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Modern Europe is the product of the gradual evolution of political, economic, and social institutions, interspersed with cataclysmic events as the existing order resisted change. The early seventeenth century saw one of the worst of those events. The misnamed Thirty Years War of 1618-1648---it was really several interrelated wars, some starting before or ending after the nominal dates---tore through central Europe, depopulating large tracts of Germany, while subsidiary fights erupted on the high seas, in the Americas, and in the Far East. It melded the last of the Catholic-Protestant wars and the first stirrings of nationalism to ongoing dynastic struggles for European hegemony. Joseph Miranda brings his incisive writing to bear on this complicated story, aided by a profusion of colorful maps, to identify its major threads.

THIRTY YEARS WAR:

IMPERIAL ECLIPSE

Target Market• European history buffs

Up-Sells & Cross-Sells• Breitenfeld (DG Folio Game)• Pavia (DG Folio Game)

Selling Points• Same great content as S&T, but

more specialized and specific about a single subject.

• 116 pages• Over 2 dozen maps & diagrams

Stock no• STQ11

MSRP• $15.99

On Sale Fall 2020!

46

STRATEGY & TACTICS QUARTERLY #08 | WINTER 2019

For all of its strategic importance, Khe Sanh was not happily sit-

uated for defense. The village was approximately six miles from

the Laotian border and about ten miles south of the DMZ. It lay

astride Route 9 on a plateau curving north between two ridges.

It was on this level ground, complete with an old French landing

strip, that a Green Beret team built a post in 1962. The camp

was overlooked by numerous rugged peaks ranging from 881 to

1,015 meters (2,900 to 3,300 feet) above sea level, 1,000 or more

feet higher than the airstrip. Scrub-covered hills to the north

and northeast—named for their height: 861, 861A, 881N (North),

and 881S (South)—dominated the camp. The ground between

the heights was heavily overgrown and crisscrossed by ravines.

Marines took over the post in early 1966—the Green

Berets moving west to Lang Vei—but never considered it

a permanent post due to its vulnerability. Westmoreland

would have none of it and ordered it occupied by a full

battalion, rechristening it Khe Sanh Combat Base (KSCB).

The airstrip was enlarged to handle C-130 cargo planes, a

necessity as the supply line along Route 9 could be easily

cut. Outposts were established on the controlling heights.

The increase in American activity did not escape the

attention of the North Vietnamese. NVA regulars—18th Regiment

of 325C Division—moved in during April 1967, engaging the

Marines in what became known as the “Hill Battles.” Marine

intelligence thought the attackers were only an ad hoc

grouping of platoons, so Marines were initially committed in individual companies. Running up against well-armed regulars in obscured terrain, they suffered heavily. Reinforcements arrived by the end of April and the Marines started deploying full battalions. Hills 861 and 881S fell first, then in early May Hill 881N. The North Vietnamese

Khe Sanh During Tet

46


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For all of its strategic importance, Khe Sanh was not happily sit

For all of its strategic importance, Khe Sanh was not happily sit-



























a permanent post due to its vulnerability. Westmoreland

would have none of it and ordered it occupied by a full

battalion, rechristening it Khe Sanh Combat Base (KSCB).

The airstrip was enlarged to handle C-130 cargo planes, a

necessity as the supply line along Route 9 could be easily

cut. Outposts were established on the controlling heights.

