Daniel Orr's Blog

December 31, 1958 – Cuban Revolution: Rebel forces capture Santa Clara

With Jaguajay’s fall and the voluntary capitulation of themilitary garrisons at Caibarien and Cienfuegosthree days earlier, Che Guevara proceeded unopposed to Santa Clara. Fighting in the city began in the early morning of December 31, 1958,with confused skirmishes breaking out across the city.  From Havana,President Fulgencio Batista dispatched a 22-car armored train containing troopreinforcements, weapons, equipment, and food supplies.  Che Guevara’s forces, which had set upblockades around Santa Clara,destroyed the rail tracks and then ambushed the train.  The rebels forced the surrender of thereinforcing troops and seized the trains’ cargo.  By the afternoon of December 31, Santa Clara’s garrison of6,500 soldiers, which generally had shown half-hearted performance in battle,surrendered to the rebels.

When reports of the fall of Santa Clarareached Havana,President Batista decided to step down from office, and prepared to leaveimmediately.  A few weeks earlier, inearly December, his government had received a major diplomatic setback when theUnited States ceasedrecognition of his presidency and urged him to step down as Cuba’sleader.  In the early hours of January 1,1959, Batista and a large entourage of his closest supporters, left Havana for exile in the nearby Dominican Republic.  He brought with him a vast amount of money,estimated at $300 million.  Batistaeventually settled in Portugal,where he was granted political asylum.

Before leaving, Batista had tasked General Cantillo withforming a new civilian government under Supreme Court justice CarlosPiedra.  On January 2, the Cuban SupremeCourt struck down Justice Piedra’s attempt to take over as president; at thesame time, the justices affirmed former Justice Manuel Urrutia, who had beenchosen as provisional president by Fidel Castro, as Cuba’s new head of state.  General Cantillo tried to form a militarygovernment under Colonel Ramon Barquin, a respected public figure who had ledan unsuccessful coup against President Batista in 1955.  The strength and popularity of Castro’s revolutionwere overpowering, however, forcing Colonel Barquin to abandon plans to takecontrol of the Cuban Armed Forces in a desperate attempt to prevent Castro fromtaking power.  On January 2, 1959, CheGuevara and Camilo Cienfuego, together with their forces, entered Havana, where large crowdswelcomed them as liberators.

In November 1956, Fidel Castro and 81 other rebels set out from Tuxpan, Mexico aboard a decrepit yacht for their nearly 2,000 kilometer trip across the Caribbean Sea bound for south-eastern Cuba.

 (Taken from Cuban Revolution – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 2)

Aftermath of theCuban Revolution In Havana, President Manuel Urrutia (who Castro hadappointed as provisional president and Cuba’s new head of state), and especiallyChe Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, and the M-26-7 fighters, took control ofcivilian and military institutions of the government.  Similarly in Oriente Province,Fidel Castro established authority over the regional governmental and militaryfunctions.  In the following days, otherregional military units all across Cuba surrendered theirjurisdictions to rebel forces that arrived. Then from Santiago de Cuba, Fidel Castrobegan a nearly week-long journey to Havana,stopping at every town and city to large crowds and giving speeches,interviews, and press conferences.  OnJanuary 8, 1959, he arrived in Havanaand declared himself the “Representative of the Rebel Armed Forces of thePresidency”, that is, he was effectively head of the Cuban Armed Forces under thegovernment of President Urrutia and newly installed Prime Minister JoseMiro.  Real power, however, remained withCastro.

In the next few months, the Castro regime consolidated powerby executing or jailing hundreds of Batista supporters for “war crimes” andrelegating to the sidelines the other rebel groups that had taken part in therevolution.  During the war, Fidel Castrohad promised the return of democracy by instituting multi-party politics andholding free elections.  Now however, hespurned these promises, declaring that the electoral process was sociallyregressive and benefited only the wealthy elite.

Castro denied being a communist, the most widely publicizeddeclaration being during his personal visit to the United States in April 1959, or fourmonths after he gained power.  Members ofthe Popular Socialist Party, or PSP (Cuban communists), however, soon began todominate key government positions, and Cuba’s foreign policy moved towardestablishing diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloccountries.  (By 1961 when Castro haddeclared Cuba a communist state, his M-26-7 Movement had formed an alliancewith the PSP, the 13th of March Movement – DR, and other leftist organizations;this coalition ultimately gave rise to the Cuban Communist Party.)

President Urrutia, who was a political moderate and anon-communist, made known his concern about the socialist direction of thegovernment, which put him directly in Castro’s way.  Consequently in July 1959, President Urrutiawas forced to resign from office, as Prime Minister Miro had done earlier inFebruary.  A Cuban communist took over asthe new president, subservient to the dictates of Fidel Castro.  Castro had become the “Maximum Leader”(Spanish: Maximo Lider), or absolute dictator; he abolished Congress, ruled bydecree, and suppressed all forms of opposition. Free speech was silenced, as were the print and broadcast media, whichwere placed under government control.  Inthe villages, towns, and cities across Cuba, neighborhood watches calledthe “Committees for the Defense of the Revolution” were formed to monitor theactivities of all residents within their jurisdictions and to weed outdissidents, enemies, and “counter-revolutionaries”.  In 1959, land reform was implemented in Cuba;private and corporate lands were seized, partitioned, and distributed topeasants and landless farmers.

On January 7, 1959, just a few days after the CubanRevolution ended, the United States recognized the new Cuban governmentunder President Urrutia. But as Castro later gained absolute power and hisgovernment gradually turned socialist, relations between the two countriesdeteriorated rapidly.  By July 1959, justseven months later, U.S.president Dwight Eisenhower was planning Castro’s overthrow; subsequently inMarch 1960, he ordered the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to organize andtrain U.S.-based Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba.

In 1960, Castro entered into a trade agreement with the Soviet Union that included purchasing Russian oil.  Then when U.S.petroleum companies in Cubarefused to refine the imported Russian oil, a succession of measures andretaliatory counter-measures followed quickly. In July 1960, Cubaseized the American oil companies and nationalized them the next month.  In October 1960, the United States imposed an economic embargo on Cuba and banned all imports (which constituted90% of all Cuban exports) from Cuba.  The restriction included sugar, which was Cuba’sbiggest source of revenue.  In January1960, the United Statesended all official diplomatic relations with Cuba,closed its embassy in Havana,and banned trade to and forbid American private and business transactions withthe island country.

With Cubashedding off democracy and taking on a clearly communist state policy,thousands of Cubans from the upper and middle classes, including politicians,top government officials, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, and many otherprofessionals fled the country for exile in other countries, particularly inthe United States.  However, many other anti-Castro Cubans choseto remain and subsequently organized into armed groups to start acounter-revolution in the Escambray Mountains; these rebel groups’ activities laid thegroundwork for Cuba’snext internal conflict, the “War against the Bandits”.

December 30, 1950 –Korean War: General Douglas MacArthur recommends to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff that air and naval strikes be launched against China

On December 11, 1950, the UN offered to negotiate aceasefire at the 38th parallel, which the Chinese government rejected.  On December 30, 1950, General MacArthurrecommended to the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff that air and naval strikes belaunched against China, andthat forces of Nationalist China (Taiwan),whose leader Chiang Kai-shek, was eager to go to war with China, becomeinvolved in the Korean conflict. President Truman rejected these proposals, not wanting the Korean War toescalate.  Such an escalation couldpotentially require the United Statesto transfer troops and resources from Western Europe, leaving the lattervulnerable to an invasion by the Soviet Union.  Instead, the U.S.high command advised General MacArthur to hold onto Koreaas best he could, but that if this became impossible, to abandon the peninsulaand evacuate his forces to Japan.

At this point, top Chinese military commanders in Beijing called forcaution against proceeding further. Rejecting this advice, in late December 1950, Chairman Mao ordered hisforces to cross the 38th parallel to expel the UN forces from Korea and reunify the Peninsulaunder the leadership of the communist north. On December 31, 1950, Chinese and North Korean forces launched an attackon Seoul,breaking through South Korean and American positions and threatening toencircle the whole UN defensive lines north and east of the city.  On January 4, 1951, UN forces, who wereoutnumbered 2:1 by the attackers, retreated from Seoul, which was captured by the Chinese andNorth Koreans, and marked the third time the city changed hands during the war.

(Taken from Korean War – Wars of the 20th Century – Twenty Wars in Asia)

East Asia.

