Daniel Orr's Blog, page 54

August 5, 1965 – India-Pakistan War of 1965: Fighting starts when Pakistani soldiers posing as civilians cross the Line of Control

On August 5, 1965 and the days that followed, some 30,000Pakistani soldiers posing as civilians crossed the Line of Control (theceasefire line and de facto border resulting from the 1947 Indian-PakistaniWar) and entered Indian-held Kashmir. The Pakistani infiltrators carried out some sabotage activities butfailed to incite a general civilian uprising. The Indian Army, tipped off by informers, crushed the operation, killingmany Pakistani infiltrators and forcing others to flee back to Pakistan.

Then on August 15, the Indian forces crossed the westernceasefire line and entered Pakistani-held Kashmir.  The offensive made considerable progressuntil it was slowed at Tithwail and Pooch, upon the arrival of Pakistani Armyreinforcements.  By month’s end, thebattle lines had settled.

 (Taken from Indian-Pakistani War of 1965 – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 2)

Background As aresult of the Indian-Pakistani War of 1947, the former Princely State ofKashmir was divided militarily under zones of occupation by the Indian Army andthe Pakistani Army.  Consequently, thegovernments of India and Pakistanestablished local administrations in their respective zones of control, theseareas ultimately becoming de facto territories of their respectivecountries.  However, Pakistan was determined to drive away theIndians from Kashmir and annex the wholeregion.  As Pakistanand Kashmir had predominantly Muslim populations, the Pakistani governmentbelieved that Kashmiris detested being under Indian rule and would welcome andsupport an invasion by Pakistan.  Furthermore, Pakistan’sgovernment received reports that civilian protests in Kashmirindicated that Kashmiris were ready to revolt against the Indian regionalgovernment.

The Pakistani Army believed itself superior to its Indiancounterpart.  In early 1965, armedclashes broke out in disputed territory in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat State, India.  Subsequently in 1968, Pakistan was awarded 350 squaremiles of the territory by the International Court of Justice.  In 1965, Indiawas still smarting from a defeat to Chinain the 1962 Sino-Indian War; as a result, Pakistan believed that the IndianArmy’s morale was low.  Furthermore, Pakistan had upgraded its Armed Forces withpurchases of modern weapons from the United States,while Indiawas yet in the midst of modernizing its military forces.

In the summer of 1965, Pakistanmade preparations for invading Indian-held Kashmir.  To assist the operation, Pakistani commandoswould penetrate Kashmir’s major urban areas,carry out sabotage operations against military installations and publicinfrastructures, and distribute firearms to civilians in order to incite arevolt.  Pakistani military plannersbelieved that Pakistanwould have greater bargaining power with the presence of a civilian uprising,in case the war went to international arbitration.

August 4, 1964 – Vietnam War: American ships USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy report being attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin

As early as 1961, under the top-secret Oplan 34A by the U.S.Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and later in 1964, under the MilitaryAssistance Command, Vietnam– Studies and Operations Group (MACV-SOG), U.S. Navy fast patrol boatstransported South Vietnamese commandos on small attack missions inside North Vietnam.  One such mission, which would havefar-reaching consequences, occurred on July 30, 1964, when South Vietnamesecommandos attacked two North Vietnamese islands in the Gulf of Tonkin.  The USSMaddox, an American destroyer operating as an electronic spy ship, waslocated nearby.  On August 2, 1964, thecommander of the USS Maddox reportedbeing attacked by three North Vietnamese torpedo boats, but that the attack wasthwarted.  Two days later, August 4, the USS Maddox, now joined by anotherelectronic spy ship, the USS Turner Joy,again reported being attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats.

(Taken from Vietnam War – Wars of the 20th Century – Twenty Wars in Asia: Vol. 5)

This second incident was later determined to not havingoccurred.  However, after the second“attack”, President Johnson announced to the American public that U.S. naval forces in the Gulfof Tonkin had been attacked by North Vietnam.  U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson then orderedretaliatory air strikes, where U.S.planes struck North Vietnamese naval bases and an oil storage facility.  President Johnson also called on the U.S.Congress to pass a resolution that would guarantee “freedom…and peace in Southeast Asia” and support “all necessary action toprotect our Armed Forces”.

On August 7, 1964, U.S. Congress overwhelmingly passed theGulf of Tonkin Resolution (Senate: 88-2 and House of Representatives: 416-0),which came into law on August 10, which gave President Johnson broad powers touse all necessary military force in Southeast Asia in support of its alliesthere.  The Resolution essentially gavePresident Johnson the authority to go to war against North Vietnam without firstobtaining a Declaration of War from U.S. Congress. 

The U.S.air strikes, the U.S. spyactivities in the Gulf of Tonkin, and the South Vietnamese infiltrationmissions convinced the Hanoi government that theUnited States wasintervening in the war, and worse, it was planning to invade North Vietnam.  As a result, the Ho regime increased militarypressure in South Vietnam tooverthrow the Saigon government before the United States could intervene.  In early 1965, North Vietnamese and Viet Congforces launched a series of attacks across South Vietnam, with concentrationsin the Central Highlands east toward the coast to cut South Vietnam in two, andin the region west of Saigon and near the Cambodian border.  U.S.military installations in South Vietnam also were targeted.  In November 1964, the Bien Hoa airport,headquarters of the U.S. Air Force command in South Vietnam, was attacked by VietCong mortar fire, killing and wounding dozens of American servicemen anddamaging several planes.  Then inFebruary 1965, Viet Cong units attacked the U.S.air base at Pleiku, Central Highlands, killing 9 U.S.soldiers and wounding 70 others, which was followed three days later, by anexplosion that destroyed a hotel at Qui Nohn, killing 23 U.S. soldiers.

As a result of the Viet Cong escalation, President Johnson authorizedOperation Rolling Thunder, a limited-scale bombing of North Vietnam, which began on March 2, 1965,with the stated aims of boosting South Vietnamese morale, deterring North Vietnam from supporting the Viet Cong/NLF,and stopping North Vietnamese forces from entering South Vietnam.  Initially planned to last only 8 weeks, thebombing campaign became an incremental, sustained effort that lasted 44 months,ending in November 1968.  Under OperationRolling Thunder, President Johnson required that the U.S. military’s list ofpotential targets be subject to his approval, which generated greatconsternation among the generals who wanted an all-out, large-scale strategicbombing campaign of North Vietnam.  U.S. planes also were only allowed to hittargets (such as road and rail systems, industries, and air defenses) inside adesignated radius away from Hanoi and Haiphong, as well as froma buffer zone from the North Vietnam-China border.  Some of these restrictions would be liftedlater.

The incremental nature of Operation Rolling Thunder allowed North Vietnamenough time to strengthen its air defenses. Thus, by 1968, Hanoi, Haiphong, and other vital centers werebristling with 8,000 Soviet-supplied anti-aircraft guns and 300 surface-to-airmissile batteries, supported by 350 radar facilities, as well as scores ofSoviet MiG-21 fighter planes and 15,000 Soviet air-defense advisers.  In February 1965, the Soviet Union furtherincreased its military support to North Vietnamwhen an American bombing attack coincided with the visit of Soviet DeputyPremier Alexei Kosygin to Hanoi.Previously, the Soviet government had sought a diplomatic resolution to theVietnam War (despite providing military support to North Vietnam).  Ultimately, by the end of Rolling Thunder,the United States lost over900 planes, while North Vietnamcontinued to deliver even larger amounts of weapons to South Vietnam through the Ho ChiMinh Trail.

Throughout the war, the United States launched other aerial operations (Steel Tiger,Tiger Hound, and Commando Hunt) on the Ho Chi Minh Trail to try and stop theflow of men and materiel from North Vietnamto South Vietnam,but all of these ultimately proved unsuccessful.

August 3, 1940 – World War II: Italian forces invade British Somaliland

With Britain fighting for its own survival from theGerman air attacks (Battle of Britain, separatearticle), Mussolini set his sights on British possessions in Africa, withItalian forces seizing British Somaliland in August 1940, and advancing into Egypt from Libya in September 1940.

