This is coolbert:
The Britisher Michael Wood is narrating another episode of his public television series entitled: "The Story of India"!
Speaking in this particular case of the partition of British India [the Raj] into the independent nation-states of India and Pakistan [East & West].
A partition [1947] requiring what was described by Michael Wood as perhaps: "the greatest migration of persons in the history of mankind!"
14 million persons having been on the move more or less simultaneously. Hindu and Sikh moving one way [to India], Muslim moving the other [to West & East Pakistan]!
With about 1 million persons having perished during the fighting that occurred during the various population disruptions accompanying partition!
Michael Wood - - however, is not exactly correct when he asserts that this was : "the greatest migration of people in the history of mankind!"?
* In those immediate months following the end of World War Two [WW2], by one estimate, at least 14 to 15 million ethnic Germans were forcibly relocated from all over eastern Europe and returned to Germany proper [those territories that eventually became west and east Germany and today the Federal Republic]! That enormous figure of German refugees at least equaling the number of persons on the move during the partition of the Raj, and not including those other [non-German] displaced persons [DP's], ex-prisoners of war [POW], forced laborers, etc., also simultaneously being returned to their homelands or settled to some degree in DP camps [many millions of tens of millions in addition]!
* That estimate of 1 million persons perishing during Indian Partition is "low-ball", as they say? 1 to 2 million deaths is generally accepted as a more accurate figure? THOSE DEATHS OCCURRING AS PART OF THE LAST "WAR" FOUGHT WITH PRIMITIVE WEAPONRY!! War not necessarily in the traditional sense, "two groups of persons using weapons, each seeking to impose their will upon the other!" In the case of Indian Partition, no real "imposing of will" was present here, the fighting consisting more or less of inter-communal rioting and violence - - perhaps better described as gratuitous vengeance mostly?
[primitive weaponry to include standard household and farm implements. Spears, swords, knifes, hatchets, axes, mattocks, etc.]
* It is reputed that the forcible evacuation and removal [ethnic cleansing, if you will have it] of ethnic Germans from all over eastern Europe, post-WW2, resulted in about 1 to 2 million deaths also. NOT a figure, generally agreed upon?
There is always three distinct stages to any "war" 1. What led up to the war. 2. The actual fighting of the war - - the armed combat. 3. The aftermath of the war.
NO ONE specific "stage" of a war can be undestood unless the other two stages are taken into account. NO one stage exists in a vacuum, the understanding of the totality being most important!
coolbert.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Yards.
This is coolbert:
Here with some comments regarding the purported use of crossbows in combat by the montagnards [yards] during the Vietnam War. Hill tribesmen recruited, trained, led into battle against the VC/NVA by American Special Forces [SF]. And before the U.S. SF, by the French GCMA.
Here, comments from the Ranger - - a man who knows:
"I seriously doubt that any SF adviser would allow a yard [montagnard] to take a knife to a gun fight . . . I was not with the yards or in one of the A camps but my guess is that these [crossbows] were used for hunting and to sucker US types into buying the bows as souvenirs. They were quite popular as . . . they required no capture papers etc... to get them home. From what I heard sprinkling a little chicken blood on them elevated the sale price."
[American soldiers policing or capturing an enemy weapon on the battlefield, could fill out "capture papers" and legally bringing an AK back to the states as a price of war - - battlefield booty! Onerous paperwork required - - not so in the case of a crossbow!]
"I never heard of any actual use of these items [crossbows] in my time with 5th Grp, but I was there late in the war. Possibly they were used in the very early days when/before transition to modern WW2 weapons."
And as a response to a query by myself that American helicopters in Vietnam, reputedly, from time to time, would return to base with crossbow bolts found sticking in the bottom of the fuselage!
"The yard bows did not have bolts that would penetrate a helos skin [helicopter/Huey UH-1], they were simply made of wood. I doubt any helo ever took a bolt hit/penetration. Surely photos would be available to show the truth of these claims. War stories get better with age."
