Pass, a crucial artery between China and Pakistan. The borderline in this area was never demarcated adequately at the partition, and the author describes how an accidental map discovery started the Indian claim.

BBC map

The book clearly sets out the background to the conflict and its particular challenges for the Indian and Pakistani armed forces. India has invested much more heavily in specialised equipment and formations. 102 Infantry Brigade, known as the Siachen Brigade, has 3,000 men, supported by 3rd Infantry Division assets. Battalions and special forces are rotated through the brigade to give many troops experience operating at these altitudes. Pakistan's X Corps is responsible for their units in the area, and again battalions and special forces rotate as necessary. 

Both armies have purchased specialist equipment for the troops involved and support weapons, including mountain artillery. Resupply is a significant challenge as only a few helicopter types can operate at these altitudes and even then with tiny payloads. For example, the Indian Cheetah helicopter can carry only two soldiers and rations. The Pakistan positions are somewhat lower and can be supplied by the larger Puma helicopters.

Operation Meghdoot was aimed at pre-empting a Pakistani incursion based on intelligence that leave had been cancelled, lines of communication laid, high altitude equipment purchased and the tone of protest notes about Indian patrols. The plan was to establish a forward logistical base using a company plus one platoon of local Ladakh Scouts, then secure a position on the glacier and the ridge. This was launched on 13 April 1984 in minus 30 degrees celsius. Pakistan responded with its own Operation Ababeel. Serious fighting started on 22 June with Pakistani troops attacking uphill on an open ridge. This failed, and they lost 25 casualties. This was followed by a series of military engagements in 1985 and the years after that, with significant losses on both sides. After that, combat flared up infrequently, but both sides had to be prepared. The Kargil War in 1999 also impinged on the conflict as it could have cut on India's supply lines to Siachen.

Fighting has been rare in the 21st century, but accidents and medical conditions still result in casualties. Although both armies are now better equipped and trained to cope with the extreme conditions, albeit at a high cost. 12 Indian infantry battalions are rotated each year, which means some 15-20,000 troops have the joy of freezing up there. In 2012, the two countries came close to a demilitarisation deal, but it collapsed due to mutual suspicion. Tensions between India and China in the region is an added complication.

This looks pretty challenging to game on the tabletop for the wargamer, although the numbers fighting are quite small. For much of the year, the terrain is snow and ice, so a white mat over terrain would do. There are several WW2 ranges, particularly Finns and Soviets, in snowsuits, but they don't look much like the modern kit and the rifles are wrong. Possibly less of an issue in smaller scales, such as Pendrakens 10mm Finns. Korean War figures are another possibility, and from the photos in the book, troops don't wear snowsuits all the time. I have some way to go with my India-Pakistan project before I get to 1984 and beyond, so time to think about it.

Bohemond of Taranto

 The Normans in the South is one of the great stories of history, brought to life for me in the books of John Julius Norwich. Georgios Theotokis has picked out one of the most interesting of the many characters in the story, Bohemond of Taranto.

He came from the Hauteville family, son of Robert Guiscard. His father put his first wife, Bohemonds's mother, aside, technically because of the degree of kinship, but actually for a more favourable marriage to bind the Lombard lords to his cause. While technically a bastard, he was still brought up as a knight and became one of his father's most trusted commanders. Normans, or more accurately northern French as one in three were not actually from Normandy, fought in all the regional conflicts as they built up a power base in Southern Italy and then Sicily. 

Fighting for and against the Byzantine Empire encouraged the next big leap, the invasion of the Balkans. It was here that Bohemond considered the possibility of taking the Byzantine throne. This part of the story is told in another of Georgios' books, The Norman Campaigns in the Balkans 1081-1108, although, as I say, the sources for this campaign are limited. Despite being defeated by the Normans at Dyrrhachium and elsewhere in Greece, the Empire under Alexios hung on.

After his father's death, Bohemond contested the succession, but his brother was backed by Roger of Sicily, who came to his support with large numbers of his Muslim troops. The Norman-Sicilian army is one of my favourites of the period. None the less Bohemond did carve out a chunk of Southern Italy, including Taranto.

But this was never going to be enough for the restless Bohemond described as 'always seeking the impossible'. The First Crusade was a new opportunity to carve out more lands, and you can imagine Alexios' joy when Bohemond arrived as one of the Crusade leaders. His experience in the region, particularly fighting Turkish horse archers, made him the true military leader of the First Crusade. He captured Antioch and carved out the territories in that area for himself and his close family. Finally, he found a decent excuse not to hand it back to Alexios!

