Second World War fight to protect Monte Cassino Abbey was
Second World War fight to protect Monte Cassino Abbey was
Battles of Monte Cassino - HISTORY
The Battle of Monte Cassino (second phase) - History
Battle of Monte Cassino | World War 2 Facts
Cassino War Cemetery - Memorials In Italy - Second World
Battle of Monte Cassino in World War II - ThoughtCo
World War Two: The Battle of Monte Cassino - BBC
Battle of Monte Cassino in the Second World War 1939-1945
Monte Cassino Monastery: Miraculously Rebuilt After WWII
Monte cassino 2nd world war – gistmulrasorptigasmihytifocon
monte cassino 2nd world war
monte cassino 2nd world war - win
What I'd like to see from DICE, if the #SaveBFV petition is successful:
• Night Maps (more specifically to give the M3 Infrared and the night fighter planes a chance to shine at what they were made for) • Weapon customization (Full-fleged weapon customization on the likes of that of Call of Duty's Gunsmith and BF4's Customization. I don't care if they have to reuse assets for muzzles and stocks, just slap on some modifiers and sounds and call it a day.) • Air battles (I'm not much of a ace when it comes to BFV and planes, but the people who seem to have a natural ability at flying will love it (I think.)) • Faction-based Elites (No-one likes a Japanese school girl running around the French countryside in a World War II game.) • Overhaul to Grand Operations (like that of BF1) • Addition of a realistic gamemode (Bolt-action rifles, 2 shot kills, standard-issue uniforms, very minimal HUD) • A tone-down of colours to the game's maps (Pacific Storm looks WAY too colourful for a map that was probably bombed to hell before the Invasion) Now, here's where it may get a bit unrealistic when it comes to expectations, because each bullet point would bring several gigabytes worth of content that would take months to make: • Eastern Front (including 2nd Battle of Kharkov, Stalingrad, Moscow, Narva, and Berlin) • D-Day all the way to Market Garden, the Bulge, and perhaps Colonge. • Operation Husky and Monte Cassino. • Second Sino-Japanese War • Futher American advance into Japanese-controlled territory (Luzhon, Manilla, and Okinawa)
The history of the Second world war as I see it . Here I would like to share my opinion and see other people's opinions about the events of the Second world war
Only the fact. Timeline of events leading up to world war 2 and the events of world war 2. The results of world war 1 were disastrous for some States. Germany was forbidden to have a powerful army and Navy, and restrictions were imposed on many weapons. The former Russian Empire, and now Soviet Russia, was also among the losers, especially since in 1920 the lands East of the Curzon line were transferred to Poland. Germany eventually had to negotiate with Soviet Russia to train military specialists on their territory and develop equipment and weapons to circumvent the restrictions imposed on Germany. After joining in 1933. After Hitler came to power, cooperation between Germany and Soviet Russia in the military sphere began to decline and in 1937 almost ceased. These two States were similar only in one way - they had a dictatorship. The political structure, ideology, and principles of achieving victory on a global scale were completely different. If in Germany the racial theory was proclaimed at the state level in Soviet Russia all peoples were recognized as equal. Germany considered the highest race of the Aryans, and the Germans declared themselves direct descendants of the Aryans, that is, Aryans. The two powers had completely different ways of achieving their goal - Germany pursued a policy of territorial conquest and enslavement of the population of other States, while Soviet Russia saw the achievement of its goal in the awareness of the working class of other States of its historical role and the completion of the revolution against capitalism, after which Soviet Russia planned to help such States on the material and human levels. The Pact of four is an international Treaty signed by representatives of Italy, great Britain, Germany and France on July 15, 1933 in Rome. The Treaty provided for political cooperation between the four powers in the League of Nations in order to eliminate the threat of war in Europe. It was assumed that the main efforts of the "Pact of four" would be aimed at revising certain provisions of the Versailles peace treaties of 1919-1920. (as, for example, the recognition of equal rights in armament for Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria). It was tacitly assumed that some of the borders of Versailles (between Germany and Poland and between Hungary and its neighbors) would also be subject to revision. The Declaration of non-use of force between Germany and Poland also called the non — aggression Treaty between Germany and Poland, the Pilsudski - Hitler Pact-a joint Declaration signed by Germany and Poland on January 26, 1934. The adoption of this document has contributed to the temporary normalization of relations between the two States. The text of the Declaration specifically stated that it does not cancel the obligations previously given by the governments of Germany and Poland to third countries. The Anglo-German naval agreement of 1935-a Treaty on the ratio of naval forces between England and Germany ( allowed to increase the strength of the German fleet ). Anti-Comintern Pact - "Japanese-German agreement on defense against communism", date of conclusion-November 25, 1936 The Munich agreement of 1938 between Germany, great Britain, France and Italy ( Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union were not invited to the conference ) stipulated that Czechoslovakia would liberate and cede the Sudetenland to Germany within 10 days. As a result, Germany invaded Czechoslovakia and occupied it except for the tesz region, which was occupied by Poland. Czechoslovakia could resist Germany, but Poland's refusal to allow Soviet troops to help Czechoslovakia and the further occupation of parts of Czechoslovakia by Polish troops ( after which Winston Churchill called Poland " the Hyena of Europe "), as well as pressure from England, France, and Italy, effectively ended Czechoslovak statehood. Since in the end the territories of another state were captured and then followed by a series of other captures by Germany it is from this date that it is logical to start the countdown of world war 2. Also, on September 30, 1938, a Declaration of mutual non-aggression was signed between great Britain and Germany; a little later, on December 6, a similar Declaration was signed between Germany and France. "Duesseldorf agreement" — an agreement signed in Duesseldorf on March 15, 1939, which stipulated the economic division of Europe between the monopolies of Germany and England. It was before the trip to Dusseldorf that Walter Rensimen declared-Gentlemen, the peace of Europe is in your hands! The USSR could not agree with Western countries to create a coalition against Germany as a guarantee of peace on its Western borders and was forced to conclude a non-aggression Treaty with Germany, also called the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on August 23, 1939. Germany could not agree with the Polish government about the passage to East Prussia ( the territory of Gdansk hindered) and decided to solve this issue cardinally-starting on September 1, 1939. fighting against Poland, a former ally of the occupation of Czechoslovakia, naturally secured a recently concluded agreement with the USSR on non-aggression, starting the war with a provocation in Glijvice. By September 14, the Wehrmacht had captured Brest. September 17, after the Polish government escaped and was interned in Romania. The Soviet Union carried out its troops in Eastern Poland up to the Curzon line as previously recommended by the Supreme Council of the Entente as the Eastern border of Poland in 1920. and captured by Poland from Soviet Russia under the pretext of taking under their protection the lives and property of the population of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus. After the end of the Polish company, Germany transferred the Polish lands to the USSR through the Curzon line. All the time that German troops were engaged in the East in actions against Poland, the allied Anglo-French troops did not undertake any active combat operations on land and in the air. Active military operations are conducted only on sea communications. In the course of the Soviet-Finnish negotiations of 1938-1939, the USSR tried to get Finland to cede part of the Karelian isthmus (the transfer of these territories broke the "Mannerheim line" in the most important direction, Vyborg), as well as to lease several Islands and part of the Hanko Peninsula (Gangut) for military bases, to protect its border from Leningrad ( which was almost on the border), offering in return a territory in Karelia with a total area twice the required Finnish area. Finland, unwilling to make concessions and assume military obligations, insists on concluding a trade agreement and agreeing to the remilitarization of the Aland Islands. On November 30, 1939, the USSR invaded Finland. On March 13, 1940, a peace Treaty was signed in Moscow between Finland and the USSR, according to which Soviet demands were met: the border on the Karelian isthmus near Leningrad was moved to the Northwest from 32 to 150 km, a number of Islands in the Gulf of Finland were moved to the USSR, Finland received in exchange the territories that the USSR offered to Finland before the start of hostilities. On April 9, 1940, Germany invades Denmark and Norway. On may 10, 1940, Germany invades Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg with 135 divisions. On June 22, the Franco-German armistice was signed in Compiegne, in the same carriage in which the German capitulation was signed in 1918, under which France agrees to occupy most of its territory, demobilize almost the entire land army, and internment the Navy and air force. In the free zone, as a result of the July 10 coup, the authoritarian regime of Petain (Vichy Regime) is established, which has taken a course of close cooperation with Germany. France lost. Back in the autumn of 1939, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania signed mutual aid agreements with the USSR, on June 17, 1940, the USSR issued an ultimatum to the Baltic States, with active support from Moscow, state coups were simultaneously taking place in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Governments that are friendly to Communists come to power, and in the conditions of a significant Soviet military presence, uncontested elections to the Supreme authorities are held. On August 3, the Lithuanian SSR, on August 5, the Latvian SSR, and on August 6, the Estonian SSR were admitted to the USSR. Great Britain, left almost alone in the European theater of war, continues to resist Germany. In 1940. The United States is beginning to actively help England in the war with Germany, despite the fact that the US government on September 5, 1939. made a Declaration of neutrality in the war that began in Europe. During the entire period after the occupation of France and until June 22, 1941. Germany continues its aggressive policy and occupies the Mediterranean and the Balkans. Joint efforts with Italy are fighting in North Africa. Early Sunday morning, June 22, 1941, Germany declared war on the Soviet Union. For the USSR, the Great Patriotic war began in Europe before it did not participate in the war. At the initial stage using the surprise and concentration of the Wehrmacht Germany achieved great success capturing most of the European USSR and reaching November 1941. to the outskirts of Moscow. The defense of Odessa lasted 2 months. During the heroic defense of the red army there were about 41,000 total losses, the total losses of German-Romanian troops in the area of Odessa amounted to more than 160 thousand soldiers, about 200 aircraft and up to 100 tanks Until the end of September 1941. The red army irrevocably lost 430 578 people. killed and missing, captured – 1 699 099 people.Germany irrevocably lost more than 200,000, more than 400,000 wounded. In the battle of Moscow from November 15, 1941. until December 1941. ( thanks to Sorge's information from Japan that Japan was not planning an attack on the USSR, Siberian divisions of the red army were transferred to Moscow from the far East ) the Wehrmacht suffered a crushing defeat. Being 25 km from Moscow, it was pushed back 150-200 km from Moscow. The number of troops and military equipment of the red army to the beginning of the operation - 1.250.000 people., guns and mortars-7.600 units., tanks and self-propelled guns-990 units., aircraft – 677 units. The number of troops and military equipment of the Wehrmacht to the beginning of the revolution - 1.750.000 people., guns and mortars-13.680 units., tanks and self-propelled guns-1.683 units, aircraft-1.354 units. Losses - red army irretrievable losses – 139.586 people. December 7, 1941, Japan strikes the American naval base pearl Harbor. During the attack, which involved 441 aircraft based on six Japanese aircraft carriers, 8 battleships, 6 cruisers and more than 300 us aircraft were sunk and severely damaged. Us entry into the war. Since November 1941, lend lease extends to the USSR, but since November 1941. and until the second half of 1943, deliveries are not regular, of the promised England 800 aircraft and 1000 tanks, which the USSR was supposed to receive in October-December 1941, received 669 aircraft (for comparison-on October 1, 1941, as part of the 3 fronts that protected Moscow, there were 568 aircraft and 389 of them serviceable) and 487 tanks. The United States from October 1941 to June 30, 1942 sent to the USSR 545 aircraft, 783 tanks, more than 3 times less than promised, as well as 16,502 trucks, that is, more than 5 times less than planned. On December 8, the Japanese block the British military base in Hong Kong and launch an invasion of Thailand, British Malaya, and the American Philippines. On December 10, the Japanese capture the American base on the island of GUAM, on December 23-on Wake island, on December 25, Hong Kong fell. on December 8, the Japanese break through the British defenses in Malaya and, rapidly advancing, push the British troops back to Singapore. Singapore, which had previously been considered an "impregnable fortress" by the British, fell on February 15, 1942, after a 6-day siege. By the end of may 1942, Japan, at the cost of minor losses, managed to establish control over Southeast Asia and northwestern Oceania. American, British, Dutch, and Australian forces have suffered a crushing defeat, losing all their main forces in the region. In the first half of 1942, the loss of Anglo-American ships in the Atlantic again increases. German submarines are operating in almost all the waters of the Atlantic ocean. In the summer of 1941, all German aircraft operating in the Mediterranean were transferred to the Soviet-German front. This facilitates the tasks of the British, who, taking advantage of the passivity of the Italian fleet, seize the initiative in the Mediterranean. On may 26, 1942, Germany and Italy resume their offensive in Libya. The British suffer heavy losses and are again forced to retreat. On June 21, the English garrison in Tobruk surrenders. The Italo-German forces continue to advance successfully and on July 1 they approach the British defensive line at El Alamein, 60 km from Alexandria, where they are forced to stop due to heavy losses. On the Eastern front on January 8, 1942, the forces of the Kalinin, Western and North-Western front go on the offensive against the German army group Center, the Wehrmacht preserves the Rzhev-Vyazemsky bridgehead, which is a danger to Moscow. Attempts by the Volkhov and Leningrad fronts to unblock Leningrad were also unsuccessful and led to the encirclement of part of the Volkhov front's forces in March 1942.. Meanwhile, both the Soviet and German sides were waiting for the summer of 1942 to implement their offensive plans. The Soviet offensive at Kharkiv, launched in may 1942, ended in failure. The German troops managed to parry the blow, defeated the Soviet troops and went on the offensive themselves. Soviet troops also suffered a crushing defeat in the Crimea. 