Yes a strange little beast for sure.
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Mike Sandbagger Norris DFW T28 build!
Another superb build by Mike!
Friday, September 08, 2017
The Sirdar and The Khalifa by Mark Simner
by
'Khartoum', a big motion picture from Hollywood, was made in 1966. It starred Laurence Olivier as the 'Mahdi', and Charlton Heston as 'Chinese Gordon'. Like many movies, it plays with the actual history. However, unlike most it follows the historical narrative fairly closely. The movie deals with how England came to be entangled with Sudan. If you haven't seen it, take a gander. It is a perfect segue for this book.
Like the movie, the author begins with the history of Sudan and the rise of Muhammad Ahmed as the 'Mahdi' the expected one of Islam. According to either Sunni or Shia beliefs and writings, the Mahdi will rule all of Islam before Jesus comes back for Judgement Day. The book takes us back to the early days of Muhammad Ahmed's life, and goes into the history of the Sudan, explaining that it was considered a part of Egypt at the time. Egypt was still considered a part of the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century. Egypt was ruled by a 'Khedive', roughly a governor for the Ottoman Sultan. Egypt however, was only nominally under Turkish rule, and was greatly under English sway.
The Khedive's armies were smashed by the Mahdist forces, so he asked England for help. The English prime minister refused to get involved other than to send General Gordon to supervise the removal of Egyptian citizens out of Sudan. Gordan had other ideas. He attempted to fight the Mahdists with the few troops on hand in Khartoum. Gordon and the troops were then besieged in Khartoum. At this time public opinion forced the English government to form a relief force to save him. The relief force was under Lord Wolsley. It was too little and too late. Gordon was killed with the relief force just days away. This was in 1885. This campaign was where Kipling came up with his poem 'Fuzzy Wuzzy'. This was an English term for the Sudanese warriors. Strangely, the poem praises the Sudanese warriors' valor and commends them on the fact that they 'broke a British square'.
The above history takes up roughly the first third of the book, just so the reader can get a grasp of the history up to the main part of the book. British involvement continued to grow in Egypt, and in 1892 Lord Kitchener became the 'Sirdar' or Commander-in-chief of the Anglo-Egyptian army.
The Mahdi had died not too long after the fall of Khartoum to his forces. His Sudanese uprising continued under one of the three men he named as Khalipha (Caliph) Abdullahi Al-Taishi. The British press still campaigned for England to avenge Gordon.
The rest of the book covers the campaign of Kitchener to reconquer Sudan. The Anglo-Egyptian Army was now much better trained and armed. The battles of Omdurman and others are shown to the reader. These include some of the last successful cavalry charges in history, including none other than a young Winston Churchill with the 21st lancers at Omdurman. Omdurman was the last great battle between a European army and one of so called 'savages'. Although the Sudanese fought valiantly, the Anglo-Egyptian Army was even equipped with some early machine guns, so the issue was never really in doubt.
The author, Mark Simner, knows his history well, and writes engagingly about it. He even continues with the 'Fashoda Incident', which almost brought Britain and France to war in 1898.
The book comes with five pages of maps. It also includes thirty-two pages of black and white photos of the campaign.
Robert
Book: The Sirdar And The Khalifa
Author: Mark Simner
Publisher: Fonthill Media
Distributor: Casemate Publishers
The above history takes up roughly the first third of the book, just so the reader can get a grasp of the history up to the main part of the book. British involvement continued to grow in Egypt, and in 1892 Lord Kitchener became the 'Sirdar' or Commander-in-chief of the Anglo-Egyptian army.
The Mahdi had died not too long after the fall of Khartoum to his forces. His Sudanese uprising continued under one of the three men he named as Khalipha (Caliph) Abdullahi Al-Taishi. The British press still campaigned for England to avenge Gordon.
The rest of the book covers the campaign of Kitchener to reconquer Sudan. The Anglo-Egyptian Army was now much better trained and armed. The battles of Omdurman and others are shown to the reader. These include some of the last successful cavalry charges in history, including none other than a young Winston Churchill with the 21st lancers at Omdurman. Omdurman was the last great battle between a European army and one of so called 'savages'. Although the Sudanese fought valiantly, the Anglo-Egyptian Army was even equipped with some early machine guns, so the issue was never really in doubt.
The author, Mark Simner, knows his history well, and writes engagingly about it. He even continues with the 'Fashoda Incident', which almost brought Britain and France to war in 1898.
