The Fog of War and Man's Inhumanity to Man

 The flight from Travis Air Force Base near Oakland, California, to Bien Hoa Air Base in South Vietnam was one of the longest I had ever experienced. The journey lasted eighteen flight hours.  Our airplane was a Continental Airlines charter with a full load of U.S. soldiers (about 300).  Along the way, the plane made two scheduled stops: the first in Hawaii, and the second at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. Bien Hoa Air Base is located about a half hour north of Saigon. 

 

As we were approaching our landing at Bien Hoa I could see flashes of what appeared to be artillery fire to the right of the airplane.  Soon after landing we were rushed into an Isuzu bus and driven to the St. George Hotel in the Cholon section of Saigon.  This was May of 1968 during the Viet Cong Tet Offensive.  Fighting on Saigon city streets was in progress as we approached Cholon.  The sound of helicopters overhead and the noise of combat was surreal.  As we were led into the hotel, I noticed a fellow soldier take out his cassette recorder and record the sound of battle.  I asked him what he was going to do with it and he said that he would send it to his parents. I did not ask any further questions.  As we settled in the hotel, Australian soldiers were drinking at the bar on the first floor of the hotel.  

After a couple of days in Saigon, and duty at Tan Son Nhat Airport I finally reached my duty station, First Field Force, Headquarters II Corps in Nha Trang, on the central coast of South Vietnam just north of Cam Ran Bay.  Upon arriving at Camp McDermott, a U.S. Army base, I saw a sign that read:  “Even though I walk in the Valley of the shadow of evil, I fear no evil for I am the evilest son of a bitch in the valley “(a bad reference to Psalm 23).  Welcome to a new world, I thought, where there is a different moral compass.  As I discovered later, in some cases there was no compass at all. An example was the My Lai Massacre, where about 500 Vietnamese civilians were killed by U.S. soldiers.  Lieutenant William Calley was Court Martialed and convicted but spent less than three years of “house arrest” and his sentence commuted by President Nixon.  Wars do this to men in battle; some lose all contact with their moral compass.  In a recent book on the invasion of Sicily in 1943 called “Sicily ‘43” by James Holland, it describes at least two occasions when American soldier executed captured Italian prisoners.  None of the soldiers faced any discipline. 

 

In World War II, the Nazis and the Russians and perhaps the Japanese were the most brutal.  First prize would go to the Nazis and the Russians.  The Nazi invasion of Russia was murderous.  The Nazis just killed everyone they encountered and had no hesitation about it.  The Russians were brutal beyond belief.  They would kill their own soldiers who had been captured and managed to return.  Russian commanders would order suicidal frontal assaults, and any Russian soldier who hesitated, was shot by his own men.  Russian prisoners of war were killed or starved to death.  It is estimated that between 350,000 and 1,000,000 German prisoners of war died in captivity. Another estimated 50,000 Italian Russian prisoners of war died in captivity.  Man’s inhumanity to man has no bounds and war makes men abandon any moral compass.

 

For more reading on this and related topic, see the following:

1. Sicily ’43, James Holland

2. Leningrad State of Siege, Michael Jones

3. Kiev 1941, David Stahel

4. Stalingrad, Anthony Beevor

The Times They Are A-Changin

"Come mothers and fathers Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'”

 

Bob Dylan wrote these words in his great song, The Times They Are A-Changin in 1964, when he was in his late teens.  Every generation has come up with some sort of the “Times They are a Changing.”  Nearly every generation thinks their ideas are superior to their parents.  Dylan’s song was a masterpiece as well as a big hit.  I love the song.  But let’s look at it a little closer.  Is change good?  Depends on what you want to change.  Certainly, the prejudice of Dylan's times against black Americans needed changing.  Prejudice against any group is always bad and needs changing.  Dylan did not say what the change was; he left it open and perhaps on purpose.  