And this IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT! The collection of montagnard crossbows I have seen have bolts solely made of wooden, no metal tip for penetration! Strictly wood, perhaps fire-hardened?
Thank you Ranger!
As much as I would like it to be so, "taking a knife [crossbow] to a gunfight" is just not the way to go. Even the montagnards would have realized that and listened to their SF advisers!
coolbert.
Here with some comments regarding the purported use of crossbows in combat by the montagnards [yards] during the Vietnam War. Hill tribesmen recruited, trained, led into battle against the VC/NVA by American Special Forces [SF]. And before the U.S. SF, by the French GCMA.
Here, comments from the Ranger - - a man who knows:
"I seriously doubt that any SF adviser would allow a yard [montagnard] to take a knife to a gun fight . . . I was not with the yards or in one of the A camps but my guess is that these [crossbows] were used for hunting and to sucker US types into buying the bows as souvenirs. They were quite popular as . . . they required no capture papers etc... to get them home. From what I heard sprinkling a little chicken blood on them elevated the sale price."
[American soldiers policing or capturing an enemy weapon on the battlefield, could fill out "capture papers" and legally bringing an AK back to the states as a price of war - - battlefield booty! Onerous paperwork required - - not so in the case of a crossbow!]
"I never heard of any actual use of these items [crossbows] in my time with 5th Grp, but I was there late in the war. Possibly they were used in the very early days when/before transition to modern WW2 weapons."
And as a response to a query by myself that American helicopters in Vietnam, reputedly, from time to time, would return to base with crossbow bolts found sticking in the bottom of the fuselage!
"The yard bows did not have bolts that would penetrate a helos skin [helicopter/Huey UH-1], they were simply made of wood. I doubt any helo ever took a bolt hit/penetration. Surely photos would be available to show the truth of these claims. War stories get better with age."
And this IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT! The collection of montagnard crossbows I have seen have bolts solely made of wooden, no metal tip for penetration! Strictly wood, perhaps fire-hardened?
Thank you Ranger!
As much as I would like it to be so, "taking a knife [crossbow] to a gunfight" is just not the way to go. Even the montagnards would have realized that and listened to their SF advisers!
coolbert.
Civil?
This is coolbert:
From the Chicago Tribune today:
"NATION & WORLD"
"IRELAND"
"British to back IRA victims"
"DUBLIN - - Britain's sudden decision to support a lawsuit against Libya by Irish Republican Army victims raised home Monday that thousands maimed or bereaved by IRA bombs might one day receive compensation."
"Libya admits it shipped hundreds of tons of weaponry to the IRA in the mid 1980's. Lawyers say they expect the regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi to pay $16 million to each person."
Comments:
* "Hundreds of tons of weaponry"! Hundreds of tons is an exaggeration? I have seen reports in the newspapers that tons were probably shipped by the Libyans to the IRA. Including a lot of explosives. Nonetheless, that amount of equipment demonstrates a real commitment by the Libyans and the Colonel to create mayhem within Northern Ireland and England. That the Libyans were so willing to engage in contacts with and aid and abet the IRA to the extent that they did surprises many people?
* This is the novel approach that has been sparingly used by those seeking redress for those "maimed or bereaved" by the IRA [or any terrorist organization for that matter], and doing so by using civil lawsuits rather than criminal prosecutions. The Libyans will have to be shown to have helped to "establish a climate" that led to the terrorist bombings of the IRA! And surely, supplying high explosives [Semtex] is "aiding and abetting", and "helping to establish a climate"!!
* That amount of $16 million each for "thousands" is A LOT by any standard! Exact number of "thousands" is not specified. Two thousand persons "maimed or bereaved" would amount to $32 billion total!
But collecting is a totally separate matter! Winning a settlement in civil court is one thing, collecting is an entirely separate affair.