The book comes with five pages of maps. It also includes thirty-two pages of black and white photos of the campaign.
Robert
Book: The Sirdar And The Khalifa
Author: Mark Simner
Publisher: Fonthill Media
Distributor: Casemate Publishers
Wednesday, September 06, 2017
A year after the Battle of the Somme the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) were tasked with pushing through Ypres in Belgium and occupying the high ground and ridge-lines to the East. This battle now known as the Battle of Passchendaele or the Third Battle of Ypres is succinctly covered in Andrew Rawson's latest book in the BEF series from Pen & Sword Publishing.
The book starts, just as the battle did, with a series of explosions in mines sunk beneath the Allied trenches and tunnelled underneath German defensive positions. Although the Germans were listening for the tell-tale sounds of boring machinery, they couldn't hear it because the mines were so deep and machinery wasn't involved. The author tells us that humans, literally 'diggers' were quieter and quicker than any machinery of the time.
Initial successes literally became stuck in the mud as the Flanders coast saw unprecedented rainfall throughout August. This left each side not only fighting each other but also the quagmire in which they lived and died.
I was expecting this book to be a bit of a slog (no pun intended) but the way in which the author breaks down each battle with an accompanying map into Divisions and Brigade level really helped my comprehension of what was happening. The author states that his inspiration for this approach came from a book about the American Civil War, 'A Testing of Courage'. I've not read that volume but I think Andrew has achieved his aim of clearly explaining the force disposition, terrain and outcome into a coherent narrative.
I've long known about the terrific amount of ordnance fired by artillery pieces throughout WWI but I've never read an account of how precisely it was integrated into the whole offensive. Not only that but I was surprised at how 'joint' were the separate military outfits. The Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service, with the subterranean diggers, with the modern tank, alongside the ubiquitous infantryman all supported with artillery. The level of coordination between all of these services must have been immense and it was achieved primarily by runners and pigeons!
A common artillery tactic mentioned frequently in the book was the artillery barrage. This served to soften up the German positions but scarily the infantry would hug the line of explosions and walk just behind the explosions in order to capitalise on the defenders turmoil. The numbers of shells fired, given by Mr Rawson are frankly terrifying to comprehend.
I found the prose to be rather terse as the author whips you through one Brigade of a Division then onto another very quickly. The briefest mentions of individual acts of bravery are given scant acknowledgement, with the oft repeated phrase '...for this he received the Victoria Cross'. I appreciated this style as it kept the book flowing along at a very steady clip. If nothing else, the book is a thorough account of the entire Flanders campaign in just over 200 pages.
I would have liked more picture inserts as those that the author put in were just enough to whet my appetite. Their clarity was surprising and complemented the text very well.
If you're looking for a good introduction to the battles in and around Ypres then look no further.
Book: The Passchendaele Campaign 1917
Author: Andrew Rawson
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books
The Passchendaele Campaign 1917 by Andrew Rawson
A year after the Battle of the Somme the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) were tasked with pushing through Ypres in Belgium and occupying the high ground and ridge-lines to the East. This battle now known as the Battle of Passchendaele or the Third Battle of Ypres is succinctly covered in Andrew Rawson's latest book in the BEF series from Pen & Sword Publishing.
The book starts, just as the battle did, with a series of explosions in mines sunk beneath the Allied trenches and tunnelled underneath German defensive positions. Although the Germans were listening for the tell-tale sounds of boring machinery, they couldn't hear it because the mines were so deep and machinery wasn't involved. The author tells us that humans, literally 'diggers' were quieter and quicker than any machinery of the time.
Initial successes literally became stuck in the mud as the Flanders coast saw unprecedented rainfall throughout August. This left each side not only fighting each other but also the quagmire in which they lived and died.
I was expecting this book to be a bit of a slog (no pun intended) but the way in which the author breaks down each battle with an accompanying map into Divisions and Brigade level really helped my comprehension of what was happening. The author states that his inspiration for this approach came from a book about the American Civil War, 'A Testing of Courage'. I've not read that volume but I think Andrew has achieved his aim of clearly explaining the force disposition, terrain and outcome into a coherent narrative.
