ANCIENT WARFARE

The oldest remaining documentation of military campaigns come from the Middle East where the Egyptians, Assyrians, Hittites, and Persians were the main combatants. Read about the rise of standing armies and how battles were fought 4000 years ago.

PART I: Ancient Egyptian Military

The Army

Until the takeover of Lower Egypt by the Hyksos, most conflicts the Egyptians had fought had been civil wars, where mainly armies of conscripted peasants and artisans led by noblemen opposed each other, or relatively short campaigns south into Nubia extending the southern borders of the realm, or east and west into the desert regions.

From the Old Kingdom on foreigners were incorporated into the army. The Egyptians possibly even signed contracts with foreign potentates to insure the supply of mercenaries. Weni, who lived during the 6th Dynasty wrote"

"When his majesty took action against the Asiatic sand-dwellers, his majesty made an army of many tens of thousands from all of Upper Egypt: ...; from Lower Egypt: ...; and from Irtjet-Nubians, Medja-Nubians, Yam-Nubians, Wawat-Nubians, Kaau-Nubians; and from Tjemeh-land." Lichtheim I, The Autobiography of Weni, p. 19

Nubian Medjay entered Egypt during the turmoils of the First Intermediate Period, formed mercenary archer units and served in the armed constabulary. They are known to have fought under Kamose against the Hyksos.

The Changing Army of the New Kingdom

The equipment was basic at the beginning of Egyptian history: something to throw at the enemy or hit him with and a heavy shield to hide behind, and the need to improve the weaponry remained small for a long time.

After the Hyksos had taken control of the Delta, the Theban pharaohs of the 17th and 18th dynasties adopted new weapons and strategies, a prerequisite for empire building in the Middle East, a region where the constant development of new and better weapons was necessary for survival. Their presence also caused changes in the role of the military in Egyptian society. As the length of the campaigns grew, the use of conscripts became impractical, and the army turned professional, with the nobility in the role of officers and charioteers, and the king fighting among them, generally in closed ranks.

Many specialized troops evolved, such as sappers with heavy shields using battering rams and scaling ladders, trench digging pioneers and, after the reconquest of Nubia, Kushite shock troops and Nubian archers.

This new army did not have all the centuries old traditions other social institutions had. It was therefore relatively easy for talented individuals to rise through the ranks. They could move into other segments of society and maintain exalted positions thanks to the gifts of land and slaves they received from the pharaohs, from Ahmose I onwards. Appreciation for this new nobility, its courage and achievements, was often expressed in inscriptions

A number of army commanders reached kingship, among them Horembeb and Ramses I (XIX Dynasty) and many kings surrounded themselves with former soldiers whose loyalty and self-sacrifice they had experienced. Didu, a professional soldier, was appointed to the post of responsible for the deserts east of Thebes, then became the king's envoy to foreign countries, later standard bearer of the king's guard, captain of the ship Meri-amen and finally commander of the police force. After a long and blameless service Neb-amen, another standard bearer, was appointed chief of police of western Thebes.

Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), whose bodyguard consisted mostly of foreigners -Syrians, Libyans and Nubians - used the army to break the power of the priesthood and the bureaucrats. But after his death the military establishment made peace with the civil service and the clergy. Subsequent pharaohs had to take into account the interest of all three sectors.

With the expanding empire and the need to find capable soldiers, the Egyptians began to induct prisoners of war into their army, such as Sherden captured during the incursions of the Sea Peoples. Their loyalty to the throne was such, that Sherden only were chosen for the bodyguard of Ramses II.

It was probably during the reign of Ramses II that the first regular mounted cavalry - as opposed to horse-drawn chariots - was introduced in any army, but it was only the Persians in the 6th century BCE who realized its full potential.

The XIX and XX Dynasties saw some of the most spectacular exploits of Egyptian power but also its decline, with Egypt barely able to defend its frontiers and relying heavily on mercenaries. By the middle of the 12th century sixty percent of the soldiers were non-Egyptians.

Sheshonq I (XXII Dynasty) recreated the royal army after years of neglect:

"Sesonchosis created an elite of the most robust men... he raised 600,000 footsoldiers, 24,000 knights, 27,000 war chariots. He shared government with the companions of his youth, all experienced at fighting, full of bravery, numbering 1700 and more. Sesonchosis gave them the best land so they could devote themselves entirely to war, being economically secure." Diodorus (I,54)

The Army Organisation

Ancient armies were typically small compared to modern mass armies. The Egyptian army of the New Kingdom was composed of three divisions under Seti I on his Canaan Campaign, named Suteh (Set) - "the heroic archers", Amen - "the mighty archers" and Re - "the many-armed", and of four under Ramses II on his Kadesh Campaign, the forth being named Ptah.