9 months of Soviet sailors held Sevastopol, the losses of the red Army and Navy during the defense of Sevastopol amounted to more than 200 thousand people, the Germans and Romanians lost killed, missing, wounded in the battles near Sevastopol more than 300 thousand people. and by July 4, 1942, the remnants of Soviet troops were evacuated to Novorossiysk. As a result, the Soviet defense in the southern sector was weakened. Taking advantage of this, the German command launched a strategic offensive in two directions: Stalingrad and the Caucasus.After fierce fighting near Voronezh and in the Donbass, the German troops of army group B managed to break into the big bend of the don. In mid-July, the battle of Stalingrad began, which ended with the encirclement and destruction of 300,000 Wehrmacht units and the capture of field Marshal Paulus on February 2, 1943. On 19 November 1942. Operation Uranus has begun. Forces of the red Army - more than 1.1 million people, 1560 tanks, more than 15 thousand guns and mortars, more than 1.9 thousand aircraft, Germany-about 1 million people, 675 tanks, more than 10 thousand guns and mortars, aircraft over 1.2 thousand. During the battle of Stalingrad, the red Army lost 1,129,619 men; the Wehrmacht and its allies (Italians, Romanians, Hungarians, Croats) lost about 1.5 million men. Army group A, which was advancing on the Caucasus, took Rostov-on-don on July 23 and continued its offensive on Kuban. On August 12, Krasnodar was taken. However, in the battles in the foothills of the Caucasus and near Novorossiysk, the Soviet troops managed to stop the enemy. In August 1942, the Germans captured Stavropol and Maykop, and on October 28 they captured Nalchik. the Soviet troops were able to stop them only at the approaches to Ordzhonikidze and Malgobek. At Malgobek, elements of the SS Viking division suffered a crushing defeat. By the end of January 24, 1943. The red army liberated Mozdok, Pyatigorsk, Armavir, and Krasnodar on February 12. Since April 17, active fighting has stopped on most sections of the front. in 1943, the red army launched an offensive in the Central and South-Western directions of the Soviet Union. front's. However, the Rzhev-Sychevsky operation conducted from July 30 to the end of September was not successful. At this time, a major naval battle of world war II in the Pacific, which took place in June 1942, is called the Battle of midway Atoll. The decisive victory of the US Navy over the Combined Japanese fleet was a turning point in the war in the Pacific. The Japanese fleet, which lost 4 heavy aircraft carriers, 248 aircraft and the best pilots, was forever unable to operate effectively outside the zones of coastal aviation cover. On the Eastern front, the battle of the Kursk bulge took place from July 5 to August 23, 1943. It was attended by about 2 million people, 6 thousand tanks, 4 thousand aircraft. As a result, the Oryol grouping of German troops was defeated, and the Oryol strategic bridgehead occupied by it was liquidated, as well as the Belgorod-Kharkiv grouping of the Wehrmacht was defeated.From 5 to 23 July 1943, the Germans lost 70,000 dead, 3,095 tanks and self-propelled guns, 844 field guns, 1,392 aircraft, and over 5,000 vehicles. The radical change in the course of the great Patriotic war, which began at Stalingrad, was completed in the battle of Kursk and the battle of the Dnieper. At the same time, the coalition Forces conducted the Sicilian operation, which did not affect the battle of Kursk, since the Germans were transferring forces from West to East, so "the defeat of the Wehrmacht in the battle of Kursk facilitated the actions of Anglo-American troops in Italy." From August 24, 1943 to December 23, 1943.. the battle of the Dnieper took place, during which significant red Army forces crossed the river, created several strategic bridgeheads on the right Bank of the river, and liberated the city of Kiev. The battle of the Dnieper became one of the largest battles in world history. On both sides, up to 4 million people took part in the battle, and its front stretched for 750 kilometers. As a result of a four-month operation, the left-Bank Ukraine was almost completely liberated by the red army from the Nazi invaders. On July 10, 1943, the allies landed in Sicily. In September 1943, Anglo-American troops landed in the South of the Appennine Peninsula. By January 1944, the allies had reached the German winter line fortifications around Monte Cassino and the Garigliano river. In January, February and March 1944, they attacked German positions three times in order to break through the enemy's defenses on the Garigliano river and enter Rome, but due to the deteriorating weather, heavy rains, they failed, and the front line stabilized until may 1944. In November 1943, the allies managed to capture the Japanese island of Tarawa. At the end of 1943-the first half of 1944, the main fighting took place in the southern sector of the front. The Germans leave the territory of Ukraine. The red Army in the South reaches the border of 1941 and enters the territory of Romania. May 9, 1944. released g.Sevastopol. On June 6, 1944, the allied forces of the United States, great Britain, and Canada, after two months of diversionary maneuvers, conduct the largest amphibious operation in history and land in Normandy.In September, the allied offensive on Belgian territory begins. By the end of 1944, the Germans were having a hard time stabilizing the front line in the West. In the summer of 1944, the red army began its offensive in Eastern Belarus. By autumn, almost all the previously occupied territory of the USSR had been cleared of German troops: Belarus, Ukraine, and the Baltic States. In July 1944, the Red Army crossed the border into Poland. The uprising in Warsaw against the German occupiers was raised on August 1, 1944, by underground detachments of the home Army, when its commander, th. It seemed to Bur‑Komorovsky and the Polish emigrant government that red Army units were about to break into the capital of Poland, but the red army command was not informed of the plans of the rebels – the "London poles" refused to coordinate their actions with the Headquarters of the VGK of the USSR. Before the approach to Warsaw, the formations of the 1st Belorussian front of Marshal K. K. Rokossovsky overcame hundreds of kilometers, were weakened by heavy fighting and suffered serious losses. Despite this, Soviet troops and parts of the Polish Army made desperate attempts to break through to the rebels. However, after liberating the suburb of the Polish capital (Prague district), the Red Army faced fierce German resistance. About 500 tanks were hit on the approaches to Warsaw.More than 200,000 poles, primarily civilians, were killed during the uprising. The remnants of the home Army units operating in Warsaw surrendered to the enemy on October 2, 1944. On December 16, the Wehrmacht launched a counteroffensive in the Ardennes. The Germans manage to advance 100 km deep into Belgium, but on December 22, General Patton's American 3rd army launched a counteroffensive, attacking the Germans from the South, and by December 25, 1944, the German offensive had collapsed, and the allies launched a General counteroffensive. By December 27, the Germans did not hold the captured positions in the Ardennes and began to retreat. In February-March 1945, the allies captured all German territory West of the Rhine and crossed the Rhine during the Meuse-Rhine operation. German troops, having suffered heavy defeats in the Ardennes and Meuse-Rhine operations, retreated to the right Bank of the Rhine. In April 1945, the allies surrounded German army group B in the Ruhr and by 17 April had defeated it, and the Wehrmacht lost the Ruhr industrial area. On the Eastern ( Soviet-German ) front, the Vistula is held‑Oder strategic operations from January 12 to February 3, 1945 as a result of the war, Soviet troops completely liberate Poland from German troops and reach the border of the Oder river. Berlin is 60 km away. During the liberation of Poland from the German-fascist invaders, the USSR irrevocably lost over 600,000 people. In February 1945, the Budapest operation was carried out. At the end of April, 1945. The red army begins its offensive on Berlin. The Nazi leadership tried to prolong the war in order to achieve a separate peace with Britain and the United States and split the anti-Hitler coalition ( which did not happen ). At the same time, it was crucial to hold the front against the Soviet Union. In the course of the Berlin offensive, the Rate of the VGK of the USSR concentrated 1.9 million against the Germans. people, 6250 tanks, more than 7,500 aircraft. The allies - the Polish troops of the Ludova army-also took part: 155,900 people. German troops had: 1 million people, 1,500 tanks, more than 3,300 aircraft. Berlin itself was turned into a powerful fortified area. On April 17, the troops of the 1st Belorussian front fought a fierce battle with the enemy. By the morning of April 18, tank and rifle formations, supported by the aviation of the 16th and 18th air armies, took Zelovsky heights. Overcoming the stubborn defense of German troops and repelling violent counterattacks, the front's troops broke through the third defensive line by the end of April 19 and were able to develop the offensive on Berlin. The real threat of encirclement forced the commander of the 9th German army, T. Busse, to come out with a proposal to withdraw the army to the suburbs of Berlin and occupy a strong defense there. On April 21, units of the 3rd shock, 2nd guards tank, 47th and 5th shock armies overcame the third defense lane, broke into the outskirts of Berlin and began fighting there. Operating in the auxiliary direction, the 61st army and the 1st army of The Polish Army, starting the offensive on April 17, with persistent fighting overcame the German defense, bypassed Berlin from the North and moved to the Elbe. By the end of April 24, formations of the 28th army of the 1st Ukrainian front came into contact with units of the 8th guards army of the 1st Belorussian front, thereby encircling General Busse's 9th army Southeast of Berlin and cutting it off from the city. At 12 p.m. on April 25, the ring closed around Berlin. The Berlin garrison consisted of at least 200,000 men, 3,000 guns, and 250 tanks. The defense of the city was carefully planned and well prepared. It was based on a system of heavy fire, strong points and resistance nodes. The closer to the center of the city, the more dense the defense became. Massive stone buildings with thick walls gave it special strength. Windows and doors of many buildings were sealed up and turned into embrasures for firing. The streets were blocked by powerful barricades up to four meters thick. The defenders had a large number of faustpatrons, which turned out to be a formidable anti-tank weapon in the context of street fighting. Of no small importance in the enemy's defense system were underground structures that were widely used by the enemy for maneuvering troops, as well as for hiding them from artillery and bomb attacks. On April 30, 1945 at 21: 30, units of the 150th rifle division under the command of major General V. M. Shatilov and the 171st rifle division under the command of Colonel A. I. Negoda stormed the main part of the Reichstag building. The remaining Hitlerite units put up a stubborn resistance. April 30, 1945. A. Hitler committed suicide, had to Fight for every room. In the early morning of may 1, the assault flag of the 150th rifle division was raised over the Reichstag, but the battle for the Reichstag continued all day and only on the night of may 2, the Reichstag garrison capitulated. At 1 a.m. on may 2, the radio stations of the 1st Belorussian front received a message in Russian: "Please cease fire. We are sending parliamentarians to the Potsdam bridge." A German officer who arrived at the appointed place on behalf of the commander of the defense of Berlin, General Weidling, announced the readiness of the Berlin garrison to stop resistance. At 6 a.m. on may 2, General of artillery Weidling, accompanied by three German generals, crossed the front line and surrendered. From April 16 to may 8, the Soviet forces lost 352475 men, of which 78291 were irretrievably lost. The losses of Polish troops during the same period amounted to 8892 people, of which 2,825 were irretrievably lost. Losses of military equipment amounted to 1997 tanks and self-propelled guns, 2108 guns and mortars, 917 combat aircraft. Losses of German troops killed amounted to about 400 thousand people, prisoners about 380 thousand people. Part of the German troops were pushed back to the Elbe and capitulated to the allied forces. By 13 o'clock on may 9, the advanced detachment of the 6th guards tank army of the 2nd Ukrainian front entered Prague. The resistance of individual units of the SS divisions "Reich", " Viking "and" Wallenstein " continued until 16:00, when the Germans capitulated. The first time the German representatives signed the surrender in Reims, France, the second-near Berlin, about two days later, because the signing in Reims was not attended by representatives of the USSR, the surrender to the allies in Reims took place on the initiative of the Germans themselves, who were afraid of being captured by the red army. The representative of the Soviet Supreme high command Headquarters at the allied command in Susloparov did not receive clear instructions from the Supreme high command and signed an act with the reservation that this document may not be final. I. V. Stalin declared: "The Treaty signed at Rheims cannot be revoked, but it cannot be recognized. Capitulation must be made as an important historical act and accepted not on the territory of the victors, but where the fascist aggression came from-in Berlin, and not unilaterally, but necessarily by the Supreme command of all the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition." The second time the surrender was signed at midnight from 8 to 9 may 1945 in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst in the building of the former canteen of the military engineering school, the re-signing ceremony of the Act of surrender of Germany began. The Soviet side was represented by Marshal G. K. Zhukov and A. ya. Vyshinsky, while the Western allies were represented by British air Marshal A.V. tedder, American General Karl Spaats (commander of the us strategic air forces) and General J. D. de Tassigny (commander-in-chief of the French army). Germany was represented by field Marshal Keitel, Admiral of the fleet von Friedeburg, and Colonel-General of aviation Stumpf. The signing of the act in Karlshorst took place on may 8, 1945 at 22: 43 Central European time, and it entered into force, as it was agreed in Reims, at 23: 01 on may 8. However, according to Moscow time, these events occurred at 0: 43 and 1: 01 on may 9. This discrepancy in time was the reason why Victory Day in Europe became may 8, and in the Soviet Union – may 9. According to the results of the Yalta conference, the USSR pledged to transfer troops from Europe to the far East within 3 months after the end of the war with Germany and begin a large-scale offensive by August 8, 1945, in return for receiving the Kurils and southern Sakhalin. On August 8, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and on August 9, launched an offensive and within 2 weeks inflicted a crushing defeat on the Japanese Kwantung army in Manchukuo. On September 2, at 9:02 Tokyo time (4:02 Moscow time), an act of unconditional surrender of Japan was signed on Board the USS Missouri. The state of war between the USSR and Japan was ended by the Joint Declaration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Japan of October 19, 1956. However, the peace Treaty between the USSR and Japan was never signed. Japan disputes Russia's ownership of the southern Kuril Islands — Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and the Habomai group of Islands, which were ceded to the USSR according to the agreements of the Yalta conference. Total human losses reached 60-65 million people, of which 27 million people were killed at the front, many of them Soviet citizens. Germany lost up to 8 million soldiers and up to 3 million civilians. The USSR lost up to 9 million soldiers ( over 2 million in captivity) and up to 20 million civilians. The United States lost over 400,000 soldiers, including about 300,000 in the war with Japan, great Britain about 300,000 soldiers, Poland about 1 million soldiers and about 6 million civilians, Japan about 2 million soldiers and 700,000 civilians. Not counting other countries that lost up to half a million soldiers. I believe that it is not worth considering who lost more and who less, who invested more in the victory and who less. The most important thing is that the victory was won over evil, together, helping each other as much as possible. Do not look for the most important winner. If it were not for the allied landings in Normandy and lend-lease assistance, the Soviet Union might have, and even most likely would have, defeated Hitler's Germany, but this would have happened at least 2-3 years later and additional losses would have amounted to several million people. The same is true for other members of the anti-Hitler coalition. It is necessary to respect the actions of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition and honor the memory of all those who died. My greatest wish is that world war 3 never happened. What do you think ?
