Daniel Orr's Blog, page 108

February 2, 1920 – Soviet Russia and Estonia sign the Treaty of Tartu, ending the Estonian War of Independence

On February 2, 1920, Soviet Russia and Estonia signed the Treaty of Tartu, a definitive peace agreement that ended the war.  Each side agreed to recognize the sovereignty of the other; for the Estonians particularly, Russia ceased all claims “in perpetuity” of political and territorial sovereignty over
Estonia.  The border between the two states was agreed to be the region to the east of the Narva
River and Setomaa in Russia, roughly corresponding to the battle lines at the end of the fighting, which allowed Estonia to gain a strategic buffer zone inside Russia.

Map showing Estonia and the other Baltic States, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as nearby countries.

The Russian Civil War was yet ongoing, and the Russian Bolshevik government had agreed to end hostilities with Estonia (and Finland) in order to concentrate greater numbers of the Red Army in other more precarious theaters of the civil war.  In the period following the war, Estonia was recognized by more countries and was admitted to the League of Nations in September 1921.

(Taken from Estonian War of Independence – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 4)

Background

In the 16th century, Estonia was annexed by the Swedish Empire following the Livonian War which, in turn, in 1721 ceded the territory to the emerging Russian Empire following the latter’s victory in the Northern Wars.  In both Swedish and Russian conquests, the local German authority in Estonia,
now comprising the “Baltic German nobility”, was allowed to maintain local rule on behalf of the greater colonial power.  By the mid-19th century, as a result of the French Revolution (1789-1799), a wave of nationalism swept across Europe, a phenomenon that
touched into Estonia as well.  In Estonia, for so long, the German language had predominated in administration and official functions, but for the first time, Estonian nationalists began to revere their own history, language, arts, culture, and traditions.  The Russian government’s attempt at “Russification” (cultural and linguistic assimilation into the Russian state) of Estonia was spurned by the local people.  The Estonian national identity also was accelerated by other factors: the abolition of serfdom in Estonia
in 1816, growth of industrialization and workers’ organizations, increasing prosperity among Estonians who had acquired lands, and the formation of
Estonian political movements. The Russian Empire opposed these nationalistic sentiments and enforced measures to suppress them.  The political and social unrest that gripped Russia in 1905 further bolstered Estonian nationalism.

On March 30, 1917, one month after the first (February 1917) revolution, Russia’s Provisional Government granted political autonomy to Estonia
after merging the Governorate (province) of Estonia and the ethnic Estonian northern portion of the Governorate of Livonia into the political and administrative entity known as the “Autonomous Governorate of Estonia”.  An interim body, the Estonian Provincial Assembly (Estonian: Maapäev), was elected with the task of administering the
new governorate.  Furthermore, the Bolsheviks, on coming to power through the October Revolution, issued the “Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia” (on November 15, 1917), which granted all non-Russian peoples of the former Russian Empire the right to secede from Russia and establish their own separate states. Eventually, the Bolsheviks would renege on this edict and suppress secession from the Russian state (now known as Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, or RSFSR).

The Provisional Assembly of the Estonian Governorate, determined to implement a democratic form of government, declared itself as the supreme authority in Estonia, which effectively was an act of secession.  However, on November 5, 1917, local Estonian Bolsheviks led by Jaan Anvelt seized power in a coup in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital, forcing the Estonian nationalists to disperse and operate
clandestinely.  Meanwhile in Soviet Russia, the Bolsheviks, whose revolution had succeeded partly on their promises to a war-weary citizenry and military to disengage from World War I, declared its pacifist intentions to the Central Powers.  A ceasefire agreement was signed on December 15, 1917 and peace talks began a few days later in Brest-Litovsk (present-day Brest, in Belarus).

German forces occupied Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and Poland, establishing semi-autonomous governments in these territories that were subordinate to the authority of the German monarch, Kaiser Wilhelm II.  The German occupation allowed the realization of the Germanic vision of “Mitteleuropa”, an expansionist ambition that sought
unification of Germanic and non-Germanic peoples of Central Europe into a greatly enlarged and powerful German Empire.  In support of Mitteleuropa, in the Baltic region, the Baltic German nobility proposed to set up the United Baltic Duchy, a semi-autonomous political entity consisting of (present-day) Estonia and Latvia that would be voluntarily integrated into the German Empire.  The proposal was not implemented, but German military authorities set up local civil governments under the authority of the Baltic German nobility or ethnic Germans.

After Germany’s capitulation in November 1918, Russia repudiated the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and made plans to seize the European territories it previously had lost to the Central Powers.  An even far more reaching objective was for the Bolshevik government to spread the communist revolution to Europe, first by linking up with German communists who were at the forefront of the unrest that currently was gripping Germany.  Russian military planners intended the offensive to merely follow in the heels of the German withdrawal from Eastern Europe (i.e. to not directly engage the Germans in combat) and then seize as much territory before the various ethnic
nationalist groups in these territories could establish and consolidate a civilian government.

Starting on November 28, 1918, in the action known as the Soviet westward offensive of 1918-1919, Soviet forces consisting of hundreds of
thousands of troops advanced in a multi-pronged offensive toward the Baltic region, Belarus, Poland, and Ukraine.

February 1, 1979 – Iranian Revolution: Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Tehran

On February 1, 1979, using a chartered Air France commercial plane, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Tehran in triumph, with several millions of his supporters welcoming him and bringing the whole country into frenzy.  Immediately, he announced his rejection of the Bakhtiar regime and on February 5, formed a “Provisional Islamic Revolutionary Government” led by his appointee, Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan, a moderate leftist non-cleric.  Two rival governments now existed, each denouncing the other, but with Bakhtiar’s regime hopelessly isolated and desertions rife, receiving virtually no popular support, and propped up only by the military.

Rising tensions led to fighting on February 9, 1979, when rebelling soldiers, wanting to defect to the side of the revolutionaries, were confronted by loyalist forces.  Thousands of civilians joined the fighting on the side of the rebelling soldiers, attacking police stations and army depots and then arming themselves with seized weapons.  Two days later, February 11, the Iranian Armed Forces declared itself neutral in the conflict, its units remaining at their bases.  With its only real support lost, the Bakhtiar regime collapsed, with the Prime Minister going into hiding and then fleeing into exile abroad, as revolutionaries seized control of government buildings and public utilities and infrastructures.  The revolution had triumphed.

(Taken from Iranian Revolution – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 4)

Iran in the Middle East.

Meanwhile in Iran, the Shah continued to carry out secular programs that alienated most of the
population.  In October 1971, to commemorate 25 centuries since the founding of the Persian Empire, the Shah organized a lavish program of activities in Persepolis, capital of the First Persian Empire.  Then in March 1976, the Shah announced that Iran
henceforth would adopt the “imperial” calendar (based on the reign of Persian king Cyrus the Great) to replace the Islamic calendar.  These acts, considered anti-Islamic by the clergy and many Iranians, would form part of the anti-royalist backlash in the coming revolution.

Another paradox in a deeply conservative Muslim country was the government’s hosting the Shiraz-Persepolis Festival of Arts from 1967 to 1977, which was meant to showcase the various forms of music, dance, drama, poetry, and film from western and eastern countries, including traditional Persian and Iranian Shiite cultures.  The festival’s extravagance and especially some of the avant-garde western
performances (which were already controversial by European standards) were outright sacrilegious in a country where Islam was the state religion.  It would be in 1977, one year before the start of the revolution, that Ayatollah Khomeini spoke out against the arts festival, even decrying the clerics in Tehran for not speaking out against the performances.

Also by 1977, Iran’s decade-long period of strong
economic growth had ended, and the country faced financial problems because of an oil glut in the world market.  Iran’s oil revenues dropped sharply, forcing a cut in oil production and a rise in unemployment.  Inflation and commodities shortages were met by the government imposing austerity measures, which in turn were resisted by the general population.