A division numbered several thousand men, typically 4000 infantry and 1000 chariotry, organised into ten battalions of about 500 soldiers, which were subdivided into companies 250 strong, platoons of fifty men and ten men squads.

The overall command lay in the hands of the pharaoh himself or one of his close relatives, generally a son. Similar to the administration of the whole kingdom, the army was divided into a northern and a southern corps overseen by Chief Deputies. The line of command included ranks corresponding to the modern generals, battalion commanders, standard bearers and adjutants at the company level, lieutenants leading the platoons, and non-commissioned officers in charge of squads.

The chariotry was led by marshals (jmj-rA ssmwt - Ami-Re-sesemut). It was divided into brigades, each of which was comprised of two or more squadrons. Five companies of ten chariots each made up a squadron. Egyptian chariots were manned by two soldiers, a driver and an archer.

Parallel to the combat line of command there was a scribal administration organised on hierarchical lines and distinct from the combat officers.

Standards of Behaviour After Victory

While the Egyptians were perhaps less cruel than the Assyrians who erased cities and destroyed whole peoples in order to frighten others into submission, they still let the conquered know who was master, enslaving survivors both civilian and military and destroying or plundering their means of livelihood.

"This army returned in peace, [after] it had torn down its forts.
This army returned in peace, [after] it had cut down its figs and its vines.
this army returned in peace, [after] it threw fire amongst all its [troops]
this army returned in peace, [after] it killed its troops there in many ten thousands.
this army returned in peace, [after] it brought from its troops there a great many prisoners of war.
His majesty praised me for it more than anything
His majesty sent me to lead this army five times
to subdue the land of the Sand Dwellers, every time they rebelled, with these troops.
I acted so that his majesty praised me for it." From the autobiography of Weni the Elder
translated by J.Carrington

After the conquest of Megiddo by Thutmose the surviving princes surrendered to the pharaoh, and after accepting the Egyptian king as their overlord, they were allowed to continue ruling their cities.

Behold, the chiefs of this country came to render their portions, to do obeisance to the fame of his majesty, to crave breath for their nostrils, because of the greatness of his power, because of the might of the fame of his majesty the country came to his fame, bearing their gifts, consisting of silver, gold, lapis lazuli, malachite; bringing clean grain, wine, large cattle, and small cattle for the army of his majesty. Each of the Kode among them bore the tribute southward. Behold, his majesty appointed the chiefs anew. James Henry Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt: Historical Documents.
(Chicago: 1906), Part II § 434.

Booty was important as a source of remuneration of one's followers and was sometimes the reason for not achieving military success. During the battle of Kadesh the Hittite charioteers seem to have abandoned the pursuit of Ramses and the remnants of his forces in order to plunder the Egyptian camp, which gave the pharaoh time to reorganize his forces and drive the Hittites back towards Kadesh.

Thutmose III exercised better control over his troops at Megiddo. Plundering started after the victory over the enemy chariotry was complete, though it prevented, according to the chronicler, the taking of the town by assault. The booty belonged to the king who distributed it to those he deemed deserving.

Some conquered territories like Nubia and the Sinai were annexed, administered by Egyptian officials and controlled with the help of the army, while in others, like Canaan, local kings subservient to the pharaohs ruled with armies of their own.

The Navy

Egyptian squadrons composed of speedy keftiu, kebentiu from Byblos and Egyptian transports patrolled the eastern Mediterranean.

Unlike the later Greeks who developed special naval techniques (used also by Late Period Egypt), maritime battles by New Kingdom Egyptians and their opponents, the Sea Peoples, were fought by seaborne land troops. The Egyptian deployment of archers and the fact, that Egyptian ships could both be sailed and rowed, gave them a decisive advantage, despite the inferiority of the vessels themselves, which were at times quite sizable carrying up to two hundred and fifty soldiers.

But often the navy was little more than a means for getting land troops quickly to the Asiatic coast. Thutmose III employed this technique with great success.

