Real life crazy desperation military actions that worked

My memory of history is deserting me today. We've been spending a lot of time discussing every crazy desperation thing the SL military can do that might if a miracle occurs result in success. I know such actions, while rare have actually successfully occurred in real life military history. Is anyone's memory better than mine?

biochem wrote:My memory of history is deserting me today. We've been spending a lot of time discussing every crazy desperation thing the SL military can do that might if a miracle occurs result in success. I know such actions, while rare have actually successfully occurred in real life military history. Is anyone's memory better than mine?

The Battle of Agincourt, perhaps?

Unfortunately, the GA is the one with advanced missile tech(and fewer units), so that's not a good example for the SL.

biochem wrote:My memory of history is deserting me today. We've been spending a lot of time discussing every crazy desperation thing the SL military can do that might if a miracle occurs result in success. I know such actions, while rare have actually successfully occurred in real life military history. Is anyone's memory better than mine?

Missionary Ridge in November 1863. With attacks at either flank slowed or stymied, U.S. Grant ordered General George Thomas to advance in the center to draw the Rebs' interest and keep them from reinforcing their right and left.

I live about 100 miles from Chattanooga (where the battle took place), and I can tell you that the Ridge is steep, inhospitable and just about the last place you would want to assault with armed troops behind prepared fortifications waiting to shoot you.

But Thomas' men had been defeated and besieged by these same Confederates months ago, and the forces on their flanks had come to 'rescue' them, a matter that hurt their pride--so they proceeded to charge up the slope of Missionary Ridge, 20,000 of them, in a charge that really should have led to a bloody repulse.

However, they did have some things going for them. One, the slope was so steep it was hard for the Confederates to fire downward without exposing themselves. Also, the way the top of the mountain curved made it hard for the defenders to see more than those closest to them, while they could see almost all of the Union soldiers heading up hill.

There were other reasons too, but the upshot is that the charge took the position, sent the Confederate Army of the Tennessee in rout (something that had never happened before to that force) and relieved the siege of Chattanooga--and got their pride back.

Now I don't know if the situation will be the same 2100 years in the future, but it will require men and women who pride themselves on their professionalism willing to do something that no one expects and carrying it through.

We shall see, eventually.

PS--I can't open Duckks link at work, so if this is in their already (like it should be), then apologies for the repetition.

Check these out:

*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXusKM5uX0s
*https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+greatest+raid+of+all+St.+Nazaire


*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Nazaire_Raid

[size=85]The St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a successful British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War. The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy and British Commandos under the auspices of Combined Operations Headquarters on 28 March 1942. St Nazaire was targeted because the loss of its dry dock would force any large German warship in need of repairs, such as the Tirpitz, to return to home waters rather than having a safe haven available on the Atlantic coast.

The obsolete destroyer HMS Campbeltown, accompanied by 18 smaller craft, crossed the English Channel to the Atlantic coast of France and was rammed into the Normandie dock gates. The ship had been packed with delayed-action explosives, well hidden within a steel and concrete case, that detonated later that day, putting the dock out of service for the remainder of the war and up to ten years after. A force of commandos landed to destroy machinery and other structures. Heavy German gunfire sank, set ablaze or immobilised all the small craft intended to transport the commandos back to England; the commandos had to fight their way out through the town to try to escape overland. They were forced to surrender when their ammunition was expended and they were surrounded.

After the raid 228 men of the force of 622 returned to Britain; 169 were killed and 215 became prisoners of war. German casualties were over 360 dead, mostly killed after the raid when Campbeltown exploded. To recognise their bravery, 89 decorations were awarded to members of the raiding party, including five Victoria Crosses. After the war St Nazaire was one of 38 battle honours awarded to the Commandos; the operation has since become known as The Greatest Raid of All within military circles.[/size]


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Duckk wrote:http://www.cracked.com/article_18765_the-6-most-insane-underdog-stories-in-history-battle.html

Very interesting article. In 5 out of 6 cases where the winning military force was heavily outnumbered and under-equipped, there was tactical brilliance that lead to a victory. In the Battles of Morgarten and Stirling Bridge, terrain choke points were used to reduce the effectiveness of the larger army's numbers and weapons. In the Battle of the Ice, terrain knowledge was used to insure the opponents would be on unfavorable terrain. In the Battle of Isandlwana, the winning army managed to sneak up on the losing army and launch a devastating concentrated attack. In the Battle of Valcour Island, a diversionaary force was used that was designed to distract the British from their true tactical target of seizing the Hudson River and cutting the fledgling US in two. The British wasted so much time trying to defeat the smaller American force that the British force was unable to achieve its crucial goal before winter closed in. I have no idea what was going on in that battle between the Vikings and the Native Americans. My best would be knowledge of the terrain and the element of surpirse.

munroburton wrote:The Battle of Agincourt, perhaps?

