Deadly units you don't want to come across in war

flamethrower operator World War One the stalemate of trench warfare demanded new tactics and therefore new weapons one such weapon was the flamethrower which was first introduced by the Germans onto the battlefields of the first world war modern flamethrowers were invented by Richard Fiedler and Bernhard redenman who worked independently then collaborated on its design even creating the tactics for their use on the front after the first trials German headquarters adopted a new weapon and deployed it to the Pioneer units the training of new recruits was entrusted to Captain red and men who was picking firefighters from all over Germany for the new unit firemen were the best choice for flamethrower operators as they had experience with fire and more importantly were not afraid of the enormous blazes that flamethrowers were capable of flamethrower operators were equipped with two types of flamethrowers a heavier version called the grossa Flamin verfa popularly known as the growth was cumbersome and was used in static positions with thin trenches it was very powerful as it could burn for 40 seconds and could hit the target at 36 meters or 40 yards distance smaller portable flame throwers such as the kleinflamming vofa also known as the clyfe or the donut shaped Vex were intended for Mobile use in assaulting enemy trenches they had far less fuel capacity and could be used for only a short duration Cliffs were carried on the back of one team member while another operated the tube to fire it to attack enemy positions while there have been minor engagements in 1914 a small number of flamethrower operators as part of the flamenville obtilon on the Redman's command had their baptism of fire during the assault on the forest of malancourt north of Verdun on February 26 1915. this attack was a success as the French Defenders were not only surprised by the attack but were terrified by the fire brought upon them and the thick black clouds that they produced caught by the fire the French soldiers ran out of their defensive positions in panic straight towards the German rifles within minutes the French defense collapsed completely after its initial successes on a small scale the flamethrower unit would be expanded to the size of Battalion as the third guard Pioneer Battalion under the patronage of Wilhelm Crown Prince of the German Empire and Prussia a platoon the flamethrower operators would also join Captain Billy rohr's assault attachment or Stormtroopers becoming a part of German assault tactics flamethrower operators from the Battalion sent to support other infantry units made an impact during the German offensive effort done in 1916 where they conducted 57 attacks 33 of which were judged to be successful since Reddit man's unit proved to be of great help it was expanded to the level of regiment becoming the Guard Reserve Pioneer regiment they became the principal flamethrower unit until the end of the war for the contribution to the war effort the guard reserved Pioneer regiment was awarded a Totten cough badge a death's head badge by Crown Prince Wilhelm on July 28 1916 which was considered to be a great honor since then flamethrower operators wore the death's head Insignia on their left sleeve and entire regiments became known as the tottenkov Pioneer or death's head pioneers due to their great success flamethrower operators became notorious for being one of the most terrifying units on the battlefield as many French and British soldiers reported even the hissing sound of the burning flamethrower muzzle would give them shivers however their notoriety would cause the flamethrower operator problems their existence on the front lines was not easy at all first of all being a completely new weapon meant the flamethrower had a lot of issues gas cylinders were prone to malfunctions and pressure decreases causing weapon failure second because the enemy were terrified of them flamethrower operators knew they would be marked men anytime they would appear in combat enemy soldiers would concentrate their fire on the operators and no mercy would be given if they were caught alive it was soon realized that leaving a flamethrower team on their own made them extremely vulnerable to the enemy so infantry support was always required during the entirety of the war flamethrower operators carried out over 600 attacks most enemy casualties came from the Infantry fire that followed once they were flushed out of the trenches by the flamethrower than the actual flamethrower itself Soviet Afghanistan war 1979-1989. on the 27th of December 1979 the Soviet 40th Army invaded Afghanistan with the intention of propping up the communist government of the people's Democratic party of Afghanistan against a growing Insurgency at the time the U.S had been making progress in the Middle East to moscow's dismay the U.S had succeeded in courting Egypt Israel Saudi Arabia Pakistan and others on the back of this the Soviet Union feared the loss of its communist proxy in Afghanistan by the time the Soviet forces had entered the region they had deployed two Airborne assault brigades 180 sorties of anatov 12 and anatov 22 Transport Aircraft 100 combat aircraft and a great number of troops to secure the Bagram Air Base 40 miles north of Kabul accompanying these initial forces were paratroopers and Spetsnaz