The increase in American activity did not escape the

attention of the North Vietnamese. NVA regulars—18

of 325C Division—moved in during April 1967, engaging the

Marines in what became known as the “Hill Battles.” Marine

intelligence thought the attackers were only an

grouping of platoons, so Marines were initially committed in individual companies. Running up against well-armed regulars in obscured terrain, they suffered heavily. Reinforcements arrived by the end of April and the Marines started deploying full battalions. Hills 861 and 881S fell first, then in early May Hill 881N. The North Vietnamese

Khe Sanh During Tet

Khe Sanh During Tet

62

STRATEGY & TACTICS QUARTERLY #10 | SUMMER 2020

German Evacuation

of Crimea

U S S R

ROMANIA

Cr imea

Carpathian Mtns

Caucasus Mtns

B L A C K S E A

Gulf of Finland

Gulf ofRiga

Sea of Azov

FINLAND

Marshes

U S S R

POLAND

L. Peipus

Bessarabia

Bug

Dnepr

Niemen

Dvina

Volg

a

Don

Kuban

Bug

Dnep

r

Oka

Volkhov

Don

Danu

be

Sozh

Prut

Mius

Dnepr

Seim

Desna

Lova

t

Vel ik

aya

Wilya

Luga

Svir

Oskol

Psel

Siret

LakeLadoga

1 Mar

12 May

Kiev

Smolensk

MOSCOW

Konigsberg

Riga

Brest

Bialystok

VilniusKaunas

Grodno

Tilsit

Kursk

Voronezh

TulaKaluga

Rzhev

Klin

Kalinin

Velikiye Luki

Vitebsk

Orsha

Lublin

Galati

Leningrad

Novgorod

Pskov

Staraya Russa

Kholm

Demyansk

Tallinn

Tartu

Narva

Luga

Polotsk

Nevel

Dvinsk

Gomel

Roslavl

Konotop

OrelBryansk

Krasnodar

Rostov

SevastopolYalta

Kerch

Armavir

Dnepropetrovsk

Chernigov

RovnoKovel

Odessa

Kherson

NikopolKirovograd

Cherkassy

Uman

Vinnitsa

Zhitomir

Pinsk

Mariupol

Perekop

Taganrog

Stalino

IzyumPoltava

BelgorodMosyr

Mogilev

Rogachev

Przemysl

Fastov

Krivoi Rog

Nikolayev

Tighina

Bacau

Yelets

Kolomna

Vyazma

Glukhov

Sumy

Voroshilovgrad

Feodosia

Viipuri

Helsinki

Hanko

Radom

Korosten

Livny

Balta

Iasi Kishinev

Suwalki

Dubno

Lubny

Romny

Mozhaisk

Memel

Tikhvin

Yaroslavl

Ryazan

KostromaRybinsk

Bologoe

Bely

Parnu

Minsk

Liepaja

Jelgava

Siuliai

Warsaw

BELGRADE

BUCHAREST

Ploesti

Constanta

Roman

Kharkov

Millerovo

Novocherkassk

Kalach

Rossosh

Maikop

Melitopol

Krasnograd

Kupyansk

Stary Oskol

Oboyan

Tuapse

Borisov

Vologda

Vladimir

Stanislau

Balti

Simferopol

Kropotkin

Tiraspol

Razdelnya

Tashlyk

Sukhinichi

Podolsk

Kremenchug Slavyansk

Novy Oskol

Lvov Ternopol

Proskurov

Cernoutsy

Bobruysk

Novorossysk

Yevpatoria

Zaporozhye

Turku

Pripyet

Dnest r

Donbas

Valdai Hi l ls

Donets

Berezina

Pripyet

Kamenets

-Podolsky

2 UkranianXXXXX

8

CenterXXXXX

NorthXXXXX

1

South

Ukraine

XXXXX

3

WesternXXXXX

LeningradXXXXX

1 ByelorussianXXXXX

4 UkranianXXXXX

51

22

3S

4S

5

39

104

3

9

16

18

9

18

56

23

3 UkranianXXXXX

1 UkranianXXXXX

17

4

6

2

2 BalticXXXXX

5G

2G

5S

1

31

13

7G

46

524G

53

10G

11G

1 BalticXXXXX

Coastal

6

6G

6821

57

37

48

63

18

42

67

54

2S

1S

65

61

1360

47

1G3G

1

4027

8G

6

3 BalticXXXXX

21

7

43

North

Ukraine

XXXXX

4

1

Spring 1944

Miles

200

Map Key

XXXXX

Soviet advance

German army group

German army

German Panzer army

1 Mar 1944

front line

1 Jun 1944

front line

German retreat

Romanian army

XXXXXSoviet front

Soviet army

Hungarian army

STQ10_V7.indd 62

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63

had stockpiled supplies, in this case

food and ammunition. He had also sent

most of his rear-area personnel, the vital

logistic infrastructure of the army, south

across the Dniestr to clear his battle area.