Hey all, it’s been a while. Before we begin I just want to say that I love the support this series has been getting, and while I will absolutely be continuing it going forward, there's just no way that I can keep it to a regular schedule. With the holiday season coming in fast, several experienced people at my job leaving for greener pastures, and, of course, the Pacific (and Modern Warfare...) dropping right now, there's just no way that I can continue dropping good, high-quality, Tommy Tuesdays that I can be proud of at the rate that I used to. On the bright side however, today's Tommy Tuesday is arguably the most well-researched one yet, as I actually had to go out and buy a book just to find good reliable, information about today's unit. So, without further adieu, let's get right into it! In war-time a naval blockade can be a powerful tool to cut-off your enemies from the outside world. Denied food for their people, resources for their war machine, and communication with potential allies, an enemy under a blockade is at a severe disadvantage. To get around this, small, fast, and stealthy ships will be employed to blitz through the blockade. These ships are called Blockade Runners, and their use in warfare goes back almost as far as the concept of a blockade itself. While the British blockade of Germany was perhaps the largest and most impactful naval blockade of the war, the Wehrmacht introduced a new, novel, take on the concept. For nearly the entire first half of the war, the Luftwaffe reigned supreme over the entire Mediterranean. Any British ship attempting to sail through its waters would come under relentless air attack, forcing the British to sail reinforcements for their embattled North African forces all the way around Africa, a process that took months. In a sense, the Axis Powers’ air supremacy became its own form of blockade, and one which the traditional blockade runner was ill-equipped to tackle. Today we’ll be exploring the unit that was born to run the Luftwaffe’s air blockade, and how it came to operate in one of the most forgotten theaters of the war. But first, a quick examination of the Blockade Runner set as it appears in-game. For those who aren’t already aware, this set was dropped piece-by-piece through “Weekly Airlifts," unlike the others. Exactly like every other deluxe edition set though, this set is just a reskin of other common cosmetics with unique headgear. Curiously though, the set that DICE reskinned for the top of this one, The Patriot, was already reskinned for the Desert Medic. Meanwhile, the legs of this set are taken from The Writer (which we have not covered yet) and are composed of US M42 Paratrooper Pants worn with US Army M43 Double-Buckle Boots. A bandage has also been wrapped around the right leg for extra tacticool appeal or... something ;). The unique headgear for this set is a knit stocking cap resembling those sometimes worn by British soldiers or US troops along with a pair of US M1944 Dust Goggles. The pattern applied to the individual pieces seems to be loosely inspired by the pattern sometimes applied to US Airborne Pathfinder uniforms, although it is different for the top and bottom. The hat also sports some manner of camouflage patterning. Overall, I am totally unsure of what this set has to do with blockade running in its current state. At least the hat gives off some commando vibes, but if you’re dead-set on making a stocking-cap commando the “Death in the Afternoon” headgear may be a better choice. https://preview.redd.it/xnjr1hde1nv31.png?width=231&format=png&auto=webp&s=875372cae7fc667d7b9ce1bf30f7e4938e37b660 It was a brisk morning in the Scottish Isles when one man set out on a mission to change the face of warfare forever. Armed with little more than his folding kayak and a lifetime of experience, he was determined to prove the worth of his dream to create a special group of kayaking commandos. His target on that day was the HMS Glengyle (later serving with Layforce) and, despite his own craft’s lack of size and speed, he was confident that he would be able to board the larger ship and show the officers who had laughed in his face just how wrong they were. Exhausted from nearly a full day of sailing the waters off the Scottish coast, he clambered aboard the large ship and, without drawing attention, wrote his initials on the door of the captain’s quarters, stole a pair of his trousers, and swiped the cover of a deck gun. Now back aboard his boat, he set course back to Invereray to finally get the recognition his ideas deserved. Exhausted and soaking wet he burst into the hotel in which the officers were staying, the drenched gun cover in his hand, and once more made his case. This time, his concept proven, the officers relented and promoted him to the rank of Captain. He was given the command of a unit of 12 men dubbed the “Folbot Troop,” and told to begin training immediately. This man was Roger Courtney, but this is not his story. Rather, today we will be following the exploits of the unit that the Folbot Troop would become, the Special Boat Squadron. Below, Courtney can be seen with his dog. This picture was taken in the aftermath of his departure from the Folbot Troop, having fallen terribly ill while training them in North Africa. While the ensuing leadership struggle would mark their decline, David Stirling, commander of the SAS, scooped up the unit shortly before his capture. While his time with them would not be long, his visionary leadership would set the SBS back on the course to greatness. While much of Courtney’s uniform isn’t visible, it can be inferred that it is likely a basic Battledress Officer’s Uniform. https://preview.redd.it/ank6ann0zlv31.jpg?width=800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f4abb0d21895110b25d058fd2cd410e06758767e While it is said that the official founding of the Special Boat Squadron occurred on April 1st, 1943, the truth isn’t quite so exciting. While there is an ironic sort of sense to a unit with so impish and mischievous a reputation being founded on April Fool’s day, in reality the SBS had actually been formed on March 19th, nearly a fortnight earlier. Based on the remnants of D-Patrol, Special Air Service under the command of George Jellicoe, the 2nd Earl Jellicoe, itself based on what remained of the Folbot Troop after the disastrous operation Anglo, the SBS burst onto the scene in early 1943 ready for action. Jellicoe organized his new unit into three squadrons, dubbed "L," "M," and "S," after their leaders' initials. Though the track record of their predecessors had been rocky up until that point, it was under the leadership of Jellicoe that things would come to improve, eventually. Operation Husky would see Allied forces taking the first major step back into retaking continental Europe, and marked the full realization of the Allied Powers’ strength. Before it could begin though, something had to be done about the German bombers stationed on Sardinia. With each one capable of sending an entire transport ship carrying 2,000 men to the bottom of the sea with a single bomb, the risk posed by the sheer possibility of even one slipping through the Allied fighter screen made many hesitant to give Operation Husky the green light. While the RAF had proven themselves capable of attacking airfields on their own, it was decided that boots on the ground were necessary to ensure the Axis’ birds stayed in their nests. This, it was decided, was where the SBS’ L Squadron would have to intervene. Using the SAS’ raids as a model, a three week long excursion was launched on the 30 of June, 1943. Codenamed “Operation Hawthorn,” it would end in disaster. Compared to the SAS’ successful raids, there were several notable distinctions to be made. For one, while the SAS’ raids usually happened over the course of a week at most, with only one night seeing real combat, the SBS were expected to stay on the island for nearly a month, launching multiple consecutive raids and evading capture throughout. Secondly, whereas the SAS could always pull out early if things got too bullety, the SBS were trapped on an island swarming with enemy forces. Thirdly, the SAS were never sent into combat while suffering from Malaria. While L Squadron’s medic had the medicine to treat this, he was unable to inform his patients what the medicine he was giving them was actually for since it had been decided that such information would damage morale. As a result, few took the prescription seriously and many men fell quite ill before the raid even began, including the medic himself. As if matters were not already bad enough, the SBS’ guide, a suspicious Italian expat by the name of Louis Tempanyro, was assigned as the squadron’s guide. The commandos found him difficult to work with and doubted his loyalty, as he had been conscripted against both his and their will into the mission. It’s no surprise that he disappeared only hours after the first group of commandos came ashore. Over the course of nearly a week the Italians slowly rounded up the commandos who didn’t pass away from disease in the wilderness and loaded them into a truck bound for the Sassari jailhouse. Only one group had actually managed to do any damage, with the others who had even made it to their targets reporting that the Italian guards seemed all too prepared for an attack, with extra barbed wire, well-organized patrols, and large searchlights being deployed. All evidence pointed to someone sounding the alarm, and as if there were any question as to who had snitched Tempanyro eventually joined his imprisoned fellows following a lengthy stay at the Italian barracks. Jellicoe, who had suffered a car crash at around the time of the Operation, didn’t find out about what exactly had happened until one man was returned to his unit over three months later. Having been left around the sick and drinking contaminated water from a stream, Sergeant Pat Scully managed to simultaneously contract malaria and dysentery during his stay in the Sardinian prison. Deemed unfit to be moved to a German prison alongside the other men, he spent the next two months hospitalized, only being moved via plane to Naples days before the Italian surrender. With the country collapsing around him, he managed to slip away unnoticed, eventually getting picked up by an American patrol and sent back to Jellicoe nearly a month later. While the few surviving members of L Squadron (those who had gotten too sick before the operation and were left behind in Algeria) were moved to S Squadron, the SBS was still down nearly a third of their number following just one operation. Losses like this simply weren’t sustainable and, had it not been for another simultaneous raid on Crete, the SBS may well have been entirely disbanded. If Sardinia was the bastion of the Luftwaffe in the west, Crete was their impenetrable fortress in the East. The men of S Squadron sent to the island of heroes would concoct a plan eerily similar to that of Operation Hawthorn, but under the veteran leadership of Captain Sutherland and without concern for an inconveniently timed outbreak of malaria, things were actually looking up for the men of S Squadron. Coming ashore on the night of June 23, 1943, B and C patrols made contact with the Cretan Resistance who would guide them to the Heraklion and Kastelli airfields, respectively. Four days later, D patrol climbed onto the rocky shore and began making their way to the Tymbaki airfield, which would turn out to be empty. While the going was rough, the SBS nevertheless made it to their targets in time to conduct a thorough reconnaissance. B Patrol’s guide, a resourceful Cretan teenager named Janni, volunteered to scout their airfield. When he returned, it was with the news that Heraklion had been abandoned, but that they had found a much more exciting target. A depot containing thousands of gallons of aircraft fuel was only a few miles west of their hideout. The night of the attack B patrol found the gas guarded by only a pair of Germans with dogs. Hoping to give the animals little cause for alarm, only one man entered the dump that night while the rest pulled overwatch. Following a close call when the two guards stopped to gossip only a few meters from him, the commando managed to successfully slip away unnoticed after planting his bombs. The fireworks that night were immense, as the flaming fuel from the dump ignited an undiscovered ammo cache hidden nearby, sending overcooked munitions off into the night sky. Meanwhile, C Patrol found the Kastelli airfield not only bustling with German activity, but far better defended than any airfield the commandos had ever seen. Not about to let their enemies win so easily though, Lassen, a frightful Danish man who many, himself included, saw as a modern example of the viking warrior spirit, ordered his patrol to commence with the attack. While he and another man went after a handful of Ju-88s on one side of the airfield, two more circled around to deal with a dozen heavily guarded stukas on the other. Upon setting their bombs, Lassen and his man heard a commotion coming from the other side of the airfield. Suspecting that their colleagues had been spotted, they moved in to check it out, and continued their sabotaging while the sentries were distracted. Unbeknownst to them however, another guard had stayed behind and attempted to stop the two strange men. Lassen, who was fluent in German, attempted to tell him off. The guard responded in Italian, and probably thinking something along the lines of “Well, shit,” Lassen whipped out his Smith & Wesson and fired. The shot rang out through the night, pulling the guards’ attention away from the other two men and back to the planes, where a pair of unknown strangers now stood over the body of their dead comrade. In the ensuing chaos, Lassen began throwing Mills bombs left and right to throw their pursuers off their tail. In no time, the Italians began to fire upon themselves and, in the mayhem, the commandos managed to slip away. The next day, as the SBS units moved to regroup, Elements of C and D Patrols were stopped by 25 islanders who wanted off the island. In retaliation for the attacks the preceding night, the Germans occupying the island had massacred an entire village and were threatening to kill more if those responsible were not turned in. S Squadron now found themselves in a precarious situation. They couldn’t just send these men back to their deaths, but 25 extra bodies would strain their supply lines and put them at far greater risk of discovery. Eventually, Sutherland decided that he would have to radio Cairo for an early pick up just as their long-range radio died. Now scrambling in broad daylight to find a suitable replacement, it is nothing short of a miracle that no Axis patrols spotted them by the time they were able to hook up a pair of smaller batteries and send out the SOS. After a short wait, they got a reply back from Cairo. The ships were on their way, and would be arriving at midnight. Now scrambling for the beaches, Sutherland, his men, and the refugees made camp on a ridge overlooking the sea. Though an uneasy sense of dread hung in the air, the men of the SBS kept themselves in high spirits throughout the rest of the day, nearly missing the sound of Germans shouting somewhere very nearby. One cannot imagine the surprise the two patrolmen must have felt when suddenly, out of nowhere, a dozen heavily armed commandos burst from the rocks and ordered them to lay down their weapons. With the only other alternative being death, the Germans obliged. Since they had found only two, the Allies concluded that more must be out there. While the British were assembling a group to go out and track them down, the Cretans, who soon burst from their camp with great furor, beat them to the punch. Within the hour the sound of a firefight could be heard nearby. While the situation was undesirable, the SBS decided to hang back and hope that the wind would continue to conceal the commotion. As the sun went behind the horizon and the world fell to darkness however, the air became suddenly very still. Deciding that their current position was now inadvantageous, Sutherland moved his men, the remaining Greeks, and their prisoners down to the beaches. Setting their packs into two rows in the sand for a quick getaway, a small squadron of commandos were assembled and dispatched to go and retrieve their trigger-happy companions, and to keep the Germans pinned until they could evacuate. When the ships finally arrived however, the commander of the small relief force, an accomplished, if over-eager, soldier named Ken Lamonby, failed to return with the others. The men of S-Squadron were able to convince the boat to go back around and search for him, but Lamonby’s fate would be sealed on that island. Unknown to the brothers who left him behind, Lamonby had been fatally wounded trying to take the Germans on up close. He passed away in a hospital near Heraklion some time later. Below Lassen (left) and Lamonby (right) can bee seen, possibly on Crete some time during their escape from the Germans. Their uniforms are fairly simple, consisting of Aertex desert shirts, knit wool “commando” caps, and (based on evidence from other photographs I’ve seen but which I am unable to share) Pattern 1941 KD Shorts. They also have a handful of personal bits, either reminders of who they are or specialized bits of equipment to help them in their commandoing. Lassen wears a necklace of some manner and a set of P37 Webbing that he had customized to be little more than a belt of pistol ammo pouches (I know from aforementioned other photographs). Lamonby, meanwhile, sports his signature pipe and a scarf. He too appears to be wearing some manner of P37 webbing, and although I cannot infer how he’s wearing it based on other photographs, it is clearly not in the basic style. https://preview.redd.it/ttx0xv378mv31.jpg?width=881&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=44ee73cfe10c407333eaf797b90a3272746b4c58 Upon their return to friendly lines, it became apparent that S Squadron would not be allowed to rest for long. The developing situation in Italy and throughout the Mediterranean would call them back to arms, alongside M Squadron, in early September. While the Italian armistice had been signed on September 3, 1943, it was not made publicly known until the 8th, five days later. It was also on the 8th that a very surprised Jellicoe and a number of other British officers stationed in the Middle East were hastily summoned to Cairo to discuss how they would handle this sudden change of course. For many, this meant that they were being redeployed to more active fronts, but for Jellicoe this meant that his squadrons would once more be setting sail for the Greek Islands. The Italian occupied Dodecanese had long been of strategic interest for British High command, namely the main island of Rhodes, on which many commandos had already lost their lives. Nevertheless, a day after having been briefed Jellicoe and two other men parachuted onto Rhodes. They planned to make contact with the commander of Italian forces on the island and convince him to turn his 35,000 strong garrison against the much smaller 7,000 strong German garrison, effectively capturing the island overnight. To their dismay, the Italians surrendered to the Germans on Rhodes, turning what could’ve been a quick and easy operation