 | Waffen SS Counterattack to break Kovel encirclement (1944) Combat footage. German Wartime Newsreel. The 5th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Wiking" was sent to assist in the defence of Kovel, currently threatened by strong Soviet forces. Gille led his men towards the town and began setting up a defensive perimeter. However, soon the Soviets had completed the encirclement of the city. The II./5.SS-Panzer-Regiment Wiking, newly equipped with Panther tanks, along with the III./SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment Germania, newly equipped and up to strength arrived at the front from Germany and immediately began forming a relief unit. The unit was formed under the command of SS-Obersturmführer Karl Nicolussi-Leck, commander of 8.Kompanie/II.Abt./5.SS-Panzer-Regiment Wiking. Nicolussi-Leck immediately launched an attack with five Panthers. Soon after beginning the attack, he received a radio message from the besieged commander to halt his attack and withdraw. Nicolussi-Leck ordered his radio operator to ignore the call, and continued his attack. Risking court-martial, Nicolussi-Leck then proceeded to fight his way though the Soviet encirclement, destroying several Soviet tanks in the process. His Panther was the first vehicle to break the encirclement, and for his actions he received the Knight's Cross. After the relief force established a corridor to the encircled force, the withdrawal began. Unlike the previous encirclement at Korsun, the trapped force managed to escape with most of its equipment intact, and the division was ready for action immediately. |
 | SS Wiking in Action (Kowel 1944) SS Wiking in Action (Kowel 1944) After a brief period of rest and refit, the tattered Wiking was sent to assist in the defence of Kovel, currently threatened by strong Soviet forces. Gille led his men towards the town and began setting up a defensive perimeter. However, soon the Soviets had completed the encirclement of the city. The II./5. SS-Panzer-Regiment Wiking, newly equipped with Panther tanks, along with the III./SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment Germania, newly equipped and up to strength, arrived at the front from Germany and immediately began forming a relief unit. The unit was formed under the command of SS-Obersturmführer Karl Nicolussi-Leck, commander of 8.Kompanie/II. Abt./5. SS-Panzer-Regiment Wiking. Nicolussi-Leck immediately launched an attack with five Panthers. Soon after beginning the attack, he received a radio message from the besieged commander to halt his attack and withdraw. Nicolussi-Leck ordered his radio operator to ignore the call, and continued his attack. Risking court-martial, Nicolussi-Leck then proceeded to fight his way though the Soviet encirclement, destroying several Soviet tanks in the process. His Panther was the first vehicle to break the encirclement, and for his actions he received the Knight's Cross. After the relief force established a corridor to the encircled force, the withdrawal began. Unlike the previous encirclement at Korsun, the trapped force managed to escape with most of its equipment intact, and the division was ready for action immediately. (Wikipedia) |
 | Counterattack of Waffen SS to break Kovel encirclement 1944 Deutche Wochenshau of 1944 German Newsreel of 1944 Info: The SS Division (motorised) Wiking was a German Waffen SS division recruited from foreign volunteers. During the course of the war, the division progressed from a motorised infantry formation to a fully-fledged Panzer division. It saw action on the Eastern Front during World War II. After a brief period of rest and refit, the tattered Wiking was sent to assist in the defence of Kovel, currently threatened by strong Soviet forces. Gille led his men towards the town and began setting up a defensive perimeter. However, soon the Soviets had completed the encirclement of the city. The II./5. SS-Panzer-Regiment Wiking, newly equipped with Panther tanks, along with the III./SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment Germania, newly equipped and up to strength, arrived at the front from Germany and immediately began forming a relief unit. The unit was formed under the command of SS-Obersturmführer Karl Nicolussi-Leck, commander of 8.Kompanie/II. Abt./5. SS-Panzer-Regiment Wiking. Nicolussi-Leck immediately launched an attack with five Panthers. Soon after beginning the attack, he received a radio message from the besieged commander to halt his attack and withdraw. Nicolussi-Leck ordered his radio operator to ignore the call, and continued his attack. Risking court-martial, Nicolussi-Leck then proceeded to fight his way though the Soviet encirclement, destroying several Soviet tanks in the process. His Panther was the first vehicle to break the encirclement, and for his actions he received the Knight's Cross. After the relief force established a corridor to the encircled force, the withdrawal began. Unlike the previous encirclement at Korsun, the trapped force managed to escape with most of its equipment intact, and the division was ready for action immediately. Thanks for Watching if you liked these one take a look into my Channel for more WW2 (World War Two-2) Videos Enjoy! |
