Daniel Orr's Blog, page 91

July 21, 1944 – World War II: Coup plotters against Hitler are executed

On July 21, 1944, the leaders of the assassination attempt against German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler were executed by firing squad after being sentenced to death by an impromptu court martial.  The executions came following a failed attempt the previous day, July 20, to assassinate Hitler during a military meeting with the German Armed Forces high command at the “Wolf’s Lair” (Wolfsschanze), the German military headquarters on the Eastern Front, located near Rastenburg, East Prussia (now located in present-day Poland). The assassination attempt was part of a coup plot by several high-ranking German military officers and civilian members of the German resistance to seize power from the Nazi Party and then negotiate an immediate end to the war with the Western Allies. The failed assassination was the latest (and the last) of at least fifteen attempts made on Hitler during his lifetime.

The plan involved detonating two bombs at the Wolf’s Lair military headquarters while Hitler was meeting with the German high command. One bomb exploded which failed to kill Hitler, instead killing four officers and wounding many others.

In the aftermath, a massive hunt for the conspirators was launched. The Gestapo arrested more than 7,000 people, of whom 4,980 were executed. Famed war hero Field Marshall Erwin Rommel became implicated in the interrogations, which eventually led to his arrest and forced suicide rather than face a court martial which would lead to certain death by execution.

July 20, 1969 – Football War: El Salvador and Honduras agree to a ceasefire

On July 20, 1969, six days after the outbreak of the Football War, a ceasefire ended fighting between El Salvador and Honduras. Immediately after the war had begun, the Organization of American States (OAS) had tried to intervene with a ceasefire.  El Salvador had resisted, as its forces were on the attack.  But when its offensive bogged down, the Salvadoran government agreed to end hostilities on July 18, four days after the war began (thus, another name of the war is the “Hundred Hours War”).  A ceasefire took effect two days later.

El Salvador and Honduras and other countries in Central America

(Excerpts taken from Football War – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 1)

Background

By May 1969, the land reform law in Honduras was being fully implemented.  Thousands of dispossessed Salvadoran families returned to El Salvador, causing a sudden surge in the Salvadoran population, and straining the country’s economic resources and the government’s capacity to provide public services.  El Salvador condemned Honduras, inciting tensions and animosity on both sides.  Furthermore, the press media in both sides spouted rhetoric and propaganda, which fueled nationalistic sentiments.

A hostile, charged atmosphere led up to the three football matches between El Salvador and Honduras in June 1969.  The first match was played on June 8 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras’ capital, which was won 1- 0 by the host team.  Aside from some fans fighting in the stands, no major security breakdown occurred during the match.

In El Salvador, however, soccer fans were enraged by the result, believing they had been cheated.  The Salvadoran media described the football matches as epitomizing the “national honor”.  After the defeat, a despondent Salvadoran fan died after shooting herself.  Her death became a rallying cry for Salvadorans who regarded her as a martyr.  Thousands of Salvadorans, including the country’s president and other top government officials, attended her funeral and joined the nation in mourning her death.

The second match was played in El Salvador on June 15, 1969, and was won 3- 0 also by the home team, thereby leveling the series at one game apiece.  The tense situation during the game broke out in widespread violence across the capital, San Salvador.  Street clashes led to many deaths, including those of Honduran fans.  As a precaution, the Honduran football team was housed in an undisclosed location and driven to the game in armored vehicles.  After the game, the Honduran team’s vehicles plying the road back to Honduras were stoned while passing through Salvadoran towns.

In Honduras, the people retaliated by attacking and looting Salvadoran shops in Tegucigalpa and other cities and towns.  Armed bands of thugs roamed the countryside targeting Salvadorans – beating up and killing men, raping women, burning houses, and destroying farms.  Thousands of Salvadorans fled toward the border to El Salvador.  And as the prospect of war drew closer, Salvadoran and Honduran security forces guarding the border engaged in sporadic exchanges of gunfire.

The third, deciding football match was played on June 26, 1969 in Mexico City,
which was won by the Salvadoran team 3 – 2 in overtime.  Two days earlier, Honduras had cut diplomatic relations with El Salvador.  The Salvadoran government reciprocated on June 26, accusing Honduras of committing “genocide” by killing Salvadoran immigrants.  The two sides prepared for war by increasing
their weapons stockpiles, which were sourced from private dealers because the United States
had imposed an arms embargo.

July 19, 1979 – Nicaraguan Revolution: Sandinista rebels overthrow the Somoza regime

On July 19, 1979, rebels of the socialist Sandinista National Liberation Front entered Managua, Nicaragua’s capital, where huge crowds welcomed them as liberators. Two days earlier, July 17, President Anastacio Somoza fled the country into Paraguay, where he was assassinated by Sandinista commandos the following year. The Sandinistas had waged a lengthy struggle (the Nicaraguan Revolution) since 1961.

Nicaraguan Revolution (1961-1979). Communist rebels called Sandinistas fought to overthrow the autocratic right-wing government of Anastacio Somoza. The Somoza dynasty ended when the rebels captured Managua, Nicaragua’s capital.

The Sandinistas took over power, allowing a civilian junta that had been set up earlier by the opposition coalition to rule the country.  The junta represented a cross-section of the political opposition and was structured as a power-sharing government.

Non-Sandinista members of the junta soon resigned, as they felt powerless against the Sandinistas (who effectively controlled the junta) and feared that the government was moving toward adopting Cuban-style socialism.

Nicaragua in Central America.

(Excerpts taken from Nicaraguan Revolution 1961-1979 – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 1)

By 1980, the Sandinistas had taken full control of the government.  The country had been devastated by the war, as well as by the corruption and neglect by the previous dictatorial regimes.  Using the limited resources available, the Sandinista government launched many social programs for the general population.  The most successful of these were in public education, where the country’s high illiteracy rate was lowered significantly, and in agrarian reform, where large landholdings, including those of ex-President Somoza, were seized and distributed to the peasants and poor farmers.  The Sandinista government also implemented programs in health care, the arts and culture, and in the labor sector.