into a nearly three month long campaign. While the rest of the islands were quickly captured with minimal bloodshed by the SBS, the British were struggling to muster the manpower and equipment to capture Rhodes. Instead, the SBS, now reinforced by the LRDG, Greek Sacred Circle, and Levantine Schooner Flotilla, would have to pick up the slack and do everything they could to starve the German garrison into surrender. Disaster struck in early October when orders came down from Hitler himself that not only would Rhodes never surrender, but that the Wehrmacht would launch a full-scale invasion of the Dodecanese to rip them right back out of Allied control. Beginning with the invasion of Kos, Allied forces were caught totally off-guard. Sutherland watched the chaos enfold from his observation point on the neighboring Kalymnos and decided that he should send in a small unit of his own men to assess the situation. What they saw was grim. British forces on the island were confused and disorganized, and the Germans were now working to mop up what little resistance remained. Deciding to beat them to it, the group sent to Kos set about evacuating survivors. Working over the course of a week without boots and little more than the few clothes they were able to scrounge up to warm themselves in the cold, autumn, nights (they had attempted to escape the island themselves aboard makeshift rafts, but had been forced to swim back when they proved non-seaworthy, stripping unnecessary clothing as they went), they managed to save nearly a hundred lost, confused, and starving men. Below a pair of men who participated in the rescue operation on Kos can be seen. On the left is Dick “Jeff” Holmes, who led the operation. His outfit consists of a British Army Sweater, pair of Pattern 1941 KD Shorts, and what I believe to be a beret (the SBS wore beige berets with SAS badges throughout WW2), although it could just as easily be some sort of wool cap. Around his waist is a P37 webbing belt supporting a pistol holster for his prized Smith & Wesson revolver, a P37 Pistol ammo pouch, and some manner of other large pouch, possibly a P37 Utility Pouch that he might be using to carry extra ammunition for his Tommy Gun. The man on the right is Duggie Pomford, a former boxer turned commando (there seem to have been a lot of those…). Like Holmes, he wears an Army Sweater, however in place of the KD shorts more commonly worn in Greece he has instead acquired a nice, warm, pair of Battledress trousers. Around his neck he has a pair of binoculars and tucked beneath his arm is some sort of blanket. While he too has a P37 webbing belt, his appears much more sparsely adorned, as he is likely taking advantage of his trouser’s large leg pocket for carrying ammunition. The elephant in the room however, is their boots. Referred to by the commandos as “Canadian Boots,” they seem to be some manner of duck boot, and were likely a private purchase of the two men. As this style of boot proved itself popular with the SBS thanks to its durable, waterproof, rubber bottom and flexible, easily worn, calf-length leather upper portion, there are many pictures of SBS commandos sporting them from the latter half of the war. With so little information available though, it is impossible for me to say for sure what these “Canadian Boots” actually were. Also, notice the bandage wrapped around Holmes' leg... hmm.... https://preview.redd.it/tyvpfln9cmv31.jpg?width=306&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=744d8ca66a931a6b62ef894d96eb0005520e3c40 Meanwhile on the island of Simi, 26 commandos, mostly from M Squadron, alongside roughly 140 Italians garrisoning the island and 40 RAF ground crewmen whom the SBS had “coaxed” into helping them were preparing to fight a bitter defense for the island. When the Germans did come ashore the 20mm Breda Autocannon that they had placed overlooking the bay began tearing into them, and while several of the attackers managed to penetrate further inland, reaching Simi Town, they were met by a bloodthirsty Lassen who began to viciously push them back to their boats. With the enemy routing, another group of the SBS set off in a boat of their own and chased down the unarmed German ships, pushing them right into view of a Bren Gun battery that they had set up the day previous. The machine guns riddled the wooden deck with bullets, killing and wounding many more men. The Allies’ victory was well-fought but would be just as equally short-lived. When the German officers in charge of the Dodecanese campaign found out about this humiliating defeat they came down hard with the Luftwaffe. Over the next several days stukas rained hell on the island, killing Allied soldiers and Greek civilians indiscriminately, ultimately forcing the Allies off of the island. A similar situation faced the men attempting to hold Leros, including most of S Squadron. Throughout the month of October, the island was indiscriminately bombed both day and night by the Luftwaffe. Following a brief moment of rest in the first week of November, the Germans once more resumed their attacks. With their efforts primarily focused on the coastal defences, it became evident that the German attack would be coming at any moment and, realizing the tenuous situation, Jellicoe (who had just arrived on the island alongside what remained of M Squadron to take charge of the situation) sent a handful of reliable men under the command of Lassen north to Samos. Their instructions were to begin preparations to pull Allied forces stationed there out in the event that Leros fell, as their position in the Dodecanese would no longer be salvageable at that point. Additionally, Sutherland was sent to contact the Royal Navy to arrange for an evacuation of Leros in the event that their defense failed. Finally, on the morning of November 12th the first German invaders began making their way onto the beaches under withering fire from the Allied guns. By that afternoon, the Allies’ lines held strong as dozens of Ju-52s filled the sky overhead. The commandos had proven their efficacy against the Wehrmacht’s regular infantry time and time again, but they had never faced a foe like the one that began embarking from those planes. These were no grunts, nor even elite fallschirmjägers. Instead, Hitler had sent none other than his finest soldiers to do battle with the British commandos. Nearly 500 Brandenburgers descended onto the island that day and, if they were anything like what was claimed, the battle was already lost to the Allies. Over the next few days, the Germans and Allies clashed in a vicious tug-of-war over the rocky slopes of the island. While the initial surprise of the airborne attack had allowed the Germans to secure the central region, cutting the Allied force in two, subsequent attempts to land troops by parachute proved disastrous. Not only were Allied forced ready and picked them apart with an onslaught of machine-gun fire, but a strong wind blew many off course and into the sides of cliffs, houses, or into the water where they drowned. By the 15th it looked like the Allies might be able to actually push back the Germans, but the following day everything changed. Unbeknownst to nearly all Allied forces on the island, a squad of Brandenburgers had managed to slip through their lines and set a course straight for Robert Tilney, the commander of all Allied Forces on Leros. To ensure that this bold play went undiscovered, the Luftwaffe was called in once more and, on the morning of November 16th, they forced the Allies back on the defensive. The Germans began to slowly but surely take ground, and when the Brandenburgers informed Tilney of this situation, at gunpoint, he was persuaded to capitulate. When Jellicoe found out about this betrayal, he was furious and rounded up whatever British forces he could to make a mad dash for a Royal Navy motor transport that he had arranged to evacuate them. The fall of Leros and the subsequent abandonment of Samos marked the official end of the short-lived Dodecanese campaign, but not for the SBS. As the winter of 1943 gave way to the spring of 1944, The Germans found themselves being boxed in on all sides. In the East, the Red Army was battering a crumbling Wehrmacht out of their land and into the old killing grounds of Poland and the Baltics. Looking south, the combined might of the Western Allies had finally broken the stalemate at Monte Cassino and forced the Italians to surrender. In the skies over Western Europe, Allied bombers struck at the very heart of Germany, killing thousands. Most importantly of all, a force was assembling and training to undertake the greatest amphibious invasion the world had ever seen just across the English channel, with D-Day only six months away. The only front on which Germany seemed to have made any gains was in the Aegean, but the SBS wasn’t about to let them take that win so easily. Under orders to undertake a clandestine naval campaign, the purpose of which was to force the Germans into wasting resources that could be used on more important fronts, the SBS began a long series of raids and attacks that many within their ranks bluntly described as “Piracy” and “Terrorism.” From Stampalia to Piscopi the SBS made the Germans pay dearly for their occupation of the Greek islands. For nearly 4 months their reign of terror went practically unopposed until, in late March, they attempted to launch a raid against the islands of Chalki and Alimia, just north of Rhodes. A German spy in Turkey had gotten word of the SBS’ plans to attack the islands and forwarded this information to the commander of the German forces on Rhodes. As soon as the commandos had set foot on Alimia they were rounded up, arrested, and sent to be interrogated before ultimately being handed over to the SS for “liquidation.” The SBS’ luck hadn’t totally run out though, as even though many of their secrets were spilled, the Germans foolishly broadcast what they had learned over public propaganda channels, giving their enemies a chance to adapt before they could even use the information that they had gained. While this ultimately saved many lives, all commandos understood that to be captured meant death, and the execution of good men and friends could not go unpunished. When the SBS struck next, it would be for blood. In late April, 1944, S Squadron was given to go ahead to expand their area of operations to include the Cyclades, an archipelago before-now untouched by British forces. To announce this new theatre and ensure that the Germans got the message, Sutherland devised a plan to launch 3 simultaneous attacks on Santorini, Ios, and Mykonos. In addition to their standard orders to destroy German shipping and communication infrastructure, a third objective was also given: To eliminate any enemy targets as opportunity provides. On Santorini, Lassen and his men led a direct assault on the barracks, slaughtering the Germans as they slept while a small handful of his men destroyed the wireless station further inland. On Mykonos, the SBS discovered that the garrison comprised only nine men, all of whom were either killed or captured in a single night. Finally, the group sent to Ios eliminated the garrison there and destroyed German communications equipment and an ammo dump before moving on to Amorgos. There they killed the lieutenant in charge of the island who had sent his entire garrison to Santorini to hunt for an already long-gone Lassen. Realizing the golden opportunity they had, the raiders on Amorgos set up an ambush for the returning Germans, killing all but two of the ten that arrived. Throughout the month of May, lightning raids with the goal of spreading terror through the German ranks such as these continued, ultimately eliminating 15 enemy ships, 17 communications centers, untold dozens of enemy soldiers, and capturing 25 tons of food from the Germans, most of which was redistributed to the starving civilian populace of the islands. As the SBS had taken to growing out their beards and wearing strange clothes such as German Field Caps and Special Hooded Smocks, an American reporter given the chance to visit their headquarters at this time could not help but make the comparison between them and Robin Hood. For the Germans however, the bloodthirsty bearded devils that came in the night had transformed the Aegean from a nice, peaceful, even beautiful post where embattled units recovering from the horrors of the Eastern Front could be sent for much needed R&R to a whole new flavor of hell. Although S Squadron would eventually be pulled back to Palestine, ending their month of chaos, M-Squadron would pick up where they left off. Below a handful of men from S Squadron can be seen aboard one of their “Pirate Ships.” Andy Lassen again makes an appearance (top right), but also of note is Stefan Casulli (bottom left) who was one of only two Allied soldiers that died during the Cyclades raids. The men of the SBS wore a wide variety of clothing by this point, with the photo below serving as an excellent example of this. The commandos wore anything from the typical Aertex shirts and P1941 shorts to early pattern British Army sweaters and sometimes even just their underwear (Aegean summers are hot). The aforementioned “Canadian Boots” were still a popular choice in this theatre, however some men (like Lassen below) also grew fond of South African pattern boots, which were lighter and more comfortable in the Mediterranean heat. Finally, additional equipment such as commando caps, berets, binoculars, and P37 belts for carrying sidearms were all common. https://preview.redd.it/1n7p9wpmnmv31.jpg?width=620&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7a24e198b3a0b44ee2b75d7e0aaed2aedc957e8f Knowing that the Germans had reinforced their garrisons in the southern Archipelagos, M Squadron instead attempted to shift their focus north to the Sporades. Discovering these islands to be a poor hunting ground though, the SBS once more set a course for the Dodecanese. Here, they would conduct the largest special operations raid the world had yet seen. Working alongside men from the Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment in early July, the SBS used their signature kayaks to silently come up alongside a pair of German destroyers, plant limpet mines, and stealthily make their escape. With the resulting explosions forcing them back to Italy for repairs, the way was now clear. 10 caiques and a pair of schooners collectively carrying 220 SBS, LRDG, Sacred Circle, SAS, and LSF raiders set sail for the island of Symi. Coming ashore in the early hours of July 14, the Allies set up mortar and machine-gun positions overlooking the German defenses that had been reconnoitered by a small force of SBS commandos a few days prior. When the sun first began to rise in the sky, the SBS opened fire on the unsuspecting Germans. Within the first hour of fighting the commandos swept through Symi town, capturing a large number of Germans. Meanwhile, two other forces had moved to capture the island’s two major landmarks, which the Germans were using to house their men. While the monastery force were able to drive their quarries to the edge of a cliff and force a surrender, those sent to the castle faced a far more determined foe. Locked in a stalemate for several hours, the commander of the fort was eventually compelled to parley, and ultimately surrender. Having taken prisoner 151 Germans and killed another 21, the British spent the remainder of the day demolishing anything and everything that the next garrison might use before disappearing back over the waves, prisoners in tow. The next day a German invasion force was sent in to re-take the island, only to find it totally abandoned save 21 dead men. The Symi raid, sometimes called Operation Tenement, was a resounding success for the Allied forces, but it was also the SBS’ last operation in the Aegean, as well as where we will have to end today’s installment of Tommy Tuesday. While I would love to go into further detail about the SBS' exploits in the Balkans and beyond, I'm afraid that to do so would require me to double the length of this already incredibly long installment. Fret not though, as I am sure that we will revisit this unit again some day, even if only to tell those stories. Now, it is time for us to imagine what, in an ideal world in which DICE actually tried to give the British Faction British cosmetics, the Blockade Runner might actually look like. As with all pre-order bonus sets, I will be leaning a bit more into the tacticool side of things, though with this set I will be going for more light-weight, stealthy, and fast sort of aesthetic. Starting with the head, while it is tempting to go with something like a German Tropical Field Cap since the SBS took a liking to these, a more balanced option that I think would be just as well, and also help to point to their theater of operations, would be a Greek fisherman's hat with an (admittedly slightly anachronistic) SBS Patch. Moving on to the torso, a British Army V-Neck sweater, worn without the typically accompanying undershirt forms a nice base layer onto which a P37 Webbing belt covered in Pistol Ammunition Pouches and a holster for a Smith & Wesson style revolver should be worn. For further detailing, the sleeves should be rolled and a British Officer's Watch should be worn around one wrist. Finally, a scrim-scarf, nicely tied and tucked under the sweater, completes the look. Finally, for the legs, as a nice nod to the legend of Roger Courtney's raid on the HMS Glengyle, a pair of Royal Navy Officer's trousers should be worn with a pair of "Canadian Boots." Both as a nod to the actual set as well as to protect the hem of the nice Officer's pants from damage, a sort of improvised puttee, looking suspiciously like a bandage wrapped around the top of each boot into which the trousers are tucked, should be worn. And with that, I end this Tommy Tuesday. Next time, we'll be looking at Sandman, Desert Rat, and Dust Raider. I don't think it takes a genius to see what I'm planning with these, but regardless, I look forward to seeing you all next time, whenever that may be. If you just read all of this and aren’t sure what’s going on but want to learn more, this is part of a weekly series in which I breakdown various British uniforms used throughout WW2 in the hopes that it will raise awareness of just how varied authentic British cosmetics could actually be and to (optimistically) get DICE to actually give the British faction real British Uniforms. This is because, despite the voices, flag, and vehicles of the current allied faction all being British, the actual cosmetic options available to this “British” faction are anything but. The British as they currently appear in game are just Americans with Brodie Helmets and London accents, and until DICE adds actual British cosmetics, that is all they can ever be. For people like me who were excited to see a modern battlefield take on WW2 and to be immersed in this setting in a way that only the Battlefield series allows, BFV has been a massive disappointment. This is only one small part of that problem, but it’s the one that I feel most qualified to talk about, and I sincerely hope that you enjoy this series and maybe even learn something from it as time goes on. If you would like to know more, a list of previous Tommy Tuesdays can be found in the comments below.
