Daniel Orr's Blog, page 19

June 28, 1942 – World War II: Germany launches “Case Blue”, an offensive into southern Russia aimed at seizing the Baku oil fields in the Caucasus

On June 28, 1942, German forces and their Axis allies launched their strategic summer offensive into southern Russia aimed at seizing control of the petroleum-rich region of the Caucasus. Operation Barbarossa of the previous year had considerably used up Germany’s oil reserves, and in late 1941, Romania, which supplied 75% of German oil needs, had warned that its oil fields might not be sufficient to continue supplying Germany’s ever-increasing requirements.

Key battle sites during Operation Barbarossa

(Excerpts taken from Wars of the 20th Century: Volume 6 – World War II in Europe)

Preparations In February 1942, Hitler ordered his military high command to begin preparing for a new offensive with a less ambitious objective (than Operation Barbarossa), the capture of the Caucasus.  These preparations gave rise to “Case Blue”  (German: Fall Blau), the operational codename for Fuhrer Directive no. 41, issued on April 5, 1941, where Hitler laid out the plan for the German Army’s 1942 summer offensive in Russia, as follows: Army Group South would advance to the Caucasus, this operation being Case Blue’s main objective; Army Group North would capture Leningrad; and Army Group Center would take a defensive posture and hold its present position.  The Directive also acknowledged that because of limited resources, only one objective would be pursued at a time; thus, the attack on the Caucasus will be launched first.

By this time, Hitler wanted to acquire the petroleum-richregion of the Caucasus, since Operation Barbarossa of the previous year hadconsiderably used up Germany’s oil reserves, and in late 1941, Romania, whichsupplied 75% of German oil needs, had warned that its oil fields might not besufficient to continue supplying Germany’s ever-increasing requirements.  The German capture of the Caucasian oilfields, particularly Baku (in Azerbaijan), which provided 80% of the SovietUnion’s oil needs, would be devastating to Soviet industry and military.  Furthermore, southern Russia had vast agricultural areas for foodproduction, and large sources of coal, peat, and various minerals for Germany’smilitary and industrial needs.

For Case Blue, German Army Group South had three field andtwo panzer armies, supported by contingents from its Axis partners: one fieldarmy each from Hungary and Italy, and two armies from Romania.  The combined forces had 1.3 million troops (1million German, 300,000 other Axis), 1,900 tanks, and 1,600 planes, which wouldlaunch from three points: North: German 4th Panzer Army, supported by two fieldarmies (one German and one Hungarian) would advance from Kursk to Voronezh, andthen to the Volga River and cover Case Blue’s northern flank; Center: German 6thArmy, led by its mobile spearheads, would launch from Kharkov toward the VolgaRiver near Stalingrad; and South: German 1st Panzer Army, flanked by two fieldarmies (one German and one Hungarian) would advance toward and cross the Donetsand lower Don River.

Case Blue

The Offensive OnJune 28, 1942, the Wehrmacht and its allies launched Case Blue, opening amassive artillery barrage on Soviet positions all across the southernfront.  In the northern zone of theoffensive, German 4th Panzer Army thrust from Kurskand met only light opposition from retreating units of the Soviet BryanskFront, and reached Voronezhon July 5.  German Army Group South’sLuftwaffe Air Fleet 4, which was greatly strengthened for Case Blue, provedinstrumental in the rapid Axis advance all across the front.  At Voronezh,German 4th Panzer Army unexpectedly became engaged in a fierce battle againstdetermined Red Army resistance, and was able to disengage only two weeks laterwith the arrival of its support infantry armies that expelled Soviet forces fromthe town by July 24.  German 4th PanzerArmy turned south to support the advance of the central sector.

June 27, 1941 – World War II: German forces capture Bialystok

On June 27, 1941, GermanArmy GroupCenter captured Bialystokfrom Soviet forces during the early stages of the invasion of the Soviet Union under the general offensive codenamed OperationBarbarossa. Bialystok, a Polish city, had comeunder Soviet control as a result of the 1939 Treaty of Non-aggression between Germany and the USSR, commonly known as the Molotov–RibbentropPact. The German attack was part of the broader offensive for Army Group Center to advance to the Belarusian capital of Minsk.

The Wehrmacht placed the A-A Line, which extended from Arkhangelsk in the Arctic in the north to Astrakhan in the Caspian Sea in the south, as the furthest advance of Operation Barbarossa.

(Excerpts taken from Wars of the 20th Century: Volume 6 – World War II in Europe)

Operation Barbarossa By mid-June 1941, the Axis forces for Operation Barbarossa were set in place, a total of some three million German (comprising 75% of the Wehrmacht) and 700,000 other Axis troops, supported with 3,300 tanks, 7,200 artillery pieces, 2,800 planes, 600,000 motor transports, and 700,000 horses, which comprised the greatest invasion force in history.  This force was divided into three main bodies and their respective objectives: Army Group North, which was to advance from East Prussia toward the Baltic States and into northern Russia for its final objective, Leningrad, where it would link up with its ally, the Finnish Army; Army Group Center (constituting the main attack with the most air and armored units) would launch from Poland toward Belorussia and central Russia for its objective, Moscow; and Army Group South, which would thrust from two points, southern Poland and Romania toward the Ukraine and southern Russia and then into the Caucasus.  A secondary German offensive would be made in northern Scandinavia by Army Norway for the far-north Soviet Murmansk region.

Central SectorAlso on June 22, 1941, German Army Group Center (with 1.3 million troops, 2,600tanks, and 7,800 artillery pieces) based in Poland attacked intoSoviet-occupied eastern Poland, where the uneven border arising from the 1939partition of the country created salients whose weak flanks could be exploitedby an invading force.  German Army Group Centerhad the greatest concentration of tanks comprising two panzer groups, as Hitleranticipated that this sector’s campaign into Moscow would be strongly resisted by the RedArmy.  To exploit the Soviet salient at Bialystok, the two panzer groups crossed the frontier in aflanking maneuver, with the 2nd Panzer Group to the south and bypassing Brest, and 3rd Panzer Group to the north advancing for Vilnius, with both groups aiming for Minsk, 400 miles to the east.  Meanwhile, GermanArmy GroupCenter’s three field armies alsoadvanced north and south of the Bialystoksalient, forming another set of pincers.