Background of the
Iranian Revolution

Under the Shah, Iran developed close political, military, and economic ties with the United States, was firmly West-aligned and anti-communist, and received military and economic aid, as well as purchased vast amounts of weapons and military hardware from the United States.  The Shah built a powerful military, at its peak the fifth largest in the world, not only as a deterrent against the Soviet
Union but just as important, as a counter against the Arab countries (particularly Iraq), Iran’s traditional rival for supremacy in the Persian Gulf region.  Local opposition and dissent were stifled by SAVAK (Organization of Intelligence and National Security;
Persian: Sāzemān-e Ettelā’āt va Amniyat-e Keshvar), Iran’s CIA-trained intelligence and security agency that was ruthlessly effective and transformed the country into a police state.

Iran, the world’s fourth largest oil producer, achieved phenomenal economic growth in the 1960s and 1970s and more particularly after the 1973 oil crisis when world oil prices jumped four-fold, generating huge profits for Iran that allowed its government to embark on massive infrastructure construction projects as well as social programs such as health care and education.  And in a country where society was both strongly traditionalist and religious (99% of the population is Muslim), the Shah led a government that was both secular and western-oriented, and implemented programs and policies that sought to develop the country based on western technology and some aspects of western culture.  Iran’s push to westernize and secularize would be major factors in the coming revolution.  The initial signs of what ultimately became a full-blown uprising took place sometime in 1977.

At the core of the Shiite form of Islam in Iran is the ulama (Islamic scholars) led by ayatollahs (the top clerics) in a religious hierarchy that includes other orders of preachers, prayer leaders, and cleric authorities that administered the 9,000 mosques around the country.  Traditionally, the ulama was apolitical and did not interfere with state policies, but occasionally offered counsel or its opinions on government matters and policies.

In January 1963, the Shah launched sweeping major social and economic reforms aimed at shedding off the country’s feudal, traditionalist culture and to modernize society.  These ambitious reforms, known as the “White Revolution”, included programs that
advanced health care and education, and the labor and business sectors.  The centerpiece of these reforms, however, was agrarian reform, where the government broke up the vast agriculture landholdings owned by the landed few and distributed the divided parcels to landless peasants who formed the great majority of the rural population.  While land reform achieved some measure of success with about 50% of peasants acquiring land, the program failed to win over the
rural population as the Shah intended; instead, the deeply religious peasants remained loyal to the clergy.  Agrarian reform also antagonized the clergy, as most clerics belonged to wealthy landowning families who now were deprived of their lands.

Much of the clergy did not openly oppose these reforms, except for some clerics in Qom led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who in January 22, 1963 denounced the Shah for implementing the White Revolution; this would mark the start of a long
antagonism that would culminate in the clash between secularism and religion fifteen years later.  The clerics also opposed other aspects of the White Revolution, including extending voting rights to women and allowing non-Muslims to hold government office, as well as because the reforms would reduce the cleric’s influence in education and family law.  The Shah responded to Ayatollah
Khomeini’s attacks by rebuking the religious establishment as being old-fashioned and inward-looking, which drew outrage from even moderate
clerics.  Then on June 3, 1963, Ayatollah Khomeini launched personal attacks on the Shah, calling the latter “a wretched, miserable man” and likening the monarch to the “tyrant” Yazid I (an Islamic caliph of the 7th century).  The government responded two days later, on June 5, 1963, by arresting and jailing
the cleric.

Ayatollah Khomeini’s arrest sparked strong protests that degenerated into riots in Tehran, Qom, Shiraz, and other cities.  By the third day, the
violence had been quelled, but not before a disputed number of protesters were killed, i.e. government cites 32 fatalities, the opposition gives 15,000, and
other sources indicate hundreds.

Ayatollah Khomeini was released a few months later.  Then on October 26, 1964, he again denounced the government, this time for the Iranian parliament’s recent approval of the so-called “Capitulation” Bill, which stipulated that U.S. military and civilian personnel in Iran, if charged with committing criminal offenses, could not be prosecuted in Iranian courts.  To Ayatollah Khomeini, the law was evidence that the Shah and the Iranian government were subservient to the United States.  The ayatollah again was arrested and imprisoned; government and military leaders deliberated on his fate, which included execution (but rejected out of concerns that it might incite more unrest), and finally decided to exile the cleric.  In November 1964, Ayatollah Khomeini was forced to leave the country; he eventually settled in Najaf, Iraq, where he lived for the next 14 years.

While in exile, the cleric refined his absolutist version of the Islamic concept of the “Wilayat al Faqih” (Guardianship of the Jurisprudent), which stipulates that an Islamic country’s highest spiritual and political authority must rest with the best-qualified member (jurisprudent) of the Shiite clergy, who imposes Sharia (Islamic) Law and ensures that state policies and decrees conform with this law.  The cleric formerly had accepted the Shah and the monarchy in the original concept of Wilayat al Faqih; later, however, he viewed all forms of royalty incompatible with Islamic rule.  In fact, the ayatollah would later reject all other (European) forms of government, specifically citing democracy and communism, and famously declared that an Islamic government is “neither east nor west”.

Ayatollah Khomeini’s political vision of clerical rule was disseminated in religious circles and mosques throughout Iran from audio recordings that
were smuggled into the country by his followers and which was tolerated or largely ignored by Iranian government authorities.  In the later years of his exile, however, the cleric had become somewhat forgotten in Iran, particularly among the younger age groups.

January 31, 1943 – World War II: Hitler promotes General Paulus to Field Marshal

With the battle for Stalingrad lost, on January 31, 1943, Hitler promoted General Friedrich Paulus to the rank of Field Marshal, hinting that the latter should take his own life rather than be captured.  Instead, on February 2, General Paulus surrendered to the Red Army, along with his trapped forces, which by now numbered only 110,000 troops.  Casualties on both sides in the battle of Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest in history, are staggering, with the Axis losing 850,000 troops, 500 tanks, 6,000 artillery pieces, and 900 planes; and the Soviets losing 1.1 million troops, 4,300 tanks, 15,000 artillery pieces, and 2,800 planes.  The German debacle at Stalingrad and withdrawal from the Caucasus effectively ended Case Blue, and like Operation Barbarossa in the previous year, resulted in another German failure.

“Case Blue” (German: Fall Blau), the German Army’s 1942 summer offensive in Russia. German Army Group South would advance to the Caucasus, which was Case Blue’s main objective.

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

Meanwhile to the north, German Army Group B, tasked with capturing Stalingrad and securing the Volga, began its advance to the Don River on July 23, 1942.  The German advance was stalled by fierce
resistance, as the delays of the previous weeks had allowed the Soviets to fortify their defenses.  By then, the German intent was clear to Stalin and the Soviet High Command, which then reorganized Red Army forces in the Stalingrad sector and rushed reinforcements to the defense of the Don.  Not only was German Army Group B delayed by the Soviets that had began to launch counter-attacks in the Axis’ northern flank (which were held by Italian and Hungarian armies), but also by over-extended
supply lines and poor road conditions.

On August 10, 1942, German 6th Army had moved to the west bank of the Don, although strong Soviet resistance persisted in the north.  On August 22, German forces established bridgeheads across the Don, which was crossed the next day, with panzers and mobile spearheads advancing across the remaining 36 miles of flat plains to Stalingrad.  On
August 23, German 14th Panzer Division reached the Volga River north of Stalingrad and fought off Soviet counter-attacks, while the Luftwaffe began a bombing blitz of the city that would continue through to the height of the battle, when most of the buildings would be destroyed and the city turned to rubble.