(Taken from Italian Campaign – Wars of the 20th Century – World War II in Europe: Vol. 6)

Italian debacle Italybecame involved in many theaters of World War II, which all ended in failures,sometimes catastrophic, as a result of Italian military unpreparedness.  In France, the Italian Army offensivewas stopped at the Alpine Line because of fierce French resistance, arduousmountain terrain, and wintery weather. But with the French defeat and subsequent armistice, Italian forcesoccupied territory on the French-Italian border, which was expanded in November1942 to the southeast region of Vichy France as well as Corsica.

In October 1940, Italianforces attacked from Albaniainto northern Greece.  Mussolini, who expected an easy victory, senta force much smaller than what the Italian High Command had recommended; aswell, Albanian port facilities were inadequate to handle the large volume ofmilitary supplies arriving from Italy.  The highly motivated Greek Army repulsed theattack and then launched a counter-offensive that drove back the Italians andcaptured a large section of Albanian territory. At Mussolini’s pleas for assistance, Hitler intervened, and Germanforces invaded Greece and Yugoslavia(the latter decided only at the last moment) in April 1940, overwhelming themwithin a few weeks.  Thereafter, Italy occupied sections of Yugoslavia (which was partitioned among theAxis) and much of Greece,together with Germany(which controlled the most important strategic areas) and other Axis partners.

Italian forces alsoparticipated in Operation Barbarossa, the German-led invasion of the Soviet Union, with the Italian 8th Army at itspeak totaling some 200,000 troops.  Butwith the Axis’ catastrophic defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad in February1943, Mussolini withdrew his forces from the Soviet Union,which suffered 20,000 killed and 64,000 captured.

In East Africa, the ItalianArmy achieved success initially, launching offensives from Italian territoriesof Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Italian Somaliland and driving away the British fromBritish Somaliland, and seizing some border regions in British-controlled Sudanand Kenya (Figure 34).  At this stage ofWorld War II, Britain’soverseas possessions were extremely vulnerable, as British efforts werediverted to the homeland to confront the ongoing German air offensives (Battleof Britain, separate article).  But with the Luftwaffe scaling downoperations in Britain as1941 progressed, the British soon counter-attacked in East Africa, throwingback the Italians and regaining lost territory, and then capturing Ethiopia, Eritrea,and Italian Somaliland, and forcing the surrender of the remaining Italianforces in East Africa.

In North Africa, which was amajor battleground in World War II, the Italian Army also achieved some successinitially, launching from Libyaand advancing 62 miles (100 km) into British-administered Egypt in September 1940, whiletaking advantage of the desperate situation of the British in the ongoingBattle of Britain.  In December 1940, theBritish counter-attacked and threw back the much larger Italian forces into Libya,taking some 130,000 Italian prisoners and advancing 500 miles (800 km) to ElAgheila.  Now poised to expel the ItalianArmy from North Africa altogether, the British were forced to halt theiroffensive to transfer some of their troops to Greece, to help contain a newItalian offensive there.

Territories involved in the battles for North Africa and Horn of Africa

The pause allowed Hitler tocome to the aid of his beleaguered ally Mussolini, in February 1941, sendingthe first units of the German AfrikaKorps led by GeneralErwin Rommel, to fight alongside the Italian forces, which also werebolstered by reinforcements arriving from Europe.  A see-saw battle ensued for over a year, withone side pushing the other hundreds of miles through the desert, and then theother side launching a counter-offensive that threw back the other andpenetrating deep into enemy territory.

Then in October-November1942, the British 8th Army decisively defeated the German-Italianforce at the Second Battle of El Alamein, forcing the Axis to retreat 1,600miles (2,600 km) to the Libya-Tunisia border.

Also in November 1942, anAmerican-British force landed at Moroccoand Algeria, which wereadministered by Vichy France.  After a short period of fighting, theAmericans and British succeeded in persuading French forces there to switchsides to the Allies. American-British-French forces from the west and the British 8thArmy from the east then attacked and encircled the German-Italian forces in Tunisia, and in May 1943, expelled the Axis fromNorth Africa. As a result, Italylost all its African territories.

August 2, 1934 – Prelude to World War II: Hitler becomes Fuhrer of Germany

On August 2, 1934, Chancellor Adolf Hitler became the Fuhrer(“leader”) of Germanyupon the death of 86-year old President Paul von Hindenburg that same day.  One day earlier, August 1, anticipatingHindenburg’s death, Hitler had his cabinet pass the “Law Concerning the HighestState Office of the Reich”, which provided that upon Hindenburg’s death, thepositions of president and chancellor would be merged under the title of“Leader and Chancellor”.

Upon Hindenburg’s death, Hitler assumed the dual roles ofhead of state and head of government, in effect becoming absolute dictator of Germany.Meanwhile, Hitler had earlier co-opted the heads of the powerful Germanymilitary to his support by pledging to suppress his Nazi paramilitary SA (Sturmabteilung“Storm Detachment”) and allow the armed forces pre-eminence in militaryaffairs.  Finally, on August 1934, in aplebiscite to the German people, 90% of voters agreed with Hitler to merge theoffices of president and chancellor.

(Taken from Interwar Period – Wars of the 20th Century – World War II in Europe: Vol. 6)

Hitler and Nazis inPower In October 1929, the severe economic crisis known as the GreatDepression began in the United States, and then spread out and affectedmany countries around the world.  Germany, whose economy was dependent on the United Statesfor reparations payments and corporate investments, was badly hit, and millionsof workers lost their jobs, many banks closed down, and industrial productionand foreign trade dropped considerably.

The Weimargovernment weakened politically, as many Germans turned to radical ideologies,particularly Hitler’s ultra-right wing nationalist Nazi Party, as well as theGerman Communist Party.  In the 1930federal elections, the Nazi Party made spectacular gains and became a major politicalparty with a platform of improving the economy, restoring political stability,and raising Germany’sinternational standing by dealing with the “unjust” Versailles treaty.  Then in two elections held in 1932, the Nazisbecame the dominant party in the Reichstag (German parliament), albeit withoutgaining a majority.  Hitler long soughtthe post of German Chancellor, which was the head of government, but he wasrebuffed by the elderly President Paul von Hindenburg , who distrusted Hitler.  At this time, Hitler’s ambitions were notfully known, and following a political compromise by rival parties, in January1933, President Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor, with few Nazisinitially holding seats in the new Cabinet. The Chancellorship itself had little power, and the real authority washeld by the President (the head of state).

On the night of February 27, 1933, fire broke out at theReichstag, which led to the arrest and execution of a Dutch arsonist, acommunist, who was found inside the building. The next day, Hitler announced that the fire was the signal for Germancommunists to launch a nationwide revolution. On February 28, 1933, the German parliament passed the “Reichstag FireDecree” which repealed civil liberties, including the right of assembly andfreedom of the press.  Also rescinded wasthe writ of habeas corpus, allowing authorities to arrest any person withoutthe need to press charges or a court order. In the next few weeks, the police and Nazi SA paramilitary carried out asuppression campaign against communists (and other political enemies) across Germany,executing communist leaders, jailing tens of thousands of their members, andeffectively ending the German Communist Party. Then in March 1933, with the communists suppressed and other partiesintimidated, Hitler forced the Reichstag to pass the Enabling Act, whichallowed the government (i.e. Hitler) to enact laws, even those that violatedthe constitution, without the approval of parliament or the president.  With nearly absolute power, the Nazis gainedcontrol of all aspects of the state.  InJuly 1933, with the banning of political parties and coercion into closure ofthe others, the Nazi Party became the sole legal party, and Germany became de facto a one-partystate.

At this time, Hitler grew increasingly alarmed at themilitary power of the SA, particularly distrusting the political ambitions ofits leader, Ernst Rohm.  On June 30-July2, 1934, on Hitler’s orders, the loyalist Nazi SS (Schutzstaffel; English:Protection Squadron) and Gestapo (Secret Police) purged the SA, killinghundreds of its leaders including Rohm, and jailing thousands of its members,violently bringing the SA organization (which had some three million members)to its knees.  The purge benefited Hitlerin two ways: First, he became the undisputed leader of the Nazi apparatus, andSecond and equally important, his standing greatly increased with the upperclass, business and industrial elite, and German military; the latter,numbering only 100,000 troops because of the Versailles treaty restrictions,also felt threatened by the enormous size of the SA.

