Number 1. (in 1 part) December 11, 2014
Articles and Statements
1. Yuri F. Katorin
The Battle of Isandlwana (The Price of Quartermaster Formalism)
Voennyi Sbornik, 2014, № 4 (6), pp. 196-208.
Number of views: 3999 Download in PDF
2. Nugzar K. Ter-OganovVoennyi Sbornik, 2014, № 4 (6), pp. 196-208.
Abstract:
This article recounts one of the episodes of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, the Battle of Isandlwana (January 22, 1879). The author reconstructs the picture of the battle and elaborates on the circumstances of the Zulu attack on the English camp at Isandlwana. The article analyzes the structure, manning, training, and combat capabilities of the Zulu army. The author puts forth his own version of why the English sustained such heavy personnel losses and suffered a complete debacle, which was not quite typical of the Victorian colonial wars. The article analyzes shortcomings in the system of supplying English soldiers with bullets on the battlefield.
This article recounts one of the episodes of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, the Battle of Isandlwana (January 22, 1879). The author reconstructs the picture of the battle and elaborates on the circumstances of the Zulu attack on the English camp at Isandlwana. The article analyzes the structure, manning, training, and combat capabilities of the Zulu army. The author puts forth his own version of why the English sustained such heavy personnel losses and suffered a complete debacle, which was not quite typical of the Victorian colonial wars. The article analyzes shortcomings in the system of supplying English soldiers with bullets on the battlefield.
Number of views: 3999 Download in PDF
Letters from Officer/Orientalist K.N. Smirnov from the Caucasian Front as a Source for the Study of the Military/Political Situation in Turkey and Iran in 1914–1917
Voennyi Sbornik, 2014, № 4 (6), pp. 209-235.
Number of views: 2656 Download in PDF
3. Nicholas W. MitiukovVoennyi Sbornik, 2014, № 4 (6), pp. 209-235.
Abstract:
This study attempts to analyze the letters of officer/orientalist and military oriental scholar, officer in the Intelligence Section of the Staff of the Caucasian Military District, Staff Captain Konstantin Nikolayevich Smirnov, sent by him from the Turkish and Iranian sectors of the Caucasian front to his wife Kseniya Karlovna Smirnova (Kester) over the period 1914–1917. Depending on changes in the deployment of Russian troops fighting against the Turkish army, as well as the German-Turkish block, both in the north-eastern part of Turkey and in the north-west of Iran, K.N. Smirnov had sent those letters from Kamarli, Diadin, Iğdır, Beyazıt, Trebizond, Kazvin, Kermanshah, Kerind, Qasr-e Shirin, Ava now to Tiflis and now to Sevastopol, Hamadan, and Kazvin, where his wife was staying at that particular point in time. K.N. Smirnov’s surviving letters, just like their fragments, give us an idea of the military/political situation along the line of contact with the enemy on the Caucasian front, as well as many aspects of the activity of officers from the Expeditionary Corps of General N.N. Baratov in Iran over the period 1915–1917. Of interest is his characterization of the personal qualities of many Russian officers, such as General N.N. Baratov, the immediate superior of Staff Captain Smirnov, who at the time headed the reconnaissance unit of the Expeditionary Corps, Colonel N.F. Ern, Chief of Staff, and other officers of the corps. The letters also bring to light the character of activity by K.N. Smirnov as a “political officer”. K.N. Smirnov’s letters contain extremely rare information on the episode of short-term Anglo-Russian military cooperation on the Caucasian front intended to coordinate actions against Turkish troops in Mesopotamia.
This study attempts to analyze the letters of officer/orientalist and military oriental scholar, officer in the Intelligence Section of the Staff of the Caucasian Military District, Staff Captain Konstantin Nikolayevich Smirnov, sent by him from the Turkish and Iranian sectors of the Caucasian front to his wife Kseniya Karlovna Smirnova (Kester) over the period 1914–1917. Depending on changes in the deployment of Russian troops fighting against the Turkish army, as well as the German-Turkish block, both in the north-eastern part of Turkey and in the north-west of Iran, K.N. Smirnov had sent those letters from Kamarli, Diadin, Iğdır, Beyazıt, Trebizond, Kazvin, Kermanshah, Kerind, Qasr-e Shirin, Ava now to Tiflis and now to Sevastopol, Hamadan, and Kazvin, where his wife was staying at that particular point in time. K.N. Smirnov’s surviving letters, just like their fragments, give us an idea of the military/political situation along the line of contact with the enemy on the Caucasian front, as well as many aspects of the activity of officers from the Expeditionary Corps of General N.N. Baratov in Iran over the period 1915–1917. Of interest is his characterization of the personal qualities of many Russian officers, such as General N.N. Baratov, the immediate superior of Staff Captain Smirnov, who at the time headed the reconnaissance unit of the Expeditionary Corps, Colonel N.F. Ern, Chief of Staff, and other officers of the corps. The letters also bring to light the character of activity by K.N. Smirnov as a “political officer”. K.N. Smirnov’s letters contain extremely rare information on the episode of short-term Anglo-Russian military cooperation on the Caucasian front intended to coordinate actions against Turkish troops in Mesopotamia.