the Spetsnaz were the Soviet Special Forces in Elite Soviet tactical Force known for their effectiveness ferocity and skill during the Cold War there was a veil of secrecy over the structure of these units and their purpose leading to their almost legendary status in the west often Spetsnaz are thought of as Army Commando units in reality however Spetsnaz are another specific Tactical Unit but a more General clandestine Force which were deployed at the behest of the Soviet intelligence Security Services for for special missions the most notorious were naturally those specialized in reconnaissance Commando and Special Operations there were several Spetsnaz units in the Soviet Union the gru Spetsnaz these were and continue to be the special forces of the Russian Armed Forces Military Intelligence directorate the Gru's Spetsnaz were formed in 1949 with a task to carry out reconnaissance and sabotage activity Behind Enemy Lines Gru's Spetsnaz were assigned to units of the ground forces the gru vmf Spetsnaz formed in 1941 they were another special formation of the military intelligence assigned to the Soviet navy the KGB Spetsnaz also known as Alpha set up in 1974 by the kgb's eighth directorate in charge of surveillance according to one contemporary report in the Washington Post from 1986 Department 8 had been connected with assassinations kidnappings sabotage and other direct action operations for decades and finally there was the KGB svr Spetsnaz also known as vemple another KGB unit set up in 1979 by the first main director in charge of Foreign Affairs their role was to conduct military actions abroad the Gru and KGB picked only the best for these elite units recruits were primarily picked for their intelligence and physical skills as well as by their motivation to fight unequivocally for their country every military district has pet snazz Brigade and their headquarters served as recruitment centers for Special Operation units across the breadth of the Soviet Union were centers for the recruitment of future Spetsnaz soldiers young men were conscripted from high schools sports clubs and colleges and those that showed the special physical and mental aptitude were designated Spetsnaz during the Afghan campaign Soviet military commanders focused on recruiting young men from Muslim regions of the Soviet Union young men from Central Asian republics were suited to infiltration and counterinsurgency these recruits practice the same religion shared similar conservative social backgrounds and most importantly many of these young men spoke Farsi the involvement of the Spetsnaz began when the Soviet command had realized that mechanized infantry units were not effective against the mujahideen Guerrilla tactics Spetsnaz the ussr's elite forces were seen as a unit capable of fighting this new enemy however even the Spetsnaz initially lacked the mountain Warfare training necessary for the mujahideen and had to adapt to New Challenges standard Spetsnaz training was designed to engender extreme mental and psychological Fitness superb physical fitness was achieved through intense exercise and forced marches in full combat equipment the mental strength was acquired from frequent bullying and beatings from senior ncos and officers Spetsnaz forces also had to master elite combat skills they had to be exceptional marksmen skillful in operating a variety of weapons and explosives recruits also had to master hand-to-hand combat allegedly Spetsnaz forces practice hand-to-hand combat skills through 12-minute freestyle sparring matches against three opponents the rest of the program consists of Airborne training mountain climbing repelling medical training and using modern means of radio communication also according to one contemporary Pentagon report spetsnaz's forces were fluent in one or more foreign languages basic training lasted on average for two months additionally specialized training programs lasted for three to four years less than 10 percent of the selected troops managed to complete the entire program for service in Afghanistan Spetsnaz were encouraged to adapt their training to the conditions of The Campaign which would include long-range patrols reconnaissance exercises ambushes and raids in order to familiarize themselves with the terrain in Afghanistan they were dropped by helicopters in the middle of the mountains and after they accomplished their training missions they had to find their own way back to base by themselves Afghanistan was a new experience for Spetsnaz and it also acted as a testing site for new Soviet weapons being an elite unit Spetsnaz were equipped with the most advanced weapons Spetsnaz were armed with a then new 5.45 millimeter aks-74 assault rifle equipped with a gp25 under Barrel grenade launcher as these were still in an experimental phase there were many situations in which they malfunctioned for that reason Spetsnaz also used standard 7.62 millimeter AK-47 assault rifles other infantry weapons used were standard Soviet weapons including rpk light machine guns dshk heavy machine guns SVD sniper rifles and ags-17 automatic grenade launchers special akms assault rifles with short barrels and silencers were used for stealth operations Spetsnaz forces also use the six round PSS silent pistol for reconnaissance and assassination missions the pistol was effective at 82 feet and was effective in