When he needed to get back to Europe to seek support, he got around the Byzantine blockade in a coffin. A great story in itself. He got to France and married the King of France's daughter, leaving Antioch in his nephew Tancred's hands. Which handily meant he could get out of another treaty with Alexios. The wily Byzantine's had met an equally wily foe.

He died in Italy on 7 March 1111, and his body is in a mausoleum in Canosa. A cathedral he helped design, not accidentally in a Byzantine style. Bohemond's longing, even in death, to equal the glory and prestige of the Byzantine emperors is palpable in his choice of a final resting place in what was, essentially, a copy of the imperial mausoleum in Constantinople.

The author argues that 'Bohemond was, beyond any doubt to my mind, a great soldier with vast experience in fighting overseas. His aggressive strategy in every operational theatre he was active in speaks volumes about his daring character and dynamism that he wished to portray throughout his life.' It's hard to disagree with that view. He had great successes and failures, perhaps summed up by the inscription on his mausoleum (which I must try and see):

'He thundered over the earth. Since the universe submitted to him I can't call him a man; I won't call him a god.'

A good excuse for a picture of my Norman knights!

German and Soviet guerrilla warfare manuals

 Two for one in this review of reproductions of WW2 manuals on unconventional warfare. First up is the German Army Guerilla Warfare Pocket Manual 1939-45, edited by Charles Melson.

This manual covers a couple of German publications. Arthur Ehrhardt's 1935 Kleinkrieg (Guerilla War) and the High Command's own 1944 Bandenbekamfung (Fighting the Guerilla Bands). The Germans had a particular hatred of guerilla war that went back to the Franco-Prussian War and their strategic need to fight short wars, avoiding wars of attrition. This is summarised by the doctrine 'Against an open foe fight with chivalry, but to a guerilla extend no quarter.'

In WW2, the Germans faced a number of resistance struggles, but the most challenging guerilla warfare was in the Soviet Union and in the Balkans. Ehrhardt's book was first published in 1935 and reprinted and updated during the war. It drew extensively on German experience of irregular warfare from the Peninsular War to WW1 in the Balkans. He highlights the tactics used and the responses devised by local commanders. The High Command developed these into a series of directives during the war, which ranged from encouraging local collaboration to genocide. 

The methods would vary depending on local circumstances, 'whatever succeeds is right' said Hitler in 1942. These included an emphasis on command and control, passive and active measures. The wargamer will find the instructions for the deployment of 'hunter' units as providing the basis for tabletop actions, as they involve platoon to company-level operations. Infantry squads would include local guides and were supposed to operate for up to two weeks without re-supply. The idea was to imitate the fighting techniques of guerilla bands, supported by aircraft, artillery and armour. Like traditional German doctrine, encirclement-annihilation operations were preferred. The manual includes diagrams of both tactics and methods.

On the other side of the hill, I also picked up a copy of Lester Grau's The Red Army's Do-It-Yourself, Nazi-Bashing Guerrilla Warfare Manual: The Partizan's Companion, 1943. As David Glantz points out in the introduction, while the Soviet leadership espoused guerrilla war, they did not want the common people to rise against the Germans. Even in these perilous times, the Soviet government wanted control. This meant the initial efforts inserted groups into rear areas achieved little. They learned from this and created local units led by military officers. The 1943 manual was designed to train guerillas to a common standard. Individual partisans can read it but are really intended for squad and platoon-level instruction.

Partisan warfare was very effective. Soviet historians credit the partisans with tying down 10% of the German army and killing almost a million enemy soldiers. Some 1,100,000 men and women served as partisans in 6,000 detachments. There was a central command to coordinate these detachments, and in 1943 they provided some 60,000 rifles, 34,300 submachine guns, 4,200 machine guns, 2,500 antitank rifles and 2,200 mortars along with ammunition and hand grenades.

After the war, the manual continued in publication and was used in several national liberation struggles. The partisan leader, Panteleimon Ponomarenko, lectured at a secret school for Arab revolutionaries at Novoe Nagoronoe some forty miles outside of Moscow, as late as 1974.

The manual is a practical guide to a wide range of guerilla warfare techniques. It covers explosives and weapons used by the Soviets and the Germans and tactics, hiding from aircraft and how to hide and store supplies. It is liberally laced with rich Soviet WW2 language, 'Partisans force the German occupiers always to be on their guard. They do not let the Hitlerite scoundrels rest by day or night, by creating an unbearable environment for them.'