Hube had planned to follow suit

with his fighting units once he was

given permission to withdraw. Zhukov

thought it the likely route as well and

weighted his perimeter guard accord-

ingly. Manstein had other ideas. A

southerly retreat would take 1.PzA too

far south, leaving only 4.PzA to guard

his main depot at Lvov. He preferred

a westerly route, driving through the

weak wall of the Soviet perimeter to

join 4.PzA’s line south of Ternopol.

Manstein met with Hitler on 25

March and demanded—tact was never

his forté—permission to evacuate 1.PzA.

Hitler resisted just as vehemently, then

reversed himself two days later. He also

promised reinforcements in the form of

Hausser's 2.SSPzK, then just finishing an

Auffrischung

(refreshment) in France.

Hube had already begun prepara-

tions for movement, reorganizing his

four corps into two Korpsgruppe

n,

making liaison with the Luftwaffe for

the airlanding of supplies, mostly fuel,

and contracting his lines to concentrate

strike forces on his western front. The

Korpsgruppen

moved abreast, each using

one corps to push west and the other as

a rearguard to the east. Following the

north bank of the Dnestr, the army had

to cross four rivers along its route. Soviet

resistance fortunately was weak, though

Zhukov quickly made adjustments to

bring additional forces to bear on either

German flank. Like Stemmermann’s

“wandering pocket” but on a much

larger scale, 1.PzA made its way west.

Hausser’s SS Panzerkorps

was already

arriving beyond Ternopol, though

it would be many days before it was

fully assembled. Moving east, it too

made slow but steady progress against

scattered Soviet resistance and harsh

terrain. Some units were detached to

assist Erhard Raus’ 4.PzA in a failed relief

of Ternopol, which had been encircled

with 4,500 men inside on 25 March.

While Hube was still moving, Hitler

exacted a price for the constant calls

for retreats. The southern army group

commanders, Manstein and Kleist, were

relieved of their commands along with

Hollidt of 6.A. Manstein’s place was taken

by Model, then at AGN, while Hollidt was

replaced by Ferdinand Schörner. AGS

was renamed AG Nordukraine

(AGNU)

and AGA became AG Südukraine

(AGSU). The Carpathians had cre-

ated an obvious new separation of the

German line in the south, so control of

8.A was transferred to AGSU. Model’s

area of responsibility would include

Hungary, Schörner’s Romania; each

commander would control the associ-

ated allied armies, just now returning

to action after a year’s rebuilding.

The reorganization had no impact

on the escape of 1.PzA. First contact was

made with Hausser on 6 April, and all

the army’s divisions made it out of the

pocket over the course of three days. All

were intact, but only a handful remained

operational. Most of Hube’s tanks and

other heavy equipment had been lost,

along with as many as 45,000 men

(reports vary). Several divisions would

be disbanded, several others reduced

to Kampfgruppe (battlegroup) status,

and most of the rest were shadows.

Hube’s army was nevertheless

pressed back into service, his divisions

performing an about-face to man the

new front. Hausser and Hube’s strongest

units made another drive to Ternopol.

As had happened at both Stalingrad and

Cherkassy, the relief effort fell short and

the garrison was called on to breakout.