The Greatest Commanders of History: Take Three (this time with a chart!)
Happy new year, first of all. I've posted on here twice in the past year, to show off the latest incarnations of my "leader list", my slightly dumb hobby of identifying and ranking the greatest military commanders in history. My last two posts can be found at the following links, for reference: https://www.reddit.com/history/comments/5ykj3a/the_top_100_commanders_of_history_my_list_a_long/ https://www.reddit.com/history/comments/764ned/the_300_greatest_commanders_of_history/ I said last time that I was working on a book. The book is being worked on...slowly. I've started my Master's Degree in Military History, so that takes up a lot of my time. My wife says I might be borderline autistic...which sounds about right. At about 11pm each night, she taps on my computer screen or the spine of my book and goes "Say goodnight to General....I can't pronounce that." Nevertheless, here it is: my best stab at the Top 300 Generals in History (and the Top 50 Admirals, and some flyboys for good measure). In response to criticism and suggestions from all of you, I have also separated out the naval and air commanders into their own lists. It doesn't make much sense to compare Nelson with Caesar. Thanks to Reddit character limits, I can only include so much in this post. I think you'll find the format much improved over my last two posts, but that squeezes out my criteria from my last two posts. I will be re-posting the criteria, and another list there wasn't room for, in the comments. For your ease, I've also included some keys so you know who's been promoted, demoted, or added since the last list two months ago (the second link.) This leader has been significantly promoted This leader has been VERY significantly promoted This leader is a new addition This leader has been significantly demoted The 300 Greatest Generals in History
Rank
Name
DOB
DOD
Nation
Greatest Achievement
1
Temujin/Genghiz Khan
1162
1227
Mongol
Khwarezmian Empire, 1221
2
Alexander III "the Great"
356BC
323BC
Macedon
Gaugamela, 331 BC
3
Napoleon Bonaparte
1769
1821
France
Ulm/Austerlitz, 1805
4
Hannibal Barca
247BC
183BC
Carthage
Cannae, 216 BC
5
Julius Caesar
100BC
44BC
Rome
Alesia, 52 BC
6
Khalid ibn al-Walid
584
642
Arab/Rashidun Caliphate
Yarmouk, 636
7
Subutai
1175
1248
Mongol
Legnica-Mohi, 1241
8
Publius Cornelius Scipio "Scipio Africanus"
236BC
183BC
Rome
Ilipa, 206 BC
9
Frederick II "the Great"
1712
1780
Prussia
Leuthen, 1757
10
Gustav II Adolf (Gustavus Adolphus)
1591
1632
Sweden
Breitenfeld, 1631
11
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
1650
1722
Great Britain
Blenheim, 1704
12
Belisarius
505
565
Byzantine
Dara, 530
13
Jan Zizka
1370
1424
Bohemian/Hussite
Kutna Hora, 1421
14
Philip II
382BC
336BC
Macedon
Chaeronea, 338 BC
15
Oda Nobunaga
1534
1582
Japan (Sengoku)
Nagashino, 1575
16
Cyrus "the Great"
590BC
529BC
Persia (Achaemenid)
Thymbra, 546 BC
17
Alexander Suvorov
1729
1800
Russia
Rymnik, 1789
18
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
1769
1852
Great Britain
Salamanca, 1812
19
Han Xin (Han Hsin)
N/A
196BC
China (Han Dynasty)
Jingxing, 206 BC
20
Timur (Tamerlane)
1336
1405
Turco-Mongol
Ankara, 1402
21
Heraclius
575
641
Byzantine
Nineveh, 627
22
Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne
1611
1675
France
Upper Rhine, 1674-1675
23
Nader Shah
1688
1747
Persia (Afsharid)
Karnal, 1739
24
Eugene of Savoy
1663
1736
Austria
Zenta, 1697
25
Helmuth Bernhard von Moltke "Moltke the Elder"
1800
1891
Prussia
Sedan, 1870
26
Chandragupta Maurya
340BC
298BC
India (Maurya)
Pataliputra, 322 BC
27
Tiglath-Pileser III
N/A
727BC
Assyria
Babylonia, 745 BC
28
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
1536
1598
Japan (Sengoku)
Shizugatake, 1583
29
Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba “El Gran Capitan”
1453
1515
Spain
Cerignola, 1503
30
Maurice de Saxe, Count of Saxony
1696
1750
France
Fontenoy, 1745
31
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov
1896
1973
Russia/Soviet Union
Moscow, 1941
32
Selim I
1470
1520
Ottoman
Marj Dabiq, 1517
33
Shivaji Bhonsle (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj)
1627
1680
Marathas
Pratapgarh, 1659
34
Sun Tzu
544BC
496BC
China (Spring & Autumn Period)
Art of War, written 490 BC (?)
35
Epaminondas
418BC
362BC
Thebes
Leuctra, 371 BC
36
Shaka
1787
1828
Zulu
Ghoxli Hill, 1818
37
Robert Edward Lee
1807
1870
USA (Confederate)
Chancellorsville, 1863
38
Erich von Manstein
1887
1973
German
3rd Kharkov, 1943
39
Babur (Zahir-ud-Din Muhammad)
1483
1530
Mughal
1st Panipat, 1526
40
Tran Hung Dao
1228
1300
Vietnam (Dai Viet)
Bach Dang, 1288
41
Gaius Marius
157BC
86BC
Rome (Populares)
Vercellae, 101 BC
42
John III Sobieski
1629
1696
Poland-Lithuania
Vienna, 1683
43
Guo Ziyi
697
781
China (Tang Dynasty)
Xiyuan, 765
44
Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange
1567
1625
Dutch
Nieuwpoort, 1600
45
Louis II de Bourbon, Prince of Conde
1621
1688
France
Rocroi, 1643
46
Thutmose III
N/A
1479BC
Egypt (New Kingdom)
Megiddo, 1457 BC
47
Charles XII (Carolus Rex)
1682
1718
Sweden
Narva, 1701
48
Bai Qi
N/A
257BC
China (Warring States - Qin)
Changping, 257 BC
49
Heinz Guderian
1880
1954
Germany
Smolensk, 1941
50
Nurhaci
1559
1626
Manchu
Sarhu, 1619
51
Yue Fei
1103
1142
China (Song Dynasty)
Yancheng, 1140
52
George Castriot “Skanderbeg”
1405
1468
Albania
2nd Kruge, 1466-1467
53
Stanislaw Koniecpolski
1590
1646
Poland-Lithuania
Ochmatow, 1644
54
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
138BC
78BC
Rome (Optimates)
Orchomenus, 88 BC
55
Vo Nguyen Giap
1911
2013
Vietnam
Dien Bien Phu, 1954
56
Winfield Scott
1786
1866
USA
Mexico City, 1847
57
Bayinnaung Kyawhtin Nawrahta
1516
1581
Burma
Naungyo, 1538
58
Ulysses S. Grant
1822
1885
USA (Union)
Vicksburg, 1863
59
Stephen III “the Great” (Stefan cel Mare)
1433
1504
Moldavia
Vaslui, 1471
60
Li Jing
571
649
China (Tang Dynasty)
Eastern Tujue, 630
61
Baji Rao I
1700
1740
Marathas
Palkhed, 1728
62
Louis Nicholas Davout
1770
1823
France
Auerstadt, 1806
63
Simeon I "the Great"
864
927
Bulgaria
Achelous, 917
64
Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck
1870
1964
Germany
Tanga, 1914
65
Jebe "the Arrow"
N/A
1223
Mongol
Kalka River, 1223
66
Charlemagne (Karolus Magnus)
748
814
Franks
Pavia, 773-774
67
Alexander Vasilevsky
1895
1977
Russia/Soviet Union
Stalingrad, 1942
68
Narses
478
573
Byzantine
Taginae, 552
69
Li Shi-Min (Taizong Emperor)
599
649
China (Tang Dynasty)
Hulao, 621
70
Aurelian (Lucius Domitius Aurelianus)
214
275
Rome
Emesa, 272
71
Charles Martel
688
741
Franks
Tours, 732
72
Takeda Shingen
1521
1573
Japan (Sengoku)
Mikatagahara, 1573
73
Baibars
1223
1277
Egypt (Mamluk)
Ain Jalut, 1260
74
Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma
1545
1592
Spain
Antwerp, 1584-1585
75
Mehmed II “the Conqueror”
1432
1481
Ottoman
Constantinople, 1453
76
Samudragupta
335
375
India (Gupta)
Southern Expedition, 360?