U.S. President Jimmy Carter was receptive to the Sandinista government.  But President Ronald Reagan, who succeeded as U.S. head of state in January 1981, was alarmed that Nicaragua had allowed a communist toehold in the American continental mainland, and therefore apparently posed a threat to the United States.  Reagan believed that the Sandinistas intended to spread communism across Central America.  As evidence of this perception, he pointed out that the Sandinistas were arming the communist insurgents in El Salvador.  Consequently, Reagan prepared plans for a counter-revolution in Nicaragua that would overthrow the Sandinista government. The Nicaraguan Counter-Revolution would last until 1990.

Background of the Nicaraguan Revolution

In 1961, the revolutionary movement called the Sandinista National Liberation Front was formed in Nicaragua with two main objectives: to end the U.S.-backed Somoza regime, and to establish a socialist government in the country.  The movement and its members, who were called Sandinistas, took their name and ideals from Augusto Sandino, a Nicaraguan rebel fighter of the 1930s, who fought a guerilla war against the American forces that had invaded and occupied Nicaragua.  Sandino also wanted to end the Nicaraguan wealthy elite’s political and financial stranglehold on society.  He advocated for social justice and economic equality for all Nicaraguans.

By the late 1970s, Nicaragua had been ruled for over forty years by the Somoza family in a dynastic-type succession that had begun
in the 1930s.  In 1936, Anastacio Somoza
seized power in Nicaragua and gained total control of all aspects of the government.  Officially, he was the country’s president,
but ruled as a dictator.  Over time, President Somoza accumulated great wealth and owned the biggest landholdings in the country.  His many personal and family businesses extended into the shipping and airlines industries,
agricultural plantations and cattle ranches, sugar mills, and wine manufacturing.  President Somoza took bribes from foreign corporations that he had granted mining concessions in the country, and also benefited from local illicit operations such as unregistered gambling,
organized prostitution, and illegal wine production.

President Somoza suppressed all forms of opposition with the use of the National Guard, Nicaragua’s police force, which he had used to turn the country into a militarized state.  President Somoza was staunchly anti-communist and received strong military and financial support from the United States, which was willing to take Nicaragua’s repressive but right-wing government as an ally in the ongoing Cold War.

In 1956, President Somoza was assassinated and was succeeded by his son, Luis, who also ruled as a dictator until his own death by heart failure in 1967.  In turn, Luis was succeeded by his younger brother, Anastacio Somoza, who had the same first name as their father.  As Nicaragua’s new head of state, the younger Anastacio outright established a harsh regime much like his father had in the 1930s.  Consequently, the Sandinistas intensified their militant activities in the rural areas, mainly in northern Nicaragua.  Small bands of Sandinistas carried out guerilla operations, such as raiding isolated army outposts and destroying government facilities.

By the early 1970s, the Sandinistas comprised only a small militia in contrast to Nicaragua’s U.S.-backed National Guard.  However, the Sandinistas struck great fear on President Somoza, because of their ’ symbolic association to Sandino.  Somoza wanted to destroy the Sandinistas with a passion that bordered on paranoia.  He ordered his forces to the countryside to hunt down and kill Sandinistas.  But these military operations greatly affected the rural population, who began to fear as well as detest the government.

The end of the Somoza regime began in 1972 when a powerful earthquake hit Managua, Nicaragua’s capital.  The destruction resulting from the earthquake caused 5,000 human deaths and 20,000 wounded, and left half a million people homeless (nearly half of Managua’s population).  Managua was devastated almost completely, and all government services were cut off.  But in the midst of the widespread destruction, President Somoza diverted the international relief money to his personal bank account, greatly curtailing the government’s meager resources.  As a result, thousands of people were deprived of food, clothing, and shelter.

July 18, 1982 – Guatemalan Civil War: Guatemalan government forces and civilian militias perpetrate the Plan de Sanchez Massacre

On July 18, 1982, units of the Guatemalan Army and the
civilian self-defense patrols called PAC (“Parullas
de Autodefensa Civil”) massacred indigenous Maya civilians/peasants (men,
women, and children), whom they believed to be communist supporters, in the
remote rural village of Plan de Sanchez in northern Guatemala.  An estimated 60 soldiers and paramilitaries
entered the village, separated the men from the women and children into
different huts, and killed them with guns and grenades. The huts were then
torched. The victims were later buried in 21 mass graves.

The massacre was one of several that occurred that year, part of the military’s scorched earth strategy envisioned by President General Efrain Rio Montt to maintain control over the countryside where communist rebels were taking refuge. The year 1982 also witnessed one of the most violent phases of the Guatemalan Civil War, a protracted conflict (1960-1996) between government forces and left-wing armed militias.

In 2012, a Guatemalan court convicted five perpetrators of
the Plan de Sanchez Massacre, each of whom was sentenced to 7,710 years in
prison.

Guatemala and other countries in Central America

(Excerpts taken from Guatemalan Civil War – Wars of the 20th Century – 26 Wars in the Americas and Caribbean)

Background In 1821, Guatemala gained its independence from Spain as part of the (First) Mexican Empire.  Then when the Empire collapsed two year later, Guatemala became a member of the United Provinces of Central America (together with El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica), which also fell apart in 1838.  Thereafter, Guatemala became a separate, fully sovereign state.

Political power in fully independent Guatemala was
controlled by the ladinos (hispanized descendants of Amerindian-European
unions) and the small  pure Spanish
Criollos, who passed laws and policies that were advantageous to them, and
coincidentally alienated the indigenous Amerindian population (which comprised
about 40% of the population).

Wealth distribution was uneven, with the biggest landowners
owning vast tracts of lands, called latifundia, which were developed into
coffee and sugarcane plantations and worked by the indigenous farm hands under
harsh, exploitative conditions.  About 2%
of the population owned 70 – 80% of all agricultural lands, while 90% of the
indigenous people owned plots of land that were too small to subsist on.