Background (Excerpts taken from Wars of the 20thCentury: Volume 5 – Twenty Wars in Asia) During World War II, the AlliedPowers met many times to decide the disposition of Japanese territorialholdings after the Allies had achieved victory. With regards to Korea,at the Cairo Conference held in November 1943, the United States, Britain,and Nationalist China agreed that “in due course, Korea shall become free andindependent”.  Then at the YaltaConference of February 1945, the Soviet Unionpromised to enter the war in the Asia-Pacific in two or three months after theEuropean theater of World War II ended.

Then with the Soviet Army invading northern Korea on August 9, 1945, the United States became concerned that the SovietUnion might well occupy the whole Korean Peninsula.  The U.S.government, acting on a hastily prepared U.S.military plan to divide Koreaat the 38th parallel, presented the proposal to the Soviet government, whichthe latter accepted.

The Soviet Army continued moving south and stopped at the38th parallel on August 16, 1945.  U.S. forces soon arrived in southern Koreaand advanced north, reaching the 38th parallel on September 8, 1945.  Then in official ceremonies, the U.S.and Soviet commands formally accepted the Japanese surrender in theirrespective zones of occupation. Thereafter, the American and Soviet commandsestablished military rule in their occupation zones.

As both the U.S. and Soviet governments wanted to reunifyKorea, in a conference in Moscow in December 1945, the Allied Powers agreed toform a four-power (United States, Soviet Union, Britain, and Nationalist China)five-year trusteeship over Korea.  Duringthe five-year period, a U.S.-Soviet Joint Commission would work out the processof forming a Korean government.  Butafter a series of meetings in 1946-1947, the Joint Commission failed to achieveanything.  In September 1947, the U.S.government referred the Korean question to the United Nations (UN).  The reasons for the U.S.-Soviet Joint Commission’sfailure to agree to a mutually acceptable Korean government are three-fold andto some extent all interrelated: intense opposition by Koreans to the proposedU.S.-Soviet trusteeship; the struggle for power among the variousideology-based political factions; and most important, the emerging Cold Warconfrontation between the United Statesand the Soviet Union.

Historically, Koreafor many centuries had been a politically and ethnically integrated state,although its independence often was interrupted by the invasions by itspowerful neighbors, Chinaand Japan.  Because of this protracted independence, inthe immediate post-World War II period, Koreans aspired for self-rule, andviewed the Allied trusteeship plan as an insult to their capacity to run theirown affairs.  However, at the same time, Korea’spolitical climate was anarchic, as different ideological persuasions, fromright-wing, left-wing, communist, and near-center political groups, clashedwith each other for political power.  Asa result of Japan’sannexation of Koreain 1910, many Korean nationalist resistance groups had emerged.  Among these nationalist groups were theunrecognized “Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea”led by pro-West, U.S.-based Syngman Rhee; and a communist-allied anti-Japanesepartisan militia led by Kim Il-sung. Both men would play major roles in the Korean War.  At the same time, tens of thousands ofKoreans took part in the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and the ChineseCivil War, joining and fighting either for Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalistforces, or for Mao Zedong’s Chinese Red Army.

The Korean anti-Japanese resistance movement, which operatedmainly out of Manchuria, was divided alongideological lines.  Some groups advocatedWestern-style capitalist democracy, while others espoused Sovietcommunism.  However, all were stronglyanti-Japanese, and launched attacks on Japanese forces in Manchuria,China, and Korea.

On their arrival in the southern Korean zone in September1948, U.S.forces imposed direct rule through the United States Army Military GovernmentIn Korea (USAMGIK).  Earlier, members ofthe Korean Communist Party in Seoul(the southern capital) had sought to fill the power vacuum left by the defeatedJapanese forces, and set up “local people’s committees” throughout the Koreanpeninsula.  Then two days before U.S.forces arrived, Korean communists of the “Central People’s Committee”proclaimed the “Korean People’s Republic”.

In October 1945, under the auspices of a U.S. military agent, Syngman Rhee, the formerpresident of the “Provisional Government of the Republicof Korea” arrived in Seoul. The USAMGIK refused to recognize the communist Korean People’s Republic,as well as the pro-West “Provisional Government”.  Instead, U.S. authorities wanted to form apolitical coalition of moderate rightist and leftist elements.  Thus, in December 1946, under U.S.sponsorship, moderate and right-wing politicians formed the South KoreanInterim Legislative Assembly.  However,this quasi-legislative body was opposed by the communists and other left-wingand right-wing groups.

In the wake of the U.S. authorities’ breaking up thecommunists’ “people’s committees” violence broke out in the southern zoneduring the last months of 1946.  Calledthe Autumn Uprising, the unrest was carried out by left-aligned workers,farmers, and students, leading to many deaths through killings, violentconfrontations, strikes, etc.  Althoughin many cases, the violence resulted from non-political motives (such astargeting Japanese collaborators or settling old scores), American authoritiesbelieved that the unrest was part of a communist plot.  They therefore declared martial law in thesouthern zone.  Following the U.S.military’s crackdown on leftist activities, the communist militants went intohiding and launched an armed insurgency in the southern zone, which would playa role in the coming war.

Meanwhile in the northern zone, Soviet commanders initiallyworked to form a local administration under a coalition of nationalists,Marxists, and even Christian politicians. But in October 1945, Kim Il-sung, the Korean resistance leader who alsowas a Soviet Red Army officer, quickly became favored by Soviet authorities.  In February 1946, the “Interim People’sCommittee”, a transitional centralized government, was formed and led by KimIl-sung who soon consolidated power (sidelining the nationalists and Christianleaders), and nationalized industries, and launched centrally planned economicand reconstruction programs based on the Soviet-model emphasizing heavyindustry.

By 1947, the Cold War had begun: the Soviet Union tightenedits hold on the socialist countries of Eastern Europe, and the United Statesannounced a new foreign policy, the Truman Doctrine, aimed at stopping thespread of communism.  The United States also implemented the MarshallPlan, an aid program for Europe’s post-World War II reconstruction, which wascondemned by the Soviet Union as an American anti-communist plot aimed atdividing Europe.  As a result, Europebecame divided into the capitalist West and socialist East.

Reflecting these developments, in Koreaby mid-1945, the United States became resigned to the likelihoodthat the temporary military partition of the Korean peninsula at the 38thparallel would become a permanent division along ideological grounds.  In September 1947, with U.S. Congressrejecting a proposed aid package to Korea,the U.S.government turned over the Korean issue to the UN.  In November 1947, the United Nations GeneralAssembly (UNGA) affirmed Korea’ssovereignty and called for elections throughout the Korean peninsula, which wasto be overseen by a newly formed body, the United Nations Temporary Commissionon Korea (UNTCOK).

However, the Soviet government rejected the UNGA resolution,stating that the UN had no jurisdiction over the Korean issue, and preventedUNTCOK representatives from entering the Soviet-controlled northern zone.  As a result, in May 1948, elections were heldonly in the American-controlled southern zone, which even so, experiencedwidespread violence that caused some 600 deaths.  Elected was the Korean National Assembly, alegislative body.  Two months later (inJuly 1948), the Korean National Assembly ratified a new national constitutionwhich established a presidential form of government.  Syngman Rhee, whose party won the most numberof legislative seats, was proclaimed as (the first) president.  Then on August 15, 1948, southernersproclaimed the birth of the Republicof Korea (soon more commonly known as South Korea), ostensibly with the state’ssovereignty covering the whole Korean Peninsula.

A consequence of the South Korean elections was thedisplacement of the political moderates, because of their opposition to boththe elections and the division of Korea.  By contrast, the hard-line anti-communistSyngman Rhee was willing to allow the (temporary) partition of thepeninsula.  Subsequently, the United Statesmoved to support the Rhee regime, turning its back on the political moderateswhom USAMGIK had backed initially.

Meanwhile in the Soviet-controlled northern zone, on August25, 1948, parliamentary elections were held to the Supreme NationalAssembly.  Two weeks later (on September9, 1948), the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (soon more commonly knownas North Korea) was proclaimed, with Kim Il-Sung as (its first) PrimeMinister.  As with South Korea, North Korea declared itssovereignty over the whole Korean peninsula

The formation of two opposing rival states in Korea,each determined to be the sole authority, now set the stage for the comingwar.  In December 1948, acting on areport by UNTCOK, the UN declared that the Republicof Korea (South Korea) was the legitimate Korean polity, a decision thatwas rejected by both the Soviet Union and North Korea.  Also in December 1948, the Soviet Unionwithdrew its forces from North Korea. In June 1949, the United Stateswithdrew its forces from South Korea. However, Soviet and American military advisors remained, in the Northand South, respectively.