 | PROPAMEDIA CENSORSHIP ! Court Martial at Camp Pendleton ! This Associated Press story is quickly being shut down by Western Propamedia. "MARINE: BEATING OF IRAQIS BECAME ROUTINE Sunday, July 15, 2007 AP CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — A Marine corporal testifying in a court-martial said Marines in his unit began routinely beating Iraqis after officers ordered them to "crank up the violence level." Cpl. Saul H. Lopezromo testified Saturday at the murder trial of Cpl. Trent D. Thomas. "We were told to crank up the violence level," said Lopezromo, testifying for the defense. When a juror asked for further explanation, Lopezromo said: "We beat people, sir." Within weeks of allegedly being scolded, seven Marines and a Navy corpsman went out late one night to find and kill a suspected insurgent in the village of Hamandiya near the Abu Ghraib prison. The Marines and corpsman were from 2nd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment. Lopezromo said the suspected insurgent was known to his neighbors as the "prince of jihad," and had been arrested several times and later released by the Iraqi legal system. Unable to find him, the Marines and corpsman dragged another man from his house, fatally shot him, and then planted an AK-47 assault rifle near the body to make it appear he had been killed in a shootout, according to court testimony. Four Marines and the corpsman, initially charged with murder in the April 2006 killing, have pleaded guilty to reduced charges and been given jail sentences ranging from 10 months to eight years. Thomas, 25, from St. Louis, pleaded guilty but withdrew his plea and is the first defendant to go to court-martial. Lopezromo, who was not part of the squad on its late-night mission, said he saw nothing wrong with what Thomas did. "I don't see it as an execution, sir," he told the judge. "I see it as killing the enemy." He said Marines consider all Iraqi men part of the insurgency. Lopezromo and two other Marines were charged in August with assaulting an Iraqi two weeks before the killing that led to charges against Thomas and the others. Charges against all three were later dropped. Thomas' attorneys have said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury from his combat duty in Fallouja in 2004. They have argued that Thomas believed he was following a lawful order to get tougher with suspected insurgents. Prosecution witnesses testified that Thomas shot the 52-year-old man at point-blank range after he had already been shot by other Marines and was lying on the ground. Lopezromo said a procedure called "dead-checking" was routine. If Marines entered a house where a man was wounded, instead of checking to see whether he needed medical aid, they shot him to make sure he was dead, he testified. "If somebody is worth shooting once, they're worth shooting twice," he said. The jury is composed of three officers and six enlisted personnel, all of whom have served in Iraq. The trial was set to resume Monday." |
 | History of the Mormons in California - Mormon Battalion 1/3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3Zsvml57PE is a video describing how to learn more about the Mormon Church. This is from the film "More Precious Than Gold." The Mormon Battalion was the only religious "unit" in American military history serving from July 1846 to July 1847 during the Mexican-American War. They provided funds from their salaries and allowances to assist the Mormon exodus west, such as part of their clothing allowances they provided to Brigham Young to help finance the Latter-day Saint's move to the Salt Lake Valley. The battalion was a volunteer unit of 500 soldiers, nearly all Mormon men with regular army officers in command and key staff positions along with Mormon company officers. The battalion made a grueling march from Council Bluffs, Iowa to San Diego, California. The Mormon Battalion were mostly members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were fleeing religious persecution in Nauvoo, Illinois. The battalion's march and service was instrumental in helping secure new lands in several Western states, especially the Gadsden Purchase of 1853 of much of southern Arizona. The march also opened a southern wagon route to California. Veterans of the battalion played significant roles in America's westward expansion in California, Utah, Arizona and other parts of the West. President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Brigham Young, sent Elder Jesse C. Little to Washington, D.C. to seek assistance from the federal government for the Mormon trek west. After several interviews with President James Polk in early June 1846, the offer to enlist some 500 men after the Mormons arrived in California was accepted. Yet, orders through military channels were misread and