XXX

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Dniestr

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Dniestr

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Bug

Dnestr

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Studenitsya

Kalyus ZhavanBaty

Nemlya

Murefa

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va

Mar

kovk

a

Z. LipaH. Lipa

Siret

Mogilev-Podol’skiy

Dunayevtsy

Stanislau

Tarnopol

Berezhany

Proskurov

Zhimerinka

Khotyn

Chernovtsy

Kolomea

Horodenka

Kamenets-

Podolskiy

BarYarmolintsy

Gorodok

Gusyatin

Chortkov

Budzanev

Buchach

Glaich

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Ustsechko

Brichen’sat

Lipkany

Skala

Borshchuv

Yampol

N1st Panzer Army Breakout

23 Mar-9 Apr 1944

0

20Miles

Map Key

23 Mar Front line

26 Mar Front line

9 Apr Front line

German counterattacks

German retreats

Soviet initial attacks

Soviet counterattacks

STQ10_V7.indd 63

6/19/20 10:51 AM

strike forces on his western front. The

moved abreast, each using

one corps to push west and the other as

a rearguard to the east. Following the

north bank of the Dnestr, the army had






(AGSU). The Carpathians had cre-






commander would control the associ



PrPrP urur t


(AGSU). The Carpathians had cre






commander would control the associ-





“I am worried to death. I think the game is pretty near up.’’—Gen. George Washington, in a letter to his brother

following the Continental Army’s defeat in New York

Times that Try Men’s Souls OMLMarch 1776 to January 1777

Men’s Souls OMLMarch 1776 to January 1777

March 1776 to January 1777


26

STRATEGY & TACTICS QUARTERLY #09 | SPRING 2020

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27


27

T he military chessboard had been wiped nearly

clean as winter turned to spring, and even before

Howe pulled out of Boston both sides were think-

ing ahead to the coming year. One clear change

was that the coming campaign would not be a

repeat of the extemporized operations of 1775. The Americans

had put their war effort on a solid footing, with Congress taking

an active role in planning and procurement. Britain was stretch-

ing its imperial muscle, dispatching men and ships to North

America, and harnessing its global wealth. The result would be

a series of hammer blows to put an end to the colonial rebellion.

Divide & ConquerIn London, Lord George Germain, Secretary of State

for America, saw the uprising—with some accuracy—as a

simple rebellion of fractious and fractured colonies, not a

genuine national uprising. That was the single factor most

in Britain’s favor; large numbers of Americans still saw

themselves as loyal subjects of the king protesting unjust

policies of British ministers. It was by all appearances con-

centrated in New England; there were stirrings elsewhere, but

many colonies were still in the charge of loyal governors.

Germain, 3,000 miles from the seat of war, was willing

to leave most decisions up to his generals. He had reason to

believe, however, that the southern states contained many

Loyalists. The burning of Norfolk had snuffed out one con-

centration, but the governor of North Carolina had organized

militia units to protect royal interests. Howe, while still in

Boston, was ordered to dispatch an expedition to North

Carolina, where it would be joined by the loyalists, plus seven

regiments Cornwallis was bringing from the home country.

Maj. Gen. Henry Clinton was chosen to lead the

expedition, though delays kept him in Boston until

mid-February. He sailed with a token detachment, stop-

ping briefly in New York to consult with the governor,

also loyal, before continuing to his destination.

A month later Howe and the main army departed Boston

for Halifax. There he was joined by a fleet commanded by

his brother, Adm. Richard Howe, and troops more than

tripling the size of his army. More would be forthcom-

ing, but the great distance from home—at best a six-week

crossing—meant there could be no rapid reinforcement

or exchange of information. Howe was on his own.

He knew time was short. Not only did rebellions have a habit

of expanding if not tamped down quickly, but Britain was frac-

tured as well. The Whigs in Parliament at least sympathized and,

in some cases, openly sided with the colonies. The Tory major-

ity held together, but their power was by no means absolute.

Howe therefore aimed to crush the rebellion in a single stroke.