suppressing sound unlike other Silence pistols the PSS was silenced using a sealed cartridge system for reconnaissance missions Spetsnaz used equipment that were products of the latest Soviet Technology For the First Time Spetsnaz used gadgets like laser rangefinders night binoculars and night vision goggles for sabotage operations Spetsnaz used equipment unavailable to standard troops these included radio-controlled explosives once set it could be activated by command posts at distances away of 1240 miles the greatest improvements were made by means of tactical communication Spetsnaz soldiers in Afghanistan were equipped with the latest radio devices that enabled constant communication with commands at large distances Advanced weaponry and Equipment where the only thing that separated Spetsnaz from the rest of the Army in their appearance Spetsnaz didn't have their own distinct military uniform but were using uniforms of the unit they were assigned to they looked exactly as any other soldier in order to keep their existence and operations clandestine there were some Modern rucksacks boots and loading equipment that were deployed but these were very scarce the role of Spetsnaz in Afghanistan was not in accordance to their original Mission they were sent there to reinforce the standard units who had difficulty fighting the Guerrilla forces in the Afghanistan mountain regions in Afghanistan his pet snazz were deployed for a variety of operations the invasion of Afghanistan began with a Spetsnaz operation this was the famous operation storm 333 with the objective to assassinate Afghan president afizala Amin in order to install a puppet government on December 27 1979 Gru and KGB Spetsnaz teams Thunder ROM and Zenith assaulted tajabek Palace dressed in Afghan uniforms the majority of the Spetsnaz soldiers were tajits and uzbeks who spoke Farsi Spetsnaz swiftly overcame the resistance of the president's guard located the president and killed him at the same time other Spetsnaz teams secured key government and Military centers in Kabul including the airport the effectiveness of Spetsnaz units in the operation resulted in minimal casualties in the first few years of the war Spetsnaz were primarily engaged in the protection of their military bases and for securing bridgeheads initially Spetsnaz forces were used to reinforce the standard Soviet 40th Army and Afghan forces combating the mujah hazim as fighting continued Soviet command realized that their standard mechanized infantry units were not capable of combating the mujahideen Guerrilla tactics and they became necessary to engage Spetsnaz on counter-insurgency operations reconnaissance was a key Focus for Spetsnaz forces in Afghanistan Spetsnaz were tasked with locating Insurgent spaces ammunition stores and command centers often covering distances of up to 150 kilometers per day once these were located Spetsnaz would usually call for reinforcements in the way of airstrikes Spetsnaz were also engaged in combat operations one of their most notable assault operations happened in early March 1986 with the help of mechanized infantry the D30 artillery Battalion mi8 and mi-24 helicopters and su-25 aircrafts Spetsnaz attacked and seized mujahideen weapon and ammunition caches at the saligar canyon one key tactic of the spec snazz in combating the mujahideen was to cut their supply lines from neighboring countries to Afghanistan including Pakistan the tactic was to drop spetsnaz's attachments deep into mujahideen territory with mi8 helicopters where they would then set up one or more ambushes along the supply routes often Spetsnaz limited their engagement locating the enemy Caravan after which they would call in an airstrike by mi8 helicopters on several occasions the Spetsnaz would finish the job themselves by organizing an ambush one such occasion was at the yachtpay mountain pass Spetsnaz prepared an ambush for the mujahideen Caravan on August 30th 1987. after they let the Vanguard Patrol pass they attacked the Caravan that followed covered by Knight spetsnass used players to illuminate the enemy and in just a few minutes and killed the enemy forces fim-92 and Stinger missiles acquired by the mujahideen in 1986 became the key Target for Spetsnaz reconnaissance teams the devastating effect of stinger missiles rendered them a significant threat to the Soviet forces and the Soviets rallied frantically to locate and eliminate as many launchers as they could the Spetsnaz were an effective counter-insurgency Force against the mujahideen during the Soviet Afghan conflict much more so than the standard Soviet forces however while Spetsnaz were successful in their missions in Afghanistan their involvement in the country ended in February 1989 when the last contingent of Soviet soldiers withdrew from Afghanistan [Music] Roman legionary first century BC to the 3rd Century A.D since its earliest history the term Legion has been heavily associated with the Roman military whether it denoted entire armies in the formation years of the Roman Republic or the more Elite forces we have come to associate with the period of the Roman Empire form and structure of the elite Roman Empire was established in the late 2nd Century BC by Consul Gaius Marius implementing the significant Marian reforms of the Roman military these reforms gave birth to the Legionnaire the first professional