Convoy GP55

Convoy GP55 was a convoy of Allied ships that travelled from Sydney to Brisbane in June 1943 during World War II. It comprised ten cargo ships, three landing ships, tank (LSTs) and an escort of five corvettes. The Japanese submarine "I-174" attacked the convoy on 16 June, sinking the United States Army transport ship and damaging USS "LST-469". Two of the corvettes counter-attacked "I-174", but only lightly damaged her.
The Australian military conducted an intensive search for "I-174" in the days after the attack in the mistaken belief that she had been significantly damaged. This search was not successful and highlighted the unsatisfactory communications between the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). However, another Japanese submarine passing through the area may have been sunk by RAAF aircraft. Because of Japan's deteriorating strategic situation, "I-174" was the last Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) submarine to operate off the Australian east coast.
Background.
During 1942 and 1943, Japanese submarines periodically operated in the waters surrounding Australia. A force of midget submarines raided Sydney Harbour on the night of 31 May – 1 June 1942 and attacks on merchant shipping travelling off the east coast began several days later. These attacks continued until August 1942, when the Japanese submarine force was redeployed. The "I-174" made a 24-day patrol off Australia in July and August 1942, but did not attack any ships. In response to the Japanese attacks, the Australian naval authorities ordered that all ships with a displacement of more than 1,200 tons and a maximum speed of less than 12 knots travel in escorted convoys from 8 June. These convoys were successful in minimising losses, and no escorted ships were sunk off Australia during 1942.
Japanese submarines resumed operations in Australian waters in January 1943. "I-21" made a highly successful patrol in January and February, during which she sank five ships, and two other submarines operated off Sydney and Brisbane in March. A force of five boats from the IJN's 3rd Submarine Squadron subsequently attacked shipping along the full length of the Australian east coast during April and May in an attempt to disrupt the Allied supply line to New Guinea. This marked the peak of the Japanese submarine offensive against Australia and nine ships were sunk off the east coast within a month. In contrast with 1942, several successful attacks were made against ships travelling in convoys.
The large number of Japanese attacks in 1943 put great strain on the Allied forces responsible for protecting shipping off eastern Australia. The Australian naval authorities were forced in April to reduce the number of convoys that sailed so their escort could be increased to at least four warships. The RAAF also greatly increased the number of aircraft allocated to escort convoys and ships sailing independently. Further ships and aircraft fitted for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) became available in May, but were still not adequate to counter the Japanese attacks.
The sinking of the hospital ship AHS "Centaur" on 14 May 1943 with heavy loss of life led the Advisory War Council to seek information from the RAN and RAAF on the actions being taken to protect shipping. While the RAN acknowledged that the "Bathurst"-class corvettes that made up most of its escort force were too slow, it argued that the losses suffered by escorted convoys were no worse than those in other parts of the world. Despite the Navy's assurances, Australia's anti-submarine forces were constrained by a shortage of training opportunities and poor coordination between the RAN, RAAF and the United States Navy. The Australian military had also not kept pace with improvements to British and United States ASW doctrine by fully implementing the tactics that had proven most successful in other theatres of the war.
Attack.
"I-174" departed from the major Japanese naval base at Truk on 16 May 1943 under the command of Lieutenant Nobukiyo Nanbu and arrived off Sandy Cape, Queensland on 27 May. She was the only Japanese boat operating off Australia at the time, as all other available submarines were deployed to counter Allied advances in the Solomon Islands. She made an unsuccessful torpedo attack on the American ship "Point San Pedro" on 1 June, exchanged gunfire with U.S. Army transport "Edward Chambers" three days later, and on 5 June was driven off by convoy PG 53's escorts. On 7 June, "I-174" fired four torpedoes at the American Liberty ship "John Bartram", all of which missed. She sighted another convoy on 13 June, too far away to attack. During this period, she was repeatedly attacked by Allied aircraft and warships, but did not sustain any damage.
Convoy GP55 was assembled in mid-June 1943 as one of at least 69 convoys that sailed from Sydney to Brisbane during 1943. It comprised ten cargo ships and three U.S. Navy Landing Ships, Tank (LST), and was escorted by the "Bathurst"-class corvettes (which embarked the convoy's senior officer), , , and . After departing Sydney at 8.45 am on 15 June the convoy maneuvered into five columns, with three ships in each of the centre columns and two in those at the edges. The escorts surrounded the convoy, with four sailing ahead of it and "Deloraine" to the stern. RAAF Anson and Beaufort aircraft also patrolled over the convoy at all times. U.S. Army transport "Portmar", which had been badly damaged in the Bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942, had difficulty maintaining her position in the convoy and at times straggled behind the other ships.