New York, the largest city (25,000) and busiest port in North

America, was the key to this plan. Invoking another British

strength, the mobility supplied by the Royal Navy, he would

The Delaware Regiment at the Battle of Long Island (27 August

1776). Delaware consisted of three sparsely populated counties

on the Chesapeake peninsula. They had long been associated with

Pennsylvania but were effectively autonomous by the outbreak

of war, and would achieve statehood in 1776. The state never

contributed more than a single regiment to the Continental Army

at any one time, at one time just two companies strong, but its

ranks included Robert Kirkwood, “the American Cincinnatus.”


27

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1/14/20 6:36 PM1/14/20 6:36 PM

U S S RU S S R

MarshesBug

Dnepr

NNNiemen

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h

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1 Mar

Kiev

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VilniusKaunasKaunas

Grodno

Tilsit

Kursk

Voronezh

OrshaOrsha

Lublin

Gomel

Roslavl

KonotopKonotop

OrelBryanskBryansk

ChernigovChernigov

RovnoKovel

Cherkassy

Vinnitsainnitsa

Zhitomir

Pinsk

IzyumPoltava

BelgorodMosyr

Mogilev

Rogachev

PrzemyslPrzemysl

Fastov

Yelets

GlukhovGlukhov

Sumy

RadomRadom

Korosten

Livny

SuwalkiSuwalkiSuwalki

Dubno

Lubny

Romny

Minsk

Kharkov

Millerovo

Kalach

Rossosh

Krasnograd

Kupyansk

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most of his rear-area personnel, the vital

logistic infrastructure of the army, south

across the Dniestr to clear his battle area.

Hube had planned to follow suit

with his fighting units once he was

given permission to withdraw. Zhukov

thought it the likely route as well and

weighted his perimeter guard accord-

ingly. Manstein had other ideas. A

























63













(battlegroup) status,










Times that Try Times that Try Times that Try Men’s Souls Men’s Souls

“I am worried to death.




12

STRATEGY & TACTICS QUARTERLY #07 | FALL 2019

62


German Evacuation

of CrimeaROMANIA

Cr imea

Carprpr athian MMttnnss

B L A C K S E A

Sea of Azov

BessarabiaBessarabia

KuKuKba

Bug

Danu

be

Prut

Mi

Mi

Muiui s

Dnepr

Siriri et

12 May

GalatiGalatiGalati

KrasnodarKrasnodar

Rostov

SevastopolSevastopolSevastopol

Yalta

KerchKerch

DnepropetrovskDnepropetrovsk

OdessaOdessa

KhersonKhersonKherson

NikopolNikopolNikopolNikopolNikopol

KirovogradUman

MariupolMariupolMariupolMariupolMariupol

PerekopPerekopPerekopPerekopPerekopPerekop

TTaganrogaganrog

TaganrogTTaganrogT

Stalino

Krivoi Rog

NikolayevNikolayevNikolayevNikolayevNikolayev

Tighina

Bacau

VVoroshilovgradoroshilovgrad

FeodosiaFeodosiaFeodosiaFeodosia

Balta

IasiIasiIasi KishinevKishinevKishinevKishinev

BUCHAREST

Ploesti

Constanta

RomanRoman

Novocherkassk

Melitopol

Tuapse

Stanislau

Balti

SimferopolSimferopolSimferopolSimferopolSimferopol

TTiraspoliraspoliraspoliraspol

RazdelnyaRazdelnyaRazdelnyaRazdelnyaRazdelnyaRazdelnyaRazdelnya

TashlykTashlykTashlykTashlykTashlykTashlykTashlyk

SlavyanskSlavyansk

CernoutsyCernoutsyCernoutsy

NovorossyskNovorossysk

Yevpatoriaevpatoria

Zaporozhye

Dnest r

Donbas

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8

South

Ukraine

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4 UkranianXXXXXX

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9

18

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17

6 2G

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7G

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37

8G

6

North

Ukraine

4

1

Miles

200

12



“Take up the weapons

of the glorious army

for the salvation of

many thousands”–Adela of Normandy

12


STQ7_V7.indd 12

7/16/19 11:29 AM


13

Caucasus Mtns

ban

DDoon

Rostov

Armavir

oroshilovgrad

Novocherkassk

Maikop

Kropotkin

Donetstst

MilesMiles

200


far south, leaving only 4.PzA to guard

his main depot at Lvov. He preferred

a westerly route, driving through the

weak wall of the Soviet perimeter to

join 4.PzA’s line south of Ternopol.