standard of soldier to serve in Rome's now permanent standing armies the evolution of the military would play a pivotal role in helping to reshape Rome's prestigious future at the head of a legion Julius Caesar Rose to prominence as dictator of Rome while his Arab parent Octavian Augustus would later use his influence as military commander to complete the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire serving as Trailblazers in the early years of the Empire Roman Legions spearheaded Imperial expansion allowing Rome to dominate much of Europe and Beyond in the classical era the identity of the Legion even outlived the fall of Rome in 476 A.D and continued to survive in the Eastern Roman Empire until the 7th century when its formal use was retired the basic unit of the Legion was the century each having 80 men six centuries were organized in a group called a cohort consisting of 480 men each Legion had 10 such cohorts the total number of 4 800 men plus around 480 cavalrymen in a legion fluctuated as Legions were often under strength due to combat casualties each century was commanded by a centurion the most senior Centurion was the Primus pilos the first spear whose Century contained the standard Bearer the symbol of a legion all centurions were subdued to the commander of the entire Legion called a legit the common belief was that Roman legionaries were recruited among Roman citizens from towns and cities while for a long time that was true after the reforms of the military a large number of them were not Roman citizens and even less of them came from urban areas in ancient Rome cities included urban areas along with large rural territories attached to them hence the urban origin of legionaries Legion commanders preferred recruiting lower classes and their ranks as these men were accustomed to hard life and heavy work their simple-mindedness was also a preferable trait in maintaining the high level of obedience in a legion the precondition of being a Roman citizen was also contentious as the Roman territories increased and therefore their military engagements the need for new troops surpassed the capacities of Italy as a traditional base for recruiting legionaries very often legates were forced to gather recruits from the local population in regions where they were conducting their campaigns truth be told these men once their service ended would receive Roman citizenship the only important thing was that the recruit was a Freeborn Man important prerequisites for joining a legion were the age and physical features of the recruit the ideal legionary was five feet ten inches in height or six Roman feet and had to be strong enough to withstand the extreme physical and mental exertion required on Long campaigns and life in distant regions recruits became acquainted with the hard life already during their initial training period which lasted for four months during that time recruits were drilled in endurance Battle Tactics and weapons handling among other military skills the training began with marching exercises on a daily basis each recruit had to be able to March 20 miles in 5 hours and 24 miles in the same period of time at a faster Pace while marching recruits were loaded with roughly 60 pounds of weight in order to get accustomed to the weight of the armor weapons and rations during the march legionaries had to keep their ranks at all times once they mastered the military step legionaries learned various unit formations legionaries had to know how to switch from one formation to another while moving only by the sound of a trumpet or wave of a flag the most important part of this course was to learn how to attack the enemy in formation while keeping it together under any pressure there was also a higher level course of weapons handling called armatura the next phase of the training included a weapons course twice a day recruits learned to handle weapons with an accent on protecting the body with a shield while fighting instead of slicing recruits were taught to stab the opponent with their swords as an inflicted more severe wounds and required less exposure instead of real weapons recruits used much heavier wooden replicas of swords javelins and shields this resulted in a much better performance with real weapons when it came to it all recruits had to master handling other weapon types as well such as slings and the bow and arrow other courses included overcoming obstacles swimming and building field fortifications the intense training continued even once recruits became regular soldiers milles during their campaigns legionaries maintained daily weapon drills it was primarily because of this high level of training and discipline that the Roman Legions became the most formidable force of their time in the Roman Empire all citizen males who hit puberty were liable for military service once enlisted they remained in the legions for the next 16 years and decades to come the service extended to 20 years and then again to 25 years for their loyal service legionaries received an annual pay of 900 sesters this sum was reduced by the cost of equipment who burial fee and some for the regimental Savings Bank after the service had ended legionaries received a proper payoff at the beginning this was a piece of land for veterans to settle and build a farm of Their Own during augustus's Reign a change was made