On June 23, 1941, a Red Army counter-attack wasstopped.  The next day, another Sovietcounter-offensive, led by an armored force of over 1,000 tanks, advanced for Grodno to break thelooming encirclement, but met disaster caused as much by fierce German airattacks as by mechanical breakdowns of the tanks and shortage of fuel.  Another Soviet attack with 200 tanks on June25 also ended in failure.

On June 27, 1941, the German 2nd and 3rd Panzer Groups metup at Minsk, and the next day, German Army Group Center’ssecond pincers closed shut east of Bialystok.  The trapped Soviet forces at Bialystok,Navahrudak, and Minskcontinued to resist, while elimination of these pockets by the Wehrmacht wasdelayed by lack of adequate German motor transports to hasten the advance ofinfantry units.  Full encirclement ofSoviet forces also was compromised as the German 2nd Panzer, which was led byGeneral Heinz Guderian (an advocate of armored blitzkrieg tactics), continuedadvancing east in contravention of Hitler’s pause order, which left gaps in thecordon that allowed Soviet units to escape. In the end, in the Bialystok-Minsk battles, although the Germanscaptured 300,000 Soviet troops, as well as 3,000 tanks, and 1,500 artillerypieces, some 250,000 Red Army soldiers escaped.

An annoyed Hitler faulted the panzer commanders forachieving only a partial capture of the trapped Soviets; in turn, the Germancommanders blamed the slow advance of the supporting infantry units.  But in the aftermath, the Soviet WesternFront was destroyed, with two field armies obliterated and three othersseverely incapacitated.

German Army Group Center then continued east toward Smolensk,which commanded the road to Moscow.  The German advance was again spearheaded bypanzers, with 2nd Panzer Group advancing in the south and 3rd Panzer Group inthe north with the aim of meeting up and encircling Smolensk. On Stalin’s orders, five Soviet armies from the strategic reserve weredeployed in Smolensk,reinforcing the Soviet 13th Army there in essentially reconstituting the SovietWestern Front.  The Soviets formed a newdefensive line around the city, and also took up positions along the old StalinLine along the Dnieper and Dvina rivers.

On July 6, 1941, Soviet armored units, comprising 1,500tanks, attacked toward Lepiel, but were repulsed and nearly wiped out by aGerman tank and anti-tank counter-attack. Then on July 11 and the following days, the Red Army launched morecounter-attacks, which all failed to stall the Germans.  On July 13, German 2nd Panzer Group took Mogilev, trapping severalSoviet armies.   Two days later, theGermans entered Smolensk,leading to fierce house-to-house fighting in the city.  German 3rd Panzer Group, advancing from thenorth, was stalled by swampy terrain that was exacerbated by the seasonalrains.  But in late July 1941, it tooentered Smolensk,and the two panzer groups closed shut and trapped three Soviet armiescomprising 300,000 troops and 3,200 tanks. As well, the Soviets suffered 180,000 troops killed and 170,000wounded.  German infantry units againwere delayed in closing the gap with the panzer spearheads, which allowed largenumbers of Soviet troops to escape to the east.

June 26, 1991 – Ten-Day War: The Yugoslavian Army enters Slovenia

Slovenian War of Independence (Ten-Day War)

On June 26, 1991, a Yugoslavian Army unit based in Rijeka, Croatia entered Slovenia to secure the Slovenian border with Italy.  The soldiers were stopped at the Slovenian-Croatian border by Slovenian local residents who massed on the roads with barricades.  The next day, the Yugoslav Army mobilized its units in Slovenia and Croatia in order to capture Ljubljana airport and Slovenia’s border crossings.  Fighting between Yugoslav forces and Slovenian fighters broke out in Brnik, Trzin, Pesnica, Ormoz, and Koseze.  While the Yugoslavs succeeded in taking Ljubljana airport and most border crossings, they found themselves vulnerable to attack and lacking logistical support.  In particular, Yugoslav tank units guarding the border crossings had no supporting infantry troops.

Yugoslavia comprised six republics, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia, and Macedonia, and two autonomous provinces, Kosovo and Vojvodina

(Excerpts taken from Slovenian War of Independence – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 2)

Background The Slovenian War of Independence was the first in a series of wars during the period of the breakup of Yugoslavia, when Yugoslav constituent republics seceded and became independent countries.

Geographically, Sloveniawas the most westerly located republicof Yugoslavia, and had through thecenturies, assimilated many Western European influences from neighboring Italy and Austria into its Slavicculture.  And unlike the other Yugoslavrepublics, Sloveniawas nearly ethnically homogeneous, with Slovenes comprising 90% of thepopulation.

As communist ideology tottered in the Soviet Union andCentral and Eastern Europe during the second half of the 1980s, Yugoslavia’sapparent Slavic unity began to fragment as nationalistic and democratic ideasseeped into its many ethnic groups. Economic factors also played into the independence aspirations in Slovenia and Croatia, the two most prosperousYugoslav republics that contributed a fairly large share to the nationaleconomy and also subsidized the less affluent regions of the country.  In the late 1980s, the constituent assembliesof the Yugoslav republics called on the national government to decentralize andallow greater regional autonomy.