This socio-economic imbalance was enhanced further when in
1904, President Manuel José Estrada allowed the U.S. firm, United Fruit Company
(UFC), to establish banana farm operations in the country.  With generous tax incentives and several
thousands of hectares allocated by the government, UFC opened large banana
plantations in regions near the Atlantic side of the country.  As part of the agreement, UFC developed and
controlled the road, railway, and port infrastructures to enhance regional
development and support its own commercial operations.

Thereafter, succeeding Guatemalan governments maintained
close ties with the United
States, and allowed UFC to expand
considerably.  By the 1940s, the American
firm’s massive investments and economic benefits had become crucial to the
local economy that Guatemala
and the United States
entered into economic and military agreements. 
Particularly favorable to the United
States in the 1940s was the regime of President Jorge
Ubico, who allowed the U.S.
government to establish military bases in Guatemala.  He also allocated many more thousands of
hectares of land and granted additional financial incentives that allowed UFC
to expand further.

In July 1944, President Ubico was forced out of office, and
a brief period of political unrest followed that led to the “October
Revolution”, an uprising on October 19, 1944, by reformist army officers that
overthrew the military government that had succeeded into office.  Then in the presidential election held in
December 1944, Juan José Arévalo prevailed, and thereafter embarked on a
dramatic effort to radically change the country’s socio-economic system.  President Arévalo enacted labor laws
beneficial to workers, electoral reforms that allowed greater voter
participation, and educational programs to reach a larger segment of the population.

In 1951, Jacobo Arbenz succeeded as president after winning the presidential race in free, fair elections.  President Arbenz continued the social reforms of his predecessor, but made two crucial additions: he legalized the Guatemalan Party of Labor (PGT; Spanish: Partido Guatemalteco del Trabajo), which was the local communist party; and implemented an agrarian reform law.  Regarding the second point, President Arbenz wanted to nationalize about 600,000 hectares of land, which would be carried out by purchasing unused agricultural lands from big landowners (including UFC), and then divide the lands and distribute the resulting parcels to peasants.  The combined tenures of Presidents Arévalo and Arbenz, who implemented socially and economically progressive reforms, historically have been called the “Ten Years of Spring”.

The reforms were strongly condemned by the traditional
political elite, business and landowning classes, Catholic Church, and the
military, as they threatened to overturn the established order.  UFC also particularly was alarmed, and turned
to the U.S.
government for assistance.

By the early 1950s, the Cold War was in full swing, and the United States,
through its intelligence agencies, led by the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA), was watching out for countries around the world where communism
potentially could take hold.  UFC
publicly denounced President Arbenz, calling him a communist who had ties with
the Soviet Union.  Businessmen and landowners, and the Catholic
Church launched similar media and propaganda campaigns, and organized street
protests against what they perceived was a communist government.  The United
States stopped sending military aid to Guatemala, and increased weapons deliveries to
nearby Honduras and El Salvador,
both ruled by pro-U.S. regimes.

Facing the threat of aggression by its neighbors and the United States, the Guatemalan government
purchased weapons from Czechoslovakia,
a Soviet satellite state, which further raised U.S.
suspicions that Guatemala
might allow a “Soviet beachhead” in the Western Hemisphere.  In June 1954, a CIA-organized force of
Guatemalan mercenaries invaded Guatemala.  The Guatemalan military foiled the attack,
but President Arbenz, concerned that U.S. forces would intervene
directly, abdicated and fled into exile abroad.

After a brief period of political restructuring that saw a
succession of military rulers take charge of government, Colonel Carlos
Castillo Armas, the coup leader, came to power and then set about to reverse
the reforms of the previous governments. 
The agrarian reform law was scrapped and expropriated lands were
returned to the landowners.  The PGT was
outlawed, and leftists and communists were targeted by the military, sparking a
wave of killings and assassinations against leaders of peasant and labor
unions.  The 1954 coup ended the “Ten
Years of Spring” and led to the country being ruled by a succession of military
rulers (including one civilian government that was subservient to the military)
for the next 32 years.

July 17, 1936 – Spanish Civil War: Rebelling Army units declare war on the newly elected Popular Front government

(Excerpts taken from Spanish Civil War – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 3)

On July 17, 1936, Spain’s forces in Spanish Morocco declared in a radio broadcast a state of war against the central government in Madrid, an act of rebellion that opened the Spanish Civil War.  These overseas forces, called the “Army of Africa”, were the Spanish Army’s strongest fighting units and consisted of the Spanish Legion and Moroccan regiments.  The Army of Africa would contribute significantly to the outcome of the land operations in the coming war.

Key areas during the Spanish Civil War

Earlier, local authorities in Spanish Morocco had learned of
the plot.  As a result, the rebels were
forced to move forward the uprising from the previously planned schedule of 5
AM on July 18.  Shortly after the
rebellion was broadcast, the Army of Africa gained control of Spanish Morocco,
in the process also killing dozens of persons, including pro-government army
officers and civilian leaders.

By this time, General Francisco Franco, who previously had
commanded the Army of Africa and from whom he drew great respect, arrived from
the Canary Islands (which also had risen up in
rebellion) and took over-all command in Spanish Morocco.  As agreed, the next day, July 18, many
military commands in mainland Spain
also declared war; thus, a large-scale army rebellion was underway.

Many other military commands, however, did not revolt or
were put down while doing so.  The
uprisings succeeded in the southwest and in a large swathe from the coastal
northwest to northern central Spain,
Spanish Morocco, the Canary Islands, and most of the Balearic
Islands – in total, about one-third of the country.