These guides are a handy way of understanding how guerilla warfare was undertaken in WW2. First, remembering this was a particularly brutal conflict, with little quarter on either side.

SS units like the locally recruited Handschar Division mainly were used for anti-partisan operations. These are 28mm models from Warlord using alternative heads.

Yugoslav partisans could be equipped with heavy weapons like this 120mm mortar.

Commando Subaltern at War - with the Partisans

 As a follow up to reading the semi-official history of 43 Royal Marine Commando, I have been reading William Jenkins' memoirs of his service with this unit in Yugoslavia and later in northern Italy. This is a personal account rather than a broad sweep of the operations.

Jenkins was a replacement officer who joined 43 (RM) Commando on the island of Vis in August 1944. He and others replaced comrades who were casualties during a battle with the Germans on the island of Brac. One of the toughest actions the Special Service Brigade on Vis fought during the campaign. 43 (RM) Commando also lived up to their Royal Marine heritage by providing small boarding parties operating off MTBs and MGBs that attacked German supply boats.

He took part in 'Floydforce' operations in Montenegro, which aimed to support the Partisans blocking the German retreat from the Balkans. His unit landed at Gruz harbour near Dubrovnik a week after the Germans had abandoned the town in October 1944. They headed down to Montenegro to cut off the 21st Mountain Corps, coming up from Albania. They had a battery of eight 25pdrs and a couple of 75mm howitzers to shell the narrow road. There are some excellent pictures of how these were dismantled and carried on mules in the book. Not to mention the 'challenges' of working with mules!

Jenkins goes into more detail about the operations he was involved in, including blocking the inland route to Niksic. He highlights how the locals helped the Partisans repair roads, often with their bare hands, aided by that fine British invention, the Bailey Bridge. He also acknowledges the role of the Balkan Air Force in inflicting damage on the retreating Germans.

The second part of the book covers his role in the assaults around Lake Comacchio in northwest Italy in March and April 1945. This was really a conventional infantry battle rather than a commando operation. He does include an interesting appendix on the Axis opponents, the 162nd (Turkoman) Infantry Division. This division had volunteers from Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazak, Turkestan, Iran, Afghanistan and others. This combination must have created more than a few command challenges. They were collectively called 'Turks', although I doubt the Armenians were much chuffed about that!

This is a valuable addition to my collection of memoirs covering the war in the Adriatic. It includes pictures I haven't seen before, some taken by a Partisan photographer that he managed to track down in a shop after the war. The maps are decent as well.

This reading inspired me to tackle a 1/72 Revell kit of a Croatian Air Force BF-109G that I picked up at a modelling show before Xmas. I am a bit fingers and thumbs with kits, but this one is relatively straightforward and fits together nicely. In addition, the Croatian markings make it a distinctive model for the tabletop. 

I think it has spotted the Partisan camp! With two 7.92mm machine guns and two 20mm auto-cannon, this aircraft could do a lot of damage. 

Turkish Navy in the Cyprus 1974 conflict

I have added a naval dimension to my Cyprus 1974 project. A vital element of the conflict was the ability of the Turkish armed forces to project military power over the sea lanes from the mainland to Cyprus. After the 1964 and 1967 crises, Turkey recognised that its naval capacity was inadequate for the task.

The modern Turkish Navy (Türk Deniz Kuvvetleri) was created in 1920 with a small fleet to defend a long coastline. In 1947 Turkey signed an aid treaty with the United States and joined NATO in 1952. This led to the supply of former British and US ships, which formed the backbone of the fleet. By 1974, these included ex-US Fletcher (five ships), Allen. M. Sumner (two ships) and Gearing class (five ships) destroyers. A strategic aim of producing their own warships led to the Berk class frigate being built at the Gölcük Yard, based on the USN Claud Jones frigate design. The submarine fleet consisted mainly of the ex-US Balao class. The unmodified versions were being phased out in the early 1970s and replaced by conversions to the Guppy IA, IIA and III standards. Ten of these submarines had been acquired before 1974. 

Turkish Destroyer Adatepe. Ex-Gearing Class

The absence of harbours under Turkish control in Cyprus meant the Turkish Navy had to develop a significant landing craft capacity to put troops onto beaches. After the 1964 crisis and the Johnson Letter, the US refused to include landing craft in their military aid package and Turkish efforts to secure them from other sources also ran into difficulties. In 1965, they established a Landing Craft Command (Cikarma Gemileri Komutanliği), initially based at Gölük on the Sea of Marmara, and then moved to Mersin in 1973. Mersin was the naval base closest to Cyprus.  