In September 1989, Slovenia’s regional government tookthe radical step of abolishing communism and adopting democracy as its officialideology.  Then in January 1990, delegatesof Slovenia and Croatiawalked out of an assembly of Yugoslav communists over a disagreement withSerbian representatives regarding the future direction of the nationalgovernment.  From this moment on,Yugoslav unity was shattered and the end of Yugoslavia became imminent.  A pro-independence coalition government wasestablished in Sloveniafollowing democratic, multi-party elections in March 1990.  Then in a general referendum held nine monthslater, 88% of Slovenes voted for independence. On June 25, 1991, Slovenia(together with Croatia)declared independence.

Because of the high probability that the Yugoslav Army wouldoppose the secession, the Slovenian government prepared contingency plans manymonths before declaring independence. For instance, Sloveniaformed a small regular army from its police and local defense units.  Weapons and ammunitions stockpiles in Sloveniawere seized; these were augmented with arms purchases from foreign sources.

Nevertheless, at the start of the war, Slovenia’s war arsenal consistedmainly of infantry weapons, bolstered somewhat with a small number of portableanti-tank and anti-aircraft guns. Slovenia had no artillery pieces,battle tanks, or warplanes.  And becausethe Yugoslav Army, the fourth largest in Europe,would be overwhelming in battle, the Slovenians worked out in great detail astrategy for guerilla action.

When Sloveniadeclared independence on June 25, this was one day earlier than its previousannounced date of June 26.  This was doneto mislead the Yugoslav Army, which was prepared to attack on June 26.

Immediately after declaring independence, Slovenian forcestook control of the airport near Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital, and the border crossingswith Austria, Hungary, Italy,and Croatia.  No opposition was encountered in theseoperations because the personnel manning these stations were Slovenes, who infact, promptly joined the ranks of the Slovenian Army.

Meanwhile, in Belgrade (in Serbia), the Yugoslav ArmedForces high command ordered limited military action in Slovenia in the beliefthat small-scale intervention would encounter little or no resistance.  And since the Yugoslav Army did not commitsignificant forces in Slovenia, the resulting Slovenian War of Independence wasbrief (lasting only ten days, therefore its more common name, “The Ten-DayWar”), and consisted of skirmishes and small-scale battles.

June 25, 1950 – Korean War: North Korea invades South Korea

Some key sites during the Korean War

On June 25, 1950, North Korea launched a full-scale invasion of South Korea.  The invading force, which consisted of 90,000 troops and supported by armored and artillery units, crossed the 38th parallel from east to west of the line.  South Korean border fortifications south of the line were easily overcome.  The defending forces, lacking heavy artillery and powerful anti-tank weapons, surrendered or defected en masse, or fled south.  On June 28, 1950, Seoul fell, with President Syngman Rhee and his government having vacated the capital in advance of the North Korean offensive.  To forestall the enemy advance, the South Korean military destroyed the main bridge south of Seoul across the Han River, causing the deaths of hundreds of civilians who were crossing the bridge at the time.  Thousands of South Korean troops also were unable to leave the city and were captured by the North Koreans.  By the third day of the invasion, South Korea was verging on complete collapse.

(Excerpts taken Korean War – Wars of the 20th Century: Volume 5 – Twenty Wars in Asia)

Background During World War II, the Allied Powers met many times to decide the disposition of Japanese territorial holdings 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 and independent”.  Then at the Yalta Conference of February 1945, the Soviet Union promised to enter the war in the Asia-Pacific in two or three months after the European theater of World War II ended.

With the Soviet Army invading northern Korea on August 9, 1945, the United States became concerned that the Soviet Union might well occupy the whole Korean Peninsula.  The U.S. government, acting on a hastily prepared U.S. military plan to divide Korea at the 38th parallel, presented the proposal to the Soviet government, which the 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 JointCommission’s failure to agree to a mutually acceptable Korean government arethree-fold and to some extent all interrelated: intense opposition by Koreansto the proposed U.S.-Soviet trusteeship; the struggle for power among thevarious ideology-based political factions; and most important, the emergingCold War confrontation 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, violent confrontations,strikes, etc.  Although in many cases,the violence resulted from non-political motives (such as targeting Japanesecollaborators or settling old scores), American authorities believed that theunrest was part of a communist plot. They therefore declared martial law in the southern zone.  Following the U.S. military’s crackdown onleftist activities, the communist militants went into hiding and launched anarmed insurgency in the southern zone, which would play a role in the comingwar.

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 Sovietauthorities.  In February 1946, the“Interim People’s Committee”, a transitional centralized government, was formedand led by Kim Il-sung who soon consolidated power (sidelining the nationalistsand Christian leaders), and nationalized industries, and launched centrallyplanned economic and reconstruction programs based on the Soviet-modelemphasizing heavy industry.

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, experienced widespreadviolence that caused some 600 deaths. Elected was the Korean National Assembly, a legislative body.  Two months later (in July 1948), the KoreanNational Assembly ratified a new national constitution which established apresidential form of government.  SyngmanRhee, whose party won the most number of legislative seats, was proclaimed as(the first) president.  Then on August15, 1948, southerners proclaimed 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 FirstIndochina War 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; andsecond, in January 1949, the United States announced that South Korea was notpart of the U.S. “defensive perimeter” in Asia, and U.S. Congress rejected anaid package 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 if necessary.  In May 1950, in a meeting between Kim Il-sungand Mao Zedong, the Chinese leader expressed concern that the United States might intervene if the NorthKoreans 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-sung emphasizinga massive military buildup, by the eve of the invasion, North Korean forcesboasted some 150,000–200,000 soldiers, 280 tanks, 200 artillery pieces, and 200planes.

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, Kim Il-sungbelieved that South Koreahad become aware of the invasion plan and had fortified its defenses.  He revised his plan for an offensive allacross the 38th parallel.  In the monthspreceding the war, numerous border skirmishes had begun breaking out betweenthe two sides.

