Quotulatiousness

March 10, 2019

Prussian Infantry under Frederick the Great

Filed under: Germany, History, Military — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

Military History Visualized
Published on 6 Oct 2017

Prussian Infantry during the time of Frederick the Great of Prussia. Basic background on infantry types like Grenadiers, Fusiliers, etc., organization and combat formations.

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Military History Visualized provides a series of short narrative and visual presentations like documentaries based on academic literature or sometimes primary sources. Videos are intended as introduction to military history, but also contain a lot of details for history buffs. Since the aim is to keep the episodes short and comprehensive some details are often cut.

» SOURCES «

Guddat, Martin: Grenadiere, Musketiere, Füsiliere. Die Infanterie Friedrich des Großen
Fiedler, Siegfried: Taktik & Strategie der Kabinettskriege
Ortenburg, Georg: Waffen der Kabinettskriege
Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt: Friedrich der Große und das Militärwesen seiner Zeit. Vorträge zur Militärgeschichte. Band 8.
Chandler, David: The Art of War in the Age of Marlborough
Buchner, Alex: Handbuch der Infanterie 1939-1945
Bucher, Alex: Handbook on German Infantry 1939-1945
Haythornthwaite, Philip: Frederick the Great’s Army (2) – Infantry
Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt: Deutsche Militärgeschichte 1648-1939. Band 1.
Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt: Deutsche Militärgeschichte 1648-1939. Band 6.
Clark, Christopher: Iron Kingdom, The Rise and Downfall of Prussia 1600-1947
Guddat, Martin: Kürassiere, Dragoner, Husaren. Die Kavallerie Friedrichs des Großen.
Hawkins, Vincent B.: “Frederick the Great”, in: Brassey’s Encyclopedia of Military History and Biography, p. 339-345

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Amazon Associates Program: “Bernhard Kast is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.”

Bernhard Kast ist Teilnehmer des Partnerprogramms von Amazon Europe S.à.r.l. und Partner des Werbeprogramms, das zur Bereitstellung eines Mediums für Websites konzipiert wurde, mittels dessen durch die Platzierung von Werbeanzeigen und Links zu amazon.de Werbekostenerstattung verdient werden können.

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Song: Ethan Meixsell – Demilitarized Zone

February 26, 2019

QotD: The infantryman

Filed under: Military, Quotations — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 01:00

Let us be clear about three facts. First, all battles and all wars are won in the end by the infantryman. Secondly, the infantryman always bears the brunt. His casualties are heavier, he suffers greater extremes of discomfort and fatigue than the other arms. Thirdly, the art of the infantryman is less stereotyped and far harder to acquire in modern war than that of any other arm. The role of the average artilleryman, for instance, is largely routine; the setting of a fuse, the loading of a gun, even the laying of it are processes which, once learnt, are mechanical. The infantryman has to use initiative and intelligence in almost every step he moves, every action he takes on the battlefield. We ought therefore to put our men of best intelligence and endurance into the Infantry.

Field Marshal Earl Wavell, “In praise of infantry”, The Times, 1945-04-19.

January 31, 2019

Urban Combat: Fighting Positions

Filed under: Military, USA — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Military History Visualized
Published on 22 Sep 2017

Some basic introduction on Fighting Positions in Urbanized Terrain according to a US Marine Corps Manual.

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Military History Visualized provides a series of short narrative and visual presentations like documentaries based on academic literature or sometimes primary sources. Videos are intended as introduction to military history, but also contain a lot of details for history buffs. Since the aim is to keep the episodes short and comprehensive some details are often cut.

» SOURCES «

Military Operation on Urbanized Terrain (MOUT) or MCWP 3-35.3 –

» DISCLAIMER «
Amazon Associates Program: “Bernhard Kast is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.”

Bernhard Kast ist Teilnehmer des Partnerprogramms von Amazon Europe S.à.r.l. und Partner des Werbeprogramms, das zur Bereitstellung eines Mediums für Websites konzipiert wurde, mittels dessen durch die Platzierung von Werbeanzeigen und Links zu amazon.de Werbekostenerstattung verdient werden können. »

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January 30, 2019

WW2 from German perspective

Filed under: Germany, History, Military, Russia, WW2 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

FootageArchive – Videos From The Past
Published on 18 Dec 2012

Welcome to FootageArchive! On this channel you’ll find historic and educational videos from the 1900s. Watch, learn, and take a trip back in time as we gain insight into a previous time. Subscribe for more.

Note: this video contains archived public domain/licensed footage. This footage serves documentary purposes on world history and is to be viewed as educational.

October 30, 2018

RE: Bren vs Spandau – which was better? @Lindybeige

Filed under: Britain, Germany, History, Military, Technology, Weapons, WW2 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Military History Visualized
Published on 17 May 2016

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mhv

Response video, it was necessary, I like Lindybeige, but his latest video “Bren vs Spandau – which was better?” had too many errors. So here is my response to his video.

Original video posted here (and follow-up video here).