Egypt lost its role of maritime superpower after the end of the New Kingdom. Phoenicians and Greeks became the main players in the Mediterranean. Continental powers like the Persians used these sea-faring nations to impose their control on the seas.

Egypt renewed its navy under Necho II, investing heavily in the development of biremes and was possibly among the inventors of the more powerful triremes in its attempt to fight off the Persians. It was unsuccessful and thereafter its fleet was at the behest of the foreign power controlling the country. Dozens of Egyptian ships were incorporated into the Persian fleet fighting the Greeks.

The last of the Ptolemies, Queen Cleopatra VII joined forces with the Roman Marc Antony, in an attempt to preserve Egypt's independence. But her fleet was defeated at Actium, which spelled out the end of pharaonic Egypt.

The Rewards of Military Life

The scribes' view of the soldier's life

Scribes seem not to have had too much respect for the profession of the soldier, nor any other profession for that matter. They often warned their students against a career in the army describing it in the least favourable terms

Come, [let me tell] you the woes of the soldier, and how many are his superiors: the general, the troop-commander, the officer who leads, the standard-bearer, the lieutenant, the scribe, the commander of fifty, and the garrison-captain. They go in and out in the halls of the palace, saying: "Get laborers!" He is awakened at any hour. One is after him as [after] a donkey. He toils until the Aten sets in his darkness of night. He is hungry, his belly hurts; he is dead while yet alive. When he receives the grain-ration, having been released from duty, it is not good for grinding.
He is called up for Syria. He may not rest. There are no clothes, no sandals. The weapons of war are assembled at the fortress of Sile. His march is uphill through mountains. He drinks water every third day; it is smelly and tastes of salt. His body is ravaged by illness. The enemy comes, surrounds him with missiles, and life recedes from him. He is told: "Quick, forward, valiant soldier! Win for yourself a good name!" He does not know what he is about. His body is weak, his legs fail him.
When victory is won, the captives are handed over to his majesty, to be taken to Egypt. The foreign woman faints on the march; she hangs herself [on] the soldier's neck. His knapsack drops, another grabs it while he is burdened with the woman. His wife and children are in their village; he dies and does not reach it. If he comes out alive, he is worn out from marching.
Be he at large, be he detained, the soldier suffers. If he leaps and joins the deserters, all his people are imprisoned. He dies on the edge of the desert, and there is none to perpetuate his name. He suffers in death as in life. A big sack is brought for him; he does not know his resting place. From the Instructions of the Scribe Wenemdiamun
Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976), Vol. I

Booty and Glory

The soldiers saw it a bit differently. Ahmose, son of Abana, retired to his own estate satisfied that:

"Never will the name and memory of the hero and his deeds be erased on this earth."

He saw his profession as well remunerated. After a battle was won the booty was distributed. Brave men, whose names were proclaimed by the royal herald, received grants of land and after the possessions of the king's enemies had been confiscated, they were given slaves and chattels. Ahmose himself got nineteen slaves and slave-girls, and more than once was the recipient of praise and glory in the form of necklaces and trophies with hieroglyphic inscriptions:

"Given by the grace of King Menkhepere to the noble prince, the Holy Father, beloved of the God, who fills the heart of the king wherever he is, in all the foreign lands and islands of the Great Green, who fills the treasury with sapphires, silver and gold, over the foreign lands, over the army, the glory of the God is on him."

Didu, a standard bearer, was awarded a necklace with golden bees (or flies) and a golden lion. His cousin, Neb-kemi who had the same rank, received a golden bracelet. The granting of sinecures, such as Ahmose of Nekhabit received, was another way of rewarding loyal servants. Another reward, given to Neb-amen, was the bestowing of the honorific Amkhu, which entitled its bearer to be buried at the pharaoh's expense.

Queen Ahhotep, mother of Ahmose I, received three golden flies for her role in the struggle against the Hyksos.

Quasi Feudal Privileges

In the poem of Pentaur Ramses II says:

"I have made you nemhu (i.e. not subject to compulsory labour). I have made you grow rich with daily sustenance; I have freed you from taxes; I have given the estate of the father to his son."

These privileges were extended by Merneptah and Ramses III to the Libyans, the Meshwesh, the Sherden and other immigrant peoples settled in the Delta.

