Battle of El Alamein
In July 1942, General Erwin Rommel and the Italo-German Panzer Armee
Afrika, (part of the Deutsches Afrika Korps) were only 113km (70
miles) from Alexandria. The situation was so serious that Winston
Churchill made the long journey to Egypt to discover for himself what
needed to be done. Churchill decided to make changes to the command
structure. General Harold Alexander was placed in charge of British
land forces in the Middle East and Bernard Montgomery became commander
of the Eighth Army.
On 30th August 1942, Erwin Rommel attacked at Alam el Halfa but was
repulsed by the Eighth Army. Montgomery responded to this attack by
ordering his troops to reinforce the defensive line from the coast to
the impassable Qattara Depression. Montgomery was now able to make
sure that Rommel and the German Army was unable to make any further
advances into Egypt.
Over the next six weeks Montgomery began to stockpile vast quantities
of weapons and ammunition to make sure that by the time he attacked he
possessed overwhelming firepower. By the middle of October the Eighth
Army totalled 195,000 men, 1,351 tanks and 1,900 pieces of artillery.
This included large numbers of recently delivered Sherman M4 and Grant
M3 tanks.
On 23rd October Montgomery launched Operation Lightfoot with the
largest artillery bombardment since the First World War. The attack
came at the worst time for the Deutsches Afrika Korps as Erwin Rommel
was on sick leave in Austria. His replacement, General George Stumme,
died of a heart attack the day after the 900-gun bombardment of the
German lines. Stume was replaced by General Ritter von Thoma and Adolf
Hitler phoned Rommel to order him to return to Egypt immediately.
The Germans defended their positions well and after two days the
Eighth Army had made little progress and Bernard Montgomery ordered an
end to the attack. When Erwin Rommel returned he launched a
counterattack at Kidney Depression (27th October). Montgomery now
returned to the offensive and the 9th Australian Division created a
LTC George Armstrong Custer did not effectively apply the concept of mission command as a warfighting function during the Battle of Little Bighorn. While it is important to understand the context in which Custer made his decisions, those circumstances offer little in terms of excusing the fiasco that was Little Bighorn. Custer failed to follow orders, did not take pertinent intelligence into consideration, did not adequately plan or execute protection of his forces, and fought without essential fires equipment available to him. Custer did exercise good sustainment, but it was for naught, as the battle was brief.
The first major battle of the Civil War was fought in Virginia, near the Manassas, Virginia railway junction, after which the battle is called (or First Bull Run, named after the flowing stream on the battlefield, if of the Union persuasion). The armies in this first battle were not very large by later Civil War standards. The Federal forces under Brigadier General Irvin McDowell were organized into four divisions (five, if one includes Runyan's division), of about 30,000 men. These divisions were commanded by Tyler, Hunter, Heintzelman, (Runyan), and Miles. The Confederate command structure was somewhat more unwieldy, including two "armies", with no division structure and thirteen independent brigades under Bonham, Ewell, Jones, Longstreet, Cocke, Early, Holmes, Kershaw, Evans, Jackson, Bartow, Bee, Smith, and a cavalry brigade under Stuart. The Confederate Army of the Potomac was under the command of Brigadier General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, and the Army of the Shenandoah was commanded by Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston. These two forces would equal McDowell's strength.
The battle of New Orleans was a significant battle in the war of 1812. It was a crushing defeat for the British, increased patriotism, and Andrew Jackson emerged an American hero.
San Antonio, Texas-- The Battle of the Alamo, a battle in San Antonio, against the Mexicans broke out, marks the most important of the battles so far during the Texas fight for independence. The battle began on February 23, 1836 and ended two days ago on March 6, 1836, lasting for 13 days. General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, leader of the Mexican force, planned to seize the fort with an army of thousands. Unprepared, the Texans had an army of around 200 men, including well- known congressman David Crockett and James Bowie and not so well-known William Barret Travis.
In the next pages I will explain why Fredericksburg was such a tragedy. Why it was a big morale booster for the South, but a disappointment for the North?
Lieutenant Colonel Moore led his unit, the 1st Battalion, 7th U.S. Cavalry to South Vietnam, and led them in the famous Battle of Ia Drang. Surrounded by enemy soldiers, and with no clear landing zone that would allow them to leave, Moore managed to persevere against the overwhelming odds and complete his objective. Moore's dictum that "there is always one more thing you can do to increase your odds of success" and the courage of his entire command are given credit with the outstanding outcome (Galloway). Despite the fact that Moore's outstanding leadership and tactical prowess led to more than a 4-to-1 ratio between North Vietnamese casualties and U.S. casualties in their first major engagement of the war. Many consider this early battle a small preview of the U.S. tactics later in the Vietnam Conflict.