The government succeeded in holding onto nearly the whole
eastern half of mainland Spain,
the northern coastal provinces, and all the major cities including Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia,
and Malaga – in total, about two-thirds of Spain.  Many areas had been won on the government
side through the efforts of socialist and communist militias who, together with
loyal local police units, sealed of and barricaded rebelling military
garrisons, and then forced the trapped army units inside to surrender.  At the start of the army rebellion, the government
had refused to heed the calls of socialist and communist leaders to arm the
civilian population.  Because of the
emerging crisis, Prime Minister Santiago Casares resigned from office; his
successor, Prime Minister José Giral then issued instructions to distribute
firearms to the people.

The Spanish Army itself became divided, with about an equal
number of units joining either side of the conflict; most army officers aligned
with the rebels.  The small Spanish Air
Force remained loyal to the government, as did the Spanish Navy.  The insurgents, however, seized a number of
ships in Ferrol early in the war.

The rebels now realized that the uprising had failed to
topple the government, and worse, their military resources were inadequate to
defeat the forces that remained loyal to the government.  In turn, the government was incapable of
quickly ending the rebellion.  As a
result, the crisis appeared headed toward a protracted war.

The rebels became known as “Nationalists”, while supporters
of the country’s republican government were called “Republicans”.  Drawn to the Nationalists’ cause were
landowners, urban elite, monarchists, right-wing politicians, and the Catholic
Church (including most of the clergy). 
Supporting the Republicans were democracy-advocating leftist
politicians, socialists, and communists. 
The anarchists, whose strongholds were in Catalonia
and Aragon,
were opposed ideologically to both sides of the war, but nominally supported
the Republicans.

July 16, 1927 – Nicaraguan rebels under Augusto Sandino attack U.S. Marines and government forces at Ocotal

On July 16, 1927, Augusto Sandino led his band of rebels against Nicaraguan government forces and U.S. Marines at the village of Ocotal. The battle featured one of the first dive-bombing attacks in history involving U.S. Marine biplanes, which helped beat back the insurgents, who incurred heavy losses.

Sandino led a guerrilla struggle during the period of United States military occupation of Nicaragua from 1912-1933. He opposed the occupation, declared war on the United States, and engaged in guerrilla warfare in 1927-1932 against both the U.S. occupation and Nicaraguan government.

After the United States ended its occupation in 1933, Sandino opened peace talks with the Nicaraguan government, but was assassinated by members of the Nicaraguan National Guard in February 1934.

Nicaragua and other countries of Central America

(Excerpts taken from U.S. Occupation of Nicaragua from 1912-1922 – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 1)

Background

Nicaragua gained its independence in 1825 and thereafter experienced political instability for the rest of the nineteenth and into the twentieth centuries.  The unrest resulted from the hostile relationship between Nicaragua’s two political parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals, which often led to armed clashes, coups, and even civil wars.  Nicaragua’s instability was always a concern for the United States, because of American political and commercial interests in Nicaragua and other Central American countries.

In many instances, Nicaragua’s political troubles prompted American intervention, such as those that occurred in 1847, 1894, 1896, 1898, and 1899, when U.S. forces were landed in that Central American country.  These occupations were brief, with American
troops withdrawing once order had been restored, although U.S. Navy ships kept
a permanent watch throughout the Central American coastline.  The officially stated reasons given by the United States for intervening in Nicaragua was to protect American lives and American commercial interests in Central America.  In some cases, however, the Americans wanted to give a decided advantage to one side of Nicaragua’s political conflict.

In 1912, the United States again intervened in Nicaragua, starting an occupation of the country that would last for over two decades and would leave a deep impact on the local population.  The origin of the 1912 American occupation traces back to the early 1900s when Nicaragua, then led by the Liberals, offered the construction of the Nicaragua Canal to Germany and Japan.  The Nicaragua Canal was planned to be a shipping
waterway that connects the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean through the Caribbean Sea.

The Liberals wanted less American involvement in Nicaragua’s internal affairs and therefore offered the waterway’s construction to other countries.  Furthermore, the United States had decided to forgo its original plan to build the Nicaragua Canal in favor of completing the partly-finished Panama Canal (which had been abandoned by a French
construction firm).

For the United States, however, the idea of another foreign power in the Western Hemisphere was anathema, as the U.S.
government believed it had the exclusive rights to the region.  The American policy of exclusivity in the Western Hemisphere was known as the Monroe Doctrine, set forth in 1823 by former U.S. president James Monroe.  Furthermore, the United States believed that Nicaragua had ambitions in Central America and therefore viewed that country as a potential source of a wider conflict.  U.S.-Nicaraguan relations deteriorated when two American saboteurs were executed by the
Nicaraguan government.  Consequently, the
United States broke off diplomatic relations with Nicaragua.

July 15, 1966 – Vietnam War: American and South Vietnamese forces launch Operation Hastings against the North Vietnamese in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

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

North Vietnam and South Vietnam in Southeast Asia.

In June 1966, North Vietnamese forces attacked across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), but were repulsed by U.S. Marines, supported by South Vietnamese units and American air, artillery, and naval forces.  U.S. forces then launched Operation Hastings, leading to three weeks of large battles near Dong Ha and ending with the North Vietnamese withdrawing back across the DMZ.  The year 1966 also saw the United States greatly escalating the war, with U.S. deployment being increased over two-fold from the year before, from 184,000 in 1965 to 385,000 troops in 1966.  In 1967, U.S. deployment would top 485,000 and then peak in 1968 with 536,000 soldiers.

The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North Vietnam and South Vietnam was a major battleground during the Vietnam War.

Throughout 1967, combat activity in the DMZ consisted of artillery duels, North Vietnamese infiltrations, and firefights along the border.  As the North Vietnamese actually used their side of the DMZ as a base to stage their infiltration attacks, in May 1967, the U.S. Marines militarized the southern side of the DMZ, which sparked increased fighting inside the DMZ.  Also starting in September 1967 and continuing for many months, North Vietnamese artillery batteries pounded U.S Marine positions near the DMZ, which inflicted heavy casualties on American troops.  In response, U.S. aircraft launched bombing attacks on North Vietnamese positions across the DMZ.

