Military History Carnival 8 is up here.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission post 1945
October 12, 2007 — Gary SmailesThe Commonwealth War Graves Commission have added a new feature to their database. It is now possible to search on for the details of graves after 1945.
You can click here to fid out more.
YouTube and the war in Iraq
September 5, 2007 — Gary Smailes*Cross posted here*
Michael Yon is an American author currently based in Iraq.
You can read more about him here and here.
He represents an important voice in the Iraq conflict. Though an ex-special forces soldier, his work offers a unique viewpoint on the war. He reports are almost always pro-military, though in traditional style, not always pro-authority.
This morning, whist reading this post, I realised that Yon’s work is in many ways, grounding breaking.
His latest post is simple. It praises an American officer, pointing out that:
‘Leaders such as Rakene Lee, LTC Doug Crissman, LTC Fred Johnson, LTC Erik Kurilla and Colonel Townsend —all of whom have a very strong grasp on how to win this war—are increasingly easy to find because the Army and Marines have morphed to meet this war.’
This is standard stuff. Yet, what sets it aside was this link, tucked away at the end of the post. It takes you straight to YouTube and a video taken by Yon (I assume) of the Marine he was writing about in operations. It shows him orchestrating the clearing of a tunnel. The pragmatic bravery is almost palpable. But this isn’t my point. The video represents something new in war reporting. The use of democratic Internet tools, such as Youtube, gives the viewer a direct, unedited, uncensored feedback on just what’s happing in Iraq. It is a day-to-day portrayal of a soldier’s war. Sure, Yon has his own agenda. However, the ease at which this material can be accessed by the general public, gives Yon, and anyone else with an ‘agenda’, a platform.
Ibiblio
September 4, 2007 — Gary Smailes*Cross posted at http://garysmailes.typepad.com*
I am currently up to my eyes researching for Terry Deary’s latest Horrible History book. The focus is spies during WW2. I am lucky this time around in that we have some extra help from experts on operations in France. This leaves me just every other country involved in the war!
When researching I am always looking for free and accurate resources. You never know what a project is going to throw up and though I am always on the look out for cheap, second hand books, you can’t cover all bases.The library is obviously a great place, but if I can get the information through a digital resource then it saves time and money.
One site that is sometimes of great help is ibiblio. They have a huge collection of free ebooks, but mostly importantly they have loads of history stuff. So enjoy.
Oh yeah, when you get bored check out Project Gutenberg.
Thomas Arthur VC
September 3, 2007 — Gary SmailesI found this at the UK National Inventory of War Memorials blog:
A new memorial to VC winners has been unveiled in Glasgow at the city’s Necropolis. The unveiling co-incides with the 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross and was preceded by a memorial service in Glasgow Cathedral.
We have currently recorded 606 memorials that commemorate VC or GC winners.
Browse the list of memorials to VC and GC winners.
Among these is a memorial to Thomas Arthur V.C. Arthur was one of the first men to be awarded the Victoria Cross at the first Investiture ceremony held by Queen Victoria on 26 June 1857.
Here’s the wiki link to Thomas Arthur.
Technorati Tags: Victoria Cross, Military history
Thomas Arthur VC
September 3, 2007 — Gary SmailesI found this at the UK National Inventory of War Memorials blog:
A new memorial to VC winners has been unveiled in Glasgow at the city’s Necropolis. The unveiling co-incides with the 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross and was preceded by a memorial service in Glasgow Cathedral.
We have currently recorded 606 memorials that commemorate VC or GC winners.
Browse the list of memorials to VC and GC winners.
Among these is a memorial to Thomas Arthur V.C. Arthur was one of the first men to be awarded the Victoria Cross at the first Investiture ceremony held by Queen Victoria on 26 June 1857.
Here’s the wiki link to Thomas Arthur.
Technorati Tags: Victoria Cross, Military history
New Blog
July 30, 2007 — Gary SmailesI have had a bit of a break from blogging over the last couple of weeks. This has given me time to think. When I started this blog I wanted it to be a home for my Victoria Cross research. However, due to the nature of life this research is sporadic. As a result I started to use the blog for my general thoughts. Anyway, I have now decided to start a new blog which is much more general and allows me to talk about my writing.
You can check it out here.
If will continue to update this blog as and when.
The Falklands War in perspective
June 29, 2007 — Gary SmailesRoss Mahoney has posted an excellent review/summary of the recent seminar at the Centre for First World War Studies in Birmingham. It was titled ‘The Falklands War in Perspective: 25 Years On.’
