Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/News/December 2010/Articles


 * 766th Independent Infantry Regiment (North Korea) (Ed!) : The 766th Independent Infantry Regiment was a light infantry regiment of the North Korean People's Army (KPA) that existed briefly during the Korean War. It was headquartered in Hoeryong, North Korea, and was also known as the 766th Unit. Trained extensively in amphibious warfare and unconventional warfare, the 766th Regiment was considered a special forces commando unit. The regiment was trained to conduct assaults by sea and then to lead other North Korean units on offensive operations, to infiltrate behind enemy lines and to disrupt enemy supplies and communications. Activated in 1949, the regiment trained for more than a year before the outbreak of the war on June 25, 1950. On that day, half of the regiment led North Korean forces against South Korean troops by land and sea, pushing them back after several days of fighting. Over the next six weeks the regiment advanced slowly down the Korean Peninsula, acting as a forward unit of the North Korean army. Suffering lack of supplies and mounting casualties, the regiment was committed to the Battle of Pusan Perimeter as part of a push to force United Nations (UN) troops out of Korea. The regiment saw its final action at the Battle of P'ohang-dong, fighting unsuccessfully to take the town from UN troops. Racked by UN naval and air forces and suffering extensive losses from continuous fighting, the regiment was forced to retreat from the P'ohang-dong battlefield. It moved north, joining a concentration of other KPA units, before being disbanded and absorbed into the NK 12th Division.


 * Black Friday (1945) (Nick-D) : On 9 February 1945 a force of Allied Bristol Beaufighter aircraft suffered heavy casualties during an unsuccessful attack on German destroyer Z33 and escorting vessels; the operation was labelled "Black Friday" by the surviving Allied aircrew. The German ships were sheltering in a strong defensive position in Førde Fjord, Norway, forcing the Allied aircraft to attack through heavy anti-aircraft fire. The Beaufighters and their escort of North American P-51 Mustang fighters were also surprised by twelve German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters. In the resulting attack the Allies damaged at least two of the German ships for the loss of seven Beaufighters shot down by flak guns. Another two Beaufighters and one Mustang were shot down by the Fw 190s. Four or five German fighters were shot down by the Allied aircraft, including one flown by an ace. The decision to attack Z33 and her escorts rather than a nearby group of merchant ships was in accordance with RAF Coastal Command's orders from the British Admiralty. The heavy casualties sustained in the raid led to merchant ships being prioritised over destroyers and small warships in subsequent operations. In addition, another squadron of P-51 Mustangs was assigned to protect Allied aircraft operating near Norway from German fighters.


 * SMS Kronprinz (1914) (Parsecboy): SMS Kronprinz was the last battleship of the four-ship König-class battleship. The battleship was laid down in November 1911 and launched on 21 February 1914. She was formally commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 8 November 1914, just over 4 months after the start of World War I. In June 1918, the ship was renamed Kronprinz Wilhelm in honor of Crown Prince Wilhelm. The battleship was armed with ten 30.5 cm guns in five twin turrets and could steam at a top speed of 21 kn. Along with her three sister ships, SMS König, SMS Grosser Kurfürst (1913), and SMS Markgraf, Kronprinz took part in most of the fleet actions during the war, including the Battle of Jutland on 31 May and 1 June 1916. Although near the front of the German line, she emerged from the battle unscathed. She was torpedoed by the British submarine HMS J1 on 5 November 1916 during an operation off the Danish coast. Following repairs, she participated in Operation Albion, an amphibious assault in the Baltic, in October 1917. During the operation Kronprinz engaged the Russian battleship Tsarevitch and forced her to retreat. After Germany's defeat in the war and the signing of the Armistice in November 1918, Kronprinz and most of the capital ships of the High Seas Fleet were interned by the Royal Navy in Scapa Flow. The ships were disarmed and reduced to skeleton crews while the Allied powers negotiated the final version of the Treaty of Versailles. On 21 June 1919, days before the treaty was signed, the commander of the interned fleet, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, ordered the fleet to be scuttled to ensure that the British would not be able to seize the ships. Unlike most of the other scuttled ships, Kronprinz was never raised for scrapping; the wreck is still on the bottom of the harbor.


