In WWII, The Allies Adopted Much Of Their Airborne Tactics From The German Capture of Crete

(Airplanes and parachutes above Crete, [German paratroopers from JU 52 cargoplanes]. Greece, Crete, 1941, [Public Domain] via Flickr)

In 1941, Germany set its sights on the strategically important island of Crete. Any country that controlled the airfields of Crete could send airplanes into Greece and the Balkans, and keep an eye on Turkey’s important city of Istanbul—a place that was filled with much international intrigue during the war.

To take Crete, the Germans would need to defeat the British and Greek troops that were defending the island. The task of the German forces would be even more arduous, however, because British intelligence had already warned the defenders of Crete that an attack was imminent. In response, the Allies readied their defense on the island’s coastline, waiting for the Germans to arrive.

Germany’s General Kurt Student led the planning for the attack on Crete. He decided to attack the island using a combined invasion force of Italy’s navy and the German Luftwaffe. The ultimate objective of his plan was to use airborne paratroopers to seize the airfields of Crete at Maleme, Rhethymnon and Herakleion, where more reinforcements could be flown in to secure control of the island.

When the plan was put into action, it did not go smoothly. The Italian Navy took a beating from the Britaish ships, and the German planes carrying paratroopers (and towing gliders) were also heavily damaged. Nevertheless, the Luftwaffe aircraft flew inland and dropped their paratroopers in range of the Allied airfields. While the Allied defenses were still focused on the coast, the German airborne infantry captured the airfield at Maleme. With an airfield secured, the Germans flew in reinforcements and weaponry, allowing them to take other parts of the island. Realizing that Crete was lost, the Allied defenders withdrew.

Even though the Allies lost the strategically important island of Crete, they gained something even more vital—a respect and understanding of the power and utility of airborne warfare.

Source:

• Warfare in the Western World: Military Operations Since 1871 (Volume II), edited by Robert A. Doughty and Ira D. Gruber et al. Massachusetts: D. C. Heath and Company, 1996.

In 1409, There Were Three Simultaneous Popes

(Depiction of the Council of Constance, c. 1417, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

The Years from 1309 to 1377 were called the Avignon Papacy, or the Babylonian Captivity. It was a time when the headquarters of the pope was moved from Italy to France. In 1377, Pope Gregory XI moved the papacy back to Rome, but after his death in 1378, the Catholic Church was thrown into an even stranger set of events.

The people of Rome took to the streets to voice their desire that the papacy be kept in their city. After all, Pope Gregory XI had only just moved back to Rome right before he died. Romans, understandably, did not want the next pope to immediately pack up and leave for France.

With unrest in the streets, Cardinals met in a conclave and elected Pope Urban VI (1378-1389) to lead the Catholic Church. A large group of the Cardinals, however, felt that the election of Urban VI had been a mistake that had only occurred because of the rioting Romans. As a result, the disillusioned Cardinals snuck out of Rome and elected Clement VII (1378-1394) as their pope. Of course Urban VI, in Rome, scoffed at the election of another pope and he excommunicated Clement VII. In turn, Clement VII excommunicated Urban VI.

Urban VI remained in Rome and Clement VII returned to Avignon. The Christian countries of Europe began to fall in line behind the two popes. Pope Urban VI was supported by Italy, Germany, Hungary, Poland, the Scandinavian countries, and England. As England was on the side of the pope in Rome, it was not surprising that France and Scotland, along with the Spanish countries of Castile, Aragon and Navarre were on the side of Clement VII, in Avignon.

The Council of Pisa in 1409 sought to end the schism between the popes in Avignon and Rome, so they elected a new pope, Alexander V (1409-1410). Then, they decreed that the other two popes should step down in favor of the new pontiff. The popes of Avignon and Rome, however, refused to comply. There were now three popes—The pope of Rome, the pope of Avignon and the pope of Pisa.

Alexander V’s successor, John XXIII, called the Council of Constance into session in 1414, hoping that he would be legitimized in favor of his rivals in Rome and Avignon. Instead, in 1417, the Council of Constance put an end to all the crazy nonsense by deposing all the popes and having a new election. They elected Pope Martin V (1417-1431) as the sole pope and finally restored the Catholic Church to stability.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Source:

• The European Reformations (Second Edition) by Carter Lindberg. Massachusetts: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.  