 

If you grew up in the 1950s things were certainly different than today, but then nothing ever stays the same.  There was bad and there was good.  What was good?  The 1950s Los Angeles, for example, was Mayberry compared to today.  Very little crime, you could walk, take public transportation safely for the most part.  I do not remember any gangs, drive-by shootings, car-jackings, or the like. The above lyrics of the song admonishes parents about not criticizing what they don’t understand.  Really?  This is a very subjective point of view.  Perhaps they did understand.  Bill Maher has an interesting video on Instagram about the “Trad dad” the traditional dad who told you that “because I said so” is a good reason for you to do it.  Today, modern parenting has been reversed.  Children are in command.  Jordan Peterson also has a video on Instagram about not doing something for your kids that they could do for themselves.

 

In the 1950s, if you wanted a car, or a bicycle, for example, you got a job saved money and bought one yourself. Today, mom or dad will buy it for you.  Parents today are their kid’s friend, not necessarily their parent.  A friend of mine told me about what he told his two sons when they were young: “I’m your dad, not your friend.”  Both grew up self-reliant and very successful.  

 

In the 1960s we had changes for sure:  Drugs became rampant, rebellion was a right of passage, crime increased. We had the Vietnam War, riots in the major cities, three major assassinations, President Kennedy, Martin Luther king and Bobby Kennedy.  Was change good? 

The Tragedy of the Italian Army in Russia. The Fate of 250,000 Soldiers on the Frozen Russian Steppe During World War II

 

Introduction

One of the lesser known but profoundly tragic episodes of World War II was the fate of approximately 250,000 Italian soldiers who were sent to fight on the Eastern Front in Russia. This deployment, ordered by Benito Mussolini in support of Nazi Germany, resulted in catastrophic losses and immense suffering, as the Italian Army faced the brutal Russian winter and the relentless advance of the Soviet forces.

The Context: Italy's Involvement in the Eastern Front

When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Mussolini was eager to demonstrate Italy’s commitment to the Axis cause. Despite Italy’s limited resources and the unsuitability of its army for the harsh conditions, he sent the Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia (Corpo di Spedizione Italiano in Russia, or CSIR), which later expanded to the Italian Army in Russia (Armata Italiana in Russia, or ARMIR). By 1942, Italian forces numbered over 250,000 men.

The Challenges of the Russian Campaign

The Italian soldiers were ill-prepared for the Russian climate. They lacked adequate winter clothing, modern weapons, and logistical support. The Russians had tanks, the Italians had mules. The Russian steppe, with its vast distances and freezing temperatures that could plunge below -30°F (-34°C), proved to be a deadly adversary. Disease, frostbite, and malnutrition became as formidable as the enemy’s bullets. The Soviets waited them out until they were at their weakest point then destroyed them with brutal frontal assaults.

The Soviet Offensive and the Collapse of the ARMIR

In the winter of 1942–1943, the Soviets launched Operation Little Saturn, which targeted the Italian, Hungarian, and Romanian armies holding the flanks of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad. The Italian Army was quickly overwhelmed. Soviet armor and infantry broke through the thinly stretched lines, and the Italians, lacking anti-tank weapons and air support, were forced into a desperate retreat.

The Retreat: Suffering and Loss

The retreat from the Don River, often referred to as the "Ritirata," became a story of unimaginable hardship. Italian soldiers, many suffering from frostbite, wounds, and starvation, marched hundreds of miles through snow and ice, pursued by Soviet forces. The lack of transport, food, and medical supplies led to mass casualties. Thousands were captured and sent to Soviet prison camps, where the chances of survival were minimal.

 

In the last several weeks Italian Facebook sites have posted the anniversary of this complete and utter military disaster.  One story retold the story of how the German commander met with his Italian counterpart and ordered him not to retreat and fight to the death.  The Italian commander reminded the German that he had no tanks nor weapons to defend against the well-armed Soviets.  The German smirked and told him that was his problem.  The Italians were assigned to defend open ground without a hill in sight.  Of the 250,000 Italian soldiers sent to Russia, 90% did not return.

 

In the annals of military annihilation this one must be one of the most devastating and the most insane.  Tyrants don’t care how many men they lose.  Certainly, the Russians did not care how many men they lost either.  This is a damming testament to the rule of tyrants.  We still have them today.  Vladimir Putin does not care how many soldiers he loses in Ukraine.  He cares only for his glory.  This is the madness of war.

 

For a good eye witness testimony of what the Italian Army went through, read the first person account of Italian soldier Mario Rigoni Stern in his book “The Sergeant in the Snow