The Eastern Front of both world wars tend to be neglected in American education. The brief lessons on World War I would make one think that Germany single-handedly fought all the Allies. After reading about the tremendous ineptitude of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in this book it doesn’t seem too far from the mark.

In the early chain of events of the Great War the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia and then Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary. These two powers would face each other in massive battles. One of the earliest and bloodiest was the Carpathian Winter campaigns of 1915.

In his book Mr. Tunstall gives details on the three campaigns from an Austro-Hungarian point of view. The utter incompetence of their commanders is well documented within. On top of the difficulties faced by the multi-national forces of the Empire and their lack of a common language was a lack of experienced officers after many were killed in early fights in 1914.

Then you have the insanity of staging massive offensives in the mountains at the height of winter. Supply lines, medical care, and reinforcements became incredibly difficult. Artillery support was nearly impossible as well. More men would die of disease and the elements than from Russian bullets. The supreme commanders seemed to be completely clueless to the actual conditions at the front.

Why fight such a campaign in the first place? Why not wait for spring? Well there are the added complications of over 100,000 troops being trapped behind the Russian lines in Fortress Przemyśl. Additionally Austria-Hungary needed a major victory in order to save their national honor and to keep Italy and Romania from entering the war on the Allied side. These fears and the desperate need to rescue the fort lead to many irrational actions by the Austro-Hungarian leadership.

What resulted was a series of all-out attacks and orders to defend to the last man. Poor communication and poor transportation lead to piecemeal attacks that were easily countered by the Russians. Major operations involving tens of thousands of men would be made by commanders with no idea what the actual battlefield conditions were like.

After three major offensives and over 800,000 casualties spring was slowly approaching with none of the Austro-Hungarian objectives even remotely possible. Their forces looked to be on the verge of collapse.

At this point the Germans staged their own campaign and pulled the Russians out of the Carpathians, saving their allies. From this point there would be much more German influence on the Austro-Hungarian military policies.

Overall the book is very informative and gives a great overview of a neglected part of the Great War. At times it is a little difficult to keep track of all the various armies and regiments, but that understanding is not necessary for the theme of the book. The major problems faced by the commanders and the horrors experienced by the troops are more than apparent. It is difficult to imagine how anyone survived the hellish conditions in the Carpathians at the beginning of 1915. I still can’t believe that the Austro-Hungarians didn’t collapse and surrender to the Russians.

If that had happened, a Russian victory, they would have flowed into and conquered the Hungarian plains and probably knocked Austria-Hungary out of the war. In such a scenario I’m sure that Germany would have sued for peace and reached some sort of negotiated settlement by early 1916. The world would have been a much different place. But it turned out the way it did thanks to the strength of the Austro-Hungarian troops stuck in the middle of hell with uncaring and incompetent commanders squandering their lives.

This game also only went eight innings. It was hot out and the Rochesters had a very strong lead at the and after seven innings they decided to only play one more. The players were very hot and were getting tired (especially the Rochesters players who had to do extra running around the bases scoring all their runs).

Adding to the heat for the players, despite having permission from the women in the stands to roll up their sleeves The Rochesters players kept their sleeves down; they felt it would be un-gentlemanly to roll them up when ladies were present, permission or not.

During the game a number of players came up to discuss the differences in the rules from modern day baseball. The lack of gloves, fair-fouls, no overrunning of first base, etc. They also mentioned that other vintage leagues sometimes play by 1864 rules which have one major difference to 1865 in that a fly ball could be caught after it bounced once and still be counted as an out.

Currently the vast majority of my visitors appear to come from the United States. So far in 2010, however, a large number of visitors from Ireland and Germany were noted.

Below is a listing of the top ten nations visiting my site since the beginning. 2008 and 2010 are partial years.

Thank you to everyone who has visited over the last couple years. Check out the growing number of posts that I have here and leave some comments.

Thanks.

On 27 July 1880, one-hundred and thirty years ago, one of the major battles of the Second Anglo-Afghan War took place. Ayub Khan was amassing a large force as he made his way to British-held Kandahar. General Burrows left with his force of nearly 2,500 British & Indian troops to intercept Khan and keep him from reaching Kandahar.

Burrow’s force reached Maiwand, about 50 miles to the northwest of Kandahar, and encountered Ayub Khan’s forces. The Afghan forces numbered over 25,000 men, outnumbering the British over ten-to-one.

THE BATTLE
“…to the left was the village of Mundabad, and about 600 yards further on and slightly to the right was the village of Khig…. Lying to the west of the villages was a large and deep ravine [the Mundabad Ravine].” (Stacpoole-Ryding p.76) The British were in a poor location and their baggage was exposed. At about 10:30am the battled began.