Not always was the king successful in securing the undivided loyalty and support from his well treated troops. Ramses II scolded them for having forsaken him in the face of the enemy:

"Indolent, are you, indolent, my charioteers. I cannot be proud of you. Not one is among you whom I have not shown my benevolence in my land. Am I not exalted, lord of all? Were you not poor and destitute? I have elevated you every day for the sake of my Ka. I gave the father's inheritance to his son. I have done away with evil in this land. I have reduced your taxes. I returned to you what had been taken from you in the past. Whoever had a wish, I fulfilled it. Ther is no ruler who has done as much for his soldiers as has my Majesty. I let you live in your cities and you did not have to serve, my charioteers. I let you take the roads leading to your cities, saying to myself: I will always find them, on the day of the battle and for the parade."

The Ordinary Soldier's Lot

While there is much evidence of the favours bestowed upon elite troops and officers, assessing the fate of the ordinary soldier, who didn't leave tombs decorated with scenes from his life, is more difficult. The depictions showing Amenemheb and Horemheb distributing not just bread and vegetables but also wine, cakes and meat to their soldiers may have been an attempt to improve these officers' chances in the other world.

The Standing of the Military

According to Diodorus (I, 73,94), one third of the land belonged to the king, another third to the priests and the rest to the soldiers.

" ...the warriors are called Calasirians and Hermotybians, and they are of the following districts,--for all Egypt is divided into districts. The districts of the Hermotybians are those of Busiris, Sais, Chemmis, Papremis, the island called Prosopitis, and the half of Natho,--of these districts are the Hermotybians, who reached when most numerous the number of sixteen myriads. Of these not one has been learnt anything of handicraft, but they are given up to war entirely. Again the districts of the Calasirians are those of Thebes, Bubastis, Aphthis, Tanis, Mendes, Sebennytos, Athribis, Pharbaithos, Thmuis, Onuphis, Anytis, Myecphoris,--this last is on an island opposite to the city of Bubastis. These are the districts of the Calasirians; and they reached, when most numerous, to the number of five-and-twenty myriads of men; nor is it lawful for these, any more than for the others, to practise any craft; but they practise that which has to do with war only, handing down the tradition from father to son." Herodotus, Histories II,164f
Project Gutenberg
"The warriors were the only Egyptians, except the priests, who had special privileges: for each of them an untaxed plot of twelve acres was set apart. This acre is a square of a hundred Egyptian cubits each way, the Egyptian cubit being equal to the Samian. These lands were set apart for all; it was never the same men who cultivated them, but each in turn. A thousand Calasirians and as many Hermotybians were the king's annual bodyguard. These men, besides their lands, each received a daily provision of five minae's weight of roast grain, two minae of beef, and four cups of wine. These were the gifts received by each bodyguard." Herodotus, Histories II,168
Project Gutenberg

The Mercenaries

The Greeks were not used to the Egyptian way of remuneration in natura, which had been accepted by the Nubians and Libyans during earlier, moneyless times. They demanded payment in specie and received money originating in Persia, Greece or the Levant. From 360 BCE onwards the Egyptians minted coins themselves in order to pay their Greek mercenaries .


Persian Gold stater used in Egypt after Persian Conquest	Athenian Tetradachm similar to the coins minted in Egypt

Next Tuesday, continuation of PART I: Ancient Egyptian Military
Weapons
Chariots
Warships

Today's classic warship, USS Topeka (CL-67)/(CLG-8)

Cleveland class light cruiser
Displacement. 10,000
Lenght. 608' 4"
Beam. 66' 3"
Draft. 25' 0"
Speed. 31.6 k.
Complement. 1,410
Armament (as built). 12 6", 12 5", 28 40mm, 10 20mm

The USS Topeka (CL-67) was laid down on 21 April 1943 by the Bethlehem Steel Co. yard located at Quincy, Mass.; launched on 19 August 1944; sponsored by Mrs. Frank J. Warren, and commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on 23 December 1944, Capt. Thomas L. Wattles in command.

After shakedown in the West Indies and post-shakedown repairs, Topeka departed Boston on 10 April 1946 for duty with the Pacific Fleet. The following day she joined Oklahoma City (CL-91); and the two ships steamed via Culebra Island and Guantanamo Bay to the Panama Canal. They transited the canal on 19 April and reported for duty with the Pacific Fleet on the 20th. The next day, Topeka and her steaming mate headed for Pearl Harbor, where they arrived on 2 May. Following almost three weeks of gunnery exercises in the Hawaiian Islands, the cruiser sailed west from Pearl Harbor as the flagship of Cruiser Division (CruDiv) 18. She entered Ulithi Atoll in the Western Carolines on 1 June and, after three days in the anchorage, put to sea with Bon Homme Richard (CV-31), Oklahoma City, Moale (DD-693), and Ringgold (DD-500) to rendezvous with Task Force (TF) 38.