 * Order of battle of the Battle of Long Island (Magicpiano):The Battle of Long Island was a decisive British victory early in the American Revolutionary War over American forces under the command of Major General George Washington, and the opening battle in a successful British campaign to gain control of New York City in 1776. The Americans had lined New York's harbor with various levels of entrenchment and fortification, which were defended by an array of Continental Army forces and militia companies from New York and nearby states.  After the British made an unopposed landing on Long Island in mid-August, Washington reinforced forward positions in the hills of central Brooklyn. The British forces were led by Lieutenant General William Howe, and included veterans of the Siege of Boston, new regiments from Ireland, and hired German troops from Hesse-Kassel.  On August 27, 1776, Howe made a successful flanking maneuver around the American left while occupying the American right with diversionary battle.  As a result, a significant portion of the American army became entrapped and surrendered after its retreat to the entrenched position was cut off.  With a siege of the position looming, General Washington successfully withdrew his remaining army to Manhattan in the early hours of August 29.


 * List of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves recipients (1942) (MisterBee1966): The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (German: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) and its variants were the highest awards in the military of the Third Reich during World War II. This military decoration was awarded for a wide range of reasons and across all ranks, from a senior commander for skilled leadership of his troops in battle to a "low ranking" soldier for a single act of extreme gallantry. The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub) was introduced on 3 June 1940 to further distinguish those who had already received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and who continued to show merit in combat bravery or military success. A total of 111 awards were made in 1942.


 * Almirante Latorre-class battleship (The ed17) : The Almirante Latorre class was a two-ship group of battleships (Spanish: acorazados) designed by the British Armstrong Whitworth for the Chilean Navy. Only one, CHILEAN BATTLESHIP Almirante Latorre, was finished as a battleship; the other, Almirante Cochrane, was converted to an aircraft carrier. They were sold to the Royal Navy prior to completion and renamed Canada and HMS Eagle (1918). Almirante Latorre, which was closer to completion than her sister, was commissioned into British service as Canada in October 1915. She patrolled the North Sea for most of the war and saw action in the Battle of Jutland. After the war, she was put into reserve before being sold back to Chile in 1920 as Almirante Latorre. The crew of the battleship instigated a naval mutiny in 1931. After a major refit in 1937, she patrolled Chile's coast during the Second World War. She was scrapped in 1959. After Almirante Cochrane was purchased by the British, construction on the ship was halted until 1918, when it was decided to convert her into an aircraft carrier. After numerous delays, she was commissioned into the Royal Navy in February 1924. She served in the Mediterranean Fleet and on the China Station in the inter-war period, and operated in the Atlantic and Mediterranean during the Second World War before being sunk during Operation Pedestal.


 * ARA Rivadavia (The ed17) : ARA Rivadavia was a dreadnought battleship (Spanish: acorazados) built for the Argentine Navy (Armada de la República Argentina). Named after the first Argentinian president, Bernardino Rivadavia, she was the lead ship of her class, which also included her sister ship, Moreno. The only battleships ever built by the Argentine Navy, Rivadavia and Moreno were ordered during a naval arms race in South America between Chile, Brazil, and Argentina in the first two decades of the 20th century. The contracts for Rivadavia and her sister were offered to a number of foreign shipyards, including firms in the United Kingdom, Germany, and the United States. The proposals from each company were studied by the Argentine Navy, and aspects from several of them were incorporated into the final design, which was ordered from the Fore River Shipbuilding Corporation in Quincy, Massachusetts. Rivadavia was commissioned on 27 August 1914 but saw no combat in the First World War, as Argentina remained neutral. She underwent extensive refits in the United States in 1924 and 1925. Argentina also remained neutral for almost all of the Second World War; the country declared war on the Axis powers only in March 1945, and in the remaining months of the war, Rivadavia saw no active duty. Stricken in 1957, Rivadavia was sold later that year and was broken up for scrap in 1959.


 * Battle of the Bowling Alley (Ed!) : In the Battle of the Bowling Alley  (August 12–25, 1950), United Nations (UN) forces defeated North Korean (NK) forces early in the Korean War near the city of Taegu, South Korea. The battle in the narrow valley, dubbed the "Bowling Alley", followed a week of fighting between the North Korean People's Army 13th Division and the Republic of Korea Army's (ROK) 1st Division along their last defensible line in the hills north of Taegu. Reinforcements, including the US Army's 27th and 23rd Infantry Regiments were committed to bolster the ROK's defenses. For another week, North Korean troops launched all they had at the ROK and US lines with repeated night attacks supported by armor and artillery. The North Koreans advanced with infantry and armor in close support of one another but ran into established UN lines, where US tanks, mines and entrenched infantry were waiting for them. Strikes by US aircraft ravaged the attacking forces. Fighting was fierce with many casualties on both sides, particularly on the ROK fronts.  The repeated attacks eventually broke and pushed back the North Korean forces.This battle and several others comprise the Battle of Pusan Perimeter.