On August 29, 1942, two Soviet armies (the 62nd and 64th) barely escaped being encircled by the German 4th Panzer Army and armored units of German 6th Army, both escaping to Stalingrad and ensuring that the battle for the city would be long, bloody, and difficult.

On September 12, 1942, German forces entered Stalingrad, starting what would be a four-month long
battle.  From mid-September to early November, the Germans, confident of victory, launched three major attacks to overwhelm all resistance, which gradually pushed back the Soviets east toward the banks of the Volga.

By contrast, the Soviets suffered from low morale, but were compelled to fight, since they had no option to retreat beyond the Volga because of Stalin’s “Not one step back!” order.  Stalin also (initially) refused to allow civilians to be evacuated, stating that “soldiers fight better for an alive city than for a dead one”.  He would later allow civilian evacuation after being advised by his top generals.

Soviet artillery from across the Volga and cross-river attempts to bring in Red Army reinforcements were suppressed by the Luftwaffe, which controlled the sky over the battlefield.  Even then, Soviet troops and supplies continued to reach Stalingrad, enough to keep up resistance.  The ruins of the city turned into a great defensive asset, as Soviet troops cleverly used the rubble and battered buildings as concealed strong points, traps, and killing zones.  To negate the Germans’ air superiority, Red Army units were ordered to keep the fighting lines close to the Germans, to deter the Luftwaffe from attacking and inadvertently causing friendly fire casualties to its own forces.

The battle for Stalingrad turned into one of history’s fiercest, harshest, and bloodiest struggles for
survival, the intense close-quarter combat being fought building-to-building and floor-to-floor, and in cellars and basements, and even in the sewers.  Surprise encounters in such close distances sometimes turned into hand-to-hand combat using knives and bayonets.

By mid-November 1942, the Germans controlled 90% of the city, and had pushed back the Soviets to a small pocket with four shallow bridgeheads some 200 yards from the Volga.  By then, most of German 6th Army was locked in combat in the city, while its outer flanks had become dangerously vulnerable, as they were protected only by the weak armies of its Axis
partners, the Romanians, Italians, and Hungarians.  Two weeks earlier, Hitler, believing Stalingrad’s capture was assured, redeployed a large part of the Luftwaffe to the fighting in North Africa.

Unbeknown to the Germans, in the previous months, the Soviet High Command had been sending large numbers of Red Army formations to the north
and southeast of Stalingrad.  While only intending to use these units in sporadic counter-attacks in support of Stalingrad, by November 1942, Stalin and his top generals had reorganized these forces for a major counter-offensive codenamed Operation Uranus involving an enormous force of 1.1 million troops,
1,000 tanks, 14,000 artillery pieces, and 1,300 planes, aimed at cutting off and encircling German 6th Army and units of 7th Panzer Army in Stalingrad.  German intelligence had detected the Soviet
buildup, but Hitler ignored the warning of his general staff, as by now he was firmly set on taking Stalingrad at all costs.

On November 19, 1942, the Soviet High Command launched Operation Uranus, a double envelopment maneuver, with the Soviet Southwestern Front attacking the Axis northern flank held by the Romanian 3rd Army.  The next day, the Soviet Stalingrad Front thrust from the south of the Axis flank, with the brunt of the attack falling
on Romanian 4th Army. The two Romanian Armies, lacking sufficient anti-tank weapons and supported only with 100 obsolete tanks, were overwhelmed by sheer numbers, and on November 22, the two arms of the Soviet pincers linked up at Kalach.  German 6th Army, elements of 4th Panzer Army, and remnants of the Romanian armies, comprising some 250,000-300,000 troops, were trapped in a giant pocket in Stalingrad.

The German High Command asked Hitler to allow the trapped forces to make a break out, which was refused.  Also on many occasions, General Friedrich Paulus, commander of German 6th Army, made similar appeals to Hitler, but was turned down.  Instead, on November 24, 1942, Hitler advised
General Paulus to hold his position at Stalingrad
until reinforcements could be sent or a new German offensive could break the encirclement.  In the meantime, the trapped forces would be supplied from the air.  Hitler had been assured by Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goering that the 700 tons/day required at Stalingrad could be delivered with German transport planes.  However, the Luftwaffe was unable to deliver the needed amount, despite the addition of more transports for the operation, and the trapped forces in Stalingrad soon experienced dwindling supplies of food, medical supplies, and ammunition.  With the onset of winter and the temperature dropping to –30°C (–22°F), an increasing number of Axis troops, yet without adequate winter clothing, suffered
from frostbite.  At this time also, the Soviet air force had began to achieve technological and combat parity with the Luftwaffe, challenging it for control of the skies and shooting down increasing numbers of German planes.

Meanwhile, the Red Army strengthened the cordon around Stalingrad, and launched a series of attacks that slowly pushed the trapped forces to an ever-shrinking perimeter in an area just west of Stalingrad.

In early December 1942, General Erich von Manstein, commander of the newly formed German Army Group Don, which was tasked with securing the gap between German Army Groups A and B, was ready to launch a relief operation to Stalingrad.  Began on December 12 under Operation Winter
Storm, German Army Group Don succeeded in punching a hold in the Soviet ring and advanced rapidly, pushing aside surprised Red Army units, and came to within 30 miles of Stalingrad on December 19.  Through an officer that was sent to Stalingrad,
General Manstein asked General Paulus to make a break out towards Army Group Don; he also sent communication to Hitler to allow the trapped forces to break out.  Hitler and General Paulus both refused.  General Paulus cited the lack of trucks and fuel and the poor state of his troops to attempt a break out, and that his continued hold on Stalingrad would tie down large numbers of Soviet forces which would allow German Army Group A to retreat from the Caucasus.

On December 23, 1942, Manstein canceled the relief operation and withdrew his forces behind German lines, forced to do so by the threat of
being encircled by Soviet forces that meanwhile had launched Operation Little Saturn.  Operation Little Saturn was a modification of the more ambitious Operation Saturn, which aimed to trap German Army Group A in the Caucasus, but was rapidly readjusted to counter General Manstein’s surprise offensive to Stalingrad.  But Operation Little Saturn, the Soviet
encirclement of Stalingrad, and the trapped Axis forces so unnerved Hitler that on his orders, German Army Group A hastily withdrew from the Caucasus
in late December 1942.  German 17th Army would continue to hold onto the Taman Peninsula in the Black Sea coast, and planned to use this as a jump-off point for a possible future second attempt to invade the Caucasus.

Meanwhile in Stalingrad, by early January 1943, the situation for the trapped German forces grew
desperate.  On January 10, the Red Army
launched a major attack to finally eliminate the Stalingrad pocket after its demand to surrender was rejected by General Paulus.  On January 25, the Soviets captured the last German airfield at Stalingrad, and despite the Luftwaffe now resorting to air-dropping supplies, the trapped forces ran low on food and ammunition.

With the battle for Stalingrad lost, on January 31, 1943, Hitler promoted General Paulus to the rank of Field Marshal, hinting that the latter should take his own life rather than be captured.  Instead, on February 2, General Paulus surrendered to the Red Army, along with his trapped forces, which by now numbered only 110,000 troops.  Casualties on both sides in the battle of Stalingrad, one of the bloodiest in history, are staggering, with the Axis losing 850,000 troops, 500 tanks, 6,000 artillery pieces, and 900 planes; and the Soviets losing 1.1 million troops, 4,300 tanks, 15,000 artillery pieces, and 2,800 planes.  The German debacle at Stalingrad and
withdrawal from the Caucasus effectively ended
Case Blue, and like Operation Barbarossa in the previous year, resulted in another German failure.

