The Allied campaign against the Turks in-Egypt and Palestine, 1915-18
Right flank, Nazareth was captured on September 20 and the important rail junction of Amman fell on the 25th. The shattered Turkish forces retreated northwards, harried not only by Allen-by’s troops but by Arab units and aircraft of the raf. The British advance continued through northern Palestine and Syria and had reached Aleppo and the borders of Anatolia when an armistice ended hostilities on October 31 1918. MS.
Egyptian-Libyan War (1977). The deteriorating Egypt-Libyan relationship early in 1977 reflected both policy differences and personal antagonism between their respective leaders, Sadat and Gaddafi. Egypt accused Libya of sabotage; 150,000 Egyptian workers in Libya fled; in April, the Egyptian newspaper Swat el Arab advocated Gaddafi’s overthrow. Following border clashes, Egypt bombed Libyan airfields and radar installations, July 21; Egyptian troops withdrew next day, but bombing continued until July 24. Although Gaddifi was not overthrown, the confrontation confirmed his isolation in the Arab world - but after Sadat’s visit to Israel, November 1977, the isolation was reversed when Gaddafi hosted the “rejec-tionist front” of Arab states. BHR.
Eichelberger, Gen Robert L
(1886-1961). US. Arguably one of the finest Allied army commanders in the Pacific during World War II. Eichelberger, at the head of the US I Corps, reorganized and remotivated tired US and Australian troops in New Guinea at the end of 1942, taking Buna in January 1943. However, it was as commander of the US Eighth Army, after September 1944, that he was best able to demonstrate his audacious and flexible leadership style. In December 1944, during the reconquest of the Philippines, the Eighth Army took over responsibility for the elimination of resistance on Leyte and then, in the last days of January 1945, made two landings on Luzon before advancing towards Manila. Eichelber-ger’s major task from February onwards was the clearance of the southern Philippines, including Mindanao. By the close of the campaign. Eighth Army had carried out 55 amphibious operations in eight months. PJS.
Eighth Air Force. The prime US air force in Europe in World War II. By August 1942 it was considered ready to begin operations on a limited and experimental basis. It began its main task of bombing Germany in January 1943 and after the introduction of an effective long-range fighter in March 1944, it began to achieve decisive results. It consisted principally of the Eighth Bomber Command (B-17 and B-24) and the Eighth Fighter Command (P-38, P-47 and P-51), commanded by Eaker until January 1944 and then by Spaatz. ANF.
Eighth Army (British). Principal British army formation in the Mediterranean 1941—45. See
WESTERN DESERT CAMPAIGN; TUNISIAN campaign; SICILIAN campaign; ITALIAN CAMPAIGN.
Eighth Army (US-Korea). The US occupation force in Japan (under Gen Walton H Walker) when the Korean War began. It consisted of four divisions, the 1st Cavalry and the 7th, 23rd and 24th Infantry, all understrength and poorly trained. The 24th Infantry was committed to the fighting early in July 1950, followed by 1st Cavalry and 23rd Infantry. The 7th Infantry was retained in Japan although milked for reinforcements. It became part of X Corps for the Inchon landings and was reabsorbed into Eighth Army in Korea in January 1951 after the retreat from the north. Eighth Army controlled all un ground forces, including the rok army, except in September 1950-January 1951 when X Corps was an independent command. CM.
Eighty-Second Airborne Division (US). Formed in August 1942 from the existing 82nd Motorized Division, from which was also formed the 101st Airborne. Motorized battalions were redesignated as gliderborne infantry and a new parachute regiment of three battalions was added to each of the new divisions. 82nd Airborne, with the British 1st Airborne, landed in Sicily and also fought at Salerno before moving to England for “Overlord”. Fought with distinction both in Normandy, under Ridgway, and Holland, and played a key role in containing the German offensive in the Ardennes. MH.
Eilat see suez crisis.
Eindhoven. During World War II this Dutch city, situated some 20 miles (32km) north of the Belgian frontier, was the home of the Philips radio and valve works which, as the largest factory of its kind in Europe, supplied around one-third of Germany’s radio components. On December 6 1942, the main Philips plant and a smaller factory to the southeast were the target of Operation “Oyster”, a daring low-level daylight attack by a force of Mosquitoes, Bostons and Venturas from 2 Group, raf Bomber Command. Although the main Philips factory was badly damaged, causing delays in production, 15 British aircraft were lost or written off in the operation. Eindhoven became the first city in Holland to be liberated when, on September 18 1944, men of 6th Parachute Regiment of the US 101st Airborne Division and the British Guards Armoured Division linked up here during Operation “Market Garden”. PJS.