Battle of Maiwand

For over five hours the British fought off Khan’s forces. The extreme heat and lack of water took its toll on the troops. There were also problems with the British rifles, “although the new [Martini-Henry] rifle may have been an excellent weapon compared with the Snider and earlier version of the Martini-Henry, it still had a disadvantage in that, when it over-heated, the spent cartridge case jammed in the breech…” (Stackpoole-Ryding p.86)

“At 1.30 p.m. the smooth-bore batteries ran out of shells. They had been firing continually since the commencement of the battle…” (Stacpoole-Ryding p.91)

By about 3 or 4 pm General Burrow’s force was in full retreat. Attempts were made to keep the withdrawal controlled, but a number of units did not hear or receive orders. A majority of the Berkshire regiment as well as stragglers from other units lost contact with the main body of the retreating brigade. The Bershires made their way to Khig and firmly under the control of Lieutenant Colonel James Galbraith. Both Second Lieutenant Olivey and Sergeant-Major 1171 Alexander Cuppage died protecting the regiment’s colours. One-hundred forty of them made a stand in the village until the remaining fifty-six had to withdraw further and make their last stand.

During that final retreat eleven men got separated. Perhaps they didn’t hear the bugle or the calls for retreat. These last men decided to move out and face the enemy one last time. There were no British witnesses to the death of these eleven men as the rest of the brigade had routed. However, Stacpoole-Ryding has a quote from an Afghan Colonel in his book: “Surrounded by the whole of the Afghan Army, they fought on until only eleven men were left, inflicting enormous loss on their enemy. These men charged out of the garden, and died with their faces to the foe, fighting to the death. Such was the nature of their charge, and the grandeur of their bearing that although the whole of the Ghazis were assembled around them, no one dared to approach to cut them down. Thus, standing in the open, back to back, firing steadily and truly, every shot telling, surrounded by thousands, these officers and men died; and it was not until the last man was shot down that the Ghazis dared advance upon them. The conduct of these men was the admiration of all that witnessed it.” (Stacpoole-Ryding p.103-104)

In the end the surviving British forces retreated back to Kandahar. Khan’s forces failed to pursue and kill the survivors as they tended their own injured and looted the abandoned British supplies. Nearly a thousand died from the British side and over 2,500 Afghans died. It was a great victory for the Afghans. However, Ayub Khan’s forces would be defeated in early September around Kandahar.

WORKS CITED
1)(Richard J. Stacpoole-Ryding, Maiwand: The Last Stand of the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment in Afghanistan, 1880; copyright 2008 Richard J. Stacpoole-Ryding, published by The History Press; UK)
2)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_maiwand (accessed 27 July 2010)

IMAGE SOURCE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Action_at_Maiwand_map.jpg (accessed 27 July 2010)

At 11:30 there were Cavalry exercises in the Great Meadow. This was the first Civil War re-enactment that I’d been to that had Cavalry involved. Watching them take the horses out and ride around the meadow to prepare for the upcoming battle was great.

Union Cavalry prior to the battles

High Noon was when the first battle began. The last battle I saw at the GCV&M took place on the Great Meadow. This year the battle took place in the town itself. Portions of the village were sectioned off for the battle and the guests lined up along the sides to watch an hour long battle for control of the town. The Rebels started with control of the town when Union forces arrive to attack. From my vantage point it appeared that the Cavalry arrived first, guns blazing. The Confederates fell back against the onslaught, the Rebel officers putting on a great show ordering their troops along.

In the distance I saw a Rebel officer capture a pair of Union troops that got separated from their unit, the officer put on a good show, pistol in hand. A number of wounded and dead littered the streets waiting to be dragged away. When the Confederates had been pushed back to near my position at the brewery their reinforcements arrived and began to push back the Northern troops. Cannons were booming in the distance.

The Union was pushed back to their starting point and then managed to rally. I’m assuming they had their own reinforcements arrive, but I could not see that portion of the village well. The Rebels were again pushed back towards the far end of the village.

I couldn’t tell who won the battle. I was forced to withdraw due to the noise of all the guns were starting to hurt my ears a bit. I’ve got to remember ear plugs next year.

A second battle was held in a nearby field at 2pm. This one involved cannons on both sides and the Union Cavalry again. I had a nice vantage point, stuck behind the Rebels again. This battle was easier on my hearing, I was a bit further back than last time, but I made sure to cover my ears up each time the big Confederate cannon went off.

The 2nd battle of the day. Union ends up winning.

The Union won this battle. A number of the Rebels fled despite the protests of their officers. Eventually Union troops marched up and seized the Confederate positions. I’m guessing that when these events are held down South the Rebels tend to win more often.