The Ancient Greek God Hephaestus Had A Really Rough Childhood

(Vulcan in his Forge, by Pompeo Batoni (1708–1787), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

According to the Homeric version of the birth of Hephaestus, the newborn god was in no way given a warm and loving reception by his mother, Hera. In Homer’s account, Hephaestus was born with weak and crippled legs. Hera, the queen of the Olympic gods, despised her son because of his imperfections and immediately plotted to dispose of him. With her mind set on her son’s destruction, Hera dragged Hephaestus to the edge of Mount Olympus and threw him from the summit.

After a long descent, Hephaestus splashed into the sea and sank into its dark, watery depths. Fortunately for the newborn god, two sea-goddesses found Hephaestus abandoned in the ocean. Their names were Thetis (a sea nymph, and future mother of Achilles) and Eurynome (a titan who lived in the ocean).

Thetis and Eurynome rescued Hephaestus and brought him back to a cave where they sheltered and provided for the young god for nine years. During the time he was cared for by the sea-goddesses, Hephaestus used his unmatched skill in metalworking to make all sorts of trinkets and jewelry for the two kind goddesses.

After the nine years came to an end, Hephaestus left the cave and returned to Olympus. He eventually made golden supports to help himself walk, and even constructed golden women to help him in his forge. Once Hephaestus returned to Olympus, he took his place as the blacksmith of the Greek gods.

Source:

• The Iliad by Homer, translated by E. V. Rieu and edited by Peter Jones. New York: Penguin Books, 2014.  
• http://www.greekmythology.com/Olympians/Hephaestus/hephaestus.html
• http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Hephaistos.html  

In The Western World, Medical Dissections For The Study Of Anatomy, Autopsy And Surgery Became Popular In 12th- and 13th-Century Italy

(Painting of John Bannister giving a lecture on anatomy, c. 1580, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

In the medieval age, leading up to the Italian Renaissance, the Arabic world was the leading authority in sciences, mathematics and medicine. Despite their great knowledge, Arab scholars, like the Greek and Roman educators before them, avoided one area of study—the human anatomy. A major anomaly in early human dissections were the ancient Egyptians. They did, indeed, pioneer methods of embalming and other such postmortem work, but they rarely dissected the corpses for the purpose of learning how to treat the living. For most cultures of the ancient world, disturbing the bodies of the dead was taboo, and if the bodies of the deceased were operated upon, it was usually only for the purpose of embalming and preservation. Few countries condoned dissecting the dead, and fewer still used research from postmortem operations to improve knowledge of anatomy and surgery.

For most of the Middle Ages, the Europeans were lagging far behind the Arab world in knowledge. After the Christian kingdoms of Europe invaded the lands of the Middle East during the Crusades, however, their interest in sciences, philosophies and medicines slowly began to revive as they came across the works of Arabic scholars and found preserved translations of ancient Greek and Roman texts that had been forgotten in some parts of Europe. It took some time for Europe to catch up with the world and benefit from their renewed interest in scholarship and learning, but in one area of study, Europe soon became the leader —anatomy.

While the rest of the world continued to see the dissection of the dead as taboo, European schools quickly began to put animals and cadavers under the knife. In the early 12th century, a university in Salerno, Italy, dissected pigs with the assumption that the animal’s anatomy was similar to that of humans. Near the end of the 13th century, however, other Italian schools decided to bypass pigs and study human cadavers, directly. Once human dissection became accepted in Europe, surgical manuals were quickly released and autopsies became a common practice.

Source:

• Introduction to Medieval Europe, 300-1500 (Second Edition) by Wim Blockmans and Peter Hoppenbrouwers. New York: Routledge, 2014.

The Nazi SS Ran Brothels Within The Concentration Camps During WWII

 (Photograph of Auschwitz, [Public Domain] via Pixabay)

The overseers of Nazi concentration camps orchestrated more than the systematic mass murder and medical experimentation on innocent civilians and prisoners. They also ran brothels that were forcibly worked by their woman prisoners.

Around 1942, Heinrich Himmler and the SS began to construct brothels in concentration camps to incentivize hard work from the prisoners who acted as informants and aided in the function of the camp. The first ‘special building’ was built in the Mauthausen concentration camp, but over the next years, at least nine more brothels were constructed in places such as Buchenwald, Dachau and Auschwitz. In these camps, prisoners who pleased the SS would receive vouchers that they could use at the brothels for a fifteen-minute session with a prostitute.