"I-174" sighted Convoy GP55 about east of Smoky Cape at 4.37 pm on 16 June. The submarine immediately began preparations to attack the Allied ships and easily penetrated the escort screen. At this time "Portmar" was trying to return to her station and was passing to the port of USS "LST-469". This made the ships an ideal target for Nanbu as they overlapped from the viewpoint of his periscope. Accordingly, he fired two torpedoes at them at 5.20 pm. A single torpedo struck the LST near her stern two minutes later, resulting in severe damage and the loss of 26 lives and 17 wounded. "Portmar" spotted the second torpedo and attempted to evade it but was also struck on her starboard side. The transport's cargo of petrol and ammunition quickly caught fire and she sank within ten minutes. One of her crew and a passenger were killed, and 71 survivors, including four who were injured, were rescued by "Deloraine". Despite losing steerage "LST-469" remained afloat and was taken under tow by the corvette. "I-174"'s attack on Convoy GP55 was probably the most successful made by a Japanese submarine off Australia.
While "Deloraine" attended to the torpedoed ships, the other four escorts attempted to locate the Japanese submarine. "I-174" had not been detected approaching the convoy, and after the attack the Australian corvettes reversed their courses to conduct a sonar sweep of the area from where she was presumed to have attacked. This was in accordance with tactics that had recently been adopted by the RAN after they proved successful in the Battle of the Atlantic. "Warrnambool" detected the submarine 23 minutes after the attack, and she and "Kalgoorlie" subjected "I-174" to four depth charge attacks over two hours until contact was lost. An Anson from No. 71 Squadron was escorting the convoy at the time the two ships were torpedoed but was low on fuel and returned to base shortly after the attack. While the corvettes believed that they had sunk "I-174", she was only lightly damaged and withdrew to the east. The Australian failure to sink the submarine was due to a lack of practice and too few ships being available to create an adequate search scheme.
After breaking off their attack "Warrnambool" rejoined the convoy while "Kalgoorlie" assisted "Deloraine" in protecting the damaged LST. Deteriorating weather broke the tow-line between "Deloraine" and "LST-469", and instead the corvette proceeded to the nearby town of Coffs Harbour with "Portmar"'s survivors and the LST's wounded personnel. The tugboat was dispatched from Brisbane on 16 June to recover the LST and towed her to Sydney, where they arrived on 20 June. "LST-469" had been carrying troops and supplies for Operation Chronicle, an amphibious landing at Woodlark and Kiriwina islands on 30 June, and this operation was hindered by her unavailability.
Aftermath.
Following the attack, the Australian Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sir Guy Royle, judged that the submarine had been damaged and ordered that "special measures" be taken to search for it. The RAAF commenced air searches of an box south-east of Coffs Harbour on the night of 16/17 June, while "Deloraine", "Kalgoorlie" and the recently arrived destroyer patrolled the area. On 17 June, Anson aircraft were assigned to patrol the submarine's most likely escape routes in the hope that this would force her to remain submerged during the day and surface at night. Radar-equipped Beauforts relieved the Ansons after dusk and continued the search.
In the early morning of 18 June, two No. 32 Squadron Beauforts attacked with bombs and gunfire what they took to be a submarine. "Deloraine" was less than from the area of the RAAF attack, but did not acknowledge repeated attempts by the aircraft to communicate with her. The Beauforts reported that they had damaged the submarine and intensive efforts were made on 19 June to locate and sink her, with twelve Ansons continuously sweeping the area while six Vengeance dive bombers were held in readiness nearby. No further sightings were made and it was assumed that the submarine had been damaged by a No. 32 Squadron aircraft but escaped. Naval historian David Stevens has written that the sighting made on 18 June was probably mistaken, as "I-174" was at least to the east of where the RAAF attack took place and the incident was not recorded in her war diary. However, other historians believe that the Beauforts may have sunk "I-178", which was patrolling off the east coast of Australia at the time; this submarine disappeared some time after 17 June 1943, and the cause of her loss has never been confirmed. "I-174" was ordered to depart from Australian waters on 20 June, and returned to Truk on 1 July. She did not make contact with any Allied ships or aircraft after attacking GP55.
The seeming failure of the RAAF and RAN to cooperate to finish off a damaged submarine led Royle to order an inquiry into the attack. This found that a breakdown in communication between the two services was the main cause of the failure, with both the aircraft and the naval signal room in Sydney making procedural errors. Rear Admiral Gerard Muirhead-Gould, the naval officer in command of the Sydney region, also noted that communications between the RAN and RAAF were unsatisfactory at higher levels, and that the communication procedures to be used in anti-submarine operations were not well known or understood. In response, he suggested that the RAN establish the position of Commander Escort Vessels Group to organise and command escorts and coordinate their tactics.
The attack on Convoy GP55 was the last attack made by a Japanese submarine on the east coast of Australia. Two submarines were dispatched to operate off Australia in July 1943, but were diverted to the Solomon Islands shortly before reaching the east coast. Following this, the Japanese submarines were fully occupied responding to Allied offensives and transporting supplies to isolated garrisons. As the threat to shipping declined, the RAN ceased running convoys in waters south of Newcastle on 7 December 1943 and Sydney–Brisbane convoys ended on 10 February 1944.