September 8, 2018

Battle of Saipan – Steel and Coral – Extra History – #1

Filed under: History, Japan, Military, Pacific, USA, WW2 — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

Extra Credits
Published on 6 Sep 2018

The battle of Saipan would decide the fate of the Pacific War. On a tiny island, just five miles wide, thousands died under advanced artillery and amphibious tanks. This series is brought to you by World of Tanks PC. Check out the game at the link below and use the invite code FORAGER for extra goodies. https://redir.wargaming.net/r06pve1j/…

Support us on Patreon! http://bit.ly/EHPatreon

August 8, 2018

Doing military intelligence … backwards

Filed under: Bureaucracy, Cancon, Military, Technology — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

Ted Campbell on what he sees as a big problem with western military command structures and particularly the way military intelligence is being over-centralized away from the fighting troops and pushed high up the chain of command:

Intelligence is vital in modern combat operations … just as it was when Alexander set about conquering the known world. But, as Alexander knew, real intelligence is gathered by the troops in direct contact with the enemy and is augmented by e.g. spies who read the enemies mail (our modern, very effective SigInt services, for example, and drones and so on). There is a now well established ~ and I think wrong headed ~ system which aims to collect ALL intelligence at the highest possible level and then disseminate it down … that’s exactly backwards! Combat intelligence is gathered, in the main, by troops in contact with the enemy, by privates and troopers and corporals and then it is passed up the chain to be collated with reports from other troops in contact and then a refined picture is passed back down … where it is promptly corrected by the troops in contact. Intelligence staffs in HQs almost never know much of anything of real utility but they have convinced commanders that if there can only be more and more highly ranked intelligence officers with more clerks and more drones and more computers and so on, that they will, somehow, get ahead of the enemy. It’s a siren song that has, already, run more than one combat commander up on to the rocks of operational failure. The only people who have a good feel for what the enemy is up to are the people who have them in their sights. Don’t get me wrong: I am a HUGE fan of SigInt and drones and UWB radio devices that can see through walls and so on … I want the micro drones and the cyber bugs to be in the hands of the corporals in the rifle sections who are making their way house-to-house and floor-by-floor.

But the bigger threat, by far, is a brigade command post that looks like this …

… than like this:

April 18, 2003, Wainwright, Alberta
Captain Jeremy Small, the Signals Officer with the First Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment (1 RCR)(Petawawa, Ontario), works on the Athene Tactical System (ATS) in the Command Post (CP). The ATS is a new battlefield information system being tested by 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (2CMBG) Headquarters and the 1 RCR. The digital information can be shared in a more timely fashion than the old method, which needed to be drawn by hand. The 1 RCR are part of the is part of the approximately 4,600 Canadian Forces members who are participating in the first major army training exercise of the 21st Century, from April 7 to May 2, 2003 in Wainwright, Alta. After two years of planning, co-operation, strategic resource management, and with assistance from the Air Force, the Army has created Exercise RESOLUTE WARRIOR. Fourteen combat and support units are training together in a multi-element combat environment in preparation for potential and upcoming high readiness tasks at home and abroad. This exercise is the confirmation of the skills and cohesion of the units involved and will be similar to an actual deployment.
Photo: MCpl Paul MacGregor, Canadian Forces Combat Camera

The urban battle of the future, like those of the past will be fought by rifle sections of eight to 12 soldiers, directed by platoon commanders (young, 20-something, lieutenants) overseen and supports by company and battalion commanders. The lessons that my Regiment learned at Ortona, during the Christmas season of 1943, (and which were drummed into my head by ‘old sweats‘ 20 years later) will still apply. Generals and brigadiers and colonels may plan and guide the battle but it will be fought by captains and corporals and privates … hand-to-hand, house-by-house, street-by-street … whether it is a small city or a giant metropolis. Yes, that young soldier would love to have a little drone to see around the corner before he throws the grenade and he might even be interested in knowing that SigInt says that enemy is running low on ammo and food, but at the moment he, like all combat soldiers, must trust, mainly, in his own judgment of the situation as he, and only he, can see it.

But while the privates and corporals are fighting the battle and gathering the real intelligence about the enemy, the legal officer will be wanting to know exactly what (s)he (the rifle section commander) sees and (s)he, the legal officer, will want to advise the brigade commander (who commands 6,500 soldiers) to interfere directly with the the command decisions of the most junior leaders (section (10 soldiers) and platoon (35 soldiers) commanders) and with the control decisions being made by company (125 soldiers) and battalion (900 soldiers) commanders. Good brigade commanders will resist that pressure and they will, equally, close their ears to the urgent warnings of the Public Affairs officer who will say something like “if this goes wrong the Minister will be embarrassed and that will cost you your next star.”

July 10, 2018

Mountain Combat In The Vosges – The Battle For Alsace-Lorraine I THE GREAT WAR Special

Filed under: France, Germany, History, Military, WW1 — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

The Great War
Published on 9 Jul 2018

The Battle for Alsace-Lorraine in the Vosges was unforgiving and brutal. Both the French and the German troops were fighting in extreme conditions for a extremely symbolic stretch of land.