Some women supposedly joined the brothels willingly—for the prostitutes were well fed and housed—but if there were no volunteers, the wardens would seize women to fill the brothels by force. Jewish prisoners were forbidden from working in or visiting the brothel, but political prisoners, gypsies and other ‘anti-socials’ were allowed entrance.

Source:

• “Auschwitz: The Nazis and the ‘Final Solution,’” episode “Exploitation.” Documentary mini-series, 2005.  
• http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/concentration-camp-bordellos-the-main-thing-was-to-survive-at-all-a-632558.html 
• http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-nazis-brothels-idUSTRE57G45X20090817 

Ten Fun And Unique Viking Names

(The Funeral of a Viking, by Frank Dicksee (1853–1928), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

During the Viking Age, the adventurous warriors of Scandinavia had some of the most entertaining and innovative names and nicknames in history.

Without further ado, here are 10 Vikings with very memorable names:

• Ragnar Lodbrok (Hairy-Breeches)—He was a 9th-century Viking king from Denmark whose raids against Britain and mainland Europe became legendary.

• Ivar the Boneless—He was a son of Ragnar Lodbrok. Like his father, Ivar was also a powerful Scandinavian king. He launched another invasion of Britain to avenge his father’s death.

• Magnus Barelegs—He was the king of Norway from 1093-1103. Magnus Barelegs died while fighting in Ireland.

• Hrolf the Nose—He was the grandfather of Hrolf the Walker/ Rollo of Normandy (c. 860-932).

• Ketil Flatnose—He was a Viking who sailed to the British Isles and set himself up as a king in the Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland.

• Harald Bluetooth—Harald Bluetooth (c. 910-987) was a powerful king of Denmark who also expanded into Norway.

• Svein Forkbeard—He was the king of Denmark from around 987-1014, after usurping power from his father, Harald Bluetooth. Svein Forkbeard invaded the British Isles and built himself a strong foothold, but died shortly after invading Britain.

• Ogmund Crow-Dance—He was a Viking officer in the army of the Norwegian king, Hakon IV (r. 1217-1263). Ogmund Crow-Dance participated in the skirmishes between Norway and Scotland, known as the Battle of Largs.

• Viga-Glum (Killer Glum)—Killer Glum was a Viking thought to have lived around 940-1003. There is a saga dedicated to him, detailing his many exploits.

• Eirik Bloodax—He was a 10th-century king of Norway. His father was Harald Finehair, the first king to unite Norway. Eirik Bloodax lost the throne of Norway to Haakon I. He then made himself king of Northumbria, but, again, he could not hold onto power.

Source:

• The Viking Age: A Reader, edited by Angus A. Somerville and R. Andrew McDonald. Ontario: University of Toronto Press, 2010.

Alexander The Great Looted More Than A Trillion Modern U. S. Dollars Worth Of Gold And Silver In His First Three Years Of Rule

(Bars of Gold, [Public Domain] via Pixabay)

When Alexander the Great expanded his power from Macedonia and Greece to Egypt, Persia and India, he was bound to make a lot of money. The sheer size of the treasures he amassed, however, is simply baffling.

All of the gold and silver that Alexander captured is usually measured in talents. A talent is a tricky measurement that can often vary widely depending on the source. Sometimes, a talent is noted to be around 25.8 kilograms (56.9 pounds) of weight, but in other sources a talent is approximately 50 kilograms (110 pounds). Either way, a single talent is estimated to be worth nearly 6,000 days of wages to the average skilled worker in Alexander the Great’s day.

By the time Alexander had taken Egypt and pushed deep into the Persian Empire, he had already looted around 80,000 talents of gold and silver. His greatest prize, however, was found when Alexander seized the city of Persepolis, the capital city of Persia and the location of Persia’s royal treasury. In that one city, Alexander won himself a further 120,000 talents of gold and silver. Once Alexander the Great had captured Persepolis, he had gathered around 200,000 talents of precious metals, netting him an unbelievable amount of gold and silver that equates to around $1.6 trillion modern U.S. dollars in his first three years as king of Macedonia.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Source:

• Alexander the Great: The Story Of An Ancient Life, by Thomas R. Martin and Christopher W. Blackwell. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012.