And all this will be foreign to the Libyan? A concept, suit in civil court, alien to their culture and legal system? The Muslim concept of "blood money" applies here?
The chickens are coming home to roost??!!
coolbert.
From the Chicago Tribune today:
"NATION & WORLD"
"IRELAND"
"British to back IRA victims"
"DUBLIN - - Britain's sudden decision to support a lawsuit against Libya by Irish Republican Army victims raised home Monday that thousands maimed or bereaved by IRA bombs might one day receive compensation."
"Libya admits it shipped hundreds of tons of weaponry to the IRA in the mid 1980's. Lawyers say they expect the regime of Col. Moammar Gadhafi to pay $16 million to each person."
Comments:
* "Hundreds of tons of weaponry"! Hundreds of tons is an exaggeration? I have seen reports in the newspapers that tons were probably shipped by the Libyans to the IRA. Including a lot of explosives. Nonetheless, that amount of equipment demonstrates a real commitment by the Libyans and the Colonel to create mayhem within Northern Ireland and England. That the Libyans were so willing to engage in contacts with and aid and abet the IRA to the extent that they did surprises many people?
* This is the novel approach that has been sparingly used by those seeking redress for those "maimed or bereaved" by the IRA [or any terrorist organization for that matter], and doing so by using civil lawsuits rather than criminal prosecutions. The Libyans will have to be shown to have helped to "establish a climate" that led to the terrorist bombings of the IRA! And surely, supplying high explosives [Semtex] is "aiding and abetting", and "helping to establish a climate"!!
* That amount of $16 million each for "thousands" is A LOT by any standard! Exact number of "thousands" is not specified. Two thousand persons "maimed or bereaved" would amount to $32 billion total!
But collecting is a totally separate matter! Winning a settlement in civil court is one thing, collecting is an entirely separate affair.
And all this will be foreign to the Libyan? A concept, suit in civil court, alien to their culture and legal system? The Muslim concept of "blood money" applies here?
The chickens are coming home to roost??!!
coolbert.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Cure?
This is coolbert:
If this works, this is a breakthrough of the most monumental proportions. All because of the research for a military medical prophylactic!
"Navy Researchers Work on Malaria Vaccine"
"WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2009 – Researchers at the Naval Medical Research Center are testing a malaria vaccine officials hope will protect both troops and civilians in tropical and subtropical regions afflicted by the disease."
"Malaria affects 300 million to 500 million people throughout the world and kills about 1.5 million people per year . . . Malaria caused more lost work days among U.S. military personnel during the 20th century than enemy fire in all conflicts in tropical regions combined"
A vaccine for malaria has been found? Is now in the trial stages? This hold great promise for the MILITARY AND CIVILIAN SECTOR BOTH!!
A recent edition of the National Geographic carried an article dealing with the malaria. Some fantastic figures were bandied about regarding this very old scourge of mankind. Something like half of the humans that have EVER LIVED have either outright died from malaria or where stricken to the extent that their life expectancies were markedly reduced!!
Further comments:
* The British fabled Fourteenth Army of the Arakan in Burma during World War Two [WW2] suffered twelve casualties from tropical diseases for every one combat casualty! A large portion of those casualties were from malaria. Such is the debilitating effect of warfare in the tropics.
Pray that this vaccine works. This is big?
coolbert.
“Every minute, there are about two to three people that will die from malaria in the world,”
If this works, this is a breakthrough of the most monumental proportions. All because of the research for a military medical prophylactic!
"Navy Researchers Work on Malaria Vaccine"
"WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2009 – Researchers at the Naval Medical Research Center are testing a malaria vaccine officials hope will protect both troops and civilians in tropical and subtropical regions afflicted by the disease."
"Malaria affects 300 million to 500 million people throughout the world and kills about 1.5 million people per year . . . Malaria caused more lost work days among U.S. military personnel during the 20th century than enemy fire in all conflicts in tropical regions combined"
A vaccine for malaria has been found? Is now in the trial stages? This hold great promise for the MILITARY AND CIVILIAN SECTOR BOTH!!