and Veterans began to receive a cash discharge bonus of 12 000 cester says now and then there were cases where veterans still received land bonuses for their discharge tunics worn by legionaries were not too different from those of ordinary citizens it was the belt beltius and the sandal boots caligay that made the legionary's appearance distinctive they were a symbol that you belonged to the military if a soldier was discharged dishonorably his belt was confiscated as he was not deemed worthy anymore of wearing it belts were made either as a single waste type or as a two crossed belt with silver or bronze embossed plate decorations and an attached apron made in the same fashion they were used for carrying a dagger and a sword sandal boots as another distinctive feature of legionary clothing allowed legionaries to weather Long marches on various types of terrain these heavy-duty sandals outsoles were made of one piece of cowhide or oxhide they were attached to thick leather soles with hob Nails the sound of these hob Nails announced the arrival of the legionaries armor was an important part of the legionary's equipment it protected his upper body in battle and came in three different versions the most recognizable was a harass made of segments lorica segmentata the caress consisted of metal plates and Hoops fastened to internal leather strips the design allowed adequate mobility and combat but its protection was limited to torso and shoulders only the weight of the caress was about 20 pounds or nine kilograms there's a lot of controversy about how common carrasses were among legionaries it's more plausible that they used iron ring male shirts lorica hamtada on a far larger scale male shirts were made both sleeveless and with short sleeves and were long enough to cover the thighs the shoulder region was reinforced with additional pieces of leather faced with rings standard male shirt consisted of around 30 000 rings and weighed up to 33 pounds or 15 kilograms the third type of armor was a scale armor lorica squamata it consisted of a number of small iron scale-like plates attached to a thick doublet made of linen and stuffed with wool it was worn in combination with peterush overlapping leather strips attached to the edges of the armor to protect the upper parts of the arms and legs this type of armor was the cheapest and provided the least protection The Shield the scutum provided the legionary Extra Protection the scutum was made of three layers of wood in a crosswise Arrangement and was faced with felt and calfskin on the outer surface Shield was slightly thinner on the edges than at the center where it had a prominent wooden boss at the beginning the skutum had an oval shape and was curved but in the Augustine age it took the shape of a curved rectangle size of the shield varied usually it was around two and a half feet or 76 centimeters in width and four feet or 120 centimeters in length the variety of sizes and materials used to construct it affected the weight of the shield which varied from 12 pounds to 22 pounds or five and a half to 10 kilograms because of the weight shields were held by the horizontal grip with a straight arm shields were used not only to protect from enemy blows but also for hitting and toppling the enemy helmets the last piece of protective equipment went through several modifications at first legionaries wore the so-called montefortino helmets simple helmets with long cheek pieces and a small rear Peak these helmets were replaced with kulu's helmets and later by the famous Imperial gallic helmets these helmets had increased protection with significantly larger rear Peaks brow Peaks larger cheek pieces with hinged throat flanges and ear holes Gaelic helmets were distinctive for embossed eyebrows on the front part A later version of this helmet was known as the Imperial italic helmet the weight of the full Equipment Plus the weapons was 67 pounds or 30.4 kilograms a pretty heavy burden for a legionary in battle and especially when marching if carrying his leather pack with spare clothes cooking utensils mess kit and rations the weight increased to 97 pounds or 44 kilograms and even more if a legionary had to carry his entrenching equipment Javelin the pilum was a distinctive weapon of a legionary there were two types of pilums a heavy one for close combat and a lighter one used by skirmishers for throwing heavy pilums were more than six feet long or 1.8 meters and consisted of a wooden shaft and a 1.3 to 3 foot or 40 centimeter to 90 centimeter long iron shank with a pyramidal point that was either tanged or socketed into a wooden shaft with an average weight of 4.4 pounds or 2 kilograms this kind of pilum was strong and designed to punch through the enemy shield and armor another type of much lighter throwing Javelin appeared in the late first century and was known as alencia the introduction of this weapon led to the formation of a new type of soldier in Legions in the early third Century called lanciari after the initial pilum attack legionaries would use their swords the Gladius contrary to popular belief the Gladius was not necessarily a short sword the earliest Romans sword in the so-called Spanish sword Gladius hispaniensis was a medium-length sword with a blade length of up to 27 inches or 69 centimeters and a width of 2 inches or 5 Centimeters the blade was either