77
Xiang Yu
232BC
202BC
China (Qin Dynasty/Western Chu)
Julu, 207 BC
78
Constantine I “The Great”
272
337
Rome
Milvian Bridge, 312
79
Sargon
N/A
2279BC
Akkad
Uruk, 2290? BC
80
Edward I
1239
1307
England
Evesham, 1265
81
George Washington
1732
1799
USA
Yorktown, 1781
82
James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose
1612
1650
Scotland (Royalist)
Auldearn, 1645
83
‘Amr ibn al-‘As
583
664
Arab/Rashidun Caliphate
Heliopolis, 640
84
Francois-Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, duc de Luxembourg
1628
1695
France
Neerwinden, 1693
85
Ban Chao (Pan Ch’ao)
32
102
China (Han Dynasty)
Invasion of the Kushans/Yuezhi, 90
86
Raimondo Montecuccoli
1609
1680
Austria
St. Gotthard, 1664
87
William I “the Conqueror”
1027
1087
Norman/England
Hastings, 1066
88
Mustafa Kemal “Ataturk”
1881
1938
Turkey
Sakarya, 1923
89
Claude Louis Hector de Villars
1653
1734
France
Denain, 1712
90
Dwight D. Eisenhower
1890
1969
USA
Normandy, 1944
91
Lautaro
N/A
1557
Mapuche
Tucapel, 1553
92
Nikephoros II Phokas
912
969
Byzantine
Aleppo, 962
93
Oliver Cromwell
1599
1658
England (Parliamentarian)
Dunbar, 1650
94
Cao Cao
155
220
China (Three Kingdoms-Cao Wei)
Guandu, 200
95
Erwin Rommel
1891
1944
Germany
Gazala, 1942
96
Albrecht Eusebius Wenzel von Wallenstein
1583
1634
Bohemia/Austria
Wolgast, 1628
97
Robert Clive “Clive of India”
1723
1773
Great Britain
Plassey, 1757
98
Ranjit Singh
1780
1839
Sikh
Nowshera, 1823
99
Moshe Dayan
1915
1981
Israeli
Six-Day War, 1967
100
Mahmud of Ghazni
971
1030
Turco-Persian/Ghaznavid
Peshawar, 1002
101
Basil II “Bulgar-Slayer”
958
1025
Byzantine
Kleidon, 1014
102
Mao Zedong
1893
1976
China (Communist/PRC)
Long March, 1934-1935
103
Trajan
53
117
Rome
Parthian Campaign, 115-117
104
Suleiman I
1494
1566
Ottoman
Mohacs, 1526
105
Robert Guiscard de Hauteville
1015
1085
Norman
Dyrrhachium, 1081
106
Wanyan Aguda (Taizu of Jin)
1068
1123
Jurchen/China (Jin Dynasty)
Hubudabang, 1115
107
William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim
1891
1970
Great Britain
Meiktila-Mandalay, 1945
108
Thomas J. Jackson “Stonewall”
1824
1863
USA (Confederate)
Shenandoah Valley, 1862
109
Sher Shah Suri (Farid Khan)
1486
1545
Mughal/Afghan
Kannauj, 1540
110
Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim
1867
1951
Finland
Winter War, 1939-1940
111
Shapur I
N/A
272
Persian (Sasanian)
Edessa, 260
112
Janos Hunyadi
1406
1456
Hungarian
Belgrade, 1456
113
George S. Patton
1885
1945
USA
Ardennes, 1944
114
Raja Raja Chola I
N/A
1014
Tamil (Chola Dynasty)
Anuradhapura, 993
115
Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby
1861
1936
Great Britain
Megiddo, 1918
116
Hernan Cortes
1485
1547
Spain
Tenochtitlan, 1521
117
Pyrrhus
319BC
272BC
Epirus
Heraclea, 280 BC
118
Zhu Yuanzhang (Hongwu Emperor)
1328
1398
China (Ming Dynasty)
Lake Poyang, 1363
119
Ahmad Shah Durrani (Ahmad Khan Abdali)
1722
1772
Afghanistan
Panipat III, 1761
120
Muhammad bin Dawud Chaghri (Alp Arslan)
1029
1072
Turks (Seljuks)
Manzikert, 1071
121
Nguyen Hue (Quang Trung)
1753
1792
Vietnam
Ngoc Hoi-Dong Da, 1788-1789
122
Henry V
1387
1422
England
Agincourt, 1415
123
Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui
N/A
1471
Inca
Cuzco, 1433?
124
Leo III the Isaurian
675
741
Byzantine
Constantinople, 717-718
125
Andre Massena
1758
1817
France
Zurich II, 1799
126
Sun Bin
N/A
316 BC
China (Warring States - Qi)
Maling, 342 BC
127
Philopoemen
253BC
183BC
Greece (Achaean League)
Mantinea, 207 BC
128
Robert I “the Bruce”
1274
1329
Scotland
Bannockburn, 1314
129
Huo Qubing
140BC
117BC
China (Han Dynasty)
Expedition to Lake Baikal, 119 BC
130
Sonni Ali (Ali Kolon)
N/A
1492
Songhai
Timbuktu, 1468
131
Erich Ludendorff
1865
1937
Germany
Western Front, 1917
132
Hamilcar Barca
275BC
228BC
Carthage
The Saw, 238 BC
133
Tokugawa Ieyasu
1543
1616
Japan (Sengoku)
Sekigahara, 1600
134
Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar “El Cid”
1043
1099
Spain
Tebar, 1090
135
Suppiluliuma I
N/A
1322BC
Hittite
Great Syrian Campaign, 1340? BC
136
Pulakeshin II
597
642
India (Chalukyas)
Narmada River, 619
137
Flavius Stilicho
359
408
Rome
Pollentia, 402
138
Saladin
1137
1193
Egypt (Ayyubid)/Kurdish
Hattin, 1187
139
Christiaan de Wet
1854
1922
Boer
Guerrilla Campaign, 1900-1902
140
Yusuf ibn Tashfin
1061
1106
Morocco (Almoravids)
Sagrajas, 1086
141
Murad IV
1612
1640
Ottoman
Baghdad, 1638
142
Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban
1633
1707
France
Namur, 1692
143
Edward, the “Black Prince”
1330
1376
England
Poitiers, 1356
144
John Monash
1865
1931
Australia
St. Quentin, 1918
145
Douglas MacArthur
1880
1964
USA
Inchon, 1950
146
Giuseppe Garibaldi
1807
1882
Italy
Expedition of the Thousand, 1860
147
Aixin-Jueluo Xuanye (Kangxi Emperor)
1654
1722
China (Qing Dynasty)
Jao Modo, 1696
148
Ahuitzotl
N/A
1502
Aztec
Southern Expedition, 1494
149
Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen
1771
1847
Austria
Aspern-Essling, 1809
150
William Tecumseh Sherman
1820
1891
USA (Union)
March to the Sea, 1864
151
Uesugi Kenshin
1530
1578
Japan (Sengoku)
Tedorigawa, 1577
152
Lin Biao
1907
1971
China (Communist/PRC)
Pingjin Campaign, 1948-1949
153
Hinmatoowyalahtqit “Chief Joseph”
1840
1904
Nez Perce
Nez Perce War, 1877
154
Richard I “Lionheart”
1157
1199
England/Crusader
Arsuf, 1191
155
Judar Pasha
N/A
1606
Morocco
Tondibi, 1591
156
Ariel Sharon
1928
2014
Israel
Abu-Ageila, 1967
157
Lucius Septimius Severus
146
211
Rome
Lugdunum, 197
158
Luis Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias
1803
1880
Brazil
War of the Triple Alliance, 1866-1870
159
Wei Qing
N/A
106BC
China (Han Dynasty)
Mobei, 117 BC
160
Chormagan
N/A
1241
Mongol
Invasions of Armenia and Georgia, 1238
161
Ferdinand Foch
1851
1929
France
Hindenburg Line, 1918
162
Abbas I “the Great”
1571
1629
Persia (Safavid Dynasty)
Urmia, 1604
163
Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas
595
674
Arab/Rashidun Caliphate
al-Qadisiyyah, 636
164
Minamoto no Yoshitsune
1159
1189
Japan (Kamakura Shogunate)
Ichi-no-Tani, 1184
165
Konstantin Rokossovsky
1896
1968
Russia/Soviet Union
Operation Bagration, 1944
166
Shihab ad-Din (Muhammad of Ghor)
1149
1206
Tajik/Ghurid Empire
Tarain II, 1192
167
John I Tzimiskes
925
976
Byzantine
Dorostolon, 971
168
Paul von Hindenburg
1847
1934
Germany
Tannenberg, 1914
169
Rajendra Chola I
N/A
1044
Tamil (Chola Dynasty)
Southeast Asian Expedition, 1025
170
Lennart Torstensson
1603
1651
Sweden
Jankau, 1645
171
Taksin
N/A
1782
Siam
Ratchaburi, 1774
172
Jose de San Martin
1778
1850
Argentina
Maipu, 1818`
173
Quintus Sertorius
123BC
72BC
Roman (Populares)
Baetis River, 80 BC
174
Kujula Kadphises
4 BC
80
Kushan/Yuezhi
Invasion of Northern India, 40
175
Ambrogio Spinola, 1st Marquis of the Balbases
1569
1630
Spain
Breda, 1624-1625
176
George Catlett Marshall
1880
1959
USA
World War II, 1939-1945
177
Akbar
1542
1605
Mughal
Chittorgarh, 1567-1568
178
Gwanggaeto “the Great”
378
413
Korea (Goguryeo)
War with Later Yan, 400
179
Modu (Maodun) Chanyu
234BC
174BC
Xiongnu
Baideng, 200 BC
180
Attila
406
453
Huns
Invasion of the Eastern Roman Empire, 443-445
181
Lucius Licinius Lucullus
118BC
56BC
Rome
Tigranocerta, 69 BC
182
Bertrand du Guesclin
1320
1380
France
Pontvallain, 1370
183
Qi Jiguang
1528
1588
China (Ming Dynasty)
Fujian Province, 1562-1563
184
Nathanael Greene
1742
1786
USA
Southern Campaign, 1780
185
Sargon II
765BC
705BC
Assyria
Babylon, 710 BC
186
Alexander Nevsky
1221
1263
Russia (Novgorod)
Lake Peipus (“Battle on the Ice”), 1242
187
Parmenion
400BC
330BC
Macedon
Gaugamela, 331 BC
188
Walter Model
1891
1945
Germany
Operation Market-Garden, 1944
189
Geronimo
1829
1909
Apache
The Reservation Breakout, 1885-1886
190
Piye (Piankhi)
N/A
714 BC
Kushite
Herakleopolis, 724 BC
191
Aleksei Alekseevich Brusilov
1853
1926
Russia
Brusilov Offensive, 1916
192
Seleucus I Nicator
358BC
281BC
Macedon/Seleucid
Ipsus, 301 BC
193
Zhou Yu
175
210
China (Three Kingdoms-Eastern Wu)
Red Cliff, 208
194
Mihai Viteazu (Michael the Brave)
1558
1601
Wallachia/Romania
Selimbar, 1599
195
Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
1883
1950
Great Britain
Operation Compass, 1940
196
Jan Karol Chodkiewicz
1560
1621
Poland-Lithuania
Kirchholm, 1605
197
Flavius Aetius
391
454
Rome
Catalaunian Plains, 451
198
Louis-Joseph de Montcalm
1712
1759
France
Ticonderoga, 1758
199
Joseph Radetzky von Radetz
1766
1858
Austria
Novara, 1849
200
Wang Jian
N/A
223BC
China (Qin Dynasty)
Conquest of Chu, 224-223 BC
201
Eulji Mundeok
N/A
620
Korea (Goguryeo)
Salsu, 612
202
Edward III
1312
1377
England
Crecy, 1346
203
Yuan Chonghuan
1584
1630
China (Ming Dynasty)
Ningyuan, 1626
204
Naresuan (Sanphet II)
1556
1605
Siam (Ayutthaya Kingdom)
Bueng Nong Sarai, 1593
205
Prokop the Great
1380
1434
Bohemian/Hussite
Domazlice, 1431`
206
Mori Motonari
1497
1571
Japan (Sengoku)
Miyajima, 1555
207
Su Dingfang
591
667
China (Tang Dynasty)
Irtysh River, 657
208
Nathan Bedford Forrest
1821
1876
USA (Confederate)
Brice’s Cross Roads, 1864
209
Francesco I Sforza
1401
1466
Italy/Mercenary (Milan)
Caravaggio, 1448
210
Quizquiz
N/A
1534
Inca
Quipaipan, 1532
211
Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery
1887
1976
Great Britain
El Alamein, 1942
212
Louis Joseph de Bourbon, Duke of Vendome
1654
1722
France
Villaviciosa, 1710
213
Alfred the Great
849
899
England
Edington, 878
214
Murong Ke
N/A
367
China (Former Yan Kingdom)
Defeat of Ran Min, 352
215
Ivan Stepanovich Konev
1897
1973
Russia/Soviet Union
Kursk, 1943
216
Charles X Gustav (Carl Gustav)
1622
1660
Sweden
Warsaw, 1656
217
Ramesses II (Ozymandias)
1303BC
1213BC
Egypt (New Kingdom
Qadesh, 1274 BC
218
Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher
1742
1819
Prussia
Katzbach, 1813
219
Radomir Putnik
1847
1917
Serbia
Kolubara, 1914
220
Koos de la Rey
1847
1914
Boer
Magersfontein, 1899
221
Marcus Claudius Marcellus
268BC
208BC
Rome
Syracuse, 214-212 BC
222
Sir Thomas Fairfax
1612
1671
England (Parliamentarian)
Naseby, 1645
223
Henry IV of France (Henry of Navarre)
1553
1610
France (Huguenot)
Ivry, 1590
224
Alexios I Komnenos
1048
1118
Byzantine
Philomelion, 1117
225
Ibrahim Pasha
1789
1848
Egypt (Mamluk/Ottoman)
Konya, 1832
226
Jeanne d’Arc
1412
1431
France
Orleans, 1429
227
Gerd von Rundstedt
1875
1953
Germany
Kiev, 1941
228
Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba “Iron Duke”
1507
1582
Spain
Alcantara, 1580
229
Wolter von Plettenberg
1450
1535
Livonian Order (Teutonic Knights)
Siritsa River, 1501
230
James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick
1670
1734
France/English Exile
Almanza, 1707
231
Mihira Bhoja I
836
885
India (Gurjara Pratihara)
Annexation of Bihar, 876?
