On This Day In History....in here for your military themed anniversaries - big and small

[SkippedOnce]

Surprised no one posted this on the 6th August, OTD in 1945 the second American Atomic Bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, killing an estimated 39,000 to 80,000 people, apparently one of which was a British POW.
Nagasaki was the 2nd and last city to date, to be subjected to a nuclear blast. It ultimately shortened the War and led to the Japanese surrender. Post war the Americans took on the job of defending the Japanese people, as the surrender forbid the Japanese doing the job themselves, now 75 years later, Trump is talking of the Japanese “looking after themselves”

Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Possibly because there was a dedicated thread running on the subject?

https://www.arrse.co.uk/community/threads/hiroshima-day.301190/

 

[mechanicalhorsetrough]

Possibly because there was a dedicated thread running on the subject?

https://www.arrse.co.uk/community/threads/hiroshima-day.301190/

Hmmm, there I was studying the title of this thread, couldn’t make my mind up if I should post Nagasaki in the Hiroshima thread or whether or not the 75th anniversary of both was a big or small event or whether dropping a thermo-nuclear device was actually cheating or not, I mean is it military enough for you! I guess you showed me eh!

 

[MrMemory]

On this day 15the August 1941 Josef Jakobs, a German spy becomes the last person to be executed in the Tower of London. Due injuries he sustained parachuting into England he is also believed to be the only person subject to the firing squad whilst sitting down in a Windsor chair.

 

[SkippedOnce]

Due injuries he sustained parachuting into England he is also believed to be the only person subject to the firing squad whilst sitting down in a Windsor chair.

In the Tower perhaps, but certainly not the only one in the UK (as was at the time).

'Connolly had been so badly injured from the fighting (a doctor had already said he had no more than a day or two to live, but the execution order was still given) that he was unable to stand before the firing squad; he was carried to a prison courtyard on a stretcher. His absolution and last rites were administered by a Capuchin, Father Aloysius Travers. Asked to pray for the soldiers about to shoot him, he said: "I will say a prayer for all men who do their duty according to their lights."[35] Instead of being marched to the same spot where the others had been executed, at the far end of the execution yard, he was tied to a chair and then shot.[36]'

James Connolly

en.wikipedia.org

 

[aardvaark the carpeted]

In the Tower perhaps, but certainly not the only one in the UK (as was at the time).

'Connolly had been so badly injured from the fighting (a doctor had already said he had no more than a day or two to live, but the execution order was still given) that he was unable to stand before the firing squad; he was carried to a prison courtyard on a stretcher. His absolution and last rites were administered by a Capuchin, Father Aloysius Travers. Asked to pray for the soldiers about to shoot him, he said: "I will say a prayer for all men who do their duty according to their lights."[35] Instead of being marched to the same spot where the others had been executed, at the far end of the execution yard, he was tied to a chair and then shot.[36]'

James Connolly

en.wikipedia.org

If there is one single event that makes an Englishman shake his head at the stupidity of the English it must be this.

 

[Egg on Leggs]

SS Ohio is being unloaded in the Grand Harbour, Malta after a quiet cruise to deliver supplies.

SS <i>Ohio</i>

en.wikipedia.org

 

[CutLunchCommando]

1950 – Major General William F. Dean was reported missing in action as his 24th Infantry Division fought its way out of Taejon. During that action, he set the example by single-handedly attacking a T-34 tank with a grenade and directing the fire of others from an exposed position. As his division withdrew, he remained with the rearguard, rounding up stragglers and aiding the wounded.

His Wiki entry is quite a read. LINK

 

[Cutaway]

Fifty-four years ago today, the battle of Long Tan.

 

[SkippedOnce]

Interesting to see an L4 (7.62 Bren) on ops.

On the 6th of February 1965, Australians from 1SASR arrived in Borneo as part of the Australian Government’s commitment to the Konfrontasi (Indonesian-Malaysian Confrontation). The Squadron’s first operational patrols would commence on the 28th of March, and would be predominantly for reconnaissance purposes.

 

[AlienFTM]

A couple of days late. The subject came up over the Sunday roast.

On 12 February 1976, Irish Republican Frank Stagg died in Wakefield prison while on hunger strike.

Frank Stagg (Irish republican) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

It's significant to my military history. The following day, Friday the 13th I returned to Catterick from Warcop and the live during phase of my B2 Scorpion Gunnery course, which marked my last day in training.

Walking back into Cambrai Barracks from the Gunnery Wing over the road, we were shocked to find the Brigadier Garrison Commander, CO 5 Innis DG (RAC Training Regiment) and the Garrison Sergeant Major on the main gate. Not the people you expect to see stagging on (SWIDT?). We didn't half feel scruffy after a week in the turret, and struggled to throw up a half decent salute whilst carrying out kit.

Turned out the Bikini State had been raised. (I got a raised eyebrow from nipper until I explained that Bikini was the alert state.)

Ten days later, after a week's embarkation leave I was off to Omagh.

Fast forward five years. Valentine's disco in Alanbrooke Barracks, Paderborn. Following day I became engaged and my journey to growing up and getting a proper job started.