January 30, 1968 – Vietnam War: The Viet Cong and North Vietnamese launch preliminary attacks of the Tet Offensive

Following some attacks one day earlier (January 30), on January 31, 1968 (which was the Vietnamese New Year or Tet, when a truce was traditionally observed), some 80,000 Viet Cong fighters, supported by some North Vietnamese Army units, launched coordinated attacks in Saigon, in 36 of
the 44 provincial capitals, and in over 100 other towns across South Vietnam.  In Saigon, many public and military infrastructures were hit, including the government radio station where the Viet Cong/NLF tried but failed to broadcast a pre-recorded message from Ho Chi Minh calling on the civilian population to
rise up in rebellion (electric power to the radio station was cut immediately after the attack).  A Viet Cong attempt to seize the U.S. Embassy in Saigon also
failed.

Map showing North and South Vietnam in Southeast Asia.

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

Tet Offensive

In early 1967, North Vietnam began preparing for a massive offensive into South Vietnam.  This operation, which later came to be known as the Tet Offensive, would have far-reaching consequences on the outcome of the war.  The North Vietnamese plan to launch the Tet Offensive came about when political hardliners in Hanoi succeeded in sidelining the moderates in government. As a result of the hardliners dictating government policies, in July 1967, hundreds of moderates, including government
officials and military officers, were purged from the Hanoi government and the Vietnamese Communist
Party.

By fall of 1967, North Vietnamese military planners had set the date to launch the Tet Offensive on January 31, 1968.  In the invasion plan, the Viet Cong was to carry out the offensive, with North Vietnam only providing weapons and other material support.  The Tet Offensive, which was known in North Vietnam as “General Offensive, General Uprising”, called for the Viet Cong to launch
simultaneous attacks on many targets across South Vietnam, which would be accompanied with calls to the civilian population to launch a general uprising.  North Vietnam believed that a civilian uprising in the south would succeed because of President Thieu’s
unpopularity, as evidenced by the constant civil unrest and widespread criticism of government policies.  In this scenario, once President Thieu was overthrown, an NLF-led communist government would succeed in power, and pressure the United
States to end its involvement in South Vietnam.  Faced with the threat of international condemnation, the United States would be forced to acquiesce, and withdraw its forces from Vietnam.

As part of its general strategy for the Tet Offensive, North Vietnam increased its military activity along the border region.  In the last months of 1967, the North Vietnamese military launched attacks across the border, including in Song Be, Loc Ninh, and Dak To in order to lure U.S. forces away from the main urban areas.  These diversionary attacks succeeded, as large numbers of U.S. troops were moved to the border areas.

In a series of clashes known as the “Border Battles”, American and South Vietnamese forces easily threw back these North Vietnamese attacks, inflicting heavy North Vietnamese casualties.  However, U.S. military planners were baffled at North Vietnam’s intentions, as these attacks appeared to be a waste of soldiers and resources in the face of
overwhelming American firepower.

But the North Vietnamese had succeeded in drawing away the bulk of U.S. forces from the populated centers.  By the start of the Tet Offensive, half of all U.S. combat troops were in I Corps to confront what the Americans believed was an imminent major North Vietnamese invasion into the northern provinces.  U.S. military intelligence had detected the build ups of Viet Cong forces in the south and the North Vietnamese in the north.  But
the U.S. high command, including General Westmoreland, did not believe that the Viet Cong had the capacity to mount a large offensive like that which actually occurred in the Tet Offensive.

Following some attacks one day earlier (January 30), on January 31, 1968 (which was the Vietnamese New Year or Tet, when a truce was traditionally observed), some 80,000 Viet Cong fighters, supported by some North Vietnamese Army units, launched coordinated attacks in Saigon, in 36 of the 44 provincial capitals, and in over 100 other towns across South Vietnam.  In Saigon, many public and military infrastructures were hit, including the government radio station where the Viet Cong/NLF tried but failed to broadcast a pre-recorded message from Ho Chi Minh calling on the civilian population to
rise up in rebellion (electric power to the radio station was cut immediately after the attack).  A Viet Cong attempt to seize the U.S. Embassy in Saigon also
failed.

Taken by surprise, South Vietnamese and American forces quickly assembled a defense, and then soon counterattacked.  Crucially, U.S. forces that had been sent to the Cambodian border returned to Saigon just before the start of the Tet Offensive.

Viet Cong units occupied large sections of Saigon, but after bitter street-by-street, house-to-house fighting, South Vietnamese and U.S. forces soon gained the upper hand.  South Vietnamese forces also mounted successful defenses in other parts of the
country.  In early February 1968, the Viet Cong leadership ordered a general retreat.  The rebels, now suffering heavy human and material losses, withdrew from the cities and towns.

At Hue, the ancestral capital, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong attackers, who had seized large sections of the city, were ordered to stay and defend their positions.  A 28-day battle ensued, with U.S. forces, supported by naval and ground artillery and air support, advancing slowly and engaging the enemy in intense house-to-house battles.  By late February 1968 when the last North Vietnamese/Viet Cong units had been driven out of Hue, some 80% of the city had been destroyed, 5,000 civilians killed, and over 100,000 people left homeless.  Combat fatalities at the Battle of Hue were 700 American/South Vietnamese and 8,000 North
Vietnamese/Viet Cong soldiers.

While the Tet Offensive was ongoing, General Westmoreland continued to believe that the Tet Offensive was a diversion for a major North Vietnamese attack in the north, particularly on the Khe Sanh American combat base, in preparation for a full invasion of South Vietnam’s northern provinces. 
Thus, he sent back only few combat troops already committed to defend the towns and cities.  After the war, North Vietnamese officials have since insisted that the Tet Offensive was their main objective, and that their attack on Khe Sanh was merely a diversion to draw away U.S. forces from the Tet Offensive.  Some historians also postulate that North Vietnam planned no diversion at all, but that its purpose was to launch both the Khe Sanh and Tet offensives.

January 29, 1991 – Gulf War: The Battle of Khafji takes place

The first major ground battle of the war took place on January 29, 1991 (some four weeks before coalition forces launched the ground campaign) when Iraqi forces in southern Kuwait crossed the border into Saudi Arabia and seized the town of Khafji.  A
counter-attack by coalition forces, which included U.S., Saudi Arabian, and Qatari infantry, armor, artillery, and aircraft, recaptured the town two days later, February 1.  Casualties included 43 coalition and at least 60 Iraqi fatalities, while another 400 Iraqi soldiers were taken prisoner.

Middle East showing location of Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.

Weeks before the ground campaign began, coalition forces undertook mock landings along the Kuwaiti coast in order to lure the Iraqi military into believing that a major Allied amphibious operation would be carried out for the recapture of Kuwait.  In fact, coalition forces were massed along the Kuwaiti-Saudi Arabian border for a full-scale land offensive.  The Iraqi defense of Kuwait consisted of 18 infantry divisions and two armored corps from Iraq’s regular army, deployed in and around Kuwait City and more significantly in southern Kuwait.  Behind these formations were the eight divisions of Iraq’s elite Republican Guard, arrayed along a 50-mile front on the Iraqi-Kuwait border.  Because of the threat of the
Iraqi Army using chemical and biological weapons, coalition forces were given protective gear and equipment; prior to the offensive, Allied military planners feared that troop casualties could as high as 30%.

(Taken from Gulf War – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 4)

Background

On August 2, 1990, Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait (previous article), overthrew the ruling monarchy and seizing control of the oil-rich country.  A “Provisional Government of Free Kuwait” was established, and two days later, August 4, the Iraqi government, led by Saddam Hussein, declared Kuwait a republic.  On August 8, Saddam changed his mind and annexed Kuwait as a “governorate”, declaring it Iraq’s 19th province.

