The Sandbag Times Issue No: 45

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SBT NEWSDESK With Jim Wilde Greetings folks, It has been almost 2 months since we started the Daily News Updates by way of podcasts, and they seem to have taken off really well. The feedback has been very positive, and the listening/ viewing figures have reflected that, and have continued to rise. Our focus is to bring you the latest news, as and when it happens, and in multiple formats to enable everyone to share the content whether it be on PC, Mac, Mobile or Tablet. We are happy that this is now a stable platform, and is responsive, and not processor hungry. The next move, is to couple the audio submissions with a Video News Update, with discussion topics, which will involve you, the reader/listener. There are many Veterans and Military sites on the web, all doing what they can to keep the issues that matter in the public eye. Because of the widespread nature of these sites, our target is to bring all these sites together in a United Veterans Forum, and share the load and information. By doing this, posts like Missing Veterans, and Suicide Awareness, will be circulated much more expediently, and hitting a wider audience, therefore having a better chance of success. Over the next few weeks, we will be working with the various Admins on these sites with a view to centralising and pooling our resources to enable a more effective distribution of information. In order to do this, we will, of course, require your help by way of feedback, and suggestions that can benefit us all. If there is anything you think that can be changed/modified to better the system, then please contact us on the emails given below. As always, you continued support is very important to us, therefore, if you have any news stories, pictures etc that you think are worthy of inclusion, make sure you get them to us as quick as you can. You can do that by contacting any one of us here at the magazine. Pablo@Sandbagtimes.com, Jane@Sandbagtimes.com, Jim@Sandbagtimes.com, or to the general account - info@Sandbagtimes.com. Thank you as always, and we look forward to hearing from you soon. Walk The Mile Walk The Mile Walk The Mile Walk The Mile Walk The Mile | 8 www.sandbagtimes.co.uk
The Historical Tommy Atkins The Beginning of The End Written By Peter Macey July 1918 was famous for a number of worthy news items but also two major world changing events. Although at the time they might have gone unnoticed and certainly one was kept a deep dark secret for many years, the truth of which was only discovered in the 1980s, some 70 years on from what happened, they were nonetheless world changing. On 15th July the German Army started an offensive on the Western Front near to the River Marne in France. What would become known as the Second Battle of the Marne would prove to be the last offensive by the Germans and unbeknown to anyone at the start of the battle would prove to turn the war in the Allies favour, and the Great War would finish just over three months later. On the morning of 15th July twenty three German divisions assaulted the French positions near to the Marne. This was a rash attempt to make an impact without the realisation that the French Army, due to the attachment of the American 42nd Division now heavily outnumbered the German front in every capacity of manpower, tanks and artillery. The hope of the advancing Germans was to split the French Army into two parts and counter each in turn. East of Reims the French Fourth Army had prepared a defence in-depth to counter any bombardment and infiltrating infantry. Their main line of resistance was around two miles behind the front and beyond the range of the enemy field guns. The French gun line behind the front was lightly manned, but the remaining guns fired frequently, so the Germans did not detect its weakness from rate of firing although aerial intelligence told them otherwise but was ignored. But the counter-intelligence gained by the French was not ignored and so when the attack came, the French and American armies were well prepared for any ‘surprise’ attack. The German bombardment was scheduled for 12:10. The French opened fire on the German assault trenches at 11:30. When the Germans finally opened fire they pounded the almost empty French front line. The attackers moved easily through the French front line but this advance meant the infantry moving far more quickly than the support armour and artillery. They were ordered to stop and rest while the other parts of the attack played catch up. Early the following day the Germans were stopped by accurate