Convoy QS-33

Convoy QS 33 was a trade convoy of merchant ships during the Second World War. It was one of the numbered QS Convoys from Québec to Sydney. The convoy was attacked in the early months of the Battle of the St. Lawrence, in the St. Lawrence River and Gulf of St. Lawrence, when German U-boats were making ad hoc forays deep into Canadian waters. The convoy was found on 6 September 1942 by , which then destroyed two ships from the convoy while destroyed three.
Background.
The March 1942 St. Lawrence Conference reviewed plans for Quebec-Sydney convoys for defence against U-boats in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the St. Lawrence River as well as establishing a base at Gaspé, Quebec for the St. Lawrence patrol force, named Gaspé Force. However, by Spring 1942 the only deterrent active within the St. Lawrence were air patrols. In early May, the first U-boat arrived in the St. Lawrence, . It entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence and sank two merchant vessels.
Following the attacks, all independent sailings were cancelled and the QS-SQ convoy system was adopted. As a result of merchant ship losses in the Atlantic Ocean, many slow lake freighters, vessels built for shipping on the Great Lakes, had been brought into service supplying St. Lawrence ports. The large number of slow ships prevented the adoption of slow and fast convoys of merchants, making all the convoys uniform in speed with a maximum of . This did not stop U-boat attacks as sank three ships of QS-15 on 6 July. One ship was damaged in QS-19 by "U-132" on 20 July and sank the US troopship "Chatham" on 27 August, followed by sinking a merchant vessel in Forteau Bay.
Ships in the convoy.
Allied merchant ships.
A total of eight merchant vessels joined the convoy, either in Quebec City or later in the short voyage. The convoy comprised eight merchant vessels, split into two columns of four. The convoy departed from Bic Island, Quebec in the afternoon of 6 September. "Aeas" was transporting a load of timber and steel bound for the United Kingdom. "Mount Pindus" and "Mount Taygetus" were loaded with general cargo and had tanks lashed on deck for the United Kingdom. "Oakton" was carrying coal from Sandusky, Ohio bound for Corner Brook, Newfoundland.
Convoy escort.
Having learned from attacks in Canadian waters during the early weeks of the Battle of the St. Lawrence, a series of armed military ships escorted the convoy at various times during its short journey. The corvette "Arrowhead", with the escort commander, Commander E.G. Skinner aboard and the minesweeper "Truro" were positioned port and starboard respectively of the lead merchant vessel. The motor launch "Q-083" was situated in front of the convoy while "Q-065" was positioned astern of the last merchant ship. Further to the naval escort, three Hudson light bombers operating from the airfield at Mont-Joli provided air cover during daylight hours.
Battle.
As the convoy passed with sight of the lighthouse at Cap-Chat, Quebec on 6 September, the convoy entered an area of reduced visibility and came under attack by the , which had been shadowing the convoy. Waiting until after darkness had fallen, the submarine targeted "Aeas" first launching torpedoes around 23:00. "Aeas" was positioned at the northernmost merchant position in the convoy in the front row. Two torpedoes stuck the merchant vessel amidships, one in the fuel bunker, the other in the #3 hold. In response to the torpedo strike, "Arrowhead" went to full speed and began firing star shells. "Truro" began searching along the presumed path of the torpedo, finding nothing. "Truro"s asdic malfunctioned the night before the attack and was not fully operational and "Q-083"s asdic set had failed a few hours before the attack. As "Aeas" sank, the cold river water poured over the vessel's hot boilers, causing them to explode. "Aeas" sank in four minutes, roughly northwest of Cap-Chat. Four vessels of the convoy scattered after the explosion, seeking shelter in the shallower waters closer to shore. "Truro" was nearly hit by the fleeing merchants and was forced to take evasive action. "Arrowhead" too, retraced the suspected paths of the torpedo. Finding nothing, the corvette dropped four sets of depth charges. However, the German submarine had already moved on. After 40 minutes of searching "Arrowhead" returned to the site of "Aeas" sinking and stopped to retrieve survivors. "Raccoon" screened the corvette during the operation. After 30 minutes spent recovering the remaining crew of the merchant vessel, "Arrowhead" returned to position at the head of convoy and "Raccoon" took up position astern of the convoy on the port side. 29 of 31 of "Aeas" crew were recovered. By 0100 on 7 September, "Arrowhead" had returned to its position at the head of convoy.
At 0210, two detonations and a short blast of a whistle were heard throughout the convoy. The escorts believed that it was "Raccoon" dropping depth charges on a suspected contact. "Q-065" later reported seeing two columns of white water out in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. "Arrowhead" turned and sailed to "Raccoon"s position in the convoy defence but found no trace of the ship in the poor visibility and "Raccoon" was not equipped with a radio-telephone. Unable to find the ship, "Arrowhead" broke off the search as convoy escort took precedence and returned to its position at the head of the convoy.
The convoy sailed on until after daybreak, when the convoy was picked up again by a U-boat, this time "U-517". Poor weather that morning prevented a planned air search of the area of "Raccoon"s disappearance. The corvette was dispatched to perform a sea search. On 7 September, "Oakton" which had been one of the merchants that had fled the convoy during the attack on "Aeas", was found by an patrolling aircraft travelling along the coast of Gaspé. The aircraft ordered the merchant to rejoin the convoy. Not knowing where the convoy was, "Q-083" was sent to escort the merchant back to the convoy.
"U-517" took nearly the whole day to manoeveure itself into position after picking up transmissions of success against the convoy by "U-165". By 15:00, rain had reduced visibility again and air cover was withdrawn. During that time, the minesweeper , escorting the merchant "Sarnolite", were ordered to join with the convoy. At 17:15, off Gaspé point, "U-517" let the convoy pass over him before firing three torpedoes at three merchants which were sailing close to each other. The torpedoes struck the merchants "Mount Pindus", "Oakton" and "Mount Taygetus" in rapid succession. Within 15 minutes of the torpedoing, all three merchants had sunk. "Q-083" recovered 78 survivors in total from the three ships, later landing them in Gaspé. The other escorts, including "Vegreville" began dropping depth charges in an effort to prevent "U-517" from targeting the last ship of the convoy "Bencas". They made no contact with "U-517"; however, in an effort to draw off the escorts, "U-517" launched a "pillenwerfer", an underwater-launched noise maker meant to hide the U-boat from the asdic operators. "U-517" suffered some damage to the outer hull from the depth charge attack, but made its escape. At 16:55 "Arrowhead" ordered the Fairmile motor launches to pick up survivors. "Bencas" was sent on to Gaspé escorted by "Truro" and "Sarnolite" by "Vegreville". "Arrowhead" continued to search for the submarine in the approaches to Gaspé, supported by the Fairmiles and later joined by two aircraft, the minesweeper and corvettes and . "Arrowhead" and the Fairmiles returned to Gaspé at 20:30.
After the survivors were offloaded, the convoy was supposed to continue on to Sydney. However, the captain of "Bencas" refused to sail at night. Early on 8 September "Sarnolite" sailed with "Vegreville" for Sydney, followed by "Bencas" with "Arrowhead" and "Truro" after dawn. The convoy arrived at Sydney on 10 September.
Aftermath.
Beginning on 8 September, Gaspé Command intensified patrols in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Twelve warships combed the waters of the Gaspé Passage until 10 September. RCAF Eastern Air Command sent out 46 patrols over the Gulf over the three days. No. 113 Squadron RCAF dispatched three Hudson light bombers to establish themselves at the training airfield at Chatham, New Brunswick. The improved coverage of the Gulf provided immediate results when a Hudson spotted a U-boat south of the eastern tip of Anticosti Island. The Hudson strafed and depth charged the U-boat, causing no damage. The attack on "U-165" drove the submarine west, into the St. Lawrence River.
Further naval reinforcements were assigned to convoys in the Gulf of St. Lawrence as a result of the attacks. The escort of QS-33 had not proved strong enough, leading the Royal Canadian Navy to order two British s assigned to the Western Local Escort Force into the Gulf. They were equipped with improved radar and could locate submarines with greater ease. The sailing of QS-34 was delayed to allow for the arrival of the first destroyer. "Raccoon"s loss was declared on 10 September after all efforts to find and contact the vessel had been exhausted. Public knowledge of the sinking would not happen until 13 September, and even then, the public was not told where "Raccoon" had disappeared. Records later showed that "U-165" claimed to have sunk "Raccoon". Fragments of the ship and one body later washed up on shore.
The two German submarines continued to sink ships in the Gulf and St. Lawrence River, sinking the corvette on 11 September and on 15 and 16 September, three merchant vessels were sunk and a further two damaged. These losses and QS-33 contributed to the Canadian government's decision to close the Gulf and St. Lawrence River to overseas shipping. On 9 September, the Canadian government informed their Allies that all overseas shipping bound for ports on the St. Lawrence River be diverted to Saint John, New Brunswick, Sydney or Halifax, Nova Scotia. Furthermore, the government intended to shut down the QS series of convoys within two weeks.