Jaber III, Kuwait’s deposed emir who had fled to neighboring Saudi Arabia in the midst of the invasion, appealed to the international community.  On August 3, 1990, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) issued Resolution 660, the first of many resolutions
against Iraq, which condemned the invasion and demanded that Saddam withdraw his forces from Kuwait.  Three days later, August 6, the UNSC released Resolution 661 that imposed economic sanctions against Iraq, which was carried out through a naval blockade authorized under UNSC Resolution 665.  Continued Iraqi defiance subsequently would
compel the UNSC to issue Resolution 678 on November 29, 1990 that set the deadline for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait on or before January 15, 1991 as well as authorized UN member states to enforce the withdrawal if necessary, even through the use of force.  The Arab League, the main regional organization, also condemned the invasion, although Jordan, Sudan, Yemen, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) continued to support Iraq.

Iraq’s annexation of Kuwait upset the political, military, and economic dynamics in the Persian Gulf region, and by possessing the world’s fourth largest armed forces, Iraq now posed a direct threat to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. The United States
announced that intelligence information detected a build-up of Iraqi forces in Kuwait’s southern border with Saudi Arabia.  Saddam, however, declared that Iraq had no intention of invading Saudi Arabia, a
position he would maintain in response to allegations of his territorial ambitions.

Meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney who arrived in Saudi Arabia shortly after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, Saudi King Fahd requested U.S. military protection.  U.S. President George H.W. Bush accepted the invitation, as doing so would not only defend an important regional ally, but prevent Saddam from gaining control of the oil fields of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest petroleum producer. 
With its conquest of Kuwait, Iraq now held 20% of the world’s oil supply, but annexing Saudi Arabia would allow Saddam to control 50% of the global oil reserves.  By September 18, 1990, the U.S. government announced that the Iraqi Army was massed in southern Kuwait, containing a force of 360,000 troops and 2,800 tanks.

U.S. military deployment to Saudi Arabia,
codenamed Operation Desert Shield, was swift; on August 8, just six days after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait,
American air and naval forces, led by two aircraft carriers and two battleships, had arrived in the Persian Gulf.  Over the next few months, Iraq offered the United States a number of proposals to resolve the crisis, including that Iraqi forces would be withdrawn from Kuwait on the condition that Israel also withdrew its troops from occupied regions in Palestine (West Bank, Gaza Strip), Syria (Golan Heights, and southern Lebanon.  The United States
refused to negotiate, however, stating that Iraq must withdraw its troops as per the UNSC resolutions before any talk of resolving other Middle Eastern
issues would be discussed.  On January 9, 1991, as the UN-imposed deadline of January 15, 1991 approached, U.S. Secretary of State James Baker and Iraq’s Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz held last-minute talks in Geneva Switzerland (called the Geneva Peace Conference).  But the two sides refused to tone down their hard-line positions, leading to the breakdown of talks and the imminent outbreak of war.

Because Mecca and Medina, Islam’s holiest sites, were located in Saudi Arabia, King Fahd received strong local and international criticism from other Muslim states for allowing U.S. troops into his country.  At the urging of King Fahd, the United States organized a multinational coalition consisting of armed and civilian contingents from 34 countries which, apart from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait’s (exiled forces), also included other Arab and Muslim countries (Egypt, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Turkey, Morocco, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh).  A force of about 960,000 troops was assembled, with U.S. soldiers accounting for 700,000 or about 70% of the total; Britain and France also sent sizable contingents, some 53,000 and 18,000 respectively, as well as large amounts of
military equipment and supplies.

In talks with Saudi officials, the United States stated that the Saudi government must pay for the greater portion of the cost for the coalition force, as the latter was tasked specifically to protect Saudi Arabia.  In the coming war, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and
other Gulf states contributed about $36 billion of the $61 billion coalition total war cost; as well, Germany and Japan contributed a combined $16 billion, although these two countries, prohibited by their constitutions from sending armies abroad, were not a combat part of the coalition force.

President Bush overcame the last major obstacle to implementing UNSC Resolution 678 – the U.S. Congress.  The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives were held by a majority from the opposition Democratic Party, which was opposed
to the Bush administration’s war option and instead believed that the UNSC’s economic sanctions against Iraq, yet barely two months in force, must be given
time to work.  On January 12, 1991, a congressional joint resolution that authorized war, as per President Bush’s request, was passed by the House of Representatives by a vote of 250-183 and Senate by a vote of 52-47.

One major factor for U.S. Congress’ approval for war were news reports of widespread atrocities and human rights violations being committed by Iraq’s
occupation forces against Kuwaiti civilians, particularly against members of the clandestine Kuwaiti resistance movement that had arisen as a result of the occupation.  Some of the more
outrage-provoking accounts, including allegations that Iraqi soldiers pulled hundreds of new-born infants from incubators and then left to die on the
hospital floors, have since been determined to be untrue.

Iraq’s programs for developing nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons were also cause for grave concern to Western countries, particularly since during the Iran-Iraq War (that ended just three years
earlier, in August 1988), Saddam did not hesitate to use chemical weapons, dropping bombs and firing artillery containing projectiles laced with nerve
agents, cyanide, and sarin against Iranian military and civilian targets, and even against his own people, i.e. Iraq Kurds who had risen up in rebellion and sided with Iran in the war.

January 28, 1933 – The name “Pakstan” is coined, which soon is changed to “Pakistan” to embody the name of a proposed new independent Muslim state

On January 28, 1933, Indian Muslim nationalist Choudhry Rahmat Ali wrote a pamphlet titled “Now or Never; Are We to Live or Perish Forever?” (later known as the “Pakistan Declaration”), where he proposed “Pakstan” (without the “i”) as the name of a new Indian Muslim nation. Part of the pamphlet’s opening line described it thus, “…our thirty million Muslim brethren who live in PAKSTAN—by which we mean the five Northern units of India, Viz: Punjab, North-West Frontier Province (Afghan Province), Kashmir, Sind and Baluchistan.”

“Pakstan” was soon changed to “Pakistan” to ease pronunciation; Indian Muslim nationalists welcomed the name, which quickly grew in popularity to embody the name of a new independent Muslim state.

Partition of the Indian subcontinent.

(Taken from Partition of India – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 3)

At the end of World War II, Britain was reeling in heavy debt and was facing economic ruin.  The British government was hard pressed to continue financing the many British overseas colonial administrations in its vast territories around the world.  Britain therefore adopted a foreign policy of decolonization, that is, the British would end colonial rule and grant independence to the colonies.  Britain’s decision to decolonize also was influenced by the rise of nationalism among colonized peoples, a phenomenon that occurred in British, as well as other European colonies around the world.

In the Indian subcontinent (Map 12), which was Britain’s prized possession since the 1800s, a strong nationalist sentiment had existed for many decades and had led to the emergence of many political organizations that demanded varying levels of autonomy and self-rule.  Other Indian nationalist movements also called for the British to leave immediately.  Nationalist aspirations were concentrated in areas with direct British rule, as there also existed across the Indian subcontinent hundreds of semi-autonomous regions which the British called “Princely States”, whose rulers held local authority with treaties or alliances made with the British
government.  The Princely States, however, had relinquished their foreign policy initiatives to the British in exchange for British military protection against foreign attacks.  Thus, the British de facto ruled over the Princely States.

For so long, the Indian nationalist movement perceived the British presence as impinging on the Indians’ right to sovereignty.  Ultimately, however, India’s religious demographics – the divide between the majority Hindu Indians and the minority Muslim Indian sectors of the population – would be the major obstacle to independence.  Hindus constituted 253
million people, or 72% of the population, while Muslims, at 92 million, made up 26% of the population.  Sikhs, who were concentrated in Punjab
Province, totaled about 2 million, or 6% of the population.

In the first few decades of the twentieth century, Hindus and Muslims were united in their common opposition to British rule.  By the mid-1930s, the British had allowed native participation in politics and government, hinting at India’s likelihood of gaining independence.  Muslim Indians now became concerned, since an independent India meant
that Hindus, because of their sheer number, would have a perennial held on power.  To the Muslims, this would mean a permanent Hindu-dominated India
where Muslim interests possibly would not be met.