In early August 1934, with the death of PresidentHindenburg, Hitler gained absolute power, as his Cabinet passed a law thatabolished the presidency, and its powers were merged with those of thechancellor.  Hitler thus became bothGerman head of state and head of government, with the dual roles of Fuhrer(leader) and Chancellor.  As head ofstate, he also was Supreme Commander of the armed forces, making him absoluteruler and dictator of Germany.

In domestic matters, the Nazi government made great gains,improving the economy and industrial production, reducing unemployment,embarking on ambitious infrastructure projects, and restoring political andsocial order.  As a result, the Nazisbecame extremely popular, and party membership grew enormously.  This success was brought about from soundpolicies as well as through threat and intimidation, e.g. labor unions and jobactions were suppressed.

Hitler also began to impose Nazi racial policies, which sawethnic Germans as the “master race” comprising “super-humans” (Ubermensch),while certain races such as Slavs, Jews, and Roma (gypsies) were considered“sub-humans” (Untermenschen); also lumped with the latter were non-ethnic-basedgroups, i.e. communists, liberals, and other political enemies, homosexuals,Freemasons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc. Nazi lebensraum (“living space”) expansionism into Eastern Europe and Russiacalled for eliminating the Slavic and other populations there and replacing themwith German farm settlers to help realize Hitler’s dream of a 1,000-year GermanEmpire.

In Germanyitself, starting in April 1933 until the passing of the Nuremberg Laws inSeptember 1935 and beyond, Nazi racial policy was directed against the local Jews,stripping them of civil rights, banning them from employment and education,revoking their citizenship, excluding them from political and social life,disallowing inter-marriages with Germans, and essentially declaring themundesirables in Germany.  As a result, tens of thousands of Jews left Germany.  Hitler blamed the Jews (and communists) forthe civilian and workers’ unrest and revolution near the end of World War I,ostensibly that had led to Germany’sdefeat, and for the many social and economic problems currently afflicting thenation.  Following anti-Nazi boycotts inthe United States, Britain, and other countries, Hitler retaliatedwith a call to boycott Jewish businesses in Germany, which degenerated intoviolent riots by SA mobs that attacked and killed, and jailed hundreds of Jews,looted and destroyed Jewish properties, and seized Jewish assets.  The most notorious of these attacks occurredin November 1938 in “Kristallnacht” (Crystal Night), where in response to theassassination of a German diplomat by a Polish Jew in Paris, the Nazi SA andcivilian mobs in Germany went on a violent rampage, killing hundreds of Jews,jailing tens of thousands of others, and looting and destroying Jewish homes,schools, synagogues, hospitals, and other buildings.  Some 1,000 synagogues were burned, and 7,000businesses destroyed. 

In foreign affairs, Hitler, like most Germans, denounced theVersaillestreaty, and wanted it rescinded.  In1933, Hitler withdrew Germanyfrom the World Disarmament Conference in Geneva,and in October of that year, from the League of Nations, in both casesdenouncing why Germanywas not allowed to re-arm to the level of the other major powers.

In March 1935, Hitler announced that German militarystrength would be increased to 550,000 troops, military conscription would beintroduced, and an air force built, which essentially meant repudiation of theTreaty of Versailles and the start of full-scale rearmament.  In response, Britain,France, and Italyformed the Stresa Front meant to stop further German violations, but thisalliance quickly broke down because the three parties disagreed on how to dealwith Hitler.

Italy,after being denounced by the League of Nations and slapped with economicsanctions after its invasion of Ethiopia,switched sides to Germany.  Mussolini and Hitler signed a series ofagreements that soon led to a military alliance.  Meanwhile, Britainand France continued theirindecisive foreign policies toward Germany.  In March 1936, in a bold move, Hitler senttroops to the Rhineland, remilitarizing the region in another violation of the Versailles treaty, but metno hostile response from the other powers. Hitler justified this move as a defensive response to the recentlyconcluded French-Soviet mutual assistance pact, which he accused the twocountries of encircling Germany,a statement that drew sympathy from some British politicians.

Nazi ideology called for unification of all Germanic peoplesinto a Greater German Reich.  In thiscontext, Hitler had long sought to annex Austria,whose indigenous population was German, into Germany.  An annexation attempt in 1934 was foiled byItalian intervention, with Mussolini determined to go to war if Germany invaded Austria.  But by 1938, German-Italian relations hadwarmed and were moving toward a military alliance.  With Britainand France watching by, inMarch 1938, Hitler put political pressure on Austria, and with the threat ofinvasion, forced the Austrian government to resign, and cede power to theAustrian Nazi Party.  Within days, thelatter relinquished Austrian independence to Germany,and German troops occupied Austria.  In a Nazi-controlled plebiscite held in April1938, an improbable 99.7% of Austrians voted for “Anschluss” (political union)with Germany.

In late March 1938, while Germany was yet in the process ofannexing Austria, another conflict, the “Sudetenland Crisis” occurred, whereethnic Germans, who formed the majority population in the Sudeten region ofCzechoslovakia, demanded autonomy and the right to join the Nazi Party.  Hitler supported these demands, citing theSudeten Germans’ right to self-determination. The Czechoslovak government refused, and in May 1938, mobilized for war.In response, Hitler secretly asked the German High Command to prepare for war,to be launched in October 1938.  Britain and France,anxious to avoid war at all costs by not antagonizing Hitler (a policy calledappeasement), pressed Czechoslovakiato yield, with the British even stating that the Sudeten Germans’ demand for autonomywas reasonable.  In early September 1938,the Czechoslovak government agreed to the demands.  Then when civilian unrest broke out in theSudetenland which the Czechoslovakian police quelled, in mid-September 1938, afurious Hitler demanded that the Sudetenland be ceded to Germany in order to stop thesupposed slaughter of Sudeten Germans. Under great pressure from Britainand France, on September 21,1938, the Czechoslovak government relented, and agreed to cede the Sudetenland.  Butthe next day, Hitler made new demands, which Czechoslovakia rejected and againmobilized for war.  In a frantic move toavert war, the Prime Ministers of Britainand France, NevilleChamberlain and Edouard Daladier, respectively, together with Mussolini, metwith Hitler, and on September 29, 1938, the four men signed the Munich Pact,where the Sudetenland was formally ceded to Germany.  Two days later, Czechoslovakiaaccepted the fait accompli, knowing it would not be supported by Britain and Francein a war with Germany.  In succeeding months, Czechoslovakia disintegrated as a sovereignstate: the Slovak region separated, aligning with Germanyas a puppet state; other regions were annexed by Hungaryand Poland; and in March1939, the rest of the Czech portion of the country was occupied by Germany.

Hitler then turned to Poland,and proposed to renew their ten-year non-aggression pact (signed in 1934) inexchange for revising their common border, specifically returning to Germany some territories that were ceded to Polandafter World War I.  The Polish governmentrefused, causing Hitler to rescind the pact in April 1939.  By then, Britainand France had abandonedappeasement in favor of assertive diplomacy, and promised military support to Poland if Germany invaded.  In the period May-August 1939, as war loomed,frantic efforts were made by Britainand France jointly, and by Germany, to win over to their side the lastremaining undecided major European power, the Soviet Union.  The Germans prevailed, and a non-aggressionpact was signed with the Soviets on August 23, 1939, which prompted Hitler tobegin hostilities with Polandunder the mistaken belief that Britainand Francewould not react militarily.

August 1, 1927 – Chinese Civil War: The Nanchang Uprising by Chinese communists take place

On August 1, 1927, a Chinese communist force seized controlof Nanchang in Jiangxi Provincefrom the Nationalist (Kuomintang) local government.  Four days later, August 5, with news of theapproach of Nationalist forces they withdrew from the city, taking along 5,000small arms and 1 million rounds of ammunition.

The communists then embarked on what is known as “The LittleLong March”, a withdrawal south to the province of Guangdong.Along the way, they were attacked by Nationalist-affiliated forces, reducingthe communist forces to only 1,000 troops from some 20,000 at the peak of theNanchang Uprising. After breaking up into two groups moving in differentdirections, the remnants later joined Mao Zedong’s force in Hunan Province.

The Nanchang Uprising was the first armed encounter betweenNationalist and communist forces in the Chinese Civil War. In the People’sRepublic of China,August 1 is celebrated as the founding day of the People’s Liberation Army.