On her first cruise with the fast carriers, she screened them against enemy air attack while their planes made three raids against targets in the enemy's home islands and the Ryukyus. On 8 June, TF 38 aircraft hit Kanoya on Kyushu-the home of Japanese naval aviation. The next day, they struck the Ryukyu Islands-specifically Okino Daito, located a little over 200 miles west of Okinawa. The third and final strike of her first combat cruise came on 10 June and provided the cruiser with her initial opportunity to join the fray. While TG 38.1 aircraft bombed and strafed the airfield on Minami Daito, the ships in the screen, Topeka among them, moved in and took the other installations under fire. At the conclusion of that action, Topeka moved off with the rest of TG 38.1 bound for San Pedro Bay, Leyte.

After spending the latter half of June at Leyte for relaxation and replenishment, the light cruiser returned to sea on 1 July with TF 38 for the final six-week carrier sweep of the Japanese home islands. The task force made a fueling rendezvous on the 8th and then began a run-in toward Tokyo which the American planes bombed on 10 July. Next, the ships moved north to Honshu and Hokkaido for a two-day antishipping sweep of the area around Hokadate and Muroran. They retired from the area for another fueling rendezvous on the 16th, but returned to the vicinity of southern Honshu and resumed the aerial blitz of Tokyo on the 17th and 18th. On the night of the latter date, Topeka had another opportunity to strike the enemy directly when she joined Atlanta (CL-104), Duluth (CL-87), Oklahoma City, and the destroyers of DesRon 62 in an antishipping sweep of the entrance to Sagami Nada near the sea approaches to Tokyo. During that sweep, she fired her guns at Japanese installations located on Nojima Zaki, the point of land which marks the eastern terminus of the entrance into Sagami Nada. Completing another replenishment retirement between 19 and 23 July, the task force resumed its air raids on central Japan with two extensive forays against shipping in the Inland Sea on the 24th and the 28th, respectively.

A typhoon at the end of July forced the task force to take evasive action and postpone further air operations until the second week in August. At that time, Topeka steamed north with TF 38 while the carriers moved into position to send sortie after sortie against heavy concentrations of enemy aircraft on northern Honshu. Those raids-launched on 9 and 10 August-proved eminently successful, wiping out what was later learned to be the transportation for 2,000 shock troops being assembled for a one-way , suicide mission to destroy the B-29 bases on Tinian. The carrier planes paid return visits to Tokyo on the 12th and 13th and were taking off to repeat those attacks when a message arrived on the 15th, telling of Japan's capitulation.

Topeka patrolled Japanese waters until mid-September, at which time she entered Tokyo Bay. She remained there until 1 October, the day she began her homeward voyage to the United States. The cruiser stopped briefly at Okinawa on the 4th to embark 529 veterans and resumed her eastern progress on the 5th. On 19 October, she arrived in Portland, Oreg., and disembarked her passengers. Ten days later, she steamed south to San Pedro, Calif., for overhaul. On 3 January 1946, the warship put to sea to return to the Far East. She reached Yokosuka, Japan, on the 24th and began duty supporting American occupation forces in Japan, China, and in the Central Pacific islands. During that tour of duty, which lasted until the following fall, she called at Sasebo, Japan, Tsingtao and Shanghai in China; Manila in the Philippines; and Guam in the Marianas. The cruiser returned to San Pedro, Calif., on 20 November.

Following an overhaul and operations along the west coast, she headed back to the Orient on 22 September 1947. Upon her arrival at Yokosuka, Japan, on 10 October, she became a unit of TF 71. Operating from bases at Shanghai and Tsingtao, the warship patrolled the north China coast while civil war raged on shore between Nationalist and communist factions. She concluded that duty early in March and entered Nagasaki, Japan, on the 8th. Following visits to Sasebo and Kure, Topeka sailed for the United States on 25 April and arrived in Long Beach on 7 May. Later that month, she moved to Pearl Harbor for a four-month overhaul at the completion of which she returned to the west coast. Late in October, the warship resumed local operations out of Long Beach and out of San Diego. She remained so occupied until February 1949. On 25 February, she arrived in San Francisco to prepare for inactivation. Topeka was decommissioned there on 18 June 1949 and berthed with the local group of the Pacific Reserve Fleet.

