Monday, April 14, 2014
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Blogs With Rule 5 Links
These Blogs Provide Links To Rule 5 Sites:
The Pirate's Cove has:
Proof Positive has:
The Woodsterman has:
Rule 5 Woodsterman Style
Blackmailers Don't Shoot has:
Floatopia Retrospective: Rule 5 Linkfest
Blackmailers Don't Shoot has:
Floatopia Retrospective: Rule 5 Linkfest
The Other McCain has:
10 Bold Battlefield Deceptions That Actually Worked
We’ve previously discussed some of those tactics so crazy and unconventional that they had to work. Now, let’s train the limelight on some of the most daring deceptions that succeeded in the battlefield, and (of course) marvel at the people with the sheer audacity and ingenuity to pull them off.
As we can see throughout their history, the Knights Hospitallers were clearly no pushovers, preferring to fight to the last man if need be. That scenario almost happened when the Mamluks besieged the formidable Hospitaller castle Krak des Chevaliers in March 1271. Led by Sultan Baybars, the Muslim forces slowly took the castle and gradually pushed the knights into the interior by the end of the month.
Knowing full well that the cornered knights would fight to the bitter end, the sultan cleverly forged a letter under the name of the Hospitaller Grand Master and had it sent to the knights. The letter contained instructions and permission for the defenders to surrender. The knights fell for the ruse and surrendered; subsequently, the sultan spared their lives and allowed them to travel to Tripoli safely under the condition that they didn’t return. By April 1271, the Mamluks had fully occupied the castle and converted it into their own garrison.
Quaker guns are logs or other similar materials painted black and made to resemble real artillery pieces. Named after the pacifist Society of Friends, or Quakers, these fake guns have been used in a variety of wars to frighten or fool the enemy. One rare instance of a Quaker gun actually effecting a surrender came during Colonel William Washington’s campaign in South Carolina on December 4, 1780.
The colonel—who also happened to be George Washington’s second cousin—had found 115 Loyalists holed up in a fortified barn. In a show of quick wit, Washington secretly had a pine log painted to look like a cannon and threatened to open fire if the defenders did not yield. His efforts paid off with the unconditional surrender of Colonel Rowland Rugeley and all his men. To add insult to injury, the defeated men later discovered that the cannon was a fake.
Before Benedict Arnold became known as one of history’s most notorious traitors, he was a resourceful and capable American general who proved more than a match for the well-armed British. His ingenuity especially manifested itself during the critical Battle of Valcour Island in October 1776. At Lake Champlain, Arnold’s makeshift navy of 15 ships met a powerful British fleet composed of 25 ships. As one would expect, the British fleet tore through Arnold’s ships with little effort and forced the latter to retreat.
Although the British won an overwhelming tactical victory, it later proved to be Arnold’s strategic victory: The mere presence of the American ships spurred the British to squander a considerable amount of time building their own fleet. By the time they had finished making the ships and winning the victory, winter had almost set in, forcing them to retreat back to Canada and reschedule their invasion of New York for the next year. That allowed the Americans ample time to prepare their defenses, ultimately culminating in the British defeat at Saratoga in 1777.
In April 1941, Fritz Klingenberg, an SS officer, was engaged in a friendly race with crack units of the German army to capture Belgrade. During their race, Klingenberg reached a Danube River made swollen by frequent rains. Despite the danger, Klingenberg and 10 of his men managed to cross the river using a rickety old motorboat. They then marched unopposed into Belgrade and garrisoned the German embassy.
Knowing that German forces were still miles away, Klingenberg tried a bluff: He told the mayor that he would have the city bombed by German planes if the mayor didn’t submit. Fortunately, the threat worked and the mayor hastily surrendered Belgrade to Klingenberg. When the German army finally arrived, they were incensed to learn that Klingenberg not only beat them to the city, but had single-handedly captured it as well. News of his bold accomplishment earned Klingenberg lavish praise from the rest of the SS, and he was awarded a Knight’s Cross for the successful siege.
In this World War II operation that lasted for almost a year, the Soviets coerced several German prisoners—including Heinrich Scherhorn—to play the part of 2,500 German soldiers trapped behind enemy lines in Eastern Europe. Masquerading as the soldiers, the Soviets then contacted German headquarters in Berlin and asked for supplies to help them break out and return home. Of course, this was just a sham to divert precious German resources, and it worked like a charm: From August 1944 until the war’s end, the Germans continuously airdropped men and supplies to aid the non-existent group.