(Taken from Chinese Civil War – Wars of the 20th Century – Vol. 1)

The Chinese Civil WarIn 1911, two thousand years of dynastic imperial rule ended in China.  Suddenly left without a central government,the country fragmented into many semi-independent regions.  Then from southern China, a political party called theKuomintang (English: Chinese Nationalist Party) formed a government whose aimwas to reunite the country.

The Kuomintang built an army and then began a military campaignfor China’sreunification, an event known as the Chinese Civil War.  The civil war lasted 23 years and consistedof four phases: first, the Kuomintang’s defeat of the regional military leaderscalled warlords; second, the Kuomintang’s contentious split into two rivalfactions, i.e. the right-wing Nationalists and the left-wing and Communistsalliance; third, these two rival factions’ brief alliance to fight the Japanesewho had invaded China; and fourth, the ultimate reunification of China by thevictorious Communists in 1950.

The origin of the Chinese Civil War can be traced to theearly 1900s, with many factors coming into play.  Among these factors were the growingopposition of the Han people (China’s main ethnic group) to the ruling Qingmonarchy; the assimilation of Western political ideas into Chinese thought;China’s military defeats to and occupation by the foreign powers; and thecountry’s backwardness in stark contrast to the prosperity and development inthe West.  These factors shattered theChinese people’s confidence in their government.

In 1911, revolts and civil unrest broke out in many areas ofsouthern China.  Being unable to stop the disturbances, theQing monarchy abdicated, which ended two millennia of Chinese dynasticrule.  China was left suddenly without acentral government.

In southern China,the Kuomintang emerged and formed a government, and declared that the countrywas henceforth a republic.  Sun Yat-sen,the Kuomintang’s leader, became president of China – nominally at least.  For in reality, the country had fracturedinto many semi-autonomous regions after the Qing monarchy’s collapse.  Sun’s first task was to reunify the countryunder his government through the use of force. However, he lacked an army to carry out a campaign of conquest,especially in the northern region of China where the Qing monarchy stillheld strong influence.  Sun thereforeentered into an agreement with Yuan Shikai, the powerful northern militarycommander, whereby Yuan would cease his support for the Qing monarchy inexchange for Sun stepping down and allowing Yuan to become China’s president.

After becoming president, however, Yuan suppressed theKuomintang and gave himself unlimited powers. He appointed military governors, commonly called warlords, in theprovinces, where they held great power and commanded a local army.  Warlordism would dominate China’s regional politics for manyyears.  With Yuan’s death in 1916, Chinaagain was left without a central government. The country fragmented into many quasi-independent regions, with eachregion coming under the control of a warlord.

Sun returned to China, having fled into exileduring Yuan’s dictatorship.  Sun restoredthe Kuomintang and restarted his plan to reunify the country.  This time, however, he decided to build hisown army.  He turned to the Westernpowers for military assistance but was turned down.  Sun then approached the Soviet Union, which promised him support on the condition that Sunallowed members of the fledging Communist Party of China to join theKuomintang.  Sun agreed.

In 1923, with Soviet funds, Sun founded a military academyto train military recruits for his new army. The recruits came from different ideological backgrounds: Chinesetraditionalists, right-wingers, left-wingers, Communists, etc.  Thus, the Kuomintang Army that ultimately wasformed included many political persuasions.

In 1936, Sun passed away. The Kuomintang was wracked by a power struggle, which ultimately splitthe party into two factions: the left-wingers (including the small group ofCommunists) led by Wang Jingwei, who was appointed chairman of the Kuomintang,and therefore Sun’s legal successor, and the right-wingers led by GeneralChiang Kai-shek who, as the commander of the Kuomintang Army, held the realpower.  Initially, the two sides workedtogether.

July 31, 1904 – Russo Japanese War: Japanese forces defeat the Russians at the Battle of Hsimucheng

Meanwhile, in the northern sector of thewar, following their victory at Tashihchiao, the Japanese Army continued toadvance north into Manchuria.  In late July 1904, the Japanese 4thArmy and units of the 2nd Army, numbering some 34,000 troops,clashed with the Russian 2nd Siberian Corps, which totaled 33,000troops, at Hsimucheng.  Again, theJapanese used a flanking attack to break through a weak section in the Russianlines.  Threatened with encirclement, theRussians retreated north to Haiching. The stage then was set for the first of a series of major battles forcontrol of southern Manchuria.

(Taken from Russo-Japanese War – Wars of the 20th Century – Twenty Wars in Asia: Vol. 5)

The Japanese Army now eyed Liaoyang, a majorpopulation center along the Mukden-Port Arthur railway line, and assembled three field armiescomprising 130,000 troops and 500 artillery pieces to advance to the city.  General Kuropatkin, thecommander of all Russian forces in Manchuria, had organized three lines ofdefense at Liaoyang,which were manned by several Russian Army Corps, the total Russian strengthnumbering 160,000 soldiers and 670 artillery pieces.  The battle for the city, which took place onAugust 25-September 5, 1904, saw repeated Japanese attacks being thrown back bystrong Russian artillery fire.  However,General Kuropatkin, wronglybelieving that the Japanese forces greatly outnumbered his own, repeatedlyordered his units to abandon their positions and retreat to the inner defensivelines, which dismayed his subordinate generals who pressed for a counterattack.  With Japanese units soon breaking through andthreatening to encircle the city, General Kuropatkin evacuated his forces from Liaoyang, and retreated north.

As the danger to Mukden,southern Manchuria’s main city now loomed, the Russian high command becamedetermined to stop the advancing Japanese Army (which now comprised 170,000troops), before it reached the Shaho River, south of Mukden.  Russian forces, totaling over 200,000 troops,moved south along three sectors in a 60-kilometer front, with the eastern prongof the offensive acting as a feint for the main attacking force in theeast.  The Russians advanced rapidly, andby October 8, 1904, had gained a distance of 25-35 kilometers, meeting onlylight resistance.  But the Japanesecommand fortuitously secured a copy of the Russian battle plan from the body ofa dead Russian officer.  By modifyingtheir own battle plan, the Japanese struck at the Russians’ weaker westernflank, while attempting to hold down the main Russian attack in the east.  Both sides suffered heavy casualties (acombined 60,000 killed, missing, and wounded) at the Battle of Shaho, fought onOctober 5-17, 1904, with the Japanese succeeding in stopping the attack andthen pushing back the Russian flanks.  Bythe end of the battle, Japanese forces had gained 25 kilometers toward Mukden.  A lull inthe fighting ensued which lasted four months. The two sides then settled down for the coming Manchurian winter.

Meanwhile, in the battle for Port Arthur, by November1904, the Japanese Third Army had received fresh reinforcements, as well aspowerful artillery guns capable of firing 500-pound shells a distance of ninekilometers.  By this time, the Japanesewere focused on taking the high ground called 203-meter Hill (Figure 23), whichwas strategically situated overlooking Port Arthur.  TheRussians also were determined to hold this vital hill, and fortified it withartillery and machine gun positions, trenches, steel railings, and barb wireobstacles.  Repeated frontal assaults bythe Japanese were thrown back, with the attackers suffering heavycasualties.  But in late November 1904,the Japanese finally gained control of the hill.  Bitter fighting continued for several days,and possession of the hill changed hands many times.  But by December 5, 1904, the Japanese hadsecured full control of 203-meter Hill, throwingback the last Russian counter-attacks.

The battle for Port Arthur now took a decisive turn, as Japanese forceshauled up and positioned their powerful artillery guns atop 203-meter Hill.  The Japanese then opened fire on the Russianfleet at the harbor below.  Four Russian battleshipsand two cruisers were destroyed, while one battleship that moved out of rangeof the Japanese fire eventually was scuttled by her crew to avoid its captureby the Japanese.

Also by December 1904, the ever-wideningtrenches and tunnels which the Japanese were building soon threatened theRussian fortifications.  The Japanesedetonated powerful explosives on the fortifications, bringing down the walls ofFort Chikuan(on December 18), Fort Erhlung (on December 28), and Fort Sungshu(on December 31).  The Russian commandersof these garrisons were forced to surrender. On January 1, 1905, the Russian commander of Port Arthur offered to surrender, which was accepted bythe Japanese.  Four days later, theJapanese Third Army entered Port Arthur.  Thenine-month battle and siege of Port Arthur had cost the Japanese 58,000 casualties.  But with its victory, the Japanese Army nowcontrolled the whole Liaodong Peninsula.  Furthermore, the Japanese Third Army was nowfree to move north to join the continuing battle for southern Manchuria.  Port Arthur’sfall demoralized the Russian Army in Manchuria,and shocked the Russian population.

