Tuesday, October 31, 2006

The Battles of Brice's Crossroad and Tupelo

Today's updates sees us post our 900th article at HistoryofWar.org.

One of the biggest problems faced by the North during the civil war was the threat to their supply lines posed by bands of Confederate cavalry. Nathan Bedford Forrest was one of the most able cavalry commanders of the war. In 1864 he posed a serious threat to Sherman's supply lines as he approached Atlanta. Brice's Crossroad (10 June 1864) saw Forrest win one of his most inpressive victories, defeating a much larger Federal force. Just over a month later he suffered one of only two defeats in his military career at Tupelo (14-15 July 1864), although even this did not stop him - in August he launched a raid that reached the Federal headquarters in Memphis!

Friday, October 27, 2006

Big Bethal and Ball's Bluff, 1861

Big Bethal and Ball's Bluff were two early Union defeats in Virginia. Big Bethal was the first test for General John Magruder, who was later to cause the Union many problems during the Peninsula campaign. Ball's Bluff was an insignificant affair, but it caused a massive political scandal in Washington because of the death of Colonel Edward D. Baker, a former Congressman, Republican Senator and friend of President Lincoln.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Brigadier Lindsay M Inglis, 1894-1966

Brigadier Lindsay M Inglis was a New Zealander who served in both world wars. He commanded the 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade on Crete during the German invasion, and also in the western desert during the campaigns against Rommel, sometimes standing in for General Bernard Freyberg in command of the New Zealand division.

Thursday, October 19, 2006

The Seven Days's Battles of 1862

The Seven Days's Battles of 1862 saw Robert E. Lee's first victory during the American Civil War. George B. McClellan with his huge Federal army had advanced to within a few miles of Richmond, and on 25 June 1862 began the Seven Days's with his only attack, at Oak Grove. The next day Lee launched his own attack, at Mechanicsville. This first attack failed, but McClellan turned it into a victory by deciding to retreat south to the James River. Over the next five days, Lee launched attacks at Gaines’s Mill, Savage’s Station, Glendale and Malvern Hill. Only Gaines's Mill was a Confederate battlefield victory, but Lee had pushed McClellan away from Richmond, saving the Confederate capitol, and restoring his own reputation after defeats in West Virginia and on the Atlantic coast.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

William Tecumseh Sherman

William Tecumseh Sherman was one of the North's most important commanders during the civil war. He first came to prominence as a trusted lieutenant to U.S. Grant, before succeeding him in command in the west after Grant was promoted to Washington. In that role Sherman led the armies that penetrated the heart of the Confederacy, seizing Atlanta before marching through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. By the time the war ended, Sherman's armies were beginning to threaten Robert E. Lee's armies in Virginia from the rear.
We also add four of his battles: the disaster at Chickasaw Bluffs, the controversial victory at Arkansas Post and the only battles of his march through the Carolinas, at Averasborough and Bentonville. We support these articles with three pictures and eleven maps.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Operation Downfall Part Two

Today we add the second part of our series on Operation Downfall, the allied invasion of Japan, planned for the end of 1945. In this article we concentrate on the planned invasion of Kyushu, the southernmost of the home islands and the deception plans that were put in place to help ensure the success of this invasion.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Big Black River Campaign, 1863

For today we have the Big Black River campaign, U.S. Grant's most impressive campaign of manoeuvre warfare. During the first half of May 1863, Grant won five battles (Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion's Hill and Big Black River), defeating forces that if they had combined would have been just as large as his own. We also add a biography of John A. McClernand, a political general who was one of Grant's three corps commanders during the campaign.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Nato Map Symbols

A change of topic today with an article on Nato map symbols, used to keep track of unit locations or to plan future actions. The article is supported by 25 illustrations showing the map symbols.