In March 1949, on a visit to Moscow,Kim Il-sung asked Joseph Stalin, the Soviet leader, for military assistance fora North Korean planned invasion of South Korea.  Kim Il-sung explained that an invasion wouldbe successful, since most South Koreans opposed the Rhee regime, and that thecommunist insurgency in the south had sufficiently weakened the South Koreanmilitary.  Stalin did not give hisconsent, as the Soviet government currently was pressed by other Cold Warevents in Europe.

However, by early 1950, the Cold War situation had beenaltered dramatically.  In September 1949,the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb, ending the United States’ monopoly on nuclearweapons.  In October 1949, Chinesecommunists, led by Mao Zedong, defeated the West-aligned Nationalist governmentof Chiang Kai-shek in the Chinese Civil War, and proclaimed the People’sRepublic of China, a socialist state. Then in 1950, Vietnamese communists (called Viet Minh) turned the First IndochinaWar from an anti-colonial war against Franceinto a Cold War conflict involving the Soviet Union, China,and the United States.  In February 1950, the Soviet Union and China signed the Sino-Soviet Friendship, Alliance, and Mutual Assistance Treaty, where the Sovietgovernment would provide military and financial aid to China.

Furthermore, the Soviet government, long wanting to gaugeAmerican strategic designs in Asia, was encouraged by two recent developments:First, the U.S. government did not intervene in the Chinese Civil War; and second,in January 1949, the United States announced that South Korea was not part ofthe U.S. “defensive perimeter” in Asia, and U.S. Congress rejected an aidpackage to South Korea.  To Stalin, the United Stateswas resigned to the whole northeast Asian mainland falling to communism.

In April 1950, the Soviet Union approved North Korea’s planto invade South Korea, but subject to two crucial conditions: Soviet forceswould not be involved in the fighting, and China’s People’s Liberation Army(PLA, i.e. the Chinese armed forces) must agree to intervene in the war ifnecessary.  In May 1950, in a meetingbetween Kim Il-sung and Mao Zedong, the Chinese leader expressed concern thatthe United States mightintervene if the North Koreans attacked South Korea.  In the end, Mao agreed to send Chinese forcesif North Koreawas invaded.  North Korea then hastened itsinvasion plan.

The North Korean armed forces (officially: the KoreanPeople’s Army), having been organized into its present form concurrent with therise of Kim Il-sung, had grown in strength with large Soviet support.  And in 1949-1950, with Kim Il-sungemphasizing a massive military buildup, by the eve of the invasion, NorthKorean forces boasted some 150,000–200,000 soldiers, 280 tanks, 200 artillerypieces, and 200 planes.

By contrast, the South Korean military (officially: Republic of Korea Armed Forces), which consistedlargely of police units, was unprepared for war.  The United States, not wanting a Korean war, held back fromdelivering weapons to South Korea,particularly since President Rhee had declared his intention to invade North Koreain order to reunify the peninsula.  Bythe time of the North Korean invasion, South Korean weapons, which the United Stateshad limited to defensive strength, proved grossly inadequate.  South Korea had 100,000 soldiers(of whom only 65,000 were combat troops); it also had no tanks and possessedonly small-caliber artillery pieces and an assortment of liaison and traineraircraft.

North Koreahad envisioned its invasion as a concentration of forces along the Ongjin Peninsula.  North Korean forces would make a swiftassault on Seoulto surround and destroy the South Korean forces there.  Rhee’s government then would collapse,leading to the fall of South Korea. Then on June 21, 1950, four days before the scheduled invasion, KimIl-sung believed that South Korea had become aware of the invasion planand had fortified its defenses.  Herevised his plan for an offensive all across the 38th parallel.  In the months preceding the war, numerousborder skirmishes had begun breaking out between the two sides.

December 29, 1962 – All remaining prisoners from the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion return to the United States

In December 1962, or twenty months after the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba, in an agreement between Cuba and the United States, Fidel Castro freed the Brigade 2506 prisoners and allowed them to return to the United States in exchange for the United States delivering $53 million worth of food and medicines to Cuba.  Some 60 wounded and ill prisoners had been returned to the United States a few months earlier, while five were executed in Cuba for past crimes.  By December 29, 1962, all surviving prisoners had been returned to the United States.

Cuba showing location of Trinidad, which was the first proposed site of the CIA-sponsored Brigade 2506 invasion, and the Bay of Pigs, where the landings took place.

(Taken from Bay of Pigs Invasion – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 2)

Background  The rise to power of Fidel Castro afterhis victory in the Cuban Revolution (previous article) caused great concern forthe United States.  Castro formed a government that adopted asocialist state policy and opened diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union and other European communist countries.  After the Cuban government seized andnationalized American companies in Cuba, the United States imposed a tradeembargo on the Castro regime and subsequently ended all economic and diplomaticrelations with the island country.

Then in July 1959, just seven months after the CubanRevolution, U.S.president Dwight Eisenhower delegated the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)with the task of overthrowing Castro, who had by then gained absolute power asdictator.  The CIA devised a number ofmethods to try and kill the Cuban leader, including the use of guns-for-hireand assassins carrying poison-laced devices. Other schemes to destabilize Cuba also were carried out, includingsending infiltrators to conduct terror and sabotage operations in the island,arming and funding anti-Castro insurgent groups that operated especially in theEscambray Mountains, and by being directly involved in attacking and sinkingCuban and foreign merchant vessels in Cuban waters and by launching air attacksin Cuba.  These CIA operations ultimatelyfailed to eliminate Castro or permanently destabilize his regime.

In March 1960, the CIA began to plan secretly for theinvasion of Cuba,with the full support of the Eisenhower administration and the U.S. ArmedForces.  About 1,400 anti-Castro Cubanexiles in Miamiwere recruited to form the main invasion force, which came to be known as“Brigade 2506” (Brigade 2506 actually consisted of five infantry brigades andone paratrooper brigade).  The majorityof Brigade 2506 received training in conventional warfare in a U.S. base in Guatemala,while other members took specialized combat instructions in Puerto Rico andvarious locations in the United States.

The CIA wanted to maintain utmost secrecy in order toconceal the U.S.government’s involvement in the invasion. Through loose talk, however, the plan came to be widely known among theMiami Cubans, which eventually was picked up by the American media and then bythe foreign press.  On January 10, 1961,a front-page news item in the New York Times read “U.S. helps train anti-Castro ForceAt Secret Guatemalan Air-Ground Base”. Castro’s intelligence operatives in Latin Americaalso learned of the plan; in October 1960, the Cuban foreign minister presentedevidence of the existence of Brigade 2506 at a session of the United NationsGeneral Assembly.

In January 1961, the CIA gave newly elected U.S. president,John F. Kennedy, together with his Cabinet, details of the Cuban invasionplan.  The State Department raised anumber of objections, particularly with regards to the proposed landing site ofTrinidad, which was a heavily populated town in south-central Cuba (Map30).  Trinidad had the benefits of beinga defensible landing site and was located adjacent to the Escambray Mountains,where many anti-Castro guerilla groups operated.  State officials were concerned, however, thatTrinidad’s conspicuous location and largepopulation would make American involvement difficult to conceal.

As a result, the CIA rejected Trinidad, and proposed a newlanding site: the Bay of Pigs (Spanish: Bahia de Cochinos), a remote, sparselyinhabited narrow inlet west of Trinidad.  President Kennedy then gave his approval, andfinal preparations for the invasion were made. (The “Cochinos” in Bahia de Cochinos,although translated into English as “pigs” does not refer to swine but to aspecies of fish, the orange-lined triggerfish, found in the coral waters aroundthe area).

The general premise of the invasion was that most Cubanswere discontented with Castro and wanted to see his government deposed.  The CIA believed that once Brigade 2506 beganthe invasion, Cubans would rise up against Castro, and the Cuban Army woulddefect to the side of the invaders. Other anti-government guerilla groups then would join Brigade 2506 andincite a civil war that ultimately would overthrow Castro.  Thereafter, a provisional government, led byCuban exiles in the United States,would arrive in Cubaand lead the transition to democracy.

