SAMHSEC meeting 11 March 2024
As the scheduled presentation had to be postponed, in session 1 Franco Cilliers updated us on the current situation in the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.
In session 2, Malcolm Kinghorn spoke about blockades and interdiction in naval warfare.
A blockade is a naval operation to prevent vessels and/or aircraft from entering or exiting a specified area to impose an economic or military embargo on an enemy.
An interdiction is a naval operation to intercept or destroy enemy vessels and/or aircraft attempting to transport troops or supplies, usually to a battlefront.
Blockades are passive and defensive, while interdictions are more aggressive and offensive. They can be used together as elements of a comprehensive naval strategy.
Both were used in the World Wars. During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the US Navy established a “quarantine” around Cuba to prevent Soviet ships from delivering missiles and military equipment. In the Falklands War in 1982, the Royal Navy established a blockade around the Falkland Islands to prevent Argentine reinforcements and supplies reaching the conflict zone. In the Iraq War in 2003, the US Navy conducted a maritime interdiction operation to enforce UN sanctions against Iraq. Russia has attempted to blockade Ukrainian ports during their current invasion of the Ukraine. Since December 2023, the Shia Islamist political and military Houthi Movement in Yemen has interdicted commercial ships in the Red Sea ostensibly in support of Palestine.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) sets the legal framework for naval warfare, including the right to blockade and interdict in certain circumstances and subject to certain conditions. International Humanitarian Law (IHL) through the Geneva Conventions prohibits starving civilians as a method of warfare, which can limit the scope and duration of a blockade. The International Criminal Court can prosecute individuals for war crimes committed during a blockade or interdiction.
Each country has its own laws and regulations governing naval warfare; for example, Royal Navy Regulations include procedures for conducting blockades and interdictions.
Careful planning to minimise risks and achieve desired aims is required. Planning involves setting clear goals, allocating resources and developing contingency plans for many different scenarios. Intelligence on the enemy's capabilities, location and intentions is essential before imposing a blockade or conducting an interdiction.
The unpredictable and dynamic nature of blockades and interdictions requires quick thinking and flexibility. New technologies such as unmanned aerial, surface & underwater vehicles, cyber operations and artificial intelligence will play an increasingly important role in blockades and interdictions.
Successful blockades and interdictions require collaboration between various naval and civilian agencies, as well as with allies and foreign partners. Sustained logistical support, including fuel, ammunition and food supplies, effective communications and interoperability are essential.
Naval forces executing blockades and interdictions can be exposed to various risks, including detection and interception by the enemy, accidents and human error. Using this strategy can have significant diplomatic and legal consequences, including strained relations with neutral countries, international scrutiny and legal challenges in domestic and international courts. The use of force can escalate conflict and trigger unwanted consequences.
Blockades and interdictions remain legitimate strategies for naval warfare, despite the risk and complexity involved.
SAMHSEC RPC meeting 25 March 2024
In session 1, Dylan Fourie presented his “Memories of the Greatest Generation A World War 2 Memorabilia Showcase”.
“Over the last 3 years, I contacted World War 2 veterans to keep their stories alive. Five replied and not only told their stories, but also sent me signed books, photos and letters.
Gunther Tlotzek was a German who fought on the Eastern Front, where he was one of 80 men who attacked a Russian position. During a counterattack, Günther manned a machine gun until out of ammunition. He was wounded in the shoulder and the only German still alive. While Russians went from German to German clubbing them with rifles and stabbing them with bayonets, he held a pistol in his hand to end his life quickly if he was discovered. A Russian stepped on his hand but kept walking. After surrendering at the end of the war, he spent years in a Soviet Gulag in Siberia. Günther was a kind and down to earth man who preached against Nazism and fascism. He passed away on 11 December 2023.
Kurt Salterberg was a member of the Hitler Youth and Wehrmacht. He was the last living witness to the 20 July 1944 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. For the rest of his life, he continuously denounced his belief in Nazism as a young man and advocated peace. He lectured on the horrors of the war and Nazism. He passed away on 27 November 2023.
Mervyn Kersh was a member of the Royal Army Ordinance Corps and among the first reinforcements to land on Gold Beach in Normandy. They were the first ordinance soldiers ashore and were under command of 2nd Army HQ and in support of the 50th Highland Division of XXX Corps. After Normandy, he served in Holland and Germany. Mervyn was 100 years old on 20 December 2023.
