Drafts by Andreas Biermann
This looks like a very interesting conference.
From 1940 to 1943, decisive operations took place... more This looks like a very interesting conference.
From 1940 to 1943, decisive operations took place in North Africa. In this harsh campaign Allied armies confronted German and Italian forces, engaging in decisive battles at Tobruk, at El Alamein, in the waters off Cape Bon or during the Allied landings of November 1942. This conflict left an enduring mark on national memories: Rommel and Montgomery became heroes, even myths. The Free French constructed legends around the exploits of Leclerc and Koenig: the oath of Koufra and the victory of Bir Hakeim. This myth-making had its reverse, however: the supposed weakness of the Italian Army would become an enduring source of mockery and ridicule, while revisionist historians endeavoured to detract from Montgomery's talents and to sideline the importance of El Alamein. If Operation Torch allowed for the liberation of Algeria and Morocco, it struggled to free Tunisia and immobilised the Anglo-American troops in the Mediterranean Theatre, thus delaying Operation Overlord. This project seeks to revitalise the history of the war in the desert by providing a much-needed global perspective on this theatre of operations. National historiographies have certainly done much of the groundwork but they have remained prisoners of their national frameworks and have almost wholly neglected the point of view of the adversary. In addition, this project seeks to transcend the preoccupations of 'traditional' military history. Military operations will certainly be studied: it will be necessary to analyse the nature of the combat and thus to investigate the strategies adopted, the merits of the leaders, the resolve of men and the conduct of the operations. But the project also intends to broaden the investigation beyond the battlefield. It aims at a better understanding of the diplomatic context, such as the relations between Rome and Berlin or the divergences opposing London and Washington. It hopes to cast new light on the colonial dimension of this war by investigating the relations established between colonisers and colonised peoples during wartime and, in particular; by assessing the impact of the intrusion of newcomers (the Germans on the one hand, the Anglo-Americans on the other). This approach will allow for greater reflection on the phenomenon of acculturation aroused by these encounters. It also intends to assess the overall colonial contribution to the war effort (whether voluntary or compelled).
One of the enduring images of the desert war is that of the rapidly advancing Afrikakorps sweepin... more One of the enduring images of the desert war is that of the rapidly advancing Afrikakorps sweeping all before it. This is certainly what happened in April 1941 during the re-conquest of the Cyrenaica and Marmarica provinces of Libya. It led to considerable gains of terrain for the Axis, and losses in men and equipment for the Empire forces. The offensive culminated in the siege of Tobruk. This advance was against clear orders given to Rommel, namely, to await the arrival of 15. Panzerdivision in May 1941 before commencing operations. This was of course of major propaganda value, and it has shaped the image we have of Rommel today, with a victorious German force advancing rapidly, encircling and defeating all Empire forces before them.
The modern assessment of Rommel’s initial offensive is that because it was conducted from an unsound logistical basis, it ultimately doomed the Axis effort in North Africa . This article considers what the situation in North Africa would have been had Rommel adhered to his orders. It is drawing on period documents and participant views.
Papers by Andreas Biermann
Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies, 2021
Operation Crusader took place in the wide context of an integrated, multi-servicetheatre-level of... more Operation Crusader took place in the wide context of an integrated, multi-servicetheatre-level offensive operation in the Western Desert and the Mediterranean fromOctober 1941 through to January 1942. Seen through this lens, Operation Crusader wassimply the Army and the Royal Air Force component of a multi-service theatre-leveloffensive conducted by Allied forces. The operation ended with an almost completedefeat of the Axis troops, the lifting of the seven-month siege of Tobruk and the retreatof the surviving Axis forces to a position on the border of the colonial provinces ofTripolitania and Cyrenaica, in central Libya.Operation Crusader was the first army-level offensive undertaken by the Alliedforces in World War II, lasting from 17 November 1941 to 15 January 1942.355 Theaim of Operation Crusader was to trigger a large-scale tank battle with Axis tank forcesoutside the besieged desert port of Tobruk in Libya, to destroy the Axis armouredforces, and to pave the way to lift the s...