Unfortunately, the GA is the one with advanced missile tech(and fewer units), so that's not a good example for the SL.

Agincourt was lost by the French a lot more than it was won by the British.

Anybody with a working brain would have known better than sending heavily armored troops marching through a freshly plowed field, after several days of heavy rain, up hill into a prepared enemy. Oh, did I mention that those enemy troops numbers were heavily biased toward longbowmen? (You know, the guys with the really tall bows that had been killing French knights in job lots for a couple hundred years by this time.)

Let's not even mention that their troops armed with ranged weapons (like the crossbowmen) were pushed off to the side so the nobility and their men at arms could march up and start hacking away with their melee weapons. Yup, they didn't need any stinking crossbowmen (mercenaries for the most part and a lot of them Italian) to bleed the enemy before hand (or at least to keep their heads down) nor to distract all those blasted longbowmen from shooting at the men at arms and knights. They were the flower of French chivalry, after all. They could just stroll up to them, shout 'Vive le Roi!' and 'Saint Denis!' a couple times to scare them and start killing.

Or that's what they thought would happen. What really happened is the French suffered under an arrow storm for most of their approach- which was more like wading through knee deep mud for several hundred yards than a march. Once they finally hit the English lines, they were exhausted and their formation was a little ragged and the English held against the initial thrust. Then the longbowmen- who were out of arrows- grabbed what hand weapons they had and waded into the mud to attack their flanks and being lighter armored if they had armor at all and far less encumbered turned their part of the battle into more of a street brawl by ganging up on their less agile opponents, tripping them up so they could close and stick a knife under a helmet or surrounding them and baiting them like dogs would do a bear until one of the longbowmen could slip in and strike.

There is one thing that can be said about the way the French fought the British. At least they were consistent. The British never really had to work hard to bring them to battle. All they had to do was find a bit of high ground, form up and stand there. The French would see them, get cocky and go try to push them off. It worked just as well at Agincourt as it did 400 years later for Wellington during the Peninsula Campaign part of the Napoleonic Wars.

The one that comes to mind for me is this one:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_off_Samar

So, you are escorting some converted merchant ship/aircraft carriers carrying a handful of aircraft and a bunch of troop ships and supply ships when half the freaking Japanese navy shows up, including the biggest battleship in the world.

You have three DD's and some lighter craft, plus whatever assistance the aircraft can provide...you have a fair number but they're all equipped for ground combat and ASW, with weapons pretty much useless against BBs and CAs.

Naturally...you attack. Including fake runs when you run out of ammunition to intimidate the other side....

To be fair to the IJN, they'd been beat up quite a bit by airstrikes and they had no idea where the main USN force (which outnumbered and outclassed them in every category, even if only a portion of them showed up) might be. It is not at all unreasonable for them to assume the light forces attacking wouldn't be so confident/crazy without backup just over the horizon.

But still. It's something out of bad science fiction, X-wing fighters vs Death Star kind of stuff at the tactical level.

Nothing to do with naval action but still fits with the general topic, The Battle Of The Bulge with the 101st Airborne Division, some may disagree with that though.

Either of the Chindit Raids into Burma should qualify. Walking into Burma in battalion strength and relying only on air drops for resupply was beyond crazy. Setting up strong points far behind Japanese lines and relying on aircraft for resupply was unheard of at the time, too. At least in the second raid, they didn't have to walk in. They took gliders instead.

Then there was the British officer that attacked shipping in Singapore Harbor- using kayaks and limpet mines. I just can't remember his name right off the top of my head. He had a tattoo of a tiger's head on this chest.

And there was the German Uboat raid by Gunther Prien into Scapa Flow early in WWII. The guy took the Uboat in on the surface so he could get over the chain blocking one of the entrances. He did it at night, of course, but still.... He sank a couple ships and got away, too.