Battle of Ancrum Moor

The Battle of Ancrum Moor was fought during the War of the Rough Wooing in 1545. The Scottish victory put a temporary end to English incursions in the Scottish border and lowlands. The battlefield has been included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Historic Scotland under the Historic Environment (Amendment) Act 2011.
Background.
As his reign drew to a close, King Henry VIII sought to secure the alliance of Scotland and the marriage of the infant Mary, Queen of Scots, to his son Edward. He had the support of some Scots nobles who had been taken prisoner at the Battle of Solway Moss and mixed diplomacy with the threat of force, but in December 1543, the Scottish Parliament, after much internal dissension, decided to reject Henry's overtures and instead renew the alliance with France.
Campaign.
Henry's reaction was to declare war against Scotland. This attempt to cajole Scotland into alliance was another episode in England's long history of antagonism with her northern neighbour. Henry VIII desired a diplomatic marriage that would neutralise the effects of Scotland's own international relations on his borders. The war was later called the "Rough Wooing".
Henry ordered the Earl of Hertford to devastate Edinburgh, Leith and many other towns. Hertford dutifully laid waste to much of southern Scotland in two expeditions in 1544, burning Edinburgh in May.
In 1545, an army under Sir Ralph Eure (alternatively spelt "Evers") continued to pillage in the Borders. Perhaps their worst atrocity was the burning of Brumehous Tower with the lady of the house and her children and servants inside. The attacks had forged an unlikely alliance between the Earl of Arran, Regent for the infant Mary, and the Earl of Angus. These two Scottish nobles had long been bitter rivals for many years, and had even fought a pitched battle in the streets of Edinburgh in 1520. However, Angus's estates had been targeted during the recent border raids. Angus learned that Eure had been granted some of his lands in the Scottish borders by Henry VIII, and he declared that he would witness the title deeds with a sharp pen and red ink. Internal Scottish politics were set aside, Arran and his rival for power Mary of Guise were reconciled with the Earl of Angus and his brother George Douglas of Pittendreich at the Parliament of Scotland in December 1544, when the Douglases were pardoned for their previous treasons with England.
The Scottish army consisted initially of between 300 and 1,000 "lances" under Angus, and a similar number of troops from Fife under George Leslie, 4th Earl of Rothes and Norman Leslie, Master of Rothes. They were joined by Borderers under Scott of Buccleuch, whose lands had also suffered devastation at Eure's hands. Together, they moved to confront the English army near Jedburgh.
Battle.
The English Army consisted of 3,000 German and Spanish mercenaries, 1,500 English borderers under Sir Brian Layton and 700 "assured" Scottish borderers. As they settled into an encampment under Gersit Law, a small Scottish force made a feint attack and then retreated southwest towards Palace Hill. Much of the English force followed in pursuit. As they crossed the top of Palace Hill and chased down the far side, they found that the whole Scottish army had been hidden on the far side of the hill. The Scots had the advantage of surprise, and of the setting sun which was behind them, dazzling the English, and of the westerly wind which blew gunpowder smoke from arquebuses and pistols towards the English.
A charge by Scottish pikemen drove the English back in disarray. Here the longer Scottish pikes were used to advantage;"the Scottismen's speares war longer then the Inglismen's be fyve quareteris, or an elne, quhilk, when they joyned with the Inglishmen, they had thame all rivin doune before evir the Inglishmenis speares might touch thame." The ground was too uneven for the English to rally at the top of Palace Hill. As they tried again to rally on the eastern slope, the Scottish Borderers with them chose to tear off the red crosses which signified their adherence to England and revert to their former allegiance. The English army broke and was forced to scatter through a hostile countryside.
Regent Arran visits the field.
According to an English report, Regent Arran came to the battlefield and congratulated the Earl of Angus. He asked a prisoner to identify Ralph Eure's body. Arran wept, and said;"God have mercy on him, for he was a fell cruel man and over cruel, which many a man and fatherless bairn might rue, and wellaway that ever such slaughter and bloodshedding should be amongst Christian men." Regent Arran's visit to the field was also mentioned by the 16th-century Scottish chronicle writers John Lesley and Robert Lindsay of Pitscottie, who have the Governor and Regent give thanks for the unexpected victory, where "so small a number discomfited so great a host and one so well appointed (equipped)." As the modern historian Marcus Merriman notes, the size of the English battle group was rare, larger than any border raiding party, especially considering the winter conditions.
Outcome.
The English lost 800 men killed (including Eure and Layton) and 1,000 taken prisoner. This temporarily stopped their harrying of Scotland. News of the victory also induced Francis I of France to send troops to aid the Scots, although they achieved little. The war came to an end shortly afterwards on the death of Henry VIII, only to break out again with perhaps even more violence when Hertford, now Protector Somerset ruling on behalf of Edward VI, sought to impose his own political and religious settlement on Scotland.
Fair maiden Lilliard.
A monument on the site of the battle, also known as Lilliard's Edge, records the following traditional verse:
Fair maiden Lilliard
lies under this stane
little was her stature
but muckle was her fame
upon the English loons
she laid monie thumps
and when her legs were cuttit off
she fought upon her stumps.
- AD 1544
The monument was erected in the 19th century, although it replaced an earlier stone with the same inscription, which is recorded as being in pieces in 1743. Lilliard is said to have fought at the battle following the death of her lover. However, her story is entirely apocryphal, as the name of the location is recorded as "Lillesietburn" in the 12th century, and as "Lillyat Cros" in 1378.
The verse itself is based on the earlier English border ballad of Chevy Chase.