“Ike”; Supreme Commander, Europe
Eisenhower, Gen of the Army Dwight D (1890-1969). US. Eisenhower entered West Point in 1911 and was commissioned in 1915. Although frustrated at not being sent to France, his career nevertheless progressed well with a series of staff and foreign postings. When America entered World War II, Gen Marshall appointed him Deputy Chief of the War Plans Division. Eisenhower’s plans for American strategy in Europe met with Marshall’s approval and in June 1942 he was sent to Britain as commander of the European Theatre of Operations. He was quickly selected as commander of the Allied invasion of North Africa. Both in this enterprise and throughout the war, Eisenhower displayed a tact and sensitivity in Anglo-American relations that proved almost as important as his military prowess. Under his command, Sicily and mainland Italy were invaded in July and September 1943 respectively and he managed to keep control of his volatile senior commanders, Montgomery and Patton. He was therefore well prepared in January 1944 to take up his position as Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force for the invasion of Normandy. His personality helped to unite the disparate interests of the Allied politicians and commanders behind his overall strategy. While not afraid to delegate responsibility to his subordinates, the ultimate decision lay with Eisenhower and on June 5 he ordered the invasion in spite of uncertain weather conditions. Eisenhower persisted in the implementation of his “broad front” strategy during the advance from Normandy but, nevertheless, backed Montgomery over the Arnhem operation. Its failure appeared to vindicate Eisenhower’s policy and, retaining firm command of the Allied armies until the end of the war, he resisted British demands for amendment of his plans. After a brief period as commander of the American occupying forces in Germany, Eisenhower returned to the US as Chief of Staff of the Army. He retired in 1948 but three years later was appointed Supreme Commander of NATO. In 1952, he resigned to take up the Republican Presidential candidacy; US President, 1952-60. MS.
El Agheila, Battle of (December 11-17 1942). Rommel tried to halt Montgomery’s pursuit after El Alamein on the Tripolitanian Frontier. XXX Corps (Leese) held him frontally, while the New Zealand Division (Freyberg) turned his desert flank, forcing him to withdraw to Buerat.
El Alamein Line, British withdrawal to (June 21-July 2 1942). After its defeat at Gazala in June, Eighth Army withdrew to the Egyptian frontier, then to Mersa Matruh and Anally to the El Alamein Line by the beginning of July. Rommel’s pursuit was progressively weakened by the interception of its fuel supplies at sea, and by the kaf’s attacks on his advancing columns. Panzerarmee Afrika reached the El Alamein Line too exhausted to breach it.
El Alamein Line, defence of (July 1942). Rommel attacked first on July 2, but was repulsed, mainly by concentrated artillery fire. Au-chinleck then mounted three equally unsuccessful attacks before deciding, towards the end of July, to pause in order to rebuild Eighth Army. See also tell el
EISA; RUWEISAT, BATTLES OF.
El Alamein, Battle of (October 23-November 4 1942). Gen Montgomery’s decisive defeat of Rommel’s Panzerarmee Afrika at the gateway to the Nile delta. The battle was fought in three phases. In the first phase (the “Break-In” October 24-25), XXX Corps (Leese) assaulted the centre of the Axis position, while XIII Corps (Horrocks) mounted a subsidiary attack in the south: both penetrated the deep minefields, but the armoured divisions of X Corps (Lumsden) failed to complete the breakthrough, and so the second phase had to be fought out within rather than beyond the fortified positions. This took place between October 26—31 (the “Dog-Fight”). Montgomery crumbled away the Axis defences with a series of limited attacks, while fending off Rommel’s counterattacks, which were delayed by British air attacks
Battle of El Alamein, October 23- November 4 1942: a turning-point of World War II
In the third phase (the “BreakOut” November 1-4), Montgomery delivered his coup de grace when he judged that the Axis forces were nearing exhaustion. The New Zealand Division, reinforced by one British tank and two infantry brigades, and supported by heavy air and artillery bombardments, punched a hole in the northern half of the Axis defences, through which X Corps broke out of the defensive zone, having repulsed the Afrika Korps’ last desperate counterattacks during which its commander, von Thoma, was captured. By November 3, Rommel was making preparations to disengage, but these were countermanded by Hitler. Axis resistance, nevertheless, collapsed; and by the evening of November 4 the remnants of the German and Italian mobile divisions were in full retreat, leaving most of the Italian infantry to surrender. WGFJ.