June 24, 1954 – First Indochina War: French troops are ambushed by the Viet Minh at Mang Yang Pass

On June 24, 1954, a French force called Mobile Group 100 (akaG.M. 100) comprising 3,500 troops with heavy equipment and vehicles, wasambushed by the Viet Minh at Vietnam’sMang Yang region, suffering 500 killed, 600 wounded, and 800 captured. G.M. 100had just abandoned its remote base in the Central Highlands in the wake of thedisastrous Battle of Dien Bien Phu and was traveling from An Khe for Pleikuwhen the ambush took place. The five-day battle (June 24-29, 1954) was the lastin the First Indochina War. On July 20, 1954, the Geneva Agreement was signedthat imposed a general ceasefire, and on August 1, an armistice was signed thatpartitioned Vietnamat the 17th Parallel.

Aftermath of theFirst Indochina War By the time of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu, France knewthat it could not win the war, and turned its attention on trying to worktoward a political settlement and an honorable withdrawal from Indochina.  ByFebruary 1954, opinion polls at home showed that only 8% of the Frenchpopulation supported the war.  However,the Dien Bien Phu debacle dashed French hopesof negotiating under favorable withdrawal terms.  On May 8, 1954, one day after the Frenchdefeat at Dien Bien Phu, representatives from the major powers: United States,Soviet Union, Britain, China, and France, and the Indochina states: Cambodia,Laos, and the two rival Vietnamese states, Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV)and State of Vietnam, met at Geneva (the Geneva Conference) to negotiate apeace settlement for Indochina.  TheConference also was envisioned to resolve the crisis in the Korean Peninsulain the aftermath of the Korean War (separate article), where deliberationsended on June 15, 1954 without any settlements made.

On the Indochina issue, onJuly 21, 1954, a ceasefire and a “final declaration” were agreed to by theparties.  The ceasefire was agreed to byFrance and the DRV, which divided Vietnam into two zones at the 17thparallel, with the northern zone to be governed by the DRV and the southernzone to be governed by the State of Vietnam. The 17th parallel was intended to serve merely as a provisional militarydemarcation line, and not as a political or territorial boundary.      The French and their allies in thenorthern zone departed and moved to the southern zone, while the Viet Minh inthe southern zone departed and moved to the northern zone (although somesouthern Viet Minh remained in the south on instructions from the DRV).  The 17th parallel was also a demilitarizedzone (DMZ) of 6 miles, 3 miles on each side of the line.

The ceasefire agreement provided for a period of 300 dayswhere Vietnamese civilians were free to move across the 17th parallel on eitherside of the line.  About one millionnortherners, predominantly Catholics but also including members of the upperclasses consisting of landowners, businessmen, academics, and anti-communistpoliticians, and the middle and lower classes, moved to the southern zone, thismass exodus was prompted by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) andState of Vietnam in a massive propaganda campaign, as well as the peoples’fears of repression under a communist regime.

In August 1954, planes of the French Air Force and hundredsof ships of the French Navy and U.S. Navy (the latter under Operation Passageto Freedom) carried out the movement of Vietnamese civilians from north tosouth.  Some 100,000 southerners, mostlyViet Minh cadres and their families and supporters, moved to the northernzone.  A peacekeeping force, called theInternational Control Commission and comprising contingents from India, Canada,and Poland,was tasked with enforcing the ceasefire agreement.  Separate ceasefire agreements also weresigned for Laos and Cambodia.

Another agreement, titled the “Final Declaration of theGeneva Conference on the Problem of Restoring Peace in Indo-China, July 21,1954”, called for Vietnamese general elections to be held in July 1956, and thereunification of Vietnam.  France DRV, the Soviet Union, China, and Britain signed thisDeclaration.  Both the State of Vietnamand the United Statesdid not sign, the former outright rejecting the Declaration, and the lattertaking a hands-off stance, but promising not to oppose or jeopardize theDeclaration.

By the time of the Geneva Conference, the Viet Minhcontrolled a majority of Vietnam’sterritory and appeared ready to deal a final defeat on the demoralized Frenchforces.  The Viet Minh’s agreeing toapparently less favorable terms (relative to its commanding battlefieldposition) was brought about by the following factors: First, despite Dien BienPhu, French forces in Indochina were far from being defeated, and still held anoverwhelming numerical and firepower advantage over the Viet Minh; Second, theSoviet Union and China cautioned the Viet Minh that a continuation of the warmight prompt an escalation of American military involvement in support of theFrench; and Third, French Prime Minister Pierre Mendes-France had vowed toachieve a ceasefire within thirty days or resign.  The Soviet Union and China, fearing the collapse of the Mendes-Franceregime and its replacement by a right-wing government that would continue thewar, pressed Ho to tone down Viet Minh insistence of a unified Vietnamunder the DRV, and agree to a compromise.

The planned July 1956 reunification election failed tomaterialize because the parties could not agree on how it was to beimplemented.  The Viet Minh proposedforming “local commissions” to administer the elections, while the United States,seconded by the State of Vietnam, wanted the elections to be held under UnitedNations (UN) oversight.  The U.S.government’s greatest fear was a communist victory at the polls; U.S. PresidentEisenhower believed that “possibly 80%” of all Vietnamese would vote for Ho ifelections were held.  The State of Vietnamalso opposed holding the reunification elections, stating that as it had notsigned the Geneva Accords, it was not bound to participate in the reunificationelections; it also declared that under the repressive conditions in the northunder communist DRV, free elections could not be held there.  As a result, reunification elections were notheld, and Vietnamremained divided.

In the aftermath, both the DRV in the north (later commonlyknown as North Vietnam) and the State of Vietnam in the south (later as theRepublic of Vietnam, more commonly known as South Vietnam) became de factoseparate countries, both Cold War client states, with North Vietnam backed bythe Soviet Union, China, and other communist states, and South Vietnamsupported by the United States and other Western democracies.