Here’s his opening paragraph:
‘Saturday 23rd June saw another day school at the Centre for First World War Studies, University of Birmingham. The theme for this year’s school centred on the Falklands War in respect of that conflicts 25th anniversary, which was commemorated this year. Being the first day school I have attended I was pleasantly surprised with a good turn out at the event even though Dr John Bourne, the Centre’s director, did note it was not as high as usual and that this was probably because the content was not about the First World War though after listening to Dr Bob Bushaway’s lecture you could have been forgiven for thinking that you were but more on that later.’
Other stuff worth a look
Roman Times talking about Brennus and the First Sack of Rome.
Mark Grimsley’s second installment of his discussion about military history in general history courses.
Cardinal Wolsey’s Today in History talking about how Cornish rebels meet a sticky end , 27th June, 1497.
News for Medievalists reveals plans for Board game Carcassonne becoming a video game.
Military History in history courses
June 27, 2007 — Gary SmailesMark Grimsely at Blog Them Out of the Stone Age has began a series of posts, responding to a challenge of ‘incorporating military history into general US history courses.’ As you would expect of anything posted by Mark, the opening thrust of the debate is stimulating and contains some great links to additional material.
To me it raises another question – ‘Why is military history not already included in general US history courses?’
In the UK military history has become an integral part of the GCSE teaching program. Students are taught in depth about both the first and second world wars, events such as the battle of Britain, Dunkirk, trench life and the battle of the Somme are all examined in detail. I am not sure how much of this is carried through to university level, though I suspect it is far more prominent in the UK than the US.
Other stuff worth a look
Sparta talks about The Spartan Hoplites’ Uniform.
Collaborative Manuscript Transcription has an interview with Mat Unger of Papa’s Diary.
A list of new medieval warfare articles at De Re Militari Website.
The Medieval Warfare Blog looks at computer games with a medieval topic.
War correspondent, Michael Yon, reports from Iraq about the first day of Arrowhead Ripper.
Papas Diary Project
June 26, 2007 — Gary SmailesMany times on this blog I have ranted on about my belief that the Internet will (has) transform the way in which historical information is viewed and exchanged. Since the introduction of free blogging services and relatively cheap hardware, DIY digitalization has become a real option.
Papa’s Diary Project is a great example of what can be done. Matt Unger is currently transcribing and blog posting a daily page from his grandfather, Harry Scherman’s 19 24 diary. At the time Harry Scheurman was twenty-nine years old. He had been in America for 11 years, but much of his family still lived in the central European, Jewish ghetto of his youth. He was a garment worker, union activist and Zionist fundraiser. He was also unmarried and terribly lonely.
The blog makes fascinating reading and, for me, represents one of the many facets of the Internet that I find so exciting.
Ben Brumfield at Collaborative Manuscript Transcription has also posted about Matt’s blog.
Other stuff worth a look
Sparta
The Greek Fire and Ancient Chemical Warfare & The Pilos Helmet and the spartan Hoplites.
Campus Mawrtius
A digitalized version of a 10th century manuscript of the Iliad.
Blog Them Out of the Stone Age
Mark Grimsley resurrecting the old discussion about Academics v Intellectuals.
The 48th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry
Lt. Curtis Pollock Describes the Battle of Fredericksburg
War and Memory conference for schools
June 26, 2007 — Gary Smailesby arltblogger on Thu 21 Jun 2007 17:34 BST | Permanent Link | Cosmos
WAR AND MEMORY CONFERENCE for SCHOOLS – CHANGE OF DATE ANNOUNCED
This conference will now take place on Saturday 11th November 2008
‘War and Memory: Ancient and Modern compared’
Suitable for GCSE and A Level History, Ancient History, English, Classical
Civilisation, Latin and Greek students.
The conference will take place at the Classics Centre, University of Oxford,
on Saturday November 11th 2008, with distinguished speakers from Oxford,
Manchester and The Open University.
Sessions include the following topics:
• The portrayal of war in Greek Tragedy (focusing on Euripides,
Sophocles’ Antigone and Aeschylus’ Persians)
• The influence of Homer’s Iliad on poets of the 20th and 21st
centuries. Discussion of the statement: ‘War is a productive thing for
poets’.
• The cultural impact of war – focus on Roman Britain.
• How did we commemorate our war dead in the 20th century? Caroline
Coxon from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission on the achievement
of equality in death.
• The role of physical monuments and iconography in the commemoration of
wars in the ancient world.
• The use and abuse of Classical precedents in the commemoration of
modern wars. The Classical World’s influence as an accomplice in state
propaganda.
The conference has three principal aims: to introduce students to the
conference format, get them involved in the debate asking questions and
discussing answers, and prompt them to make connections between topics they
have some familiarity with in order to better their general understanding of
the Classical World and its relationship with the modern world.