This command included five British WW2 LCTs and 12 locally built landing craft. In 1967, they got around the US restrictions by purchasing two 650-ton landing craft tanks (LCT) from Britain and an 8,500-ton carrier ship from Denmark. They also bought two ex-US LST 511 class Landing Ship Tanks that Germany had converted into minelayer ships and converted them back into LSTs in 1972. Finally, in 1973, they acquired the ex-US Terrebonne Parish class landing ship tank (LST) (USS Windham County, renamed TCG Ertugrul). 

Naval officers were trained in amphibious operations with a new training programme. They also attended amphibious operation courses in the US for the first time in 1970. Full-scale amphibious exercises were conducted annually in Iskenderun Bay, and units joined similar NATO exercises. 

Modern naval warfare is pretty complex and often takes place many miles apart. However, this was less of an issue in 1974. The Turkish fleet has WW2 style tasks of defending the landing ships and naval gunfire support for the landings. The Greek Cypriot National Guard only had a few fast attack craft, but there was also the possibility of an intervention by the Hellenic Navy and/or Air Force.

So, I searched for modern naval rules that don't require a science degree! I have settled on Naval Command by Rory Crabb. I'm not saying they are simple rules, and I haven't got into the really modern period yet, but they do appear playable.

So far, I have painted up the Turkish fleet and some aircraft. The models are from Navwar in 1/3000. Four Gearings, two Fletchers, Berk Frigate and LSTs.

The game scenario is the protection of the convoy taking the assault troops to Cyprus from the Turkish port of Mersin. The LSTs are protected by the four Gearing Class destroyers. In this scenario, the military junta in Athens got their way and persuaded the military chiefs that Greece should actively intervene by attacking the convoy with Hellenic Air Force (HAF) jets. Not straightforward because even from Rhodes, Cyprus is only just in combat range for some HAF aircraft types, including the Delta Dagger and the handful of Phantoms that were just arriving. 

The first challenge would be finding the convoy. While the Greeks did have reconnaissance aircraft like the RF-84F, they didn't yet have sophisticated radar-equipped maritime reconnaissance patrol craft like the  Orion. I have assumed they did spot the convoy, and three flights arrived. However, under the rules, you still have to detect the enemy ships once on the tabletop, and the first flight failed that test. The second Phantom flight passed and avoided the AA fire to land its bombs on the TCG Kocatepe. Curtains again for that unfortunate destroyer, as in 1974 it was also sunk, albeit by mistake by Turkish aircraft. 

The third flight detected the convoy but was shot down by AA fire as it attacked the leading LST.

Next up will be the Hellenic Navy, and we can try some surface actions. I also have some post-74 ships, thanks to a less than subtle Xmas present request. Then I suspect I will wish I had studied science rather than law!

Nothing Much To Lose

 This is Michael McConville's history of 43 Commando Royal Marines during WW2. My interest was mainly 1943/44 when they were based on Vis, supporting the Partisans. Much of this story is already covered in Michael's excellent 'A Small War in the Balkans', which covers more than the fighting by 43 Commando.

The unit started life as the 2nd Battalion Royal Marines, part of the Royal Marine Brigade formed in 1939. The 2nd Battalion assembled at Bisley on 1 April 1940. The unit first saw action of a sort during the occupation of Iceland. The Icelanders didn't resist, and the action may have been limited to punching the German consulate's wife to stop her burning diplomatic papers!

The following campaign was similarly inactive, although a lot warmer. The Battalion was sent as part of the expedition to the French colony of Dakar (Operation Menace), based on optimistic Free French intelligence. Instead, they ended up in Freetown, where the primary adversary was malarial mosquitos. 34% of the unit became casualties.

Back in the UK and after extensive training, the Battalion was converted into No 43 Commando on 1 August 1943. A commando unit was smaller than a battalion, so some of the troops went to man landing craft. The unit was then sent to the Mediterranean. They served in Algeria, Sicily and then Italy, including the infamous Anzio campaign. 