In April 1956, Francepulled out its last troops from Vietnam;some two years earlier (June 1954), it had granted full independence to theState of Vietnam.  The year 1955 saw thepolitical consolidation and firming of Cold War alliances for both North Vietnam and South Vietnam.  In the north, Ho Chi Minh’s regime launchedrepressive land reform and rent reduction programs, where many tens ofthousands of landowners and property managers were executed, or imprisoned inlabor camps.  With the Soviet Union and China sending more weapons and advisors, North Vietnamfirmly fell within the communist sphere of influence.

In South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, whom Bao Dai appointed asPrime Minister in June 1954, also eliminated all political dissent starting in1955, particularly the organized crime syndicate Binh Xuyen in Saigon, and thereligious sects Hoa Hao and Cao Dai in the Mekong Delta, all of whichmaintained powerful armed groups.  InApril-May 1955, sections of central Saigonwere destroyed in street battles between government forces and the Binh Xuyenmilitia.

Then in October 1955, in a referendum held to determine theState of Vietnam’s political future, voters overwhelmingly supportedestablishing a republic as campaigned by Diem, and rejected the restoration ofthe monarchy as desired by Bao Dai. Widespread irregularities marred the referendum, with an implausible 98%of voters favoring Diem’s proposal.  OnOctober 23, 1955, Diem proclaimed the Republicof Vietnam (later commonly known as South Vietnam),with himself as its first president.  Itspredecessor, the State of Vietnam was dissolved, and Bao Dao fell from power.

In early 1956, Diem launched military offensives on the VietMinh and its supporters in the South Vietnamese countryside, leading tothousands being executed or imprisoned. Early on, militarily weak South Vietnamwas promised armed and financial support by the United States, which hoped to prop up the regime of PrimeMinister (later President) Diem, a devout Catholic and staunch anti-communist,as a bulwark against communism in Southeast Asia.

In January 1955, the first shipments of American weaponsarrived, followed shortly by U.S.military advisors, who were tasked to provide training to the South VietnameseArmy.  The U.S. government also endeavored toshore up the public image of the somewhat unknown Diem as a viable alternativeto the immensely popular Ho Chi Minh. However, the Diem regime was tainted by corruption and nepotism, andDiem himself ruled with autocratic powers, and implemented policies thatfavored the wealthy landowning class and Catholics at the expense of the lowerpeasant classes and Buddhists (the latter comprised 70% of the population).

By 1957, because of southern discontent with Diem’s policies, a communist-influenced civilian uprising had grown in South Vietnam, with many acts of terrorism, including bombings and assassinations, taking place.  Then in 1959, North Vietnam, frustrated at the failure of the reunification elections from taking place, and in response to the growing insurgency in the south, announced that it was resuming the armed struggle (now against South Vietnam and the United States) in order to liberate the south and reunify Vietnam.  The stage was set for the cataclysmic Second Indochina War, more popularly known as the Vietnam War. (Excerpts taken from Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 5: Twenty Wars in Asia.)

June 23, 1919 – Estonian War of Independence: Estonian forces recapture Cēsis from the Baltische Landeswehr and German Freikorps

On June 23, 1919, The Estonian Third Division, aided by Latvian forces, wrested control of Cēsis from the retreating Baltische Landeswehr and German forces.  The Estonians and Latvians then continued in pursuit in the direction of the Latvian capital Riga.

The Estonian War of Independence (November 1918-February 1920) broke out at the end of World War I when the newly declared Estonian state came into armed conflict with the Soviet Red Army that invaded to re-establish Russian control over the territory. With the support of Latvia (which was also concurrently engaged in its own independence war, as well as Britain and other Western nations), the fledging Estonian Army also battled against the Baltische Landeswehr (militias of the Baltic German nobility) and the Freikorps (German Army volunteers/mercenaries).

Background The two revolutions in Russia in 1917 as well as ongoing events in World War I catalyzed ethnic minorities across the Russia Empire, resulting in the various regional nationalist movements pushing forward their objective of seceding from Russia and forming new independent nation-states.  In the western and northern regions of the empire, the subject territories of Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Finland moved toward independence.

Key battle sites during the Estonian War of Independence.

On March 30, 1917, one month after the first (February 1917)revolution, Russia’sProvisional Government granted political autonomy to Estoniaafter merging the Governorate (province) of Estonia and the ethnic Estoniannorthern portion of the Governorate of Livonia into the political andadministrative entity known as the “Autonomous Governorate of Estonia”.  An interim body, the Estonian ProvincialAssembly (Estonian: Maapäev), was elected with the task of administering thenew governorate.  Furthermore, theBolsheviks, 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 tosecede from Russia and establish their own separate states. Eventually, theBolsheviks would renege on this edict and suppress secession from the Russianstate (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 thesupreme authority in Estonia,which effectively was an act of secession. However, on November 5, 1917, local Estonian Bolsheviks led by JaanAnvelt seized power in a coup in Tallinn, Estonia’scapital, forcing the Estonian nationalists to disperse and operateclandestinely.  Meanwhile in SovietRussia, the Bolsheviks, whose revolution had succeeded partly on their promisesto a war-weary citizenry and military to disengage from World War I, declaredits pacifist intentions to the Central Powers. A ceasefire agreement was signed on December 15, 1917 and peace talksbegan a few days later in Brest-Litovsk (present-day Brest,in Belarus).

The Provisional Assembly of the Estonian Governorate, determinedto implement a democratic form of government, declared itself as the supremeauthority in Estonia,which effectively was an act of secession. However, on November 5, 1917, local Estonian Bolsheviks led by JaanAnvelt seized power in a coup in Tallinn, Estonia’scapital, forcing the Estonian nationalists to disperse and operateclandestinely.  Meanwhile in SovietRussia, the Bolsheviks, whose revolution had succeeded partly on their promisesto a war-weary citizenry and military to disengage from World War I, declaredits pacifist intentions to the Central Powers. A ceasefire agreement was signed on December 15, 1917 and peace talksbegan a few days later in Brest-Litovsk (present-day Brest,in Belarus).

