This Week (or so) in History

I was thinking about this week and pulled a few items to share.

October 2, 1861 - Springfield Station, Virginia
On October 2nd, 800 men of Newton’s Brigade advanced on Springfield Station Virginia. They were under orders from Brigadier General Franklin. Colonel Pratt of the 31st NY Volunteers was in command of the expedition. They were sent to gather wood. There they encountered some Confederate skirmishers, which they drove from the town with no losses. While they were in the town, they successfully withdrew thirty-two carloads of wood from the Springfield Station area. The Union forces advanced a train along the tracks to Springfield Station to load the wood and then the entire force and train pulled back with the troops along to Union lines with no loss of life. (Taken from The Coming Thunder, pg 55)

October 3, 1941 - Ukraine
SottoTenente Nicola Rossi, of the CSIR, volunteered for a mission to track down and engage one of the few units of partisan units that were operating out of Zaukepske, Ukraine. In the day, the SottoTenente Rossi was able to capture the partisan unit and earned a medal for his action. (Taken from In the Name of Roma, pg. 30).

The area of the Ukraine that the CSIR operated in during 1941 was a hotbed of Ukrainian nationalism. There were few partisans to be found at all. Locals were far more willing to sell out the few that attempted to operate. It is from this area, that the Germans were able to recruit a large number of Ukrainians to serve the Wehrmacht and in the German administration of the Ukraine.

October 7, 1941 - Ukraine
By the 7th of October, the 80th Roma Regiment reaches Pavlograd. The II/80o met up with the LXIII CCNN Legion on F. Woltschja. The LXIII CCNN Legion that was operating on the Eastern Front was without automatic weapons. They were only equipped with bolt action rifles even as late as November 1941. The Legion was a battalion sized force. Unlike the German SS, the CCNN was not equipped with the newest and best equipment Italy had to offer. In many cases, these troops had less equipment than their regular army counterparts. (ibid)

October 7, 1861 - Northern Virginia
On October 7th, James Longstreet was promoted to Major General. He was given command over a division that included his former Brigade. (Taken from The Coming Thunder, pg 58)

October 8, 1940 – The Bir Enba Gap
In the morning, a concentration of British armored vehicles from the 11th Hussars was discovered near Bir el Khamsa which is south of Sidi Barrani. An attack was planned by 159a Squadriglia with their Breada Ba.65 dive bombers. These aircraft were escorted by nine Cr.32 fighters from the 160a Squadriglia. They discovered a single troop of vehicles. These vehicles included a pair of Rolls Royce armored cars and a single Morris CS9/LAC armored car. (Taken from The Falcon and the Gladiator, pg 61)

October 9th, 1941 - Ukraine
On October 9th, the Italians are supporting the German attack on the Pavlograd attack. The 80th Roma regiment and the LXIII CCNN continue forward and seize a bridge that the Soviets were preparing to destroy. The bridge was captured. However, the units came under heavy artillery fire and two men were killed and another seven wounded. The bulk of the casualties were suffered by the black shirts. In addition, more Blackshirts and some Bersaglieri pressed forward and crossed the Volchya River to enter Pavlograd from the West. This completed the occupation of the town.(Taken from In the Name of Roma, pg. 30)

These and many more scenarios can but gotten here or now at Wargame Vault.