The Australian contribution to the Battle of Normandy involved hundreds of military personnel operating under British command. Most were members of the
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), though smaller numbers of Australians serving with the
Royal Navy and
British Army also participated in the battle. While all the RAAF units based in the United Kingdom were involved in the battle, Australians made up only a small portion of the Allied force. It has been estimated that as many as 3,000 Australian military personnel supported the Allied landings on 6 June 1944, including between 2,000 and 2,500 RAAF airmen in Australian squadrons and
Royal Air Force units, approximately 500 members of the
Royal Australian Navy serving in Royal Navy vessels and about a dozen
Australian Army officers. Australians also took part in the subsequent
Battle of Normandy during the northern summer of 1944, including a RAAF fighter squadron operating from airfields in
Normandy throughout much of the campaign. Australia's contribution to the fighting is commemorated as part of memorials in
London and Normandy.
BrigadierDudley Wrangel Clarke (1899–1974) was a
British Army officer, known as a pioneer of
military deception operations during the
Second World War. His ideas for combining fictional orders of battle, visual deception and double agents helped define Allied deception strategy during the war, for which he has been referred to as "the greatest British deceiver of WW2". He was instrumental in the founding of three famous military units, namely the
British Commandos, the
Special Air Service and the
US Rangers. Born in Johannesburg during the
Second Boer War and brought up in London, Clarke joined the
Royal Artillery as an officer during the
First World War, but was unable to fight in France due to an age limit. Remaining in the military after the war, he led a varied career in the Middle East. While on leave in 1922 he fed misinformation to Turkish rebels during the
Chanak Crisis, the first example of the kind of work that would later define his career. In 1936, Clarke helped organise the British response to the
Arab uprising in Palestine. He was placed in charge of strategic deception in the Middle East in 1940. As cover for this secret role he was also tasked with setting up a regional presence for
MI9, a British escape and evasion department. The following year he established 'A' Force. Clarke implemented
Operation Cascade, a grand
order of battle deception which added a large number of fictional units to the Allied formations. Clarke spent the remainder of the war organising deception in North Africa and southern Europe. After the war ended he wrote the history of 'A' Force, and retired in 1947. He lived the remainder of his life in relative obscurity. As well as pursuing a literary career that produced two histories and a
thriller, he worked for the
Conservative Party and was a director of
Securicor. He died in London in 1974.
John Adair (1757–1840) was an
American pioneer, soldier and statesman. He was the
eighthGovernor of Kentucky and represented the state in both the
U.S. House and
Senate. A native of
South Carolina, Adair enlisted in the state
militia and served in the
Revolutionary War, where he was held captive by the British for a period of time. Following the war, he was elected as a delegate to South Carolina's convention to ratify the
United States Constitution. Adair moved to Kentucky in 1786 and participated in the
Northwest Indian War, including a skirmish with the
Miami chief
Little Turtle near Fort St. Clair in 1792. Popular for his service in two wars, Adair entered politics in 1792. After Kentucky's separation from Virginia, he was elected to a total of eight terms in the
state House of Representatives between 1793 and 1803. He served as Speaker of the Kentucky House in 1802 and 1803, and was a delegate to the state's second constitutional convention in 1799. Adair took part in the
War of 1812, and subsequently defended Kentucky's soldiers against
Andrew Jackson's charges that they showed cowardice at the
Battle of New Orleans. In 1820, he was elected governor on a platform of financial relief for Kentuckians hit hard by the
Panic of 1819. Following his term as governor, Adair served one undistinguished term in the United States House of Representatives, but did not run for re-election. He died May 19, 1840, at his farm in
Harrodsburg. He is the namesake of
Adair County, Kentucky,
Adair County, Missouri,
Adair County, Iowa, and the cities of
Adairville, Kentucky and
Adair, Iowa.
Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) was the
33rdPresident of the United States (1945–1953). Truman was born in Missouri, and spent most of his youth on his family's farm. During
World War I, he served in combat in France as an artillery officer in his
National Guard unit. After the war, he briefly owned a
haberdashery and joined the Democratic Party. He was first elected to public office as a county official, and in 1934 became
U.S. senator. He gained national prominence as head of the wartime
Truman Committee, which exposed waste, fraud, and corruption in wartime contracts. The final
running mate of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, Truman succeeded to the presidency after Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945. Under Truman, the U.S. successfully concluded
World War II; in the aftermath of the conflict, tensions with the
Soviet Union increased, marking the start of the
Cold War. He oversaw the
Berlin Airlift in 1948 and the creation of
NATO in 1949. When communist North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, he immediately sent in U.S. troops and gained UN approval for the
Korean War. After initial success, the UN forces were thrown back by Chinese intervention and the conflict was stalemated through the final years of Truman's presidency.