However, the Central Powers imposed territorial demands thatthe Russian government deemed excessive. On February 17, 1918, the Central Powers repudiated the ceasefireagreement, and the following day, Germanyand Austria-Hungaryrestarted hostilities against Russia,launching a massive offensive with one million troops in 53 divisions alongthree fronts that swept through western Russiaand captured Ukraine Belarus, Lithuania,Latvia, and Estonia.  German forces also entered Finland, aiding the non-socialistparamilitary group known as the “White Guards” in defeating the socialistmilitia known as “Red Guards” in the Finnish Civil War.  Eleven days into the offensive, the northernfront of the German advance was some 85 miles from the Russian capital ofPetrograd (on March 12, 1918, the Russian government transferred its capital toMoscow).

On February 23, 1918, or five days into the offensive, peacetalks were restarted at Brest-Litovsk, with the Central Powers demanding fromRussia even greater territorial and military concessions than in the December1917 negotiations.  After heated debatesamong members of the Council of People’s Commissars (the highest Russiangovernmental body) who were undecided whether to continue or end the war, atthe urging of its Chairman, Vladimir Lenin, the Russian government acquiescedto the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.  On March3, 1918, Russian and Central Powers representatives signed the treaty, whosemajor stipulations included the following: peace was restored between Russiaand the Central Powers; Russia relinquished possession of Finland (which wasengaged in a civil war), Belarus, Ukraine, and the Baltic territories ofEstonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – Germany and Austria-Hungary were to determinethe future of these territories; and Russia also agreed on some territorialconcessions to the Ottoman Empire.

In the midst of the German offensive, on February 24, 1918,Russian forces withdrew from Estoniaand the local Estonian Bolshevik government collapsed.  That same day, the Estonian ProvincialAssembly emerged from hiding and reconvened; through its newly formed executivebody, the Salvation Committee, it declared Estonia’sindependence in Tallinnand then formed a provisional government. However, the next day, February 24, German forces entered Tallinn, bringing Estoniaunder German military occupation, and forcing Estonia’s provisional government toreturn underground.  Estonia’s one day-old status was anindependent state thus ended.

German forces occupied Estonia,Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus,Ukraine, and Poland,establishing semi-autonomous governments in these territories that weresubordinate to the authority of the German monarch, Kaiser Wilhelm II.  The German occupation allowed the realizationof the Germanic vision of “Mitteleuropa”, an expansionist ambition that soughtunification of Germanic and non-Germanic peoples of Central Europe into a greatly enlarged and powerful German Empire.  In support of Mitteleuropa, in the Balticregion, 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 voluntarilyintegrated into the German Empire.  Theproposal was not implemented, but German military authorities set up localcivil governments under the authority of the Baltic German nobility or ethnicGermans.

Although the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918 ended Russia’sparticipation in World War I, the war was still ongoing in other fronts – mostnotably on the Western Front, where for four years, German forces were boggeddown in inconclusive warfare against the British, French and other AlliedArmies.  After transferring substantialnumbers of now freed troops from the Russian front to the Western Front, inMarch 1918, Germany launchedthe Spring Offensive, a major offensive into Franceand Belgiumin an effort to bring the war to an end. After four months of fighting, by July 1918, despite achieving someterritorial gains, the German offensive had ground to a halt.

The Allied Powers then counterattacked with newly developedbattle tactics and weapons and gradually pushed back the now spent anddemoralized German Army all across the line into German territory.  The entry of the United States into the war on the Allied side was decisive, asincreasing numbers of arriving American troops with the backing of the U.S.weapons-producing industrial power contrasted sharply with the greatly depletedwar resources of both the Entente and Central Powers.  The imminent collapse of the German Army wasgreatly exacerbated by the outbreak of political and social unrest at the homefront (the German Revolution of 1918-1919), leading to the sudden end of theGerman monarchy with the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II on November 9, 1918and the establishment of an interim government (under moderate socialistFriedrich Ebert), which quickly signed an armistice with the Allied Powers onNovember 11, 1918 that ended the combat phase of World War I.

As the armistice agreement required that Germany demobilizethe bulk of its armed forces as well as withdraw the same to the confines ofthe German borders within 30 days, the German government ordered its forces toabandon the occupied territories that had been won in the Eastern Front.  Consequently, in Estonia, German authorities turnedover governmental powers to the Estonian provisional government; the latterrestarted organizing a national armed forces (which had begun in April 1917 butwas aborted by the German invasion), now urgently needed because of the buildupof Soviet forces at the Estonian border.

After Germany’scapitulation in November 1918, Russiarepudiated the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and made plans to seize the Europeanterritories it previously had lost to the Central Powers.  An even far more reaching objective was for theBolshevik government to spread the communist revolution to Europe, first bylinking up with German communists who were at the forefront of the unrest thatcurrently was gripping Germany.  Russian military planners intended theoffensive to merely follow in the heels of the German withdrawal from Eastern Europe (i.e. to not directly engage the Germansin combat) and then seize as much territory before the various ethnicnationalist groups in these territories could establish and consolidate acivilian 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 (Excerpts taken from Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 4).

June 22, 1941 – World War II: Germany invades the Soviet Union

Shortly after 3 AM on June 22, 1941, Germany launched its invasion of the Soviet Union, with thousands of artillery pieces opening a massive, coordinated bombardment of Soviet positions all along the 1,800-mile frontier.  German special operations teams, positioned along the border, seized key road and water crossings, and assisted by local anti-Soviet militants, set about disrupting and severing Red Army communication lines.  At first light, hundreds of Luftwaffe bombers and fighters took to the sky, and attacked strategic targets, including airfields, armories, and military, communications, and supply centers.  These air attacks were massively successful, and the Soviet air force lost 1,400 planes on the first day and 3,100 by the third day, against only 78 German planes downed.  These German air successes came as a result of Luftwaffe air reconnaissance missions conducted over Soviet territory in the previous months.  Stalin had ordered Soviet anti-aircraft crews not to fire on the German reconnaissance planes, so as not to provoke Hitler.  Thus in one stroke, the Luftwaffe achieved complete air supremacy over the battlefield.