The Thin Red Line (novel)

The Thin Red Line is American author James Jones's fourth novel. It draws heavily on Jones's experiences at the Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse during World War II's Guadalcanal campaign. The author served in the United States Army's 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division.
Novel.
"The Thin Red Line", originally published in September 1962, shares its central characters with Jones's other two World War II novels, though with their names necessarily altered, and examines their different reactions to combat. Jones had originally intended the central male characters of his previous war novel "From Here to Eternity" to appear in this work. But Jones remarked that "the dramatic structure—I might even say the spiritual content—of the first book demanded that Prewitt be killed at the end of it". Jones tackled the problem by changing the names of the three characters of the first novel, enabling them to appear in "The Thin Red Line". The character of Prewitt became Witt, Warden became Welsh and Stark became Storm. (Jones' later novel "Whistle" (1978), features a similar set of characters, now named Sergeant Mart Winch, Bobby Prell, and Johnny "Mother" Strange; Corporal Fife in "The Thin Red Line" also reappears as company clerk Marion Landers in "Whistle".)
The novel portrays battle realistically, including several particularly gruesome acts depicted as natural responses to the soldiers' environment, such as the disinterring of a Japanese corpse for fun, the summary execution of Japanese prisoners, and the extraction of their corpses' gold teeth. The novel explores the idea that modern war is an extremely personal and lonely experience in which each soldier suffers the emotional horrors of war by himself.
James Jones wrote his novel based on his personal experiences during the battle of the Galloping Horse, the Sea Horse, and Kokumbona which he renamed "The Dancing Elephant", "The Sea Slug", and "Bunabala". Of particular significance, Jones recounts his own experience killing a Japanese soldier with his bare hands.
The title comes from Rudyard Kipling's poem "Tommy", from the collection "Barrack-Room Ballads", in which Kipling describes foot soldiers as "the thin red line of 'eroes". Kipling's poem is based on the 1854 action of British soldiers during the Crimean War called The Thin Red Line (Battle of Balaclava).
Reception.
"Kirkus Reviews" praised the novel in 1962, commenting that the novel's "well-drawn battle narrative provides take-off points for dozens of character studies, and the author describes emotional responses to battle, fear, death, homosexuality, along with detached, ironic comments on army organization and the workings of fate, luck and circumstance". Paul Christle, speaking at a conference in 2002, said of the novel, ""The Thin Red Line" is the only novel of Jones's war quartet that actually deals with combat, and it pulls no punches in its treatment. Reviewers, critics and scholars have lauded it for its realism. Some, myself included, would place the novel in the domain of literary naturalism because the destinies of Jones's soldiers are determined by chance and by social, economic, psychological, and political forces beyond their control and, sometimes, even beyond their recognition".
British historian and military writer John Keegan nominated "The Thin Red Line" as, in his opinion, one of only two novels portraying Second World War combat that could be favorably compared to the best of the literature to arise from the First World War (the other was "Flesh Wounds" (1966) by British writer David Holbrook). Paul Fussell said that it was "perhaps the best" American WWII novel, better than "A Walk in the Sun" and "The Naked and the Dead".
Film versions.
The novel has been adapted for cinema twice, first by Andrew Marton's "The Thin Red Line" in 1964, then came Terrence Malick's again as "The Thin Red Line" in 1998.


Arthur J. Hubbard Sr.

Arthur J. Hubbard Sr. (January 23, 1912 – February 7, 2014) was an American state senator from Arizona, who served as a Navajo Code Talker instructor in World War II.
Life.
Hubbard was born in 1912 on the Tohono O'odham Nation in Topawa, Arizona Territory, on January 23, 1912, about three weeks before Arizona became a state. He grew up in Ganado, Arizona, which is part of the Navajo Nation, and studied at the University of Arizona. He was the leader of a Navajo tribal band, as a trombone player and singer.
From 1939 to 1945 Hubbard voluntarily served in the U. S. Marine Corps. During World War II, he was a Navajo Code Talker instructor training over 200 men to transmit coded messages using the Navajo language. After his military duties, the then Governor Jack Williams appointed him Director of Indian Development District of Arizona. In 1972 he became state senator in Arizona, serving for 12 years until 1984. This made him the first Native American senator in the Arizona State Legislature. His other work includes serving as a water rights advisor to the Tohono O'odham Nation, and as a Navajo culture and language instructor at Arizona State University. He also played an important part in the establishment of Diné College (originally known as Navajo Community College), which was the first college established within the Navajo Nation.
Hubbard was inducted into the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame and the Arizona Democratic Party Hall of Fame. He received the Navajo Code Talker Congressional Silver Medal in 2000. He died at age 102 on February 7, 2014, in Phoenix, Arizona. On his death, flags across the Navajo Nation were flown at half-staff in his honor.