HMS Argus was a British
aircraft carrier that served in the
Royal Navy from 1918 to 1944. She was converted from an
ocean liner that was under construction when the First World War began, and became the world's first example of what is now the standard pattern of aircraft carrier, with a full-length
flight deck that allowed wheeled aircraft to take off and land. Argus was too top-heavy as originally built and had to be modified to improve her stability in the mid-1920s. She spent one brief deployment on the
China Station in the late 1920s before being placed in
reserve for budgetary reasons. The ship was recommissioned and partially modernised shortly before the Second World War and served as a
training ship for deck-landing practice until June 1940. The following month she made the first of her many
ferry trips to the Western Mediterranean to fly-off fighters to
Malta; she was largely occupied in this task for the next two years. The ship also delivered aircraft to
Murmansk in Russia,
Takoradi on the
Gold Coast, and
Reykjavik in Iceland. By 1942, the Royal Navy was very short of aircraft carriers and Argus was pressed into front-line service despite her lack of speed and armament. In June, she participated in
Operation Harpoon, providing air cover for the Malta-bound convoy. In November, the ship provided air cover during
Operation Torch, the invasion of
French North Africa, and was lightly damaged by a bomb. After returning to the UK for repairs, Argus was used again for deck-landing practice until late September 1944. In December, she became an
accommodation ship and was listed for disposal in mid-1946. Argus was sold in late 1946 and
scrapped the following year.
A 14th-century depiction of the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople
The Second Arab Siege of Constantinople in 717–718 was a combined land and sea effort by the
Arabs of the
Umayyad Caliphate to take the capital city of the
Byzantine Empire,
Constantinople. The campaign marked the culmination of twenty years of attacks and gradual Arab encroachment on the Byzantine borderlands, aided by
internal Byzantine turmoil. The Arabs, led by
Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik, invaded Byzantine
Asia Minor in 716. After wintering in the western coastlands of Asia Minor, the Arab army crossed into
Thrace in early summer 717 and built
siege lines to blockade the city. In spring 718, two Arab fleets that were sent as reinforcements were destroyed by the Byzantines after their Christian crews defected, and an additional army sent overland through Asia Minor was defeated. Coupled with attacks by the
Bulgars on their rear, the Arabs were forced to raise the siege on 15 August 718. The rescue of Constantinople ensured the continued survival of Byzantium, while the Caliphate's strategic outlook was altered: although regular attacks on Byzantine territories continued, the goal of outright conquest was abandoned. The siege is also credited with having halted the Muslim advance into Europe, and is hence often considered one of the most decisive battles in history.
General of the ArmyRadenSoedirman (
Perfected Spelling: Sudirman; 1916–1950) was a high-ranking Indonesian military officer during the
Indonesian National Revolution. The first commander-in-chief of the
Indonesian Armed Forces, he continues to be highly respected in Indonesia. He was a teacher when the
Japanese occupied the Indies in 1942. In 1944, he joined the Japanese-sponsored
Defenders of the Homeland as a battalion commander in
Banyumas. In this position he put down a rebellion by his fellow soldiers, but was later interned in
Bogor. After
Indonesia proclaimed its independence on 17 August 1945, Sudirman led a break-out from the detention centre. He was then tasked with overseeing the surrender of Japanese soldiers in Banyumas. His command was made part of the Fifth Division on 20 October by interim commander-in-chief Oerip Soemohardjo, with Sudirman in charge of the division. On 12 November 1945, at an election to decide the military's commander-in-chief in
Yogyakarta, Sudirman was chosen over Oerip in a close vote. While waiting to be confirmed, Sudirman ordered an assault on British and Dutch forces stationed in
Ambarawa. The ensuing battle and British withdrawal strengthened Sudirman's popular support, and he was confirmed on 18 December. During the following three years Sudirman saw negotiations with the returning Dutch colonial forces fail, first after the
Linggadjati Agreement – which Sudirman participated in drafting – and then the
Renville Agreement – which led to Indonesia granting land taken during
Operation Product to the Dutch forces and the withdrawal of 35,000 Indonesian troops. He was also faced with internal dissent, including a
1948 coup d'état attempt. On 19 December 1948 the Dutch launched
Operation Kraai, an attempt to capture Yogyakarta. While the political leadership took shelter at the
sultan's palace, Sudirman, a small group of soldiers, and his personal doctor went south and began a seven-month
guerrilla campaign. Initially followed by Dutch forces, Sudirman escaped and made his headquarters at Sobo, near
Mount Lawu, where he was able to command military activities in Java; this included a
show of force in Yogyakarta on 1 March 1949, led by Lieutenant Colonel
Suharto. When the Dutch began withdrawing, in July 1949 Sudirman was called back to Yogyakarta. Although he wanted to continue fighting the Dutch troops, he was forbidden by
Sukarno. Sudirman had a relapse of tuberculosis; this led to him retiring to
Magelang. He died shortly after the Dutch recognised Indonesia's independence.