Battle of Philiphaugh

The Battle of Philiphaugh was fought on 13 September 1645 during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders. The Royalist army of the Marquis of Montrose was destroyed by the Covenanter army of Sir David Leslie, restoring the power of the Committee of Estates.
Prelude.
When the Covenanters became allies of the English Parliamentarians, Montrose was given a commission as King Charles's Lieutenant General in Scotland. He was able to raise an army consisting of regiments of Irish soldiers sent to Scotland by the Irish Confederates and shifting numbers of Highland clansmen. With these troops, Montrose had won a remarkable series of victories in the year preceding the Battle of Philiphaugh. The last of these was at Kilsyth, which destroyed the last Covenanter army in Scotland and put the lowland towns at his mercy.
Montrose refused to allow his army to loot Glasgow, instead accepting a sum of £500 from the Town Council as pay for his soldiers. He then summoned a Parliament to be held in Glasgow. The Council complained at the cost which would be involved and asked to be excused the levy of £500. Montrose agreed, leaving his army without pay. Although Montrose intended to strike into England to aid the King's cause there, the Highlanders under Alasdair MacColla who made up most of Montrose's infantry refused to go any further south leaving their traditional foes, the Campbells, in their rear. At the same time, Montrose appointed the former prisoner, the Earl of Crawford as his Lieutenant General of Horse. Most of his horsemen were Gordons under Lord James Aboyne. Affronted by Crawford's appointment, they too left the army.
Montrose hoped to gain recruits from the Borders, and marched south with only 500 musketeers from his Irish Catholic regiments and a small troop of horse. He made for Kelso, but found that only a few Borders gentry joined his army instead of the thousands of recruits he expected.
Meanwhile, the Earl of Leven, who commanded the main Scottish Covenanter Army in England, had heard of the result of the Battle of Kilsyth, and sent Sir David Leslie, the Lieutenant General of Horse, back into Scotland with all the cavalry he could muster. Leslie collected reinforcements from Covenanter garrisons in Newcastle upon Tyne and Berwick, and crossed the border on 6 September, with 5,000 horse and dragoons and 1,000 infantry. He marched along the east coast intending to cut off Montrose from the Highlands, but learned (possibly from the turncoat Earls of Home and Roxburgh) of Montrose's position and strength, and turned south to intercept him.
Battle.
Contemporary accounts give only a broad outline of the battle. Subsequent authors have interpreted this in various ways in an attempt to arrive at a more detailed account.
Montrose himself, many of his officers and some of the cavalry were quartered in the town of Selkirk, with the infantry and the rest of the cavalry encamped on flat ground the other side of the river (the Ettrick Water) at Philiphaugh. Warner puts this just below the junction of the Yarrow Water and the Ettrick Water and hence about away. However, a contemporary description of the Royalist infantry position has them behind "on one hand an unpassable ditch, and on the other Dikes and Hedges, and where these were not strong enough, they further fortified them by casting up ditches, and lined their Hedges with Musketeers." Hence other interpretations would put the royalists within field enclosures shown on an 18th-century map between and from Selkirk.
Leslie had arrived at nearby Melrose the evening before, and advanced up the valley of the Tweed, driving in the Royalist outposts at Sunderland (at the junction of the Ettrick Water with the Tweed, about downstream of Selkirk) without apparently alarming or alerting the main Royalist force. The following morning was misty, and whatever scouting was undertaken by the Royalists failed to reveal the presence of Leslie's forces. Leslie divided his force into two wings, one of which attacked the Royalist position directly, getting to within half a mile before the alarm was raised. The other executed a flanking manoeuvre, probably on the south bank of the Ettrick Water although some interpretations follow a later ballad and say through hilly ground to the north.
Montrose was alerted to Leslie's attack by the sound of gunfire, but arrived on the battlefield to find his forces in considerable confusion. Although the Royalist infantry's strong defensive position enabled them to repel at least two Covenanter attacks, the arrival of Leslie's flanking force ensured their defeat. After Montrose made a brief attempt to restore the situation by charging 2,000 Covenanter dragoons with only 100 cavalry of his own, he was urged by his friends that the Royalist cause in Scotland would die without him. He cut his way out with 30 men, and retreated over the Minchmoor road toward Peebles.
Many of Montrose's Irish foot soldiers from Manus O'Cahan's regiment had been killed in the battle, but after fighting on for some time after the flight of the cavalry about 100 of them surrendered on promise of quarter. Some Presbyterian Ministers who accompanied Leslie persuaded him that this clemency was foolish, and the prisoners and 300 camp followers (many of them women and children) were slaughtered in cold blood.
In 2011 the battlefield was archaeologically investigated by a community metal detecting and excavation project led by Dr Natasha Ferguson of the Centre for Battlefield archaeology. Only 5% of the 880 artefacts found in the survey were archaeologically relevant however all finds were included in the appendix. Only 2 musket balls, 9 pistol balls, and 2 perhaps 3 pieces of canister shot were found. Approximately 25 copper 17th-century coins and one French coin from 1601-1642 were found, two buckles dated to the 17th-century, one silver button with dubious authenticity, and a possible 17th-18th century horseshoe were found.
Aftermath.
Montrose attempted to raise another army in the Highlands, but was unable to take the field against Leslie's army. After fighting a guerilla campaign over the following winter and spring, he received orders from King Charles (who was now himself a prisoner) to lay down his arms. Montrose, Crawford and Sir John Hurry, who had changed sides to join Montrose after the Battle of Auldearn, were refused pardon by the victorious Committee of Estates and went into exile.
Today the (most likely site of the) battlefield is home to Selkirk Cricket Club and Selkirk Rugby Club, along with a small number of cottages. The site of the battle has been inventoried and protected by Historic Scotland under the Scottish Historical Environment Policy of 2009.
In popular culture.
Events tied to the battle were chronicled in "The Battle of Philiphaugh," one of the ballads collected by Francis James Child and published in "The English and Scottish Popular Ballads" (1882-1898) as Child Ballad 202. The author of the ballad is unknown.
The battle and the Royalist campaign of 1644-1645 in general feature in the 1937 novel And No Quarter by Irish writer Maurice Walsh, told from the perspective of two members of O'Cahan's Regiment.


Convoy SL 78

Convoy SL 78 was the 78th of the numbered series of World War II SL convoys of merchant ships from Sierra Leone to Liverpool. Ships carrying commodities bound to the British Isles from South America, Africa, and the Indian Ocean traveled independently to Freetown to be convoyed for the last leg of their voyage. Twenty-five merchant ships departed Freetown on 18 June 1941. U-boats sank eight ships before the convoy reached Liverpool on 12 July.
Ships in the Convoy.
Allied merchant ships.
A total of 26 merchant vessels joined the convoy, either in Sierra Leone or later in the voyage.
Convoy escorts.
A series of armed military ships escorted the convoy at various times during its journey.


Self-Government Guiding Board

The Self-Government Guiding Board was organized by the Imperial Japanese Army, in Mukden during the last half of September 1931 following the Mukden Incident and Invasion of Manchuria. The purpose of the Board was to start an independence movement and spread it throughout Manchuria. Colonel Seishirō Itagaki I was in charge of the Staff Section having supervision over the Board; and Colonel Kenji Doihara, as head of the Special Service Office, supplied the Board with all necessary confidential information regarding the Chinese. Although the Chairman of the Board was Chinese, approximately 90 per cent of the personnel employed by the Board were Japanese residents in Manchuria.


Kyle and Company

Kyle & Company or Kyle & Co was a steel shipbuilding company in Stockton, California. To support the World War II demand for ships Kyle & Company built: Coastal tankers and Type B ship deck barges. Kyle & Company was opened as a manufacturer of steel products and build ships for the war. After World War II, the shipyard closed in 1950 and was purchased by Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Co.. Kyle & Company also made steel products in Fresno and Sacramento. The shipyard was located on the Stockton Channel at 348 North Harrison Street, now a parking lot near Banner Stadium and Stockton Arena. The Kyle & Company shipyard was on the deepwater port on the Stockton Ship Channel of the Pacific Ocean and an inland port located more than seventy nautical miles from the ocean, on the Stockton Channel and San Joaquin River-Stockton Deepwater Shipping Channel (before it joins the Sacramento River to empty into Suisun Bay).
Coastal tanker.
Kyle and Company Coastal tankers: had a displacement of 484 tons, length of 162 feet, beam of 27 feet, a draft of 13 feet, top speed of 9 kts, crew of 23, including gun crew of 6. The tanker had two single 20mm AA guns and fuel cargo capacity of 280,000 gal.. It was powered by one 6-cyl diesel engine, with a single screw and had 400 shp.
Deck barge.
Kyle and Company built deck barges that had a length of 110 feet, a beam of 35 feet, a draft of 6 feet, light displacement of 170 tons, full displacement of 500 tons, and deadweight of 330 tons.