A recent edition of the National Geographic carried an article dealing with the malaria. Some fantastic figures were bandied about regarding this very old scourge of mankind. Something like half of the humans that have EVER LIVED have either outright died from malaria or where stricken to the extent that their life expectancies were markedly reduced!!
Further comments:
* The British fabled Fourteenth Army of the Arakan in Burma during World War Two [WW2] suffered twelve casualties from tropical diseases for every one combat casualty! A large portion of those casualties were from malaria. Such is the debilitating effect of warfare in the tropics.
Pray that this vaccine works. This is big?
coolbert.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Arkan.
This is coolbert:
Here is an instance of the criminal become military man. The results catastrophic for all involved.
Željko Ražnatović. Better known by the nom de guerre of Arkan! The leader of a Serb nationalist irregular force [White Tigers] which saw much combat action during the latest series of Balkan wars [Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo]!
"Željko Ražnatović . . . was a Serbian career criminal and later a paramilitary leader who was notable for organizing and leading a paramilitary force in the Yugoslav Wars"
Željko Ražnatović. A man best described as a murderer, rapist, arsonist, pillager, assassin, bank robber, jailbird, purse snatcher!
Željko Ražnatović. A man leading a "military unit" of murderers, rapists, arsonists, pillagers! A "combat unit" comprised of men primarily of Slavic origins - - identifying themselves with the Christian Orthodox faith! Men, White Tigers, also having criminal backgrounds.
[Arkan had strong contacts among the European criminal underworld. The Tigers were primarily but not exclusively Slavic? Arkan could call upon the services of a whole host of villains?]
"Arkan's Tigers, a paramilitary force he created . . . saw action from mid 1991 to late 1995 . . . It is reported that his irregular military unit consisted of up to 10,000 well-trained fighters equipped with modern weapons, including a few tanks and helicopters."
The White Tigers resemble greatly the bashi bazooks of the Ottoman period or the janjaweed of the Darfur conflict? "Troops" engaging in combat with the prospect of becoming rich through pillage?
"Arkan personally led most of war actions, and rewarded his most efficient officers and soldiers with ranks, medals and eventually the products of the lootings."
And "troops" for which the perpetration of atrocity is commonplace and EVEN ENCOURAGED!!
[the White Tigers under the command of Arkan conducted themselves in a manner similar to the chevauchee of Edward the Black Prince!?]
Generally speaking, criminal elements period just DO NOT MAKE GOOD SOLDIERS!! NOT having the desired degree of discipline - - mainly motivated by the most base and evil of all reasons!
As you well might expect, Arkan make a whole lot of enemies based upon his "military service". It was not surprising therefore when Arkan met his fate, at the hands of an assassin. Missed in some quarters, not mourned in others.
Keep in mind that the tradition of the bandit/irregular/guerrilla within the domain of eastern Europe and the Balkans is very strong. Arkan was merely following an ancient tradition that always will be?
coolbert.
"Men who want to wage war without good reason, who seize other
people without prior warning and without any good cause and rob
and steal from them, wound and kill them ... who use arms
(dishonorably) behave like cowards and traitors" - - Geoffroi de Charny
people without prior warning and without any good cause and rob
and steal from them, wound and kill them ... who use arms
(dishonorably) behave like cowards and traitors" - - Geoffroi de Charny
Here is an instance of the criminal become military man. The results catastrophic for all involved.
Željko Ražnatović. Better known by the nom de guerre of Arkan! The leader of a Serb nationalist irregular force [White Tigers] which saw much combat action during the latest series of Balkan wars [Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo]!
"Željko Ražnatović . . . was a Serbian career criminal and later a paramilitary leader who was notable for organizing and leading a paramilitary force in the Yugoslav Wars"
Željko Ražnatović. A man best described as a murderer, rapist, arsonist, pillager, assassin, bank robber, jailbird, purse snatcher!