Battle of Stirling Bridge

The Battle of Stirling Bridge () was a battle of the First War of Scottish Independence. On 11 September 1297, the forces of Andrew Moray and William Wallace defeated the combined English forces of John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, and Hugh de Cressingham near Stirling, on the River Forth.
Background.
In 1296, John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, defeated John Comyn, Earl of Buchan in the Battle of Dunbar. King John Balliol surrendered to King Edward I of England at Brechin on 10 July, and the Scottish landholders were made to acknowledge Edward's overlordship. In 1297, Moray initiated a revolt in northern Scotland and by the late summer, controlled Urquhart, Inverness, Elgin, Banff and Aberdeen. Wallace joined Moray in September near Dundee, and they marched to Stirling. Stirling, in the words of Stuart Reid, was "traditionally regarded as the key to Scotland." Meanwhile, Surrey had joined Cressingham in July and both had arrived at Stirling by 9 September 1297. By then, Moray and Wallace had already occupied Abbey Craig.
The main battle.
Surrey was concerned with the number of Scots he faced, separated by a long causeway and narrow, wooden bridge, over the River Forth near Stirling Castle. Determining that he would be at a tactical disadvantage if he attempted to take his main force across there, he delayed crossing for several days to allow for negotiations and to reconnoiter the area. On 11 September, Surrey had sent James Stewart, and then two Dominican friars as emissaries to the Scots. According to Walter of Guisborough, Wallace reputedly responded with, "We are not here to make peace but to do battle to defend ourselves and liberate our kingdom. Let them come on and we shall prove this to their very beards."
Camped on Abbey Craig, the Scots dominated the soft flat ground north of the river. The English force of English, Welsh and Scots knights, bowmen and foot soldiers camped south of the river. Sir Richard Lundie, a Scots knight who joined the English after the Capitulation of Irvine, offered to outflank the enemy by leading a cavalry force over a ford two miles upstream, where sixty horsemen could cross at the same time. Hugh de Cressingham, King Edward's treasurer in Scotland, persuaded the Earl to reject that advice and order a direct attack across the bridge.
The small bridge was broad enough to let only two horsemen cross abreast but offered the safest river crossing, as the Forth widened to the east and the marshland of Flanders Moss lay to the west. The Scots waited as the English knights and infantry, led by Cressingham, with Sir Marmaduke de Thweng and Sir Richard Waldegrave, began to make their slow progress across the bridge on the morning of 11 September. It would have taken several hours for the entire English army to cross.
Wallace and Moray waited, according to the Chronicle of Hemingburgh, until "as many of the enemy had come over as they believed they could overcome". When a substantial number of the troops had crossed (possibly about 2,000) the attack was ordered. The Scots spearmen came down from the high ground in rapid advance and fended off a charge by the English heavy cavalry and then counterattacked the English infantry. They gained control of the east side of the bridge and cut off the chance of English reinforcements to cross. Caught on the low ground in the loop of the river with no chance of relief or of retreat, most of the outnumbered English on the east side were probably killed. A few hundred may have escaped by swimming across the river. Marmaduke Thweng managed to fight his way back across the bridge with some of his men.
Surrey, who was left with a small contingent of archers, had stayed south of the river and was still in a strong position. The bulk of his army remained intact and he could have held the line of the Forth, denying the Scots a passage to the south, but his confidence was gone. After the escape of Sir Marmaduke Thweng, Surrey ordered the bridge to be destroyed, retreated towards Berwick, leaving the garrison at Stirling Castle isolated and abandoning the Lowlands to the rebels. James Stewart, the High Steward of Scotland, and Malcolm, Earl of Lennox, whose forces had been part of Surrey's army, observing the carnage to the north of the bridge, withdrew. Then, the English supply train was attacked at "The Pows", a wooded marshy area, by James Stewart and the other Scots lords, killing many of the fleeing soldiers.
The Stentoried]] and protected by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009.
Aftermath.
Surrey left William de Warine and Sir Marmaduke de Thweng in charge of Stirling Castle, as Surrey abandoned his army, and fled towards Berwick.
The contemporary English chronicler Walter of Guisborough recorded the English losses in the battle as 100 cavalry and 5,000 infantry killed. Scottish casualties in the battle are unrecorded, with the exception of Andrew Moray, who was mortally wounded during the battle, and was dead by November.
The Lanercost Chronicle records that Wallace had a broad strip of Cressingham's skin, "...taken from the head to the heel, to make therewith a baldrick for his sword."
The Scots proceeded to raid the south as far as Durham, England. Wallace was appointed "Guardian of the kingdom of Scotland and commander of its army." Yet, Edward was already planning another invasion of Scotland, which would lead to the Battle of Falkirk.
Popular culture.
The exploits of Wallace were passed on to posterity mainly in the form of tales collected and recounted by the poet Blind Harry, the Minstrel (d. 1492), whose original, probably oral sources were never specified. Blind Harry was active some 200 years after the events described in his "The Acts and Deeds of the Illustrious and Valiant Champion Sir William Wallace", c. 1470. The tales were designed to entertain the court of James IV (r. 1488–1513) and are undoubtedly a blend of fact and fiction. Like most of his other episodes, Blind Harry's account of the battle of Stirling Bridge is highly improbable, such as his use of figures of biblical magnitude for the size of the participating armies. Nevertheless, his highly dramatised and graphic account of the battle fed the imaginations of subsequent generations of Scottish schoolchildren. Here is his description:
On Saturday they [Moray and Wallace] rode on to the bridge, which was of good plain board, well made and jointed, having placed watches to see that none passed from the army. Taking a wright, the most able workman there, he [Wallace] ordered him to saw the plank in two at the mid streit [middle stretch], so that no-one might walk over it. He then nailed it up quickly with hinges, and dirtied it with clay, to cause it to appear that nothing had been done. The other end he so arranged that it should lie on three wooden rollers, which were so placed, that when one was out the rest would fall down. The wright, himself, he ordered to sit there underneath, in a cradle, bound on a beam, to loose the pin when Wallace let him know by blowing a horn when the time was come. No one in all the army should be allowed to blow but he himself.
Hugh Cressingham leads on the vanguard with twenty thousand likely men to see. Thirty thousand the Earl of Warren had, but he did then as wisdom did direct, all the first army being sent over before him. Some Scottish men, who well knew this manner of attack, bade Wallace sound, saying there were now enough. He hastened not, however, but steadily observed the advance until he saw Warren's force thickly crowd the bridge. Then from Jop he took the horn and blew loudly, and warned John the Wright, who thereupon struck out the roller with skill; when the pin was out, the rest of it fell down. Now arose an hideous outcry among the people, both horses and men, falling into the water. (...)
On foot, and bearing a great sharp spear, Wallace went amongst the thickest of the press. he aimed a stroke at Cressingham in his corslet, which was brightly polished. The sharp head of the spear pierced right through the plates and through his body, stabbing him beyond rescue; thus was that chieftain struck down to death. With the stroke Wallace bore down both man and horse.
The English army although ready for battle, lost heart when their chieftain was slain, and many openly began to flee. Yet worthy men abode in the place until ten thousand were slain. Then the remainder fled, not able to abide longer, seeking succour in many directions, some east, some west, and some fled to the north. Seven thousand full at once floated in the Forth, plunged into the deep and drowned without mercy; none were left alive of all that fell army.
As well as the bridge ploy, Wallace's use of a spear appears to be a fictional element. A two-handed sword [Claidheamh de Laimh], purporting to be Wallace's, which may contain original metal from his sword blade, was kept by the Scottish kings and is displayed as a relic in the Wallace Monument.
The potency of these tales can be gauged from the following statement by the poet Robert Burns, writing some three centuries after they were first related.
The two first books I ever read in private, and which gave me more pleasure than any two books I ever read again, were "The Life of Hannibal" and "The History of Sir William Wallace" [a modernised version of Blind Harry by William Hamilton of Gilbertfield]. Hannibal gave my young ideas such a turn that I used to strut in raptures up and down after the recruiting drum and bagpipe, and wish myself tall enough that I could be a soldier; while the story of Wallace poured a Scottish prejudice into my veins which will boil along there till the flood-gates of life shut in eternal rest.
The Battle of Stirling Bridge is depicted in the 1995 film "Braveheart", but it bears little resemblance to the real battle, there being no bridge (due mainly to the difficulty of filming around the bridge itself) and tactics resembling the Battle of Bannockburn.