Manstein met with Hitler on 25


Hausser’s SS







Hausser’s SS Panzerkorps

was already

Panzerkorps

was already

Panzerkorps









pocket over the course of three days. All on the escape of 1.PzA. First contact was










Kampfgruppe (battlegroup) status,

Kampfgruppe (battlegroup) status,

Kampfgruppe










“I am worried to death. I think the game is pretty near up.’’—Gen. George Washington, in a letter to his brother



Times that Try Times that Try Times that Try Men’s Souls Men’s Souls OMLMarch 1776 to January 1777

March 1776 to January 1777“I am worried to death. I think the game is pretty near up.’’—Gen. George Washington, in a letter to his brother



26



ba

Rostov

oroshilovgrad

Novocherkassk

Miles

200



13

owns of the eleventh century generally

created little wealth. With exceptions like

the fabulously rich weaving towns of

Flanders, “industry” was highly localized

to support widespread agriculture, the

artisans living alongside their peasant

neighbors in hamlets dotting the landscape.

Larger population centers drew sustenance from the sur-

rounding countryside. Riches came from the agricultural

surplus—drawn as taxes or rents—and from imposts on

trade passing through. Large sea or river ports could effec-

tively extend their tax base over the trade of entire regions.

The real importance of towns was the role they played in

society and culture, drawing the landowning class into the

more sophisticated urban life, and above all as centers of

government and religion, the latter two often conjoined.

Nations, using the term in its modern formulation,

did not yet exist. Polities, by whatever name they were

known—kingdom, principality, duchy, county, electorate—

belonged to their rulers regardless of language, blood, or,

in some cases, religion. War and marriage might transfer

this or that town, with its associated hinterland, between

rulers, but life for the average person changed not at all.

In this world some places counted more than others.

As towns dominated their districts, some towns dominated

others. That power—sometimes political, sometimes

commercial, sometimes religious, occasionally all

three—would enable a town to grow, at some point

earning the title “city” (though in Europe at least, the term

technically referred to a town with a consecrated cathedral).

The cities described here were such places. Their stories

were mirrored in those of the empires that came and

went around them, and went far toward describing the

Mediterranean world at the end of the first millennium.

Jerusalem

The Levant is located at the nexus of three

continents—Asia, Africa, and Europe—and acts as a

crossroads for trade between them. Jerusalem was

not one of its great commercial entrepôts, being

located in the Judean Hills dividing the coastal plain

from the valley of the River Jordan. It was of some

local importance, though, occupying the junction of

the north-south “Ridge Route” running the length of

the mountains, and an east-west route connecting the

port of Jaffa (Haifa) with Jericho on the Jordan. The

path from the coast ascended the valley of the River

Sorek, one of the easier routes across the mountains.

The site of Jerusalem has signs of pre-Bronze

Age habitation, probably because the Gihon Spring

provided a dependable water supply in an arid region.

By around 2000 BC it had become a Canaanite city,

and within a few centuries of that time had acquired

a defensive wall. It fell under the sway of Egypt and

March and demanded—tact was never terrain. Some units were detached to

terrain. Some units were detached to along with as many as 45,000 men



Kampfgruppe













Men’s Souls View of the Tower of David—Jerusalem

Citadel—near the Jaffa Gate on the western

edge of the old city of Jerusalem.

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* Example spreads from a previous issues (7,8,9,&10)

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