A booking form for this event will be available from the Classics Outreach
Officer and the Outreach website in January 2008: www.classics.ox.ac.uk\outreach
Technorati Tags: Military history
History in the Internet
June 25, 2007 — Gary SmailesI find it fascinating that many organizations seem to be resistant to using the Internet to spread historical information. I recently corresponded with the National Archives website about the lack of RRS feed for their regular podcast series. Gavin Robinson has also been engaged in an ongoing debate Your Archives, a wiki-based website set up by the UK National Archives, over their copy right policy.
It strikes me that these organizations are missing the point. If used correctly the Internet is an opportunity not a threat.
Here’s a couple of links to people who get it:
BBC Magazine podcast (Gary Sheffield talking about Wellington)
Technorati Tags: Internet History, History online
Why Blog?
June 22, 2007 — Gary Smailes Seth Godin is essential reading for any blogger. This post is a great example of his work:
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To Flanders Field
June 21, 2007 — Gary SmailesA new First World War blog has been set up. Here’s how they describe it:
This blog has been created to introduce and inform people of our forthcoming exhibition To Flanders Fields, 1917 which will open in August 2007 at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. This exhibition marks the 90th anniversary of this terrible and most costly year of war for the Australians as they campaigned through northern France to Flanders, culminating in the Battle of Passchendaele. The exhibition will depict the service, courage and sacrifice of Australians during this ordeal, and how we commemorate them to this day.
In particular, the blog seeks to,
- Support the exhibition and stimulate interest in it during the lead up to opening, and to provide a sample of what will appear in the exhibition.
- Record and relate some of the exhibition team’s experiences in putting together the exhibition.
- Provide an online exhibition of sorts for the benefit of those unable to attend the exhibition in Canberra.
- Provide additional content to support the exhibition for those who want to know more, or for material we couldn’t fit into the physical exhibition.
Technorati Tags: First World War
First gun shot wound
June 20, 2007 — Gary SmailesThere has been a few articles and posts about this story and I thought I would bring them all together in one place.
Yahoo news wrote this:
The musket blast was sudden and deadly, the killing nearly 500 years ago of what may have been the first gunshot victim in the Western Hemisphere.
“We didn’t expect it. We saw this skull and saw the almost round hole and thought people must have been shooting around here recently,” said Guillermo Cock, an archaeologist who found the remains near Lima, Peru.
But he realized that the skull was ancient, and a recent bullet strike would simply have shattered it, Cock said in a telephone interview.
The skull was found among a large group of bones of ancient Incas, who had died violently in the early 1500s as the Spanish Conquistadors battled the native empire.
The bones were in shallow graves, leading the archaeologist to speculate the burials were done hurriedly during conflict, perhaps an uprising against the Spanish in 1536.
To be sure this was a gunshot wound — making it the earliest one documented in the Americas — the skull was studied by forensics expert Tim Palmbach at the University of New Haven, who brought in other experts.
Al Harper, director of the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science in New Haven, Conn., said the team “tried to rule out all kinds of causes of the hole — a rock from a slingshot, spear, sledgehammer.” Harper and Palmbach studied the skull with a powerful scanning electronic microscope.
“We all thought it was a million-to-one chance that we would find any traces of metal on a skull that old, but it was worth a try,” Harper said in a statement.
But there they were, fragments of metal from a musket ball impregnated the area surrounding the hole.
Cock and archaeologist Elena Goycochea discovered the burials in a Lima suburb in 2004 and have since recovered 72 apparent victims of violence from the site.
“These bodies were strangely buried,” Cock said. “They were not facing the right direction, they were tied up or hastily wrapped in a simple cloth, they had no offerings and they were buried at a shallow depth.
“Some of the bodies also showed signs of terrible violence. They had been hacked, torn, impaled — injuries that looked as if they had been caused by iron weapons — and several had injuries on their heads and faces that looked as if they were caused by gunshots.”
One skull in particular had both an entrance and exit wound, suggestive of a musket ball and prompting him to seek experts to study it. A plug of bone from one of the holes was recovered nearby, he added.
The conclusion: A musket ball less than an inch in diameter struck the back of the skull and passed through the head.
“This conclusively proves that the person was killed by a gunshot, and he is the first identified shooting victim in the Americas,” Cock said.
Since the initial find, at least two other apparent gunshot victims have been identified and the research is continuing.
Cock discussed his find during a visit to the National Geographic Society, which supported the work. His findings will be detailed June 26 on a NOVA/National Geographic television special, “The Great Inca Rebellion.”
In 2002, Cock reported finding more than 2,000 Inca mummies buried beneath a shantytown near Lima, a find he said helped shed light on the life, health and culture of this civilization.
You can also find information here and here.
Technorati Tags: military history
