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Anniversaries for today :
Welcome to Clash of Steel!
Featured battle : Erigo
Part of Operations against the "Mad Mullah"
Date : 06 October 1902
In Somaliland the battle against Mohamed bin Abdullah Hassan (The Mad Mullah) at Erigo on the 6th October 1902 brought to an end the first campaign against this very mobile Dervish leader. A British Officered Somali Levy with Central African Rifles and Indian support (total force of 1,500) fought off an attack by 12,000 horsemen and 3,000 spearmen on foot. Victory for the Somali Levy forced the Mullah to withdraw his forces to the eastern Nogal area of Somalia.
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 Duke of Wellington in 100 Objects
Gareth Glover
This is the third book of the 100 objects series that I have read and the format is truly inspired. As with his Napoleon book Gareth Glover gives us the story of each of the hundred objects in their context and in doing so writes a brief broad brush history of the life of Arthur Wesley/Duke of Wellington The objects are dealt with individually but the whole is structured in chronological order. Every item has two or three pages which makes this book easy to pick up at odd moments for a ‘little read’ but be warned it is easier to pick up than to put down. One may intend to read one section but then sees the picture of the next item so one reads on and ten minutes soon becomes half an hour.
The range of the objects chosen is very wide from ivory miniatures to monuments on mountains, from violin to Tipu’s cannon. This is an illustrated biography that visits many bye ways in the Duke’s life.
The publication is of a high quality; the photographs are beautifully presented. Although I am not keen on black print on some rather dark pages the overall effect lends an antique feel to the book.
There is one surprising omission in that there isn’t any acknowledgement of where many of the objects are now. It would be nice to know on the off chance that one could visit the place.
This book will appeal to a wide range of readers and we recommend it highly.
Frontline Books, 2020
Reviewed : 2020-11-24 11:40:38