The German High Command placed the A-A Line, which extends from Arkhangelsk in the Arctic in the north to Astrakhan in the Caspian Sea in the south, as the furthest advance of Operation Barbarossa.

German land forces and their Axis partners, comprising thebulk of the invasion, crossed the borders from East Prussia in the north to the Carpathian Mountains in the south intothe Soviet Union, with Army Group North aiming for its final objective, Leningrad,Army Group Center for Moscow, and Army GroupSouth for the Ukraine and Caucasus, with all three army groups taking the Sovietborder and forward defenses by surprise. The Luftwaffe seizing control of the skies, the destruction of Sovietcommunications and forward military infrastructures, and Stalin’s order not toretaliate to German provocations (which produced chaos at the Sovietfrontlines; the order would not be revoked until several hours after the Germanattack) allowed German and Axis forces to make rapid progress.

Precursor OperationBarbarossa was delayed because Hitler intervened in the Balkans in support ofhis beleaguered ally, Italian leader Benito Mussolini. In December 1940, theinvasion plan was finalized as Operation Barbarossa, set for May 15, 1941. Byspring 1941, Operation Barbarossa’s planned launch date of May 15, 1941increasingly appeared difficult to achieve: an unusually rainy winter floodedrivers and had turned Russian roads into impassable quagmires; troop transportvehicles from France, as well as oil supplies, were delayed; and the Luftwaffeforward airfields in Poland were not yet completed.  Then in April 1940, Hitler was forced tolaunch the invasions of Greeceand Yugoslaviafollowing his ally Benito Mussolini’s disastrous campaign against the GreekArmy.

The plan overcame opposition from the German High Commandwhich doubted its economic benefits to Germany,that albeit the agricultural and mineral resources of Ukraine and petroleum wealth of the Caucasus,the Soviet Union as a whole would be an economic drain on Germany.  The German High Command also wanted thecapture of Moscow as the invasion’s foremostaim, which Hitler rejected, pointing out that although French leader NapoleonBonaparte had captured Moscow in 1812, Frenchforces were still driven back from Russia.  What therefore prevailed were Hitler’s statedpriorities for the operation, “Leningrad first, the Donbass [eastern Ukraine]second, Moscow third” – that is, Moscow was of “no great importance”, but thatthe Soviet Red Army must be destroyed in the regions west of Moscow,specifically to the west of the Dvina and Dnieper rivers.  Hitler’s main aim in Russia was to achieve lebensraum  and acquire that country’s vast territoriesand enormous agricultural, mineral, and industrial resources that would finallyend Germany’schronic shortage of raw materials for its ever growing population, industry,and military.

Aftermath To this day, historians continue to deliberate whether Hitler’s decision to intervene in Greece and Yugoslavia indirectly caused the failure of Operation Barbarossa, Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union.  Proponents state that the Balkan intervention forced Germany to delay Operation Barbarossa, moving back the earlier launch date of May 14, 1941 to June 22, 1941, or at the very least, that Germany had to await the outcome of its Balkan campaign before it could invade the Soviet Union.  Opponents argue that other factors, not the Balkan campaign, forced Germany to delay Operation Barbarossa, including flooded rivers in Eastern Europe resulting from an unusually wet winter, incomplete logistical preparations, and the need to secure its Balkan flank from a possible British attack.  In this way, they conclude that Germany’s invasion on June 22, 1941 was doomed to failure from the start. (Excerpts taken from Wars of the 20th Century: Volume 6 – World War II in Europe.)

June 21, 1940 – World War II: Italian forces launch a major offensive against France along the Alps

On June 21, 1940, Italian forces launched a general offensive into France across the Alpine region, successfully gaining some territory but failing to break the French resistance. The attack came just before France and Germany were about to sign an armistice following the German blitzkrieg into France.

Italy had entered World War II on Germany’s side on June 10, 1940 by declaring war on France and Britain. Italian leader Benito Mussolini rejected the counsel of his top commanders that Italy was unprepared for war, opportunistically stating that “I only need a few thousand dead so that I can sit at the peace conference as a man who has fought”.  Italy’s contribution to the campaign would be inconsequential, as the 450,000 invading Italian troops (outnumbering the 190,000 French defenders by over 2:1) were unable to break through the Alpine Line in the rough, high-altitude terrain and prevailing winter-like snowy weather at the 300-mile long French-Italian border.

But with the French defeat against the Germans and subsequent armistice, Italian forces occupied territory on the French-Italian border, which was expanded in November 1942 to the southeast region of Vichy France as well as Corsica.

Italy and Germany In the period before World War II, Italy’s ties with Germany prospered. Both shared a common political ideology.  In the Spanish Civil War (July 1936-April 1939), Italy and Germany supported the Nationalist rebel forces of General Francisco Franco, who emerged victorious and took over power in Spain.  In October 1936, Italy and Germany formed an alliance called the Rome-Berlin Axis.  In 1937, Italy joined the Anti-Comintern Pact, which had been signed by Germany and Japan in November 1936.  In May 1939, Mussolini and Hitler formed a military alliance, the Pact of Steel.  The alliance between Germany and Italy, together with Japan, reached its apex in September 1940, with the signing of the Tripartite Pact, and these countries came to be known as the Axis Powers.

However, on September 1, 1939 World War II broke out when Germany attacked Poland. Italydid not enter the war as yet, since despite Mussolini’s frequent blustering ofhaving military strength capable of taking on the other great powers, Italyin fact was unprepared for a major European war.