fire by the bulk of the French artillery. They tried to advance again at noon, but failed. Meanwhile in the west on the south bank of the Marne the Americans had to hold the river bank by enduring an intense three hour bombardment, including many gas shells. Under this cover Germans stormtroopers swarmed across the river in every sort of transport—including canvas boats and rafts. They erected skeleton bridges at 12 points under fire from the Allied survivors. Some Allied units, held fast or counter-attacked, but by evening, the Germans had captured a bridgehead 4 miles deep and 9 miles wide. Despite the aerial intervention of 225 French bombers, dropping 40 tons of bombs on the makeshift bridges, the German commander on the ground, Ludendorff regarded their advance as “the very pinnacle of military victory”. Then the French were reinforced by the British XXII Corps and 85,000 American troops. The German advance stalled completely, two days after it had started. The German failure to break through allowed Foch, the Allied Supreme Commander to proceed with the planned major counteroffensive which started on 18th July. Some twenty four French divisions, and two US divisions under French command, joined by other Allied troops, including eight large American divisions and 350 tanks attacked the recently formed German stronghold. This was the beginning of the end. The Germans ordered a retreat on 20 July and were forced back to the positions from which they had started their Spring Offensives. On 1st August, French and British divisions renewed their attack, advancing to a depth of nearly 5 miles. The Allied counter-attack came to a halt out on 6th August in the face of the German defences. But by this stage the German stronghold had been reduced and the Armies forced back by 28 miles. The German defeat marked the start of almost unstoppable advance by the Allies which culminated in the Armistice around 100 days later. In early July in Russia, the allies were supporting the White Russians who were still defending the Eastern Front. The Bolsheviks who now formed the Government within Russia had withdrawn from the War to concentrate on creating a communist state. But the contingent of non conforming Russians were still fighting for freedom and now supported by the allies in their attempts to defend their homeland although most of the German divisions had been moved from the East to attack the Western Front. But there would be a final act or authority by the Bolsheviks, under the command of Lenin, who had come to power following the revolution in October the year before, the former leader of all of Russia. In the early hours of the morning of 17th July the Tzar Nicholas II and his entire family, including his wife Alexandra and their five children; Olga, Maria, Tatiana, Anastasia and Alexie, were executed in the basement of Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, where they had been held prisoner for some months. The deaths of the former Royal family which marked the end of the Romanov dynasty was believed to have been carried out following a direct order from Lenin. The deaths were denied by the Bolshevik Government until 1926 when it was suggested they had been killed by elements of the White Russians or left wing. The burial ground of the family was discovered by an amateur sleuth in 1979. In 1981 the whole family were canonized as Saints and declared Martyrs and Passion Bearers by the Russian Orthadox Church Abroad. The site of their execution is now beneath the altar of the Church On Blood. Were your relatives involved in the Second Battle of Marne? If so we would like to hear from you. Please write into SBT or contact us at Forgotten Veterans UK (FVUK). www.sandbagtimes.co.uk 9 |
Page 1: The Veterans’ Magazine Issue 45 |
Page 4 and 5: NEWS THE VETERANS’ MAGAZINE SBT N
Page 6 and 7: NEWS THE VETERANS’ MAGAZINE SBT N
Page 10 and 11: The RWD Subaru’s of Sutton and Su
Page 14 and 15: The Tommy Atkins Centre Tommy Atkin
Page 16 and 17: VETERANS RAFFLE The Raffle That Is
Page 19 and 20: FROM FORCES TO FRANCHISING WITH CHI
Page 21 and 22: UNION JACK CLUB www.sandbagtimes.co
Page 23 and 24: HAVE FAITH Walk A Mile In My Shoes.
Page 25 and 26: THE HEROPRENEURS AWARDS Kevin Snead
Page 27: BOMBER COMMAND CENTRE turn the tide
Page 30 and 31: SBT Supporting AFVBC.net Armed Forc
Page 32 and 33: Information A word from the Ed Hi f
Page 34 and 35: MRS FOX GOES TO WAR Mrs Fox Goes To
Page 36 and 37: Poetry Corner On reaching the top o
Page 38: All things counter, original, spare

The Sandbag Times Issue No: 45

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