Operation Lagarto

Operation Lagarto was an Australian military operation in Timor during World War II in 1943. It was run by the Services Reconnaissance Department. The Naval component of the mission was named Operation Mosquito. The operation was ambushed and captured. Japanese intelligence used information from the mission to lure other Australian commandos to Timor where they were captured and killed, notably Operation Cobra (Timor), Operation Sunlag and Operation Suncob.
Background.
The mission was led by Lt M de J. Pires, a Portuguese army pilot who had been the administrator of a large Timorese province and who had been evacuated from Timor. In 1943 he was placed in charge of a four-man team under the SRD to go back to Timor and evacuate over 100 refugees, establish an informant net to cover enemy movements, and report on enemy activities. He was accompanied by:
Actions.
The team landed by American submarine on 1 July 1943 at the mouth of the Luca River. Radio contact was maintained. A month later 87 refugees were taken out. Sgt Ellwood joined the team as an Australian liaison officer. The team suffered constant attacks from the Japanese. The team grew to 34 including Pires' mistress. He eventually got the team down to eight. On 29 September 1943 the company was captured by locals who handed them over tho the Japanese. Luz manage to escape. Ellwood was captured along with the others. The Japanese beat Ellwood and managed to get him to operate his set, giving messages to SRD. He gave false messages to SRD who did not seem to notice anything strange.