 * Battle of Sangju (1950) (Ed!) : The Battle of Sangju was an engagement between the United Nations and North Korean forces, occurring on July 20–31, 1950, in the village of Sangju in southern South Korea, early in the Korean War. It ended in a victory for the North Korean forces after they were able to push troops of the United States and South Korea out of the area. Republic of Korea Army units had been unsuccessfully resisting advances by the North Korean People's Army in the region when they were reinforced by the United States Army's 25th Infantry Division, newly arrived in the country. In the subsequent fight, the 25th Infantry Division was able to inflict substantial casualties on the advancing NK 15th Division but was not able to hold its positions. In 11 days of fighting, the UN forces performed poorly and were forced to withdraw from Yechon County, the city of Sangju, and the surrounding areas. The US 24th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Division was ineffective in its first showing. The regiment, composed mostly of black troops, was criticized by the Army for being quick to panic and retreat. Some historians have described the Army's statements as biased, downplaying the regiment's successes and overstating its failures.


 * Battle of Magersfontein (Farawayman & Socrates2008) : The Battle of Magersfontein was fought on 11 December 1899, at Magersfontein near Kimberley on the borders of the Cape Colony and the independent republic of the Orange Free State. British forces under Lieutenant General Lord Methuen were advancing north along the railway line from the Cape in order to relieve the Siege of Kimberley, but their path was blocked at Magersfontein by a Boer force that was entrenched in the surrounding hills. The British had already fought a series of battles with the Boers, most recently at Modder River, where the advance was temporarily halted. Lord Methuen failed to perform adequate reconnaissance in preparation for the impending battle, and was unaware that Boer Veggeneraal (Fighting General) De la Rey had entrenched his forces at the foot of the hills rather than the forward slopes as was the accepted practice. This allowed the Boers to survive the initial British artillery bombardment; when the British troops failed to deploy from a compact formation during their advance, the defenders were able to inflict heavy casualties. The Highland Brigade suffered the worst casualties, while on the Boer side, the Scandinavian Corps was destroyed. The Boers attained a tactical victory and succeeded in holding the British in their advance on Kimberley.


 * Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō (Cla68 & Sturmvogel 66) : Hōshō (鳳翔, meaning "flying phoenix") was the first ship ever commissioned that was designed and built as an aircraft carrier and the first aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Commissioned in 1922, the ship was used for testing carrier aircraft operations equipment, techniques, such as take-offs and landings, and carrier aircraft operational methods and tactics. Hōshō and her aircraft group participated in the Shanghai Incident in 1932 and in the opening stages of the Sino-Japanese War in late 1937. The small size of the ship and her assigned airgroups (usually around 15 aircraft) limited the effectiveness of her contributions to combat operations.  As a result, the carrier was placed in reserve after her return to Japan from China and she became a training carrier in 1939. During World War II Hōshō participated in the Battle of Midway in June 1942 in which her aircraft flew anti-submarine patrols and aerial reconnaissance missions.  After the battle, the carrier resumed her training role in Japanese home waters for the duration of the conflict and survived the war with only minor damage from air attacks. She was used as a repatriation transport after the war and made nine trips bringing some 40,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians to Japan from overseas locations. Hōshō was scrapped in Japan beginning in 1946.


 * Kenneth Walker (Hawkeye7) : Kenneth Newton Walker (17 July 1898 – 5 January 1943) was a United States Army aviator and a United States Army Air Forces general who posthumously received the Medal of Honor in World War II. Walker joined the United States Army after his country entered World War I in 1917. He trained as an aviator and became a flying instructor. In 1920, he received a commission in the regular Army. Following postings to the Philippines and Hawaii, he graduated from the Air Corps Tactical School and served as an instructor there. He supported the creation of a separate air organization, not subordinate to other military branches and was a forceful advocate of the efficacy of strategic bombardment, publishing articles on the subject. Shortly before the United States entered World War II, Walker was one of four officers in the Air War Plans Division tasked with developing a production requirements plan for the war. They created the AWPD-1 plan which called for the creation of an enormous air force to defeat Germany through strategic bombardment. In 1942, Walker was promoted to brigadier general and transferred to the Southwest Pacific where he became Commanding General, V Bomber Command, Fifth Air Force. Walker frequently flew dangerous combat missions over New Guinea and on 5 January 1943, he was shot down and killed during a bombing raid over Rabaul.


