Rommel arrived in February 1941 with fairly mundane orders to act as a Sperrband, a “blocker” to bolster the Italians after their mauling at Beda Fomm. The force he led was appropriately tiny: the reconnaissance battalion and an antitank detachment of the 5th Light Division (soon renamed the 21st Panzer Division). The rest of the division was still en route to Africa, and a second division, the 15th Panzer, would not arrive completely until the end of May.
Rommel had his orders, but he had ignored orders in the past and been decorated for it. With British forces stripped to fight an exceedingly ill-advised campaign in Greece, he carried out a quick personal reconnaissance in his trusty little Fieseler Storch airplane, then launched an offensive in concert with his Italian partners (Ariete armored division and the infantry divisions of X Corps, Bologna and Pavia). He penetrated British defenses at El Agheila on March 24th, then drove on to Mersa el Brega on March 31st, pausing only long enough to take (and ignore) a number of radio messages from Berlin and Rome warning him not to do anything rash. Finally, he smashed the British defenders at Agedabia (elements of the green 2nd Armoured Division, equipped partially with captured Italian M13/40 tanks), pinning them in front with the infantry of 5th Light Division while dispatching his Panzers on a ride around the open desert flank to the south, the first use of a tactic that would become his signature move.
These three tiny encounters, none of them exceeding regimental strength, were enough to unhinge the entire British defensive position in Cyrenaica. Rommel now expanded his “reconnaissance in force” into a general offensive, although the forces involved were still minuscule. One column headed up the coast road towards Benghazi, while two more sliced across the Cyrenaican bulge, scooping up a mountain of British supplies at Msus and Mechili. The British rear was in chaos. On April 6th, a German motorcycle patrol actually captured the British commander in Cyrenaica, General Philip Neame, as well as General Richard O’Connor, the victor of Beda Fomm. By April 11th, the Germans had surrounded the coastal fortress of Tobruk while smaller formations pressed on to the east, taking Bardia and reaching the Egyptian border at Sollum and Ft. Capuzzo.
This was top speed maneuver, and the distances were vast, with the Afrika Korps covering over 600 miles in less than two weeks. An amazing feat, to be sure, but may we not legitimately ask, Six-hundred miles to where? Rommel had lunged from central Libya to the Egyptian border in a great bound, but now he had an unconquered fortress sitting in his rear, a serious threat to his lines of communication and supply. Two hastily marshaled attempts to storm Tobruk went badly wrong. In the “Easter battle” (April 10th-14th) and the “battle of the Salient” (April 30th-May 4th), the defenders of the 9th Australian Division hung tough. Minefields channeled the German attacks, while direct fire from artillery, antitank guns, and supporting tanks shot up the assault forces quite badly and killed General Heinrich von Prittwitz, commander of 15th Panzer Division.
The very presence of an unconquered Tobruk rendered the drive across the desert pointless. Indeed, for all the fame it had brought Rommel in the world press, this first campaign won him few friends among command echelons in Berlin. General Halder was especially unimpressed. Rommel, he wrote, “storms around all day long with formations strewn all over the place.” The man had apparently “gone insane.” There was some justice to the complaint. A German division-plus had overrun territory — a vast wasteland, to be precise — but it hadn’t really won anything. There had been no battle of annihilation, no Kesselschlacht, nor could there have been. The Afrika Korps had come a long way, but now sat precariously on the edge of nowhere. Although Rommel and his command had shown a satisfying level of aggression, something the entire officer corps understood, most of them saw his drive to the Egyptian border as a misfire.
Robert Citino, “Drive to Nowhere: The Myth of the Afrika Korps, 1941-43″, The National WWII Museum, 2012. (Originally published in MHQ, Summer 2012).
April 17, 2020
QotD: Rommel arrives in North Africa
April 16, 2020
Was the Afrika Korps worth it?
Military History not Visualized
Published 20 Apr 2018Was it worth it to send the Afrika Korps at all? In this video we look at the Mediterranean Campaign in World War 2, which is usually overshadowed by the “Desert Warfare” between Rommel and Montgomery.