Željko Ražnatović. A man leading a "military unit" of murderers, rapists, arsonists, pillagers! A "combat unit" comprised of men primarily of Slavic origins - - identifying themselves with the Christian Orthodox faith! Men, White Tigers, also having criminal backgrounds.
[Arkan had strong contacts among the European criminal underworld. The Tigers were primarily but not exclusively Slavic? Arkan could call upon the services of a whole host of villains?]
"Arkan's Tigers, a paramilitary force he created . . . saw action from mid 1991 to late 1995 . . . It is reported that his irregular military unit consisted of up to 10,000 well-trained fighters equipped with modern weapons, including a few tanks and helicopters."
The White Tigers resemble greatly the bashi bazooks of the Ottoman period or the janjaweed of the Darfur conflict? "Troops" engaging in combat with the prospect of becoming rich through pillage?
"Arkan personally led most of war actions, and rewarded his most efficient officers and soldiers with ranks, medals and eventually the products of the lootings."
And "troops" for which the perpetration of atrocity is commonplace and EVEN ENCOURAGED!!
[the White Tigers under the command of Arkan conducted themselves in a manner similar to the chevauchee of Edward the Black Prince!?]
Generally speaking, criminal elements period just DO NOT MAKE GOOD SOLDIERS!! NOT having the desired degree of discipline - - mainly motivated by the most base and evil of all reasons!
As you well might expect, Arkan make a whole lot of enemies based upon his "military service". It was not surprising therefore when Arkan met his fate, at the hands of an assassin. Missed in some quarters, not mourned in others.
Keep in mind that the tradition of the bandit/irregular/guerrilla within the domain of eastern Europe and the Balkans is very strong. Arkan was merely following an ancient tradition that always will be?
coolbert.
Gringo.
This is coolbert:
Here are two more instances of the military man gone bad. Persons best referred to as: "Villainous Company"
1. Master Sergeant Samuel Doe.
"Samuel Kanyon Doe . . . was the President of Liberia from 1980 to 1990. His regime was characterized by ethnically-based dictatorship and the suppression of political opposition"
A minor non-commissioned officer in the Liberian Army, led a coup d' etat [1980] that became known as the Sergeants' Rebellion.
Overthrew the legal and long time established democracy of Liberia, perpetrating from the onset a series of atrocities and executions of the ruling elite, all done with a sadistic cruelty and viciousness almost beyond measure.
"On April 12, 1980, Doe led a military coup . . . Thirteen members of the Cabinet were publicly executed ten days later . . . The early days of the regime were marked by mass executions "
About two dozen of the civilian ruling Liberian elite, stripped to their underwear, tied to poles on the beach, executed by repeated wounding [shooting to bits]. Executions seemingly carried out with relish, a mockery of any civil behavior or judicial process. Barbaric!!
Doe, assuming the "Presidency" of the Liberian state, was noted for his mercurial behavior and manner of dress. Carrying either a sub-machine gun or "boom-box", wearing either an orange jump suit or combat fatigues, ruling in a draconian and despotic manner, feared by all around him.
In the decades following the Sergeants' Rebellion, the entire region of west Africa became politically unstable, beset with a whole series of civil wars - - tribal conflicts - - wars characterized by mass murder, rape, and atrocities of a horrific nature!!
All thanks to Doe.
Doe eventually went the way of most dictators, meeting an especially cruel and grisly death by slow dismemberment. Let us say that Doe was not a liked person!
2. Colonel Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan.
Colonel in the Filipino Army. An up-and-coming young officer with the absolute correct and impeccable combination of talent, education, breeding, and accomplishment.
A man too with aspirations of a much more marked nature. NOT merely content with a high status and position within the Filipino army!
Led a WHOLE SERIES OF FAILED COUP D' ETATS!! Had his sights set as being in charge of the "whole shooting match"!