December 28, 1956 – Malayan Emergency: Chief Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and rebel leader Chin Peng meet in Baling

By 1955, the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA) was onthe decline, its combat strength weakened by combat deaths, desertions, andsurrenders, morale was low, and its popular support was greatly reduced.  In September 1955, some three months afterhis party won the general elections, Tunku Abdul Rahman, chief Minister ofMalaya, offered amnesty to the MNLA. Government representatives and the CPM leadership held negotiations inOctober and November 1955, paving the way for the Baling Peace Talks (held inBaling, in present-day northern Peninsular Malaysia) in December 1955, whereCPM leader Chin Peng met with Chief Minister Tunku.  However, this meeting produced nosettlement.  Subsequent offers by ChinPeng to continue negotiations were spurned by Tunku, who insisted on unconditionalsurrender, i.e. that the MNLA must disarm and disband, and the CPM would not begranted official recognition.  InFebruary 1956, Tunku rescinded the amnesty offer.

The Malayan Emergency occurred in what is now Peninsular (West) Malaysia.

(Taken from Malayan Emergency – Wars of the 20th Century – Twenty Wars in Asia)

On June 12, 1948, three European plantation managers werekilled by armed bands, forcing British authorities to declare a state ofemergency throughout Malaya, which essentiallywas a declaration of war on the CPM.  TheBritish called the conflict, which lasted 12 years (1948-1960), an “emergency”so that business establishments that suffered material losses as a result ofthe fighting, could make insurance claims, which the same would be refused byinsurance companies if Malaya were placed under a state of war.

The state of emergency, which was applied first to PerakState (where the murders of the three plantation managers occurred) and thenthroughout Malaya in July 1948, gave the police authorization to arrest andhold anyone, without the need for the judicial process.  In this way, hundreds of CPM cadres werearrested and jailed, and the party itself was outlawed in July 1948.  The murders of the three plantation managersare disputed: British authorities blamed the CPM, while Chin Peng denied CPMinvolvement, arguing that the CPM itself was caught by surprise by the eventsand was unprepared for war, and that he himself barely avoided arrest in theintensive government crackdown that followed the killings.

The CPM retreated into the Malayan jungles where itreconstituted its military wing under a new name, first the Malayan Peoples’Anti-British Army (MPABA), and then in February 1949 as the Malayan NationalLiberation Army (MNLA).  Combat unitswere hastily re-formed (from the wartime MPAJA units) and buried weapons cacheswere recovered from the ground.  The MNLAcombat strategy consisted of acquiring more weapons by raiding police stationsand ambushing army and security patrols. The guerillas also attacked civilian and public infrastructures to upsetthe Malayan economy, thereby undermining the British government.  Tin mine operations were disrupted, rubberplantations destroyed, and operations managers targeted forassassinations.  As well, buses wereransacked, railway trains upturned, and public utilities sabotaged.  These indiscriminate attacks soon were havinga detrimental effect on the local workers and ordinary people, which forced theMNLA to end this strategy.

The MNLA obtained its support mainly from the ethnic Chinesepopulation, which provided the rebels with recruits, food, supplies, andinformation.  MNLA support particularlywas strong among the so-called “squatter” population, the 600,000 people wholived in remote areas which typically were beyond the reach of Britishadministrative and police control. Direct auxiliary support to the rebels was provided by ordinary civiliansusing the clandestine “Min Yuen” (Masses Movement) network.  “Min Yuen” functioned in many ways, includingbeing a link between the MNLA and the general population, providing the MNLAwith logistical support, and being a courier and communications system across Malaya, where messages (written in small slips of paper)were passed to and from the various rebel commands.  For about three years from the start of theEmergency (1948-1951), the communist rebels held the initiative againstgovernment forces; at its peak, the MNLA launched over 6,000 armed incidents in1951.

At the start of the war, the undermanned British forces in Malaya were unable to confront the rapidly expandingcommunist insurgency.  Consequently,British military and police units were brought in from outside of Malaya, while local recruitment to the Malayan policeforce and privately-organized militias (by plantation and mine owners)increased government and anti-insurgency security strength to over 250,000personnel by the early 1950s. Furthermore, the arrival of army contingents from Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, as well as Gurkha troops inthe British Army and security forces from British East African territories,soon allowed the British to seize the initiative from the communist rebels by1952.

Initially, the British sent large military formations to“search and destroy” operations against MNLA camps which were located deep inthe Malayan mountains.  British warplanesalso launched thousands of bombing and strafing sorties.  By 1950, these large-scale offensives,cumbersome and ineffective against a concealed enemy, were abandoned.  Small-unit operations were adopted, whichwere better suited to the Malayan jungles. The British also saw that their air attack missions achieved only modestsuccess, because of the dense forest cover, the absence of reliable maps, andthe difficult high-altitude weather conditions.

Maneuverability of British Army ground units also washandicapped by the jungle terrain and the elements, and the difficulty inlocating the enemy.  British soldiersalso were unable to distinguish between friend and foe, and therefore regardedall persons in remote settlements as potentially hostile.  As a result of these difficulties, theBritish committed a number of atrocities on the local population, the mostnotable being the Batang Kali Massacre in December 1948, where 24 villagerswere killed and their houses burned.

The British also built fortified camps deep in the junglesin areas that were inhabited by the indigenous Orang Asli tribal population,who previously had supported the MNLA, but were won over by the British.  From these jungle camps, the British sent outpatrols to seek out and engage the rebels. Members of the Orang Asli also were organized into local militias todefend their villages.

Early on in the war, the British saw that warfare alonecould not win the war, because of the difficulty of penetrating the thickMalayan jungles and the refusal of the enemy to engage in open combat.  They therefore implemented a number ofnon-military approaches to confront the insurgency.  Shortly after the state of emergency wasdeclared, the British jailed hundreds of ethnic Malay communists in order tokeep the insurgency from spreading to other Malays (as well as  ethnic Indians), thereby reinforcing theperception that the MNLA was a mainly ethnic Chinese organization.  For the same reason, in Pahang State where anethnic Malay-led MNLA unit operated, British authorities expelled the Malayrebels and brought the region under their control.

Still unable to defeat the MNLA, the British turned tostarving it into submission.  The 600,000rural squatters from whom the rebels derived much of their support wereuprooted from their homes and moved to “New Villages”, which were guardedsettlement camps where British authorities provided the new residents withbasic necessities and public utilities, but also enforced strict restrictionson the residents’ personal movement, food allocations, and other civil rights.  A curfew was imposed and violators weresubjected to severe punishment.  By themid-1950s, some 450 “New Villages” had been built.  To win over the local population, the Britishlaunched a “hearts and minds” campaign, where the “New Villages” were providedwith educational and health care services, and primary utilities such aselectricity and clean water.

British authorities also co-opted the large anti-communistethnic Chinese population, forging friendly ties with the Malayan ChineseAssociation (MCA), which had been organized by moderate Chinese who sought toadvance Malayan Chinese interests through peaceful, democratic means.  Intelligence gathering operations also weregreatly expanded during the Emergency, with emphasis placed on recruitingMalays, Chinese and Indians as intelligence operatives with the task of gaininginformation on the CPM’s organizational structure and courier andcommunications network.  Working throughdeep cover agents, captured or surrendered rebels, seized CMP documents, andother sources, the government gained a large body of information on theCMP.  British authorities alsoinfiltrated the rebels’ courier and communications system, and thus succeededin subverting MNLA and CPM operations.

The British also used psychological warfare, which were soeffective in demoralizing the ranks of the MNLA.  Propaganda leaflets were air-dropped in themountains and jungles, anti-communist rallies were organized in towns andcities, and uncovered rebel weapons caches were left in place but sabotaged,for example, with self-exploding bullets and grenades.

Furthermore, the herbicides 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T were firstused during the Malayan Emergency, with British planes spraying them todefoliate the forests and deprive the rebels of cover.  Also targeted were the insurgents’ own cropfields located in jungle clearings, as well as the roadsides where the Britishwere most vulnerable to rebel attack.  Amixture of these two herbicides (called Agent Orange) was used extensively by U.S. forcesduring the Vietnam War.

The government’s multi-faceted approach to meet the MalayanEmergency was raised to a higher degree during the term of Gerald Templer asBritish High Commissioner in Malaya.  Templer had been given broad powers by theBritish government following his predecessor’s assassination by MNLA guerillasin October 1951.  Templer’s two-yeartenure (1952-1954) did much to turn the tide of the war in favor of theBritish, even though upon his departure, the MNLA continued to be athreat.  Of all the counter-insurgencymethods that the British employed, the most successful was preparing Malaya for independence, a process that was acceleratedunder Templer’s tenure.  The Britishreasoned that handing Malaya its independencewould nullify the CMP’s reason for existence, which was to end colonial rule.