El Alamein, pursuit from (November 5 i942-January 23 1943). Rommel tried to slow down Montgomery’s pursuit with a series of rearguard actions until he reached El Agheila on the Tripolitanian frontier. He then fought three unsuccessful defensive battles to halt Eighth Army before it could reach Tripoli. See also el agheila, battle of; buerat, battle of.
Elands river, Battle of (August 4-15 1900), Second Boer War. Some 500 Imperial Bushmen (Australian and Rhodesian troops) under Col C O Hore, guarding a supply depot at Brakfontein, western Transvaal, took refuge on a kopje when attacked by cl,500 Boers under De La Rey. Opposing six Boer guns with nothing heavier than a malfunctioning Maxim and without water other than that brought under fire from the Elands river a half-mile away, the garrison held out for 11 days (losses: 75 killed or wounded), during which time its 3.5-acre position received around 1,800 Boer shells. Boer losses were negligible. On the approach of a relief column, De La Rey withdrew. RO’N.
Elba, capture of (June 17 1944). 9th French Colonial Division landed, trapping most of the German garrison.
Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP).
One of the effects of a nuclear explosion in which the gamma rays interact with the atmosphere to produce a flow of free electrons radially outwards. These interact with the ions they have left to produce an electrical field. If the field is more or less symmetrical there will be little emission of energy, but if the field is not, considerable pulses of electromagnetic waves result. These can be picked up like normal radio waves, creating strong electric currents and high voltages with potentially catastrophic results. In low air or ground bursts, the net upward electron current creates an EMP that is dangerous out to e. g. 8 miles (13km) for a one megaton burst. A weapon exploded outside the atmosphere creates a net downward current over a large source region in the upper atmosphere. A bomb exploded at 100 miles (160km) altitude would create dangerous emp effects over a radius of 900 miles (1,440km) from ground zero. Special directed energy “third generation” nuclear weapons designed primarily to produce emp are under development. Equipment can be hardened to resist emp. EJG.
Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) and Electronic Counter Countermeasures (ECCM) see
ELECTRONIC WARFARE.
Electronic Support Measures (ESM) see ELECTRONIC WARFARE.
Electronic Warfare (EW). Electronic command, communication and control systems are at the heart of all modern warfare and both the use of the enemy’s electronic emissions to provide intelligence and interference with the opponent’s electronics to degrade its capabilities play a central role in all modern military and naval operations. Electronic Support Measures (esm) cover the devices that listen out for emissions, classifying each radar, radio source, etc. They provide information of a strategic, operational or tactical nature, ranging from the nature of the enemy’s dispositions to the presence of an incoming missile. Electronic Countermeasures (ecm) are designed to interfere with the enemy’s electronics by jamming or sending misleading or confusing signals. Electronic Counter Countermeasures (eccm) try to overcome the enemy’s ecm in a continuous interactive process. There are specialized ew units, but most large, modern, military platforms like ships or aircraft have some ew capability built in or strapped on. EJG.
Eleven Group, RAF Fighter Command, The largest fighter Group in the Battle of Britain, covering London and southeast England, consisting generally of 23 Squadrons directed from seven Sectors. It was commanded by Park, whose headquarters were at Uxbridge. Eleven Group bore the main brunt of the battle, but the supporting roles of 10 Group (southwest), 13 Group (north) and especially 12 Group (Midlands and East Anglia) were crucial.
Eleventh US Air Force. Activated in Alaska in January 1942, the US Eleventh Air Force bombed targets in the Japanese-held Aleutians from the summer of that year. Then, following the American seizure of Attu and Kiska in 1943, Eleventh Air Force B-24s and B-25s waged an increasingly destructive campaign against Japanese ports, airfields and other installations in the Kurile Islands.
El Gamil airfield see suez crisis.
Flint. Intelligence secured by electronic means. Currently this falls into two main categories: observations made of other powers’ radar transmissions, and photographic evidence secured by way of satellite-borne television cameras.
El Kap see SUEZ crisis.
Elsenborn see ardennes offensive.
Emden. German cruiser, detached from von Spee’s East Indies Squadron, 1914, to raid in Indian Ocean. Bombarded Madras, took 23 merchantmen and sank a Russian cruiser and French destroyer before destroyed in action with hm.s Sydney, Cocos Island, November 1914.
Endurance. British ice patrol ship of 3,600 tons. Based on the Falk-lands as permanent British naval presence in South Atlantic and Antarctica. The British Ministry of Defence announcement in June 1981 that she was to be withdrawn without replacement encouraged the Argentine military junta to plan invasion and annexation of the islands.