Naval Historical Review, 2021
This is the second installment of an article on Italy's light cruiser force at the start of the w... more This is the second installment of an article on Italy's light cruiser force at the start of the war, focusing on the battle of Cape Spada on 19 July 1940.
During the last years, the electricity supply industry in the UK has undergone significant change... more During the last years, the electricity supply industry in the UK has undergone significant change in a number of its operational arrangements; wholesale trading, access to the industry and its environmental impact. The main change on the wholesale side has been the introduction of the New Electricity Trading Arrangements (NETA). Further change is driven by the UK government's climate change policy, through an increase of obligations on domestic suppliers to support energy efficiency and renewable energy. This developed through a combination of government policy, regulation, and co-operative committee work in which all players in the electricity supply industry co-operate. Academics and representatives from government departments and other actors co-operated to change the institutional arrangements in the electricity supply industry. The model through which the change process is prepared has the following characteristics: • Transparency, • Co-operation, • Explicit government targ...
Naval Historical Review, 2021
This article is the first of a series of two that aim to provide a new perspective on the Battle ... more This article is the first of a series of two that aim to provide a new perspective on the Battle of Cape Spada on Crete’s northern coast on 19 July 1940. Cape Spada was one of the first major naval engagements of the Royal Australian Navy in the Mediterranean in the Second World War, when the light cruiser HMAS Sydney (II), leading a force including five Royal Navy destroyers, engaged the two light cruisers of the Regia Marina’s 2nd Cruiser Division (IIa Divisione), RN Bartolomeo Colleoni and Giovanni delle Bande Nere, sinking the former.
The articles will provide the Italian perspective on this battle. This article will provide background on the genesis, characteristics and employment of the first post-First World War Italian light cruiser force , the 1920s di Giussano -class cruisers, in the run-up to the Second world war in the Mediterranean. The design considerations and weaknesses of the di Giussanos are critical to understand the decision-making of the Italian commander and the outcome of the battle. The second article will describe the battle in detail.
Naval Historical Review, 2021
This article is the first of a series of two that aim to provide a new perspective on the Battle ... more This article is the first of a series of two that aim to provide a new perspective on the Battle of Cape Spada on Crete’s northern coast on 19 July 1940. Cape Spada was one of the first major naval engagements of the Royal Australian Navy in the Mediterranean in the Second World War, when the light cruiser HMAS Sydney (II), leading a force including five Royal Navy destroyers, engaged the two light cruisers of the Regia Marina’s 2nd Cruiser Division (IIa Divisione), RN Bartolomeo Colleoni and Giovanni delle Bande Nere, sinking the former.
The articles will provide the Italian perspective on this battle. This article will provide background on the genesis, characteristics and employment of the first post-First World War Italian light cruiser force , the 1920s di Giussano -class cruisers, in the run-up to the Second world war in the Mediterranean. The design considerations and weaknesses of the di Giussanos are critical to understand the decision-making of the Italian commander and the outcome of the battle. The second article will describe the battle in detail.
Scientia Militaria, 2021
Operation Crusader took place in the wide context of an integrated, multi-service theatre-level o... more Operation Crusader took place in the wide context of an integrated, multi-service theatre-level offensive operation in the Western Desert and the Mediterranean from October 1941 through to January 1942. Seen through this lens, Operation Crusader was simply the Army and the Royal Air Force component of a multi-service theatre-level offensive conducted by Allied forces. The operation ended with an almost complete defeat of the Axis troops, the lifting of the seven-month siege of Tobruk and the retreat of the surviving Axis forces to a position on the border of the colonial provinces of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, in central Libya.
Naval Historical Review of Australia, 2021
The article describes events leading up to the attack by a Royal Navy submarine on an Italian mer... more The article describes events leading up to the attack by a Royal Navy submarine on an Italian merchant vessel called Sebastiano Veniero, carrying ca. 2,000 POWs made in November 1941 the battles at Sidi Rezegh and Tobruk to Italy. It was known in London that Veniero carried POWs, but it appears that this information was not passed on to the Captain of the submarine.