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» SOURCES «
Ball, Simon: “The Mediterranean and North Africa, 1940-1944”, in: Cambridge History of the Second World War – Volume I, p. 358-388
Preston, Paul: “Spain: betting on a Nazi victory”; in: Cambridge History of the Second World War: Volume II: Politics & Ideology, p. 324-349
Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg, Band 3: Der Mittelmeerraum und Südosteuropa 1940-1941 (English Version below)
ENGLISH VERSION: Germany and the Second World War, Volume 3, The Mediterranean, South-east Europe, and North Africa, 1939-1941Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg – Band 6 – Der Globale Krieg
ENGLISH VERSION: Germany and the Second World War – Volume 6 – The Global WarDas Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg – Band 8
ENGLISH VERSION: Germany and the Second World War – Volume 8 – The Eastern Front 1943-1944: The War in the East and on the Neighbouring Fronts» CREDITS & SPECIAL THX «
Song: Ethan Meixsell – “Demilitarized Zone”#AfrikaKorps #AfricaCorps #WW2
April 12, 2020
Nazis in the Balkans – The Invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia – WW2 – 085 – April 11, 1941
World War Two
Published 11 Apr 2020This week, the German army invades Greece and Yugoslavia as it launches Operation Marita and Operation 25 respectively. They also take some remarkable captives in North Africa.
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Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tvFollow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_t…
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sourcesWritten and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)Colorizations by:
– Olga Shirnina, a.k.a. Klimbim – https://klimbim2014.wordpress.com/
– Daniel Weiss
– Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/
– Adrien Fillon – https://www.instagram.com/adrien.colo…
– Carlos Ortega Pereira, BlauColorizations
– Owen Robinson – https://www.instagram.com/owen.colori…Sources:
– FORTEPAN / MARTIN DJEMIL, MARTIN DJEMIL
– FDR Presidential Library & Museum
– Bundesarchiv
– Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
– Side cap and veteran icons by Andrei Yushchenko from the Noun Project
– IWM: E 2961, E 4702, E 2987, A 9796Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
From the comments:
World War Two
2 days ago
This is the second double-length episode, with the Invasion of the Benelux and France being the first one (May 18th 1940). Now, there are two things I want to point out in this comment. First of all, like our May 18th episode, this episode is packed with the amazing maps made by Eastory. If you haven’t already, subscribe to www.youtube.com/c/eastory. Furthermore, this week the final episode of our Between Two Wars series aired, covering the world on the brink of World War Two. The entire series of 58 episodes long, covering all the events leading up to WW2, can be watched in this playlist (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrG5J-K5AYAU1R-HeWSfY2D1jy_sEssNG) or simply by going to www.youtube.com/c/timeghost.
Cheers, Joram
April 5, 2020
Rommel Storms Into North-Africa – WW2 – 084 – April 4, 1941
World War Two
Published 4 Apr 2020The British thought they would be safe for a while, but this week they are proven wrong. This week, Erwin Rommel begins his advance towards the East of North Africa.
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Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tvFollow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_t…
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sourcesWritten and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)Colorizations by:
– Daniel Weiss
– Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/
– Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/
– Adrien Fillon – https://www.instagram.com/adrien.colo…
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/
– Olga Shirnina, a.k.a. Klimbim – https://klimbim2014.wordpress.com/
– Owen Robinson – https://www.instagram.com/owen.colori…Sources:
– National Portrait Gallery
– Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
– Bundesarchiv
– Yugoslav military maneuvers at Torlak, 1940, by Boksi from Wikimedia
– US Holocaust Memorial Museum
– Војни архив
– Documents icon by Srinivas Agra from the Noun ProjectArchive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
March 13, 2020
QotD: Rommel’s generalship
[…]
When Rommel arrived in Africa, he brought with him a fully realized art of war. He’d won a Pour le Mérite (the famed “Blue Max“) for a series of nail-biting mountain exploits in the 1917 Caporetto campaign; he had been a very popular tactical instructor at the Dresden Infantry School between the wars; he had commanded one of the army’s precious Panzer divisions (the 7th) during the 1940 campaign in the West. In France, Rommel had behaved more like an 18th century hussar cut loose on a raiding mission than a divisional commander. He led from the front, braved enemy fire on numerous occasions, and turned off his radio from time to time rather than risk receiving orders to rein himself in. He drove forward so rapidly that the 7th Panzer became known as the “ghost division” for its tendency to drop off the situation maps and reappear where least expected. There were many in the German high command, including the chief of the General Staff Franz Halder, who didn’t much appreciate Rommel running amok, but as one analyst put it, “it was impossible to court martial such a successful general, so Rommel instead got the Ritterkreuz” [the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross].