A military man in the HABIT of hatching plots - - all with the intent of overthrowing the government in power [Marcos, Aquino, Macapagal-Arroyo, etc.]! Colonel Gregorio - - a man engaging in machinations of a unseemly type - - and doing so FOR A PERIOD OF TWO DECADES!!
* "Civil unrest (1970)"
* "People Power (1986)"
* "1986-87 plots"
* "Honasan's Second (1989)"
* "Fall of Estrada (2001)"
* "May 1 riots (2001)"
* "Oakwood mutiny (2003)"
* "State of emergency (2006)"
* "Manila Peninsula rebellion (2007)"
[repeated failure seemed to not deter Gregorio one bit. One plot followed another, Gregorio having benefactors at the highest level of Filipino society! Gregorio did lead and does lead a charmed life!]
Colonel Gregorio has a lot of charisma, "staying-power", and is photogenic? Survived a number of failed coup attempts most successfully - - becoming a Filipino Senator and thriving - - even in adversity!
But still, another example of the military man gone bad!
coolbert.
Here are two more instances of the military man gone bad. Persons best referred to as: "Villainous Company"
1. Master Sergeant Samuel Doe.
"Samuel Kanyon Doe . . . was the President of Liberia from 1980 to 1990. His regime was characterized by ethnically-based dictatorship and the suppression of political opposition"
A minor non-commissioned officer in the Liberian Army, led a coup d' etat [1980] that became known as the Sergeants' Rebellion.
Here are the non-commissioned officers that comprised the Sergeants' Rebellion plotters.
Overthrew the legal and long time established democracy of Liberia, perpetrating from the onset a series of atrocities and executions of the ruling elite, all done with a sadistic cruelty and viciousness almost beyond measure.
"On April 12, 1980, Doe led a military coup . . . Thirteen members of the Cabinet were publicly executed ten days later . . . The early days of the regime were marked by mass executions "
About two dozen of the civilian ruling Liberian elite, stripped to their underwear, tied to poles on the beach, executed by repeated wounding [shooting to bits]. Executions seemingly carried out with relish, a mockery of any civil behavior or judicial process. Barbaric!!
Doe, assuming the "Presidency" of the Liberian state, was noted for his mercurial behavior and manner of dress. Carrying either a sub-machine gun or "boom-box", wearing either an orange jump suit or combat fatigues, ruling in a draconian and despotic manner, feared by all around him.
In the decades following the Sergeants' Rebellion, the entire region of west Africa became politically unstable, beset with a whole series of civil wars - - tribal conflicts - - wars characterized by mass murder, rape, and atrocities of a horrific nature!!
All thanks to Doe.
Doe eventually went the way of most dictators, meeting an especially cruel and grisly death by slow dismemberment. Let us say that Doe was not a liked person!
2. Colonel Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan.
Colonel in the Filipino Army. An up-and-coming young officer with the absolute correct and impeccable combination of talent, education, breeding, and accomplishment.
A man too with aspirations of a much more marked nature. NOT merely content with a high status and position within the Filipino army!
Led a WHOLE SERIES OF FAILED COUP D' ETATS!! Had his sights set as being in charge of the "whole shooting match"!
A military man in the HABIT of hatching plots - - all with the intent of overthrowing the government in power [Marcos, Aquino, Macapagal-Arroyo, etc.]! Colonel Gregorio - - a man engaging in machinations of a unseemly type - - and doing so FOR A PERIOD OF TWO DECADES!!
* "Civil unrest (1970)"
* "People Power (1986)"
* "1986-87 plots"
* "Honasan's Second (1989)"
* "Fall of Estrada (2001)"
* "May 1 riots (2001)"
* "Oakwood mutiny (2003)"
* "State of emergency (2006)"
* "Manila Peninsula rebellion (2007)"
[repeated failure seemed to not deter Gregorio one bit. One plot followed another, Gregorio having benefactors at the highest level of Filipino society! Gregorio did lead and does lead a charmed life!]