Muslims, therefore, proposed to carve out a separate Muslim state, which would be called “Pakistan” and would consist of regions that contained a majority Muslim population.  However, such a proposal, which emerged in the 1930s, was considered too radical even for most Muslims, since the idea of a divided India was inconceivable.  Most politicians from the two sides were intent on trying to work out a power-sharing arrangement at all levels of government, much like the local autonomous governments, which by now had come into existence and were run jointly by Muslims and Hindus.

By 1940, however, Muslim Indians were advocating the “Two-Nation Principle”, that is, since Hindus and Muslims belonged to different religions, they also differed in nationality, even if they shared a common ethnicity, culture, and language.  Even then, most Muslim leaders only used the Two-Nation Principle as a means to gain greater political concessions in their support for an undivided India.  Hindus were intractably opposed to partitioning
India.

In May 1946, the British central government in London sent to India a delegation called the “Cabinet Mission” with the task of finalizing the process of granting India’s independence and to transfer all governmental functions from the colonial administration to a new Indian government consisting of Hindus and Muslims.  Britain envisioned an undivided India, and the Cabinet Mission therefore was instructed to work out a power-sharing
government for Muslims and Hindus.

In June 1946, the Cabinet Mission presented a plan for an Indian federated state made up of separate, autonomous Hindu-majority and Muslim-majority provinces under a decentralized national government.  Muslim political leaders accepted the plan, reasoning that the decentralized scheme met their demands for self-rule.  However, Hindu leaders rejected the plan, arguing that it essentially partitioned India into many smaller states.

Hindu leaders then proposed to amend the plan into one that included a strong centralized government.  Muslim leaders were infuriated and walked out of the proceedings, and subsequently withdrew their support for the Cabinet Mission.  They then called on Muslims to hold civil actions.  Across India, Muslims carried out mass protests and demonstrations, which generally ended without
incident.  However, in Calcutta on August 16, 1946, an initially peaceful assembly turned violent when armed bands of Muslims and Hindus went on a rampage, and for three days, carried out widespread violence and destruction.  When British troops finally
arrived and restored order, over 5,000 persons had been killed, 10,000 wounded, and tens of thousands left homeless.  The majority of the victims were Muslims.

In October 1946, Muslim farmers in Noakhali and Tripura attacked their Hindu landowners, and killed 5,000 persons and forced many thousands of civilians to flee from the region.  In reprisal, in Bihar, Bengal
Province, Hindu armed bands attacked Muslim villages and killed thousands of civilians.  From late 1946 to early 1947, violence took place in the Punjab and the North West Frontier Province, where Muslim armed groups roamed the countryside and targeted Sikhs and Hindus with murders, abductions, and rapes.  Some Sikhs killed their own wives and daughters to prevent them from falling victim to the attacks.  Sikh armed groups also carried out retaliatory attacks against Muslim settlements.

For Hindu and Muslim leaders, the widespread violence ended all hope for an undivided India.  Even the most optimistic Hindus became resigned to partition.  In February 1947, the British announced that they would leave India no later than June 1948.  As a result of the widespread violence, Archibald Wavell, the British Governor-General of India, was dismissed.  Lord Louis Mountbatten succeeded as the new Governor-General and was given brief instructions: quickly grant India its independence, and then leave.  Upon his arrival, Lord Mountbatten saw that partition was the only solution for India, as the
Hindu-Muslim coalition government was breaking apart and the sectarian violence was threatening to erupt into a civil war.  Negotiations for partition soon began.

On June 3, 1947, Hindu and Muslim leaders reached an agreement in principle to carry out a partition of the subcontinent.  Lord Mountbatten then announced that on August 15, 1947, a date just over three months away, the colonial government
would cease to function and that, by that time, all governmental functions already would have been fully turned over to Hindus and Muslims under the two new countries of India and Pakistan, respectively.  Lord Mountbatten reasoned that moving back the date of the British departure from the earlier announced June 1948 to August 1947 was to prove that Britain was sincere in granting India
its independence and to dismiss accusations that the British were stalling the process.

Lord Mountbatten also settled the fates of the Princely States, which accounted for about one-third of the area of the Indian subcontinent.  In a plenary meeting with the heads of the Princely States in July 1947, the Governor-General offered them two options: to be incorporated politically and geographically into either India or Pakistan, or to
revert to their pre-colonial status as independent political entities.  Lord Mountbatten, however, cautioned the Princely States against taking the second option, saying that they risked being
overwhelmed by their two new giant neighbors, India
and Pakistan.

January 27, 1944 – World War II: The Siege of Leningrad is lifted

In September 1943, the Soviet High Command finalized plans for a major offensive to finally eliminate the threat to Leningrad, and in the following months, massive troop buildup was made in the region under the cover of “maskirovka” (military deception) operations.  On January 14, 1944, two Soviet Fronts (Volkhov and Leningrad), aided by elements of 2nd Baltic Front, the combined force comprising 1.2 million troops, 4,600 artillery pieces, 550 tanks, and 650 planes, attacked positions of German Army Group North along the Leningrad sector.  German Army Group North, comprising 700,000 troops, 2,400 artillery pieces, 150 tanks, and 140 planes, was by now a shadow of its once formidable self in 1941, as its armored and other elite units had been moved to other sectors and because its frontlines were lengthened in support of German Army Group Center.  The Soviets broke through the defenses, and within two weeks, had forced German Army Group North to retreat 60 miles (100 km) to the Luga River.  On January 27, 1944, Stalin announced that the siege of Leningrad was over, and military celebrations were held in the city.  By early February
1944, German Army Group North had withdrawn to Narva at the Estonian-Russian border, behind the Panther Line (the northern portion of the Panther-Wotan Line), which consisted of recently constructed fortifications that relied heavily on the natural defensive features of the region, including the Narva
and Velikaya Rivers, Lake Peipus, and the numerous dense forests and swamps.

Key sites in the Battle of Russia during World War II; Leningrad is located in northern Russia.

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

By late August 1941, German forces had captured the last Red Army strongholds in the Baltic States in northern Estonia, forcing a Soviet naval evacuation of all Russian troops in Tallinn on August 27-31.  By then also, German Army Group North’s 4th Panzer Group, now reinforced with 3rd Panzer Group, had advanced to within 30 miles of Leningrad.  The Finnish Army had retaken lost territories (from the Winter War) in Eastern Karelia and the Karelian Isthmus, and was positioned 20 miles north of Leningrad.  For Hitler, Leningrad not only served to protect the northern flank of Operation Barbarossa, it was also the main base of the Soviet Baltic Fleet and a major center for industries and weapons production.  Leningrad’s
capture also would be devastating to Soviet morale, as it was Russia’s former capital and the birthplace of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Ahead of the German advance, large numbers of Soviet troops were transferred to Leningrad.  On orders of the city’s administration, hundreds of thousands of residents built defensive fortifications around the city, while 160,000 civilians joined the Red Army ranks.  On September 8, 1941, the Germans cut the last land route to Leningrad, and soon also the city’s railway line to Moscow and Murmansk, thus isolating the city.  On September 9, German Army Group North launched its final attack on Leningrad, which initially made good progress but by September 19, met increasingly fierce resistance and mounting casualties in the last six miles to the city.  On September 22, on orders of a by-now
impatient Hitler, the Germans stopped their advance and began a siege of the city, supported by air and artillery bombardment, to starve the population and
inflict maximum destruction of infrastructures.  This change of strategy from storming the city to conducting a siege was brought about by Hitler’s refusal to take on the responsibility of feeding the
city’s large population.  The siege was expected to last a few weeks, at most until January 1942, when German forces would enter Leningrad, deport the survivors to Siberia, and raze the city to the ground.