July 8, 2018

Swedish home defence

Filed under: Europe, Military — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 03:00

Last week, Strategy Page took a look at Sweden’s home defence arrangements, including their first surprise mobilization of the Hemvärnet – Nationella skyddsstyrkorna (Home Guard) in over 40 years:

Swedish Home Guard soldiers in Kungsträdgården, Stockholm on 6 August, 2001.
Photo by Peter Fristedt, via Wikimedia Commons.

On June 4th Sweden held its first nationwide, unannounced mobilization of the Home Guard since 1975. This is another effort to prepare Sweden to deal with the renewed Russian threat. The Home Guard consists of reservists and volunteers whose job is local defense and maintenance of order in a national or local emergency. The Home Guard currently has about 22,000 members organized into 70 infantry battalions (each with 2-5 companies) that are assigned to areas where their part-time soldiers work and live. The Home Guard was created in 1940 and now depends on volunteers who are either former full time or reservist personnel who have at least three months of basic training. Twice a year Home Guard personnel two four day long training exercises. These four-day events involve practicing mobilization and doing what they are expected to do in wartime or a major emergency. In addition, most Home Guard companies (about 70 troops each) hold weekend training sessions ten times a year.

The unannounced mobilization of the Home Guard serves to find out how well the Home Guard as a whole would function. The Home Guard is voluntary and members can leave the force any time they choose to. Since 2014 there have been more volunteers and the Home Guard units could be more selective in who they accepted. The Home Guard mobilization is but the latest effort by Sweden to rebuild its traditional defense. The Home Guard take their training and readiness very seriously, especially when there is an obvious threat. In 1940 it was the Germans but after 1945 it was the Russians, at least until 1991. Now the Russians are once more a threat and the government had to agree that the Home Guard required more attention, resources and training.

Yet the Home Guard is more a police and emergency services than a military one. While the guardsmen are armed they are not expected to be a primary defense against invaders. This point was made when the people of Gotland Island recently pointed out that the local Home Guard was not enough to protect areas like Gotland from a surprise attack. The resulted in the government taking action to put a military garrison back on Gotland.

The Home Guard is not the only component of Swedish military readiness being tested. In late 2017 Sweden held its largest military exercises since the 1990s. Some 19,000 full-time soldiers and reservists were involved and the exercise was based on Russia attempting to seize and hold the island of Gotland after a surprise attack. The defense of Gotland has been an issue in Sweden ever since conscription was ended in 2010. Since the 1990s the military budget and number of full-time troops were cut. That led to the elimination of the Gotland garrison, a small force of full-time soldiers to watch for a Russian surprise attack and alert the reserve forces on the island to mobilize. With the end of conscription, it proved impossible to attract enough volunteers from Gotland to sustain the traditional force of military reservists, who would quickly mobilize and confront the invaders.

June 20, 2018

Tank Chats #31 Mark IX | The Tank Museum

Filed under: Britain, History, Military, Technology, WW1 — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

The Tank Museum
Published on 3 Feb 2017

The thirty first in a series of short films about some of the vehicles in our collection, presented by The Tank Museum’s historian David Fletcher MBE. The First World War Mark IX, the first armoured personnel carrier, was designed to solve the problem of moving infantry across the battlefield with the fighting tanks.

June 10, 2018

The Landings At Cape Helles 1915 I THE GREAT WAR On The Road

Filed under: Britain, France, History, Middle East, Military, WW1 — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

The Great War
Published on 9 Jun 2018

Thank you to Mr Ali Serim for making this trip possible.

Indy and our guide Can Balcioglu explore the southern tip of Gallipoli where the British Army landed in April 1915.

May 19, 2018

The Macedonian phalanx – structure and organization

Filed under: Europe, History, Middle East, Military — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Syntagma
Published on 19 Feb 2018

A description of the Macedonian phalanx structure during the Alexander and Diadochi age, based on later written Asclepiodotos and Aelian infantry manuals.

May 15, 2018

Evolution of French Infantry During World War 1 I THE GREAT WAR Special

Filed under: France, History, Military, WW1 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

The Great War
Published on 14 May 2018

The French soldier in 1914 was already very different from the one in 1918 if you looked at his uniform or equipment. Also the combat tactics evolved considerably in four years of war. The Battle of Verdun, the Nivelle Offensive or the Battle of La Malmaison were important steps during that evolution in which the Poilu became a modern French soldier.

April 17, 2018

Storm of Steel – Author And Officer Ernst Jünger I WHO DID WHAT IN WW1?

Filed under: Books, Germany, History, Military, WW1 — Tags: , , , — Nicholas @ 04:00

The Great War
Published on 16 Apr 2018

Storm of Steel (In Stahlgewittern) by Ernst Jünger is one of the most harrowing German accounts of World War 1. The author was an officer on the Western Front and fought with the assault troops and stormtroopers until summer 1918.

April 12, 2018

LANDSKNECHTS – most brutal mercenaries of the Renaissance | IT’S HISTORY

Filed under: Europe, Germany, History, Military — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 04:00

IT’S HISTORY
Published on 11 Apr 2018

Today we are going to tell you about The Landsknechts – German mercenaries from the 16th century with a very formidable reputation.

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