As it turned out, however, Malaya’s road to independenceinvolved a long, tedious process, primarily because Malaya’s three main racialgroups (Malays, Chinese, and Indians) were not integrated and even mutuallyhostile to each other; this difficulty initially convinced the British that Malaya’s independence was virtually impossible toachieve.

Earlier in April 1946, the British organized the Malayanstates into a single polity, the Malayan Union, where the powers of the Sultanswere restricted, and the Chinese and Indians were to be grantedcitizenship.  However, Malay nationalistsled a series of protests against granting citizenship to non-Malays.  The British relented, and negotiations thatfollowed led to a compromise – the Malayan Union was abolished and replaced inFebruary 1948 with the Federation of Malaya. In the new polity, the Malayan sultans’ powers were restored; inexchange, ethnic Chinese and Indians were granted citizenship, and equality ofall races was guaranteed.  Furthermore, aMalay sultan would be the head of state, sovereignty over Malayawould rest with Malays, and Malay would be the official language.  Conversely, the Chinese and Indians would beguaranteed representation at all levels of government and legislation, andtheir economic interests and social, cultural, and religious traditions wouldbe protected.

In 1954, Malayan interracial integration was bolstered withthe formation of the Alliance Party, a coalition of political parties comprisingthe three leading ethnic-based political parties, i.e. United Malays NationalOrganisation (UMNO), Malayan Chinese Association (MCA), and Malayan IndianCongress (MIC).  Then in generalelections held in July 1955, the Alliance Party won decisively.  Two years later (on August 31, 1957), theFederation of Malaya became a fully sovereign, independent state  These political developments denigrated thelegitimacy of the CPM’s armed struggle, particularly since the 1955 electionand Malaya’s independence received overwhelming support from the generalpopulation.

By 1955, the MNLA was on the decline, its combat strengthweakened by combat deaths, desertions, and surrenders, morale was low, and itspopular support was greatly reduced.  InSeptember 1955, some three months after his party won the general elections, TunkuAbdul Rahman, chief Minister of Malaya, offered amnesty to the MNLA.  Government representatives and the CPMleadership held negotiations in October and November 1955, paving the way forthe Baling Peace Talks (held in Baling, in present-day northern PeninsularMalaysia) in December 1955, where CPM leader Chin Peng met with Chief MinisterTunku.  However, this meeting produced nosettlement.  Subsequent offers by ChinPeng to continue negotiations were spurned by Tunku, who insisted onunconditional surrender, i.e. that the MNLA must disarm and disband, and theCPM would not be granted official recognition. In February 1956, Tunku rescinded the amnesty offer.

December 27, 1978 – Spain becomes a democracy with King Juan Carlos I certifying the new constitution; 40 years of dictatorial rule ends

On December 27, 1978, King Juan Carlos I of Spain certified the new constitution, marking the country’s full transition to democracy. The constitution had been ratified on December 6, 1978 and came into force on December 29, 1978. This marked the end of Francoist-era authoritarian rule, since the new constitution repealed the “Fundamental Laws of the Realm” constitution of Francisco Franco.

On November 22, 1975, Juan Carlos became King of Spain after the death of Francisco Franco two days earlier. Franco had ruled Spain as a dictator since emerging victorious in the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s. As his health declined, Franco appointed Prince Juan Carlos as his successor in 1969, which was approved by the Spanish parliament on July22, 1969. Juan Carlos also temporarily took over as the country’s head of state during periods of Franco’s incapacity in 1974 and 1975.

Franco had hoped that Juan Carlos would continue thegovernment’s ultra-conservative and authoritarian policies. Instead, King JuanCarlos dismantled Franco’s totalitarian regime and transitioned Spaininto democracy and a parliamentary monarchy. In June 1977, Spain held general elections, thefirst free elections since 1936 before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War.The following year, a new constitution was promulgated.

Taken from Spanish Civil War – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 3)

Aftermath Followingthe war, General Franco established a right-wing, anti-communist dictatorialgovernment centered on the Falange Party. Socialists, communists, and anarchists, were outlawed, as werefree-party politics.  Political enemieswere killed or jailed; perhaps as many as 200,000 lost their lives in prison orthrough executions.  The politicalautonomies of Basque and Cataloniawere voided.  These regions’ culture,language, and identity were suppressed, and a single Spanish national identitywas enforced.

After World War II ended, Spainbecame politically and economically isolated from most of the internationalcommunity because of General Franco’s affiliation with the defeated fascistregimes of Germany and Italy.  Then with increasing tensions in the Cold Warbetween the United Statesand Soviet Union, the U.S.government became drawn to Spain’sstaunchly anti-communist stance and strategic location at the western end ofthe Mediterranean Sea.

In September 1953, Spainand the United Statesentered into a defense agreement known as the Pact of Madrid, where the U.S. government infused large amounts ofmilitary assistance to Spain’sdefense.  As a result, Spain’s diplomatic isolation ended,and the country was admitted to the United Nations in 1955.

Its economy devastated by the civil war, Spain experienced phenomenaleconomic growth during the period from 1959 to 1974 (known as the “SpanishMiracle”) when the government passed reforms that opened up the financial andinvestment sectors.  Spain’s totalitarian regime endedwith General Franco’s death in 1975; thereafter, the country transitioned to ademocratic parliamentary monarchy which it is today.

December 26, 1972 – Vietnam War: American B-52 bombers attack Hanoi in Operation Linebacker II

On December 14, 1972, the U.S.government issued a 72-hour ultimatum to North Vietnam to return tonegotiations.  On the same day, U.S.planes air-dropped naval mines off the North Vietnamese waters, again sealingoff the coast to sea traffic.  Then onPresident Nixon’s orders to use “maximum effort…maximum destruction”, onDecember 18-29, 1972, U.S. B-52 bombers and other aircraft under OperationLinebacker II, launched massive bombing attacks on targets in North Vietnam,including Hanoi and Haiphong, hitting airfields, air defense systems, navalbases, and other military facilities, industrial complexes and supply depots,and transport facilities.  As many of therestrictions from previous air campaigns were lifted, the round-the-clockbombing attacks destroyed North Vietnam’s war-related logistical and supportcapabilities.  Several B-52s were shotdown in the first days of the operation, but changes to attack methods and theuse of electronic and mechanical countermeasures greatly reduced airlosses.  By the end of the bombingcampaign, few targets of military value remained in North Vietnam, enemy anti-aircraft guns had been silenced, and North Vietnamwas forced to return to negotiations.  OnJanuary 15, 1973, President Nixon ended the bombing operations.

One week later, on January 23, negotiations resumed, leadingfour days later, on January 27, 1973, to the signing by representatives fromNorth Vietnam, South Vietnam, the Viet Cong/NLF through its ProvisionalRevolutionary Government (PRG), and the United States of the Paris PeaceAccords (officially titled: “Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace inVietnam”), which (ostensibly) marked the end of the war.  The Accords stipulated a ceasefire; therelease and exchange of prisoners of war; the withdrawal of all American andother non-Vietnamese troops from Vietnam within 60 days; for South Vietnam: apolitical settlement between the government and the PRG to determine thecountry’s political future; and for Vietnam: a gradual, peaceful reunificationof North Vietnam and South Vietnam.  Asin the 1954 Geneva Accords (which ended the First Indochina War), the DMZ didnot constitute a political/territorial border. Furthermore, the 200,000 North Vietnamese troops occupying territoriesin South Vietnamwere allowed to remain in place.

Southeast Asia.

(Taken from Vietnam War – Wars of the 20th Century – Twenty Wars in Asia)

To assuage South Vietnam’sconcerns regarding the last two points, on March 15, 1973, President Nixonassured President Thieu of direct U.S.military air intervention in case North Vietnam violated theAccords.  Furthermore, just before theAccords came into effect, the United Statesdelivered a large amount of military hardware and financial assistance to South Vietnam.

By March 29, 1973, nearly all American and other alliedtroops had departed, and only a small contingent of U.S. Marines and advisorsremained.  A peacekeeping force, calledthe International Commission of Control and Supervision (ICCS), arrived in South Vietnamto monitor and enforce the Accords’ provisions. But as large-scale fighting restarted soon thereafter, the ICCS becamepowerless and failed to achieve its objectives.