 * Operation Crimp (Anotherclown) : Operation Crimp—also known as the Battle of the Ho Bo Woods—was a joint US-Australian military operation during the Vietnam War, which took place 20 km north of Cu Chi in Binh Duong Province, South Vietnam, between 8–14 January 1966. The operation targeted a key Viet Cong headquarters that was believed to be concealed underground, and involved two brigades of the US 1st Infantry Division including the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR), which was attached to the US 173rd Airborne Brigade. Heavy fighting resulted in significant casualties on both sides, but the combined American and Australian force was able to uncover an extensive tunnel network covering more than 200 km. The operation was the largest allied military action mounted in South Vietnam to that point, being the first divisional-sized operation of the war. The allied force was only able to partially clear the area and consequently it remained a key communist transit and supply base throughout the war. The tunnels were later used as a staging area for the attack on Saigon during the 1968 Tet offensive before they were largely destroyed by heavy bombing from American B-52 bombers in 1970.


 * Sack of Amorium (Constantine) : The Sack of Amorium by the Abbasids in mid-August 838 represents one of the major events in the long history of the Byzantine–Arab Wars. The exceptionally large Abbasid army was led by the Caliph al-Mu'tasim (r. 833–842), who was eager to avenge the almost unopposed expedition launched by the Byzantine emperor Theophilos (r. 829–842) into the Caliphate's borderlands the previous year. The Abbasids penetrated deep into Byzantine Asia Minor, defeating the emperor at Anzen, sacking Ancyra and finally reaching Amorium—at the time one of Byzantium's largest cities and the birthplace of its ruling Amorian dynasty. The city fell after a short siege, probably by treason, and a large part of its inhabitants were slaughtered, with the remainder driven off as slaves. Prominent officials were taken to Samarra and executed, becoming known as the 42 Martyrs of Amorium. The brutal sack was not only a major military disaster but also a traumatic event for the Byzantines, reverberating in later literature, as well as a heavy personal blow for Theophilos. The sack did not ultimately alter the balance of power, which was slowly shifting in Byzantium's favour, but it thoroughly discredited Iconoclasm, which relied heavily on military success for its legitimization, leading to its abandonment shortly after Theophilos' death in 842.


 * SMS Grosser Kurfürst (1913) (Parsecboy) : SMS Grosser Kurfürst ("His Majesty's Ship Great Elector") was the second battleship of the four-ship König-class battleship. Grosser Kurfürst (or Großer Kurfürst) served in the German Imperial Navy during World War I. The battleship was laid down in October 1911 and launched on 5 May 1913. She was formally commissioned into the Imperial Navy on 30 July 1914, days before the outbreak of war between Germany and the United Kingdom. Grosser Kurfürst was armed with ten 30.5 cm guns in five twin turrets and could steam at a top speed of 21 kn. Along with her three sister ships, SMS König, SMS Markgraf, and SMS Kronprinz (1914), Grosser Kurfürst took part in most of the fleet actions during the war, including the Battle of Jutland on 31 May and 1 June 1916. The ship was subjected to heavy fire at Jutland, but was not seriously damaged. She shelled Russian positions during Operation Albion in September and October 1917. Grosser Kurfürst was involved in a number of accidents during her service career; she collided with König and Kronprinz, grounded several times, was torpedoed once, and hit a mine. After Germany's defeat and the signing of the Armistice in November 1918, Grosser Kurfürst and most of the capital ships of the High Seas Fleet were interned by the Royal Navy in Scapa Flow.


 * JAPANESE BATTLESHIP Hiei (Cam) : The Japanese battleship Hiei was one of the four Kongo-class battlecruisers. She had no significant action during World War I and was converted to a gunnery training ship in 1929 to avoid being scrapped under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty. The ship was rebuilt as a fast battleship in the late 1930s and escorted the aircraft carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. Hiei participated in many of the Imperial Japanese Navy's early actions in 1942, providing support for the invasion of the Dutch East Indies as well as the the Indian Ocean raid of April 1942. During the Battle of Midway, she sailed in the Invasion Force under Admiral Nobutake Kondō, before being redeployed to the Solomon Islands during the Battle of Guadalcanal. She escorted Japanese carrier forces during the battles of the Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz Islands, before sailing as part of a bombardment force under Admiral Kondō during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. On the evening of 13 November 1942, Hiei engaged American cruisers and destroyers alongside her sister ship JAPANESE BATTLESHIP Kirishima. After inflicting heavy damage on American cruisers and destroyers, Hiei was crippled by enemy vessels. Subjected to continuous air attack, she sank on the evening of 14 November 1942.