Meanwhile, at Mukden,General Kuropatkin and his commanders hastened plans to launchanother offensive at the Japanese Army which was now positioned just south ofthe city.  General Kuropatkin wanted to attack before the Japanese ThirdArmy from Port Arthur arrived to join the three other Japanese fieldarmies in the north.  However, theRussian battle plan was leaked to a foreign news outlet.  This information about the planned Russianattack soon reached the Japanese Army, a fortuitous development as the 220,000Japanese troops in Manchuria who were occupying a 160-kilometer front alongMukden did not expect any battles to take place in the harsh winterconditions.  The Russian offensive andensuing major armed clash, known as the Battle of Sandepu (January 25-29,1905), was fought south of Mukden, in andaround the villages of Sandepu, Heikoutai, and Paotaitzu.  The Russian attack was poorly executed, andalso handicapped by obsolete maps, bad weather, and limited information onenemy positions.  Even then, the Russianssucceeded in partially breaking through the Japanese defenses at Sandepu.  Unexpectedly, however, General Kuropatkin called off the offensive, allowing theJapanese to launch a counter-attack.  TheJapanese Army then recaptured the lost territory and gained a strategicallyadvantageous position.  Thus, once again,the Russian attempt to reverse the tide of the war failed miserably.

By early February 1905, the JapaneseArmy, now totaling 230,000 troops after being joined by its Third Army,prepared to attack Mukden to deal a major defeat on the Russian forces,which numbered 340,000 troops.  By thistime, Japanwas beset with many political and economic problems at home.  In Manchuria,the Japanese Army was experiencing serious logistical problems.  Thus, the Japanese military high commandfaced considerable pressure to achieve an overwhelming victory at Mukden, and notallow the Russian forces to escape, as in previous battles.

The Battle of Mukden (February 20-March 10, 1905), which was thelast major land battle of the war, opened with the Japanese main offensiveaimed at the Russian flanks, with minor attacks at other points.  Again, Russian military plannersmiscalculated the Japanese plan, believing that the main enemy thrust would bealong the eastern flank, when in fact the Japanese focused their offensive inthe west.  There, the Japanese SecondArmy comprised the main attacking force and the Japanese Third Army was taskedwith advancing in a wide arc in the northwest to the other side of Mukden.

Soon realizing the threat of beingencircled, General Kuropatkin moved units from the eastern flank to thewestern flank, which was badly executed. The Japanese now attacked in force along the weakened Russian easternflank, breaking through.  In the west,the Japanese soon threatened to encircle the Russians.  Faced with annihilation, on March 9, 1905, onGeneral Kuropatkin’s orders,Russian forces abandoned Mukden,and retreated north first to Tiehling. The Russians soon also evacuated Tiehling, which they burned to theground, and retreated further north to Hspingkai.  In the Mukdenbattle, a combined total of 165,000 soldiers were casualties (Japanese: 75,000,including 16,000 killed; Russians: 90,000, including 9,000 killed).

In the aftermath, Japanese forcesoccupied Mukden and gained control of the entire southern Manchuria.  Butthey had failed to annihilate the Russian Army (which remained relativelypotent despite the high losses).  Becauseof serious logistical problems, the Japanese Army decided to abandon plans toadvance further north.

July 30, 1969 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Nixon makes an unscheduled visit to South Vietnam

On July 30, 1969, President Richard Nixon made anunscheduled visit to South Vietnam,spending five hours in the capital Saigon meeting with President Nguyen VanThieu and U.S.military commanders. He also visited U.S.troops at Di Am, twelve miles north of Saigon.The trip was part of a broad itinerary, where he made stops in Guam, the Philippines, Indonesia,Thailand, India, Pakistan,Romania, and Britain.

In South Vietnma, he stated that the war must allow theSouth Vietnamese to “choose their own way”, a reference to “Vietnamization” ofthe war, that is, the U.S.military’s gradually disengagement from the war, with a period of building upthe South Vietnamese military that would take over the fighting. Vietnamizationwas begun during the final year of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s tenure inoffice.

(Taken from Vietnam War – Wars of the 20th Century – Twenty Wars in Asia: Vol. 5)

Nixon and the VietnamWar In 1969, newly elected U.S.president, Richard Nixon, who took office in January of that year, continuedwith the previous government’s policy of American disengagement and phasedtroop withdrawal from Vietnam,while simultaneously expanding Vietnamization, with U.S. military advice and materialsupport.  He also was determined to achievehis election campaign promise of securing a peace settlement with North Vietnam under the Parispeace talks, ironically through the use of force, if North Vietnam refused to negotiate.

In February 1969, the Viet Cong again launched a large-scaleTet-like coordinated offensive across South Vietnam, attacking villages,towns, and cities, and American bases. Two weeks later, the Viet Cong launched another offensive.  Because of these attacks, in March 1968, onPresident Nixon’s orders, U.S.planes, including B-52 bombers, attacked Viet Cong/North Vietnamese bases ineastern Cambodia(along the Ho Chi Minh Trail).  Thisbombing campaign, codenamed Operation Menu, lasted 14 months (until May 1970),and segued into Operation Freedom Deal (May 1970-August 1973), with the lattertargeting a wider insurgent-held territory in eastern Cambodia.

In the 1954 Geneva Accords, Cambodia had declared itsneutrality in regional conflicts, a policy it maintained in the early years ofthe Vietnam War.  However, by the early 1960s,Cambodia’s reigning monarch,Norodom Sihanouk, came under great pressure by the escalating war in Vietnam, and especially after 1963, when NorthVietnamese forces occupied sections of eastern Cambodiaas part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail system to South Vietnam.  Then in the mid-1960s, Sihanouk signedsecurity agreements with Chinaand North Vietnam, where inexchange for receiving economic incentives, he acquiesced to the NorthVietnamese occupation of eastern Cambodia.  He also allowed the use of the port of Sihanoukville(located in southern Cambodia)for shipments from communist countries for the Viet Cong/NLF through a newlyopened land route across Cambodia.  This new route, called the Sihanouk Trail(Figure 5) by the Western media, became a major alternative logistical systemby North Vietnamduring the period of intense American air operations over the Laotian side ofthe Ho Chi Minh Trail.

In July 1968, under strong local and regional pressures,Sihanouk re-opened diplomatic relations with the United States, and his governmentswung to being pro-West.  However, inMarch 1970, he was overthrown in a coup, and a hard-line pro-U.S. governmentunder President Lon Nol abolished the monarchy and restructured the country asthe Khmer Republic.  For Cambodia,the spill-over of the Vietnam War into its territory would have disastrousconsequences, as the fledging communist Khmer Rouge insurgents would soonobtain large North Vietnamese support that would plunge Cambodia into a full-scale civilwar.  For the United States (and SouthVietnam), the pro-U.S. Lon Nol government served as a green light for American(and South Vietnamese) forces to conduct military operations in Cambodia.

The U.S.bombing operations on Viet Cong/North Vietnamese bases in eastern Cambodia forced North Vietnam to increase its military presence in other partsof Cambodia.  The North Vietnamese Army seized controlparticularly of northeastern Cambodia,where its forces defeated and expelled the Cambodian Army.  Then in response to the Cambodiangovernment’s request for military assistance, starting in late April to earlyMay 1970, American and South Vietnamese forces launched a major groundoffensive into eastern Cambodia.  The main U.S. objective was to clear theregion of the North Vietnamese/Viet Cong in order to allow the planned Americandisengagement from the Vietnam War to proceed smoothly and on schedule.  The offensive also served as a gauge of the progress of Vietnamization, particularlythe performance of the South Vietnamese Army in large-scale operations.