an army officer went to the Mormon camps in Iowa to enlist men into a battalion consisting of all Mormons. The battalion was mustered into volunteer service on July 16, 1846 by Captain James Allen of the famous 1st U.S. Dragoons. Dispatched by Colonel (later Brigadier General) Stephen Kearny, Allen met no success in recruiting until Brigham Young and other members of the Twelve gave public approval. Eventually some 500 men volunteered into this unique "federal" unit, which was not structured as a more typical militia or state volunteer organization. Several large families, some soldier's wives and a number of teen age boys accompanied the battalion, making it appear more as a pioneer party than a military force. The Mormon Battalion would be part of the Army of the West under General Kearny, a tough and seasoned veteran, that would have two regiments of Missouri volunteers, a regiment of New York volunteers who would travel by ships to California, artillery and infantry battalions, Kearny's own 1st US Dragoons, and the battalion of Mormons. The Mormon Battalion arrived in San Diego, California on January 29, 1847 after a march of some 1,900 miles from Iowa. For the next five months until their discharge on July 16, 1847 in Los Angeles, the battalion trained and also performed occupation duties in several locations in southern California. The most significant service the battalion provided in California and during the war, was as a reliable unit under Cooke that General Kearny could rely on to block Fremont's mutinous bid to control California. The construction of Fort Moore was one measure Cooke employed to protect legitimate military and civil control under Kearny. Some 22 Mormon men died from disease or other natural causes during their service. About 80 of the men re-enlisted for another six months of service. A few of the men escorted John C. Fremont back east for his court-martial. A few discharged veterans worked in the Sacramento area for James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill. Henry Bigler recorded the actual date, January 24, 1848, in his diary (now on display at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA) when gold was discovered. This gold find started the California Gold Rush the next year. For more information, visit http://www.mormon.org |
 | History of the Mormons in California - Mormon Battalion 2/3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3Zsvml57PE is a video describing how to learn more about the Mormon Church. This is from the video "More Precious Than Gold." The Mormon Battalion was the only religious "unit" in American military history serving from July 1846 to July 1847 during the Mexican-American War. They provided funds from their salaries and allowances to assist the Mormon exodus west, such as part of their clothing allowances they provided to Brigham Young to help finance the Latter-day Saint's move to the Salt Lake Valley. The battalion was a volunteer unit of 500 soldiers, nearly all Mormon men with regular army officers in command and key staff positions along with Mormon company officers. The battalion made a grueling march from Council Bluffs, Iowa to San Diego, California. The Mormon Battalion were mostly members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were fleeing religious persecution in Nauvoo, Illinois. The battalion's march and service was instrumental in helping secure new lands in several Western states, especially the Gadsden Purchase of 1853 of much of southern Arizona. The march also opened a southern wagon route to California. Veterans of the battalion played significant roles in America's westward expansion in California, Utah, Arizona and other parts of the West. President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Brigham Young, sent Elder Jesse C. Little to Washington, D.C. to seek assistance from the federal government for the Mormon trek west. After several interviews with President James Polk in early June 1846, the offer to enlist some 500 men after the Mormons arrived in California was accepted. Yet, orders through military channels were misread and an army officer went to the Mormon camps in Iowa to enlist men into a battalion consisting of all Mormons. The battalion was mustered into volunteer service on July 16, 1846 by Captain James Allen of the famous 1st U.S. Dragoons. Dispatched by Colonel (later Brigadier General) Stephen Kearny, Allen met no success in recruiting until Brigham Young and other members of the Twelve gave public approval. Eventually some 500 men volunteered into this unique "federal" unit, which was not structured as a more typical militia or state volunteer organization. Several large families, some soldier's wives and a number of teen age boys accompanied the battalion, making it appear more as a pioneer party than a military force. The Mormon Battalion would be part of the Army of the West under General Kearny, a tough and seasoned veteran, that would have two regiments of Missouri volunteers, a regiment of New