The Lisbon Appointment was the decision in 1965 by Britain's
self-governing colony in
Rhodesia to open its own
diplomatic mission in the Portuguese capital of
Lisbon, with Harry Reedman at its head as an
accredited representative. Rhodesia intended for this mission to operate independently from Britain's embassy in Lisbon.
Whitehall refused to endorse this when asked on 9 June, but Rhodesia continued nonetheless, officially confirming Reedman's appointment 17 days later. The British government attempted to block this unilateral act—Rhodesia'sfirst—for months afterwards, but these efforts proved fruitless. Portugal's
Foreign Ministry accepted Reedman's letter of accreditation in September, officially recognising him as "Chief of the Rhodesian Mission". The affair came amidst the larger dispute between Whitehall and
Salisbury regarding the terms under which Rhodesia could be granted
sovereign independence, and was a precursor to Rhodesia's
Unilateral Declaration of Independence on 11 November 1965.
Bertram Thomas Combs (1911–1991) was a
jurist and politician from the
U.S. state of
Kentucky. After serving on the
Kentucky Court of Appeals, he was elected the
50thGovernor of Kentucky in 1959 on his second run for the office. Following his gubernatorial term, he was appointed to the
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals by
PresidentLyndon B. Johnson, serving from 1967 to 1970. Combs rose from poverty in his native
Clay County, Kentucky, to attain a law degree from the
University of Kentucky and open a law practice in
Prestonsburg. He was
decorated for his service under
GeneralDouglas MacArthur during
World War II, then returned to Kentucky and his law practice. In 1951, Governor
Lawrence Wetherby appointed him to fill a vacancy on the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Combs was elected governor in 1959. Early in his term, he secured passage of a three percent
sales tax to pay a bonus to the state's military veterans. Knowing a tax of one percent would have been sufficient, he used the excess revenue to enact a system of reforms including expansion of the state's highway and
state park systems. He also devoted much of the surplus to education, and was called the "education governor" in some circles. Following his term in office, Combs was appointed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals by President Johnson. He ran for governor again in 1971, losing the Democratic primary to
Wendell H. Ford, his former executive secretary. In 1984, Combs agreed to represent sixty-six of the state's poor school districts in a lawsuit challenging the state's system of financing public education. The suit, Rose v. Council for Better Education, resulted in the
Kentucky Supreme Court declaring the state's entire system of public schools unconstitutional. In response, the
Kentucky General Assembly drafted a sweeping education measure known as the Kentucky Education Reform Act in 1991. On December 3, 1991, Combs was caught in a
flash flood as he returned home from his law office. His body was found in the
Red River near
Rosslyn, in
Powell County, the following morning.
Walter Krueger (1881–1967) was an American soldier and
general officer in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his command of the
Sixth United States Army in the
South West Pacific Area during
World War II. He rose from the rank of
private to
general in the United States Army. Born in
Flatow,
West Prussia, Krueger migrated to the United States as a boy. He enlisted for service in the
Spanish-American War and served in Cuba, and then re-enlisted for service in the
Philippine-American War. On 1 July 1901, he was commissioned. In 1914 he was posted to the
Pennsylvania Army National Guard. His regiment was mobilized on 23 June 1916 and served along the Mexican border. After the United States commenced hostilities with Germany in April 1917, Krueger was assigned to the
84th Infantry Division as its Assistant Chief of Staff G-3 (Operations), and then its chief of staff. In October 1918, he became Chief of Staff of the
Tank Corps. Between the wars, Krueger served in a number of command and staff positions, and attended the
Naval War College at his own request. In 1941, he assumed command of the
Third Army, which he led in the
Louisiana Maneuvers. He expected, in view of his age, to spend the war at home training troops, but in 1943 he was sent to
GeneralDouglas MacArthur's Southwest Pacific Area as commander of the Sixth Army and Alamo Force, which he led in a series of victorious campaigns against the Japanese. As an army commander, Krueger had to grapple with the problems imposed by vast distances, inhospitable terrain, unfavorable climate, and an indefatigable and dangerous enemy. He had to balance MacArthur's need to speed up the tempo of operations in order to win campaigns with the more cautious approach of subordinates who often found themselves confronted by unexpectedly large numbers of Japanese troops. The
Battle of Luzon was his largest, longest and last battle. Krueger retired to
San Antonio, Texas, where he bought a house and wrote From Down Under to Nippon, an account of his campaigns in the Southwest Pacific. His retirement was marred by family tragedies. His son James was dismissed from the Army in 1947 for
conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman. His wife's health deteriorated, and she died of cancer in 1956. His daughter Dorothy stabbed her husband to death in 1952. She was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court-martial, but was freed by the
US Supreme Court in 1957.