In the nearly three-month successful operation (known as theCambodian Campaign) which lasted until July 1970, American and South Vietnameseforces, which at their peak numbered over 100,000 troops, uncovered severalabandoned major Viet Cong/North Vietnamese bases and dozens of undergroundstorage bunkers containing huge quantities of materiel and supplies.  In all, American and South Vietnamese troopscaptured over 20,000 weapons, 6,000 tons of rice, 1,800 tons of ammunition, 29tons of communications equipment, over 400 vehicles, and 55 tons of medicalsupplies.  Some 10,000 Viet Cong/NorthVietnamese were killed in the fighting, although the majority of their forces(some 40,000) fled deeper into Cambodia.  However, the campaign failed to achieve oneof its objectives: capturing the Viet Cong/NLF leadership COSVN (Central Officefor South Vietnam).  The Nixon administration also came underdomestic political pressure: in December 1970, and U.S. Congress passed a lawthat prohibited U.S. ground forces from engaging in combat inside Cambodia andLaos.

Before the Cambodian Campaign began, President Nixon hadannounced in a nationwide broadcast that he had committed U.S. ground troops to theoperation.  Within days, large demonstrationsof up to 100,000 to 150,000 protesters broke out in the United States, with the unrestagain centered in universities and colleges. On May 4, 1970, at Kent State University, Ohio,National Guardsmen opened fire on a crowd of protesters, killing four peopleand wounding eight others.  This incidentsparked even wider, increasingly militant and violent protests across thecountry.  Anti-war sentiment already wasintense in the United Statesfollowing news reports in November 1969 of what became known as the My LaiMassacre, where U.S. troopson a search and destroy mission descended on My Laiand My Khe villages and killed between 347 and 504 civilians, including womenand children.

American public outrage further was fueled when in June1971, the New York Times began publishing the “Pentagon Papers” (officiallytitled: United States– Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense),a highly classified study by the U.S. Department of Defense that was leaked tothe press.  The Pentagon Papers showedthat successive past administrations, including those of Presidents Truman,Eisenhower, and Kennedy, but especially of President Johnson, had many timesmisled the American people regarding U.S.involvement in Vietnam.  President Nixon sought legal grounds to stopthe document’s publication for national security reasons, but the U.S. SupremeCourt subsequently decided in favor of the New York Times and publicationcontinued, and which was also later taken up by the Washington Post and othernewspapers.

July 29, 1921 – Prelude to World War II: Hitler becomes leader of the Nazi Party

On July 29, 1921, Adolf Hitler became the leader of thefar-right National Socialist German Workers’ Party, more commonly known in theWest as the Nazi Party, and successor movement of the German Workers’ Party.

Hitler was first introduced to the German Workers’ Party inJuly 1919 not as a recruit but to infiltrate the movement. Assigned by theGerman Army to to spy on the fledging organization, Hitler soon was influencedand won over by the movement’s ultra-nationalist, anti-Semitic,anti-capitalist, anti-Marxist ideas.

(Taken from Interwar Period – Wars of the 20th Century – World War II in Europe: Vol. 6)

Hitler and Nazis inPower In October 1929, the severe economic crisis known as the GreatDepression began in the United States, and then spread out and affectedmany countries around the world.  Germany, whose economy was dependent on the United Statesfor reparations payments and corporate investments, was badly hit, and millionsof workers lost their jobs, many banks closed down, and industrial productionand foreign trade dropped considerably.

The Weimargovernment weakened politically, as many Germans turned to radical ideologies,particularly Hitler’s ultra-right wing nationalist Nazi Party, as well as theGerman Communist Party.  In the 1930federal elections, the Nazi Party made spectacular gains and became a majorpolitical party with a platform of improving the economy, restoring politicalstability, and raising Germany’sinternational standing by dealing with the “unjust” Versailles treaty.  Then in two elections held in 1932, the Nazisbecame the dominant party in the Reichstag (German parliament), albeit withoutgaining a majority.  Hitler long soughtthe post of German Chancellor, which was the head of government, but he wasrebuffed by the elderly President Paul von Hindenburg , who distrustedHitler.  At this time, Hitler’s ambitionswere not fully known, and following a political compromise by rival parties, inJanuary 1933, President Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor, with fewNazis initially holding seats in the new Cabinet.  The Chancellorship itself had little power,and the real authority was held by the President (the head of state).

On the night of February 27, 1933, fire broke out at theReichstag, which led to the arrest and execution of a Dutch arsonist, acommunist, who was found inside the building. The next day, Hitler announced that the fire was the signal for Germancommunists to launch a nationwide revolution. On February 28, 1933, the German parliament passed the “Reichstag FireDecree” which repealed civil liberties, including the right of assembly andfreedom of the press.  Also rescinded wasthe writ of habeas corpus, allowing authorities to arrest any person without theneed to press charges or a court order. In the next few weeks, the police and Nazi SA paramilitary carried out asuppression campaign against communists (and other political enemies) across Germany,executing communist leaders, jailing tens of thousands of their members, andeffectively ending the German Communist Party. Then in March 1933, with the communists suppressed and other partiesintimidated, Hitler forced the Reichstag to pass the Enabling Act, which allowedthe government (i.e. Hitler) to enact laws, even those that violated theconstitution, without the approval of parliament or the president.  With nearly absolute power, the Nazis gainedcontrol of all aspects of the state.  InJuly 1933, with the banning of political parties and coercion into closure ofthe others, the Nazi Party became the sole legal party, and Germany became de facto a one-partystate.

At this time, Hitler grew increasingly alarmed at themilitary power of the SA, particularly distrusting the political ambitions ofits leader, Ernst Rohm.  On June 30-July2, 1934, on Hitler’s orders, the loyalist Nazi SS (Schutzstaffel; English:Protection Squadron) and Gestapo (Secret Police) purged the SA, killinghundreds of its leaders including Rohm, and jailing thousands of its members,violently bringing the SA organization (which had some three million members)to its knees.  The purge benefited Hitlerin two ways: First, he became the undisputed leader of the Nazi apparatus, andSecond and equally important, his standing greatly increased with the upperclass, business and industrial elite, and German military; the latter,numbering only 100,000 troops because of the Versailles treaty restrictions,also felt threatened by the enormous size of the SA.

In early August 1934, with the death of PresidentHindenburg, Hitler gained absolute power, as his Cabinet passed a law thatabolished the presidency, and its powers were merged with those of thechancellor.  Hitler thus became bothGerman head of state and head of government, with the dual roles of Fuhrer(leader) and Chancellor.  As head ofstate, he also was Supreme Commander of the armed forces, making him absoluteruler and dictator of Germany.

In domestic matters, the Nazi government made great gains,improving the economy and industrial production, reducing unemployment,embarking on ambitious infrastructure projects, and restoring political andsocial order.  As a result, the Nazisbecame extremely popular, and party membership grew enormously.  This success was brought about from soundpolicies as well as through threat and intimidation, e.g. labor unions and jobactions were suppressed.

Hitler also began to impose Nazi racial policies, which sawethnic Germans as the “master race” comprising “super-humans” (Ubermensch),while certain races such as Slavs, Jews, and Roma (gypsies) were considered“sub-humans” (Untermenschen); also lumped with the latter were non-ethnic-basedgroups, i.e. communists, liberals, and other political enemies, homosexuals,Freemasons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc. Nazi lebensraum (“living space”) expansionism into Eastern Europe and Russiacalled for eliminating the Slavic and other populations there and replacingthem with German farm settlers to help realize Hitler’s dream of a 1,000-yearGerman Empire.

In Germanyitself, starting in April 1933 until the passing of the Nuremberg Laws inSeptember 1935 and beyond, Nazi racial policy was directed against the localJews, stripping them of civil rights, banning them from employment andeducation, revoking their citizenship, excluding them from political and sociallife, disallowing inter-marriages with Germans, and essentially declaring themundesirables in Germany.  As a result, tens of thousands of Jews left Germany.  Hitler blamed the Jews (and communists) for thecivilian and workers’ unrest and revolution near the end of World War I,ostensibly that had led to Germany’sdefeat, and for the many social and economic problems currently afflicting thenation.  Following anti-Nazi boycotts inthe United States, Britain, and other countries, Hitler retaliatedwith a call to boycott Jewish businesses in Germany, which degenerated intoviolent riots by SA mobs that attacked and killed, and jailed hundreds of Jews,looted and destroyed Jewish properties, and seized Jewish assets.  The most notorious of these attacks occurredin November 1938 in “Kristallnacht” (Crystal Night), where in response to theassassination of a German diplomat by a Polish Jew in Paris, the Nazi SA andcivilian mobs in Germany went on a violent rampage, killing hundreds of Jews,jailing tens of thousands of others, and looting and destroying Jewish homes,schools, synagogues, hospitals, and other buildings.  Some 1,000 synagogues were burned, and 7,000businesses destroyed. 