Aftermath of the Vietnam War

The war had a profound, long-lasting effect on the United States.  Americans were bitterly divided by it, and others became disillusioned with the government.    War cost, which totaled some $150 billion ($1 trillion in 2015 value), placed a severe strain on the U.S. economy, leading to budget deficits, a weak dollar, higher inflation, and by the 1970s, an economic recession.  Also toward the end of the war, American soldiers in Vietnam suffered from low morale and discipline, compounded by racial and social tensions resulting from the civil rights movement in the United States during the late 1960s and also because of widespread recreational drug use among the troops.  During 1969-1972 particularly and during the period of American de-escalation and phased troop withdrawal from Vietnam, U.S. soldiers became increasingly unwilling to go to battle, which resulted in the phenomenon known as “fragging”, where soldiers, often using a fragmentation grenade, killed their officers whom they thought were overly zealous and eager for combat action.

Furthermore, some U.S. soldiers returning from Vietnam were met with hostility, mainly because the war had become extremely unpopular in the United States, and as a result of news coverage of massacres and atrocities committed by American units on Vietnamese civilians.  A period of healing and reconciliation eventually occurred, and in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built, a national monument in Washington, D.C. that lists the names of servicemen who were killed or missing in the war.

Following the war, in Vietnam and Indochina, turmoil and conflict continued
to be widespread.  After South Vietnam’s
collapse, the Viet Cong/NLF’s PRG was installed as the caretaker government.  But as Hanoi de facto held full political and military control, on July 2, 1976, North Vietnam annexed South Vietnam, and the unified state was called the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Some 1-2 million South Vietnamese, largely consisting of former government officials, military officers, businessmen, religious leaders, and other “counter-revolutionaries”, were sent to re-education camps, which were labor camps, where inmates did various kinds of work ranging from dangerous land mine field clearing, to less perilous construction and agricultural labor,
and lived under dire conditions of starvation diets and a high incidence of deaths and diseases.

In the years after the war, the Indochina refugee crisis developed, where some three million people, consisting mostly of those targeted by government repression, left their homelands in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos,
for permanent settlement in other countries. 
In Vietnam, some 1-2 million departing refugees used small, decrepit boats to embark on perilous journeys to other Southeast Asian nations.  Some 200,000-400,000 of these “boat people” perished at sea, while survivors who eventually reached Malaysia, Indonesia,
Philippines, Thailand, and other destinations were sometimes met there with hostility.  But with United Nations support, refugee camps
were established in these Southeast Asian countries to house and process the refugees.  Ultimately, some 2,500,000 refugees were resettled, mostly in North America and Europe.

The communist revolutions triumphed in Indochina: in April 1975 in Vietnam and Cambodia, and in December 1975 in Laos.  Because the United States used massive air firepower in the conflicts, North Vietnam, eastern Laos, and eastern Cambodia were heavily bombed.  U.S. planes dropped nearly 8 million tons of bombs (twice the amount the United States dropped in World War II), and Indochina became the most heavily bombed area in history.  Some 30% of the 270 million
so-called cluster bombs dropped did not explode, and since the end of the war, they continue to pose a grave danger to the local population, particularly in the countryside.  Unexploded ordnance (UXO) has killed some 50,000 people in Laos alone, and hundreds more in Indochina are killed or maimed each year.

The aerial spraying operations of the U.S. military, carried out using several types of herbicides but most commonly with Agent Orange (which contained the highly toxic chemical, dioxin), have had a direct impact
on Vietnam.  Some 400,000 were directly
killed or maimed, and in the following years, a segment of the population that were exposed to the chemicals suffer from a variety of health problems, including cancers, birth defects, genetic and mental diseases, etc.

Some 20 million gallons of herbicides were sprayed on 20,000 km2 of forests, or 20% of Vietnam’s total forested area, which destroyed trees, hastened erosion, and upset the
ecological balance, food chain, and other environmental parameters.

Following the Vietnam War, Indochina
continued to experience severe turmoil.  In December 1978, after a period of border battles and cross-border raids, Vietnam launched a full-scale invasion of Cambodia
(then known as Kampuchea) and within two weeks, overwhelmed the country and overthrew the communist Pol Pot regime.  Then in February 1979, in reprisal for Vietnam’s invasion of its Kampuchean ally, China launched a large-scale offensive into the northern regions of Vietnam, but after one month of bitter fighting, the Chinese forces withdrew.  Regional instability would persist into the 1990s.

July 14, 1969 – The start of the Football War between El Salvador and Honduras

Some key areas during the Football War.

(Excerpts taken from Football Wars – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 1)

Central America showing Honduras and El Salvador, as well as nearby countries.

On July 3 and July 14, 1969, Honduran planes flew over Salvadoran air space.  El Salvador condemned the territorial violations and sprung into military action.  On the afternoon of July 14, Salvadoran aircraft, including C-47 transports that were improvised to dispense bombs, attacked airfields in the Honduran capital Tegucigalpa and other locations.  The Salvadoran objective was a pre-emptive air strike to destroy the much larger Honduran Air Force on the ground.  However, no significant damage was made on the Honduran planes.

A few hours later and under cover of evening darkness, Salvadoran ground forces crossed the border into Honduras.  Major Salvadoran offensives were made in Honduras’ eastern province of Valle, leading to the capture of the towns of Aramecina and Goascoran, and in Ocotepeque Province in the west, where Nueva Ocotepeque and La Labor were taken.  The Salvadoran Army also captured Honduras’ north central border towns of Guarita, Valladolid, and La Virtud, and the Honduran islands in the Gulf of Fonseca, off the Pacific coast.

A few hours later and under cover of evening darkness, Salvadoran ground forces crossed the border into Honduras.  Major Salvadoran offensives were made in Honduras’ eastern province of Valle, leading to the capture of the towns of Aramecina and Goascoran, and in Ocotepeque Province in the west, where Nueva Ocotepeque and La Labor were taken.  The Salvadoran Army also captured Honduras’ north central border towns of Guarita, Valladolid, and La Virtud, and the Honduran islands in the Gulf of Fonseca, off the Pacific coast.