Battle of Hastings

The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman conquest of England. It took place approximately northwest of Hastings, close to the present-day town of Battle, East Sussex, and was a decisive Norman victory.
The background to the battle was the death of the childless King Edward the Confessor in January 1066, which set up a succession struggle between several claimants to his throne. Harold was crowned king shortly after Edward's death, but faced invasions by William, his own brother Tostig, and the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada (Harold III of Norway). Hardrada and Tostig defeated a hastily gathered army of Englishmen at the Battle of Fulford on 20 September 1066, and were in turn defeated by Harold at the Battle of Stamford Bridge five days later. The deaths of Tostig and Hardrada at Stamford Bridge left William as Harold's only serious opponent. While Harold and his forces were recovering, William landed his invasion forces in the south of England at Pevensey on 28 September 1066 and established a beachhead for his conquest of the kingdom. Harold was forced to march south swiftly, gathering forces as he went.
The exact numbers present at the battle are unknown as even modern estimates vary considerably. The composition of the forces is clearer; the English army was composed almost entirely of infantry and had few archers, whereas only about half of the invading force was infantry, the rest split equally between cavalry and archers. Harold appears to have tried to surprise William, but scouts found his army and reported its arrival to William, who marched from Hastings to the battlefield to confront Harold. The battle lasted from about 9 am to dusk. Early efforts of the invaders to break the English battle lines had little effect; therefore, the Normans adopted the tactic of pretending to flee in panic and then turning on their pursuers. Harold's death, probably near the end of the battle, led to the retreat and defeat of most of his army. After further marching and some skirmishes, William was crowned as king on Christmas Day 1066.
There continued to be rebellions and resistance to William's rule, but Hastings effectively marked the culmination of William's conquest of England. Casualty figures are hard to come by, but some historians estimate that 2,000 invaders died along with about twice that number of Englishmen. William founded a monastery at the site of the battle, the high altar of the abbey church supposedly placed at the spot where Harold died.
Background.
In 911, the Carolingian ruler Charles the Simple allowed a group of Vikings to settle in Normandy under their leader Rollo. Their settlement proved successful, and they quickly adapted to the indigenous culture, renouncing paganism, converting to Christianity, and intermarrying with the local population. Over time, the frontiers of the duchy expanded to the west. In 1002, King Æthelred II married Emma, the sister of Richard II, Duke of Normandy. Their son Edward the Confessor spent many years in exile in Normandy, and succeeded to the English throne in 1042. This led to the establishment of a powerful Norman interest in English politics, as Edward drew heavily on his former hosts for support, bringing in Norman courtiers, soldiers, and clerics and appointing them to positions of power, particularly in the Church. Edward was childless and embroiled in conflict with the formidable Godwin, Earl of Wessex, and his sons, and he may also have encouraged Duke William of Normandy's ambitions for the English throne.
Succession crisis in England.
King Edward's death on 5 January 1066 left no clear heir, and several contenders laid claim to the throne of England. Edward's immediate successor was the Earl of Wessex, Harold Godwinson, the richest and most powerful of the English aristocrats and son of Godwin, Edward's earlier opponent. Harold was elected king by the Witenagemot of England and crowned by Ealdred, the Archbishop of York, although Norman propaganda claimed that the ceremony was performed by Stigand, the uncanonically elected Archbishop of Canterbury. Harold was at once challenged by two powerful neighbouring rulers. Duke William claimed that he had been promised the throne by King Edward and that Harold had sworn agreement to this. Harald Hardrada of Norway also contested the succession. His claim to the throne was based on an agreement between his predecessor Magnus the Good and the earlier King of England Harthacnut, whereby, if either died without heir, the other would inherit both England and Norway. William and Harald Hardrada immediately set about assembling troops and ships for separate invasions.
Tostig and Hardrada's invasions.
In early 1066, Harold's exiled brother Tostig Godwinson raided southeastern England with a fleet he had recruited in Flanders, later joined by other ships from Orkney. Threatened by Harold's fleet, Tostig moved north and raided in East Anglia and Lincolnshire. He was driven back to his ships by the brothers Edwin, Earl of Mercia and Morcar, Earl of Northumbria. Deserted by most of his followers, he withdrew to Scotland, where he spent the middle of the year recruiting fresh forces. Hardrada invaded northern England in early September, leading a fleet of more than 300 ships carrying perhaps 15,000 men. Hardrada's army was further augmented by the forces of Tostig, who supported the Norwegian king's bid for the throne. Advancing on York, the Norwegians occupied the city after defeating a northern English army under Edwin and Morcar on 20 September at the Battle of Fulford.
English army and Harold's preparations.
The English army was organised along regional lines, with the "fyrd", or local levy, serving under a local magnate – whether an earl, bishop, or sheriff. The "fyrd" was composed of men who owned their own land, and were equipped by their community to fulfil the king's demands for military forces. For every five hides, or units of land nominally capable of supporting one household, one man was supposed to serve. It appears that the hundred was the main organising unit for the "fyrd". As a whole, England could furnish about 14,000 men for the "fyrd", when it was called out. The "fyrd" usually served for two months, except in emergencies. It was rare for the whole national "fyrd" to be called out; between 1046 and 1065 it was only done three times, in 1051, 1052, and 1065. The king also had a group of personal armsmen, known as housecarls, who formed the backbone of the royal forces. Some earls also had their own forces of housecarls. Thegns, the local landowning elites, either fought with the royal housecarls or attached themselves to the forces of an earl or other magnate. The "fyrd" and the housecarls both fought on foot, with the major difference between them being the housecarls' superior armour. The English army does not appear to have had a significant number of archers.
Harold had spent mid-1066 on the south coast with a large army and fleet waiting for William to invade. The bulk of his forces were militia who needed to harvest their crops, so on 8 September Harold dismissed the militia and the fleet. Learning of the Norwegian invasion he rushed north, gathering forces as he went, and took the Norwegians by surprise, defeating them at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September. Harald Hardrada and Tostig were killed, and the Norwegians suffered such great losses that only 24 of the original 300 ships were required to carry away the survivors. The English victory came at great cost, as Harold's army was left in a battered and weakened state, and far from the south.
William's preparations and landing.
William assembled a large invasion fleet and an army gathered from Normandy and the rest of France, including large contingents from Brittany and Flanders. He spent almost nine months on his preparations, as he had to construct a fleet from nothing. According to some Norman chronicles, he also secured diplomatic support, although the accuracy of the reports has been a matter of historical debate. The most famous claim is that Pope Alexander II gave a papal banner as a token of support, which only appears in William of Poitiers's account, and not in more contemporary narratives. In April 1066 Halley's Comet appeared in the sky, and was widely reported throughout Europe. Contemporary accounts connected the comet's appearance with the succession crisis in England.
William mustered his forces at Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, and was ready to cross the English Channel by about 12 August. But the crossing was delayed, either because of unfavourable weather or to avoid being intercepted by the powerful English fleet. The Normans crossed to England a few days after Harold's victory over the Norwegians, following the dispersal of Harold's naval force, and landed at Pevensey in Sussex on 28 September. A few ships were blown off course and landed at Romney, where the Normans fought the local "fyrd". After landing, William's forces built a wooden castle at Hastings, from which they raided the surrounding area. More fortifications were erected at Pevensey.
Norman forces at Hastings.
The exact numbers and composition of William's force are unknown. A contemporary document claims that William had 776 ships, but this may be an inflated figure. Figures given by contemporary writers for the size of the army are highly exaggerated, varying from 14,000 to 150,000. Modern historians have offered a range of estimates for the size of William's forces: 7,000–8,000 men, 1,000–2,000 of them cavalry; 10,000–12,000 men; 10,000 men, 3,000 of them cavalry; or 7,500 men. The army consisted of cavalry, infantry, and archers or crossbowmen, with about equal numbers of cavalry and archers and the foot soldiers equal in number to the other two types combined. Later lists of companions of William the Conqueror are extant, but most are padded with extra names; only about 35 named individuals can be reliably identified as having been with William at Hastings.