In foreign affairs, Hitler, like most Germans, denounced theVersaillestreaty, and wanted it rescinded.  In1933, Hitler withdrew Germanyfrom the World Disarmament Conference in Geneva,and in October of that year, from the League of Nations, in both casesdenouncing why Germanywas not allowed to re-arm to the level of the other major powers.

In March 1935, Hitler announced that German militarystrength would be increased to 550,000 troops, military conscription would beintroduced, and an air force built, which essentially meant repudiation of theTreaty of Versailles and the start of full-scale rearmament.  In response, Britain,France, and Italyformed the Stresa Front meant to stop further German violations, but thisalliance quickly broke down because the three parties disagreed on how to dealwith Hitler.

Italy,after being denounced by the League of Nations and slapped with economicsanctions after its invasion of Ethiopia,switched sides to Germany.  Mussolini and Hitler signed a series ofagreements that soon led to a military alliance.  Meanwhile, Britainand France continued theirindecisive foreign policies toward Germany.  In March 1936, in a bold move, Hitler senttroops to the Rhineland, remilitarizing the region in another violation of the Versailles treaty, but metno hostile response from the other powers. Hitler justified this move as a defensive response to the recentlyconcluded French-Soviet mutual assistance pact, which he accused the twocountries of encircling Germany,a statement that drew sympathy from some British politicians.

Nazi ideology called for unification of all Germanic peoplesinto a Greater German Reich.  In thiscontext, Hitler had long sought to annex Austria,whose indigenous population was German, into Germany.  An annexation attempt in 1934 was foiled byItalian intervention, with Mussolini determined to go to war if Germany invaded Austria.  But by 1938, German-Italian relations hadwarmed and were moving toward a military alliance.  With Britainand France watching by, inMarch 1938, Hitler put political pressure on Austria, and with the threat ofinvasion, forced the Austrian government to resign, and cede power to theAustrian Nazi Party.  Within days, thelatter relinquished Austrian independence to Germany,and German troops occupied Austria.  In a Nazi-controlled plebiscite held in April1938, an improbable 99.7% of Austrians voted for “Anschluss” (political union)with Germany.

In late March 1938, while Germany was yet in the process ofannexing Austria, another conflict, the “Sudetenland Crisis” occurred, whereethnic Germans, who formed the majority population in the Sudeten region ofCzechoslovakia, demanded autonomy and the right to join the Nazi Party.  Hitler supported these demands, citing theSudeten Germans’ right to self-determination. The Czechoslovak government refused, and in May 1938, mobilized for war.In response, Hitler secretly asked the German High Command to prepare for war,to be launched in October 1938.  Britain and France,anxious to avoid war at all costs by not antagonizing Hitler (a policy calledappeasement), pressed Czechoslovakiato yield, with the British even stating that the Sudeten Germans’ demand forautonomy was reasonable.  In earlySeptember 1938, the Czechoslovak government agreed to the demands.  Then when civilian unrest broke out in theSudetenland which the Czechoslovakian police quelled, in mid-September 1938, afurious Hitler demanded that the Sudetenland be ceded to Germany in order to stop thesupposed slaughter of Sudeten Germans. Under great pressure from Britainand France, on September 21,1938, the Czechoslovak government relented, and agreed to cede the Sudetenland.  Butthe next day, Hitler made new demands, which Czechoslovakia rejected and againmobilized for war.  In a frantic move toavert war, the Prime Ministers of Britainand France, NevilleChamberlain and Edouard Daladier, respectively, together with Mussolini, metwith Hitler, and on September 29, 1938, the four men signed the Munich Pact,where the Sudetenland was formally ceded to Germany.  Two days later, Czechoslovakiaaccepted the fait accompli, knowing it would not be supported by Britain and Francein a war with Germany.  In succeeding months, Czechoslovakia disintegrated as a sovereignstate: the Slovak region separated, aligning with Germanyas a puppet state; other regions were annexed by Hungaryand Poland; and in March1939, the rest of the Czech portion of the country was occupied by Germany.

Hitler then turned to Poland,and proposed to renew their ten-year non-aggression pact (signed in 1934) inexchange for revising their common border, specifically returning to Germany some territories that were ceded to Polandafter World War I.  The Polish governmentrefused, causing Hitler to rescind the pact in April 1939.  By then, Britainand France had abandonedappeasement in favor of assertive diplomacy, and promised military support to Poland if Germany invaded.  In the period May-August 1939, as war loomed,frantic efforts were made by Britainand France jointly, and by Germany, to win over to their side the lastremaining undecided major European power, the Soviet Union.  The Germans prevailed, and a non-aggressionpact was signed with the Soviets on August 23, 1939, which prompted Hitler tobegin hostilities with Polandunder the mistaken belief that Britainand Francewould not react militarily.

July 28, 1942 – World War II: Stalin issues the infamous “Not one step back!” order

On July 25, 1942, German ArmyGroup A crossed the lower Don and then spread out and advanced south in a120-mile front from the Sea of Azov to Zymlianskaya, meeting only lightresistance from rear guards of the Soviet Southern Front.  By this time, the Red Army had become waryfrom again being caught up in the Wehrmacht’s encirclement strategy that hadannihilated many Soviet armies in the previous year.

In late July 1942, theGermans cut the rail line linking the Caucasus to central Russia, which soalarmed Stalin that he issued Order 227, which contained the famous “Not onestep back!” command to Soviet forces to hold all current frontlines, and whichlater contributed to the outcome in the battle for Stalingrad.

(Taken from Invasion of the Soviet Union – Wars of the 20th Century – World War II in Europe: Vol. 6)

However, in southern Russia,German Army Group A made rapid progress, taking Salsk on July 31, Stavropol onAugust 5, and Maikop on August 9, by then reaching the northern foothills ofthe Caucasus Mountains, some 300 miles fromits starting point in just two weeks. German commandos reached Groznyone day earlier, but were unable to prevent the retreating Red Army fromdestroying the oil installations, which German engineers later estimated wouldtake one year to return to service. Mount Elbrus,the 18,000-foot highest peak of the Caucasus,also was reached, this “stunt” as Hitler called it so infuriating him that hethreatened to court martial the commander of the German 1st MountainDivision who had authorized the climb.

By early September 1942, theGerman 11th and 17th Armies and Romanian 3rdArmy, advancing along the Black Sea coast, had captured the Taman Peninsulaand the Soviet naval bases there, including Novorossiyk, but attempts toadvance further south to Tuapse met increasingly strong resistance.  In the east, German 1st PanzerArmy took Elista on August 13 and Mozdok on August 25.  But operations aimed at Astrakhanin the east and Groznyand its oil fields in the south failed to make major progress.  Nalchik wastaken on October 28 and Alagir on November 5, marking the farthest Germanadvances in the Caucasus.

All through its drive to the Caucasus, German Army Group A had experienced severelogistical difficulties from the rail and road supply systems, and sometimeswere forced to abandon its equipment and resource-heavy tanks to continue theadvance.  The Luftwaffe often took on theresponsibility of delivering much needed petroleum and supplies to the mostadvanced units.  But German planessupporting the Caucasus campaign soon were redeployed in the increasinglyfierce battle for Stalingrad.  The Soviet Air Force brought in 800 bombers,and with the Luftwaffe withdrawing from the Caucasus,this allowed the Soviet planes to gain control of the sky.  Furthermore, by November 1942, snow had beganto fall and temperatures dropped, signaling the approach of winter, whichpractically ended the prospect of the Axis crossing the remaining 700-miledistance of the Caucasus to oil-rich Baku at the other end against Sovietforces that were dug in along the mountain passes.