Action in the Oslofjord

The Action in the Oslofjord occurred late on 8 April 1940 in World War II. As "Kampfgruppe" 5 of the German invasion force proceeded towards Oslo, it encountered Norwegian defences in the Oslofjord. During a short exchange that resulted in the first Norwegian casualty of the war, the Germans managed to push through down to Drøbak Sound, where they would face more determined resistance.
Prelude.
In order to invade Norway, the Germans divided their naval forces into six groups. The fifth of these, ""Kampfgruppe" 5," was to pass through the Oslofjord and land troops in Oslo. The group consisted of the heavy cruisers and "Lützow", the light cruiser , the torpedo boat , and eight minesweepers. The ships were under orders not to open fire unless fired upon.
The outer parts of the fjord were guarded by the Oslofjord Fortress, established in 1914, made up of smaller forts at Bolærne and Rauøy.
Of the 11 guard ships operating out of Tønsberg, would be tasked with patrolling the Oslofjord on the night of 8 April.
Requisitioned by the Norwegian Navy in 1939, "Pol III" was armed with a gun and two machine guns. The ship had a crew of 15, including its commander Captain Leif Welding-Olsen.
Action.
Shortly after 23:00 on 8 April, Lieutenant Hans Bergan of "Pol III" spotted the anonymous invasion force at the mouth of the Oslofjord. The patrol boat fired a warning shot, and closed with the German torpedo boat "Albatros". Admiral Oskar Kummetz, having seen the patrol boat to his ships' port sides, ordered "Albatros" to intercept it. Captain Leif Welding-Olsen of "Pol III" had a short conversation with the commander of the German boat, "Kapitanleutnänt" Siegfried Strelow, who demanded his surrender, to which he refused. Realizing that Norwegian neutrality was going to be violated, Olsen radioed a warning to Horten Naval Base: "Alien ships incoming at high speed," fired flares for their coastal artillery (one white, two red, meaning "Enemy ships are forcing the line."), then ordered "Pol III" to ram "Albatros".
Having just been rammed and seeing the guns manned on the patrol boat, Strelow ordered his ship's anti-aircraft batteries to open fire on the Norwegian ship. Captain Olsen was struck in the leg by machine gun fire and the ship was set ablaze. The order was given to abandon ship. The lifeboat was lowered into the water but overturned, so the crew was forced to cling to its sides. Weakened by blood loss, Olsen let go and drowned, becoming the first Norwegian casualty of the war. The surviving 14 crew were picked up by the invasion force and held captive.
At 23:30, "Kampfgruppe" 5 was spotted by Rauøy fort's searchlight. The southern battery of the fort fired two warning shots. At 23:32, Bolærne fort fired a single warning shot. At 23:35, Rauøy fort targeted the cruiser "Blücher" and fired four live rounds, but missed due to poor visibility. Shortly thereafter the ships disappeared from view in the mist, and contact was lost.
Aftermath.
The Germans proceeded down the fjord towards Oslo. Rauøy forwarded Captain Oslen's original warning down to Oscarsborg Fortress, which was able to halt the Germans in the Battle of Drøbak Sound. Minesweepers detached from the main force would land troops in the area the next morning, and the Norwegians would withdraw from their forts over the next few days.
Following Oscarsbourg's capitulation, the remainder of "Kampfgruppe" 5 would land in Oslo on 10 April. After signing an oath of non-belligerence, the captive Norwegians were released and allowed to return home.
HNoMS "Pol III" was left burning and adrift overnight. It rained and the fire burnt out on its own. The next morning the ship was discovered by the Norwegian patrol boat "Skudd 2", and towed to Tønsberg, where it would be captured by the Germans.


38th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron

The 38th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron is a provisional United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the 86th Operations Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where it was inactivated on 15 September 2010.
History.
World War II.
The 38th Troop Carrier Squadron was activated at Patterson Field, Ohio as one of the original squadrons of the 316th Transport Group in early 1942. It was reassigned to the 10th Troop Carrier Group in 1943 and served as a training unit until it was disbanded in 1944. The squadron was operational training unit, from October 1942 until April 1943 it participated in the ferrying of gliders From June through August 1943 it participated in experimental glider operations. It later served as a replacement training for glider crews and participated in maneuvers.
Cold War.
The squadron was reconstituted in 1966 and served as a tactical airlift unit from 1967 until the fall of 1975.
Present day.
The unit was converted to provisional status as the 38th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron and assigned to United States Air Forces Europe (USAFE) to activate or inactivate as needed. USAFE activated it at Ramstein Air Base, Germany from 2008 until 2010.


Seigo Kosaku

The seigo kosaku (國民政府の清鄉工作) program of pacification was the Japanese security plan to maintain peace and order in occupied territories in Chinese Mainland during wartime. Similar policies were implemented also in Manchukuo and Mengjiang, as well as by the Chinese Reformed Government and was put into practice in occupied territories in Szechwan province when the Chiang Kai-shek regime was defeated and a pro-Japanese native government was installed.