They then joined the Special Service Brigade on Vis. My feature article on this is on Balkan Military History. This book covers the main raids involving 43 Commando on the islands and along the Dalmatian coast. At times there is a shortage of detail. The primary source is the war diaries and I have looked at some of these myself in the National Archives. All I can say is that writing the war diary was clearly not a popular task for whoever got lumbered with it in any of the commando units. In fairness, I doubt you volunteered or were selected for a commando unit for your writing skills!

After Vis they went to Montenegro as part of Finneyforce, which was tasked with supporting the Partsians who were challenging the German retreat through the Balkans. There is a particularly interesting action aimed at supporting the Partisans blocking the coast road along the Bay of Kotor at Risan. The Germans used the old Austro-Hungarian forts at Ledenice, which may have been old but had six foot thick walls. A combination of British artillery, air attacks and Partisan ground operations managed to block the route, forcing the Germans inland. Kotor Bay is one of my favourite places on earth and I have driven along this road. It would require a lot of scenic work to set it up for a game, but I am now considering it for a future display game.

Bay of Kotor. Risan is just out of view on the right hand side.

43 Commando's final operation was at Comacchio in Italy, as part of 2nd Commando Brigade on 1 April 1945. This was a feint operation to draw the Germans away from 15th Army Group's main attack through the Argenta Gap. The Brigade succeded in capturing their objective, a spit of land on the lagoon and destroyed the German force defending it. In many ways this was a conventional infantry attack supported by armour. Corporal Thomas Hunter, of 43 Commando, earned a posthumous Victoria Cross for conspicuous gallantry in this battle. The only VC to be won by the Royal Marines in WW2.

If you are interested in commando operations, this is an excellent addition to the library.

My 28mm commandos.

Happy New Year!

 I optimistically titled my 2021 New Year blog 'Here's to a better 2021!'. Well, it wasn't quite what I and many others hoped for, as COVID variants stopped the talk of a post-pandemic world. However, there were bursts of normality and thanks to vaccines, we are in a better place, just.

On the hobby front, there was a partial return to wargame shows. We had Carronade in Falkirk, and I trekked down to London for Salute. Nothing quite beats seeing games and ranges in the flesh, as well as meeting old friends and making new ones. The 2022 schedule should begin to get back to normal, although the cancellation of Salute is not a good sign. I have pencilled in Vapnartak on 6 February in York as the year's first show. The return to physical gaming has been great. Both at GDWS and Prestwick clubs, as well as at the house. I still do the occasional game over Zoom, but it was only ever a poor substitute for the real thing.

Our Dad's Army game at Carronade was a lot of fun.

2021 was pretty productive on the wargaming front. I finished the Mongols for Saga, so I can continue to match my gaming with the Turkish TV series Ertrugul. I'm still on series two, so there is a long way to go! I returned to the Russo-Turkish War 1768-74 after reading Brian Davies' book, although I struggle with painting 6mm figures. My Turkish WW2 project expanded into 28mm with a Bolt Action army and down to 10mm for games of Rommel. As well as a return to naval matters with a Turkish and Soviet Black Sea fleet. As a 'what-if' opponent, I finished a 28mm Bulgarian army, thanks to those drug dealers at Great Escape Games. On the naval theme, I expanded my Black Seas fleets to the Ottomans and then off to the Adriatic with galley warfare. 

My other big new project this year has been Cyprus 1974. I started by adapting some of my 10mm figures. Then, quickly moved on to 20mm for Modern Bolt Action. Turkish and Greek National Guard forces are largely completed and have even got them onto the tabletop. My less than subtle Xmas hints to my beloved have resulted in a box of ships making progress on the painting table. I plan to extend this project into some 'what-ifs' and later periods in 2022. 

Trevor Royle's book diverted me into the Wars of the Roses in 15mm, just a temporary aberration that one. The anniversary of the Greek Revolution has led to a small excursion into 28mm, and as it goes on for many years, I suspect it won't be the last. Other new projects for the coming year include some Swedes for the Great Northern War as Ottoman allies. I will also expand my 28mm Napoleonics to cover the French Illyrian units. 

As for wargame rules, I adopted Lasalle2 as my go-to set for 15mm Napoleonics and have enjoyed playing with the War of 1812 armies and the Greek Revolution in particular. I have played a bit with the new edition of L'Art de la Guerre, but To the Strongest! remains my Ancient/Medieval rules of choice - despite my abysmal cards. I played a bit more fantasy last year, and the return of Game of Thrones is likely to get that project going again. Oathmark has been my massed battle rules, and I am starting to dabble with Warlords of Erehwon for the smaller battles. Our cat now has his alter ego on the tabletop.