 

[Taffwob]

On this day 80 years ago the design of this tank was submitted giving it it's name.

Valentine tank - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

or it may have been 82 years, or it was Feb 10th, or it was some other reason.

 

[SkippedOnce]

Fifty-four years ago today, the battle of Long Tan.

Another of 6RAR's other actions, always overshadowed by Long Tan.

Operation BRIBIE

Remembered as one of Australia’s worst days in Vietnam, the battle fought during Operation BRIBIE on the 17th of February 1967 would result in the deaths of 8 Australian soldiers, and the wounding of a further 27 from 6RAR and 3rd Cavalry Regiment.

Planned and organised in haste, BRIBIE was an attempt to destroy a communist force that had attacked the village of Lang Phuoc Hai earlier that day. 6RAR and 3CAV were expected to face only small scattered groups of forces but instead came up against nearly 700 men of the hardened VC D445 Battalion.

Within minutes of arriving on the ground, the men came under machinegun and small arms fire, with snipers shooting from concealed positions in the trees. Six members of 2 Platoon, A Company were killed or wounded in less than a minute. B Company also came up against stiff resistance, facing a company armed with at least six machineguns. After 20 minutes, they managed to extricate themselves, carrying the wounded on their backs.

The Australians called down artillery fire on the enemy position and replanned their assault. Small platoon sized elements were ordered to advance but orders became confused in the din of the fighting. Facing unrelenting fire from hidden machineguns, the Australian suffered further casualties with eight of the nine-man strong 1 Section from 5 Platoon killed or wounded in moments.

The addition of smoke from incendiary grenades added to the confusion as the VC began bringing up antitank weapons to counter the Australian APCs which had arrived to evacuate the wounded. One APC was struck by a recoilless rifle, killing the driver and a second round injured the vehicle’s commander and the wounded in the back. However, fire from the armoured vehicles eventually made it possible for the soldiers to break contact and regroup at the landing zone.

The battle ended just before 7.30 that evening. In just over five hours of fighting eight Australians had been killed and another 27 wounded. That night the enemy position was bombarded. Napalm incinerated some of the corpses, making a terrible job worse for the soldiers detailed to return to the scene the following day. By then the enemy had gone. One of them had written in blood on the side of the wrecked APC 'Du Me Uc Dai Loi', the Vietnamese equivalent of 'Get f*cked Australians'.

The men who inflicted such heavy damage on the Australians seemed to have been a rearguard, covering the withdrawal of a larger force. Making excellent use of an old position, they had built covered, well-camouflaged fighting pits. They employed impressive discipline and displayed great courage.
Some Australian survivors felt that BRIBIE had been a defeat. 'It was us who copped a hiding,' said one.

Official estimates numbered the enemy dead at between 50 and 70. As was so often the case in Vietnam, no-one really knew.

 

[SkippedOnce]

A small ship, but a big act. RIP the crew of HMAS Yarra.

'On the 4th of March 1942, HMAS Yarra (II) (a 1050 ton Grimspy class sloop) was sunk by a force of Japanese cruisers and destroyers whilst attempting to protect ships withdrawing to Australia from Batavia. At 0630 on the fateful day the lookout in Yarra sighted the topmasts of a Japanese fleet the north east which were identified as the Japanese heavy cruisers Atago, Takao and Maya and four other destroyers.

'As the fleet scattered, Yarra positioned herself between the fleet and the enemy and prepared to engage them with her 4-inch guns. Each Japanese cruiser had ten 8-inch guns. Against such fire power and superior range, Yarra’s defence was hopeless but she kept fighting until 0800 when the captain ordered the ship to be abandoned minutes before he was killed by a final salvo.

'Her end after close range shelling by two destroyers was watched by 34 survivors on two rafts. The survivors, sadly reduced by wounds, exposure and thirst, continued to drift helplessly whither the ocean currents willed. On 9 March 1942, 13 of the ship’s ratings were picked up by the Dutch submarine K11. The rest were never heard of again. Of Yarra's total complement of 151, 138 including the Captain and all officers were killed in the action or died subsequently on the rafts.

'In March 2013, Governor-General Quentin Bryce announced that a Unit Citation for Gallantry would be retroactively awarded to the ship's company of Yarra at the time of her sinking. This was presented to the Chief of Navy and the ship's company of the minehunter HMAS Yarra (III), on the River Yarra, on 4 March 2014, the anniversary of the sloop Yarra's loss.'

 

[Electromagnetic]

It was the Supermarine Spitfire's 85th bithday today.

 

[CrabfatBILL]

5 March 1943 saw the first flight of Gloster Meteor, Britain's first jet fighter. Oh and my birthday.

CFB

 

[Goldbricker]

Crispus Attucks a free black sailor is one of 5 killed by the British Army in Boston this day in 1770 in what becomes known as the Boston Massacre (which really wasnt a massacre)

Bugsy later claims he is a cousin

 

[Electromagnetic]

5 March 1943 saw the first flight of Gloster Meteor, Britain's first jet fighter. Oh and my birthday.

CFB

Happy Birthday. I'm drinking a bottle of Lancaster Bomber. Cheers.