Robert Citino, “Drive to Nowhere: The Myth of the Afrika Korps, 1941-43″, The National WWII Museum, 2012. (Originally published in MHQ, Summer 2012).
March 2, 2020
QotD: The legend of Rommel and the Afrika Korps
It’s an attractive image all around, and it is unfortunate that practically all of it is false. The desert was hardly a haven of beauty or romance. It was a pain, and fighting in it was a nightmare for both sides. Far from letting the respective tank fleets roam free, the desert chained them irresistibly to their supply lines, and a single failed supply convoy or a lost column of trucks could stop an entire offensive dead in its tracks. Contrary to the alleged mobility of desert warfare, both sides would spend far more time in static defensive positions, often quite elaborate, then they would launching tank charges.
That leaves us with Rommel. Here, too, we should challenge the mythology. He was hardly apolitical. His entire career had been based on Hitler’s favor, and we might reasonably describe his attitude toward the Führer as worshipful. He was Hitler’s fair-haired boy, a young officer repeatedly promoted over more senior candidates. He was a media creation. Nazi propaganda painted him not only as a garden-variety hero, but as a model National Socialist and Aryan, a man who could overcome stronger enemies through the sheer force of his will. He was not merely a passive bystander to the hype; he was an active accomplice. He loved nothing better than having a camera crew along with him on campaign, and he would regularly order scenes to be reshot if his posture was insufficiently heroic or the lighting had not shown him to best advantage. As is often the case, his relationship to the media was both self-serving and self-destructive. During the years of victory, the German propaganda machine used him as an example to the nation. When things went sour, he became a diversion from the increasingly bad news on other fronts. Finally, when he was no longer useful for any purpose at all, the regime dropped him altogether and eventually killed him.
Robert Citino, “Drive to Nowhere: The Myth of the Afrika Korps, 1941-43″, The National WWII Museum, 2012. (Originally published in MHQ, Summer 2012).
March 1, 2020
The Nazis Building Bridges, Not Walls – WW2 – 079 – February 28, 1941
World War Two
Published 29 Feb 2020Parts of the British forces in North-Africa are being send to Greece to strengthen the Allied position there. While the remaining British plan for the near future, others make huge advances in East-Africa and Hitler plans his attack on Greece through Bulgaria.
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Join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/D6D2aYN.
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sourcesWritten and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Mikołaj Cackowski
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)
Additional animation: Ryan WeatherbyColorizations by:
– Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/Sources:
IWM: E 2386, E 2372, E 2368, E 2388, E 450, E 1579, FL 10025
National Portrait Gallery
Letter by Mochammad Kafi from the Noun Project
Mil.ru
BASA (3K-15- 84-2, 3K-7-436-41)
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
Museum of Science and Technology BelgradeArchive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
February 24, 2020
The British Lee tank (that is not a Grant)
Lindybeige
Published 23 Feb 2020Visit https://www.audible.com/lindybeige or text ‘
Lindybeige‘ to 500 500 to find out more about the free trial offer.The Lee tank was an American hastily-made tank that saw action in the north African desert, and the Grant was a British version of the same vehicle. But there were also Lee tanks that were more like Grants. I try to explain the confusion.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Lindybeige
Buy the music – the music played at the end of my videos is now available here: https://lindybeige.bandcamp.com/track…
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https://outloudmerch.com/collections/…Lindybeige: a channel of archaeology, ancient and medieval warfare, rants, swing dance, travelogues, evolution, and whatever else occurs to me to make.