Background of the Football War

By May 1969, the land reform law in Honduras was being fully implemented.  Thousands of dispossessed Salvadoran families returned to El Salvador, causing a sudden surge in the Salvadoran population, and straining the country’s economic resources and the government’s capacity to provide public services.  El Salvador condemned Honduras, generating tensions and animosity on both sides.  Nationalistic sentiments were fueled by propaganda and rhetoric spouted by the media from the two sides.

Such was the charged atmosphere leading up to the three football matches between El Salvador and Honduras in June 1969.  The first match was played on June 8 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras’ capital, which was won 1- 0 by the host team.  Aside from some fans fighting in the stands, no major security breakdown occurred during the match.

In El Salvador, however, soccer fans were outraged by the result, believing they had been cheated.  The Salvadoran media described the football matches as epitomizing the “national honor”.  After the defeat, a despondent Salvadoran fan died after shooting herself.  Her death became a rallying cry for Salvadorans who considered her a martyr.  Thousands of Salvadorans, including the country’s president and other top government officials, attended her funeral and joined the nation in mourning her death.

The second match was played in El Salvador on June 15, 1969, and was won 3- 0 also by the home team, thereby leveling the series at one win apiece.  The tense situation during the game broke out in widespread violence across the capital, San Salvador. 
Street clashes led to many deaths, including those of Honduran fans.  As a precaution, the Honduran football team was housed in an undisclosed location and driven to the game in
armored vehicles.  After the game, the Honduran team’s vehicles plying the road back to Honduras were stoned while passing
through Salvadoran towns.

In Honduras, the people retaliated by attacking and looting Salvadoran shops in Tegucigalpa and other cities and towns.  Armed bands of thugs roamed the countryside targeting Salvadorans – beating up and killing men, raping women, burning houses, and destroying farms.  Thousands of Salvadorans fled toward the border to El Salvador.  And as the prospect of war drew closer, Salvadoran and Honduran security forces guarding the border engaged in sporadic exchanges of gunfire.

The third, deciding football match was played on June 26, 1969 in Mexico City, which was won by the Salvadoran team 3 – 2 in overtime.  Two days earlier, Honduras had cut diplomatic relations with El Salvador.  The Salvadoran government reciprocated on
June 26, accusing Honduras of committing “genocide” by killing Salvadoran immigrants.  The two sides prepared for war by increasing
their weapons stockpiles, which were sourced from private dealers because the United States
had imposed an arms embargo.

July 13, 1977 – The start of the Ogaden War between Somalia and Ethiopia

On July 13, 1977, the Somali armed forces launched a full-scale invasion of the Ogaden.  (Somalia officially stated that it did not directly participate in the war using its regular forces; instead, the Somali soldiers who took part in the war were “volunteers on leave” who had come to fight on the side of their Somali brothers.)  At the outbreak of war, in terms of troop strength, the Ethiopian Army outnumbered its Somali counterpart by a ratio of about 2:1. However, the Somalis possessed more planes and artillery, and held a more than 3:1 advantage over the Ethiopians in numbers of tanks and armored vehicles.  The Somali invasion forces consisted of some 30,000 to 50,000 soldiers, 250 tanks, 350 armored personnel carriers, 600 artillery pieces, and dozens of aircraft, and crossed the border at many points along two major fronts: the northern front with its command based in Hargeisa, and the southern front with its command based in Baidoa and Mogadishu.  The southern advance made rapid progress, taking Gode, Delo, and Filtu.  At Gode, the Somalis inflicted heavy losses on Ethiopian militias who were sent to reinforce the town’s garrison, and seized large quantities of abandoned weapons and ammunitions.

(Excerpts taken from Ogaden War – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 4)

Background

In December 1950, with Allied approval, the United Nations granted Italy a trusteeship over Italian Somaliland on the condition that Italy grants the territory its independence within ten years.  On June 26, 1960, Britain granted independence to British Somaliland, which became the State of Somaliland, and a few days later, Italy also granted independence to the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland).  On July 1, 1960, the two new states merged to form the Somali Republic (Somalia).

The newly sovereign enlarged state had as its primary foreign affairs mission the fulfillment of “Greater Somalia” (also known as Pan-Somalism), an irredentist concept that sought to bring into a united Somali state all ethnic Somalis in the Horn of Africa who currently were residing in neighboring foreign jurisdictions, i.e. the Ogaden region in Ethiopia, Northern Frontier District (NFD) in Kenya, and French Somaliland.  Somalia officially did not claim ownership to these foreign territories but desired that ethnic Somalis in these regions, particularly where they formed a population majority, be granted the right to decide their political future, i.e. to remain with these countries or to secede and merge with Somalia.

Nationalist Somalis in Kenya and Ethiopia, desiring to be joined with Somalia, soon launched guerilla insurgencies in their local areas.  In the Ogaden region, many guerilla groups organized, foremost of which was the Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF), founded in 1960, just after Somalia had gained its independence.  The Somali government began to build its armed forces, eventually setting as a goal a force of about 20,000 troops that it deemed was powerful enough to realize the dream of Greater Somalia.  But constrained by economic limitations, Somalia sought the assistance of various Western powers, particularly the United States, but the latter only promised to provide military resources for a 5,000-strong armed forces, which it deemed was sufficient for Somalia to defend its borders against external threats.

The Somali government then turned to communist states, particularly the Soviet Union. Although these countries’ Marxist ideology ran contrary to its own democratic institution, Somalia viewed this as a means to be politically self-reliant and not be too dependent on the West, and to court both sides in the Cold War.  Thus, for nearly two decades after gaining independence, Somalia received military support from both western and communist countries.