Books are always important to me, much to my wife's chagrin as, even with Kindle and PDFs, my library expands. I have started my re-read of Nigel Tranter's novels, with seven done so far. As I have the armies so far, it hasn't resulted in any wargame diversions. I have reviewed many fine new books this year, but I would single out the Turkish War of Independence 1919-23 by Ed Erickson as a model for how to write operational history. Saul David's SBS: Silent Warriors was also very good. Most of my reading relates to my writing and wargame projects, but I am easily diverted!

Travel has been limited. We got down to the Lake District, which while stunning, is more scenic than historical. Although we did stay next to a Roman fort. I have been down to London a few times to undertake research in the National Archives and British Library, including museums and exhibitions at the British Museum. Elsewhere in the UK, I visited the Lancashire Fusiliers Museum and the new Trimontium Museum at Melrose. Not without some logistical issues, we managed one overseas trip this year to Cyprus. Castles and the 1974 battlefields were the main points of interest.

St Hilarion Castle in Northern Cyprus was magnificent.

I managed to downsize my semi-retirement last year to a day or so per week. This is giving more time for writing. I have a book completed and scheduled for publication this year. So, there will be more on that subject to include interesting campaigns that I didn't have the space to cover in detail. I have made a decent start on the next book and have two more in the planning stages. I managed two blog posts per week last year, which is the plan for this year. It tends to fit my reading and painting schedule reasonably well.

Well, that's it for the 2021 review and on to 2022. Let me wish everyone a Happy New Year, and let's hope for something better in 2022.

Memoirs of a Janissary

 One of the challenges for someone with my interest in the Balkans is my poor language skills. For that reason, I am very grateful to those who translate books or write in English, even when that isn't their first language. My latest reading is the translation of the memoirs of a Turkish Janissary, Konstantin Mihailovic, by Benjamin Stolz. He translated the oldest Czech text of his memoirs.

Mihailovic served during the reign of Sultan Mehmet II (1451-81), known as the Conqueror, following his capture of Constantinople in 1453. Despite the title, it seems likely that he was an auxiliary attached to the Janissaries for around eight years between 1455 and 1463. Despite some inconsistencies in his story, the gist of his description is accurate and could only have come from someone who observed the institution and events from close up.

The Janissaries were created by Sultan Murat I as an elite infantry corps, the name being a derivation of the Turkish words yeni cheri, or 'new troops'. It was the creation of this elite infantry base that is credited with many of the Ottoman victories, and is arguably one of the reasons for their success, compared with other Turkic tribes of the period. In this period, they were recruited through the devshirme, a levy of Christian youths taken to Istanbul, converted to Islam and trained as Janissaries or other court officials. Some achieved the highest ranks in the empire, including the grand vizier. Serbs, like Mihailovic, were a popular source of recruits.

His memoirs give us limited information about the man himself. He may have been a miner either from Ostrovica or Novo Brdo. As he claims to have been at the siege of Constantinople, he was likely a member of the Serbian contingent sent by Despot Murad Brankovic. He describes the campaigns he took part in, which included Trebizond, Wallachia (against Vlad Dracul) and Bosnia. His story ends when he was left with a garrison of Janissaries in the Bosnian fortress of Zvecaj. 

The most interesting part of the book is not these campaigns but rather his description of the Ottoman institutions he saw or was told about. As such, it is an important primary source, even allowing for his polemic against the 'heathen' Turks and Islam generally. He wrote his memoirs later in life when the Ottomans were perceived as a wider threat to Europe.  The text is a bit disjointed in places and isn't an easy read. However, the editor (Svat Soucek) has provided extensive notes that explain the context and corrects the obvious errors. 

Bow armed Janissaries of this period. Old Glory figures, if I remember correctly.

The Ottomans: Khans, Caesar's and Caliphs

New books on the Ottomans are a bit like buses - you don't get one for a while and then several come at once! This is Marc David Baer's take on the Ottomans. This isn't a traditional narrative history. Instead, chronological chapters on rulers are followed by thematic ones addressing cultural issues, maritime power attitudes to women, Jews and eunuchs in dynastic politics. It is also a retelling of the story with a focus on the links between East and West - part of the history of Europe.

The Ottomans were not a Turkish empire. Like the Roman Empire, it was a multiethnic, multilingual, multiracial, multireligious empire that stretched across Europe, Africa, and Asia. In fact, the early Sultans viewed themselves as the successors of the Romans. The Ottomans called their Southeastern European provinces Rûmeli (land of the Romans). Baer argues that the way we remember the past would look quite different if we instead referred to both the Byzantines and the Ottomans as Romans, which is how they viewed themselves. 