I've long known about the terrific amount of ordnance fired by artillery pieces throughout WWI but I've never read an account of how precisely it was integrated into the whole offensive. Not only that but I was surprised at how 'joint' were the separate military outfits. The Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service, with the subterranean diggers, with the modern tank, alongside the ubiquitous infantryman all supported with artillery. The level of coordination between all of these services must have been immense and it was achieved primarily by runners and pigeons!
 |
| Passchendaele village before and after artillery barrage. |
I found the prose to be rather terse as the author whips you through one Brigade of a Division then onto another very quickly. The briefest mentions of individual acts of bravery are given scant acknowledgement, with the oft repeated phrase '...for this he received the Victoria Cross'. I appreciated this style as it kept the book flowing along at a very steady clip. If nothing else, the book is a thorough account of the entire Flanders campaign in just over 200 pages.
 |
| Bovington Tank Museum diorama of combined arms during WWI |
If you're looking for a good introduction to the battles in and around Ypres then look no further.
Book: The Passchendaele Campaign 1917
Author: Andrew Rawson
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books
Tuesday, September 05, 2017
We have gazed in wonder at the treasures that were found in Tutankhamun's burial chamber for almost one hundred years. In reality he was a boy king whose rule was very short, and his burial a hurried affair. What treasures or history would have been found in an intact tomb of Tuthmosis III or Rameses II? The ancient grave robbers stole from us more than gold and gems.
Between the Middle and New Kingdoms Egypt was prostrate under the invaders we call the 'Hyksos'. Their names are Semitic in origin, so it is assumed that it was also their heritage. So the proud Egyptian people who built the pyramids etc. were beset, and half of their country was conquered by outsiders. The book starts with the Egyptian fight to regain control of the northern part of their country. Then it continues with the founding of the New Kingdom by the pharaoh Ahmose.
The book itself is small at 140+ pages, but it is filled with all we know at present about warfare in that age. It comes with maps and illustrations, and fourteen pages of colored photos.
This was an age where Egyptian armies strode over a large portion of the Middle East. The book also goes into the other Egyptian enemies: the Mitanni, Hittite, and the Sea Peoples. The New Kingdom seems to have been born and died under different foreign invaders.
The campaigns of the 'Napoleon of Egypt' Tuthmosis III are gone into along with those of Rameses II and other pharaohs. The nuts and bolts of these campaigns are shown to the reader. The book also goes into the simple soldiers' lot in life, along with all of the different weaponry he used. The Egyptians had not known of the chariot before the Hyksos invasion. However, they quickly became masters of chariot warfare.
Mr. Elliot has written an excellent primer on the warfare of the time. Hopefully the book will make the reader explore more of the history and personalities of the age.
Robert
Book: Warfare In New Kingdom Egypt
Author: Paul Elliot
Publisher: Fonthill media
Distributor: Casemate Publishing
Warfare In New Kingdom Egypt By Paul Elliot
By
We have gazed in wonder at the treasures that were found in Tutankhamun's burial chamber for almost one hundred years. In reality he was a boy king whose rule was very short, and his burial a hurried affair. What treasures or history would have been found in an intact tomb of Tuthmosis III or Rameses II? The ancient grave robbers stole from us more than gold and gems.
Between the Middle and New Kingdoms Egypt was prostrate under the invaders we call the 'Hyksos'. Their names are Semitic in origin, so it is assumed that it was also their heritage. So the proud Egyptian people who built the pyramids etc. were beset, and half of their country was conquered by outsiders. The book starts with the Egyptian fight to regain control of the northern part of their country. Then it continues with the founding of the New Kingdom by the pharaoh Ahmose.
The book itself is small at 140+ pages, but it is filled with all we know at present about warfare in that age. It comes with maps and illustrations, and fourteen pages of colored photos.
This was an age where Egyptian armies strode over a large portion of the Middle East. The book also goes into the other Egyptian enemies: the Mitanni, Hittite, and the Sea Peoples. The New Kingdom seems to have been born and died under different foreign invaders.
The campaigns of the 'Napoleon of Egypt' Tuthmosis III are gone into along with those of Rameses II and other pharaohs. The nuts and bolts of these campaigns are shown to the reader. The book also goes into the simple soldiers' lot in life, along with all of the different weaponry he used. The Egyptians had not known of the chariot before the Hyksos invasion. However, they quickly became masters of chariot warfare.
Mr. Elliot has written an excellent primer on the warfare of the time. Hopefully the book will make the reader explore more of the history and personalities of the age.
Robert
Book: Warfare In New Kingdom Egypt
Author: Paul Elliot
Publisher: Fonthill media
Distributor: Casemate Publishing
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