Battle of Killiecrankie

The Battle of Killiecrankie (), also referred to as the Battle of Rinrory, took place on 27 July 1689 during the 1689 Scottish Jacobite rising. A Jacobite force under John Graham, Viscount Dundee defeated a government army commanded by Hugh Mackay.
James II & VII went into exile in December 1688 after being deposed by the Glorious Revolution in Scotland. In March 1689, he began the Williamite War in Ireland, with a simultaneous revolt led by Dundee, previously military commander in Scotland.
Hampered by lack of men and resources, Dundee gambled on a decisive battle which he hoped would attract wider support. Although Killiecrankie was an unexpected and stunning victory, his army suffered heavy casualties and he was killed in the final minutes. It did little to change the overall strategic position, and the Jacobites were unable to take advantage of their success.
Background.
In February 1685, the Catholic James II & VII came to power with widespread support; the 1638 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms meant many in both England and Scotland feared the consequences of bypassing the 'natural heir'. A desire for stability led to the rapid collapse of the Monmouth Rebellion and Argyll's Rising in June 1685, both led by Protestant dissidents.
By 1680, over 95% of Scots belonged to the Church of Scotland, or kirk; Catholics numbered less than 2% of the population and even other Protestant sects were barred. The 1681 Scottish Test Act required holders of public office to be members of the kirk; James' attempts to repeal it undermined his own supporters, while rewarding the extreme Presbyterians who backed Argyll in 1685.
In June 1688, two events turned dissent into a crisis, the first being the birth of James Francis Edward on 10 June. This created the prospect of a Catholic dynasty, rather than James being succeeded by his Protestant daughter Mary, and her husband William of Orange. The second was the prosecution of the Seven Bishops, which seemed to extend official policy beyond mere tolerance for Catholicism to an assault on the established church. Their acquittal on 30 June destroyed James' political authority in both Scotland and England.
In 1685, many feared a return to civil war if James were bypassed; by 1688, anti-Catholic riots made it seem only his removal could prevent one. William landed in Brixham on 5 November with 14,000 men; as he advanced, James' army deserted, and he went into exile on 23 December. The Parliament of England offered the English throne to William and Mary in February 1689.
On 14 March, a Convention met in Edinburgh to agree a settlement for Scotland. The Convention was dominated by supporters of the new administration, with 'Jacobites' restricted to those linked to James by religion or personal ties. However, the number of activists on either side was tiny, the vast majority being unenthusiastic about either option. On 12 March, James landed in Ireland, and the Convention offered the Scottish throne to William and Mary on 11 April. The next day Dundee raised the Royal Standard on Dundee Law.
Initial military actions.
William's military commander in Scotland was General Hugh Mackay, head of the veteran Dutch Scots Brigade. His force of 3,500 included the Brigade regiments of Mackay, Balfour and Ramsay, the English Hastings Regiment and two newly raised Scots units. When Ewen Cameron of Lochiel learned of William's landing, he began recruiting men to fight for James but the short-term nature of clan warfare meant it needed to be used as soon as possible.
In April, Dundee joined him at Glenroy and on 18 May, took his force of around 1,800 Highlanders and attempted to bring Mackay to battle. He failed to do so and returned in June, after which most of the clansmen went home, leaving him with less than 200 men. On 27 June, Dundee wrote to the Earl of Melfort asking for reinforcements; the loss of Kintyre after the Battle of Loup Hill made resupply from Ireland extremely difficult and the letter details alternative landing spots. As time went on, his position weakened due to continued defections, the surrender of Edinburgh Castle on 14 June being especially discouraging.
His requests for additional resources were denied, partly due to an internal dispute with the Catholic 'Non-Compounders,' who dominated James' court in Ireland and urged him to refuse any concessions to regain his throne. Dundee and other Scottish Jacobites were mostly Protestant 'Compounders', for whom concessions were essential, and thus viewed with suspicion. The only reinforcements sent to Scotland were 300 Irish soldiers under the Catholic Alexander Cannon, who landed near Duart Castle on 21 July.
A 'Jacobite' garrison under Patrick Stewart of Ballechin occupied Blair Castle, a strategic point controlling access to the Lowlands and seat of the Duke of Atholl. This illustrates how many families balanced both sides; claiming ill-health, Atholl went to England, leaving his eldest son, John Murray, to 'besiege' his ancestral home. Stewart himself was a trusted family retainer and one of Atholl's key lieutenants in the suppression of Argyll's Rising in 1685.
In late July, Jacobite reinforcements arrived at Blair; Murray withdrew and Mackay moved north to support him, with somewhere between 3,600 and 5,100 troops. Seeing a chance to intercept, Dundee set out with his available forces, ordering the clans to follow "with all haste." Lochiel's sons were sent to raise additional levies; he and 240 Camerons plus Cannon's Irish contingent reached Blair on 26 July.
Battle.
On the morning of 27 July, Dundee learned Mackay's forces were entering the Pass of Killiecrankie, a track nearly long with the River Garry on the left and steep hills on either side. Sir Alexander McLean and 400 men were sent to skirmish with the advance guard, while Dundee assembled the rest of his troops on the lower slopes of Creag Eallich, north of the pass. As they advanced into the pass, the government army had the Jacobites on the high ground above and the river behind, while the narrow track made advance or retreat equally hazardous. Mackay halted, moved off the track and deployed his troops facing uphill in a long line only three men deep to maximise firepower.
Mackay's force included Balfour, Ramsay and Mackay's regiments of the Scots Brigade, along with the newly raised regiments of Kenmure and Leven, part of Hastings' regiment, and 100 cavalry. As the most experienced, the Scots Brigade under Balfour and Lauder was placed on the left, which provided the best field of fire.
The Jacobites formed into columns and were in position by late afternoon but Dundee waited until sunset, just after 8:00pm to begin his attack. Balfour's front line fired three volleys, killing nearly 600 Highlanders but their fire was partly masked by a shallow terrace on the hillside, while the regiments to their right apparently fled without firing a shot. Following their usual tactics, the Highlanders fired a single volley at 50 metres, dropped their muskets, and using axes and swords crashed into Mackay's centre.
Killiecrankie is the first recorded use by British troops of the plug bayonet, which increased firepower by eliminating pikemen. It was 'plugged' into the musket barrel, preventing further reloading or firing, so fixing them was delayed until the last possible moment. Inexperience in their use and the speed of the Highland charge left the government troops defenceless and many fled, abandoning Balfour, who was killed along with James Mackay, Hugh's younger brother.
Aftermath.
Mackay managed to reform Hastings and Leven's regiments from the centre and right; some 800 men made it back to Stirling with relative ease, while others straggled in over the next few days. The Highlanders halted their pursuit to loot the baggage train, and their own casualties were enormous, with between 600 and 800 wounded or killed, the vast majority on the government left. Dundee was fatally wounded towards the end of the battle, and died shortly afterwards; a letter sent under his name to James reporting the victory is generally thought to be a forgery, although it provides a useful summary of the action.
Based on muster rolls before and after the battle, government losses were around 2,000 killed, wounded or missing, although some of the "missing" may well have deserted. As colonels were paid for the number of men in their regiment, there was an obvious temptation to over-report pre-battle figures, but it is possible they suffered losses of up to 50%.
Alexander Cannon took over as leader, and while not as talented a commander as Dundee, he faced the same problems; without siege equipment, he could not capture a port, making resupply almost impossible, while lack of cavalry made them vulnerable in the open. In addition, his most reliable unit, the Camrons, suffered particularly heavy casualties, while many other Highlanders went home with their loot. These factors meant time was on Mackay's side, so long as he avoided another ambush.
After an assault on Dunkeld in August was repulsed with heavy losses, Cannon ended the campaign. Mackay spent the winter reducing Jacobite strongholds and constructing a new base at Fort William, while harsh weather conditions led to severe food shortages. When Thomas Buchan replaced Cannon in February 1690, he could only mobilise some 800 men; he was taken by surprise at Cromdale in May and his forces scattered. Mackay pursued him into Aberdeenshire and in November 1690 relinquished command to Livingstone.
In 2004, a fragment of a hand grenade was found, providing evidence of their first use in Britain 30 years earlier than that previously recorded at Glen Shiel in 1719. A detailed survey carried out in 2015 confirmed the location and intensity of the close quarter fighting, along with the discovery of large numbers of pistol and musket balls.