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IN THIS ISSUE
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* Origin of the U.S. Army Special Forces

* The Warlord That Helped The Communists

* The Duchy of Burgundy, Medieval Powerhouse

* Historical Quote

* What's Happening at eHistory.com

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ORIGIN OF THE U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES
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Origin of the Special Forces

[Editor's note. This article is from the book "Vietnam Studies: U.S. Army Special Forces, 1961-1971"]

The 1st Special Service Force of World War II is considered the antecedent of the present U.S. Army Special Forces. In the spring of 1942 the British Chief of Combined Operations, Vice Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, introduced to U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall a project conceived by an English civilian, Geoffrey N. Pike, for the development of special equipment to be used in snow-covered mountain terrain. This plan, named PLOUGH, was designed for attack on such critical points as the hydroelectric plants in Norway upon which the Germans depended for mining valuable ores. American manufacturers working on equipment for the project developed a tracked vehicle known as the Weasel and eventually standardized as the M29.

General Marshall concluded that an elite force recruited in Canada and the United States would be the best military organization for conducting the raids and strikes; he selected an American, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Tryon Frederick, to assemble, organize, train, and command the U.S.-Canadian 1st Special Service Force.

Made up of three regiments of two battalions each, the unit became a separate branch of the service, with the crossed arrows of the Indian Scouts, by then inactivated, as its insignia. The men were trained in demolitions, rock-climbing, amphibious assault, and ski techniques, and were given basic airborne instruction. They fought under Allied command with great bravery and considerable success in the Aleutians, North Africa, Italy, and southern France. The 1st Special Service Force got its nickname, "The Devil's Brigade," during the Italian campaign from a passage in the captured diary of a dead German officer who had written: "The black devils are all around us every time we come into line and we never hear them." The force was inactivated in southern France near the end of World War II.

http://www.ehistory.com/vietnam/books/spfor/index.cfm

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THE WARLORD THAT HELPED THE COMMUNISTS
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At the beginning of the 20th Century, China was emerging from centuries of rule by the Manchu, the descendents of Mongolian nomads who had conquered the Middle Kingdom in 1644. The new Guomindang (GMD) party was a broad alliance of modernizers.

In the 1920s the GMD gained control in China, making deals with some local warlords but overpowering others. The GMD also cut a deal with the Chinese Communists, which upset the remaining warlords. As GMD control spread over more and more of China, it gradually grew stronger, but also more conservative as Chiang Kai-shek and even the left wing of the GMD marginalized the Communists.

The first few years of Chiang's rule saw substantial progress. But the Japanese were also moving; in 1931 they occupied Manchuria, on China's northern border. Chiang was focused on internal politics, launching a series of campaigns against the Communists (now led by Mao Zedong) which culminated in their "Long March" as they fled to a remote mountainous region in 1934-35.

Chiang was at his strongest in China, but the Japanese were growing increasingly active and clearly looking for an opportunity to grab parts or all of China. Many patriotic Chinese thought the internal turmoil would only help the Japanese.

In 1936 Chiang was visiting Xian and the local warlord, Zhang Xueliang, took him prisoner. But Chiang was treated politely: "I wish to lay my views before Your Excellency" is hardly the way most coup plotters begin. Zhang released Chiang after two weeks, and the GMD formed a shaky common front against the Japanese that lasted through WWII.

The GMD imprisoned Zhang, who was taken to Taiwan after the Chinese Civil War and jailed for 54 years. He recently died, and the old warlord was warmly remembered by the Chinese Communists.

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THE DUCHY OF BURGUNDY, MEDIEVAL POWERHOUSE
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During the fourteenth century the French State was not cohesive and united. The existence of pseudo independent principalities such as Orleans, Bourbon and Brittany, which were led by great princes, created conflict and instability. The most powerful of these principalities was the duchy of Burgundy located between France and the German Empire.

In 1363, King John II of France granted his son Philip the Bold the duchy of Burgundy; this transaction marked the beginning of Burgundy's zenith of power. Philip married Margaret the heiress to the lands of Flanders in 1369. When Margaret's father died in 1384, Philip inherited the rich Low Countries and integrated them into Burgundy creating a Continental powerhouse.

The duchy expanded its influence under Philip the Bold's grandson, Philip the Good (1396 - 1467). Through a succession of financial dealings and armed conflicts the areas of Namur, Hainaut, Brabent and Holland were added to the duchy. Philip also developed the most extravagant court life in Medieval Europe during this time.

Overtime the dukes of Burgundy became detached from the rulers of France. In 1420 Philip made a treaty with Henry V of England (the Treaty of Troyes) which recognized Henry as heir to the French throne. He also allied himself with Henry VI. In 1435 he switched allegiances back to Charles VII of France.

In 1477, the Burgundian army was destroyed at the battle of Nancy. Charles the Bold (Philip's son), the current duke, was killed and the lands of Burgundy were divided between France and Habsburgs. The independent, powerful and influential duchy was no more.

http://www.ehistory.com/middleages/hundredyearswar/overview.cfm

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HISTORICAL QUOTE
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"Difficulty is the excuse history never accepts."
Edward R. Murrow, October 19, 1959

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