Most forgotten military campaigns

Melvin Loh · Jul 31, 2004

Which campaigns of the 2 world wars and other conflicts do you guys reckon are the most forgotten (due esp with the focus on other more strategically significant or geographically prominent campaigns elsewhere, such as the Western Front and Normandy overshadowing everything else), and how do y'all reckon this could be redressed in terms of new PODs, etc ?

My choices:
WWI- the Balkans, the Isonzo front, von Lettow Vorbeck's East African campaign + in the Australian context, the little-known Australian capture of German Papua in 1914 prior to the Gallipoli landings

WWII- Italy 1944-45, Burma with Slim and the 14th Army, the Australian mopping-up campaigns in Papua and New Guinea during 1943-45, Red Army offensives during 1944-45, esp BAGRATION, IJA atrocities continuing in China

Dave Howery · Jul 31, 2004

the US/UK intervention in Russia during WW1 is my pick.... few people in the US know about it, although, supposedly, the Russians taught it to their children during the Cold War as one of the the decadent west's dastardly deeds to strangle the glorious uprising yadda yadda yadda.....

Weapon M · Jul 31, 2004

There was a unit from the Detroit area, I think the 31st Inf regt, that fought at Arkangel in 1917-18. They became known as "The Polar Bears" and there is a tribute to them at the polar bear exhibit at The Detroit Zoo.

WngMasterD · Jul 31, 2004

Id say the Coast Guards involvment in Any war is pretty much unknown. That or the Canadians involvment

fhaessig · Jul 31, 2004

WWI, I'd say the belgian gun-car involvement in Russia.

WWII : depends on who you talk to. For US, I'd say Normandie-Niemen ;-)

( or any FFL involvment, really ).

Redbeard · Jul 31, 2004

This is not meant as an insult to all my Anglo-Saxon friends, but it appears like any campaign without Anglo-Saxon participation is largely forgotten.

Regarding WWI I especially agree about the Isonzo front being very overlooked, but also the Balkans and the whole Eastern Front.

WWII should really be seen as the Eastern Front with a number of only dependently significant sideshows.

If the question is not on focus related to significance, but simply "most forgotten" the winner must be some campaign which everyone now has forgotten and which therefore can't be indentified anylonger, it's something like "how many undiscovered islands are there on the seas?"

Regards

Steffen Redbeard

Grey Wolf · Jul 31, 2004

In terms of major fronts, IMHO WW1 probably Salonika and maybe WW2 things such as Greece, Tunisia etc

Then again, maybe the latter is more known in America than here ?

Grey Wolf

Weapon M · Jul 31, 2004

Grey Wolf said:
In terms of major fronts, IMHO WW1 probably Salonika and maybe WW2 things such as Greece, Tunisia etc

Then again, maybe the latter is more known in America than here ?

Grey Wolf

Well, the information is readily available for those who are interested, like us, but for the most part, isn't really taught in school. So basically, the people who want to be aware of these things can look them up and learn about them, but the "average" American is too busy watching MTV (hey did you see the new Hilary and Hailie Duff video? OMG it is HOT), and drinking Miller Lite to care about history. That's kind of sad, but we can't really MAKE anyone care, can we?

Archangel Michael · Jul 31, 2004

Weapon M said:
Well, the information is readily available for those who are interested, like us, but for the most part, isn't really taught in school. So basically, the people who want to be aware of these things can look them up and learn about them, but the "average" American is too busy watching MTV (hey did you see the new Hilary and Hailie Duff video? OMG it is HOT), and drinking Miller Lite to care about history. That's kind of sad, but we can't really MAKE anyone care, can we?

As I am righting this, I have MTV on my television listening to it.

DMA · Jul 31, 2004

Any war by Europeans & Americans against all indiginous People around the globe.

Now we may know a lot about the wars against the American Indians, & similarly the Zulu War has been remembered in movies, yet I'd say no-one, but for a number of New Zealanders, might know of the British vs Maori wars. Similarly only a few Australians might know of the wars against the Australian Aboriginals (the Bathurst War being the largest).

I'm sure that there are many other examples of wars against indiginous Peoples that have been long forgotten.

gtrof · Jul 31, 2004

The US efforts in Latin America in the early 1900s and the chasing of Pancho Villa into Mexico. Last time the US soldier went to war without a gas mask and on horseback (Except for the US Special Forces who used horses quite exstenivly in Afganstain).

gtrof · Jul 31, 2004

The US efforts in Latin America in the early 1900s and the chasing of Pancho Villa into Mexico. Last time the US soldier went to war without a gas mask and on horseback (Except for the US Special Forces who used horses quite exstenivly in Afganstain).