For the United States, the Paris Peace Accords meant the endof the war, a view that was not shared by the other belligerents, as fightingresumed, with the ICCS recording 18,000 ceasefire violations betweenJanuary-July 1973.  President Nixon hadalso compelled President Thieu to agree to the Paris Peace Accords under threatthat the United States wouldend all military and financial aid to South Vietnam, and that the U.S.government would sign the Accords even without South Vietnam’s concurrence.  Ostensibly, President Nixon could fulfill hispromise of continuing to provide military support to South Vietnam, as he had beenre-elected in a landslide victory in the recently concluded November 1972presidential election. However, U.S. Congress, which was now dominated byanti-war legislators, did not bode well for South Vietnam.  In June 1973, U.S. Congress passedlegislation that prohibited U.S.combat activities in Vietnam,Laos, and Cambodia, without prior legislativeapproval.  Also that year, U.S. Congresscut military assistance to South Vietnam by 50%.  Despite the clear shift in U.S. policy, South Vietnam continued to believe the U.S. government would keep itscommitment to provide military assistance.

Then in October 1973, a four-fold increase in world oilprices led to a global recession following the Organization of PetroleumExporting Countries (OPEC) imposing an oil embargo in response to U.S. support for Israel in the Yom Kippur War.  South Vietnam’seconomy was already reeling because of the U.S.troop withdrawal (a vibrant local goods and services economy had existed inSaigon because of the presence of large numbers of American soldiers) andreduced U.S.assistance.  South Vietnam experienced soaringinflation, high unemployment, and a refugee problem, with hundreds of thousandsof people fleeing to the cities to escape the fighting in the countryside.

The economic downturn also destabilized the South Vietnameseforces, for although they possessed vast quantities of military hardware (forexample, having three times more artillery pieces and two times more tanks andarmor than North Vietnam), budget cuts, lack of spare parts, and fuel shortagesmeant that much of this equipment could not be used.  Later, even the number of bullets allotted tosoldiers was rationed.  Compoundingmatters were the endemic corruption, favoritism, ineptitude, and lethargyprevalent in the South Vietnamese government and military.

In the post-Accords period, South Vietnam was determined toregain control of lost territory, and in a number of offensives in 1973-1974,it succeeded in seizing some communist-held areas, but paid a high price inpersonnel and weaponry.  At the sametime, North Vietnamwas intent on achieving a complete military victory.  But since the North Vietnamese forces hadsuffered extensive losses in the previous years, the Hanoigovernment concentrated on first rebuilding its forces for a planned full-scaleoffensive of South Vietnam,planned for 1976.

In March 1974, North Vietnamlaunched a series of “strategic raids” from the captured territories that it heldin South Vietnam.  By November 1974, North Vietnam’s control hadextended eastward from the north nearly to the south of the country.  As well, North Vietnamese forces nowthreatened a number of coastal centers, including Da Nang,Quang Ngai, and Qui Nhon, as well as Saigon.  Expanding its occupied areas in South Vietnam also allowed North Vietnam to shift its logistical system(the Ho Chi Minh Trail) from eastern Laosand Cambodia to inside South Vietnamitself.  By October 1974, with major roadimprovements completed, the Trail system was a fully truckable highway fromnorth to south, and greater numbers of North Vietnamese units, weapons, andsupplies were being transported each month to South Vietnam.

North Vietnam’s“strategic raids” also were meant to gauge U.S. military response.  None occurred, as at this time, the United Stateswas reeling from the Watergate Scandal, which led to President Nixon resigningfrom office on August 9, 1974. Vice-President Gerald Ford succeeded as President.

Encouraged by this success, in December 1974, NorthVietnamese forces in eastern Cambodiaattacked Phuoc LongProvince, taking its capital PhuocBinh in early January 1975 and sending pandemonium in South Vietnam, but again producing no militaryresponse from the United States. President Ford had asked U.S. Congress for military support for South Vietnam,but was refused.

December 25, 1978 – Vietnam invades Cambodia

On December 25, 1978, Vietnamlaunched its invasion of Cambodia.  Following a diversionary attack on Kratie in Cambodia’s northwest region, the main attackforce of the 120,000-strong Vietnamese forces, supported by 20,000 KUFNSfighters and air, artillery, and armored units, launched a swift offensive intosouthern Cambodia through Takeo Province.  The Khmer Rouge had massed its forces in Svay Rieng Province, where the PolPot regime believed the Vietnamese would strike.  But Vietnamese forces outflanked Svay Rieng Province.

With the fall of Takeo, the road to Phnom Penh lay open.  Vietnamese tanks now sped down the flatcountryside to the capital.  On January7, 1979, the Vietnamese Army captured Phnom Penh, and overthrew the Khmer Rouge regime.  Pol Pot and his staff, together the bulk ofthe Khmer Rouge Army, made a strategic withdrawal to the jungle mountains ofwestern Cambodianear the Thai border, where they set up a resistance government.

(Taken from Cambodian-Vietnamese War – Wars of the 20th Century – Twenty Wars in Asia)

Background By thelate 1950s, the Cambodian communist movement experienced a resurgence that wasspurred by a new generation of young, Paris-education communists who hadreturned to the country.  In September1960, ICP veteran communists and the new batch of communists met and elected aCentral Committee, and renamed the KPRP (Kampuchean People’s RevolutionaryParty) as the Worker’s Party of Kampuchea (WPK).

In February 1963, following another government suppressionthat led to the arrest of communist leaders, the WPK soon came under thecontrol of the younger communists, led by Saloth Sar (later known as Pol Pot),who sidelined the veteran communists whom they viewed as pro-Vietnamese.  In September 1966, the WPK was renamed theKampuchean Communist Party (KCP).

The KCP and its members, as well its military wing, werecalled “Khmer Rouge” by the Sihanouk government.  In January 1968, the Khmer Rouge launched arevolutionary war against the Sihanouk regime, and after Sihanouk wasoverthrown in March 1970, against the new Cambodian government.  In April 1975, the Khmer Rouge triumphed andtook over political power in Cambodia,which it renamed Democratic Kampuchea.

During its revolutionary struggle, the Khmer Rouge obtainedsupport from North Vietnam,particularly through the North Vietnamese Army’s capturing large sections ofeastern Cambodia,which it later turned over to its Khmer Rouge allies.  But the Khmer Rouge held stronganti-Vietnamese sentiment, and deemed its alliance with North Vietnam only as a temporary expedient tocombat a common enemy – the United States in particular, Western capitalism ingeneral.  The Cambodian communists’hostility toward the Vietnamese resulted from the historical domination byVietnam of Cambodia during the pre-colonial period, and the perception thatmodern-day Vietnam wanted todominate the whole Indochina region.

Soon after coming to power, the Khmer Rouge launched one ofhistory’s most astounding social revolutions, forcibly emptying cities, towns,and all urban areas, and sending the entire Cambodian population to thecountryside to become peasant workers in agrarian communes under a feudal-typeforced labor system.  All lands andproperties were nationalized, banks, schools, hospitals, and most industries,were shut down.  Money was abolished.  Government officials and military officers ofthe previous regime, teachers, doctors, academics, businessmen, professionals,and all persons who had associated with the Western “imperialists”, or weredeemed “capitalist” or “counter-revolutionary” were jailed, tortured, andexecuted.  Some 1½ – 2½ million people,or 25% of the population, died under the Khmer Rouge regime (CambodianGenocide, previous article).

In foreign relations, the Khmer Rouge government isolateditself from the international community, expelling all Western nationals,banning the entry of nearly all foreign media, and closing down all foreignembassies.  It did, however, later allowa number of foreign diplomatic missions (from communist countries) to reopen inPhnom Penh.  As well, it held a seat in the United Nations(UN).

The Khmer Rouge was fiercely nationalistic and xenophobic,and repressed ethnic minorities, including Chams, Chinese, Laotians, Thais, andespecially the Vietnamese.  Within a fewmonths, it had expelled the remaining 200,000 ethnic Vietnamese from thecountry, adding to the 300,000 Vietnamese who had been deported by the previousCambodian regime.

December 24, 1943 –World War II: U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower is named Supreme Allied Commander

On December 24, 1943, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower wasnamed Supreme Allied Commander. Then in February 1944, he was appointed as the SupremeAllied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). He was charged withthe planning and execution of the Allied landings on the Normandy coast under Operation Overlord.

The Normandy landings.

(Taken from Normandy Landings – Wars of the 20th Century – World War II in Europe)

On June 6, 1944 (also called D-Day), the Allied 21st ArmyGroup launched Operation Overlord, the invasion of the French coast of Normandy.  The operation was delayed by one day from itsearlier planned June 5 because of a storm in the English Channel.  A lull in theinclement weather encouraged General Dwight D. Eisenhower, over-all commanderof Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF), to proceed withthe invasion.  Meanwhile in northern France, the bad weather lulled Germanauthorities into believing that no invasion could take place, and on June 6, atthe time of the Normandylandings, many high-ranking German commanders were away from their posts andparticipating in military exercises elsewhere.

