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Scottish Military Disasters
A Coyote armoured vehicle on patrol near Kandahar Airfield.
A Canadian surveillance post in the mountains outside Kabul.
697. The Bomber War: The Allied Air Offensive Against Nazi Germany
by Robin Neillands
This proved to be a robust and well researched defence of Air Marshal Arthur "Bomber" Harris and RAF Bomber Command during the Second World War. The Allied Bomber offensive was the most controversial aspects of the conflict and there are those today who regard Harris and his crews as war criminals. Peacetime hindsight and censure is easy. Robin Neillands also looks at the American experience; if only to demolish the myth that they attacked only military targets using precision bombing while the RAF engaged in mass murder of civilians. Harris never had enough bombers to prove his theory that they could win the war on their own. And the Americans did in effect defeat Japan using bombers. Neillands cuts through the hypocrisy, lies, and smugness to give the bomber crews the credit due to them. This is a very valuable, not to say well written, contribution to the debate.
696. The Yom Kippur War
by A J Barker
This account of the October 1973 Middle East war was rushed out in 1974 by Purnell as part of what they called their Illustrated History of the Violent Century. Surprisingly, perhaps, it stands the test of time. Author A J Barker was a professional British officer and had just completed a book about The 1967 Six Day War when the Egyptians crossed the Suez Canal in 1973. He is equally sceptical when it comes to both Arab and Israeli claims. But he seems convinced that the Egyptians always intended to push into Israel proper. The Syrians also came close to crossing the Golan Heights into Israel. But both, ultimately, were let down by poor command and control combined with a lack battlefield flexibility. Barker also does a good job of explaining the Israeli comeback and how if the Egyptians had performed adequately it could turned into a disaster.
695. The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy
by Peter H Wilson
Perhaps it does indeed take an almost 1,000 page book to do justice to a conflict which despoiled much of Central Europe between 1618 and 1648. Certainly, Hull University history professor Peter Wilson doesn't have a lot of padding in this account of one of the most complicated, and some would argue basically unnecessary, conflicts in European history. Wilson does a reasonable job of explaining the constitutional niceties within the Austrian dominated Holy Roman Empire which sparked and fanned the winds of war. He has made an effort to be fair to the participants, refusing to take the black or white approach favoured by many writers who have tackled the subject, and does a lot to dispel the propaganda and myths. He also casts his net wide to include the complicated roles played by the Spanish, French, British, Dutch and the Papacy. He is less impressed by the military prowess of Sweden's King Gustavus than many army staff colleges. But once again, his comments are persuasive. This is a lengthy but rewarding read.
The debate over whether Scotland produces some of the finest fighting men in the World could go on for ever. What is certain is that pride in the military is woven into the Scottish psyche and that that pride has been ruthlessly exploited by the British Establishment.
In the popular imagination the Scottish soldier is a kilted infantryman. The infantry are the men who go through the meat grinder in almost every war and Scotland has provided the British Empire with more than its fair share of infantry. In the fighting after D-Day in 1944 a British study suggested that although the infantry made up only 25% of the troops involved; they suffered 71% of the casualties.
(While I can’t put my hand on my heart and say my research for Scottish Military Disasters points to the Scots having the worse military record in Europe, for most of recorded history it hasn’t been very spectacular. People remember Bannockburn because it is one of the few battles against the English that the Scots won. Even when the English were heavily outnumbered, at battles such as Flodden in 1513 and Dunbar in 1650, they still managed to win. Many English, and Irish and Welsh soldiers for that matter, regard their Scots counterparts as a bunch of blowhards who write cheques with their mouths that their battlefield performance fail to honour. The counter-argument goes that the Scots go that extra mile to back up their boasting.)
But where does this Scottish martial pride which encouraged so many young Scots into the infantry during two world wars come from?
Scottish Forrest Gump
The Dorchester Review has published an article about the extraordinary adventures of a Scot who once approved the scalping of Indians - Stobo
The Surge
Visitors to this site surged over a 24 hour period last month. Hits went up ten- fold. The bonus visitors were all interested in the tale of American- Irishman Dynamite Dillon. The article first appeared in the Dorchester Review Following this link gives access to more material from the DR.
The Canada Scam
I was asked by the Dorchester Review to write an article about how part of Edinburgh Castle is officially part of Nova Scotia in Canada due to a legal loophole dating back to the 1620s. That turned out not to be quite true and it might be just as valid to say that Nova Scotia is part of Edinburgh. Anyway, I found a court case from 1831 which involved this legal fiction - Selling Nova Scotia
Canadians Invade Russia
An article I wrote about the 1918 Armistice Day battle against the Bolsheviks in Northern Russia has been published in the Spring/Summer edition of Dorchester Review. It’s a companion piece to “Archangel” but focuses on the role of the 67th Battery of the Canadian Field Artillery rather than the 2/10th Royal Scots. The new article is called - Canada’s Winter War
The Defenceless Border
The Canadian - United States border is said to be the longest undefended frontier in the world. The latest Dorchester Review, Canada's best history magazine, carries an article I wrote about a time when though American invasion seemed highly likely, Scottish troops found themselves with useless rifles in their hands. The article is called Undefended Border
Historic Capture
The September/October edition of History Scotland magazine included a two page article I wrote looking at who really captured a French general in 1808 and why the credit might have been given to another member of the Highland Light Infantry. The official version of General Brennier's capture by the HLI at Vimeiro has gone down in British Army legend, "We are soldiers, Sir, not plunderers", but what ordinary members of the regiment had to say, or did not say, about the episode paints a less flattering picture of it and its aftermath. As the November/December issue is now available, here is the article The Real Mackay?
Shortly after the Battle of Culloden in 1746 the British Government's main agent in the Highlands, Duncan Forbes, calculated the potential fighting strength commanded by the various clan chiefs.
Argyll 3000
Breadalbane 1000
Lochnell and other Campbell Chiefs 1000
Macleans 500
Maclachlans 300
Stewarts of Appin 300
Macdougalls 200
Stewarts of Grandtully 300
Clan Gregor 700
Duke of Atholl 3000
Farquharsons 500
Duke of Gordon 300
Grant of Grant 850
Macintosh 800
Macphersons 400
Frasers 900
Grant of Glenmoriston 150
Chisholms 200
Duke of Perth 300
Seaforth 1000
Cromarty, Scatwell,Gairloch & other Mackenzies 1500
Menzies 300
Munros 300
Rosses 500
Sutherland 2000
Mackays 800
Sinclairs 1100
Macdonald of Sleat 700
Macdonald of Clanranald 700
Macdonnell of Glengarry 500
Macdonnell of Keppoch 300
Macdonald of Glencoe 130
Robertsons 200
Camerons 800
Mackinnon 200
Macleod 700
Duke of Montrose, Earls of Bute & Moray
Macfarlanes, Colquhouns, Lamonts, Macneils
of Barra, Macnabs, Macnaughtons, etc, etc 5,600
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