Enfidaville, Battle of (April 19-21 1943). Montgomery tried to break into the Axis bridgehead around Tunis. X Corps (Horrocks) attacked with 4th Indian and the New Zealand Divisions, but was defeated in the mountainous country, for which his troops were neither equipped nor trained.
Engineers see royal engineers.
Enhanced Radiation Weapon (ERW). Commonly called a “neutron bomb”, an erw is a low-yield fusion weapon designed to provide the same radiation lethality as a higher-yield fission device. The radiation is in the form of high-energy neutrons which have such kinetic energy that they give the same effect as the prompt radiation of a bomb ten times the size. Radiation is the main kill mechanism of all weapons under about ten kilotons and limiting blast and heat effects is of special importance if one is thinking of defensive nuclear use on friendly territory. Enhanced radiation warheads were developed for the Sprint antiballistic missile missile, but the main application has been in battlefield weapons. More than half of the 550 W-79 Sin shells built in 1981-86 had a hollow core to allow insertion of tritium gas to provide a fusion component which produced between 50 and 75 percent of the 1-2 kiloton yield. Only 40 ERW shells remained by mid-1987, and conversion of these to fission-only devices was expected. The only ERW to remain in the American inventory is the 1 kiloton (approx) W70 Mod3 warhead for the Lance missile, some 380 of which are stockpiled in the USA. Early misleading hype about the ERW killing people but not destroying buildings backfired and prevented the deployment in Europe of the weapons. EJG.
“Enigma”. Cipher machine, marketed in 1923, bought out by Germans, who modified it and used it from 1926 for their armed, police and railway services. Poles read it from 1932, French from 1939 and British from 1940. See also
BLETCHLEY PARK.
Eniwetok, Battle of see kwaja-
LEIN-ENIWETOK, BATTLE OF.
Enola Gay. The B-29 flown by Col Paul W Tibbets from which the first atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6 1945.
Enosis see Cyprus (1955-60).
ENSA (Entertainments National Service Association; nicknamed “Every Night Something Awful”). Provided entertainment for British servicemen. World War II.
Ent, Maj Gen Uzal G (1900-48). US. Despite personal reservations about low-level operations, Ent, as a brigadier general commanding the US IXth Bomber Command, planned and led the American air attack on the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania, on August 1
1943. Seriously injured in a crash in 1944, he died four years later.
Entente Powers. The World War I fighting alliance of France, Britain, Russia, Serbia, Japan and Italy. These were later joined by Portugal, Romania, Greece and the US, after which time the term “the Allies” was more generally used.
Launching o(vss Enterprise 1936
Enterprise. (1) US Yorktown-ciass aircraft carrier; launched 1936; 25,500 tons full load; c80 aircraft. Survived most major carrier actions of Pacific War, with heavy damage and much modification. Scrapped 1958. (2) First US nuclear-powered carrier; launched 1960; 89,600 tons full load; 80-100 aircraft; still in service, 1989.
EOKA see CYPRUS (m. T'-.-coL
Equivalent Megatonnage (EMT).
A nuclear explosion acts in a three-dimensional volume so its effects in two dimensions, i. e. on an area, must be calculated by taking the cube root of the yield and then squaring it. This “Y to the two-thirds power” gives the actual effectiveness of one weapon compared with another and is known as the emt. Thus a 13 kiloton Hiroshima-sized bomb has an EMT of 0.055, a 335 kiloton Minuteman 3 warhead an emt of 0.48, a 1 megaton bomb an emt of 1 and a 9 megaton bomb an emt of 4.3. Simple comparisons of destructive power made from the relative yields of weapons can be most misleading.
Eritrea, British campaign in
(January-April 1941). Platt invaded Italian Eritrea with 4th and 5th Indian Divisions, defeated Gen Frusci in the hard-fought, seven-week Battle of Keren in February-March and took Asmara and Mas-sawa on April 1 and 8. By so doing, he had succeeded in opening the Red Sea to British and American shipping.
Erskine, Lt Gen Sir George (1899-1965), Br. Having commanded an infantry brigade in the Western Desert campaign 194142, served in a corps headquarters before commanding 7th Armoured Division (“Desert Rats”) in Tunisia, Italy and Normandy. From 1945, held various posts demanding acute political sensibility and was cos. Allied Control Commission in Germany. From 1949 to 1952, commanded British troops in Egypt, firmly maintaining order at a difficult time with minimal use of force. In 1953, Erskine became Commander-in-Chief East Africa, where he dealt decisively with the Mau Mau rebellion. See also mau
World History