Wilfred Stanley (Wilf) ArthurDSO,
DFC (1919–2000) was a
fighter ace and senior officer of the
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. He was officially credited with ten aerial victories. As a commander, he led combat formations at
squadron and
wing level, becoming at 24 the youngest
group captain in the history of the RAAF. Arthur joined the Air Force the day after Australia declared war in September 1939. He first saw action with
No. 3 Squadron in
North Africa, where he had the distinction of shooting down four aircraft in a single
sortie. Posted to the
South West Pacific, he commanded first
No. 75 Squadron, and later
Nos. 81 and
78 Wings. Arthur also played a leading part in—and gave name to—the "
Morotai Mutiny" of April 1945. Pursuing various interests in Australia and Vietnam following his discharge from the Air Force after the war, he died in 2000 at the age of 81.
Air CommodoreHippolyte Ferdinand (Frank) De La RueCBE,
DFC (1891–1977) was a senior commander in the
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Joining the
Mercantile Marine as a youth, he became a pilot in Britain's
Royal Naval Air Service during World War I. In 1918, he was given command of
No. 223 Squadron in the newly formed
Royal Air Force and later commanded
No. 270 Squadron RAF in Egypt. Returning to Australia, De La Rue became a founding member of the RAAF in March 1921. Specialising in maritime aviation, he led
seaplane formations based at
Point Cook, Victoria, during the 1920s and early 1930s. De La Rue was appointed commanding officer of
No. 1 Flying Training School at Point Cook in 1933. He was promoted to
group captain in 1937 and took command of
RAAF Station Richmond, New South Wales, the following year. At the outbreak of World War II, De La Rue was slated to lead an air expeditionary force to Great Britain, but this plan was abandoned. Promoted to temporary
air commodore, he served as
Air Officer Commanding Western Area from 1941 to 1943, and finished the war as Inspector of Administration at RAAF Headquarters,
Melbourne. Nicknamed "Kanga", De La Rue retired from the Air Force in 1946.
George Churchill Kenney (1889–1977) was a
United States Army Air Forces general during
World War II. Kenney enlisted as a flying cadet in the
Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps in 1917, and served on the
Western Front in World War I. After hostilities ended he participated in the
Occupation of the Rhineland. Returning to the United States, he flew reconnaissance missions along the border between the US and Mexico during the
Mexican Revolution. Commissioned into the
Regular Army in 1920, he attended the
Air Corps Tactical School, and later became an instructor there. In early 1940, Kenney became Assistant
Military Attaché for Air in France. As a result of his observations of German and Allied air operations during the early stages of World War II, he recommended significant changes to Air Corps equipment and tactics. In July 1942, he assumed command of the Allied Air Forces and
Fifth Air Force in
GeneralDouglas MacArthur's Southwest Pacific Area. Under Kenney's command, the Allied Air Forces developed innovative command structures, weapons, and tactics that reflected Kenney's orientation towards attack aviation. In June 1944 he was appointed commander of the Far East Air Forces (FEAF), which came to include the Fifth,
Thirteenth, and
Seventh Air Forces. In April 1946, Kenney became the first commander of the newly formed
Strategic Air Command (SAC), but his performance in the role was criticized, and he was shifted to become commander of the
Air University, a position he held from October 1948 until his retirement from the Air Force in September 1951.
About The Bugle
First published in 2006, the Bugle is the monthly newsletter of the English Wikipedia's Military history WikiProject.