Next I visited some of the vendors who set up numerous tents across the museum. I found one from Missouri that had a number of interesting books. I was going to limit myself to a single purchase and managed to find a really interesting looking book that I’ll have to read by next month. Later when I checked Amazon I found the same book for about $5 less, but I don’t mind paying a little extra money to an out-of-state vendor who lugged his wares all the way up to New York to help make the event better.

At 3:30pm was a concert by a group called The Irish Volunteers in one of the museum’s churches. I sat listening to them for a time while my batteries recharged.

W. Grieve Brewer, Distiller, Malster

On the way out I stopped by the bar and bought a jug of Fat Ox Ale. The museum has the only functional 19th century brewery in the country and while they can’t sell the beer it produces for health reasons they had a local modern brewery produce a close match in terms of flavor for sale to patrons.

All-in-all a great day. If it wasn’t for the noise of the guns I could see myself participating in these events during the summers. Thanks to all the hundreds of people involved, especially the troops who had to be out in the summer heat fighting in two battles in those heavy uniforms. Must have been brutal, and a lot of fun.

Hopefully 2011’s event will be even better!

#1 My First Post: And so it begins… (3 August 2008) This is where this blog started out.

#2 Post I enjoyed writing the most: Sergeant Stubby: An American Hero (4 September 2008) Sergeant Stubby was just a cool dog, and lots of fun to write about.

#3 Post with the greatest discussion: Review: Reilly: Ace of Spies (22 June 2009) I don’t get too many comments right now, but this post quickly got two good comments within a day or so. That made the comments great.

#4 Post on someone else’s blog I wish I wrote: While maybe not quite a blog, History According to Bob is my favorite spot to visit for great history podcasts! I wish I could create great podcasts like Bob does.

#5 Most Helpful Post: Origins of the Great War (9 September 2008) A brief overview of some of the causes of World War I. A good place to start exploring all the posts I’ve made on the Great War.

#6 Title I’m most proud of: The Italo-Rose Island War (11 October 2008) The name I coined for the destruction of Rose Island by Italy. I’m sure Italy didn’t see it as a war.

#7 Post I wish more people had read: Second Anglo-Afgan War: A Brief Overview (4 June 2009) A great place to get an introduction into a conflict most Americans know nothing about.

Please go check out these posts. Look around and please leave some relevant comments.

Question #25: In what year did the Second Anglo-Dutch War begin?
A: 1652
B: 1658
C: 1665
D: 1672

Question #26: Out of the following countries, which was the last to convert to the Gregorian Calendar?
A: Prussia
B: British Empire
C: Spain
D: Denmark

Question #27: William Henry Harrison was the 9th President of the United States. What political party did he belong to?
A: Federalist
B: Democratic-Republican
C: Whig
D: Democrat

ANSWERS TO LAST TIME’S QUESTIONS:
#20: C – Donald Hodel was appointed Secretary of Energy on November 5, 1982

#21: A - August 11, 1949 was when Omar Bradley was made Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

#22: B - $7.2 million was paid for Alaska

#23: D- Joseph Hewes represented North Carolina. He was a native of New Jersey.

First will be occassional coverage of some vintage baseball games played near my area.  With future posts I’ll include more details on the rulse of baseball in 1865.  Plan to include some information on the history of baseball up until 1865 as well.

My big project for this summer will be a series of article on the First Anglo-Dutch War.  It has been difficult for me to find good sources, I would probably have better luck if I lived in the UK.  I’m sure most American’s haven’t even heard of this conflict.  Despite that, it had great historic significane which I’ll explore as the series continues.

I’ve wanted to do a series on the aircraft of World War I, but I keep getting delayed in some research I want to do.  It involves some travel and I haven’t been able to manage to pull the cash together to pay for the hotel rooms and gas.  Hopefully I can get it started this summer, if not it’ll have to wait ’till 2011.

I’ll continue to post questions for the ‘Neverending History Exam.’  I’ll try to put some difficult questions in there…  okay, most of them are difficult.  However, you have access to a computer and Wikipedia is a good place to start research and to learn more about the things my questions involve.

Be sure to let me know what else you would like me to cover.  There will be topics I’m not as knowledable about as I’d like, and I may not have time to research them, but I will try to respond to requests in some way.

This Saturday should be the first in my series on the First Anglo-Dutch War.  Hope to see you there.

The first game was the Knickerbockers vs. Flower City. It was an interesting game because it ended in a tie. No extra innings were played, I’m not sure if that was because of the rules not allowing extra innings or that the next game just had to get started. If it was because of the rules, I wonder what they would have done if the Mayor’s Cup championship had been a tie last year.

Flower City had pulled ahead to an early lead, but the Knickerbockers managed to tie it up in the ninth.

The second game was the Rochesters against Live Oak. It was a quicker game and ended with a definite winner.