232
Ana Nzinga
1583
1663
Angola (Ndongo/Matamba)
Kombi, 1647
233
Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus
185BC
129BC
Rome
Carthage, 149-146 BC
234
Mahpiya Luta (Red Cloud)
1822
1909
Lakota
Red Cloud’s War, 1866-1868
235
Arthur Currie
1875
1933
Canada
Hill 70 (part of 3rd Ypres), 1917
236
Mukhali
1170
1223
Mongol
Conquest of Jin, 1217-1222
237
Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal
1810
1900
Prussia
Koniggratz/Sadowa, 1866
238
Hyder Ali
1721
1782
Mysore
First Anglo-Mysore War, 1767-1768
239
Eumenes
362 BC
316 BC
Greek/Macedon
Hellespont, 321 BC
240
Hizabruddin (Zafar Khan)
N/A
1299
India (Delhi Sultanate)
Sivistan, 1298
241
Ivan III Vasilyevich “the Great”
1440
1505
Russia/Moscow
Conquest of Novgorod, 1471
242
Ashurbanipal
685 BC
627 BC
Assyria
Conquest of Elam, 640-639 BC
243
Philip Henry Sheridan
1831
1888
USA (Union)
Cedar Creek, 1864
244
David IV “the Builder”
1073
1125
Georgia
Didgori, 1121
245
Michael Collins
1890
1922
Ireland
Irish War of Independence, 1919-1922
246
Ashikaga Takauji
1305
1358
Japan (Ashikaga Shogunate)
Minatogawa, 1336
247
Pyotr Rumyantsev
1725
1796
Russia
Kagul, 1770
248
Dorgon (Prince Rui)
1612
1650
Manchu/China (Qing Dynasty)
Shanhai Pass, 1644
249
Tomoyuki Yamashita
1885
1946
Japan
Malaya & Singapore, 1941-1942`
250
Tariq ibn Ziyad
670
720
Arab/Umayyad Caliphate
Guadalete, 711
251
Antigonus I Monophthalmus
382BC
301BC
Macedon
Gabiene, 316 BC
252
Murad II
1404
1451
Ottoman
Varna, 1444
253
Anawrahta Minsaw
1014
1077
Burma (Pagan Empire)
Thaton, 1057
254
Jozef Klemens Pilsudski
1867
1935
Poland
Warsaw, 1920
255
Simon Bolivar “El Libertador”
1783
1830
Venezuela/New Granada
Boyaca, 1819
256
Hermann (Arminius)
18BC
21
Cherusci (Germanic)
Teutoberg Forest, 9
257
Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley
1833
1913
Great Britain
Tell El Kebir, 1882
258
Askia Mohammad I (Muhammad Ture)
1443
1538
Songhai
Anfao, 1493
259
Francisco Pizarro
1471
1541
Spain
Cajamarca, 1532
260
Zynoviy Bohdan Khmelnytsky
1595
1657
Ukrainian/Cossack
Batih, 1652
261
Yelu Dashi (Yeh-Lu Ta-Shih)
1087
1143
Khitan/China (Qara Khitai)
Qatwan, 1141
262
Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke
1883
1963
Great Britain
World War II, 1939-1945
263
Jean-de-Dieu Soult
1769
1851
France
Ocana, 1809
264
Abdelkader ibn Muhieddine (El Djezairi)
1808
1883
Algeria
Macta, 1835
265
Ma Yuan
14BC
49
China (Han Dynasty)
Expeditions against the Qiang, 34-35
266
Albert Kesselring
1885
1960
Germany
Monte Cassino & Anzio, 1944
267
Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly
1559
1632
Austria/Bavaria
White Mountain, 1620
268
Sun Li-jen
1900
1990
China (Nationalist/Kuomintang)
Ledo Road, 1943-1944
269
Gaius Claudius Nero
N/A
200BC
Rome
Metaurus River, 207 BC
270
Abu Aamir al-Mansur (Almanzor)
938
1002
Arab (Caliphate of Cordoba)
Cervera, 1000
271
Eduard Totleben
1818
1884
Russia
Sevastopol, 1854-1855
272
Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts
1832
1914
Great Britain
Kandahar, 1880
273
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus “Pompey”
106BC
48BC
Rome (Optimates)
Lycus, 66 BC
274
Lachit Borpukan
1622
1671
India (Ahom Kingdom)
Saraighat, 1671
275
Leonidas I
N/A
480BC
Sparta
Thermopylae, 480 BC
276
Matthew B. Ridgway
1895
1993
USA
Chinese Spring Offensive, 1951
277
Mithridates VI
135BC
63BC
Pontus
Zela, 67 BC
278
Muhi-ud-Din Muhammad (Aurangzeb)
1618
1707
Mughal
Samugarh, 1658
279
August von Mackensen
1849
1945
Germany
Gorlice-Tarnow, 1915
280
Shimazu Yoshihisa
1533
1611
Japan (Sengoku)
Mimigawa, 1578
281
Tecumseh
1769
1813
Shawnee
Tecumseh’s War, 1811-1813
282
Krum
N/A
814
Bulgaria
Pliska, 811
283
Peng Dehuai
1898
1974
China (Communist/PRC)
Second Phase Campaign, 1950
284
Louis-William, Margrave of Baden-Baden
1655
1707
Austria
Slankamen, 1691
285
Manius Curius Dentatus
N/A
270BC
Rome
Beneventum, 275 BC
286
Nabopolassar
658BC
605BC
Babylon
Nineveh, 612 BC
287
Cnut (Canute the Great)
995
1035
Denmark/England
Conquest of England, 1015-1016
288
Bairam Khan
1501
1561
Mughal
Panipat II, 1556
289
Matthias Corvinus (Matyas Hunyadi)
1443
1490
Hungary
Vienna, 1485
290
Sima Yan (Emperor Wu)
236
290
China (Jin Dynasty)
Conquest of Eastern Wu, 279-280
291
Jean Lannes
1769
1809
France
Tudela, 1808
292
Ernst Gideon von Laudon
1717
1790
Austria
Kunersdorf, 1759
293
Omar Bradley
1893
1981
USA
Rhineland, 1945
294
Vercingetorix
82BC
46BC
Arverni (Gaul)
Gergovia, 53 BC
295
Marcus Aurelius
121
180
Rome
Defeat of the Marcomanni, 172
296
Yitzhak Rabin
1922
1995
Israel
Six-Day War, 1967
297
Pyotr Bagration
1765
1812
Russia/Georgia
Schongrabern, 1805
298
Ismail I
1487
1524
Persia (Safavid)
Sarur, 1500
299
Meng Tian
N/A
210 BC
China (Qin Dynasty)
Creation of the Great Wall, 215 BC
300
John J. Pershing
1860
1948
USA
Meuse-Argonne, 1918
A List Sorted by date of death. These are the top 100 "bubbling under" candidates for the (land) list.
Name
DOB
DOD
Nation
Greatest Achievement
Thutmose I
N/A
1493BC
Egypt (New Kingdom)
Conquest of Kush, 1502? BC
Muwatalli II
N/A
1272BC
Hittite
Kadesh, 1274 BC
David
1040BC
970BC
Israel
Defeat of the Philistines, 1020? BC
Nebuchadnezzar II
634BC
562BC
Babylon
Carchemish, 605 BC
Harpagus
N/A
540BC
Persia (Achaemenid)
Conquest of Asia Minor, 542 BC
Darius I
550BC
486BC
Persia (Achaemenid)
Conquest of the Indus Valley, 516 BC
Wu Qi
440 BC
381 BC
China (Warring States - Chu)
Wuxi, written 390 BC?
Dionysius I
432 BC
367 BC
Syracuse
Siege of Syracuse, 397-396 BC
Xenophon
430 BC
354 BC
Athens/Mercenary
Anabasis of the Ten Thousand, 401-399 BC
Lysimachus
360 BC
281 BC
Macedon
Ipsus, 301 BC
Lian Po
N/A
260 BC
China (Warring States – Zhao)
Changping Stalemate, 262-260 BC
Li Mu
N/A
229 BC
China (Warring States – Zhao)
Fei, 233 BC
Quintus Fabius Maximus “Cunctator”
288 BC
203 BC
Rome
Fabian Strategy, 217-216 BC
Antiochus III
241 BC
187 BC
Seleucid
Panium, 198 BC
Lucius Aemilius Paullus “Macedonicus”
229 BC
160 BC
Rome
Pydna, 168 BC
Spartacus
111 BC
71 BC
Rome (Slave)
Defeat of the Consular Armies, 72 BC
Surena
84 BC
52 BC
Parthia
Carrhae, 53 BC
Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo
N/A
67
Rome
Conquest of Armenia, 58-59
Kanishka “the Great”
N/A
150
Kushan
Conquest of the Upper Ganges, 120?
Zhuge Liang (Kongming)
181
234
China (Three Kingdoms)
Southern Campaign, 225
Ardashir I “the Unifier”
180
242
Persia (Sasanian)
Hormozdgan, 224
Septimius Udaynath (Odaenathus)
N/A
267
Palmyra
Zeugma, 260
Probus
232
282
Rome
Tarsus, 276
Ran Min (Shi Min)
N/A
352
China (Ran Wei State)
Xiangguo, 351
Tuoba Gui (Daowu Emperor)
371
409
China (Northern Wei Dynasty)
Canhe Slope, 395
Totila (Baduila)
N/A
552
Goth
Mucellium, 542
Uqbah ibn Nafi
622
683
Arab (Rashidun Caliphate)
Conquest of the Maghreb, 670-682
Constantine V
718
775
Byzantine
Marcellae, 756
Harun al-Rashid
763
809
Arab (Abbasid Caliphate)
Abbasid Invasion of Asia Minor, 806
Abaoji (Taizu Emperor)
872
926
Khitan/China (Liao Dynasty)
Mongolian Expedition, 924-925
Otto I “the Great”
912
973
German/Holy Roman Empire
Lechfeld, 955
Zhao Kuangyin (Taizu Emperor)
927
976
China (Song Dynasty)
Gaoping, 954
Brian Boruma mac Cennetig
941
1014
Ireland
Glenmama, 999
Tughril Beg
990
1063
Turks (Seljuks)
Dandanaqan, 1040
Vladimir II Monomakh
1053
1125
Russia (Kievan Rus)
Sula, 1107
Nur ad-Din (Nureddin) Zengi
1118
1174
Turks (Seljuks)
Second Crusade, 1147-1149
Taira no Kiyomori
1118
1181
Japan (Heian Period)
Heiji Rebellion, 1160
Frederick I “Barbarossa”
1122
1190
Germany/Holy Roman Empire
Iconium, 1190
Prithviraj III Chauhan
1166
1192
India (Chahamana)
Tarain I, 1190
Bayan of the Baarin
1236
1295
Mongol
Conquest of the Song, 1274-1276
Stefan Uros IV Dusan
1308
1355
Serbia
Velbazhd, 1330
John Hawkwood
1320
1394
England/Mercenary
Castagnaro, 1387
Bayezid I
1360
1403
Ottoman
Nicopolis, 1396
Tokhtamysh
N/A
1406
Mongol/Golden Horde
Moscow, 1382
Zhu Di (Yongle Emperor)
1360
1424
China (Ming Dynasty)
Jingnan Campaign, 1399-1402
Bartolomeo Colleoni
1400
1475
Italy/Mercenary (Venice)
Bosco Marengo, 1447
Edward IV
1442
1483
England (Yorkist)
Tewkesbury, 1471
Huayna Capac (Wayna Qhapaq)
1464
1527
Inca
Conquest of Ecuador, 1500?