The Australian contribution to the Battle of Normandy involved hundreds of military personnel operating under British command. Most were members of the
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), though smaller numbers of Australians serving with the
Royal Navy and
British Army also participated in the battle. While all the RAAF units based in the United Kingdom were involved in the battle, Australians made up only a small portion of the Allied force. It has been estimated that as many as 3,000 Australian military personnel supported the Allied landings on 6 June 1944, including between 2,000 and 2,500 RAAF airmen in Australian squadrons and
Royal Air Force units, approximately 500 members of the
Royal Australian Navy serving in Royal Navy vessels and about a dozen
Australian Army officers. Australians also took part in the subsequent
Battle of Normandy during the northern summer of 1944, including a RAAF fighter squadron operating from airfields in
Normandy throughout much of the campaign. Australia's contribution to the fighting is commemorated as part of memorials in
London and Normandy.
BrigadierDudley Wrangel Clarke (1899–1974) was a
British Army officer, known as a pioneer of
military deception operations during the
Second World War. His ideas for combining fictional orders of battle, visual deception and double agents helped define Allied deception strategy during the war, for which he has been referred to as "the greatest British deceiver of WW2". He was instrumental in the founding of three famous military units, namely the
British Commandos, the
Special Air Service and the
US Rangers. Born in Johannesburg during the
Second Boer War and brought up in London, Clarke joined the
Royal Artillery as an officer during the
First World War, but was unable to fight in France due to an age limit. Remaining in the military after the war, he led a varied career in the Middle East. While on leave in 1922 he fed misinformation to Turkish rebels during the
Chanak Crisis, the first example of the kind of work that would later define his career. In 1936, Clarke helped organise the British response to the
Arab uprising in Palestine. He was placed in charge of strategic deception in the Middle East in 1940. As cover for this secret role he was also tasked with setting up a regional presence for
MI9, a British escape and evasion department. The following year he established 'A' Force. Clarke implemented
Operation Cascade, a grand
order of battle deception which added a large number of fictional units to the Allied formations. Clarke spent the remainder of the war organising deception in North Africa and southern Europe. After the war ended he wrote the history of 'A' Force, and retired in 1947. He lived the remainder of his life in relative obscurity. As well as pursuing a literary career that produced two histories and a
thriller, he worked for the
Conservative Party and was a director of
Securicor. He died in London in 1974.
John Adair (1757–1840) was an
American pioneer, soldier and statesman. He was the
eighthGovernor of Kentucky and represented the state in both the
U.S. House and
Senate. A native of
South Carolina, Adair enlisted in the state
militia and served in the
Revolutionary War, where he was held captive by the British for a period of time. Following the war, he was elected as a delegate to South Carolina's convention to ratify the
United States Constitution. Adair moved to Kentucky in 1786 and participated in the
Northwest Indian War, including a skirmish with the
Miami chief
Little Turtle near Fort St. Clair in 1792. Popular for his service in two wars, Adair entered politics in 1792. After Kentucky's separation from Virginia, he was elected to a total of eight terms in the
state House of Representatives between 1793 and 1803. He served as Speaker of the Kentucky House in 1802 and 1803, and was a delegate to the state's second constitutional convention in 1799. Adair took part in the
War of 1812, and subsequently defended Kentucky's soldiers against
Andrew Jackson's charges that they showed cowardice at the
Battle of New Orleans. In 1820, he was elected governor on a platform of financial relief for Kentuckians hit hard by the
Panic of 1819. Following his term as governor, Adair served one undistinguished term in the United States House of Representatives, but did not run for re-election. He died May 19, 1840, at his farm in
Harrodsburg. He is the namesake of
Adair County, Kentucky,
Adair County, Missouri,
Adair County, Iowa, and the cities of
Adairville, Kentucky and
Adair, Iowa.
Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) was the
33rdPresident of the United States (1945–1953). Truman was born in Missouri, and spent most of his youth on his family's farm. During
World War I, he served in combat in France as an artillery officer in his
National Guard unit. After the war, he briefly owned a
haberdashery and joined the Democratic Party. He was first elected to public office as a county official, and in 1934 became
U.S. senator. He gained national prominence as head of the wartime
Truman Committee, which exposed waste, fraud, and corruption in wartime contracts. The final
running mate of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944, Truman succeeded to the presidency after Roosevelt's death on April 12, 1945. Under Truman, the U.S. successfully concluded
World War II; in the aftermath of the conflict, tensions with the
Soviet Union increased, marking the start of the
Cold War. He oversaw the
Berlin Airlift in 1948 and the creation of
NATO in 1949. When communist North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, he immediately sent in U.S. troops and gained UN approval for the
Korean War. After initial success, the UN forces were thrown back by Chinese intervention and the conflict was stalemated through the final years of Truman's presidency.