Knowles, Thomas W. They Rode for the Lone Star:The Saga of the Texas Rangers. Dallas:
In the summer of 1944, General George S. Patton and his 3rd Army successfully broke through heavy German Forces resistance from the Normandy invasion. German forces were in total disarray by the end of August 1944. Patton pleaded with his boss, General Omar Bradley, that if 3rd U.S. Army could be allocated as little as 400,000 gallons of fuel, he could be inside Germany in two days. Time was crucial before the inevitable reaction by the Germans to shore up their defense, preventing Patton from advancing. General Bradley refused Patton's request for more fuel; Unfortunately, General Patton advanced to Germany. Morale ran high throughout Patton’s Army, and there was no sign of heavy resistance before the German border. Consequently, by early September, the 3rd U.S Army had ground to a virtual halt along the flooded Moselle River. In places, Patton's tanks and vehicles ran out of fuel on the battlefield and their swift momentum outran their supply lines (Fugate, 1999). Lack of logistics allowed the German forces to take advantage of Patton’s Army and initiate one of the largest tank battles of World War II, the Battle of Arracourt.
The journey of exploration to the western territories brought the white man many great things, but they did face some opposition. The US government made plans to explore the Black Hills, after hearing of the gold it contained. This was not an easy task. The Sioux, with strong force, were not giving up their sacred land easily. The only way to gain the territory of the Black Hills was to wage war against the Sioux. The Battle of the Little Big Horn was one battle that the US will never forget. General George Custer led an army of men to take out the Sioux, one of the battalions was completely wiped out including Custer. The Sioux were very strong, but US had a lot more power and technology. Why did we get massacred? This question has been a mystery to many people throughout the years. Sergeant Windolph, of Benteen’s cavalry, and John F. Finerty, from General Crooks cavalry, bring us some personal accounts and memories of this tragedy.
Hollywood has an unquestionable tendency to dramatize events to make them more appealing to the audience. This happens to be the case in The Gunfight at the OK Corral. Although Hollywood documented the events leading up to, and the actual gunfight relatively accurate, they failed to include some small incidents and confrontations that may have very well contributed to the outcome in Tombstone.
The Civil War split our nation, Americans fighting Americans, brother against brother. The war lasted four long years, a key battle fought westward was the turning point in the war: the Battle of Vicksburg.
The American Revolution was a tough time for America and the people who fought it. Many wars were fought and many people died, but throughout the whole events moments of inspiration were evident. One such time was in the Battle of Lexington which took place on April 19th, 1775 and one such poem the truly reflects it is called The Battle of Lexington which was written by Sidney Lanier. The poem reflects the thoughts of this man and Paul Revere during this time.
It began to emerge the differences in tactics. The question was whether to continue so far the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Forces Europe, General Eisenhower’s tactics attacking on a broad front, or due to problems of supply to take just one mighty blow. In that period Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery developed a new operation plan, which would include the use of 1st Airborne Army (Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton), actually 1st Airborne Corps (Lieutenant General Frederick Browning). The Corps comprised of 82nd US Airborne Division (Brigadier General James M. Gavin), 101st US Airborne Division (Major General Maxwell D. Taylor), and 1st British Airborne Division (Major General Robert “Roy” E. Urquhart) supported with, under his command, 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade (Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski). These units should be dropped along the roa...
The Battle of Iwo Jima In the early morning of 19 February 1945, United States Marines assigned to the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Division led the initial assault on the Japanese controlled island of Iwo Jima, with the objective of capturing and securing the island. This was the beginning of one of the fiercest and bloodiest and, more decisively, the most strategically important battles fought during World War II. After the dust had settled, and the smoke had cleared, the casualties and losses were astounding. 6,821 U.S. Marines along with 18,844 members of the Imperial Japanese Army had paid the ultimate sacrifice.
War. One of the most Terrifying things a Country has to go through. Though it is true that it can sometimes bring freedom most soldiers who survive never return home the same as when they had left. Many of the Soldiers who fought at the battle of Iwo Jima lost their lives on the island. In fact, one soldier said that out of the Seven of the Easy Company soldiers that went in only he, Captain Dave Severance, made it out alive. What was the purpose of this battle?