aktarian · Aug 1, 2004

WngMasterD said:
That or the Canadians involvment

coughDieppecough

WW2

Most of SE Asia, Soviet advance into Manchuria, Operation Mars, battle of Narva, Yugoslav resistance (outside Yugoslavia, that is), UK-Vichy France fighting (Syria, central Africa, Madagascar), Winter war

post-WW2

Chinese civil war, 1956 tripple attack on Egypt, Indo-Pak wars, Iran-Iraq war, Egypt-Libya war/skirmish, Libyan adventure in Chad, SAR actions in Namibia and their involvement in Angola, various (civil) wars in Africa, various wars in Latin America (including UK's involvement there), Sino-Vietnamese war, Vietnamese intervention in Cambodia, Sri Lankan civil war and Indian peacekeeping operation turned bloody, UK's involvement in Yemen, Oman, Malaysia...., 1970 Black September, Yemenese civil war, Spanish actions in W Sahara

Grey Wolf · Aug 1, 2004

DMA said:
Any war by Europeans & Americans against all indiginous People around the globe.

Now we may know a lot about the wars against the American Indians, & similarly the Zulu War has been remembered in movies, yet I'd say no-one, but for a number of New Zealanders, might know of the British vs Maori wars. Similarly only a few Australians might know of the wars against the Australian Aboriginals (the Bathurst War being the largest).

I'm sure that there are many other examples of wars against indiginous Peoples that have been long forgotten.

The Wargames Foundry has many articles, and some excellent books covering all oif this. I would of course admit that until I bought the books and downloaded the articles I was probably ignorant of a lot of it.

http://www.wargamesfoundry.com

Grey Wolf

DMA · Aug 1, 2004

Grey Wolf said:
The Wargames Foundry has many articles, and some excellent books covering all oif this. I would of course admit that until I bought the books and downloaded the articles I was probably ignorant of a lot of it.

http://www.wargamesfoundry.com

Grey Wolf

Interesting. Thanks Grey Wolf!

Evil_evol · Aug 1, 2004

Melvin Loh said:
Which campaigns of the 2 world wars and other conflicts do you guys reckon are the most forgotten (due esp with the focus on other more strategically significant or geographically prominent campaigns elsewhere, such as the Western Front and Normandy overshadowing everything else), and how do y'all reckon this could be redressed in terms of new PODs, etc ?

My choices:
WWI- the Balkans, the Isonzo front, von Lettow Vorbeck's East African campaign + in the Australian context, the little-known Australian capture of German Papua in 1914 prior to the Gallipoli landings

WWII- Italy 1944-45, Burma with Slim and the 14th Army, the Australian mopping-up campaigns in Papua and New Guinea during 1943-45, Red Army offensives during 1944-45, esp BAGRATION, IJA atrocities continuing in China

The invasion of Iran in 1941.

Steffen · Aug 1, 2004

Swiss civil war in 1847. "Sonderbundskrieg". Although, with not 150 dead, they call it slow news week in Irak.

Michael · Aug 1, 2004

DMA said:
Any war by Europeans & Americans against all indiginous People around the globe.

Now we may know a lot about the wars against the American Indians, & similarly the Zulu War has been remembered in movies, yet I'd say no-one, but for a number of New Zealanders, might know of the British vs Maori wars. Similarly only a few Australians might know of the wars against the Australian Aboriginals (the Bathurst War being the largest).

I'm sure that there are many other examples of wars against indiginous Peoples that have been long forgotten.

I only know of that bathurst war from your site, and i am doing history in school... go public education!!!

Torqumada · Aug 1, 2004

Weapon M, I didn't know you were a Hilary and Halie Duff fan. Aren't they a little young for you.

Why not go with the Olsen twins instead? At least they are legal.

Torqumada

Paul Spring · Aug 1, 2004

The Isonzo front in WWI is definitely overlooked, even by people who know a lot about WWI. If anything is ever mentioned, it's only that the Italians got badly defeated in 1917 and then it's implied that the other allies had to bail them out.

Everyone is taught that WWI started in the Balkans, but you hardly hear anything about the actual fighting in the Balkans after that, even in more detailed studies (perhaps with the exception of Gallipolli).

Strangely enough, I remember learning about US intervention in the Russian Civil war when I was in school. IMHO, the Communists vastly overplayed the significance of that intervention - it was never even clear to US forces if they were supposed to be actively fighting the "Reds" or not. US forces in eastern Russia (Vladivostok area) actually clashed with "White" Russian forces who were supported by the Japanese more often than they clashed with the Bolshevik "Reds".

The African fighting in WWI is almost unknown unless you have a special interest in the war, in which case you can find some information about it.

For WWII, history in the US not surprisingly focuses heavily on actions that involved US troops. If you pay attention, you know that the eastern front was very important, but you don't learn much about it beyond the Germans being stopped in front of Moscow in 1941 and then the crushing defeat at Stalingrad a year later and then a steady Soviet advance. The campaigns in northwestern Europe from Normandy until the end of the war definitely get most of the attention.

In the Pacific theater you generally have to do some extra research to appreciate that other countries actually were fighting the Japanese at the same time as the United States.