MrSpkr Posted October 21, 2003 Share Posted October 21, 2003 Well, Michael, some of the map images didn't show up on my pokey 56k connection, and so I did not really see where you were going. I still don't understand the relevance of the Belgian Congo to the Med, and just wondered how it fit in. Not looking for an apology, change in title, or anything else. Don't be so defensive. Steve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted October 21, 2003 Author Share Posted October 21, 2003 Originally posted by MrSpkr: Well, Michael, some of the map images didn't show up on my pokey 56k connection, and so I did not really see where you were going. I still don't understand the relevance of the Belgian Congo to the Med, and just wondered how it fit in. Not looking for an apology, change in title, or anything else. Don't be so defensive. Steve 56k!!!! :eek: Mmm, well I do apologize for the load time, I tend to forget that there are still people tied to their phone lines. As for the Belgian Congo - I thought it obvious that CMAK could be used to represent some of the other fighting besides Libya - Somaliland, for example, Italian East Africa, etc. These regions then become of significance to CMAK players - those who are interested in knowing the history behind the battles, in any event. Which is why I'd like to put up some straight-forward info on the region on my CM3 site, so that CMAKers will have an easy reference to some of this. In other words, CMAK will probably allow the direct portrayal of battles in eastern Africa also, without the need for special mods, etc., so info on this region/period will be of interest. Belgian Congo played no part AFAICT, but British forces did invade Somaliland from neighbouring Sudan, as well as Kenya, and the King's African Rifles (Idi Amin's old regiment) fought in modern-day Somalia as well (I presume the regiment was from Uganda, which is also down south and as far from the Med as the Congo). And if nothing else, I'd like to straighten this info out for myself, as I really had no idea. [ October 21, 2003, 04:58 PM: Message edited by: Michael Dorosh ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salkin Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 GROG FIGHT !!! /jk //Salkin [ October 21, 2003, 07:58 PM: Message edited by: Salkin ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: ...but British forces did invade Somaliland from neighbouring Sudan...Yike! I'm afraid I can't let this one pass. I do hope you meant to type something else. Even your own map (pretty nice, BTW) shows that neither Somaliland is bordered by Sudan. Further, I'm pretty sure that Italian Somaliland had been brought under British control before June, 1941, although I can't give you an exact date yet. British Somaliland had been recaptured by March of that year. Eritrea had been taken well before June and Ethiopia was under control except for some holdouts previously mentioned. BTW, I'm pretty sure the British kept a garrison in Iraq all through the war. They weren't taking any chances. Michael [ October 21, 2003, 10:08 PM: Message edited by: Michael Emrys ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted October 22, 2003 Author Share Posted October 22, 2003 Originally posted by Michael Emrys: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: ...but British forces did invade Somaliland from neighbouring Sudan...Yike! I'm afraid I can't let this one pass. I do hope you meant to type something else. Even your own map (pretty nice, BTW) shows that neither Somaliland is bordered by Sudan. Further, I'm pretty sure that Italian Somaliland had been brought under British control before June, 1941, although I can't give you an exact date yet. British Somaliland had been recaptured by March of that year. Eritrea had been taken well before June and Ethiopia was under control except for some holdouts previously mentioned. BTW, I'm pretty sure the British kept a garrison in Iraq all through the war. They weren't taking any chances. Michael </font> 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: I think it would indeed be of interest to nail all these dates down. The problem with Italian Somaliland is that after capturing Mogadishu (Feb.25), Cunningham took a left turn into Ethiopia leaving the rest of IS to be cleaned up later. This was strategically the right decision as there was little left of strategic importance in IS and it was important to keep the pressure on the main Italian army in Ethiopia. But it complicates your job here a bit. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonS Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 Well, what an inconsiderate jerk Cunningham was! Strategic priorities be damned! He should have put more store by teh inconvienience it would cause an Albertan 60-odd years later! BTW, MikeyD, this might be of use for the dates: www.onwar.com -> chronology 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frunze Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: I am looking off of two sources, one has Beirut as seperate and the other as a part of Syria. Which is correct? Lebanon and Syria were both French colonies at the time. Don't know if they were administered separately or as a unit, but don't see why it'd matter. Originally posted by Michael Emrys: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: Wrong. He remained in Belgium as the "guest" of the Nazis.</font>Yeah, Leopold -who, IIRC, was CIC of the army - surrendered to the Germans against the wishes of the elected government. The Congo had been under the control of the monarch. Which, at a wild guess, might imply that it wouldn't have been part of the allied war effort. Originally posted by von Lucke: Strangely enough, I happen to be reading Susan Travers' (only woman to serve in the legion etrangere) auto-bio right now, and she has some info on this subject. She was with the Free French expedition to take Dakar in Sept 1940. After that was repulsed, they (DeGaulle and the FF troops), went to Sierra Leone, French Cammeroon, Gabon, and then the Republic of Congo. She spent about a month in Brazzaville, where she said, the colons were pro-Vichy, but she never mentions the FF troops or their British liasons having any problems. From this, I would assume that Congo was, defacto, on the Allied side from about Oct 1940. That would be the French Congo (Congo-Brazzaville, Republic of Congo), not the Belgian Congo (Zaire, Democratic Republic of Congo, the one that's in the headlines more nowadays.) Part of French Equatorial Africa, colored Vichy on Dorosh's large map. [ November 03, 2003, 02:16 PM: Message edited by: Frunze ] 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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