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lindybeige I may have some drivel to contribute to the Twittersphere, plus you get notice of uploads.
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February 23, 2020
The British Will Walk 500 Miles, and They Will Walk 500 more – WW2 – 078 – February 22, 1941
World War Two
Published 22 Feb 2020As the British make spectacular advances in East-Africa, with even more spectacular advances on the horizon, South-Eastern Europe is getting increasingly tense.
Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tvFollow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_t…
Join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/D6D2aYN.
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sourcesWritten and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)Colorizations by:
– Daniel Weiss
– Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/
– Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/
– Olga Shirnina, a.k.a. Klimbim – https://klimbim2014.wordpress.com/Sources:
– Bundesarchiv
– Library of Congress
– IWM: E 6661
– National Library of Australia
– National Portrait Gallery
– Letter by Mochammad Kafi, post icon by Bonegolemfrom, from the Noun Project
– Photot of Goethe Medal by Mondfreund from Wikimedia Commons
– Eirik Sundvor, The Municipal Archives of TrondheimArchive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
February 16, 2020
Enter Erwin Rommel – The British Advance in Africa – WW2 – 077 – February 15 1941
World War Two
Published 15 Feb 2020While the Germans send one of their best generals to North Africa to bail out the Italians, Great Britain switches focus from Libya to Greece, but make symbolically important gains in East Africa.
Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tvFollow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_t…
Join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/D6D2aYN
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sourcesWritten and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)Colorizations by:
– Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/
– Norman Stewart – https://oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/Sources:
– Bundesarchiv
– A German soldier poses atop a tank, photo credit: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Perquimans County Library
– US National Archive
– IWM: A 4035, HU 39482Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
From the comments:
World War Two
2 days ago
When you know the story going forward it’s fascinating to see how the decisions unfold this week — the reshuffling of command both on the Axis and Allied side might seem like innocuous administrative decisions when you don’t know the future. But if you have a crystal ball, you’ll know that not just Rommel arriving in North Africa, but also the decisions on the British side this week will have momentous impact on the war in total. That’s one of the things we discovered early-on with a chronological narrative, it suddenly puts things in a new perspective. The relationship between events changes, and things that might seem too boring, or undramatic to include in a “great story” take on a whole new meaning, increasing our understanding of cause and effect of the “greater” events that will come. On a different note, we just finished shooting a new batch of videos today and we’ll be announcing some fascinating developments on our program in the coming weeks. Stay tuned, and stay awesome, you all are by far the best community on YouTube!
February 9, 2020
Rommel to fix the Bungle in Benghazi – WW2 – 076 – February 8, 1941
World War Two
Published 8 Feb 2020As the Italian campaigns in Africa collapse, Hitler considers his options and then chooses Erwin Rommel to rescue their Italian allies.
Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tvFollow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_t…
Join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/D6D2aYN.
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sourcesWritten and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Mikołaj Cackowski
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)
Additional animations: Ryan WeatherbyColorizations by:
Adrien Fillon – https://www.instagram.com/adrien.colo…
Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/
Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/Sources:
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
Artillery by Creative Mania from the Noun ProjectSoundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
Johannes Bornlof – “Last Man Standing 3”
Hakan Eriksson – “Epic Adventure Theme 3”
Phoenix Tail – “At the Front”
Gunnar Johnsen – “Not Safe Yet”
Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”
Yi Nantiro – “Watchmen”
Rannar Sillard – “March Of The Brave 10”Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
February 2, 2020
Africa, the Axis’ Achilles Heel – The Allied African Campaigns – WW2 – 075 – February 1, 1941
World War Two
Published 1 Feb 2020Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas dies this week as Italy is still uncomfortably wrapped up in the Albanian Mountains. Italy also finds itself in a pickle on other fronts, as Allied troops in Africa move into Italian territory with three offensives this week.
Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory
Or join The TimeGhost Army directly at: https://timeghost.tvFollow WW2 day by day on Instagram @World_war_two_realtime https://www.instagram.com/world_war_t…
Join our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/D6D2aYN.
Between 2 Wars: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…
Source list: http://bit.ly/WW2sourcesWritten and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Produced and Directed by: Spartacus Olsson and Astrid Deinhard
Executive Producers: Bodo Rittenauer, Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Research by: Indy Neidell
Edited by: Mikołaj Cackowski
Map animations: Eastory (https://www.youtube.com/c/eastory)Colorizations by:
Dememorabilia – https://www.instagram.com/dememorabilia/
Adrien Fillon – https://www.instagram.com/adrien.colo…
Julius Jääskeläinen – https://www.facebook.com/JJcolorization/Sources:
IWM (IND 883); (IND 2405); (E 3661); (E6661)
Vatican by Made by Made from the Noun Project
king crown by ProSymbols from the Noun Project
tick by akash k from the Noun Project
Artillery by Creative Mania from the Noun ProjectSoundtrack from the Epidemic Sound:
Christian Andersen – “Disciples of Sun Tzu”
Reynard Seidel – “Deflection”
Fabien Tell – “Last Point of Safe Return”
Johan Hynynen – “Dark Beginning”
Bonnie Grace – “Imperious”
Johannes Bornlof – “Last Man Standing 3”Archive by Screenocean/Reuters https://www.screenocean.com.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.
January 31, 2020
The little-known golden age of “The Xeriffe” in the 17th century
In the latest Age of Invention newsletter, Anton Howes discusses the economic snapshot of 17th century Europe (and parts of the wider world) provided in the work of Giovanni Botero:
… I’ve spent the past couple of days reading the work of an Italian geographer, Giovanni Botero. His 1590s treatise, on The Strength of all the Powers of Europe and Asia (translated into English in 1601 as The Traveller’s Breviat) tries to provide a comprehensive account of the relative strengths of all the world’s great powers. It can be a bit dry — at times it’s a bit like reading a table of statistics, but in paragraph form, as he goes through every country’s population, geography, and industries, as well as their manpower, the sizes and qualities of their armies and navies, their political systems, taxes, and geopolitical situations. Yet in all that information, we get a snapshot of what characteristics stood out internationally, at a point that was midway through England’s crucial century of change.
I thought I had a pretty good general grasp of the economic history of Europe and the west in the post-Middle Ages period, but Anton mentions something I didn’t know anything about:
Panoramic view of the Old Medina in Fez, Morocco.
Photo by Michal Osmenda via Wikimedia Commons.
Yet there was another region that Botero singled out in terms of its technological and economic achievements, which I had never heard mentioned before: the land of “The Xeriffe”.
The term is usually rendered as sharif, denoting a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad via his grandson, Hasan ibn Ali. In 1600, the title was claimed by the rulers of the Saadi Empire, centred around Fez, in present-day Morocco. Botero claimed that its cities were of marble and alabaster, decorated with great lamps of brass. In Fez in particular were “200 schools of learning, 200 inns, and 400 water mills, every one driven with four or five wheels”, from which the ruler derived a substantial rent. The city also featured “600 conduits, from whence almost every house is served with water.” Indeed, he noted that “the inhabitants are very thrifty, given to traffic [commerce], and especially to the making of clothes of wool, silk, and cotton.”
So here was a remarkable city. One that was wealthy, populous, somewhat industrialised, and given to trade. It was a centre of learning for the entire region, especially under the long rule of one of its sultans, Ahmad al-Mansur “the Golden” and his immediate successors: the library they amassed forms one of the major surviving collections of Islamic manuscripts on literature and science (which was captured during a war in the seventeenth century, and has been in Spain ever since). The Saadi Empire even had some military might: during its rise it successfully contended with Portugal, and it had a large arsenal of gunpowder weapons, which it put to use in conquering parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. It maintained friendly commercial and diplomatic links with both England and the Dutch Republic, uniting with them in their opposition to Spain.