The main armour used was chainmail hauberks, usually knee-length, with slits to allow riding, some with sleeves to the elbows. Some hauberks may have been made of scales attached to a tunic, with the scales made of metal, horn or hardened leather. Headgear was usually a conical metal helmet with a band of metal extending down to protect the nose. Horsemen and infantry carried shields. The infantryman's shield was usually round and made of wood, with reinforcement of metal. Horsemen had changed to a kite-shaped shield and were usually armed with a lance. The couched lance, carried tucked against the body under the right arm, was a relatively new refinement and was probably not used at Hastings; the terrain was unfavourable for long cavalry charges. Both the infantry and cavalry usually fought with a straight sword, long and double-edged. The infantry could also use javelins and long spears. Some of the cavalry may have used a mace instead of a sword. Archers would have used a self bow or a crossbow, and most would not have had armour.
Harold moves south.
After defeating his brother Tostig and Harald Hardrada in the north, Harold left much of his forces in the north, including Morcar and Edwin, and marched the rest of his army south to deal with the threatened Norman invasion. It is unclear when Harold learned of William's landing, but it was probably while he was travelling south. Harold stopped in London, and was there for about a week before Hastings, so it is likely that he spent about a week on his march south, averaging about per day, for the approximately . Harold camped at Caldbec Hill on the night of 13 October, near what was described as a "hoar-apple tree". This location was about from William's castle at Hastings. Some of the early contemporary French accounts mention an emissary or emissaries sent by Harold to William, which is likely. Nothing came of these efforts.
Although Harold attempted to surprise the Normans, William's scouts reported the English arrival to the duke. The exact events preceding the battle are obscure, with contradictory accounts in the sources, but all agree that William led his army from his castle and advanced towards the enemy. Harold had taken a defensive position at the top of Senlac Hill (present-day Battle, East Sussex), about from William's castle at Hastings.
English forces at Hastings.
The exact number of soldiers in Harold's army is unknown. The contemporary records do not give reliable figures; some Norman sources give 400,000 to 1,200,000 men on Harold's side. The English sources generally give very low figures for Harold's army, perhaps to make the English defeat seem less devastating. Recent historians have suggested figures of between 5,000 and 13,000 for Harold's army at Hastings, and most modern historians argue for a figure of 7,000–8,000 English troops. These men would have been a mix of the "fyrd" and housecarls. Few individual Englishmen are known to have been at Hastings; about 20 named individuals can reasonably be assumed to have fought with Harold at Hastings, including Harold's brothers Gyrth and Leofwine and two other relatives.
The English army consisted entirely of infantry. It is possible that some of the higher class members of the army rode to battle, but when battle was joined they dismounted to fight on foot. The core of the army was made up of housecarls, full-time professional soldiers. Their armour consisted of a conical helmet, a mail hauberk, and a shield, which might be either kite-shaped or round. Most housecarls fought with the two-handed Danish battleaxe, but they could also carry a sword. The rest of the army was made up of levies from the "fyrd", also infantry but more lightly armoured and not professionals. Most of the infantry would have formed part of the shield wall, in which all the men in the front ranks locked their shields together. Behind them would have been axemen and men with javelins as well as archers.
Battle.
Background and location.
Because many of the primary accounts contradict each other at times, it is impossible to provide a description of the battle that is beyond dispute. The only undisputed facts are that the fighting began at 9 am on Saturday 14 October 1066 and that the battle lasted until dusk. Sunset on the day of the battle was at 4:54 pm, with the battlefield mostly dark by 5:54 pm and in full darkness by 6:24 pm. Moonrise that night was not until 11:12 pm, so once the sun set, there was little light on the battlefield. William of Jumièges reports that Duke William kept his army armed and ready against a surprise night attack for the entire night before. The battle took place north of Hastings at the present-day town of Battle, between two hills – Caldbec Hill to the north and Telham Hill to the south. The area was heavily wooded, with a marsh nearby. The name traditionally given to the battle is unusual – there were several settlements much closer to the battlefield than Hastings. The "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" called it the battle "at the hoary apple tree". Within 40 years, the battle was described by the Anglo-Norman chronicler Orderic Vitalis as "Senlac", a Norman-French adaptation of the Old English word "Sandlacu", which means "sandy water". This may have been the name of the stream that crosses the battlefield. The battle was already being referred to as "bellum Hasestingas" or "Battle of Hastings" by 1086, in the Domesday Book.
Sunrise was at 6:48 am that morning, and reports of the day record that it was unusually bright. The weather conditions are not recorded. The route that the English army took south to the battlefield is not known precisely. Several roads are possible: one, an old Roman road that ran from Rochester to Hastings has long been favoured because of a large coin hoard found nearby in 1876. Another possibility is the Roman road between London and Lewes and then over local tracks to the battlefield. Some accounts of the battle indicate that the Normans advanced from Hastings to the battlefield, but the contemporary account of William of Jumièges places the Normans at the site of the battle the night before. Most historians incline towards the former view, but M. K. Lawson argues that William of Jumièges's account is correct.
Dispositions of forces and tactics.
Harold's forces deployed in a small, dense formation at the top of steep slope, with their flanks protected by woods and marshy ground in front of them. The line may have extended far enough to be anchored on a nearby stream. The English formed a shield wall, with the front ranks holding their shields close together or even overlapping to provide protection from attack. Sources differ on the exact site that the English fought on: some sources state the site of the abbey, but some newer sources suggest it was Caldbec Hill.
More is known about the Norman deployment. Duke William appears to have arranged his forces in three groups, or "battles", which roughly corresponded to their origins. The left units were the Bretons, along with those from Anjou, Poitou and Maine. This division was led by Alan the Red, a relative of the Breton count. The centre was held by the Normans, under the direct command of the duke and with many of his relatives and kinsmen grouped around the ducal party. The final division, on the right, consisted of the Frenchmen, along with some men from Picardy, Boulogne, and Flanders. The right was commanded by William fitzOsbern and Count Eustace II of Boulogne. The front lines were made up of archers, with a line of foot soldiers armed with spears behind. There were probably a few crossbowmen and slingers in with the archers. The cavalry was held in reserve, and a small group of clergymen and servants situated at the base of Telham Hill was not expected to take part in the fighting.
William's disposition of his forces implies that he planned to open the battle with archers in the front rank weakening the enemy with arrows, followed by infantry who would engage in close combat. The infantry would create openings in the English lines that could be exploited by a cavalry charge to break through the English forces and pursue the fleeing soldiers.
Beginning of the battle.
The battle opened with the Norman archers shooting uphill at the English shield wall, to little effect. The uphill angle meant that the arrows either bounced off the shields of the English or overshot their targets and flew over the top of the hill. The lack of English archers hampered the Norman archers, as there were few English arrows to be gathered up and reused. After the attack from the archers, William sent the spearmen forward to attack the English. They were met with a barrage of missiles, not arrows but spears, axes and stones. The infantry was unable to force openings in the shield wall, and the cavalry advanced in support. The cavalry also failed to make headway, and a general retreat began, blamed on the Breton division on William's left. A rumour started that the duke had been killed, which added to the confusion. The English forces began to pursue the fleeing invaders, but William rode through his forces, showing his face and yelling that he was still alive. The duke then led a counter-attack against the pursuing English forces; some of the English rallied on a hillock before being overwhelmed.
It is not known whether the English pursuit was ordered by Harold or if it was spontaneous. Wace relates that Harold ordered his men to stay in their formations but no other account gives this detail. The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the death of Harold's brothers Gyrth and Leofwine occurring just before the fight around the hillock. This may mean that the two brothers led the pursuit. The "Carmen de Hastingae Proelio" relates a different story for the death of Gyrth, stating that the duke slew Harold's brother in combat, perhaps thinking that Gyrth was Harold. William of Poitiers states that the bodies of Gyrth and Leofwine were found near Harold's, implying that they died late in the battle. It is possible that if the two brothers died early in the fighting their bodies were taken to Harold, thus accounting for their being found near his body after the battle. The military historian Peter Marren speculates that if Gyrth and Leofwine died early in the battle, that may have influenced Harold to stand and fight to the end.
Feigned flights.
A lull probably occurred early in the afternoon, and a break for rest and food would probably have been needed. William may have also needed time to implement a new strategy, which may have been inspired by the English pursuit and subsequent rout by the Normans. If the Normans could send their cavalry against the shield wall and then draw the English into more pursuits, breaks in the English line might form. William of Poitiers says the tactic was used twice. Although arguments have been made that the chroniclers' accounts of this tactic were meant to excuse the flight of the Norman troops from battle, this is unlikely as the earlier flight was not glossed over. It was a tactic used by other Norman armies during the period. Some historians have argued that the story of the use of feigned flight as a deliberate tactic was invented after the battle; however most historians agree that it was used by the Normans at Hastings.