The invasion began with British and American parachute andglider units making overnight landings in Normandy on the flanks of the target area,and securing bridges, exit routes, and capturing other key objectives.  In the early morning of June 6, Allied airand naval units launched a massive bombardment of the Normandy coast and the immediate interior,which was followed by the landing of the ground forces.  With a massive supporting naval armada ofsome 7,000 vessels, including 1,200 warships, 4,100 transports, and manyhundreds of auxiliary vessels, Allied land forces ferried by amphibious landingcrafts hit the Normandy coast at five points: in the western sector, U.S. forcesin the beaches codenamed Utah and Omaha, and in the eastern sector, the Britishat the beaches named Gold and Sword, and the Canadians at Juno.

The British and Canadians established beachheads aftermeeting only moderate German resistance, while U.S.forces at Utahbeach at the extreme right, facing the weakest resistance of all the sectors,also easily gained a foothold.  At Omaha beach, U.S. forces met fierce enemy fireand suffered heavy casualties from the entrenched defenders occupying the high groundoverlooking the beach.  The Germans at Omaha Beachalso comprised the veteran 352nd Infantry Division, the strongest formation in Normandy.  Here, the Americans faced the real danger ofbeing thrown back into the sea.  Therapid landing of more troops and tanks, and more decisively, the bombardment ofGerman positions by Allied warships and planes allowed the Omaha situation to ease by mid-day.  By the end of D-Day (June 6), four of thefive beachheads were secured, while Omahawas still being cleared and consolidated, and also still subject to distantenemy artillery fire.

Although the Allies had cause for optimism, they had failedto achieve their pre-invasion objectives for Day 1, that of establishing abeachhead up to a distance of 6–10 miles (10–16 km) inland, of linking up thethree central beachheads, and capturing the towns of Caen, Saint-Lo, andBayeux.  In the following days, theAllies expanded their beachheads, and on June 9, 1944, two artificial harborstowed from England becameoperational in Normandy,one each in the American and British-Canadian sectors, where large numbers oftroops, equipment, and supplies were unloaded. The Allied plan was to fortify and then expand their positions fasterthan the Germans could send reinforcements to Normandy. On June 7, 1944, the British and Canadian sectors linked up, joined thenext day with the American-held Omaha beachhead,and on June 11, by the Utahsector – a continuous Allied frontline thus was established.  The delay in the link-up by the Utah sector resultedfrom the Germans receiving reinforcements there and mounting a determined standagainst American attempts to expand the beachhead.

On D-Day, the Allies landed some 130,000–156,000troops.  By June 11, this number hadgrown to 330,000 troops, including 150,000 vehicles and 570,000 tons ofsupplies.  By July 4, Allied troopslanded were one million, which now included French, Polish, Dutch, Belgian,Czech, and Greek units.  By then, theAllies held an overwhelming superiority in manpower and weapons over theGermans, and had achieved full mastery of the skies over France andwater lanes along the French northern coast.

The Allied landings experienced a major, temporary setbackwhen a powerful storm struck the French coast on June 19–22, 1944 thatcompletely destroyed the artificial harbor in the American sector, as well assank or beached hundreds of Allied ships and destroyed some 140,000 tons ofsupplies.  As a result, the Allies scaledback or temporarily stopped all combat operations due to a shortage ofammunition and supplies.

Operation Overlord caught the Germans completely bysurprise, which indicated the overwhelming success of the Allied deceptionstrategy under Operation Bodyguard. Allied planners believed that the sheer number of invasion shipssteaming across the English Channel wouldsurely be detected by the Germans within a few hours, and thus were astonishedthat German intelligence had failed miserably. Even after the landings had taken place and for many weeks thereafter, Hitlercontinued to believe that Normandy was merely a diversion for the main attackat Pas de Calais, and refused to allow the armored reserves be brought toNormandy, as requested by General Gerd von Rundstedt, commander of Germanforces in the West, who by late June 1944, was convinced that the Normandylandings were indeed the main Allied attack. German forces at Normandydid launch a number of sporadic counter-attacks, including a major thrust onD-Day that advanced to the coast at Lue-sur-Mer.  But lacking reinforcements and air andartillery support, these German counter-attacks were easily repulsed.

Following D-Day, the Allies rapidly extended their Normandy beachheads andcontinued to push back the Germans.  OnJune 7, 1944 (D-Day + 1), an advance by Canadian forces toward Caen was stopped decisively by the Germansnorth of the town.  One week later, onJune 13, an attack by British armor toward Villers-Bocage was repulsed withheavy losses by German panzers.  And inlate June 1944, a British attempt to outflank Caen also failed to achieve abreakthrough.  The Germans concentratedtheir forces in the western sector, particularly in the defense of Caen, since its capture would allow an Allied breakoutinto the open plains of northwest France, where the sheer weight ofAllied manpower and weapons would be overwhelming.

December 23, 1956 – Britain and France withdraw from Egypt, ending the Suez Crisis

On December 23, 1956, Britain and France withdrew their forces from Egypt.  As a result of strong diplomatic pressure from the United States and the Soviet Union, in March 1957, Israel also withdrew its troops from occupied portions of the Sinai Peninsula, which then were retaken by the Egyptian forces.  In exchange for the Israeli troop withdrawal, Egypt re-opened the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping and allowed the demilitarization of the Sinai.  As a consequence of the Suez Crisis, the UN sent peacekeepers to the Suez Canal and the Sinai Peninsula.

The Suez Crisis was a war between Egypt against the alliance of Britain, France, and Israel for control of the politically and economically vital Suez Canal, a man-modified shipping channel that connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.

(Taken from Suez Crisis – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 2)

Background TheSuez Canal in Egypt is aman-made shipping waterway that connects the Mediterranean Sea and the IndianOcean via the Red Sea (Map 7).  The Suez Canal was completed by a Frenchengineering firm in 1869 and thereafter became the preferred shipping and traderoute between Europe and Asia, as it considerablyreduced the travel time and distance from the previous circuitous route aroundthe African continent.  Since 1875, thefacility was operated by an Anglo-French private conglomerate.  By the twentieth century, nearly two-thirdsof all oil tanker traffic to Europe passed through the Suez Canal.

In the late 1940s, a wave of nationalism swept across Egypt, leadingto the overthrow of the ruling monarchy and the establishment of arepublic.  In 1951, intense publicpressure forced the Egyptian government to abolish the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of1936, although the agreement was yet to expire in three years.

With the rise in power of the Egyptian nationalists led byGamal Abdel Nasser (who later became president in 1956), Britain agreed to withdraw its military forcesfrom Egyptafter both countries signed the Anglo-Egyptian Agreement of 1954.  The last British troops left Egypt in June1956.  Nevertheless, the agreementallowed the British to use its existing military base located near the SuezCanal for seven years and the possibility of its extension if Egypt wasattacked by a foreign power.  TheAnglo-Egyptian Agreement of 1954 and foreign control of the Suez Canal wereresented by many Egyptians, especially the nationalists, who believed thattheir country was still under semi-colonial rule and not truly sovereign.

Furthermore, President Nasser was hostile to Israel, whichhad dealt the Egyptian Army a crushing defeat in the 1948 Arab-IsraeliWar.  President Nasser wanted to startanother war with Israel.  Conversely, the Israeli government believedthat Egypt was behind theterrorist activities that were being carried out in Israel.  The Israelis also therefore were ready to goto war against Egyptto put an end to the terrorism.

Egypt andIsrael sought to increasetheir weapons stockpiles through purchases from their main suppliers, the United States, Britain,and France.  The three Western powers, however, had agreedamong themselves to make arms sales equally and only in limited quantities to Egypt and Israel, to prevent an arms race.

Friendly relations between Israeland France,however, were moving toward a military alliance.  By early 1955, Francewas sending large quantities of weapons to Israel.  In Egypt,President Nasser was indignant at the Americans’ conditions to sell him arms:that the weapons were not to be used against Israel,and that U.S. advisers wereto be allowed into Egypt.  President Nasser, therefore, approached theSoviet Union, which agreed to support Egypt militarily.  In September 1955, large amounts of Sovietweapons began to arrive in Egypt.

The United Statesand Britainwere infuriated.  The Americans believedthat Egypt was falling underthe sphere of influence of the Soviet Union,their Cold War enemy.  Adding to thisperception was that Egyptrecognized Red China.  Meanwhile, Britain feltthat its historical dominance in the Arab region was being undermined.  The United States and Britain withdrew their earlierpromise to President Nasser to fund his ambitious project, the construction ofthe massive Aswan Dam.

