An external radar source. Other passive homing missiles rely on picking up and homing on the infra-red heat or radar emissions of the target. For precise attack of land targets, scene matching technology can allow ceps of 33ft (10m). Sometimes missiles use two or three different guidance systems for different parts of their mission, e. g. the US Navy’s Standard missile used with the Aegis system which uses a combination of command guidance, autopilot and semi-active homing. EJG.
Gulf of Sirte incident (1981). The first combat involving the US Navy’s multi-role carrier fighter, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, began at 0715 hours, August 19 1981. Two F-14s from uss Nimitz, exercising in international waters north of Libya, were intercepted over the Gulf of Sirte by two Soviet-built Sukhoi Su-22 (“Fitter”) fighters of the Libyan Arab Air Force. In an unprovoked attack, one Su-22 fired an air-to-air missile. Evading the aam and anticipating further attack, the F-14s retaliated with aim-9 Sidewinder missiles: one Tomcat shot down the aircraft that had fired; the other destroyed the remaining Su-22, outclassing it in a brief dogfight. In a similar incident off Benghazi, January 4 1989, two F-14s from uss John F Kennedy destroyed two Libyan MiG-23s (“Flogger”). RO’N.
Gulf War (1980-88). In terms of length, intensity and casualties, the greatest conflict since 1945. The Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, hoped for a quick and decisive victory, but fanatical Iranian resistance at Khorramshahr turned the war into a slogging match. It may be divided into seven phases: the invasion (September 1980); static war (October 1980-May 1981); first Iranian offensive (May
1981- July 1982); into Iraq (July
1982- March 1984); tanker war (February-December 1984); stalemate again (December 1984-February 1986); transient Iranian success, followed by the return of stalemate (February 1986-summer 1988). Neither side could muster sufficient resources to attain decisive victory. Iran had the advantage in numbers; Iraq had the advantage in defensive technique and air power. By mid-1984, the war of attrition had taken on economic form. Iraq strove to weaken Iranian counteroffensives by attacking her oil exports, and Iran threatened to close the Straits of Hormuz. Western naval forces were dispatched to ensure that they remained open. With financial aid from other Arab states, Iraq managed to survive the Iranian onslaught (five Iranian offensives were launched in 1983 alone). After the capture of the Faw Peninsula in February 1986, hope of an Iranian victory receded, and by July 1988 Iran had reversed her intransigent attitude and agreed to negotiations. BHR.
Gumbinnen, Battle of (1914). On August 15 1914 the Russian First Army advanced into East Prussia and, on the 20th, it was engaged by the German Eighth Army at Gumbinnen. After initial German success, the Russians repulsed the main assault and launched effective counterattacks.
Gunship see helicopter.
Gurkha(s). Nepalese hillmen renowned for their loyalty, courage and humour. Recruited by the British and Indian armies since the mid-19th century.
Gurney, Sir Henry (1898-1951). Br. Colonial administrator. See
MALAYAN EMERGENCY.
Gustav Line. German defensive position running across the Italian Peninsula from the Garigliano in the west, through Cassino in the centre, to the Sangro in the east.
Gustav line, breaching of (May 11-18 1944). This was the first phase of Alexander’s “Diadem” offensive to take Rome, in which Fifth Army (Clark) attacked XIV Panzer Corps (von Senger) holding in the coastal sector, while Eighth Army (Leese) breached the central Cassino sector held by LI Mountain Corps (Feuerstein). Both German corps were under Tenth Army (von Vietinghoff).
Alexander deceived Kesselring into keeping his reserve mobile divisions away from the battle until too late by threatening landings on the coast north of Rome.
Fifth Army attacked with two corps: II US Corps (Keyes) with three divisions along the coast, and the French Expeditionary Corps (Juin) with four mountain-trained and equipped North African divisions, including Moroccan Goumiers, inland through the Au-runci Mountains. II US Corps made slow progress, but the French achieved surprise and made unexpectedly rapid progress in the mountains after taking Monte Majo - the southern key to the Gustav Line - on May 12, outflanking the German forces opposing both II US Corps on the coast and Eighth Army in the Liri Valley to the north.
In Eighth Army’s attack, II Polish Corps (Anders) was given the task of wresting Monte Cassino from 1st Parachute Division, while XIII Corps (Kirkman) with four divisions forced crossings over the fortified Rapido stream in the Liri Valley below, defended by 44th Division. The Polish attack on May 11-12 failed with heavy losses. After two days of intense fighting, 4th British and 8th Indian Divisions had secured firm enough bridgeheads over the Rapido to allow Leese to destroy the Gustav defences in the Liri Valley, using Kirkman’s two reserve divisions - 6th Armoured and 78th - in the northern and I Canadian Corps (Burns) in the southern halves of the valley, while Anders’ Poles renewed their attack on Monte Cassino on May 17. Kes-selring’s mobile reserves arrived too late. Monte Cassino fell to the Poles on May 18, and I Canadian and XIII Corps broke through up the Liri Valley towards the Hitler Line, the next obstacle across Eighth Army’s road to Rome. WGFJ.
Guynemer, Capt Georges (18941917). Fr. Second highest-scoring French fighter pilot of World War I, with 54 “kills”, Guynemer flew with the elite Les Cigognes (Storks) Escadrille 3. He favoured lone patrols at up to 13,000ft (4,000m), making surprise diving attacks. Disappeared without trace in September 1917.