HMS Argus was a British
aircraft carrier that served in the
Royal Navy from 1918 to 1944. She was converted from an
ocean liner that was under construction when the First World War began, and became the world's first example of what is now the standard pattern of aircraft carrier, with a full-length
flight deck that allowed wheeled aircraft to take off and land. Argus was too top-heavy as originally built and had to be modified to improve her stability in the mid-1920s. She spent one brief deployment on the
China Station in the late 1920s before being placed in
reserve for budgetary reasons. The ship was recommissioned and partially modernised shortly before the Second World War and served as a
training ship for deck-landing practice until June 1940. The following month she made the first of her many
ferry trips to the Western Mediterranean to fly-off fighters to
Malta; she was largely occupied in this task for the next two years. The ship also delivered aircraft to
Murmansk in Russia,
Takoradi on the
Gold Coast, and
Reykjavik in Iceland. By 1942, the Royal Navy was very short of aircraft carriers and Argus was pressed into front-line service despite her lack of speed and armament. In June, she participated in
Operation Harpoon, providing air cover for the Malta-bound convoy. In November, the ship provided air cover during
Operation Torch, the invasion of
French North Africa, and was lightly damaged by a bomb. After returning to the UK for repairs, Argus was used again for deck-landing practice until late September 1944. In December, she became an
accommodation ship and was listed for disposal in mid-1946. Argus was sold in late 1946 and
scrapped the following year.
A 14th-century depiction of the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople
The Second Arab Siege of Constantinople in 717–718 was a combined land and sea effort by the
Arabs of the
Umayyad Caliphate to take the capital city of the
Byzantine Empire,
Constantinople. The campaign marked the culmination of twenty years of attacks and gradual Arab encroachment on the Byzantine borderlands, aided by
internal Byzantine turmoil. The Arabs, led by
Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik, invaded Byzantine
Asia Minor in 716. After wintering in the western coastlands of Asia Minor, the Arab army crossed into
Thrace in early summer 717 and built
siege lines to blockade the city. In spring 718, two Arab fleets that were sent as reinforcements were destroyed by the Byzantines after their Christian crews defected, and an additional army sent overland through Asia Minor was defeated. Coupled with attacks by the
Bulgars on their rear, the Arabs were forced to raise the siege on 15 August 718. The rescue of Constantinople ensured the continued survival of Byzantium, while the Caliphate's strategic outlook was altered: although regular attacks on Byzantine territories continued, the goal of outright conquest was abandoned. The siege is also credited with having halted the Muslim advance into Europe, and is hence often considered one of the most decisive battles in history.
General of the ArmyRadenSoedirman (
Perfected Spelling: Sudirman; 1916–1950) was a high-ranking Indonesian military officer during the
Indonesian National Revolution. The first commander-in-chief of the
Indonesian Armed Forces, he continues to be highly respected in Indonesia. He was a teacher when the
Japanese occupied the Indies in 1942. In 1944, he joined the Japanese-sponsored
Defenders of the Homeland as a battalion commander in
Banyumas. In this position he put down a rebellion by his fellow soldiers, but was later interned in
Bogor. After
Indonesia proclaimed its independence on 17 August 1945, Sudirman led a break-out from the detention centre. He was then tasked with overseeing the surrender of Japanese soldiers in Banyumas. His command was made part of the Fifth Division on 20 October by interim commander-in-chief Oerip Soemohardjo, with Sudirman in charge of the division. On 12 November 1945, at an election to decide the military's commander-in-chief in
Yogyakarta, Sudirman was chosen over Oerip in a close vote. While waiting to be confirmed, Sudirman ordered an assault on British and Dutch forces stationed in
Ambarawa. The ensuing battle and British withdrawal strengthened Sudirman's popular support, and he was confirmed on 18 December. During the following three years Sudirman saw negotiations with the returning Dutch colonial forces fail, first after the
Linggadjati Agreement – which Sudirman participated in drafting – and then the
Renville Agreement – which led to Indonesia granting land taken during
Operation Product to the Dutch forces and the withdrawal of 35,000 Indonesian troops. He was also faced with internal dissent, including a
1948 coup d'état attempt. On 19 December 1948 the Dutch launched
Operation Kraai, an attempt to capture Yogyakarta. While the political leadership took shelter at the
sultan's palace, Sudirman, a small group of soldiers, and his personal doctor went south and began a seven-month
guerrilla campaign. Initially followed by Dutch forces, Sudirman escaped and made his headquarters at Sobo, near
Mount Lawu, where he was able to command military activities in Java; this included a
show of force in Yogyakarta on 1 March 1949, led by Lieutenant Colonel
Suharto. When the Dutch began withdrawing, in July 1949 Sudirman was called back to Yogyakarta. Although he wanted to continue fighting the Dutch troops, he was forbidden by
Sukarno. Sudirman had a relapse of tuberculosis; this led to him retiring to
Magelang. He died shortly after the Dutch recognised Indonesia's independence.
