XVIII Military History Carnival

XVIII Military History Carnival

Ladies and gentlemen, old friends and new acquaintances, august peers: it is both a privilege and a pleasure to present this month’s Military History Carnival.  For me – as the first time I’ve played host to one of these things – it’s been an informative and enjoyable experience; and it’s certainly opened my eyes to what the blogosphere has to offer.  Besides this, it’s kept up the impression that I’m actually doing something, when in fact it’s all you lovely submitters out there who have done the work for me.

So, without further ado, to la Carnivale.

First of all we have the posts which I mentally compartmentalised as the ‘personal’ or ‘family’ section (being both male and a history student, categorising is inherent…).  The first, and my favourite, is from the Trials of Penelope: in this post, Penelope talks about her family’s connection to the military from generation to generation.  From the Family Travel Guide we have a travelogue describing a trip to Flanders’ fields, a moving and educational experience even for young children.  The Intrepid Band has some great tips on how to trace ancestors or relatives who were wartime nurses.  To round off this section, Philobiblon has this post discussing the lives of women whose main prospect, to get married, was shattered by the losses of the First World War.

It seems that October is a good month for anniversaries (it’s the anniversary of the battle of Edgehill, 1642, in three days – might have to rustle something up for that!), and we’ve got a fair few for the carnival.  Gavin Robinson has commemorated breaking the Hindenburg Line, a World War I action that deserves more attention.  A new blog in the ’sphere, Wacht Am Tyne, has got this post dedicated to the flight of the first British aircraft, and thinks about how things have changed since then, while Finding Dulcinea remembers the simply incredible bravery of Witold Pilecki, who allowed himself to be arrested in order to infiltrate Auschwitz.  Lastly, there’s an experiment from Airminded in ‘Post-Blogging the Sudeten Crisis’: he’s posted newspaper articles, day-by-day, to give an idea of how the public might have seen it all unfold.

This paragraph is what you could call, if you wanted to, the more ‘standard’ military history, and it’s roughly arranged in order of period.  So, furthest back, Gabrielle Campbell has a post about Hardenburg Castle, complete with stunning photos.  Nick at Mercurius Politicus has been thinking on the violent response in Cirencester to the King’s attempt to raise troops at the start of the English Civil War.  For that other well-known Civil War we’ve got a couple of submissions: Walking the Berkshires has this post about the careers of various ‘Free Men of Colour’, while Beatonna has a humorous tour of Gettysburg’s monuments, including pictures.  From a similar timeframe, the Battlefield Biker has an interview with Mike Bunn and Clay Williams, authors of a new book on the Creek War of 1812. Lastly, and of the calibre we’ve come to expect from Alex Clark’s Military History and Warfare blog, there’s this post discussing the evolution of American ‘sky cavalry’: with a couple of pictures thrown in as well.

Despite all my valiant efforts, I couldn’t quite compartmentalise these posts, so they’re in the ‘Interesting Other’ section.  An Armchair General’s Diary takes a look at the Babad Tanah Jawi, a piece of traditional Indonesian literature, and the way it deals with the invulnerability of heroes.  Lastly is a post which I suppose should have been disqualified on grounds of tenuousness (it’s about rockets – the military have used rockets in history…) but I liked it so much that I thought I could sneak it in.  It’s only small: take a quick look, I’ll leave it as a surprise.

Well, that appears to be everything.  Thanks to everyone who sent in submissions, and apologies to those who I did disqualify: I promise that I tried not to be arbitrary!  Details on the next Carnival are yet to be announced as a host for November is still needed.  If you fancy the job, get on over to Investigations of a Dog and get in touch with Gavin, our dear organiser.