Number of views: 2656 Download in PDF
The Spanish Mercantile Fleet and the “Council of Captured Ships”
Voennyi Sbornik, 2014, № 4 (6), pp. 236-240.
Number of views: 2318 Download in PDF
4. Elmira B. AlievaVoennyi Sbornik, 2014, № 4 (6), pp. 236-240.
Abstract:
This work addresses the issue of the use of German and Astro-Hungarian ships interned in Spain as part of the “Council of Captured Ships”. The author examines the fate of six ships in the Spanish fleet which fit under this project. In conclusion, the author notes that through the example of the “Council of Captured Ships” we can see a violation of Spain’s strict non-involvement policy during World War I – more specifically, a violation of the internment regime. Note that corresponding pressure was brought to bear on Germany at the end of the war, when it already was unable to take either diplomatic or military countermeasures.
This work addresses the issue of the use of German and Astro-Hungarian ships interned in Spain as part of the “Council of Captured Ships”. The author examines the fate of six ships in the Spanish fleet which fit under this project. In conclusion, the author notes that through the example of the “Council of Captured Ships” we can see a violation of Spain’s strict non-involvement policy during World War I – more specifically, a violation of the internment regime. Note that corresponding pressure was brought to bear on Germany at the end of the war, when it already was unable to take either diplomatic or military countermeasures.
Number of views: 2318 Download in PDF
The Making and Development of the Soviet-Issue Local Air Defense System during the Period of Interwar Five-Year Plans: A Case Study of the Donbas Region
Voennyi Sbornik, 2014, № 4 (6), pp. 241-252.
Number of views: 2664 Download in PDF
5. Andrey A. VaginVoennyi Sbornik, 2014, № 4 (6), pp. 241-252.
Abstract:
This article attempts to examine the process of the making and development of a local air and chemical defense system and the major components that make it up: regulatory/statutory acts, resolutions by the central government, and mechanisms for their implementation by local authorities. Special attention is devoted to the legal framework and measures for popularizing civil defense among the population, which fostered the development of the local air defense system during the period of interwar five-year plans. In the end, the author comes to the following conclusion: over the entire period under examination, step by step the government had been putting together a local air defense system so effective as to enable the civil population, in the event of a military threat, to promptly arrange not only its own defense but that of local enterprises of strategic significance. Thanks to the measures taken, by the beginning of World War II many citizens had mastered the major skills for defense against aerial and chemical attacks. A consequence of reform in the system of civil defense was the overall militarization of the country’s population.
This article attempts to examine the process of the making and development of a local air and chemical defense system and the major components that make it up: regulatory/statutory acts, resolutions by the central government, and mechanisms for their implementation by local authorities. Special attention is devoted to the legal framework and measures for popularizing civil defense among the population, which fostered the development of the local air defense system during the period of interwar five-year plans. In the end, the author comes to the following conclusion: over the entire period under examination, step by step the government had been putting together a local air defense system so effective as to enable the civil population, in the event of a military threat, to promptly arrange not only its own defense but that of local enterprises of strategic significance. Thanks to the measures taken, by the beginning of World War II many citizens had mastered the major skills for defense against aerial and chemical attacks. A consequence of reform in the system of civil defense was the overall militarization of the country’s population.
Number of views: 2664 Download in PDF
From the Life of Mountain Riflemen (The Experience of World War II)
Voennyi Sbornik, 2014, № 4 (6), pp. 253-256.
Number of views: 2433 Download in PDF
6. Voennyi Sbornik, 2014, № 4 (6), pp. 253-256.
Abstract:
This work provides the reminiscences of alumnus of the 265th Infantry Mountain Regiment of the 20th Infantry Mountain Division Andrey Aleksandrovich Vagin. The reminiscences recount the events that took place in 1942–1943 around the Main Caucasus Range in the area of the Fisht-Oshten Massif, the Lagonaki Plateau, Mount Mezmay, etc. and are related to the combat activity of the units of the 20th Infantry Mountain Division of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. The author devotes attention to little-known episodes from the life of Soviet mountain riflemen, their everyday and leisure activities.
This work provides the reminiscences of alumnus of the 265th Infantry Mountain Regiment of the 20th Infantry Mountain Division Andrey Aleksandrovich Vagin. The reminiscences recount the events that took place in 1942–1943 around the Main Caucasus Range in the area of the Fisht-Oshten Massif, the Lagonaki Plateau, Mount Mezmay, etc. and are related to the combat activity of the units of the 20th Infantry Mountain Division of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. The author devotes attention to little-known episodes from the life of Soviet mountain riflemen, their everyday and leisure activities.
Number of views: 2433 Download in PDF