Krishnadevaraya
1471
1529
India (Vijayanagara)
Raichur, 1520
Setthathirath (Xaysettha)
1534
1571
Laos (Lan Xang)
Burmese Invasion of Laos, 1565
William I, Prince of Orange (William the Silent)
1533
1584
Dutch
Leiden, 1574
Giorgio Basta, Count of Huszt
1540
1607
Austria
Miraslau, 1600
Man Singh I
1550
1614
Mughal
Medinipur, 1592
Bernard of Saxe-Weimar
1604
1639
German/Mercenary
Breisach, 1638
Johan Baner
1596
1641
Sweden
Wittstock, 1636
Stefan Czarniecki
1599
1665
Poland-Lithuania
Jaroslaw, 1656
Carl Gustav Wrangel
1613
1676
Sweden
Zusmarshausen, 1648
Pope
1630
1688
Pueblo
Pueblo Revolt, 1680
Menno, Baron van Coehoorn
1641
1704
Dutch
Namur, 1695
Nicolas Catinat
1637
1712
France
Staffarda, 1690
Chimaji Appa
1707
1740
Maratha
Vasai, 1739
Leopold Joseph von Daun
1705
1766
Austria
Kolin, 1757
Obwandiyag (Pontiac)
1720
1769
Ottawa
Pontiac’s War 1763-1764
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia
1718
1783
Sikh
Amritsar, 1762
Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu (Tipu Sultan)
1750
1799
Mysore
Pollilur, 1780
Daniel Morgan
1736
1802
USA
Cowpens, 1780
Touissant L’Ouverture
1743
1803
Haiti
Saint-Domingue Slave Revolt, 1791-1794
Mikhail Kutuzov
1745
1813
Russia
French Invasion of Russia, 1812
Louis-Gabriel Suchet
1770
1826
France
Saguntum, 1811
Antonio Jose de Sucre
1795
1830
Venezuela
Ayacucho, 1824
Jose Joaquin de Arredondo
1776
1837
Spain
Medina, 1813
Andrew Jackson
1767
1845
USA
New Orleans, 1815
Hone Wiremu Heke Pokai (Hone Heke)
1808
1850
Maori
Ruapekapeka, 1845-1846
Yang Xiuqing
1821
1856
China (Taiping Rebellion)
Nanjing, 1853
Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde
1792
1863
Great Britain
Lucknow, 1858
Moshoeshoe I
1786
1870
Lesotho
Viervoet, 1851
George Henry Thomas
1816
1870
USA (Union)
Nashville, 1864
Imam Shamil
1797
1871
Dagestan
Dargo Campaign, 1845
A-da-tli-chi (Cochise)
1805
1874
Apache
Guerrilla Campaign, 1863-1873
Samori Ture
1830
1900
Guinea (Wassoulou)
Second Mandingo War, 1894-1895
Piet Joubert
1831
1900
Boer
Majuba, 1881
Charles George Gordon “Chinese Gordon”
1833
1885
Great Britain
Changzhou, 1864
Menelik II (Sahle Maryam)
1844
1913
Ethiopia
Adwa, 1896
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
1850
1916
Great Britain
Omdurman, 1898
Oyama Iwao
1842
1916
Japan
Mukden, 1905
Louis Botha
1862
1919
Boer
Colenso, 1900
Svetozar Boroevic
1856
1920
Austria-Hungary
Battles of the Isonzo I-XI, 1915-1917
Erich von Falkenhayn
1861
1922
Germany
Romanian Offensive, 1916-1917
Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig
1861
1928
United Kingdom
Amiens, 1918
Joseph Joffre
1852
1931
France
The Marne, 1914
Louis Franchet d’Esperey
1856
1942
France
Balkan Campaign, 1918
Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin
1901
1944
Russia/Soviet Union
Korsun-Shevchenko, 1944
Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque
1902
1947
France
Strasbourg, 1944
Sudirman
1916
1950
Indonesia
Ambarawa, 1945
Holland McTyeire Smith “Howlin’ Mad”
1882
1967
USA
Marianas, 1944
Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander
1891
1969
Great Britain
Tunisia, 1943
Gotthard Heinrici
1886
1971
Germany
Dukla Pass, 1944
Chen Yi
1901
1972
China (Communist/PRC)
Huaihai, 1948-1949
Jacob Loucks Devers
1887
1979
USA
Colmar Pocket, 1944-1945
Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf “Stormin’ Norman”
1934
2012
USA
Operation Desert Storm, 1991
Greatest at Sea
Rank
Name
DOB
DOD
Nation
Greatest Achievement
1
Yi Sun-Sin
1545
1598
Korea (Joseon Dynasty)
Myeongnyang, 1597
2
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
1758
1805
Great Britain
Trafalgar, 1805
3
Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter
1607
1676
Dutch
Texel, 1673
4
Robert Blake
1598
1657
England (Parliamentarian)
Kentish Knock, 1652
5
Togo Heihachiro
1848
1934
Japan
Tsushima, 1905
6
Chester A. Nimitz
1885
1966
USA
Midway, 1942
7
Themistocles
524 BC
459 BC
Athens
Salamis, 480 BC
8
Niels Juel
1629
1697
Denmark
Koge Bay, 1677
9
Alvaro de Bazan, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz
1526
1588
Spain
Ponta Delgada, 1582
10
Khayr ad-Din (Hayreddin) “Barbarossa”
1478
1546
Ottoman
Preveza, 1538
11
Ruggiero di Lauria (Roger of Lauria)
1245
1305
Aragon
The Counts, 1287
12
Affonso de Albuquerque
1453
1515
Portugal
Malacca, 1511
13
Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp
1598
1653
Dutch
The Downs, 1639
14
Phormio
N/A
428 BC
Athens
Naupactus, 429 BC
15
Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke
1705
1781
Great Britain
Quiberon Bay, 1759
16
Zheng He
1371
1435
China (Ming Dynasty)
Kotte, 1411
17
Pierre Andre de Suffren
1729
1788
France
Cuddalore, 1783
18
George Anson, 1st Baron Anson
1697
1762
Great Britain
Cape Finisterre I, 1747
19
Alcibiades
450 BC
404 BC
Athens/basically anyone
Cyzicus, 410 BC
20
Isoroku Yamamoto
1884
1943
Japan
Pearl Harbor, 1941
21
Don Juan de Austria
1547
1578
Spain
Lepanto, 1571
22
Raymond A. Spruance
1886
1969
USA
Philippine Sea, 1944
23
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney
1718
1792
Great Britain
The Saintes, 1782
24
George Monck
1608
1670
England
The Gabbard, 1653
25
Anne Hilarion de Tourville
1642
1701
France
Beachy Head, 1690
26
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
64 BC
12 BC
Rome
Actium, 31 BC
27
Wilhelm von Tegetthoff
1827
1871
Austria
Lissa, 1866
28
Dom Francisco de Almeida
1450
1510
Portugal
Diu, 1509
29
Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald
1775
1860
Great Britain/Chile
Valdivia, 1820
30
Cimon
510 BC
450 BC
Athens
Eurymedon River, 466 BC
31
Sir Francis Drake
1540
1596
England
Cadiz, 1587
32
Karl Donitz
1891
1980
Germany
Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1945
33
Fyodor Apraksin
1661
1728
Russia
Gangut, 1714
34
David Glasgow Farragut
1801
1870
USA (Union)
Mobile Bay, 1864
35
Gaius Duilius
300 BC
225 BC
Roman
Mylae, 260 BC
36
Abraham Duquesne
1610
1688
France
Augusta, 1676
37
Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham
1883
1963
Great Britain
Cape Matapan, 1941
38
Lysander
N/A
395 BC
Sparta
Aegospotami, 404 BC
39
Cornelis Maartenszoon Tromp
1629
1691
Dutch
Oland, 1676
40
John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher
1841
1920
Great Britain
Preparation for WWI, 1902-1914
41
Philips van Almonde
1644
1711
Dutch
Vigo Bay, 1702
42
Demosthenes
N/A
413 BC
Athens
Pylos & Sphacteria, 425 BC
43
Andrea Doria
1466
1560
Genoa
Pianosa, 1519
44
Oruc Reis
1474
1518
Ottoman
Tlemcen, 1517
45
John Jervis, 1st Earl of St. Vincent
1735
1823
Great Britain
Cape St. Vincent, 1797
46
Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov
1737
1808
Russia
Chesma, 1770
47
Raizo Tanaka
1892
1969
Japan
Tassafaronga, 1942
48
Edward Boscawen
1711
1761
Great Britain
Lagos, 1759
49
Marc A. Mitscher
1887
1947
USA
Philippine Sea, 1944
50
Herluf Trolle
1516
1565
Denmark
Fehmarn, 1565
A List (Sea) Sorted by date of death. About half these guys are British, what can you do.
Name
DOB
DOD
Nation
Greatest Achievement
Nearchus
360 BC
300 BC
Macedon
Indian Ocean Voyage, 326-324 BC
Lodewijk van Boisot
N/A
1576
Dutch
Scheldt, 1574
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham
1536
1624
England
Spanish Armada, 1588
Antonio de Oquendo
1577
1630
Spain
Albrolhos, 1631
Prince Rupert of the Rhine
1619
1682
England (Royalist)
St. James’ Day Battle, 1666
John Narborough
1640
1688
England
Tripoli, 1675
Jean Bart
1650
1702
France
Dogger Bank, 1696
Peter Tordenskjold
1690
1720
Denmark/Norway
Dynekilen, 1716
Blas de Lezo
1689
1741
Spain
Cartagena, 1741
Edward Vernon
1684
1757
Great Britain
Porto Bello, 1739
Francois Joseph Paul de Grasse
1723
1788
France
The Chesapeake, 1781
John Paul Jones
1747
1792
USA/Russia
Flamborough Head, 1779
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe
1726
1799
Great Britain
Glorious First of June, 1794
Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood
1724
1816
Great Britain
Mona Passage, 1782
Stephen Decatur
1779
1820
USA
Tripoli, 1804
Carl-Olof Cronstedt
1756
1820
Sweden
Svensksund, 1790
William Sidney Smith
1764
1840
Great Britain
Acre, 1799
Robert Stopford
1768
1847
Great Britain
Java, 1811
Amedee Courbet
1827
1885
France
Shipu, 1885
Tsuboi Kozo
1843
1898
Japan
Yalu River, 1894
John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe
1859
1935
Great Britain
Jutland, 1916
Clifton Sprague
1896
1955
USA
Samar, 1944
Ernest J. King
1878
1956
USA
World War II, 1939-1945
Richmond K. Turner
1885
1961
USA
Amphibious War in the Pacific, 1942-1945
Jisaburo Ozawa
1886
1966
Japan
Indian Ocean Expedition, 1942
Top Fifteen in the Air I will not bother to mark new additions. The only ones I had on the previous list were Harris, Doolittle and Dowding.
Rank
Name
DOB
DOD
Nation
Greatest Achievement
1
Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet
1892
1984
Great Britain
Strategic Bombing-Europe, 1942-1945
2
Jimmy Doolittle
1896
1993
USA
Doolittle Raid, 1942
3
Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding
1882
1970
Great Britain
Battle of Britain, 1940
4
Carl Andrew Spaatz
1891
1974
USA
Strategic Bombing-Europe, 1943-1945
5
Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen
1895
1945
Germany
France, 1940
6
Alexander Novikov
1900
1976
Russia/Soviet Union
World War II, 1941-1945
7
Billy Mitchell
1879
1936
USA
Saint-Mihiel, 1918
8
Mordechai Hod
1926
2003
Israel
Six-Day War, 1967
9
Giulio Douhet
1869
1930
Italy
The Command of the Air, 1921
10
Curtis LeMay
1906
1990
USA
Strategic Bombing-Japan, 1944-1945
11
Marina Raskova
1912
1943
Russia/Soviet Union
Stalingrad, 1942
12
Arthur Tedder, 1st Baron Tedder
1890
1967
Great Britain
El Alamein, 1942
13
George Kenney
1889
1977
USA
Bismarck Sea, 1943
14
Henry “Hap” Arnold
1886
1950
USA
World War II, 1941-1945
15
Robert Ritter von Greim
1892
1945
Germany
Kursk, 1943
That’s what I have. I encourage you to Google or Wiki someone you’re not familiar with – or just ask, I’d love to talk about it. I'm off work until the 3rd to field all your questions! I would live to hear from anyone who has something to contribute, hate on, praise, whine about, critique. I am all about exposing this list to criticism, because criticism can only make it better. I'm always looking to refine, edit, and tinker with this list, and I fully admit that, like anyone, there are serious gaps in my knowledge, so I'll always be ready to listen - though I have pretty good reasons for why most of these guys are as high and low as they are, I am always ready to debate!
Another story of the french army during WW2 : The battle of Stone
Apologies again for the terrible english and spelling mistakes. edit : Well first mistake, title says Stone but it's Stonne :( The French army was weak compared to the German army because the french didn't wanted to fight another terrifying war, and thus planned only to have overwhelming defenses the germans could not force their way. It didn't only impacted the position of the french armies during the battle and what would be their doom (germans going through Belgium again) but also the way their tactics were prepared. The german had tanks, and used them to crush a front combining strength and mobility, and then having the infantry cleaning up the remaining of the enemies. The french had tanks, and pretty good one even, strong, tanky and with a solid main gain. They only had 2 default, speed and their rear. We're talking about the B1 bis here. They were used as strong defensive points, and not really as a combined arms. But in Stonne, well, they were. Stonne was on a hill and thus pretty important. When the german pierced the front and captured Sedan, Stonne was on the way for everyone, for the german to push and the french to prepare a counter attack. On the 15 of March 1940, germans pushed through the french defenses who only were comprised of infantry and artillery, and managed to lost 7 tanks, but inflicted strong infantry casualties. Still in the morning, a brigade of french light tanks attack the village, trading tank kills and putting the german on the runs, but attacking without any infantry support, they have to leave the village to resupply, so the german take the village again. The french send the heavy B1 tanks, and take the village to the germans, but since the french seems tanks don't need infantry, they pierce the front, but leave the village to ressuply leaving in to the germans. You see why the french failed during the war ? The german start to realize the french have pretty good tanks, and are reinforced with 2 anti tanks canon. When the french heavy tanks attack again, they loose 3 tanks to shots on the rear, specifically, on the vents. At this point, it's 10:30 only. One french officer probably start to see a pattern and send all the armor division with an infantry division and, after a fierce battle, the take the village, it's midday, the french finally did some combined arms. And the french headquarters start to understand that they have a pretty good point to counter attack the germans and break their never ending assault on France. In the afternoon, they start gathering infantry and tanks to push the germans, leaving their defensive position on the village. The tanks are going back to ressuply and infantry isn't prepared for the random german counter attack, which surprised the french and put them on the run. The day stops here, the german are not threaten anymore, and if you start to see a pattern in how many times the village change of hands, you're not finished yet. We're the 16th of May. The heavy tank group is send to assault the village. One of the tanks successfuly find the german tanks in a good column, blocked by trees. The tank shoot twice and in a single blow each time, destroy the first and last tank of the column. Now if you are the tanks in the middle of the sandwich, you're fucked. Can't go forward, can't go backward. That tank destroyed 2 Panzer IV and 11 Panzer III. That's what I called a pretty fucking good move. Now again, none of those tanks were inactive, and shot the crap out of that french tank but, french heavy tanks aren't called french heavy tanks for nothing. On his way to the village, the tank find 2 anti tank canons, the canons who shot down 3 heavy tanks the day before. Well, revenge is taken, the canons are destroyed. The tank received 140 shots and not a single one pierced through. The tank was called Eure (a french river) and the captain was Pierre Billote, who would become head of the free french in Moscow, head of the 2nd free french armor division (the one who entered Paris first), head of the military french advisors in the UN when it was created, and then minister of defense during the IVth republic, and minister of overseeas territory during the Vth republic. That's what we call a man. But we are not over. The french tanks had no support and have to leave again. They take the village again, but the german counter attack, again, and take the village for the night. We're the 17th. The german have the village again but the french tanks are pushing. One B1 bis is send to assault the infantry trenches. Nothing stop him and, in order to empty the trench, move forward inside the trench and famously crash into the soldiers, then provide to move backward and continue his way to the village carrying bit of german soldiers on his front. At the end of the day tho, the german keep the village in their hands. A french officer repport that the 17th at 17:30, the village change of hands for the 17th time. The german lost 20 000 men (3000 killed) and about 24 tanks and the french loose 7500 men (1000 killed) with around 33 tanks (including the light ones). The battle was descibed as the Monte Cassino of the battle of France, or sometimes as Stalingrad or Verdun. The french couldn't keep pace with the german reinforcements, but successfully manage to retake the village with strong counter attack, and inflict an heavy cost on the german to retake especially when they started to use infantry and tanks combined. The battle was kept as a strong example of french courage and strength, and if the tactics employed here would have been employed on all the front, they would have for sure changed the face of the world quite heavily.
The Battles for Monte Cassino, Italy 1944, WWII - YouTube
This silent film, which would have been shown as part of an intelligence briefing to senior commanders in Italy, possibly including Gen. Mark Clark, shows pa... This video is not monetized. Consider Supporting HoH: https://www.patreon.com/HouseofHistoryIn the winter of 1944, the Allied powers had already landed in S... Front chronicle of World War II Battle of Monte CassinoThe battle for Monte Cassino is one of the most bloody battles of the Allies during the Second World W... http://www.zazzle.com/trumpess The War Years designs and sells a wide range of WWII military history commemorative items including t-shirts, mouse mats, mugs... World War II Second World War Videos The Battle of Monte Cassino consisted of four separate battles fought over the course of five months. Forces from the Un... World War II Second World War VideosThe Battle of Monte Cassino consisted of four separate battles fought over the course of five months. Forces from the Uni... James teams up with Second World War Polish history aficionado Simon Rees to explore the battle of Monte Cassino. Together they investigate the story of the ...