Although the feigned flights did not break the lines, they probably thinned out the housecarls in the English shield wall. The housecarls were replaced with members of the "fyrd", and the shield wall held. Archers appear to have been used again before and during an assault by the cavalry and infantry led by the duke. Although 12th-century sources state that the archers were ordered to shoot at a high angle to shoot over the front of the shield wall, there is no trace of such an action in the more contemporary accounts. It is not known how many assaults were launched against the English lines, but some sources record various actions by both Normans and Englishmen that took place during the afternoon's fighting. The "Carmen" claims that Duke William had two horses killed under him during the fighting, but William of Poitiers's account states that it was three.
Death of Harold.
Harold appears to have died late in the battle, although accounts in the various sources are contradictory. William of Poitiers only mentions his death, without giving any details on how it occurred. The Tapestry is not helpful, as it shows a figure holding an arrow sticking out of his eye next to a falling fighter being hit with a sword. Over both figures is a statement "Here King Harold has been killed". It is not clear which figure is meant to be Harold, or if both are meant. The earliest written mention of the traditional account of Harold dying from an arrow to the eye dates to the 1080s from a history of the Normans written by an Italian monk, Amatus of Montecassino. William of Malmesbury stated that Harold died from an arrow to the eye that went into the brain, and that a knight wounded Harold at the same time. Wace repeats the arrow-to-the-eye account. The "Carmen" states that Duke William killed Harold, but this is unlikely, as such a feat would have been recorded elsewhere. The account of William of Jumièges is even more unlikely, as it has Harold dying in the morning, during the first fighting. The "Chronicle of Battle Abbey" states that no one knew who killed Harold, as it happened in the press of battle. A modern biographer of Harold, Ian Walker, states that Harold probably died from an arrow in the eye, although he also says it is possible that Harold was struck down by a Norman knight while mortally wounded in the eye. Another biographer of Harold, Peter Rex, after discussing the various accounts, concludes that it is not possible to declare how Harold died.
Harold's death left the English forces leaderless, and they began to collapse. Many of them fled, but the soldiers of the royal household gathered around Harold's body and fought to the end. The Normans began to pursue the fleeing troops, and except for a rearguard action at a site known as the "Malfosse", the battle was over. Exactly what happened at the Malfosse, or "Evil Ditch", and where it took place, is unclear. It occurred at a small fortification or set of trenches where some Englishmen rallied and seriously wounded Eustace of Boulogne before being defeated by the Normans.
Reasons for the outcome.
Harold's defeat was probably due to several circumstances. One was the need to defend against two almost simultaneous invasions. The fact that Harold had dismissed his forces in southern England on 8 September also contributed to the defeat. Many historians fault Harold for hurrying south and not gathering more forces before confronting William at Hastings, although it is not clear that the English forces were insufficient to deal with William's forces. Against these arguments for an exhausted English army, the length of the battle, which lasted an entire day, shows that the English forces were not tired by their long march. Tied in with the speed of Harold's advance to Hastings is the possibility Harold may not have trusted Earls Edwin of Mercia and Morcar of Northumbria once their enemy Tostig had been defeated, and declined to bring them and their forces south. Modern historians have pointed out that one reason for Harold's rush to battle was to contain William's depredations and keep him from breaking free of his beachhead.
Most of the blame for the defeat probably lies in the events of the battle. William was the more experienced military leader, and in addition the lack of cavalry on the English side allowed Harold fewer tactical options. Some writers have criticised Harold for not exploiting the opportunity offered by the rumoured death of William early in the battle. The English appear to have erred in not staying strictly on the defensive, for when they pursued the retreating Normans they exposed their flanks to attack. Whether this was due to the inexperience of the English commanders or the indiscipline of the English soldiers is unclear. In the end, Harold's death appears to have been decisive, as it signalled the break-up of the English forces in disarray. The historian David Nicolle said of the battle that William's army "demonstrated – not without difficulty – the superiority of Norman-French mixed cavalry and infantry tactics over the Germanic-Scandinavian infantry traditions of the Anglo-Saxons."
Aftermath.
The day after the battle, Harold's body was identified, either by his armour or by marks on his body. His personal standard was presented to William, and later sent to the papacy. The bodies of the English dead, including some of Harold's brothers and housecarls, were left on the battlefield, although some were removed by relatives later. The Norman dead were buried in a large communal grave, which has not been found. Exact casualty figures are unknown. Of the Englishmen known to be at the battle, the number of dead implies that the death rate was about 50 per cent of those engaged, although this may be too high. Of the named Normans who fought at Hastings, one in seven is stated to have died, but these were all noblemen, and it is probable that the death rate among the common soldiers was higher. Although Orderic Vitalis's figures are highly exaggerated, his ratio of one in four casualties may be accurate. Marren speculates that perhaps 2,000 Normans and 4,000 Englishmen were killed at Hastings. Reports stated that some of the English dead were still being found on the hillside years later. Although scholars thought for a long time that remains would not be recoverable, due to the acidic soil, recent finds have changed this view. One skeleton that was found in a medieval cemetery, and originally was thought to be associated with the 13th century Battle of Lewes, now is thought to be associated with Hastings instead.
One story relates that Gytha, Harold's mother, offered the victorious duke the weight of her son's body in gold for its custody, but was refused. William ordered that Harold's body be thrown into the sea, but whether that took place is unclear. Another story relates that Harold was buried at the top of a cliff. Waltham Abbey, which had been founded by Harold, later claimed that his body had been secretly buried there. Other legends claimed that Harold did not die at Hastings, but escaped and became a hermit at Chester.
William expected to receive the submission of the surviving English leaders after his victory, but instead Edgar the Ætheling was proclaimed king by the Witenagemot, with the support of Earls Edwin and Morcar, Stigand, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Ealdred, the Archbishop of York. William therefore advanced on London, marching around the coast of Kent. He defeated an English force that attacked him at Southwark but was unable to storm London Bridge, forcing him to reach the capital by a more circuitous route.
William moved up the Thames valley to cross the river at Wallingford, where he received the submission of Stigand. He then travelled north-east along the Chilterns, before advancing towards London from the north-west, fighting further engagements against forces from the city. The English leaders surrendered to William at Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. William was acclaimed King of England and crowned by Ealdred on 25 December 1066, in Westminster Abbey.
Despite the submission of the English nobles, resistance continued for several years. There were rebellions in Exeter in late 1067, an invasion by Harold's sons in mid-1068, and an uprising in Northumbria in 1068. In 1069 William faced more troubles from Northumbrian rebels, an invading Danish fleet, and rebellions in the south and west of England. He ruthlessly put down the various risings, culminating in the Harrying of the North in late 1069 and early 1070 that devastated parts of northern England. A further rebellion in 1070 by Hereward the Wake was also defeated by the king, at Ely.
Battle Abbey was founded by William at the site of the battle. According to 12th-century sources, William made a vow to found the abbey, and the high altar of the church was placed at the site where Harold had died. More likely, the foundation was imposed on William by papal legates in 1070. The topography of the battlefield has been altered by subsequent construction work for the abbey, and the slope defended by the English is now much less steep than it was at the time of the battle; the top of the ridge has also been built up and levelled. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the abbey's lands passed to secular landowners, who used it as a residence or country house. In 1976 the estate was put up for sale and purchased by the government with the aid of some American donors who wished to honour the 200th anniversary of American independence. The battlefield and abbey grounds are currently owned and administered by English Heritage and are open to the public. The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered narrative of the events leading up to Hastings probably commissioned by Odo of Bayeux soon after the battle, perhaps to hang at the bishop's palace at Bayeux. In modern times annual reenactments of the Battle of Hastings have drawn thousands of participants and spectators to the site of the original battle.


