KWAZULU-NATAL BRANCH

Newsletter No. 542
November & December 2023

NOTICE OF NOVEMBER MEETING

The next meeting of the KZN Branch of the SA Military History Society will take place on SATURDAY 11^th November, 2023.

NOTE The day is REMEMBRANCE (POPPY) DAY.

If you have your poppy already, please wear it. If not, we will have on sale at the meeting.

The DDH starter will be the final video of the series on some of the interesting, strange quirks and often humorous traditions of the British Army.

The main talk will be by fellow member Charles Whiteing on the subject of “Camouflage”.

The starting time is 1.30 for 2.00pm.
The venue remains the St Cyprians Church Hall off Umbilo Rd, with secure parking and liquid refreshments available for cash from The Vicar's Alms.
Visitors are welcome
There is no charge but donations of R10 for each of a raffle and car guard are requested.

Enquiries
Phil Everitt
Chair KZN Branch SA Military History Society
Cell: 0844371636
Email: everitt@iafrica.com

NOTICE OF DECEMBER MEETING

The December meeting of the KZN Branch of the SA Military History Society will take place on SATURDAY 9^th December, 2023.

This will be the final meeting of the year and to round off there will be no starter talk and this will be replaced by our traditional end of the year excellent complimentary snacks with liquid refreshment for cash.

The main talk will be apresentation by Dr Doug Beere on the subject of US pilot Francis Gary Powers, who hit the headlines when his U2 spy plane shot down over USSR in 1960.

U2 spy plane

The starting time is 1.30 for 2.00pm. The venue remains the St Cyprians Church Hall off Umbilo Rd, with secure parking and liquid refreshments available for cash from The Vicar's Alms.

The snacks catering is covered for members from annual fees, but visitors will be charged R20 per head as their contribution to catering.

Donations of R10 for each of a raffle and car guard are requested from all attendees.

Enquiries
Charles Whiteing
Vice-Chair KZN Branch SA Military History Society
Cell: 0825554689
Email: charlesw2@absamail.co.za

NEWSLETTER

October Meeting

Despite the counter attraction of rugby, a total of 19 people, comprising of 17 members and 2 visitors attended the meeting.

The DDH starter was on Operation Ironclad, the WWII invasion of Madagascar. This comprised video presentations on the history of Madagascar, one of the world’s largest islands, very close to SA, but rarely visited [by] us.

The island was originally populated by migrations from Africa and the Middle East, but especially by populations originating in the east (Indonesia etc). It was colonised by the French at the beginning of the 20th Century and came under the administration of the Vichy French in WWII after the Fall of France.

In order to prevent it becoming a base for the Japanese after Pearl Harbour, it was invaded by the Allies in Operation Ironclad on 5th May 1942.

This was the first seaborne invasion since the Gallipoli disaster in WWI and SAAF was involved mainly in aerial reconnaissance with some ground support. The invasion was successful in its limited goal and the magnificent anchorage and Port at Diego Suarez capitulated within 3 days, but the remainder of the island held out.

The surrender of the entire island, involved South African troops of the 7th Motorised Brigade, with A Squadron 1st Armoured Car Commando attached, and included the only seaborne landing of SA forces in WWII. The final surrender of Vichy forces only occurred on the 8th November. Interestingly the island Government actually held out for longer than mainland France had done during the German invasion!

The main talk by Robin Smith took us back to the days of the crusades. In his usual masterly style, Robin covered a great sweep of Mediterranean history and geography. He began with an overview of the crusades launched by the Pope and the Christian Kingdoms of Europe to retake the Holy Land and especially Jerusalem and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre from the Moslems. During this time, in the 12th century, both the Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem and the Knights Templar (Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, were founded. The talk concentrated on the Hospitallers. After initial successes lasting many years, all the Christian Orders were defeated and retreated first to the island of Cypress in 1302 and thereafter the Hospitallers settled on the island of Rhodes. They fortified the island of Rhodes and fought off the Muslims for the next 200 years until a final defeat, from which they were allowed to leave honourably.

After some 20 years of homelessness they were given the island of Malta, on which they established themselves and fortified it as a naval base which commanded the central Mediterranean and especially the rampages of the Barbary Pirates.

The pirates - Ottomans - first attempted to take Malta in 1551 but failed. In 1565, Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman Sultan, made a second attempt to take Malta. Although records differ, the defenders were vastly outnumbered with 6,000 against somewhere between 15,000 and 40,000. In a brutal and bloody campaign which lasted from 18th May, until relieved by a combined Spanish and Italian force on 13th September1565, the Knights under Jean Parisot de Valette Grand Master of the Order, held out - losing a third of their number.

This example had a major impact, bringing together the kings of Europe in an alliance against the previously seemingly invincible Ottomans; the result was the vast union of forces against the Ottomans at the naval Battle of Lepanto six years later.

The Great Siege must then be seen as the event which changed the whole history of Europe.