In the course of the operation, the Soviets captured a sizable amount of supplies along with about 25 German officers, whom they also forced into deceiving their compatriots. The Germans back home never found out about the deception; at one point, commando Otto Skorzeny himself had been ordered to conduct a rescue of the beleaguered troops. Hitler also believed the whole thing, and even had Scherhorn and his fictitious soldiers promoted and awarded.
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10 The Fake Letter That Made An Entire Castle Surrender
As we can see throughout their history, the Knights Hospitallers were clearly no pushovers, preferring to fight to the last man if need be. That scenario almost happened when the Mamluks besieged the formidable Hospitaller castle Krak des Chevaliers in March 1271. Led by Sultan Baybars, the Muslim forces slowly took the castle and gradually pushed the knights into the interior by the end of the month.
Knowing full well that the cornered knights would fight to the bitter end, the sultan cleverly forged a letter under the name of the Hospitaller Grand Master and had it sent to the knights. The letter contained instructions and permission for the defenders to surrender. The knights fell for the ruse and surrendered; subsequently, the sultan spared their lives and allowed them to travel to Tripoli safely under the condition that they didn’t return. By April 1271, the Mamluks had fully occupied the castle and converted it into their own garrison.
9A Counterfeit Cannon Convinced The Enemy To Give Up
Quaker guns are logs or other similar materials painted black and made to resemble real artillery pieces. Named after the pacifist Society of Friends, or Quakers, these fake guns have been used in a variety of wars to frighten or fool the enemy. One rare instance of a Quaker gun actually effecting a surrender came during Colonel William Washington’s campaign in South Carolina on December 4, 1780.
The colonel—who also happened to be George Washington’s second cousin—had found 115 Loyalists holed up in a fortified barn. In a show of quick wit, Washington secretly had a pine log painted to look like a cannon and threatened to open fire if the defenders did not yield. His efforts paid off with the unconditional surrender of Colonel Rowland Rugeley and all his men. To add insult to injury, the defeated men later discovered that the cannon was a fake.
8Benedict Arnold’s “Navy” Delayed A British Invasion
Before Benedict Arnold became known as one of history’s most notorious traitors, he was a resourceful and capable American general who proved more than a match for the well-armed British. His ingenuity especially manifested itself during the critical Battle of Valcour Island in October 1776. At Lake Champlain, Arnold’s makeshift navy of 15 ships met a powerful British fleet composed of 25 ships. As one would expect, the British fleet tore through Arnold’s ships with little effort and forced the latter to retreat.
Although the British won an overwhelming tactical victory, it later proved to be Arnold’s strategic victory: The mere presence of the American ships spurred the British to squander a considerable amount of time building their own fleet. By the time they had finished making the ships and winning the victory, winter had almost set in, forcing them to retreat back to Canada and reschedule their invasion of New York for the next year. That allowed the Americans ample time to prepare their defenses, ultimately culminating in the British defeat at Saratoga in 1777.
7The SS Officer Who Single-Handedly Captured Belgrade
In April 1941, Fritz Klingenberg, an SS officer, was engaged in a friendly race with crack units of the German army to capture Belgrade. During their race, Klingenberg reached a Danube River made swollen by frequent rains. Despite the danger, Klingenberg and 10 of his men managed to cross the river using a rickety old motorboat. They then marched unopposed into Belgrade and garrisoned the German embassy.
Knowing that German forces were still miles away, Klingenberg tried a bluff: He told the mayor that he would have the city bombed by German planes if the mayor didn’t submit. Fortunately, the threat worked and the mayor hastily surrendered Belgrade to Klingenberg. When the German army finally arrived, they were incensed to learn that Klingenberg not only beat them to the city, but had single-handedly captured it as well. News of his bold accomplishment earned Klingenberg lavish praise from the rest of the SS, and he was awarded a Knight’s Cross for the successful siege.
6Operation Scherhorn
In this World War II operation that lasted for almost a year, the Soviets coerced several German prisoners—including Heinrich Scherhorn—to play the part of 2,500 German soldiers trapped behind enemy lines in Eastern Europe. Masquerading as the soldiers, the Soviets then contacted German headquarters in Berlin and asked for supplies to help them break out and return home. Of course, this was just a sham to divert precious German resources, and it worked like a charm: From August 1944 until the war’s end, the Germans continuously airdropped men and supplies to aid the non-existent group.
In the course of the operation, the Soviets captured a sizable amount of supplies along with about 25 German officers, whom they also forced into deceiving their compatriots. The Germans back home never found out about the deception; at one point, commando Otto Skorzeny himself had been ordered to conduct a rescue of the beleaguered troops. Hitler also believed the whole thing, and even had Scherhorn and his fictitious soldiers promoted and awarded.
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5The Confederate General Who Made A Jackass Out Of The Union
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