Egyptian troops then seized the Suez Canal, which President Nasser immediately nationalized with thepurpose of using the profits from its operations to help build the AswanDam.  President Nasser ordered theAnglo-French firm operating the Suez Canal to leave; he also terminated thefirm’s contract, even though its 99-year lease with Egypt still was due toexpire in 12 years, in 1968.

The British and French governments were angered by Egypt’s seizure of the Suez Canal.  A few days later, Britain and Francedecided to take armed action: their military leaders met and began to preparefor an invasion of Egypt.  In September 1956, Franceand Israel also jointlyprepared for war against Egypt.

The three countries had various reasons for wanting to startthe war.  Britainand France wanted to regaincontrol of the Suez Canal.  The British wanted to reassert itself in theregion.  The French were embroiled in acolonial war in Algeriaagainst rebels whom they believed were being funded by President Nasser.  Israelwanted to stop the local terrorism which it attributed to Egypt’sinstigation.  Furthermore, Israelicommercial vessels were blocked from entering the Suez Canal after Egypt seizedthe waterway.

December 22, 1948 – Arab-Israeli War: Israeli forces attack Egyptian Army units in southern Negev

On December 22, 1948, Israeli forces attacked Egyptian Armyunits positioned in the southern Negev,driving them across the Egyptian border after five days of fighting.  The Israelis then crossed into the Sinai Peninsula and advanced toward al-Arish to trap theEgyptian Army.  Britain and the United States exerted pressure on Israel, forcing the latter towithdraw its forces from the Sinai.

On January 3, 1949, the Israeli Army surrounded the Egyptianforces inside the Gaza Strip in southwestern Palestine. Three days later, Egyptagreed to a ceasefire, which soon came into effect.  The 1948 Arab-Israeli War was over.  In the following months, Israel signed separate armistices with Egypt, Lebanon,Jordan and Syria.

At war’s end, Israelheld 78% of Palestine,22% more than was allotted to the Jews in the original UN partition plan.  Israel’sterritories comprised the whole Galilee and JezreelValley in the north, the whole Negevin the south, the coastal plains, and West Jerusalem.  Jordanacquired the West Bank, while Egyptgained the Gaza Strip.  No PalestinianArab state was formed.

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the 1947-1948 CivilWar in Palestine (previous article) that preceded it, over 700,000 Palestinian Arabsfled from their homes, with most of them eventually settling in the West Bank,Gaza Strip, and southern Lebanon(Map 11).  About 10,000 Palestinian Jewsalso were displaced by the conflict. Furthermore, as a consequence of these wars, tens of thousands of Jewsleft or were forced to leave from many Arab countries.  Most of these Jewish refugees settled in Israel.

1948 Arab-Israeli War. Key battle areas are shown. The Arab countries of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, assisted by volunteer fighters from other Arab states, invaded newly formed Israel that had occupied a sizable portion of Palestine.

(Taken from 1948 Arab-Israeli War – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 1)

On May 14, 1948, the Palestinian Jews established the Stateof Israel.  The next day, the infantnation was attacked by the armies of Egypt,Jordan, Syria, Lebanon,and Iraq,assisted by volunteer fighters from other Arab states.  The Arabs’ stated reasons for the invasionwere to stop the violence and to restore law and order in Palestine, and to allow the Palestinianpeople to form a government of their choice. Also cited by the Arabs was the displacement of Palestinian Arabs causedby Jewish aggression. As the nation of Israel was by now in existence, theresulting 1948 Arab-Israeli War was one fought by sovereign states.

From the east, Jordanian and Iraqi forces crossed the JordanRiver into Palestine.  The Jordanians advanced along two columns forJerusalem,which they surrounded on May 17, 1948. After heavy house-to-house fighting, the Jewish defenders of the citywere forced to surrender when they ran low on food and ammunition.  The Jordanians captured Jerusalemand then occupied Latrun, a strategic outpost overlooking the highway that ledto Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, the Iraqis advanced to the vicinity surroundingthe Arab-populated city of Jenin, Nablus, andTulkaran.  On May 25, they capturedGeulim, Kfar Vona, and Ein Vered before being stopped at Natanya, theirultimate objective on the western coast. Natanya’s fall would have divided Israel’s coastal areas in two.

A strong Israeli counterattack on Jenin forced the Iraqis topull back and defend the city.  TheIraqis repulsed the Israeli attack.  Now,however, they were concerned with making further advances because of the riskof being cut off from the rear.  TheIraqis, therefore, switched to a defensive position, which they maintained forthe rest of the war.

From the northeast, Syrian forces began their campaign byadvancing toward the south side of the Sea of Galilee.  They captured some Israeli villages beforebeing defeated at Degania.  The Syrianssoon withdrew across the border in order to regroup.  On June 6, they launched another attack, thistime in northern Galilee, where they capturedMishmar Hayarden.  Israeli Armyreinforcements soon arrived in northern Palestine,stopping further Syrian advances.

From the south, the Egyptian Army, which was the largestamong the invading forces, entered Palestinethrough the Sinai Desert.  The Egyptians then advanced through southern Palestine on two fronts: one along the coastal road forTel-Aviv, and another through the central Negev for Jerusalem.

On June 11, 1948, the United Nations (UN) imposed a truce,which lasted for 28 days until July 8.  AUN panel arrived in Palestineto work out a deal among the warring sides. The UN effort, however, failed to bring about a peace agreement.

By the end of the first weeks of the war, the Israeli Armyhad stopped the supposed Arab juggernaut that the Israelis had feared wouldsimply roll in and annihilate their fledging nation.  Although the fighting essentially had endedin a stalemate, Israeli morale was bolstered considerably, as many Israelivillages had been saved by sheer determination alone.  Local militias had thrown back entire Arabregular army units.

Earlier on May 26, Israeli authorities had merged thevarious small militias and a large Jewish paramilitary into a single IsraeliDefense Force, the country’s regular armed forces.  Mandatory conscription into the militaryservice was imposed, enabling Israelto double the size of its forces from 30,000 to 60,000 soldiers.  Despite the UN arms embargo, the Israeligovernment was able to purchase large quantities of weapons and militaryequipment, including heavy firearms, artillery pieces, battle tanks, andwarplanes.

The Arabs were handicapped seriously by the UN armsrestriction, as the Western countries that supplied much of the Arabs’ weaponsadhered to the embargo.  Consequently,Arab soldiers experienced ammunition shortages during the fighting, forcing theArab armies to switch from offensive to defensive positions.  Furthermore, Arab reinforcements simply couldnot match in numbers, zeal, and determination the new Israeli conscriptsarriving at the front lines.  And just asimportant, the war revealed the efficiency, preparedness, and motivation of theIsraeli Army in stark contrast to the inefficiency, disunity, and inexperienceof the Arab forces.

During the truce, the UN offered a new partition plan, whichwas rejected by the warring sides. Fighting restarted on July 8, one day before the end of the truce.  On July 9, Israeli Army units in the centerlaunched an offensive aimed at opening a corridor from Tel-Aviv to eastern Palestine, in order to lift the siege on Jerusalem. The Israelis captured Lydda and Ramle, two Arab strongholds nearTel-Aviv, forcing thousands of Arab civilians to flee from their homes toescape the fighting.  The Israelisreached Latrun, just outside Jerusalem,where they failed to break the solid Jordanian defenses, despite making repeatedassaults using battle tanks and heavy armored vehicles.  The Israelis also failed to break into theOld City of Jerusalem, and eventually were forced to withdraw.

On July 16, however, a powerful Israeli offensive innorthern Palestine captured Nazarethand the whole region of lower Galilee extending from Haifain the coastal west to the Sea of Galilee inthe east.  Further north, the Syrian Armycontinued to hold Mishmar Hayarden after stopping an Israeli attempt to takethe town.

In southern Palestine,the Egyptian offensives in Negba (July 12), Gal (July 14), and Be-erot Yitzhakwere thrown back by the Israeli Army, with disproportionately high Egyptiancasualties.  On July 18, the UN imposed asecond truce, this time of no specified duration.

The truce lasted nearly three months, when on October 15,fighting broke out once more.  During thetruce, relative calm prevailed in Palestinedespite high tensions and the occasional outbreaks of small-scalefighting.  The UN also proposed newchanges to the partition plan which, however, were rejected once more by thewarring sides.