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Dan Snow

@thehistoryguy

Oct 30

Striking an enemy fleet in (or near) port has a long history, and it has been particularly effective when new technology has been deployed.

I'm on a long train journey. So here's a thread.

🧵👇

1/let's see

Attacking an enemy in their harbour has advantages. You know where to find them. Unlike when they're at sea. Ships might be in a reduced state of readiness. Should be a target rich environment. But risky. Bases are heavily protected. By geography AND engineers. A powerful combo.

An ancient method was packing ships or rafts with flammable stuff, setting fire to them & using current to carry them into an enemy anchorage. Fire is terrifying to men aboard wooden ships, packed with hemp, tar, gunpowder. Many sailors couldn't swim.

(Image from 11th C China)

Read 26 tweets

Dan Snow

@thehistoryguy

Oct 27

It's the 60th anniversary of probably the closest we have ever come to a global thermonuclear war.

A heated exchange between confused and exhausted men in the cramped conning tower of a Soviet submarine may have saved humanity.

Thread:

At the beginning of Oct 1962 a 2 yr old Soviet sub left its base in the Arctic bound for the Caribbean, supporting Soviets arms deliveries to communist Cuba. It carried one torpedo with a 10 kiltoton nuclear warhead. 10kt is similar to Hiroshima- anything within a mile is wrecked

Today in 1962 the carrier USS Randolph & escorting destroyers detected B-59 near Cuba. The genius plan (one that made JFK put his head in hands when it was outlined to him) was to force Soviet submarines to the surface to be identified... by dropping depth charges.

Read 14 tweets

Dan Snow

@thehistoryguy

Oct 14

The year of three Prime Ministers?

We've been there before.

Thread.

1782. The nadir. In '81 British forces suffered their worst ever defeat at sea [sob] & on land at Yorktown. PM Lord North groans, "it's all over." This was correct.
March 82 Rockingham took over but died within 3 months
Shelburne, may his name live in infamy, took over in July

(He lasted less than a year, although long enough to cough up a massive chunk of the mid West to the American Republic, but was ousted and replaced by a chamber of horrors under Portland. Which also failed to break a year. Young Pitt became the fifth PM in under two years.)

Read 10 tweets

Dan Snow

@thehistoryguy

Oct 9

Bridges.
Making them and breaking them.

Thread:

We thrive by water. We travel, fish, farm & trade on or near rivers, lakes and seashores. That means we need to cross bodies of water. We can float, wade or bridge them.
So bridges matter. They make a wet environment dry. They are quick & less prone to seasonal interruption

London exists because it’s the furthest point east where the Thames could be bridged. Paris. Moscow. Delhi. Montreal.... all were crossing points.

Bridges are arteries of trade and logistics. They're status symbols.
And if they’re valuable, people fight over them.

Read 24 tweets

Dan Snow

@thehistoryguy

Oct 4

I'm not sure we talk enough about Luis Walter Alvarez. But we should.

And here's why:

He was a ridiculously smart physics grad student in the 1930s who made such a name for himself that on the outbreak of war he joined a crack team dedicated to improving radar.

He made some essential discoveries- for example he held the basic patent for the radar transponder, for which he assigned rights to the U.S. government for $1.

And his success earned him an invitation to join the Manhattan project. Here's his Los Alamos ID

Read 13 tweets

Dan Snow

@thehistoryguy

Oct 3

@AlwynTurner

New Podcast!

Deep dive into energy crisis of the early 1970s, foreign wars, price spikes, rationing and lessons for today. With the brilliant @AlwynTurner

podfollow.com/dan-snows-hist…

The 1972 coal miners strike saw the Conservative govt declare a state of emergency. Electric heating banned in shops and pubs. There were rolling power cuts. Public lighting dimmed. Parliament worked by paraffin lights.

The govt's mantra was SOS: Switch off Something.

The crisis deepened in autumn 1973 when the Arab Israeli war led to oil supplies disruption.

There was a three day working week. Street lighting cut. 50mph speed limits. Ministers told people to brush teeth in dark.

Read 4 tweets

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