The January Meeting of the Society was addressed by Doctor George Christidis. His subject was "Common Sense Military Blunders"

Doctor Christidis provided a brief outline of a multitude of military blunders in his presentation. Amongst those covered were:

1. The practice of the sale of commissions in the British Army.
2. The refusal of the British government to accept the repatriation deal struck by Admiral Lord Keith with the surviving French troops in Egypt following their desertion by Napoleon.
3. The failure of the Russian cavalry against the Heavy Brigade caused by the fact that their sabres were blunt.
4. The decision to limit British battalions to 2 machine guns at the beginning of WWI as more would use too much ammunition.
5. The decision by the French Parliament to retain their soldier's uniform of blue tunics and red pantaloons at the beginning of WWI.
6. The declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare by the Germans in WWI, thus, bringing the U.S.A. into the war against them.
7. The poor exploitation of two potentially decisive weapons, namely, gas and tanks, by the Germans and British in WWI.
8. Field Marshal Haig's unwillingness to wait for American assistance resulting in the Battle of Passchendaele and enormous losses.
9. The refusal to provide WWI pilots with parachutes - Lord Trenchard believed that they could lose their will to fight.
10. Although they were the leaders in the use of the tank the British failed to have an armoured division on the outbreak of WWII.
11. Despite Nazi Germany's need for workers, the relentless extermination of 6 million Jews.
12. Hitler's decision to convert the first jet fighter to a bomber.

Future Meetings 1990 - CHANGE OF DATES - PLEASE NOTE !!

* Wednesday - February 14th - Dr. C. Mazansky - "Cigarette Cards: A Pictorial Source of British Imperial and Colonial Military History".

* Wednesday - March 8th - Dr. Fransjohan Pretorius - "Supplies to Commandos during the Anglo-Boer War, 1899/1902".

* Wednesday - April 18th - Annual General Meeting and World War II Reminiscence Talks.

* Wednesday - October 17th - Prof. W.D. Maxwell-Mahon - "The Gallipoli Campaign".

* - Please note that further to our warning of the change of dates of the February, April and October meetings it has become necessary, due to a double booking of the venue, to again revise these dates to those mentioned above. PLEASE AMMEND[sic] YOUR DIARIES ACCORDINGLY.
The Johannesburg Meetings take place in the J.C. Lemmer Auditorium,
S.A. National Museum of Military History, Saxonwold, Johannesburg at 20h00.

STEWART STILES