Some 1.7 million civilians were evacuated from Leningrad ahead of the German advance and during the siege, which soon reduced the pre-war population of 3.3 million by nearly 50%.  The
remaining population endured extreme hardships and a high death toll, with extremely limited food supplies, and disrupted water, heat, and other basic
services.  At its peak in early 1942, some 100,000 people perished each month, mostly from starvation.

In November 1941, Soviet forces in Leningrad
opened an outlet through Lake Ladoga to unoccupied
Soviet territory in the east, known as the “Road of Life”, through which the entry of food supplies and evacuation of civilians were made.  This route was a waterway for vessels during the warmer months and a highway for land vehicles during the colder seasons
(when the lake surface froze to ice), but was extremely hazardous because of constant German air attacks, thus its other moniker, the “Road of Death”.

For the rest of World War II, the Germans did not launch any major offensives to capture Leningrad,
as Hitler became focused on other sectors, and Army Group North’s ongoing siege becoming a lower priority.  The siege was one of the longest and bloodiest in history .

January 26, 1986 – Ugandan Bush War: The government of Uganda collapses as rebel forces capture Kampala; President Tito Okello flees into exile in Kenya

On January 22, 1986, rebel forces of the National Resistance Army (NRA), led by Yoweri Museveni, laid siege to Kampala, capturing the Ugandan capital three days later.  The government of Tito Okello collapsed, with its leaders fleeing into exile abroad.  Thousands of Kampala residents took to the streets and warmly received Museveni and the NRA fighters. 
On January 26, 1986, Museveni took over power and declared himself president of Uganda.  The Ugandan Bush War was over; between 300,000 and 500,000 persons had lost their lives.

Africa showing location of Uganda.

(Taken from Ugandan Bush War – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 3)

Background

On April 11, 1979, General Idi Amin was removed from power when the Tanzanian Army, supported by Ugandan rebels, invaded and took over Uganda (previous article).  Uganda then entered a transitional
period aimed at a return to democracy, a process that generated great political instability.  A succession of leaders held power only briefly because of tensions between the civilian government and the newly reorganized Ugandan military leadership.  Furthermore, ethnic-based political parties wrangled
with each other, hoping to gain and play a bigger role in the future government.

In general elections held in December 1980, former President Milton Obote, who had been the country’s head of state before being deposed in a coup by General Amin in 1971, returned to power by winning the presidential race.  It was hoped that the elections would advance the country’s transition to democracy.  Instead, they served as the trigger for the
civil war that followed.  Defeated political groups accused President Obote of cheating to win the elections.  Tensions rose within the already charged
political atmosphere.  Many armed groups that already existed during the war now rose up in rebellion against the government.

War

The Ugandan Civil War is historically cited as having started on February 6, 1981, when one of the armed groups attacked a Ugandan military facility. The various rebel militias were tribe-based, operated independently of each other, and generally carried out their activities only within their local and regional strongholds.  One such rebel militia consisted of former Ugandan Army soldiers still loyal to General Amin, and fought out of the West Nile District, which was General Amin’s homeland.  The various rebel militias had limited
capability to confront government forces and therefore employed hit-and-run tactics, such as ambushing army patrols, raiding armories and seizing weapons, and carrying out sabotage operations against government installations.

The rebel group that ultimately prevailed in the war was the National Resistance Army (NRA), led by Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s former Defense Minister.  As a university student, Museveni had received training in guerilla warfare, which he would later put to use in the war.

In response, the Ugandan Army launched an extensive counter-insurgency campaign in the countryside.  The soldiers particularly targeted the rural population, which they believed was supporting the rebels.  The many atrocities committed by soldiers included summary executions, tortures, rapes, lootings, and destruction of homes and properties.  The West Nile District was hard hit because of its fierce opposition to President Obote.  Furthermore, soldiers from other ethnic groups were repressed during the reign of General Amin.  Thus, after the
dictator’s overthrow, these ethnic groups, particularly the Acholi and Lango which formed the majority in the Ugandan Army, carried out revenge by targeting
civilians in the West Nile District.

The insurgency spread throughout most of Uganda, but the greatest concentration of rebel
activity took place in the Luwero Triangle (Map 23), a rural region located just north of Kampala, the country’s capital.  Consequently, the government’s counter-insurgency measures were most intense in the Luwero Triangle, which also received widespread international media attention.  To cut off the insurgency’s source of support, government forces depopulated villages and settlements in the Luwero
Triangle and relocated the residents into guarded resettlement camps.

The military campaigns had a great impact on the
countryside, particularly in terms of human casualties.  In the Luwero Triangle, tens of thousands of civilians were killed, while hundreds of thousands fled from the region.  In the West Nile District, 30,000 persons lost their lives, while 500,000 fled to neighboring Sudan and Zaire.  As a result of the increasing violence, Britain and the United States ended their economic support to Uganda, which only worsened the already dire conditions in that African country.

In December 1983, General David Oyite-Ojok, the Ugandan Armed Forces chief of staff, died in a helicopter crash.  General Oyite-Ojok was an Acholi.  President Obote appointed a fellow Lango as the new chief of staff.  General Bazilio Olara-Okello, an Acholi, was infuriated as he was the next in line to succeed
General Oyite-Ojok.  Tensions rose between Acholis and Langos in the military, which led to skirmishes.  In July 1985, General Olara-Okello and other officers, declaring their dissatisfaction with the government’s conduct of the war, overthrew President Obote in a coup.

The coup leaders took over power and formed a “Military Council” to run the country.  Peace talks
were held with the various rebel groups, which soon led to an agreement that established a power-sharing government that included rebel leaders who had
disarmed and disbanded their militias.  However, Uganda continued to experience unrest and widespread violence, and the enmity between
Acholi and Lango soldiers undermined the military’s ability to operate effectively.  Most crucially, the
government’s peace agreement with Museveni and the NRA, although signed by the
two sides, was not implemented, and hostility and mistrust remained.

January 25, 1971 – General Idi Amin seizes power in a coup in Uganda

On January 25, 1971, Ugandan President Milton Obote was overthrown in a military coup while he was on a foreign mission.  Fearing for his safety, he did not return to Uganda but flew to Tanzania,
Uganda’s southern neighbor, where Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere gave him political sanctuary.  President Nyerere’s action, however, was not well received by General Idi Amin, the leader of the Ugandan coup, and relations between the two countries deteriorated.

In Uganda, General Amin took over power and established a military dictatorship, and named himself the country’s president and head of the armed forces.  He carried out a purge of military elements
that were perceived as loyal to the former regime.  As a result, thousands of officers and soldiers were executed.  General Amin then formed a clique of staunchly loyal military officers whom he promoted
based on devotion and subservience to his government rather than on merit and competence.  In lieu of local civilian governments, General Amin set up regional military commands led by an army
officer who held considerable power.  Corruption and inefficiency soon plagued all levels of government.

Africa showing location of Uganda and Tanzania and nearby countries.

(Taken from Uganda-Tanzania War – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 3)

Military officers who had been bypassed or demoted from their positions became disgruntled.  Many of these officers, including thousands of soldiers, crossed the border to Tanzania and met
up with ex-President Obote and other exiled Ugandan leaders.  Together, they formed an armed rebel group whose aim was to overthrow General Amin.  The rebels were well received by the Tanzanian government, which provided them with military and financial support.

In 1972, the rebels launched an attack in southern Uganda and came to within the town of Masaka where they tried to incite the local population to revolt against the Ugandan government.  No revolt took place, however.  General Amin sent his forces to Masaka, and in the fighting that followed, the rebels were thrown back across the border.

