Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/News/July 2022/Articles


 * The Cenotaph (HJ Mitchell) : The Cenotaph is a 1920 war memorial on Whitehall in London designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens as the United Kingdom's national memorial to the British and Commonwealth dead of the First World War. It has since come to represent British casualties from later conflicts. A cenotaph is an empty tomb: during the First World War, most of the dead were buried close to where they fell; thus, the Cenotaph symbolises their absence and is a focal point for public mourning. The original temporary Cenotaph was erected in 1919 for a parade celebrating the end of the First World War. Calls for the Cenotaph to be rebuilt in permanent form began almost immediately. After some debate, the government agreed and construction work began in May 1920. Lutyens added entasis (curvature) but otherwise made minimal design alterations.  The memorial met with public acclaim and has largely been praised by academics, though some Christian organisations disapproved of its lack of overt religious symbolism. The National Service of Remembrance is held annually at the site on Remembrance Sunday; it is also the scene of other remembrance services.


 * Battle of Raymond (Hog Farm) : The Battle of Raymond, part of the American Civil War, was fought on May 12, 1863, near Raymond, Mississippi, during attempts capture the strategically important Mississippi River city of Vicksburg. A portion of Grant's army consisting of Major General James B. McPherson's 10,000 to 12,000-man XVII Corps moved northeast towards Raymond. In response, the Confederate commander of Vicksburg, Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton, ordered Brigadier General John Gregg to Raymond. Neither commander was aware of the strength of his opponent, and Gregg acted aggressively, thinking McPherson's force was small enough his men could easily defeat it.  McPherson, in turn, overestimated Confederate strength and responded cautiously.  After two brigades of Major General John A. Logan's division fought against the Confederate force, McPherson brought up Brigadier General John D. Stevenson's brigade and Brigadier General Marcellus M. Crocker's division, and Gregg decided to disengage after the Confederate line cracked. The battle at Raymond changed Grant's plans for the Vicksburg campaign, leading him to first focus on neutralizing the Confederate forces at Jackson before turning against Vicksburg, capturing it on July 4.


 * Battle of Lalakaon (Constantine) : The Battle of Lalakaon was fought in 863 between the Byzantine Empire and an invading Arab army in Paphlagonia (modern northern Turkey). The Byzantine army was led by Petronas, the uncle of Emperor Michael III, although Arab sources also mention the presence of the Emperor in person. The Arabs were led by the emir of Melitene (Malatya), Umar al-Aqta. Umar al-Aqta overcame initial Byzantine resistance to his invasion and reached the Black Sea. The Byzantines then mobilized their forces and encircled the Arab army near the Lalakaon river. The subsequent battle ended in a Byzantine victory and the emir's death on the field, and was followed by a successful Byzantine counteroffensive across the border. These victories were decisive; the main threats to the Byzantine borderlands were eliminated, and the era of Byzantine ascendancy in the East (culminating in the 10th-century conquests) began.


 * Sieges of Berwick (1355 and 1356) (Gog the Mild): The sieges of Berwick were the Scottish capture of the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed on 6 November 1355 and their subsequent unsuccessful siege of Berwick Castle, and the English siege and recapture of the town in January 1356. In 1355 the Second War of Scottish Independence had been underway for over 22 years. On 6 November a Scottish force led by Thomas, Earl of Angus, and Patrick, Earl of March, captured the town of Berwick in a pre-dawn escalade. They failed to capture the castle, which they besieged. Edward returned from France and gathered a large army at Newcastle. Most of the Scots withdrew, leaving a 130-man garrison in Berwick town. When the English army arrived the Scots negotiated a safe passage and withdrew.


 * Battle of Van Buren (Hog Farm): The Battle of Van Buren' was fought at Van Buren, Arkansas, on December 28, 1862, during the American Civil War. After defeating Confederate forces led by Major General Thomas C. Hindman at the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7, 1862, Union forces under Brigadier Generals James G. Blunt and Francis J. Herron prepared for a raid against the Confederate positions at Van Buren and Fort Smith.  Disease, lack of supplies, and desertion had previously forced Hindman to begin withdrawing most of his force from the area. Setting out on December 27, the Union troops struck an outlying Confederate cavalry unit near Drippings Spring, north of Van Buren, on the morning of December 28.  The Confederate cavalry fled to Van Buren, which was then overrun by Union troops. The Union pursued and captured three steamboats on the Arkansas River, and captured some Confederate troops and many goods in Van Buren.  Across the river in Fort Smith, the Confederates destroyed supplies and also burned two steamboats trapped upriver.  An artillery duel took place at Van Buren, while after nightfall a minor skirmish was fought downriver at Strain's Landing.  After the battle, Hindman withdrew his men to Little Rock and the Union force returned from the raid, unable to maintain a supply line to Van Buren across the Boston Mountains.  The battles of Prairie Grove and Van Buren broke Confederate strength in the region.


 * Foreign volunteers in the Rhodesian Security Forces (Nick-D): The Rhodesian government actively recruited white personnel from other countries from the mid-1970s to address manpower shortages in the Rhodesian Security Forces during the Rhodesian Bush War. It is estimated that between 800 and 2,000 foreign volunteers enlisted, with the exact number not being known. The most common motivation was opposition to governments led by black people, but other volunteers were motivated by anti-communism or a desire for adventure. They generally joined the Rhodesian Security Forces individually after seeing advertisements or after being contacted by recruiters. The volunteers frequently received a hostile response from Rhodesians in the units they were posted to, and many ended their contracts early as a result.