Vincent J Speranza was an American who volunteered for the Parachute Infantry and was sent overseas with the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division to Scotland, England, Belgium and France. His unit fought in the Battle of the Bulge. His first engagement was in the Siege of Bastogne, where he manned a machine gun from a foxhole. He passed away on 4 August 2023.
Charles Phillips flew 35 missions over Europe in the second half of 1944 as a ball turret gunner in the 91st Bomber Group of the Mighty 8 Air Force.”
The recording of Dylan’s talk is in the SAMHS Zoom library.
In session 2, Peter Duffel-Canham discussed the book Here Comes the Alabama by Edna and Frank Bradlow (Balkema, 1958).
The authors sketched the background to the US Civil War (1861-1865) with reference to the formation of the Confederate Navy of 5 converted vessels and 3 new vessels, of which the CSS Alabama was one.
CSS Alabama started as Hull 290 in a Birkenhead shipyard, then sailed to the Azores under another name with a number of passengers, disguised as a pleasure cruise. There she was armed and named CSS Alabama under the command of Captain Semmes and Confederate officers, who persuaded most of the British crew to join him, with the promise of a share in the prizes.
Although designed as a commercial raider to disrupt trade with the Union, her first victim was the USS Hatteras. Having operated in the West Indies and causing the China Fleet to stay in port, Captain Semmes made for Table Bay, where his first prize was the Sea Bride, captured within sight of spectators on Signal Hill.
We have a family connection to CSS Alabama’s visits to Cape Town as my wife Karen’s Great Great Grandfather, Captain Edward Cooper, was the master of the Urania, sailing under the US flag. The CSS Alabama anchored close by and Captain Cooper called on Captain Semmes twice to ask for safe passage out of Table Bay, but Semmes, angered by the flying of the Stars and Stripes next to his Confederate vessel, refused. Captain Cooper managed to evade capture and arrived safely in New York, to be feted by the grateful owners and insurers, who presented him with a gold chronometer, still with the family today.
CSS Alabama sunk, burned or captured around 60 vessels before being trapped in Cherbourg, France where she was sunk by the USS Kearsage.
Much has been written about the origin of the title of the song Daar kom die Alabama. The authors maintain that the local people were singing about the CSS Alabama, but the words of the song make that hard to believe. In correspondence with Natasha Barry of the family that owned coasters plying between the Breede River and Table Bay, she told me their vessel Kadie had helped the Alabama take on coal and stores in Simonstown, so it is possible that their vessels also brought the dekriet growing in the area to the Cape for the Malay bridal bed of the song. She also referred me to On Wings of Fire by Lawrence Green, where he claims the Malays were singing this song before the arrival of CSS Alabama, as a vessel named Alabama was bringing dekriet from Laaiplek at the mouth of the Berg River, and the chorus of the months of the year referred to the monthly sailing schedule of Stefan Brothers’ vessels.
SAMHSEC AGM 11 March 2024
The AGM agreed that SAMHSEC is to continue as to date.
SAMHSEC meeting 8 April 2024
Andrew van Wyk is to talk about the Rand Revolt and Constable FJHD van Wijk.
SAMHSEC RPC 29 April 2024
SAMHSEC Requests the Pleasure of your Company to talk about military history on 29 April 2024.
RPC meetings are opportunities for you to share your knowledge of a military history subject or book with fellow military historians. Presentations should last approximately 15 minutes to allow time for sharing the pleasure of one another’s company. You can do any number of RPC presentations per year. Please contact André at andrecrozier@gmail.com if you want to share your knowledge.
SAMHSEC field trip 13 April 2024
Further correspondence regarding SAMHSEC’s return same day field trip on 13 April 2024 to the Mount Ingwe Anglo-Boer War Relics Museum in the Elands River Valley will be sent to those who indicated interest in attending.
[Old soldiers...]
William Peter van Wyk from Kimberley was the last Cape Corps World War II veteran. He passed away on 28 February 2024 at the age of 101. According to information from the McGregor Museum, van Wyk was born in Kimberley and enlisted in the Army in July 1941 at the Beaconsfield Town Hall. He was 19 years old and served in Egypt and Italy. Van Wyk received the 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Italy Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-1945 and the Africa Service Medal. This picture was taken on 15 September 2019 during the 101st Remembrance Parade of the Battle of Square Hill, which took place in World War 1 during the night and early morning of 18 and 19 September 1918. Soldiers of the First Battalion Cape Corps captured this cannon, which is mounted at the Cenotaph in du Toitspan Road, Kimberley.
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