straight or with slightly wasted edges during the reign of Emperor Augustus these swords were replaced with the mains Fulham type Gladius its blade was shorter at 16 to 22 inches or 40 to 56 centimeters but much broader at 3.2 inches or 8 centimeters the Pompeii type was the lightest version as its blade was 16 and a half to 21.5 inches or 42 to 55 centimeters long but only 2 inches or 5 centimeters wide all types were used in the same cut and thrust technique swords were held in metal scabbards with wooden or leather inserts scabbards had four rings that were used to attach to the Belt legionaries carried their swords on the right contrary to the officers who carried them on the left in the same fashion but on the opposite side a legionary carried his dagger the pujio in essence this was a miniature Gladius with a wasted blade 12 inches or 30 centimeters in length hard training tactics and weaponry were all important reasons behind the success of Roman Legions but it was the feeling of comrade ship and belonging to the unit that drove the legionaries into battle when joining a legion each legionary swore two olds the first was to obey his Consul and the second was to his Mana Polaris comrades from the manipal never to abandon a comrade and never to abandon his place in the battle unless to recover a weapon or to save a friend the legionary fought first for his comrades then his Century in Legion then for Glory and finally for the emperor and the state bond between legionaries was built on a daily basis the countrym a group of eight men that shared a single tent was the basic group around which this Bond was created these men slept eight trained and spent their time together and ultimately fought shoulder to shoulder on the battlefield disregarding this bond by showing cowardice in battle or neglecting one's duties was punished with the greatest severity the worst of the punishment was pustuarium execution by being beaten to death by the soldiers whose lives were endangered by the coward's acts this group of soldiers had a bond that spread throughout the entire Century belonging to a specific century and Legion was of great importance to the legionaries they cherished the traditions and the identity of their units through their specific emblems numerical identification and title to a legionary his century and Legion were his home everyone in it was comalito a fellow Soldier no matter what his rank was where did neutral Spain fight in World War II the blue division was the Spanish volunteer unit of the German Army although Spain was a neutral State during World War II its fascist regime favored the Axis powers and for that reason they allowed Spanish citizens to volunteer to join the Vermont this was also a way for Spain's fascist leader Franco to show his gratitude to Germany for its assistance during the Spanish Civil War the only condition Franco set out is that volunteers would only be allowed to fight on the Eastern Front this would be to avoid any confrontation with the Western allies most of the volunteers were already members of the Spanish fascist party and were known as phalangists the men had a deep hatred of Communism so fighting against the Red Army would be a crusade for them and paid back for the Soviet interference in the Spanish Civil War a small percentage of volunteers were men who were forced to enlist these were men who had been collaborating with the Republicans during the Civil War or whose families were in danger from the regime there were also a number of fascist volunteers from the neighboring country of Portugal all combined they form the unit officially known as division espanol de voluntarios but more commonly referred to as the blue division because of the blue shirts they wore in association with the Spanish fascists the first batch of 17924 volunteers led by General Munoz grandez left Madrid on July 13 1941. they were transferred to the training camp in breffenbor Bavaria there they became the 250th of Infantry Division of the German Army as a Spanish Army division consisted of four regiments and a German division of only three one regiment had to be disbanded and its soldiers dispersed among the other units these three divisions were named after cities from which most of the volunteers came from regiment 262 was named Barcelona regiment 263 Valencia and regiment 269 Seville in grafenville the idea was that the Spanish volunteers should follow the same training regime as the German recruits however in July 1941 the Spanish government feared that the war on the East could be over before their volunteers had finished their training so they authorized a fast-track training program for the recruits meaning they could be sent to the front as soon as possible fortunately most of the volunteers were experienced Veterans of the Spanish Civil War and at least 50 percent of the officers and ncos were professional soldiers also with combat experience but none of them were prepared for the harsh climate and conditions on the Eastern Front that they were about to encounter the emphasis was put on familiarizing them with German weapons and equipment and the New Rapid training program remained in effect for all volunteers that were traveling to Germany being officially part of the Vermont soldiers of the blue division were equipped with the same weapons as the German troops and also wore