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Welcome to Clash of Steel!


Featured battle : La Rothière

Part of The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars

Date : 01 February 1814

In a battle of attack and counter-attack the result was a close run thing. Napoleon had decided to withdraw from the position but he was attacked before he could pull out. After desperate fighting with losses about equal Napoleon was able to disengage covered by snow, darkness and his artillery. His big losses was the guns he could not extricate, 73 were taken by the Allies, and his reputation for invincibility in the eyes of his own troops..

Featured image :

M24 Chaffee light tank

M24 Chaffee light tank

Developed during WW2 as a replacement for the out-gunned Stuart Light Tanks, it was designed ito carry a heavier 75mm gun to take on the German armour. Although it actually saw little service other than the the later stages of the war in NW Europe, it's major theatre was during the Korean War where it performed well. It was supplied to many other allied forces as military aid, including the French Union forces in Indo-China. Armoured platoons from Vinh Yen and An Khe to Dien Bien Phu fought gallant but ultimately hopeless actions against waves of Viet-Minh infantry. The tanks (called Bisons by the French) provided essential fire support for the out-numbered French Colonial troops in a very harsh enviroment for a heavy vehicle. As to specifics, it had a crew of 5, was armed with the 75mm main gun, plus .30 caliber MG mounted coaxially with the 75mm, and a further .30 cal in the front hull alongside the driver. It could reach 30mph (48 km/hr), with a range of 100 miles (160 km) and was named after General Adna R Chaffee Jr. who was instrumental in developing the US armoured forces before WW2 and had died of cancer on 1941.

Gallery updated : 2022-04-04 08:33:43

Featured review :

The Harwich Striking Force

Steve R Dunn
Having enjoyed three previous books by Steve Dunn I had high expectations of this one and I was not disappointed. The Harwich force was a special creation to meet a particular need and worked under a talented leader. It’s actions, successes, failures highs and lows are all here and indicate a massive amount of research. The breadth of its actions many of them experimental is down to the vision of its commander, Admiral Tyrwhitt. He thought deeply about the weapons, cruisers, destroyers, mine sweepers, mine layers, submarines and flying boats, and used them in novel aggressive ways. The accounts of various voyages show how the weather, especially fog, was as much of an enemy as were the Germans.
The easy flowing text includes a lot of personal accounts and observations, there are many photographs of the men and the vessels and one very good map. This is a well-focussed work and a jolly good read which we highly recommend.

Seaforth Publishing, 2022

Reviewed : 2022-10-09 10:28:07