Colonel Gregorio has a lot of charisma, "staying-power", and is photogenic? Survived a number of failed coup attempts most successfully - - becoming a Filipino Senator and thriving - - even in adversity!
But still, another example of the military man gone bad!
coolbert.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Use?
This is coolbert:
Here thanks to the astute and observant reader to the blog, Edward, an occurrence of the crossbow as used in modern warfare!
An archaic weapon finding surprising usage!
"British-made crossbows 'used by Serb soldiers'"
"Whitehall [the British foreign office] has launched an investigation into reports that British-manufactured crossbows have been used by Serb soldiers against the Kosovo Liberation Army" [this particular archived entry from the Guardian dated 1999]
"[crossbows] were not covered by export restrictions. 'They are not on the military list,' a spokesman said yesterday."
"the foreign office [British] has asked the department of trade and industry and HM customs to launch an inquiry . . . and whether they should be covered by a European Union or United Nations embargo."
Who would ever think to embargo them? Who would ever think the crossbow would be used in modern warfare?
"crossbows and 'other exotic weapons' were used by Arkan, the Serbian paramilitary leader"
Arkan led the MOST [?] savage of all the Serb paramilitaries in the various Balkan "episodes"! NOT conventional fighters but better termed IRREGULARS, a mercenary-type of para-military organization for which "spoils" were an important part of the fighting. [among the Ottomans, such persons were referred to as bashi-bazooks!]
"Crossbows are believed to be used for hunting deer by poachers in Britain"
Right - - exactly! Crossbows are used in the U.S. ILLEGALLY for hunting! Give the hunter too MUCH of an advantage and are not considered to be "sporting"! BANNED for hunting in most states?
And are DEADLY IN THE EXTREME! A father thinking that giving his son a crossbow as a present and a "quaint" way of amusing the son will rue such a decision, such is the damage the weapon can cause.
Too, I am attempting to find out more concerning those Degar crossbows and combat use of same during the Vietnam conflict!
Thanks again to Edward!!
coolbert.
Here thanks to the astute and observant reader to the blog, Edward, an occurrence of the crossbow as used in modern warfare!
An archaic weapon finding surprising usage!
"British-made crossbows 'used by Serb soldiers'"
"Whitehall [the British foreign office] has launched an investigation into reports that British-manufactured crossbows have been used by Serb soldiers against the Kosovo Liberation Army" [this particular archived entry from the Guardian dated 1999]
"[crossbows] were not covered by export restrictions. 'They are not on the military list,' a spokesman said yesterday."
"the foreign office [British] has asked the department of trade and industry and HM customs to launch an inquiry . . . and whether they should be covered by a European Union or United Nations embargo."
Who would ever think to embargo them? Who would ever think the crossbow would be used in modern warfare?
"crossbows and 'other exotic weapons' were used by Arkan, the Serbian paramilitary leader"
Arkan led the MOST [?] savage of all the Serb paramilitaries in the various Balkan "episodes"! NOT conventional fighters but better termed IRREGULARS, a mercenary-type of para-military organization for which "spoils" were an important part of the fighting. [among the Ottomans, such persons were referred to as bashi-bazooks!]
"Crossbows are believed to be used for hunting deer by poachers in Britain"
Right - - exactly! Crossbows are used in the U.S. ILLEGALLY for hunting! Give the hunter too MUCH of an advantage and are not considered to be "sporting"! BANNED for hunting in most states?
And are DEADLY IN THE EXTREME! A father thinking that giving his son a crossbow as a present and a "quaint" way of amusing the son will rue such a decision, such is the damage the weapon can cause.
Too, I am attempting to find out more concerning those Degar crossbows and combat use of same during the Vietnam conflict!
Thanks again to Edward!!
coolbert.
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