Landings on Rendova

The Landings on Rendova were amphibious military assaults by United States Army, Marine Corps and Navy forces on Rendova Island in the Solomon Islands on 30 June 1943. The small Japanese garrison was quickly overwhelmed by US troops, but the island was subjected to heavy attack by Japanese aircraft over several days. The landings were some of the first Allied landings during the New Georgia Campaign of the Pacific War and were successful in securing the island and providing a base from which the Allies could support the subsequent invasion of New Georgia island and the eventual capture of Munda airfield in early August 1943.
Background.
Rendova Island forms part of the New Georgia group and is situated off the western coast of mainland New Georgia, separated from it by the Blanche Channel. It is roughly rectangular in shape, oriented northeast, with a southwestern tip that extends like the toe of shoe towards Tetepare Island. At the time of the battle, the island's significance lay in its proximity to Munda Point on the western coast of New Georgia island, where the Japanese had established an airfield. In the wake of the Guadalcanal campaign, concluded in early 1943, the Allies formulated plans to advance through the Central Solomons towards Bougainville, in conjunction with further operations in New Guinea, as part of the effort to reduce the main Japanese base around Rabaul under the guise of Operation Cartwheel.
The campaign plan for securing New Georgia, designated Operation Toenails by US planners, involved initial landings to secure staging areas and an airfield in the southern part of New Georgia, to support the movement of troops and supplies from Guadalcanal to Rendova, which would be built up as base for further operations in New Georgia focused on securing the airfield at Munda. Rendova's beaches were well suited to being used as assembly points for landing craft, and the high terrain in the center of the island offered good observation. The harbor would be used to support PT-boat operations against Japanese barges operating in the area and artillery emplaced on the island to support actions on the western coast of New Georgia.
The Japanese garrison on Rendova was small and consisted of between 120 and 290 troops from two companies of the Kure 6th Special Naval Landing Forces and the 229th Infantry Regiment. These two companies formed part of Major General Minoru Sasaki's Southeast Detachment, which was headquartered at Munda; Colonel Genjiro Hirata was in command of the 229th, based on New Georgia. These troops had arrived on New Georgia between February and May 1943 as part of Japanese efforts to reinforce the sector following the Guadalcanal campaign.
June 30 landings.
The landings were timed to take place in conjunction with similar operations at Nassau Bay, in New Guinea, and on Woodlark and Kiriwina. After sailing from Guadalcanal on June 29, the Allied landing force, Task Force 31, was hampered by rain and fog. The main ground combat element assigned to this force was Major General John H. Hester's 43rd Infantry Division. The task force's approach was covered by Catalinas flying night patrols through the Blanche Channel. In the pre-dawn hours (approximately 02:25 hours) the American destroyers USS "Talbot" and USS "Zane" detached from the main force to land New Zealand-trained and led Fijian and Tongan commandos and Companies A and B of the American 169th Infantry Regiment on Sasavele Island and Baraulu Island. The islands were quickly secured, although "Zane", due to poor visibility, became grounded on a reef, remaining so until the afternoon. These islands were strategically important because they are located just off the coast of New Georgia and control the entrance to Roviana Lagoon from the Blanche Channel.
Admiral Richmond K. Turner commanded the invasion fleet—consisting of four transports and two supply ships, screened by eight destroyers—from his flagship, the attack transport "McCawley". A small advanced party of two companies from the 172nd Infantry Regiment was sent ashore around Rendova Harbor guided by a British officer, Major Martin Clemens and Lieutenant Frederick Rhoades, a Royal Australian Navy officer. Along with a small group of local police constables, they intended on linking up with an Australian coastwatcher, Flight Lieutenant Dick Horton, who would assist them in establishing the beachhead prior to the main landing. Strong winds pushed the advanced party off course and ultimately they did not make contact with Horton until the first wave was making its run to the shore. After arriving at the correct beach, Clemens and Rhoades led their men in a quick attack on a house in Rendova Plantation, killing two Japanese behind the beach.
By 06:00 hours, the main Allied landings on Rendova, delivering troops from the 43rd Division, had begun, albeit chaotically. The U.S. Marine Corps' official history describes the initial landing as "hurried", "[having] all the appearance of a regatta rather than a coordinated landing" and "chaotic in the extreme"; nevertheless, troops from the 103rd Field Artillery Battalion, along with Marines from the 9th Defense Battalion and Seebees from the 24th Naval Construction Battalion secured the beach although they were hampered by sporadic sniper fire. The appearance of a Japanese "Betty" bomber which circled the landing zone but did not attack also slowed progress. The Japanese defenders reported back to their commanders that "due to the tenacious interference by enemy fighter planes, a decisive blow could not be stuck against the enemy landing convoy" and that the landings were an "absolutely miraculous" and "speedy disembarkation of the enemy."
Following the first echelon, the 43rd Division's assistant commander, Brigadier General Leonard Wing, and Vice Admiral William F. Halsey, in command of the operation to secure New Georgia, waded ashore under sniper fire after their boat became grounded about from the beach. The 2nd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment established a defensive perimeter around the beachhead, but experienced trouble digging-in due to the heavily waterlogged ground. Eventually, they were forced to move their defensive lines to higher ground. As the invasion progressed American supplies crowded the beaches as infantry pushed the Japanese defenders inland. The 9th Marine Defense Battalion, in addition to skirmishing with Japanese forces, began securing and clearing their predefined artillery position objectives and the Seabees from the 24th Naval Construction Battalion began clearing an encampment for a medical aid station. The Seabees' work was hampered by sniper fire, while the heavy rain quickly turned the ground to mud which disrupted the movement of vehicles and heavy tractors that were tasked with dragging the heavy artillery pieces into position.
In response to the landing, Japanese artillery batteries based on Bangaa Island and around Munda then began shelling four US destroyers that were sailing through the Blanche Channel offshore from the landing beach. This shelling damaged the destroyer "Gwin", killing three and wounding seven, before two other ships from the screen—"Farenholt" and "Buchanan"—began engaging the shore batteries, while the damaged "Gwin" obscured the transports with smoke to prevent them from being engaged. A force of 27 Zeros from the 11th Air Fleet, undertook a fighter sweep over the beachhead just before noon, delaying the unloading of the US transports while Allied fighters engaged them, shooting down four.
The assault, although initially chaotic, successfully landed six thousand American troops on Rendova. These forces came ashore largely unopposed as the island's small garrison was taken by surprise and were unable to man their defenses in time before the US troops arrived. The Japanese initially assembled in a coconut plantation behind the landing beach and sought to establish radio contact with Munda, while undertaking minor skirmishing and laying down harassing fire from machine guns in the nearby plantation. In the initial fighting, about 12 Japanese were killed. They then withdrew into the hinterland. Troops from the 172nd Infantry Regiment pursued the withdrawing Japanese, shooting down several snipers and destroying several machine gun positions as they advanced slowly towards the Pengui River. There, the Americans came under sustained fire, but after gaining fire superiority with mortar support, and establishing a firm base along the riverbank, the US troops attacked. By the end of the day between 50 and 65 Japanese had been killed, including the Japanese commander. Four US soldiers were killed, and another five wounded including the 172nd Infantry Regiment's commander, Colonel David Ross.
In the afternoon of June 30, the transports weighed anchor and began to depart the area around 15:00 hours. Half an hour later, Japanese air attacks began in earnest when Admiral Jinichi Kusaka ordered a strike by 25 Betty torpedo bombers, escorted by 24 Zeros. Despite being intercepted by 16 Corsairs from Marine Fighter Squadron 221, and coming under heavy anti-aircraft fire, one of the Bettys was able to release a torpedo, which struck "McCawley", killing 15 sailors and wounding eight others. While under tow from "Libra", the ship again came under attack from Val dive bombers, which formed part of a larger air attack consisting of 21 Zeros, nine Vals and 13 F1M floatplanes. This attack was repulsed with no Allied losses, as the Japanese air attacks on the landing zone were successfully beaten off by American fighter planes as well as land and sea-based anti-aircraft defense guns. Allied aircraft began bombing Japanese positions around Villa and Munda, and by 17:00 hours, 105 mm artillery guns from the 103rd Field Artillery Battalion had been established in the harbor and began registering targets on the mainland.
Air and naval losses on the first day are disputed. The Japanese claimed to have shot down 50 Allied aircraft, although the Allies reported only 21 planes lost. Additionally, the Japanese claimed to have sunk a cruiser and a destroyer, and damaging two more destroyers and eight transports; Allied reported shipping losses amounted to one destroyer damaged and one transport sunk. On the Allied side, they claimed to have shot down 106 Japanese planes, but Japanese figures support only 30 lost.
Japanese naval and aerial counter-attacks.
During the night, "McCawley", having rendezvoused with the tug "Pawnee", was mistakenly sunk by American PT boats, being struck by two torpedoes at 20:23 hours. By this time, Turner had transferred his flag to the destroyer "Farenholt". Meanwhile, the same night, a Japanese naval attempt to attack the American beachheads failed when five Japanese destroyers appeared off the west coast of Rendova but could not attack due to a violent squall. After the lightly contested landings on June 30, the bulk of the surviving Japanese forces retreated to Munda Point on nearby New Georgia, moving back via canoe. Troops from the 172nd Infantry Regiment expanded the beachhead on 1 July, with patrols securing half the island, while the 3rd Battalion, 103rd Infantry Regiment landed around the Poco Plantation in Landing Craft Infantry vessels.
In the harbor, the unloading process had been hampered by poor planning and a failure to allocate adequate personnel for beach control and unloading duties. To clear the beachhead and distribute combat stores, infantrymen were detailed to carry out the work. When the second transport echelon arrived, many of the boats grounded offshore and had to be unloaded manually by troops wading ashore. Heavy rain continued to slow the distribution of stores and movement of heavy equipment. The second echelon also landed heavy artillery from the 192nd Field Artillery Battalion and a battery from the 9th Defense Battalion. With their arrival, the U.S. forces constructed artillery positions on Rendova and were able to bring 155 mm "Long Tom" guns into action, firing shells across the 15 km-wide Blanche Channel onto the Japanese positions at Lambeti plantation and Munda air field. The 192nd established their positions on Kokorana Island where strong coral substratum offered natural hard standing for their heavy guns. Six PT boats under the command of Lieutenant Commander Robert B. Kelly also arrived at Rendova early on 1 July; it was this force that accidentally sunk "McCawley" during their passage through the Blanche Channel.
On 2 July, the US infantrymen on Rendova commenced preparations to reembark for further operations on New Georgia island. That afternoon, a Japanese aerial counter-attack consisting of 24 Mitsubishi G4M Betty bombers and 44 fighters bombed the American beachhead from the south. American fighters planes had been withdrawn at the time of the attack due to poor weather conditions and the Japanese planes were unopposed. The bombing was accurate and the unsuspecting American troops had no time to react. As a result of the attack a gelignite dump exploded on a peninsula thereafter known as "Suicide Point," killing 64 soldiers and injuring at least 89 more. A few hours after this first raid a follow up raid was conducted by 25 Japanese fighter aircraft. These were intercepted by American fighter aircraft and in the ensuing air battle six Japanese planes and three American planes were shot down.
During the night of 2–3 July the Japanese cruiser "Yūbari" and nine destroyers attempted a bombardment of the Rendova beachhead but bad weather and the small size of the beachhead caused all their shells to fall harmlessly into the surrounding jungle. Meanwhile, that same night, small groups of US infantry were transported in LCMs across the Strait to New Georgia's offshore islands in the opening phase of the Drive on Munda Point operation. A Japanese sortie of 35 Mitsubishi Ki-21 bombers and fighter aircraft attempted to attack positions on Rendova on 3 July, but were intercepted by American fighter planes who reported downing 11 Japanese aircraft with a loss of 3 Allied aircraft. In the afternoon a large flight of American and New Zealand planes bombed Munda Point and reported causing large amounts of damage.
On 4 July, American Independence Day, Rendova was reported "secure" by American commanders. Shortly after this, the Japanese launched a heavy air attack on the island. The US garrison had been heavily reinforced with antiaircraft guns and radars, and a strong fighter screen had been established to protect unloading operations in Rendova Harbor. A force of over 80 Japanese aircraft, consisting of 17 bombers and 66 fighter escorts, subsequently attacked the island from the east. At least 11 Japanese aircraft were shot down, although US losses and claims remain uncertain, with the Japanese claiming to have shot down a large number defending fighters and having sunk several transport ships. Ultimately, according to U.S Marine Corps historian John Rentz, as a result of the heavy antiaircraft fire, the Japanese abandoned large scale air attacks on Rendova, although minor air raids on Rendova continued into August.
Aftermath.
The Allied forces fought off continuous Japanese air-raids in the months following the landings. These raids caused human and material losses but never seriously threatened the American foothold and bases on the island. As a result, Rendova was successfully used as an artillery base during the subsequent stages of the New Georgia campaign, covering a crossing of the channel to the mainland on 2 July, as US troops from the 169th and 172nd Infantry Regiments landed around Zanana. This landing was then followed by a westward drive on Munda Point and the eventual capture of the airfield during the Battle of Munda Point in early August.
Base development work around Rendova began shortly after the landings, with the 24th Naval Construction Battalion undertaking road construction work, including the creation of corduroy roads to facilitate movement of heavy vehicles and artillery in the muddy conditions. Under the threat of air attack, three bulldozers were destroyed in this effort, and 20 men were killed. The beach was extended using coral fill, while Marston Matting was also laid in an effort to combat the mud, but their weight, coupled with that of the heavy vehicles employed to move the 155 mm artillery pieces resulted in the roads sinking into the mud. The 118th Engineer Regiment attempted to drain the area around the eastern landing beach, but this proved fruitless and the area was ultimately abandoned in favor of some of the barrier islands, which were used as staging areas.
The Seabees were also employed in stevedore work, unloading stores and equipment from the transport ships. The movement of the entire 24th NCB to Rendova was not completed until 1 August, but in the middle of the month it was moved to Munda. After the recapture of Munda Point the artillery was redeployed to Munda and during October 1943, the U. S. Navy's 20th Naval Construction Battalion "Seabees" built a PT boat base, camp area and warehouses on Bau Island. During March 1944, the 73rd Battalion Seabees added an engine warehouse, additional roads and fuel lines to the facility.