The Lisbon Appointment was the decision in 1965 by Britain's
self-governing colony in
Rhodesia to open its own
diplomatic mission in the Portuguese capital of
Lisbon, with Harry Reedman at its head as an
accredited representative. Rhodesia intended for this mission to operate independently from Britain's embassy in Lisbon.
Whitehall refused to endorse this when asked on 9 June, but Rhodesia continued nonetheless, officially confirming Reedman's appointment 17 days later. The British government attempted to block this unilateral act—Rhodesia'sfirst—for months afterwards, but these efforts proved fruitless. Portugal's
Foreign Ministry accepted Reedman's letter of accreditation in September, officially recognising him as "Chief of the Rhodesian Mission". The affair came amidst the larger dispute between Whitehall and
Salisbury regarding the terms under which Rhodesia could be granted
sovereign independence, and was a precursor to Rhodesia's
Unilateral Declaration of Independence on 11 November 1965.
Bertram Thomas Combs (1911–1991) was a
jurist and politician from the
U.S. state of
Kentucky. After serving on the
Kentucky Court of Appeals, he was elected the
50thGovernor of Kentucky in 1959 on his second run for the office. Following his gubernatorial term, he was appointed to the
Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals by
PresidentLyndon B. Johnson, serving from 1967 to 1970. Combs rose from poverty in his native
Clay County, Kentucky, to attain a law degree from the
University of Kentucky and open a law practice in
Prestonsburg. He was
decorated for his service under
GeneralDouglas MacArthur during
World War II, then returned to Kentucky and his law practice. In 1951, Governor
Lawrence Wetherby appointed him to fill a vacancy on the Kentucky Court of Appeals. Combs was elected governor in 1959. Early in his term, he secured passage of a three percent
sales tax to pay a bonus to the state's military veterans. Knowing a tax of one percent would have been sufficient, he used the excess revenue to enact a system of reforms including expansion of the state's highway and
state park systems. He also devoted much of the surplus to education, and was called the "education governor" in some circles. Following his term in office, Combs was appointed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals by President Johnson. He ran for governor again in 1971, losing the Democratic primary to
Wendell H. Ford, his former executive secretary. In 1984, Combs agreed to represent sixty-six of the state's poor school districts in a lawsuit challenging the state's system of financing public education. The suit, Rose v. Council for Better Education, resulted in the
Kentucky Supreme Court declaring the state's entire system of public schools unconstitutional. In response, the
Kentucky General Assembly drafted a sweeping education measure known as the Kentucky Education Reform Act in 1991. On December 3, 1991, Combs was caught in a
flash flood as he returned home from his law office. His body was found in the
Red River near
Rosslyn, in
Powell County, the following morning.