The Ottoman expansion has traditionally been regarded as a religious conflict between Islam and Christianity. However, while this was used as a strategy, there was only limited attempts at conversion (although the 200,000 youths into Janissaries might disagree!), and the Ottomans tolerated most religions. Ottoman religious tolerance was based on Islamic precedent already introduced to Europe in eighth-century Muslim Spain and nomadic, pre-Islamic steppe practice. While full toleration did not exist in medieval Christian Europe, it did exist in medieval Islamic Europe, including in Ottoman domains.

Those watching the Turkish TV series Ertugrul will be surprised to read that Ertugrul and his sons were not connected to the Seljuks. The links to the Mongols were just a strong as Turkic tribes fought on both sides. Good history, but perhaps not so gripping TV viewing!

Baer asks the big question, how did the Ottomans succeed, out of all those competing tribes and states? He argues by luck and by material, economic, and social factors. But above all, the policies of Murad I, who established Janissaries (introducing infantry tactics) and fratricide as a succession policy. Ottoman tolerance of diversity meant creating an empire that was built upon the maintenance of hierarchies and difference, thereby ensuring the dynasty's greatness and the subject peoples' subordination. They were particularly adept at forging alliances with Islamic and Christian states.

He also places the Ottomans as part of the Renaissance, arguing that the European Renaissance had its roots in Islamic Spain and the Arab world. The Renaissance raised Western Europe to the cultural level of Muslim-majority societies by incorporating the achievements of Eurasian, especially Islamic societies. It was a global, not simply a European phenomenon. 

This book has many other challenges to conventional wisdom about the Ottomans. Not all of which will be welcomed as part of the current Turkish government's rediscovery of them. In particular, the chapter on the Armenian genocide. Like the Nazis, record-keeping means we can estimate that out of a population of one and a half million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1914, 650,000 to 800,000 had been annihilated by 1916. Although I hadn't fully appreciated the ideological underpinning of the massacres, other than remembering Hitler's admiration for those who implemented the policy. Most of the Ottoman (CUP) ideologues also met an early death.

Chapters on the role of women, the Jews and the Kurds (who aided the Armenian genocide) all open up interesting links that I hadn't fully appreciated. The cultural ties are also intriguing. From Swedish meatballs to Turkish coffee (despite efforts to rename it), Ottoman systems, architecture, language, and much more can still be seen across Europe. While like the Ertugrul series, nostalgia sells, painful aspects of the Ottoman past remain and have proven more challenging to confront.

Finally, Baer returns to a critical theme. The Ottoman story is an inseparable part of Europe's story. As much as they were Asian, as much as they had a unique political organisation, the Ottomans were the inheritors of Rome.

This isn't always an easy read, but it is an important contribution to our understanding of the Ottomans.

I probably have Ottoman armies of every period in multiple scales. But let's have some Janissaries, as Baer argues their introduction made a critical difference.

Greek Cypriot National Guard 1974

I have made more progress with the Cyprus 1974 project in 20mm. I now have some opponents for the Turkish Armed forces in the Greek Cypriot National Guard (EF). This should mean some tabletop action over the holidays, so watch the Twitter feed.

The National Guard was formed after independence. It was meant to be a mixed Greek and Turkish force, but that quickly broke down as inter-communal violence broke out, and the Turkish minority was forced into enclaves, defended by their own militia, the TNT. In March 1964, the new National Guard was established, and conscription was introduced in June. Initially, the National Guard was equipped with former British weapons and improvised vehicles, but they were quickly supplemented by equipment from Greece. Later the Soviet Union provided some weapons from Warsaw Pact stocks.

By 1974, the National Guard had a regular standing force of around 12,000 men backed up by a reserve of 20 battalions, of which about 10,000 younger reservists could be mobilised quickly. It was commanded by Greek officers, and as the coup demonstrated, was controlled by the military junta in Athens. In addition, there was a much smaller separate armed police force controlled by President Makarios. 