York volunteers who would travel by ships to California, artillery and infantry battalions, Kearny's own 1st US Dragoons, and the battalion of Mormons. The Mormon Battalion arrived in San Diego, California on January 29, 1847 after a march of some 1,900 miles from Iowa. For the next five months until their discharge on July 16, 1847 in Los Angeles, the battalion trained and also performed occupation duties in several locations in southern California. The most significant service the battalion provided in California and during the war, was as a reliable unit under Cooke that General Kearny could rely on to block Fremont's mutinous bid to control California. The construction of Fort Moore was one measure Cooke employed to protect legitimate military and civil control under Kearny. Some 22 Mormon men died from disease or other natural causes during their service. About 80 of the men re-enlisted for another six months of service. A few of the men escorted John C. Fremont back east for his court-martial. A few discharged veterans worked in the Sacramento area for James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill. Henry Bigler recorded the actual date, January 24, 1848, in his diary (now on display at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA) when gold was discovered. This gold find started the California Gold Rush the next year. For more information, visit http://www.mormon.org |
 | History of the Mormons in California - Mormon Battalion 3/3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3Zsvml57PE is a video describing how to learn more about the Mormon Church. This is from the film "More Precious Than Gold." The Mormon Battalion was the only religious "unit" in American military history serving from July 1846 to July 1847 during the Mexican-American War. They provided funds from their salaries and allowances to assist the Mormon exodus west, such as part of their clothing allowances they provided to Brigham Young to help finance the Latter-day Saint's move to the Salt Lake Valley. The battalion was a volunteer unit of 500 soldiers, nearly all Mormon men with regular army officers in command and key staff positions along with Mormon company officers. The battalion made a grueling march from Council Bluffs, Iowa to San Diego, California. The Mormon Battalion were mostly members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were fleeing religious persecution in Nauvoo, Illinois. The battalion's march and service was instrumental in helping secure new lands in several Western states, especially the Gadsden Purchase of 1853 of much of southern Arizona. The march also opened a southern wagon route to California. Veterans of the battalion played significant roles in America's westward expansion in California, Utah, Arizona and other parts of the West. President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Brigham Young, sent Elder Jesse C. Little to Washington, D.C. to seek assistance from the federal government for the Mormon trek west. After several interviews with President James Polk in early June 1846, the offer to enlist some 500 men after the Mormons arrived in California was accepted. Yet, orders through military channels were misread and an army officer went to the Mormon camps in Iowa to enlist men into a battalion consisting of all Mormons. The battalion was mustered into volunteer service on July 16, 1846 by Captain James Allen of the famous 1st U.S. Dragoons. Dispatched by Colonel (later Brigadier General) Stephen Kearny, Allen met no success in recruiting until Brigham Young and other members of the Twelve gave public approval. Eventually some 500 men volunteered into this unique "federal" unit, which was not structured as a more typical militia or state volunteer organization. Several large families, some soldier's wives and a number of teen age boys accompanied the battalion, making it appear more as a pioneer party than a military force. The Mormon Battalion would be part of the Army of the West under General Kearny, a tough and seasoned veteran, that would have two regiments of Missouri volunteers, a regiment of New York volunteers who would travel by ships to California, artillery and infantry battalions, Kearny's own 1st US Dragoons, and the battalion of Mormons. The Mormon Battalion arrived in San Diego, California on January 29, 1847 after a march of some 1,900 miles from Iowa. For the next five months until their discharge on July 16, 1847 in Los Angeles, the battalion trained and also performed occupation duties in several locations in southern California. The most significant service the battalion provided in California and during the war, was as a reliable unit under Cooke that General Kearny could rely on to block Fremont's mutinous bid to control California. The construction of Fort Moore was one measure Cooke employed to protect legitimate military and civil control under Kearny. Some 22 Mormon men died from disease or other natural causes during their service. About 80 of the men re-enlisted for another six months of service. A few of the men escorted John C. Fremont back east for his court-martial. A few discharged veterans worked in the Sacramento area for James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill. Henry Bigler recorded the actual date, January 24, 1848, in his diary (now on display at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA) when gold was discovered. This gold find started the California Gold Rush the next year. For more information, visit http://www.mormon.org |