In 1962, the Soviet Union provided Somalia with a substantial loan under generous terms of repayment, allowing the Somali government to build in earnest an offensive-capable armed forces; subsequent Soviet loans and military assistance led to the perception in the international community that Somalia had fallen under the Soviet sphere of influence, bolstered further as Soviet planes, tanks, artillery pieces, and other military hardware were supplied in large quantities to the Somali Army Forces.

Tensions between Ethiopian security forces and the Ogaden Somalis sporadically led to violence that soon deteriorated further with Somali Army units intervening, leading to border skirmishes between Ethiopian and Somali regular security units. Large-scale fighting by both sides finally broke out in February 1964, which was triggered by a Somali revolt in June 1963 at Hodayo.  Somali ground and air units came in support of the rebels but Ethiopian planes gained control of the skies and attacked frontier areas, including Feerfeer and Galcaio.  Under mediation efforts by Sudan representing the Organization of African Unity (OAU), in April 1964, a ceasefire was agreed that imposed a separation of forces and a demilitarized zone on the border.  In the aftermath, in late 1964, Ethiopia entered into a mutual defense treaty with Kenya (which also was facing a rebellion by local ethnic Somalis supported by the Somali government) in case of a Somali invasion; this treaty subsequently was renewed in 1980 and then in 1987.

On October 21, 1969, a military coup overthrew Somalia’s democratically elected civilian government and in its place, a military junta called the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) was set up and led by General
Mohamed Siad Barre, who succeeded as president of the country.  The SRC suspended the constitution, banned political parties, and dissolved parliament, and ruled as a dictatorship.  The country was renamed the Somali Democratic Republic.  Exactly one year after the coup, on October 21, 1970, President Barre declared the country a Marxist state, although a form of syncretized ideology called “scientific revolution” was implemented, which combined elements of Marxism-Leninism, Islam, and Somali nationalism.  The SRC forged even closer diplomatic and military ties with the Soviet Union, which led in July 1974 to the signing of the Treaty of Friendship and
Cooperation, where the Soviets increased military support to the Somali Army.  Earlier in 1972, under a Somali-Soviet agreement, the Russians developed the Somali port of Berbera, converting it into a large naval, air, and radar and communications facility that allowed the Soviets to project power into the Middle East, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf.  The
Soviets also established many new military airfields, including those in Mogadishu, Hargeisa, Baidoa, and Kismayo.

Under pressure from the Soviet government to form a “vanguard party” along Marxist lines, in July 1976, President Barre dissolved the SRC which he replaced with the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP), whose Supreme Council (politburo) formed the new government, with Barre as its Secretary General.  The SRSP, as the sole legal party, was intended to be a civilian-run entity to replace the military-dominated SRC. However, since much of the SRC’s political hierarchy simply moved to the SRSP, in practice, not much changed in governance and Barre continued to rule as de facto dictator.

With a greatly enhanced Somali military capability, President Barre pressed irredentist aspirations for Greater Somalia, stepping
up political rhetoric against Ethiopia and spurning third-party mediations to resolve the emerging crisis.  Then in the mid-1970s, favorable circumstances allowed Somalia to implement its irredentist ambitions.  During the first half of 1974, widespread military and civilian unrest gripped Ethiopia, rendering the government powerless.  In September 1974, a group of junior military officers called the “Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army”, which simply was
known as “Derg” (an Ethiopian word meaning “Committee” or “Council”), seized power after overthrowing Ethiopia’s long-ruling aging monarch, Emperor Haile Selassie.  The Derg succeeded in power, dissolved the Ethiopian parliament and abolished the constitution, nationalized rural and urban lands and most industries, ruled with absolute powers, and
began Ethiopia’s gradual transition from an absolute monarchy to a Marxist-Leninist one-party state.

Ethiopia traditionally was aligned with the West, with most of its military supplies sourced from the United States.  But with its transition toward socialism, the Derg regime forged closer ties with the Soviet Union, which led to the signing in December 1976 of a military assistance agreement.  Simultaneously, Ethiopian-American relations deteriorated, and with U.S. President Jimmy Carter criticizing Ethiopia’s poor human rights record, in April 1977, the Derg repealed Ethiopia’s defense treaty with the United States, refused further American assistance, and expelled U.S. military personnel from the country.  At this point, both Ethiopia and Somalia lay within the Soviet sphere and thus ostensibly were on the same side in the Cold War, but a situation that was unacceptable to President Barre with regards
to his ambitions for Greater Somalia.

In the aftermath of the Derg’s seizing power, Ethiopia experienced a period of great political and security unrest, as the government battled Marxist groups in the White Terror and Red Terror, regional
insurgencies that sought to secede portions of the country, and the Derg itself racked by internal power struggles that threatened its own survival.  Furthermore, the Derg distrusted the aristocrat-dominated military establishment and purged the ranks of the officer corps; some 30% of the officers were removed (including 17 generals who were
executed in November 1974).  At this time, the Ogaden insurgency, led by the WSLF and other groups, also increased in intensity, with Ethiopian military outposts and government infrastructures subject to rebel attacks.  Just a few years earlier, President Barre did not provide full military support to the Ogaden rebels, encouraging them to seek a negotiated solution through diplomatic channels and even with Emperor Haile Selassie himself.  These efforts failed, however, and with Ethiopia
sinking into crisis, President Barre saw his chance to step in.

July 12, 1943 – World War II: German and Soviet tanks clash at the Battle of Prokhorovka, one of the greatest armored engagements in history

On July 5, 1943, the German Army launched Operation Citadel, initiating the Battle of Kursk with the objective of pinching off the Soviet salient. The northern front of the offensive bogged down within four days. On the southern front, the German 4th Panzer Army made slow, steady progress and broke through a series of Soviet defensive lines. On July 12, the Soviets launched their counter-offensives on the northern and southern fronts. In the south, the Soviet 5th Guards Tank Army clashed with units of the German 4th Panzer Army, breaking the German attack before the third defensive line near the town of Prokhorovka.

