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Anniversaries for today :
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Featured battle : Modder River
Part of The 2nd Boer War (or Three Years War)
Date : 28 November 1899
Lord Methuen approached a crossing of the Modder River, aiming to engage Koos de la Rey at Magersfontein, but had no proper scouting or advance guard. Hence the Boers who were actually hidden behind the steep banks of the river itself took the British entirely by surprise. Many were killed immediately. Hundreds more dived to the ground since there was no cover to shelter behind. They then had to endure 10 hours of blistering sun before night fell and they could be recovered. By morning the Boers had disappeared.
Featured image :
First World War Trench Warfare
This collection of items from World War 1 illustrates the nature of life and war in the the trenches. Water bottles and a Very pistol for firing signal flares sit alongside items from the offensive side of trench warfare. From left to right, a trench club, a bayonet, a British No.2 Hale's percussion grenade, three types of rifle grenade, a British No.36 hand grenade (also known as a Mills Bomb) and an early gas mask. The No.2 Hales grenade has cloth streamers fitted to the rear of the handle to make sure that the front end of the grenade, where the percussion fuse is located, hits the target first, so setting it off. The rifle grenades are of the rod type. By fiting the rod into the muzzle of a rifle and firing a blank cartridge, it could be launched a considerable distance, again with a percussion fuse. The Mills bomb is time fused, triggered by pulling out the safety pin and releasing the lever.
Gallery updated : 2022-04-04 08:33:43
Featured review :
Handbook to Roman Legionary Fortresses
Bishop, M C
Providing exactly what the title suggests, this is primarily a gazetteer of all currently known Roman Legion bases, each with well referenced details such as location, situation, size, orientation etc. as well as the units that were based there together with line drawings and photographs. The handbook also contains appendices of Legionary timelines and a clear list of fortresses listed in the Notitia Dignitatum.
The introductory section is short, but focussed carefully on the architecturally important details that pertain to Legion bases, and while well written, does assume a reasonable working knowledge of Roman military history. The bibliography is truly huge, and all in all this handbook should be considered an essential reference for a Roman military scholar.
Pen & Sword, Barnsley., Jan 2013
Reviewed : 2013-02-12 00:00:00