Battle of Winceby

The Battle of Winceby took place on 11 October 1643 during the First English Civil War near the village of Winceby, Lincolnshire. In the battle, a Royalist relieving force under the command of Sir William Widdrington was defeated by the Parliamentarian cavalry of the Earl of Manchester.
Prelude.
During the summer of 1643, the Royalists laid plans to win the war by marching on London. However, before this could be contemplated, it would be necessary for them to defeat the Parliamentarian forces holding Hull and Plymouth; otherwise, as the Royalist forces moved on London, the garrisons of those two towns could sortie out and attack the Royalist rear areas.
While these sieges were under way, King Charles decided to make the best use of his time by reducing Gloucester, the one great fortress of Parliament in the west. Parliamentary forces relieved Gloucester on 5 September. The relieving army was brought to battle by Royalist forces in the First Battle of Newbury; Newbury was a tactical draw but a strategic victory for the Parliamentarians as it reduced the likelihood of a Royalist attack on London.
Meanwhile, the Royalist army under the command of the Earl of Newcastle commenced a second siege of Hull on 2 September. The Eastern Association Parliamentarian forces led by the Earl of Manchester promptly initiated actions to relieve Hull. Manchester's forces began by besieging King's Lynn in Norfolk with his infantry while the Association's horse rode into the northern part of the county to give a hand to the Fairfaxes. At Hull, it was fortunate that egress to the city remained open and available by means of the River Humber.
On 18 September, part of the cavalry in Hull was ferried over to Barton, and the rest under Sir Thomas Fairfax went by sea to Saltfleet a few days later, the whole force joining Oliver Cromwell near Spilsby. In return, Lord Fairfax, who remained in Hull, received infantry reinforcements and a quantity of ammunition and stores from the Eastern Association.
With his forces collected and reorganised, Manchester and his cavalry forces next laid siege to the Royalist garrison at Bolingbroke Castle. In response, Newcastle ordered Sir William Widdrington to take a small force of cavalry and dragoons from Lincoln to confront Manchester and relieve the garrison.
Battle.
On 10 October at the village of Horncastle, approximately 6 miles west of Bolingbroke Castle, the Royalist force commanded by Widdrington came upon a cavalry detachment screening for the Parliamentarians sieging the Royalist garrison. A brief skirmish took place and the Parliamentarians withdrew. The Parliamentary detachment reported back to the main army that the Royalists were moving towards them.
The next day the two opposing forces simultaneously took steps to confront each other. Manchester took part of his force and arrayed them on Kirkby Hill to prevent the Bolingbroke garrison from leaving the castle and organizing an attack from the rear. With the remainder of his army, Manchester advanced towards Horncastle. Meanwhile, Widdrington and the Royalists moved out of Horncastle and advanced toward Bolingbroke Castle.
The Parliamentary horse, which moved faster than the infantry, met the Royalists advancing in the opposite direction at Winceby. The field of battle was not ideal as the land falls away into sharp gullies on one side, but it was not poor enough to prohibit a battle. The two forces were approximately the same size and composition, all cavalry.
The ensuing battle lasted about half an hour. Cromwell feigned a retreat and lured the Royalists from a good defensive position onto flat ground. A small party of Parliamentarians advanced on the Royalists who discharged their weapons at them. Cromwell then led his main body of horse in a charge hoping to press home his attack before the Royalists had time to reload. But dismounted Royalist dragoons managed to fire a second volley, hitting several of the Ironsides. Cromwell had his horse shot from under him, apparently by Sir Ingram Hopton (who was himself killed in the subsequent fighting and is commemorated by a memorial canvas found above the font in St. Mary's Church, Horncastle. The canvas's inscription describes Cromwell as the 'Arch Rebel' and bears the incorrect date of October 6, 1643 for the Battle of Winceby.
Cromwell was only able to rejoin the battle after he had secured another mount. A Royalist cavalry division under Sir William Savile counterattacked Cromwell's right flank. The Royalists were, in turn, attacked in the flank by Sir Fairfax's horse. In the resulting melee, the Royalists lost cohesion when the command by Savile to about face was taken to be an order to retreat and Savile's horse fled the battle. On the Parliamentarian's left wing the Cavaliers enjoyed greater initial success, but the collapse of the Royalist left and centre meant that Widdrington had to retreat or face envelopment. A flanking attack by Cromwell's reformed cavalry was enough to cause the Royalists to flee the field in confusion.
In Horncastle, at a place now known as "slash hollow", some Royalists were killed or captured when they became trapped against a parish boundary gate that only opened one way (against them) and in their panic the press of men jammed it shut. For the remainder of the day the Parliamentarians hunted down Royalist stragglers not stopping until dusk, which in October occurs in early evening, when they were recalled by Manchester. The Royalists lost about 300 men and the Parliamentarians about 20 with a further 60 wounded.
On the same day, Newcastle's army near Hull, which had suffered terribly from the hardships of continuous siege work, was attacked by the garrison. They were so severely handled that the siege of Hull was given up the next day.
Aftermath.
Manchester left Bolingbroke Castle under siege and proceeded to retake Lincoln and Gainsborough. With all hope of relief gone, the garrison of Bolingbroke Castle surrendered on 14 November. Thus Lincolnshire, which had been almost entirely in Royalist hands before Newcastle undertook the siege of Hull, was given over to the control of the Parliamentarians.
References.
Attribution:


500th Air Expeditionary Group

The 500th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit. Its last known assignment was at Christchurch, New Zealand, where it was activated for the summer 2005–2006 season.
The unit's origins lie with its predecessor unit, the United States Army Air Forces 500th Bombardment Group, which was part of Twentieth Air Force during World War II. The 500th engaged in very heavy (Boeing B-29 Superfortress) bombardment operations against Japan. It was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations for actions in 1945.
The 500th Air Refueling Wing replaced the 4045th Air Refueling Wing as a Strategic Air Command tanker unit at Selfridge Air Force Base, Michigan on 1 January 1963. The two units were consolidated in 1984.
In 2002, the consolidated unit was converted to provisional status as the 500th Air Expeditionary Group. It has been activated several times to support operations in Antarctica.
History.
World War II.
The group was established as the 500th Bombardment Group in late 1943 at Gowen Field, Idaho. It was formed as a Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bombardment group. The unit was initially composed of with four bombardment squadrons, the 881st, 882d, 883d, and 884th Bombardment Squadrons, the 29th, 30th, 31st and 32d Bombardment Maintenance Squadrons and the 18th Photographic Laboratory (Bombardment, Very Heavy).
Due to a shortage of B-29s, the group was equipped with Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses already at Gowen Field. These aircraft were previously used for training heavy bomber replacement personnel. In January the unit moved to Clovis Army Air Field, New Mexico due to the poor flying weather during the winter in Idaho. It moved to Walker Army Air Field, Kansas in April 1944 where it finally received newly manufactured B-29 Superfortresses from the Boeing plant at Wichita, Kansas. In May the United States Army Air Forces reconfigured its very heavy groups and the 884th Bombardment Squadron and the Bombardment Maintenance Squadrons were inactivated. Their personnel were consolidated into the remaining squadrons.
The 500th deployed to the Pacific Theater of Operations in September 1944, where it was assigned to the 73d Bombardment Wing of XXI Bomber Command in the Northern Mariana Islands, at Isely Field, Saipan. Upon their arrival the group's personnel engaged in Quonset hut construction. By mid-October most personnel were able to move into the huts from the tents which they were assigned to on their arrival in theater. The 500th's assigned tail code was a Z-Square. It entered combat on 11 November 1944 with an attack against a submarine base in the Truk Islands.
On 24 November, the 500th participated in the first attack on Japan by B-29's based in the Marianas. After that attack, the group conducted many daylight raids, operating from high altitude to bomb strategic targets in Japan. It struck the Mitsubishi aircraft engine plant at Nagoya in January 1945 and received a Distinguished Unit Citation (DUC) for the mission. The group bombed enemy airfields and other installations on Kyūshū in support of the Allied assault on Okinawa in April 1945.
Beginning in March 1945, the group flew missions at night and at low altitude to drop incendiaries on area targets in Japan. It received a second DUC for incendiary attacks on the urban-industrial section of Osaka, feeder industries at Hamamatsu, and shipping and rail targets on Kyūshū during June. The group released propaganda leaflets over the Japanese home islands in July and August, continuing strategic bombing raids and incendiary attacks until the Japanese capitulation in August 1945.
After V-J Day, the 500th dropped supplies to Allied prisoners, participated in show-of-force missions, and flew over Japan to evaluate bombardment damage. In October 1945 the unit returned to the United States. It was assigned to Continental Air Forces' Fourth Air Force at March Field, California. However demobilization was in full swing and the group was inactivated on 17 January 1946.
Cold War.
The 500th Air Refueling Wing was activated and established in 1963 as part of Strategic Air Command at Selfridge AFB, Michigan. The wing replaced the 4045th Air Refueling Wing at Selfridge, absorbing its personnel and assets.
The 4045th Wing had been established at Selfridge on 1 January 1959, along with three maintenance squadrons and a security unit and assigned to Second Air Force. The 44th Air Refueling Squadron and 307th Air Refueling Squadron moved from Chennault AFB, Louisiana in June 1960 and were assigned to the wing as its operational squadrons. In September, the wing was reassigned to the 17th Air Division.
In 1962, in order to perpetuate the lineage of many currently inactive bombardment units with illustrious World War II records, Headquarters SAC received authority from Headquarters USAF to discontinue its Major Command controlled (MAJCON) wings that were equipped with tactical aircraft and to activate Air Force controlled (AFCON) units, most of which were inactive at the time which could carry a lineage and history. As a result, the 4045th was replaced by the newly constituted 500th Air Refueling Wing on 1 January 1963.
The two refueling squadrons were reassigned to the 500th wing. The 4045th's maintenance and security squadrons were replaced by ones with the 500th numerical designation of the newly established wing. Each of the new units assumed the personnel, equipment, and mission of its predecessor. The wing was reassigned to the 40th Air Division on 1 July 1963.
The wing supported SAC bombardment and Tactical Air Command fighter aircraft with air refueling and occasionally deployed segments of its tanker force overseas to support unit movements and special operations. The unit was discontinued and inactivated on 15 December 1964. The two units were consolidated in 1984.
Expeditionary Operations.
The consolidated unit was redesignated as the 500th Air Expeditionary Group and activated in 2003 to conduct Operation Deep Freeze activities under Pacific Air Forces, before being replaced by the 13th Air Expeditionary Group. During deployments to support Deep Freeze, the group had controlled ski-equipped Lockheed LC-130 Hercules aircraft of the 139th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron and McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III aircraft of the 304th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron.
Lineage.
500th Bombardment Group
500th Air Expeditionary Group
Components.
Tactical Squadrons
Support Units