June 20, 1963 – Cuban Missile Crisis: The United States and Soviet Union agree to establish a “hotline” or direct communication

On June 20, 1963, the United States and Soviet Union signed an agreement that established a direct teletype link, or “hotline”, between Washington and Moscow, in order to speed up the transmission of communications between the leaders of both countries. This came about following the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, where the two superpowers were locked in a 13-day standoff over the Soviet deployment of nuclear missiles in Cuba. U.S. President John F. Kennedy perceived the weapons in Cuba as a threat to U.S. national security and announced that he was prepared to use force to neutralize them. World sentiment at that time was that the two superpowers were on the brink of a nuclear war. The impasse was resolved when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev offered to remove the missiles in exchange for the U.S. promising not to invade Cuba. In the aftermath, the United States also secretly removed its missiles from Turkey.

NATO’s deployment of nuclear missiles in Turkey and Italy was a major factor in the Soviet Union’s decision to install nuclear weapons in Cuba.

Aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis The near-confrontation had profound consequences on the main protagonists.  President Kennedy’s popularity soared in the United States and in other democratic countries, where he was seen as strong, firm, and determined to go to war for the free world.  The perception of Kennedy being an irresolute leader following his lackluster actions during the Bay of Pigs Invasion and Berlin Crisis was erased instantly.  Fidel Castro retained and even tightened his domination over Cuba, as the United States, in the future, generally refrained from carrying out a determined effort to bring about his overthrow.  For Khrushchev, he ostensibly had lost the gamble, since his agreement with the Americans did not carry a public disclosure of the removal of the U.S. missiles in Turkey.  What was apparent was that he merely had gained a promise from President Kennedy not to invade Cuba for the much more politically and strategically important Soviet missiles in Cuba.  Considerable humiliation was brought upon Soviet authorities, which contributed greatly to Premier Khrushchev’s ouster from power two years later.

In October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane detected a Soviet nuclear missile site under construction in San Cristobal, Pinar del Rio. After the Cuban Missile Crisis, the continued presence of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, a U.S. military facility located at the eastern end of Cuba, greatly infuriated Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

In the immediate aftermath, the United States restarted destabilization operations against Castro’s government.  However, President Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963 and the growing U.S. involvement in Indochina, another Cold War battlefield, and particularly in Vietnam, finally led President Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded President Kennedy as American head of state, to end all destabilizing actions in Cuba.  Also as a result of the crisis, on June 20, 1963, the two superpowers signed an agreement that established a direct teletype link, or “hotline”, between Washington and Moscow, in order to speed up the transmission of communications between the leaders of both countries.

The crisis was resolved by the United States and the Soviet Union, without the participation of Cuba.  As a result, Castro felt betrayed by Khrushchev, particularly since he felt that the negotiations had taken only the American and Soviet interests in mind, and disregarded Cuban security concerns.  The Cuban leader also felt that a mere U.S. promise not to invade Cuba was insufficient, and subsequently issued his “Five Points” manifesto, one point being that the United States military must withdraw from the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (located at the eastern end of Cuba) and return the land to the Cuban people.  Castro had been made aware of the negotiations between the two superpowers through Alexandr Alexeyev, the Soviet Ambassador to Cuba, and was infuriated at the final agreement.

The agreement pertained to the Soviet strategic MRBMs and IRBMs; as a result, the Soviets were not under obligation to remove the battlefield tactical nuclear missiles, which in fact they had intended to turn over to the Cuban Armed Forces.  However, Castro’s unpredictability and temperament convinced the Soviets that nuclear weapons, with their destructive power, could not be entrusted to the Cuban leader.  On October 22, these weapons were returned to the Soviet Union.  Subsequent Soviet policies of appeasements, however, did restore normal relations between the two communist allies, even strengthening them in the years that followed. (Excerpts taken from Wars of the 20th Century: Volume 2.)

June 19, 1965 – Vietnam War: A new military-led government is formed in South Vietnam

On June 19, 1965, Air Marshall Nguyen Cao Ky became Prime Minister of South Vietnam as head of a military junta, while General Nguyen Van Thieu became the figurehead chief of state. This arose after two years of severe political instability where South Vietnam experienced a series of leadership changes following a military-backed coup and assassination of President Ngo Dinh Diem in November 1963. Diem had served as Prime Minister in 1954-1955 and then as President from 1955 until his death in 1963. Following the coup, a junta was set up to lead the country, but which was racked by power struggles that led to a series of short-lived military governments.

With the formation of Ky-Thieu junta in June 1965, South Vietnam’s political climate stabilized somewhat.

In relation to theVietnam War In May 1965, in a major effort to overthrow South Vietnam, Viet Cong and North Vietnameseforces launched attacks in three major areas: just south of the DMZ, in theCentral Highlands, and in areas around Saigon.  U.S.and South Vietnamese forces repulsed these attacks, with massive U.S. air firepower being particularly effective,and in mid-1965, Viet Cong and North Vietnamese forces retreated, and thedanger to the Saigon government passed.  By that time also, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnsonagreed to the U.S. military’srequest and sent more troops to Vietnam,raising the total to 184,000 by the end of 1965.  More crucially, he authorized U.S. forces to not merely defend U.S.facilities, but to undertake offensive combat missions, in line with Americanmilitary doctrine to take the war to the enemy.

Meanwhile in June 1965, South Vietnam’s political climate eased considerably with the appointment of Nguyen Cao Ky as Prime Minister and Nguyen Van Thieu as (figurehead) Chief of State.  The new South Vietnamese regime imposed censorship and restrictions on civil liberties because of the unstable security situation, as well as to curb widespread local civilian unrest.  In 1966, Prime Minister Ky quelled a Buddhist uprising and brought some stability to the South Vietnamese military.  Ky and Thieu were political rivals, and after Thieu was elected president in the 1967 presidential election, a power struggle developed between the two leaders, with President Thieu ultimately emerging victorious.  By the late 1960s, Thieu had consolidated power and thereafter ruled with near autocratic powers. (Excerpts taken from Wars of the 20th Century: Volume 5- Twenty Wars in Asia.)