And yet, the Saadi Empire is never mentioned as an efflorescence [defined as “temporary bubblings up of innovation and economic growth, which ultimately resulted in stagnation or decline”]. It doesn’t even feature in debates about the causes of the Long Divergence — the centuries-long reversal of economic fortunes between northwestern Europe and the Islamic world. The latest major book on the reversal, by Jared Rubin (which is excellent, by the way), is entirely devoted to comparisons with the Ottoman Empire, not discussing Morocco even once. That may just be a product of which sources are most readily available in English, or because there are currently quite a few excellent Turkish economic historians, like Şevket Pamuk or Timur Kuran. It’s also possible that the descriptions of Fez’s wealth were exaggerated, or that there are straightforward explanations for its relative economic decline. But, if we’re to fully understand the causes of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, I think the rise and fall of the Saadi Empire is another efflorescence we need to seriously consider.
January 29, 2020
Patton | Based on a True Story
The Cynical Historian
Published 30 Aug 2018It’s finally time to review Patton! I have a lot to say about it, as you can tell by the time stamp. Way back when I started the Based on a True Story series, the second episode was a bit about what I considered to be the best ones — and this movie was at the top. I love this film, but for more reasons than most of you could know — so this is going to be a deep dive into the film and its subject matter. It’s ambiguous, narrowed in subject, and just a perfect examination of the man. As the New Yorker said during the movie’s release, “[Patton] appears to be deliberately planned as a Rorschach test.”
————————————————————
references:
Brian Sobel and George S. Patton IV, The Fighting Pattons (Westport: Praeger Publishing, 1997). https://amzn.to/2u2WI57MacMillan Compendium, America at War (New York: Macmillan Library Reference, 1994), 726-727. https://amzn.to/2m6o4mx
John Keegan and Andrew Wheatcroft, Who’s Who in Military History: from 1453 to the Present Day, (London: Routledge, 1996), 231-232. https://amzn.to/2KWv53M
Paul Fussell, “Patton”, in Past Imperfect: History According to the Movies, ed. Mark Carnes (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1996). https://amzn.to/2J5iGc7
Jonathan Vankin and John Whalen, Based on a True Story: Fact and Fantasy in 100 Favorite Movies, (Chicago: A Cappella Books, 2005), 269-272. https://amzn.to/2m2sSZQ
Frank Sanello, Reel v. Real: How Hollywood Turns Fact into Fiction (Lanham: Taylor Trade Publishing, 2003), 177-181. https://amzn.to/2N072BB
http://www.historynet.com/patton-film…
https://dailyhistory.org/How_accurate…
http://jbell2ja.umwblogs.org/history-…
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2008…
https://www.moviemistakes.com/film960
Special thanks to my mom, dad, and uncle for making sure this was accurate and providing media for the end bit, especially my father (Mark Hall-Patton), who proofread the script as well.
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Wiki:
Patton is a 1970 American epic biographical DeLuxe Color war film about U.S. General George S. Patton during World War II. It stars George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates and Karl Michael Vogler. It was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner from a script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, who based their screenplay on the biography Patton: Ordeal and Triumph by Ladislas Farago and Omar Bradley’s memoir A Soldier’s Story. The film was shot in 65 mm Dimension 150 by cinematographer Fred J. Koenekamp and has a music score by Jerry Goldsmith.Patton won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Scott won Best Actor for his portrayal of General Patton, but declined to accept the award. The opening monologue, delivered by George C. Scott as General Patton with an enormous American flag behind him, remains an iconic and often quoted image in film. The film was successful, and in 2003, Patton was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”. The Academy Film Archive preserved Patton in 2003.
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#History #Patton #Review #Accuracy #GeneralPatton
January 26, 2020
When Anti-Semites Infight, Jews Still Die – Pogroms in Romania – WW2 – 074 – January 25, 1941
World War Two
Published 25 Jan 2020The British offensive in East-Africa takes off with some rapid advances. Meanwhile in Eastern-Europe, Romania is the stage of fierce anti-semitism, but also infighting between two of the groups causing the anti-semitism.
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World War Two
2 days ago
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