Walter Krueger (1881–1967) was an American soldier and
general officer in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his command of the
Sixth United States Army in the
South West Pacific Area during
World War II. He rose from the rank of
private to
general in the United States Army. Born in
Flatow,
West Prussia, Krueger migrated to the United States as a boy. He enlisted for service in the
Spanish-American War and served in Cuba, and then re-enlisted for service in the
Philippine-American War. On 1 July 1901, he was commissioned. In 1914 he was posted to the
Pennsylvania Army National Guard. His regiment was mobilized on 23 June 1916 and served along the Mexican border. After the United States commenced hostilities with Germany in April 1917, Krueger was assigned to the
84th Infantry Division as its Assistant Chief of Staff G-3 (Operations), and then its chief of staff. In October 1918, he became Chief of Staff of the
Tank Corps. Between the wars, Krueger served in a number of command and staff positions, and attended the
Naval War College at his own request. In 1941, he assumed command of the
Third Army, which he led in the
Louisiana Maneuvers. He expected, in view of his age, to spend the war at home training troops, but in 1943 he was sent to
GeneralDouglas MacArthur's Southwest Pacific Area as commander of the Sixth Army and Alamo Force, which he led in a series of victorious campaigns against the Japanese. As an army commander, Krueger had to grapple with the problems imposed by vast distances, inhospitable terrain, unfavorable climate, and an indefatigable and dangerous enemy. He had to balance MacArthur's need to speed up the tempo of operations in order to win campaigns with the more cautious approach of subordinates who often found themselves confronted by unexpectedly large numbers of Japanese troops. The
Battle of Luzon was his largest, longest and last battle. Krueger retired to
San Antonio, Texas, where he bought a house and wrote From Down Under to Nippon, an account of his campaigns in the Southwest Pacific. His retirement was marred by family tragedies. His son James was dismissed from the Army in 1947 for
conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman. His wife's health deteriorated, and she died of cancer in 1956. His daughter Dorothy stabbed her husband to death in 1952. She was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court-martial, but was freed by the
US Supreme Court in 1957.
Wilfred Stanley (Wilf) ArthurDSO,
DFC (1919–2000) was a
fighter ace and senior officer of the
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. He was officially credited with ten aerial victories. As a commander, he led combat formations at
squadron and
wing level, becoming at 24 the youngest
group captain in the history of the RAAF. Arthur joined the Air Force the day after Australia declared war in September 1939. He first saw action with
No. 3 Squadron in
North Africa, where he had the distinction of shooting down four aircraft in a single
sortie. Posted to the
South West Pacific, he commanded first
No. 75 Squadron, and later
Nos. 81 and
78 Wings. Arthur also played a leading part in—and gave name to—the "
Morotai Mutiny" of April 1945. Pursuing various interests in Australia and Vietnam following his discharge from the Air Force after the war, he died in 2000 at the age of 81.
Air CommodoreHippolyte Ferdinand (Frank) De La RueCBE,
DFC (1891–1977) was a senior commander in the
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Joining the
Mercantile Marine as a youth, he became a pilot in Britain's
Royal Naval Air Service during World War I. In 1918, he was given command of
No. 223 Squadron in the newly formed
Royal Air Force and later commanded
No. 270 Squadron RAF in Egypt. Returning to Australia, De La Rue became a founding member of the RAAF in March 1921. Specialising in maritime aviation, he led
seaplane formations based at
Point Cook, Victoria, during the 1920s and early 1930s. De La Rue was appointed commanding officer of
No. 1 Flying Training School at Point Cook in 1933. He was promoted to
group captain in 1937 and took command of
RAAF Station Richmond, New South Wales, the following year. At the outbreak of World War II, De La Rue was slated to lead an air expeditionary force to Great Britain, but this plan was abandoned. Promoted to temporary
air commodore, he served as
Air Officer Commanding Western Area from 1941 to 1943, and finished the war as Inspector of Administration at RAAF Headquarters,
Melbourne. Nicknamed "Kanga", De La Rue retired from the Air Force in 1946.
George Churchill Kenney (1889–1977) was a
United States Army Air Forces general during
World War II. Kenney enlisted as a flying cadet in the
Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps in 1917, and served on the
Western Front in World War I. After hostilities ended he participated in the
Occupation of the Rhineland. Returning to the United States, he flew reconnaissance missions along the border between the US and Mexico during the
Mexican Revolution. Commissioned into the
Regular Army in 1920, he attended the
Air Corps Tactical School, and later became an instructor there. In early 1940, Kenney became Assistant
Military Attaché for Air in France. As a result of his observations of German and Allied air operations during the early stages of World War II, he recommended significant changes to Air Corps equipment and tactics. In July 1942, he assumed command of the Allied Air Forces and
Fifth Air Force in
GeneralDouglas MacArthur's Southwest Pacific Area. Under Kenney's command, the Allied Air Forces developed innovative command structures, weapons, and tactics that reflected Kenney's orientation towards attack aviation. In June 1944 he was appointed commander of the Far East Air Forces (FEAF), which came to include the Fifth,
Thirteenth, and
Seventh Air Forces. In April 1946, Kenney became the first commander of the newly formed
Strategic Air Command (SAC), but his performance in the role was criticized, and he was shifted to become commander of the
Air University, a position he held from October 1948 until his retirement from the Air Force in September 1951.
About The Bugle
First published in 2006, the Bugle is the monthly newsletter of the English Wikipedia's Military history WikiProject.
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