Also on July 12, Adolf Hitler ordered that Operation Citadel be discontinued, in order to transfer some units to southern Italy where the Western Allies had opened a second front. Following the German failure at the Battle of Kursk, the Soviet Red Army wrested the strategic initiative on the Eastern Front, which it would hold for the rest of the war.

It was long held that the Battle of Prokhorovka was the largest tank battle in history. More recent research has dispelled this myth: only 294 German tanks and 616 Soviet tanks were involved, not the 1,200 to 2,000 tanks previously believed. German losses of 3,500 – 10,000 troops and 350-400 tanks have also been disproved, as more archival records place these at 800 troops and 43-80 tanks. By comparison, Soviet losses at Prkhorovka were 5,500 troops and 300-400 tanks.

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

Preparations for the Battle of Kursk

On March 10, 1943, as the battle of Kharkov was winding down, General Manstein, head of German Army Group South, set his sights on eliminating a large gap around Kursk that had formed between his forces and those of German Army Group Center.  With Hitler issuing Order No. 5 (March 13) authorizing such an operation, General Manstein and General Gunther von Kluge, commander of German Army Group Center, made preparations to immediately attack the Kursk salient.  But with strong Soviet concentrations on the northern side of the salient, as well as reinforcements being rushed to the south to stem General Manstein’s northern advance, the proposed joint offensive was suspended.  By then also, German forces were exhausted, and the rasputitsa season had set in, preventing further large-scale armored movement.

The Kursk salient was a Soviet protrusion into German-occupied territory, measuring 160 miles long from north to south and 100 miles from east to west.  Kursk and the surrounding region held no strategic value to either side, but to the Germans (and the Soviets), pinching off the salient would eliminate the danger to their flanks.

In April 1943, Hitler’s Order No. 6 formalized the attack on the Kursk salient under Operation Citadel, which consisted of a pincers movement aimed at trapping five Soviet armies, with the northern pincer of
German Army Group Center’s 9th Army thrusting from Orel, and the southern pincer of German Army Group South’s 7th Panzer Army and German Army Detachment Kempf advancing from around Belgorod.  The offensive was set for May 3.

In late April 1943, Kluge expressed doubts to Hitler about the feasibility of Operation Citadel, as German air reconnaissance showed that the Soviets were constructing strong fortifications along the northern side of the salient.  As well, General Manstein was concerned, as his idea of launching a surprise attack on the unfortified salient could not be achieved anymore.  The May 3 launch was not met, and on May 4, Hitler met with Generals
Kluge and Manstein and other senior officers to discuss whether or not Operation Citadel should proceed, or that other options be explored.  But as the meeting produced no consensus, Hitler remained committed to the operation, resetting its launch for June 12,
1943.  With other issues consequently coming up, Hitler postponed the launch date to June 20, then to July 3, and finally to July 5, 1943.

As Operation Citadel was successively pushed back, with the delays ultimately lasting over two months, it also grew in importance, as
Hitler saw Kursk as the battle that would
restore German superiority in the Eastern Front following the Stalingrad debacle, which continued to weigh heavily on him and the German High Command.  Like his generals, Hitler was concerned with the massive Soviet buildup in the salient, but believed that his
forces would break through, as well as surprise the enemy, using the Wehrmacht’s latest armored weapons, the versatile Panther tank, the heavy Tiger battle tank, and the goliath Elefant (“Elephant”) tank destroyer.   Regaining the military initiative with a victory at Kursk also might convince Hitler’s demoralized Axis partners, Italy, Romania, and Hungary, whose armies were battered at Stalingrad, to reconsider quitting the war.

Hitler’s concerns regarding Kursk were warranted, as the Soviets were indeed fully concentrating on the region.  But unbeknown to Hitler and the German senior staff, Stalin and the Soviet High Command were aware of many details of Operation Citadel, with the
information being provided to Soviet intelligence by the Lucy spy ring, a network of anti-Nazi German officers working clandestinely in cooperation with the Swiss intelligence bureau.  Stalin and a number of senior officers wanted to launch a pre-emptive attack to disrupt the German plans.

However, General Georgy Zhukov, deputy head of the Soviet High Command and who was instrumental in the Soviet successes in Leningrad, Moscow, and Stalingrad and was therefore highly regarded by Stalin, convinced the latter to adopt a strategic defense against the German attack, and then to launch a
counter-offensive after the Wehrmacht was weakened.  Under General Zhukov’s direction, the Soviet Central Front and Voronezh Front, which defended the northern and southern
sides of the salient respectively, implemented a “defense-in-depth” strategy: using 300,000 civilian laborers, six defensive lines (three main forward and three secondary rear lines) were constructed on either side of Kursk, the total
depth reaching over 90 miles.  These defensive lines, particularly the main forward lines, were fortified with minefields, wire entanglements, anti-tank obstacles, infantry trenches, dug-in
armored vehicles, and artillery and machinegun emplacements.

A German attack, even if it broke through all six lines while facing furious Soviet artillery fire in the minefields in between each line, would then encounter additional defensive lines by the reserve Soviet Steppe Front; by then, the Germans would have advanced through many defensive layers a distance of 190 miles under continuous Soviet air and armored counter-attacks and artillery fire.

The buildup to Kursk also saw the Soviets making extensive use of military deception, e.g. dummy airfields, camouflaged artillery positions, night movement of troops, false radio communications, concealed troop concentrations and ammunition stores,
spreading rumors in German-held areas, etc. 
These measures were so effective that the Germans grossly underestimated Soviet strength at Kursk: at the start of the battle, the Red Army had assembled 1.9 million troops,
5,100 tanks, and 25,000 artillery pieces and mortars, while the Germans fielded 780,000 troops, 2,900 tanks, and 10,000 artillery pieces and mortars.  This great imbalance of forces, as well as large numbers of Red Army reserves and extensive Soviet defensive preparations,
would be decisive in the outcome of the battle.