The headquarters was in Nicosia, organised into five Tactical Commands spread across the island. Each command typically had two or three regular infantry battalions, double that number of reserve battalions, and support weapons. Three regular commando battalions were based in Nicosia, plus a reserve commando battalion. The Artillery Command was also based in Nicosia, although batteries were usually distributed around the island. It was equipped with 25pdr and 100mm field guns, 57mm ATGs, 75mm mountain guns and 40mm AA guns. Finally, the Armoured Command had a tank battalion (T35/85s), a mechanised infantry battalion (BTR-152 APC) and an armoured reconnaissance battalion (Marmon-Herrington AC). Again these were generally parcelled out across the north of the island where the Turkish landings were anticipated. National Guard battalions were significantly smaller than their Turkish Army counterparts, typically 350-400 soldiers.

The battlegroups formed by the National Guard works quite well for the modern Bolt Action rules I use. So far, I have painted the T34/85, BTR-152 and Marmon Herrington armoured cars. While these were outdated by 1974, they actually performed reasonably well. The tank battalion (23 EMA) had two tank companies, each of 16 T34/85s and an assault company of six BTR-152s.

The armoured reconnaissance battalion had three companies, each of 12 armoured cars and an assault company of seven APCs.

From photos, it appears that the reserve battalion infantry had a mix of khaki and light green uniforms or just civilian clothes. It is often difficult to differentiate between the EOKA B fighters and the National Guard. The primary infantry anti-tank weapon was the recoilless rifle. I used a mix of figures from several ranges, with helmets, berets and bareheaded to represent these troops.

The regular mechanised infantry appears to be more uniformed in a khaki uniform with shorts. These look like WW2 desert British, although with less webbing and kit. I used the Dixon range because they are excellent sculpts for 20mm. The mechanised infantry battalion (286 MTP) had three companies, each with 8 BTR-152s. Plus two RCL (106mm and 57mm) and one 81mm mortar platoon.

That's it for now. I still plan to do a commando squad when the figures arrive. 

The Rise of the Turkish Defense Industry

 This book will probably not make the general reader's Xmas list as it's a bit specialist. However, following my research for the Cyrpus 1974 project, I was interested to see how the story developed. Ayse Özer's book is just the job.

In 1964, the Turkish Government was warned off intervening in Cyprus by what has become known as the Johnson Letter. The US President was reminding the Turks that US-supplied equipment was only to be used for NATO purposes. After 1964, the US also refused to supply amphibious warfare equipment, so the Turks started their own shipbuilding for smaller landing craft and adapted foreign purchases for the larger ships like LSTs.

After the 1974 intervention, the Greek lobby in Congress successfully imposed a broader arms embargo that provided another spur for the Turks to develop their own defence industry. However, this didn't really take off before 2000 due to internal factors, and as Özer highlights, it was driven by other factors following the lifting of the US embargo.

The US embargo was a stern reminder that Turkey would not be protected if it did not own the means, particularly when its allies are not on the same foreign policy page. This was not limited to Cyprus. Turkish policy following the Arab Spring, the invasion of Iraq and the Syrian Civil War all highlighted differences. For example, the US armed the Kurds as the most effective fighters on the ground against ISIS, which would be greeted with horror by the Turkish military. Greece had been providing logistical support to the PKK since the 1990s, whereas the Turks regard them as terrorists. In addition, all the nations in the region were engaged in an arms race that Turkey could not ignore once its own policy started to face eastwards rather than solely to the west.

Even strategic partnerships with other countries have clashed with Turkish policy. Israel no longer provides weapons and technology unconditionally as it did in the 1990s, and western states have pulled projects due to human rights abuses in Turkey. For example, the new Turkish Main Battle Tank (Altay) is 95% Turkish supplied, but the power pack comes from abroad and cannot be exported to countries the EU regards as an undesirable end-user.

The current Turkish Government's 2023 Vision statement envisages Turkey designing and producing all of its military defence needs. If achievable, this would free Turkey from outside pressure and is viewed as part of building the economy. A concept known as Military Keynesianism, where military spending grows the domestic economy, providing skilled jobs. Turkey also aims to be a significant arms exporter through this policy. They also argue that military technology can drive innovation in the civil sector. For example, using military control systems in buses. As Turkey's overall GDP increased during the period studied, this doesn't appear to have a serious impact on social expenditure, a common issue for countries with high defence spending. Whether this can be maintained in the current economic crisis, remain to be seen.

This book probably won't appeal to the general reader, but it's a reasonably concise read and met my needs perfectly.

The last addition to my modern Turkish army in 6mm was these Turkish ACV 15 armoured infantry fighting vehicles. As seen on our news screens, deployed in Syria. They are a licensed version of the US AICV.