the same uniforms and equipment in combat soldiers of the blue division wore the standard German felgrau uniform and the only difference being the shield badge with Spanish national colors and the inscription Espana sewn on the upper right sleeve the same Shield was also painted on the right hand side of their helmets behind the lines or when on leave soldiers of the blue division were allowed to wear their own specially made uniforms this consisted of khaki trousers a blue shirt and red beret khaki trousers were adopted from the Spanish Foreign Legion since General Munoz was a veteran of the Spanish Morocco campaign serving with the legion the blue shirt was a distinctive feature of the phalangist movement worn by members of the fascist party and the red beret was the traditional headwear worn by the carlist movement that supported Don Carlos in his plan for the Spanish Throne after taking an oath of Allegiance in front of Adolf Hitler soldiers of the blue division were sent by train to the town of suvalki in Poland from there they continued on foot for the 560 miles or about 900 kilometers to the Army group center from where they were to join in with the campaign to attack Moscow this March was one of the longest in the entire War once they reached vitepskin Belarus the blue division was reassigned to Army Group North and was heading towards Leningrad and became part of the German 16th Army initially the Germans thought that the Spanish volunteers who were known as guripas or conscripts were just an ill-disciplined rabble as they refused to practice drills or clean their weapons or do guard Duty or salute or obey orders and seem to be more interested in chasing the local women and enjoying themselves engaged in combat they came into their own as they demonstrated that they were brutal and ruthless soldiers who would neither ask for nor give any quarter and would rarely surrender preferring to fight to the death like the Russians they would seldom take prisoners this gave rise for Munoz Grandes to call them his bridegrooms of death and even their Battle Cry was Viva la muerte or long-lived death they soon became respected by the Germans and feared by the Russians who would dread going into battle against them fighting in the northwest of Russia the soldiers of the blue division experienced the true horror of life and death on the Eastern Front they participated in 21 major battles and had a great number of smaller conflicts and they suffered not only from battle fatigue but also from Hunger disease poor hygiene and extremely cold weather an example of the losses suffered by the blue division was the action conducted by this e-company in January of 1942. with orders to relieve German units that were cut off South of Lake ilmen the Spanish soldiers set off on a March in temperatures of minus 40 degrees after wading through waist deep snow and Crossing icy rivers and numerous skirmishes with Soviet patrols only 12 of the original 206 men arrived in a state fit to fight similar number of casualties were suffered by the second Battalion that were sent to the Village of osawak in January 1943 to help defend the Leningrad front from Soviet penetration January 22nd they arrived at the village in a convoy of trucks but after enduring a constant Soviet bombardment for six days only 28 minutes survived the same thing happened a few weeks later at krasnibor where a Detachment of the Spanish volunteers were wiped out by Soviet artillery and masked infantry assaults at the same time the Spanish government was being pressured into repatriating the volunteers back to Spain facing British demands for a complete neutrality and pressure from Catholic church leaders from all over Spain in the spring of 1943 the Spanish authorities began negotiations with Germany regarding the recall of the volunteers from the Eastern Front the Germans were not happy with the proposal but on October 14 1943 an order was given to all blue division volunteers to return home even though the majority of soldiers welcomed the decision many of them refused to return with an overwhelming urge to continue their fight against the hated Communists they formed the so-called blue Legion this also helped to appease Hitler by still having a Spanish presence on the Eastern Front the strength of this unit was around 3 000 men as it was becoming all too clear where the outcome of the hostilities were heading Franco ordered these men to also return to Spain in March 1944. only the most fanatical remained these men were incorporated into other German units including the vaffin SS and continued to fight until the fall of Berlin during the four years of Engagement more than 45 000 Spanish soldiers Saw Service on the Eastern front of that number 4 500 were killed while 16 000 were either wounded or ended up interned in pow caps the last blue division prisoners of War were released from the Soviet Union in 1954. during their campaign on the Eastern Front during World War II the officers and Men of the blue division were awarded with three night crosses with oak leaves three German crosses in Gold 138 iron crosses first class 2359 iron cross's second class and 2216 War Merit crosses with swords between them and also the third right commission the Spanish volunteer medal on January 3rd 1944 and awarded it to all 47 000 volunteers who had served on the Eastern Front