Guzzoni, Gen Alfredo (18871965). Italian. Commander Italian Sixth Army in Sicilian campaign, July-August 1943.
H2S (Home Sweet Home). British airborne radar aid to navigation and bomb aiming. Downward transmissions from the aircraft were reflected from the surface beneath and displayed on a cathode ray tube showing the distinctions between land and sea and built-up and open areas. Although the earliest by inception of all such devices, H2S was not introduced to operational service in Bomber Command until January 1943 due to fear of disclosing a system upon which Asv and ai were also based. The H2S picture was often difficult to read and although the system could not be jammed, the bomber using it disclosed its position by transmitting. ANF.
H2X. American version of H2S.
Haakon VII, King of Norway (1872-1957). Reigned 1905-57. After the German occupation of Norway, 1940, Haakon established a government of resistance in London.
Hadrian, Waco CG-4A (US, WWII). Transport glider; crew 2. Prototype flew 1942; ordered from 16 assembly lines. First operational use invasion of Sicily, July 1943; later Normandy, southern France, Arnhem, Rhine crossing. Could carry 13 troops, a Jeep, a Vi-ton truck with four-man crew, or a 75mm howitzer and crew. Production 13,912, of which 694 to Britain, lend-lease. Max. towing speed 149mph (240kph); load 3,8001b (1,725kg).
Haganah. Zionist organization founded in Palestine 1936, at first cooperated with British occupying force against Arabs; then, less agreeably to the British, arranged for large illegal immigrations of Jews. During World War II Haganah developed into a citizen army, including almost every able-bodied Jewish man of military age in Palestine; with this army, the Jews defeated the Arabs, securing independence for Israel, 1948-49.
Hague Conventions. Two international conferences at The Hague, in 1899 and in 1907, originated by Tsar Nicholas II, adopted numerous conventions bearing on the laws of war; prohibiting, for instance, acts of undeclared war, the use of expanding bullets, or the dropping of weapons from the air. All took for granted that only men would act as combatants. Recommendations that disputes should be settled by arbitration rather than by war have usually, like many of the other provisions, been ignored.
Haifa, Battle of (1918). During the British offensive in Palestine in September 1918, the capture of Haifa was entrusted to the 5th Division. On September 23, elements of the 15th Cavalry Brigade, supported by a battery of the Honourable Artillery Company, charged and overwhelmed the strong Turkish defensive positions and advanced on the city.
Haig, Field Marshal Earl (18611928). Br. Having attended the Staff College in 1896-1897, Haig served under French on the staff of the Cavalry Division in South Africa. For the rest of his military career, Haig retained a cavalryman’s outlook and largely adhered to the concept of war he had learned at the Staff College. As Director of Military Training in 1906-07 he helped Haldane create the BEF and the Territorial Force, and when the bef went to war in August 1914, Haig commanded I Corps at Mons, the Marne, the Aisne and First Ypres. Elevated to the command of the First Army in December 1914, he misinterpreted the lessons of Neuve-Chapelle the following March, relying upon bigger forces and weightier bombardments rather than tactical flexibility in most battles before 1918. Doubting French’s suitability for command of the bef, Haig was involved in engineering his dismissal over the mishandling of the reserves at Loos, even though faulty arrangements by Haig’s own staff were partly responsible for their late arrival. Haig succeeded French on December 19 1915, but his period as c-in-c of the bef in France and Flanders still remains highly controversial. The evidence indicates that he originally envisaged a breakthrough in his offensives on the Somme in 1916 and at Ypres in 1917 and persisted with them far longer than was desirable, justifying them as battles of attrition when it was clear that decisive strategic advances were no longer possible. His reluctance to discuss problems fully with his principal subordinates also led to glaring contradictions in the plans for both offensives. Nevertheless, while he underestimated the danger to the Fifth Army’s front in March 1918, he displayed great tenacity during the crises in the spring of that year and was quick to acknowledge the value of a unified Allied command under Foch. Moreover, as John Terraine observes, between August 8 1918 and the end of the war, the forces led by Haig defeated the main body of the German army in the greatest succession of victories in the British army’s history, a fact all too often obscured by his previous failures. PJS.
Haig, Gen Alexander Meigs Jr
(b. l924). As US Secretary of State in 1982, embarked on an intensive 12-day session of “shuttle diplomacy” in an attempt to mediate between Britain and Argentina. Having failed to bring about rapprochement, he announced on April 30 that his government would henceforth support Britain.
Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia (1892-1975). Reigned 1930-74. The Italian invasion and annexation of Ethiopia in 1935-36 drove the emperor into exile in England. Restored in 1941, following the victorious British campaign against the Italians, he was deposed by a left-wing army coup in 1974.
Haiphong. Up to 85 percent of North Vietnam’s war supplies during the late 1960s and early 1970s moved through Haiphong, the North’s second largest city and major port. The US bombed targets in and around the city 1965—68 but generally stopped short of striking the harbour to avoid hitting Soviet and other ships. President Nixon ordered US planes on May 9 1972 to mine the harbour in response to the communists’ Easter offensive. The US Navy helped clear the harbour following the signing of the Paris Agreement, and the port re-opened in July 1973.
World History