Veniero was beached off Cape Methoni, Greece, and an unknown number of POWs, estimates are up to 500 men, were killed in the attack. The reasons the death toll was not higher were the heroic actions by a South African soldier who was awarded the George Medal, after being liberated from German captivity in 1945, and the actions of a German merchant navy officer who took control and beached Veniero after the Italian crew abandoned ship. It is likely that this unknown officer recommended Friedlander for his award, an unusual event.
The article highlights an often-overlooked aspect of the war in the Mediterranean. It describes new findings based on archival research, including the intercepted ULTRA messages, provides the full background to the story, including how the German officer who was responsible for beaching the ship ended up on Veniero, and introduces the George Medal citation for L/Cpl Friedlander, a forgotten award
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Drafts by Andreas Biermann
From 1940 to 1943, decisive operations took place in North Africa. In this harsh campaign Allied armies confronted German and Italian forces, engaging in decisive battles at Tobruk, at El Alamein, in the waters off Cape Bon or during the Allied landings of November 1942. This conflict left an enduring mark on national memories: Rommel and Montgomery became heroes, even myths. The Free French constructed legends around the exploits of Leclerc and Koenig: the oath of Koufra and the victory of Bir Hakeim. This myth-making had its reverse, however: the supposed weakness of the Italian Army would become an enduring source of mockery and ridicule, while revisionist historians endeavoured to detract from Montgomery's talents and to sideline the importance of El Alamein. If Operation Torch allowed for the liberation of Algeria and Morocco, it struggled to free Tunisia and immobilised the Anglo-American troops in the Mediterranean Theatre, thus delaying Operation Overlord. This project seeks to revitalise the history of the war in the desert by providing a much-needed global perspective on this theatre of operations. National historiographies have certainly done much of the groundwork but they have remained prisoners of their national frameworks and have almost wholly neglected the point of view of the adversary. In addition, this project seeks to transcend the preoccupations of 'traditional' military history. Military operations will certainly be studied: it will be necessary to analyse the nature of the combat and thus to investigate the strategies adopted, the merits of the leaders, the resolve of men and the conduct of the operations. But the project also intends to broaden the investigation beyond the battlefield. It aims at a better understanding of the diplomatic context, such as the relations between Rome and Berlin or the divergences opposing London and Washington. It hopes to cast new light on the colonial dimension of this war by investigating the relations established between colonisers and colonised peoples during wartime and, in particular; by assessing the impact of the intrusion of newcomers (the Germans on the one hand, the Anglo-Americans on the other). This approach will allow for greater reflection on the phenomenon of acculturation aroused by these encounters. It also intends to assess the overall colonial contribution to the war effort (whether voluntary or compelled).
The modern assessment of Rommel’s initial offensive is that because it was conducted from an unsound logistical basis, it ultimately doomed the Axis effort in North Africa . This article considers what the situation in North Africa would have been had Rommel adhered to his orders. It is drawing on period documents and participant views.
Papers by Andreas Biermann
The articles will provide the Italian perspective on this battle. This article will provide background on the genesis, characteristics and employment of the first post-First World War Italian light cruiser force , the 1920s di Giussano -class cruisers, in the run-up to the Second world war in the Mediterranean. The design considerations and weaknesses of the di Giussanos are critical to understand the decision-making of the Italian commander and the outcome of the battle. The second article will describe the battle in detail.
The articles will provide the Italian perspective on this battle. This article will provide background on the genesis, characteristics and employment of the first post-First World War Italian light cruiser force , the 1920s di Giussano -class cruisers, in the run-up to the Second world war in the Mediterranean. The design considerations and weaknesses of the di Giussanos are critical to understand the decision-making of the Italian commander and the outcome of the battle. The second article will describe the battle in detail.
Veniero was beached off Cape Methoni, Greece, and an unknown number of POWs, estimates are up to 500 men, were killed in the attack. The reasons the death toll was not higher were the heroic actions by a South African soldier who was awarded the George Medal, after being liberated from German captivity in 1945, and the actions of a German merchant navy officer who took control and beached Veniero after the Italian crew abandoned ship. It is likely that this unknown officer recommended Friedlander for his award, an unusual event.