By November 1942, Hitlerconceded that the campaign to capture Baku couldnot be achieved before winter set in, and as he and the German High Commandwere by now fully engrossed in the Stalingradbattle, on November 22, he ordered German Army Group A to dig in and hold itslines.  Earlier in October 1942, Hitlerordered the destruction of the Grozny and Baku oil facilities, thatif he could not acquire them, then they should likewise be denied to theSoviets.  The Grozny oil fields were destroyed by Germanair raids.  However, Baku was notattacked, because of strong Soviet air defenses in its oil installations andbecause of the great distance involved, i.e. German bombers could only reachBaku using the most direct (and predictable) route, and thus were vulnerable toSoviet anti-aircraft fire.

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

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

On August 29, 1942, twoSoviet armies (the 62nd and 64th) barely escaped beingencircled by the German 4th Panzer Army and armored units of German6th Army, both escaping to Stalingrad and ensuring that the battlefor the city would be long, bloody, and difficult.

On September 12, 1942, Germanforces entered Stalingrad, starting what wouldbe a four-month long battle.  Frommid-September to early November, the Germans, confident of victory, launchedthree major attacks to overwhelm all resistance, which gradually pushed backthe Soviets east toward the banks of the Volga.

By contrast, the Sovietssuffered from low morale, but were compelled to fight, since they had no optionto retreat beyond the Volga because ofStalin’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 deadone”.  He would later allow civilianevacuation after being advised by his top generals.

Soviet artillery from acrossthe Volga and cross-river attempts to bring inRed Army reinforcements were suppressed by the Luftwaffe, which controlled thesky over the battlefield.  Even then,Soviet troops and supplies continued to reach Stalingrad,enough to keep up resistance.  The ruinsof the city turned into a great defensive asset, as Soviet troops cleverly usedthe rubble and battered buildings as concealed strong points, traps, andkilling zones.  To negate the Germans’air superiority, Red Army units were ordered to keep the fighting lines closeto the Germans, to deter the Luftwaffe from attacking and inadvertently causingfriendly 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-quartercombat being fought building-to-building and floor-to-floor, and in cellars andbasements, and even in the sewers. Surprise encounters in such close distances sometimes turned intohand-to-hand combat using knives and bayonets.

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

July 27, 1953 – Korean War: Fighting ends with the signing of an armistice agreement

On July 27, 1953, representatives of the UN Command, NorthKorean Army, and the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army signed the KoreanArmistice Agreement, which ended fighting in the Korean War which had begun onJune 25, 1950.  South Korea, led by presidentSyngman Rhee, refused to sign but promised to observe the armistice agreement.President Rhee was determined to reunify Koreaunder his rule and wanted UN Command to force an all-out war against China, even at the risk of provoking the SovietUnion into entering the conflict on the side of North Korea. As such, he stronglyopposed the armistice negotiations and even demanded that UN troops withdrawfrom South Koreato allow only his forces to continue the war.

Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Il-sung also desiredKorean unification under his authority. But after armistice negotiationscommenced, he was prevailed upon by his backers Chinaand the Soviet Union to tone down hishard-line stance.  He subsequentlychanged his motto of “drive the enemy into the sea” to “drive the enemy to the38th parallel.”

(Taken from Korean War – Wars of the 20th Century – Twenty Wars in Asia: Vol. 5)

End of fighting andAftermath Meanwhile, armistice talks resumed, which culminated in anagreement on July 19, 1953.  Eight dayslater, July 27, 1953, representatives of the UN Command, North Korean Army, andthe Chinese People’s Volunteer Army signed the Korean Armistice Agreement,which ended the war.  A ceasefire cameinto effect 12 hours after the agreement was signed.  The Korean War was over.

War casualties included: UN forces – 450,000 soldierskilled, including over 400,000 South Korean and 33,000 American soldiers; NorthKorean and Chinese forces – 1 to 2 million soldiers killed (which includedChairman Mao Zedong’s son, Mao Anying). Civilian casualties were 2 million for South Korea and 3 million for North Korea.  Also killed were over 600,000 North Koreanrefugees who had moved to South Korea. Both the North Korean and South Korean governments and their forcesconducted large-scale massacres on civilians whom they suspected to besupporting their ideological rivals.  In South Korea,during the early stages of the war, government forces and right-wing militiasexecuted some 100,000 suspected communists in several massacres.  North Korean forces, during their occupationof South Korea,also massacred some 500,000 civilians, mainly “counter-revolutionaries”(politicians, businessmen, clerics, academics, etc.) as well as civilians whorefused to join the North Korean Army.

Under the armistice agreement, the frontline at the time ofthe ceasefire became the armistice line, which extended from coast to coastsome 40 miles north of the 38th parallel in the east, to 20 miles south of the38th parallel in the west, or a net territorial loss of 1,500 square miles toNorth Korea.  Three days after theagreement was signed, both sides withdrew to a distance of two kilometers fromthe ceasefire line, thus creating a four-kilometer demilitarized zone (DMZ)between the opposing forces.

The armistice agreement also stipulated the repatriation ofPOWs, a major point of contention during the talks, where both partiescompromised and agreed to the formation of an independent body, the NeutralNations Repatriation Commission (NNRC), to implement the exchange ofprisoners.  The NNRC, chaired by GeneralK.S. Thimayya from India, subsequently launched Operation Big Switch, where inAugust-December 1953, some 70,000 North Korean and 5,500 Chinese POWs, and12,700 UN POWs (including 7,800 South Koreans, 3,600 Americans, and 900British), were repatriated.  Some 22,000Chinese/North Korean POWs refused to be repatriated – the 14,000 Chinese prisonerswho refused repatriation eventually moved to the Republic of China (Taiwan),where they were given civilian status. Much to the astonishment of U.S. and British authorities, 21 Americanand 1 British (together with 325 South Korean) POWs also refused to berepatriated, and chose to move to China. All POWs on both sides who refused to be repatriated were given 90 daysto change their minds, as required under the armistice agreement.

The armistice line was conceived only as a separation offorces, and not as an international border between the two Korean states.  The Korean Armistice Agreement called on thetwo rival Korean governments to negotiate a peaceful resolution to reunify the Korean Peninsula.  In the international Geneva Conference heldin April-July 1954, which aimed to achieve a political settlement to the recentwar in Korea (as well as in Indochina, see First Indochina War, separatearticle), North Korea and South Korea, backed by their major power sponsors,each proposed a political settlement, but which was unacceptable to the otherside.  As a result, by the end of theGeneva Conference on June 15, 1953, no resolution was adopted, leaving theKorean issue unresolved.

Since then, the KoreanPeninsula has remained divided alongthe 1953 armistice line, with the 248-kilometer long DMZ, which was originallymeant to be a military buffer zone, becoming the de facto border between North Korea and South Korea.  No peace treaty was signed, with thearmistice agreement being a ceasefire only. Thus, a state of war officially continues to exist between the two Koreas.  Also as stipulated by the Korean ArmisticeAgreement, the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission (NNSC) was established,comprising contingents from Czechoslovakia, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerland,tasked with ensuring that no new foreign military personnel and weapons arebrought into Korea.

Because of the constant state of high tension between thetwo Korean states, the DMZ has since remained heavily defended and is the mostmilitarily fortified place on Earth. Situated at the armistice line in Panmunjom is the Joint Security Area,a conference center where representatives from the two Koreas hold negotiationsperiodically.  Since the end of theKorean War, there exists the constant threat of a new war, which is exacerbatedby the many incidents initiated by North Koreaagainst South Korea.  Some of these incidents include: thehijacking by a North Korean agent of a South Korean commercial airliner inDecember 1969; the North Korean abductions of South Korean civilians; thefailed assassination attempt by North Korean commandos of South KoreanPresident Park Chung-hee in January 1968; the sinking of a South Korean navalvessel, the ROKS Cheonon, in March 2010, which the South Korean governmentblamed was caused by a torpedo fired by a North Korean submarine (North Koreadenied any involvement), and the discovery of a number of underground tunnelsalong the DMZ which South Korea has said were built by North Korea to be usedas an invasion route to the south.

Furthermore, in October 2006, North Korea announced that it haddetonated its first nuclear bomb, and has since stated that it possessesnuclear weapons.  With North Korea aggressively pursuingits nuclear weapons capability, as evidenced by a number of nuclear tests beingcarried out over the years, the peninsular crisis has threatened to expand toregional and even global dimensions. Western observers also believe that North Korea has since beendeveloping chemical and biological weapons.