nationalist Spain also awarded the volunteers medal the medulla de Campagna de Russia or the medal of the Russian campaign in recognition of their support to Nazi Germany on the Eastern Front Gurkha World War II as soon as the British declared war on Germany in 1939 they immediately started mobilizing troops from the Commonwealth men from all over the Empire joined the British forces to contribute to the fight among them were the gurkhas before the second world war the gurkhas were in service of the British army for more than a century fighting in all corners of the world for the British Empire once enemies during the anglo-nepalese war from 1814 to 1816. the British found a mutual respect for the fighting abilities of the gurkhas and large numbers volunteered for the British army afterwards they came from the kingdom of Nepal a small country in the southern slopes of the Himalayas working as farmers and Shepherds life in such a rough environment made them into tough soldiers who never questioned orders and did not see Retreat as an option their motto was better to die than be a coward being among the finest soldiers in the entire Empire the British army recruited gurkhas whenever reliable Manpower was required among the gurkhas were several tribes that are considered more warrior-like than the others but in times of war men from other less martial tribes were being recruited as well during the war nearly 250 000 gurkhas were recruited by the British in more than 40 battalions in addition to the eight battalions of Nepalese Army that also entered the war on the side of the Allies being a part of the British Indian army in the first years of the war the gurkhas were deployed to the British Middle East territories such as Iraq and Syria and to Northern Africa where they fought against the axis forces it was after December 9th when the United Kingdom declared war on Japan that the Indian army and gurkhas were engaged in a higher scale primarily to protect Malaya from the Japanese forces they would go on to fight in Italy Greece Singapore India and Burma even though the gurkhas had a special reputation in the British army they were not organized as a separate formation Italians of Gurkha regiments were deployed to regular units of the army being a part of the Indian army which was under British command gurkhas wore the typical dress the M37 khaki drill uniform with Bombay Bloomers long leg trousers that could be buttoned up to become shorts they also carried the standard 1937 pattern web equipment by the end of the war this uniform was replaced with a more practical olive green battle dress for jungle warfare Gurkha soldiers that were deployed to Africa and later engaged in Italy wore the distinctive British uniform for these campaigns what was distinctive for the Gurkha uniform was their slouch hat the trademark of the gurkhas since the beginning of the 20th century when not wearing the standard steel helmet gurkhas wore their tarai hats which were actually made of two hats sewn together to make them more rigid hats were wrapped with a light puggery and were worn tilted to the right side being Incorporated in Army units gurkhas were equipped with standard British weapons such as the Lee Enfield number 4 rifle and brand light machine gun an American weapons such as the Thompson m1928 and M1A1 submachine guns however each Gurkha carried a close combat weapon of his own a weapon that was distinctive to his Himalayan Nation more famous than their tarai hats with their cookery knives cookeries were the gurkha's favorite close combat weapon and were carried in almost every assault on numerous occasions gurkhas attacked the enemy with a rifle in one hand and a kukri in the other kukuris were designed to be cutting knives their length varying from 16 to 18 inches they are distinctive for their forward curving blade which is sharp only on the lower concave side a legend goes that the shape of the blade resembles the shape of Nepal gurkhas were very skillful with their kukris and were known to have inflicted severe damage in close combat on the Enemy by using only these knives because of this kukris gained an almost mythical status with many stories told about them one of the most famous kukri Legends was that a Gurkha has to spill blood every time he took out his kukri from its Scabbard therefore if a Gurkha took out his kukri just to show it to someone he would have had to cut at least his thumb in order to respect the tradition the gurkhas proved to be fearless and ruthless Warriors in combat they never questioned orders and always fought vigorously no matter how strong the opponent or how important the battle their attack was always followed by the Battle Cry IO garcali meaning the gurkhas are upon you twelve gurkhas were awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry against the enemy during the war more than 43 000 gurkhas lost their lives fighting alongside the British army during World War II

Channel: Simple History

Views: 1,009,806

Keywords: simple history, animated history, educational, education, Deadly units you don't want to come across in war, elite units, elite soldiers, special forces, spetnaz, roman legionarys, gurka, blue division, flametrooper, ww1, ww2, soviet afghanistan war

Id: jRSY7OTwAos

Length: 44min 21sec (2661 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 19 2022