The article highlights an often-overlooked aspect of the war in the Mediterranean. It describes new findings based on archival research, including the intercepted ULTRA messages, provides the full background to the story, including how the German officer who was responsible for beaching the ship ended up on Veniero, and introduces the George Medal citation for L/Cpl Friedlander, a forgotten award
From 1940 to 1943, decisive operations took place in North Africa. In this harsh campaign Allied armies confronted German and Italian forces, engaging in decisive battles at Tobruk, at El Alamein, in the waters off Cape Bon or during the Allied landings of November 1942. This conflict left an enduring mark on national memories: Rommel and Montgomery became heroes, even myths. The Free French constructed legends around the exploits of Leclerc and Koenig: the oath of Koufra and the victory of Bir Hakeim. This myth-making had its reverse, however: the supposed weakness of the Italian Army would become an enduring source of mockery and ridicule, while revisionist historians endeavoured to detract from Montgomery's talents and to sideline the importance of El Alamein. If Operation Torch allowed for the liberation of Algeria and Morocco, it struggled to free Tunisia and immobilised the Anglo-American troops in the Mediterranean Theatre, thus delaying Operation Overlord. This project seeks to revitalise the history of the war in the desert by providing a much-needed global perspective on this theatre of operations. National historiographies have certainly done much of the groundwork but they have remained prisoners of their national frameworks and have almost wholly neglected the point of view of the adversary. In addition, this project seeks to transcend the preoccupations of 'traditional' military history. Military operations will certainly be studied: it will be necessary to analyse the nature of the combat and thus to investigate the strategies adopted, the merits of the leaders, the resolve of men and the conduct of the operations. But the project also intends to broaden the investigation beyond the battlefield. It aims at a better understanding of the diplomatic context, such as the relations between Rome and Berlin or the divergences opposing London and Washington. It hopes to cast new light on the colonial dimension of this war by investigating the relations established between colonisers and colonised peoples during wartime and, in particular; by assessing the impact of the intrusion of newcomers (the Germans on the one hand, the Anglo-Americans on the other). This approach will allow for greater reflection on the phenomenon of acculturation aroused by these encounters. It also intends to assess the overall colonial contribution to the war effort (whether voluntary or compelled).
The modern assessment of Rommel’s initial offensive is that because it was conducted from an unsound logistical basis, it ultimately doomed the Axis effort in North Africa . This article considers what the situation in North Africa would have been had Rommel adhered to his orders. It is drawing on period documents and participant views.
The articles will provide the Italian perspective on this battle. This article will provide background on the genesis, characteristics and employment of the first post-First World War Italian light cruiser force , the 1920s di Giussano -class cruisers, in the run-up to the Second world war in the Mediterranean. The design considerations and weaknesses of the di Giussanos are critical to understand the decision-making of the Italian commander and the outcome of the battle. The second article will describe the battle in detail.
The articles will provide the Italian perspective on this battle. This article will provide background on the genesis, characteristics and employment of the first post-First World War Italian light cruiser force , the 1920s di Giussano -class cruisers, in the run-up to the Second world war in the Mediterranean. The design considerations and weaknesses of the di Giussanos are critical to understand the decision-making of the Italian commander and the outcome of the battle. The second article will describe the battle in detail.
Veniero was beached off Cape Methoni, Greece, and an unknown number of POWs, estimates are up to 500 men, were killed in the attack. The reasons the death toll was not higher were the heroic actions by a South African soldier who was awarded the George Medal, after being liberated from German captivity in 1945, and the actions of a German merchant navy officer who took control and beached Veniero after the Italian crew abandoned ship. It is likely that this unknown officer recommended Friedlander for his award, an unusual event.
The article highlights an often-overlooked aspect of the war in the Mediterranean. It describes new findings based on archival research, including the intercepted ULTRA messages, provides the full background to the story, including how the German officer who was responsible for beaching the ship ended up on Veniero, and introduces the George Medal citation for L/Cpl Friedlander, a forgotten award