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Featured battle : Leipzig - The Battle of the Nations
Part of The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
Date : 16 October 1813 - 18 October 1813
Napoleon had allowed himself to be driven/drawn into a position around the city of Leipzig. His tired and ill-nourished troops were outnumbered three to two. Fresh allied corps were not too distant and were moving to support. There were large losses on both sides in the three days of heavy fighting. A failure by the Allies to cover one line of retreat with sufficient troops enabled Napoleon and a significant portion [about 80,000 came back over the river Saale] of the Grand Armée to escape.
Featured image :
British MOBAT anti-tank weapon
An artillery piece looked after by members of the 20th Century Revisited group. It was a prominent infantry fire support weapon from the 1960's. It was a 120mm recoilless rifle and had a range of between 800 and 1000 yards. It fired a HESH round which was pretty effective against most tanks of the period but was heavy and had an immense back-blast which could quickly give away it's position, as well as being hazardous to it users. It could be towed behind an Austin Champ, or Land Rover. It was a lighter weight development of the BAT weapon which had a protective screen for the gun-team, and was phased out in favour of the later WOMBAT which was of magnesium construction and much lighter. Displayed by the 20th Century Revisited group.
Gallery updated : 2022-04-04 08:33:43
Featured review :
The BEF in France 1939-1940
John Grehan & Martin Mace
A most interesting compilation of some of the despatches sent by the senior Army and Naval commanders involved. Here presented is the raw material, the facts, as they were seen at that time by those people without the benefit of hindsight to enable them to make any adjustments to the narrative. The material covers some of the initial deployment of the BEF and its eventual evacuations from around Dunkirk and Cherbourg. Warmly recommended with the reservation that one needs either a very good knowledge of the geography of northern France or a large scale map to hand.
Pen & Sword Military, 2014
Reviewed : 2014-10-31 20:01:21