Ugandan planes pursued the rebels in northern Tanzania, but attacked the Tanzanian towns of Bukoba and Mwanza, causing some destruction.  The Tanzanian government filed a diplomatic protest and increased its forces in northern Tanzania.  Tensions rose between the two countries. Through mediation efforts of Somalia, however, war was averted and the two countries agreed to deescalate the tension, and withdrew their forces a distance of ten kilometers from their common border.

The insurgency provoked General Amin into intensifying his suppressive policies, especially against the ethnic groups of his political enemies.  All social classes from these rival ethnicities were targeted, from businessmen, doctors, lawyers, and the clergy, to workers, peasants, and villagers.  Even members of General Amin’s Cabinet and top military officers were not spared.  General Amin’s secret
police, called the State Research Bureau, carried out numerous summary executions and forced disappearances, as well as tortures and arbitrary
arrests.  During General Amin’s eight-year reign in power, an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 Ugandans were killed.

General Amin also expelled the ethnic South Asian community from Uganda.  These South Asian Ugandans were the descendants of contract workers from the Indian subcontinent who had been brought to Uganda during the British colonial period.  South Asians comprised only 1% of the total population but were predominantly merchants, traders, landowners, and industrialists who held a disproportionately large share of Uganda’s economy; other South Asians were wealthy professionals, held clerical jobs, or were tradesmen.

After the expulsion, the South Asians’ businesses and properties were seized by the government and distributed to the general population in line with General Amin’s program of promoting the social and
economic advancement of black Ugandans. However, many of the assets ended up being owned by General Amin’s military and political associates, most of whom had no knowledge of running a business.  Soon, most of these operations failed and closed down.

As a result, Uganda’s economy deteriorated.  Poverty and unemployment soared, and basic commodities became non-existent or in very low
supply.  Coffee beans, the country’s main export product, were required by law to be sold to the government.  But as the government failed to pay or
underpaid the farmers, the smuggling of coffee beans to nearby Kenya (where prices were much higher) became widespread and carried out by farmers and
traders at the risk of a government-issued shoot-to-kill order against violators.  Eventually, however, coffee bean smuggling operations came under the control of the army commanders themselves.

Initially, the Western media was fascinated by General Amin’s idiosyncratic behavior and outrageous statements, making the Ugandan leader extremely popular in foreign news reports.  But as his brutal regime and human rights record became known, Britain and the United States, both Uganda’s
traditional allies, distanced themselves and ended diplomatic relations with General Amin’s government.  Uganda then turned to the Soviet
Union, which soon became the Ugandan government’s main supplier of weapons.  Uganda also strengthened military ties with Libya and diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.

By 1978, Uganda had become isolated diplomatically from much of the international community.  Despite outward appearances, the government was experiencing growing dissent from within.  A year earlier, General Amin was nearly
ousted in a coup carried out by high-ranking government officials, underscoring the growing political opposition to his rule.

Then in November 1978, Uganda’s Vice- President, Mustafa Adrisi, was wounded in a car accident, which might have been an assassination attempt on his life.  Adrisi’s military supporters, which included some elite units, broke out in mutiny.

January 24, 1986 – Ugandan Bush War: Rebel forces capture Kampala

On January 22, 1986, rebel forces of the National Resistance Army (NRA), led by Yoweri Museveni, laid siege to Kampala, capturing the Ugandan capital three days later.  The government collapsed, with its leaders fleeing into exile abroad.  Thousands of Kampala residents took to the streets and warmly received Museveni and the NRA fighters.  On January 23, 1986, Museveni took over power and declared himself president of Uganda. The Ugandan Bush War was over; between 300,000 and 500,000 persons had lost their lives.

Africa showing location of Uganda and nearby countries.

(Taken from Ugandan Bush War – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 3)

Background

On April 11, 1979, General Idi Amin was removed from power when the Tanzanian Army, supported by Ugandan rebels, invaded and took over Uganda (previous article).  Uganda then entered a transitional
period aimed at a return to democracy, a process that generated great political instability.  A succession of leaders held power only briefly because of tensions between the civilian government and the newly reorganized Ugandan military leadership.  Furthermore, ethnic-based political parties wrangled with each other, hoping to gain and play a bigger role in the future government.

In general elections held in December 1980, former President Milton Obote, who had been the country’s head of state before being deposed in
a coup by General Amin in 1971, returned to power by winning the presidential race.  It was hoped that the elections would advance the country’s transition to democracy.  Instead, they served as the trigger for the civil war that followed.  Defeated political groups accused President Obote of cheating to win the elections.  Tensions rose within the already charged
political atmosphere.  Many armed groups that already existed during the war now rose up in rebellion against the government.

War

The Ugandan Civil War is historically cited as having started on February 6, 1981, when one of the armed groups attacked a Ugandan military facility. The various rebel militias were tribe-based, operated independently of each other, and generally carried out their activities only within their local and regional strongholds.  One such rebel militia consisted of former Ugandan Army soldiers still loyal to General Amin, and fought out of the West Nile District, which was General Amin’s homeland.  The various rebel militias had limited
capability to confront government forces and therefore employed hit-and-run tactics, such as ambushing army patrols, raiding armories and seizing weapons, and carrying out sabotage operations against government installations.

The rebel group that ultimately prevailed in the war was the National Resistance Army (NRA), led by Yoweri Museveni, Uganda’s former Defense Minister.  As a university student, Museveni had received training in guerilla warfare, which he would
later put to use in the war.

In response, the Ugandan Army launched an extensive counter-insurgency campaign in the countryside.  The soldiers particularly targeted the rural population, which they believed was supporting the rebels.  The many atrocities committed by soldiers included summary executions, tortures, rapes, lootings, and destruction of homes and properties.  The West Nile District was hard hit because of its fierce opposition to President Obote.  Furthermore, soldiers from other ethnic groups were repressed during the reign of General Amin.  Thus, after the
dictator’s overthrow, these ethnic groups, particularly the Acholi and Lango which formed the majority in the Ugandan Army, carried out revenge by targeting
civilians in the West Nile District.

The insurgency spread throughout most of Uganda, but the greatest concentration of rebel
activity took place in the Luwero Triangle (Map 23), a rural region located just north of Kampala, the country’s capital.  Consequently, the government’s counter-insurgency measures were most intense in the Luwero Triangle, which also received widespread international media attention.  To cut off the insurgency’s source of support, government forces depopulated villages and settlements in the Luwero
Triangle and relocated the residents into guarded resettlement camps.

The military campaigns had a great impact on the
countryside, particularly in terms of human casualties.  In the Luwero Triangle, tens of thousands of civilians were killed, while hundreds of thousands fled from the region.  In the West Nile District, 30,000 persons lost their lives, while 500,000 fled to neighboring Sudan and Zaire.  As a result of the increasing violence, Britain and the United States ended their economic support to Uganda, which
only worsened the already dire conditions in that African country.

In December 1983, General David Oyite-Ojok, the Ugandan Armed Forces chief of staff, died in a helicopter crash.  General Oyite-Ojok was an Acholi.  President Obote appointed a fellow Lango as the new chief of staff.  General Bazilio Olara-Okello, an Acholi, was infuriated as he was the next in line to succeed
General Oyite-Ojok.  Tensions rose between Acholis and Langos in the military, which led to skirmishes.  In July 1985, General Olara-Okello and other officers, declaring their dissatisfaction with the government’s conduct of the war, overthrew President Obote in a coup.

The coup leaders took over power and formed a “Military Council” to run the country.  Peace talks
were held with the various rebel groups, which soon led to an agreement that established a power-sharing government that included rebel leaders who had
disarmed and disbanded their militias.  However, Uganda continued to experience unrest and widespread violence, and the enmity between Acholi and Lango soldiers undermined the military’s ability to operate effectively.  Most crucially, the government’s peace agreement with Museveni and the NRA, although signed by the two sides, was not implemented, and hostility and mistrust remained.