 | "Han Wudi汉武大帝"-Loyalty to motherland(精忠报国) Wèi Qīng (Chinese: 衛青; Wade-Giles: Wei Ch'ing, d. 106 BC), born in Linfen, Shanxi, was a great general during Han Dynasty of China, whose campaigns against Xiongnu (匈奴) earned him great acclaim. He was the younger half-brother of Empress Wei Zifu (衛子夫) and the uncle of Huo Qubing (霍去病), as well as the Emperor Wu (漢武帝)'s late brother-in-law. In 129 BC, when Xiongnu attacked the Commandery of Shanggu (上谷, roughly modern Zhangjiakou, Hebei), Emperor Wu dispatched Wei Qing (with the title General Cheqi 車騎將軍), Gongsun Ao, Gongsun He (公孫賀) and Li Guang (李廣) against Xiongnu, each leading 10,000 cavalries.[6] Li Guang and Gongsun Ao suffered major losses at Xiongnu's hands, while Gongsun He failed to encounter and engage the enemy. Wei, however, distinguished himself by raiding Xiongnu's holy site Longcheng (龍城), killing over 700 Xiongnu soldiers guarding the place in the process. As a reward for the victory (the first proper victory against Xiongnu in Han history), Wei was promoted to a higher command and created an acting marquess (關內侯). In 128 BC, Wei would have a larger victory against Xiongnu, killing thousands of Xiongnu soldiers. In 127 BC, Wei had a major victory against Xiongnu's Princes of Loufan (樓煩王) and Baiyang (白羊王) after totally outmaneuvering and surrounding the Xiongnu forces, killing thousands of Xiongnu soldiers and capturing over a million Xiongnu cattles.The Han recapture of the territory forced the two Xiongnu clans to withdraw from the fertile Hetao region (河套, modern western central Inner Mongolia centering Ordos), and dealt devastating blow to the economy of these Xiongnu tribes. The City of Shuofang (朔方城) was built, and would later become a key stronghold from which offensive and defensive campaigns against Xiongnu would be launched. For his achievement, Wei was created the Marquess of Changping (長平侯), and his subordinates Su Jian (蘇建, father of the great Han patriot Su Wu) and Zhang Cigong (張次公) were also created marquesses. In 124 BC, Wei would be the vital part of the greatest Han victory over Xiongnu to date. When Xiongnu's Worthy Prince of the Right (右賢王, literally meaning "Wise King of the Right") made harassing raids against Shuofang, Wei and his other generals surprised them by launching a crushing night assault on Xiongnu's main camp, surrounding them from the rear. Not only did they sent the Worthy Prince running for his life from his drunken sleep (with only his own concubine following),[12] they also took about 15,000 captives, including large numbers of Xiongnu princes and nobles, and great herds of cattles.[13] At this compaign, his nephew Huo Qubing distinguished himself in battle and was given his own command. For this victory, Wei was made the Grand Commander of all armed forces (大將軍), and his march was enlarged. His three young sons Wei Kang (衛伉), Wei Buyi (衛不疑), and Wei Deng (衛登) were also made marquesses (an offer later refused by Wei Qing), as were seven generals under Wei's command. In 123 BC, Wei would fight a relatively inconclusive battle. After initially killing or capturing thousands of Xiongnu soldiers, part of his vanguard forces, a 3,000-strong regiment commanded by Generals Su Jian and Zhao Xin (趙信), was surprised and surrounded by the forces led by Xiongnu's Chanyu Yizhixie (伊稚斜單于), and almost annihilated.Zhao defected, while Su escaped after losing all his men in the desperate fighting. Showing compassion on Su, Wei spared him even though some advocates advised that Su be executed on the spot after court martial to enforce Wei's commanding authority. Despite his great honor and power, Wei remained humble in many ways. Because of the great favor Emperor Wu showed him, all of the other officials at court flattered him, except for Ji An (汲黯), who treated him as an equal. Wei was impressed by Ji's integrity in face of pressure and respected Ji greatly, often requesting Ji's opinion on important matters. Throughout his career, he refused to hire scholars to praising him and create favorable public opinions,[17] and tried to maintain a relative low-profile fashion of life. Despite his humble way of life, Wei's status in the Han army made him a distinguished figure in the country, attracting admiration, jealousy and hostility alike.[18] Emperor Wu's uncle, the Prince of Huainan Liu An (淮南王劉安), who had been conspiring military coup for a long time, saw Wei as his prime political obstacle that must be removed. |
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