Early in 1957, Topeka was towed from San Francisco to the New York Naval Shipyard which she entered on 15 April to begin conversion to a guided missile cruiser. On 23 May she was officially redesignated CLG-8. During the almost three years it took to convert her, the cruiser was extensively modified. She retained only half her original gun battery, losing her two after 6-inch triple turrets and her three after 5-inch double mounts. The removal of those guns made room for the installation of her twin Terrier surface-to-air missile launcher and related ancillary equipment.

On 26 March 1960, Topeka was recommissioned, Capt. Frank L. Pinny, Jr., in command. In July, she made the passage from New York to the west coast. From August to October, the refurbished cruiser conducted shakedown training in the southern California operating area and then reported for duty at her home port, Long Beach. During the ensuing three years, Topeka alternated two peacetime deployments to the western Pacific with repair periods and local operations on the west coast. Her two tours in the Orient were characterized by visits to such places as Hong Kong, the Philippines, Okinawa, and a number of ports in Japan as well as exercises with other ships of the 7th Fleet and of Allied navies. When not deployed to the Far East, she conducted training operations, upkeep, and repairs.

In March 1964, she embarked upon her third deployment to the western Pacific since being recommissioned. That deployment began routinely enough with fleet exercises in May and calls at Japanese, Taiwanese, Malaysian, and Philippine ports. However, in August, North Vietnamese torpedo-boats attacked Maddox (DD-731) on the 2d and then returned to attack Maddox and Turner Joy (DD-961). This action-known as the Gulf of Tonkin incident-gave the remaining part of Topeka's deployment a more wartime character. Topeka cruised the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin while American involvement in the Vietnam conflict began to gather momentum. It was more than a year, though, before she steamed into war in earnest. Late in October, she started for home and reentered Long Beach near the end of the second week of November. For the next 12 months, she viewed the developing war from afar-operating out of west coast ports, undergoing repairs and modifications, and conducting exercises with the 1st Fleet.

On 29 November 1965, however, she headed back to the western Pacific for the first deployment during which her primary mission was to support the American and South Vietnamese forces fighting the communists. On that tour of duty, she served as the flagship for the Commander Cruiser-Destroyer Group, 7th Fleet. In that capacity the ship operated in the South China Sea and in the Gulf of Tonkin providing naval gunfire support for the troops ashore and supporting carrier air operations by conducting search an d rescue missions for downed aircrews. She punctuated tours of duty in the combat zone with port visits to Yokosuka, Japan, Hong Kong, and the Philippine ports of Manila and Subic Bay. Her six-month deployment ended on 28 May 1966 when Topeka reent ered Long Beach.

Five months of normal west coast operations-upkeep, training exercises, and the like-followed. On 31 October, the guided missile cruiser entered the naval shipyard for an overhaul during which her weapons systems were updated, and her engineering plant was overhauled. On 13 March 1967, she completed the yard overhaul and began sea trials and, later refresher training. She finished those evolutions early in June and resumed local operations. On 1 August, the warship put to sea from Long Beach for her first deployment to the Mediterranean Sea. She stopped at Norfolk on 12 and 13 August to embark the Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla 12, and his staff and then sailed for Palma de Majorca on the 14th. On the 20th, Topeka joined the 6th Fleet and, o n the 22d, relieved Galveston (CLG-3) as flagship for TG 60.2. During her five months with the 6th Fleet, she ranged the length of the "middle sea." In late September and early October, the warship participated in NATO exercise "Eager Beaver," conducted in the eastern end of the Mediterranean. In mid-October, she conducted operations in the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas on her way back to the western end.

In January 1968, she concluded her first tour of duty in the Mediterranean with another NATO exercise-this one an amphibious operation. On the 12th, she was relieved by Columbus (CG-12) at Rota, Spain. The cruiser then headed back to the United States. After stops at Puerto Rico and in the Canal Zone, Topeka reentered Long Beach on 29 January.

On 2 February, the warship began a five-week availability at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. The guided missile cruiser departed Long Beach again on 15 March, bound for her new home port, Mayport, Fla. After arriving at her destination on 21 March, Topeka remained in port for upkeep until 6 May when she returned to sea for refresher training at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Returning to Mayport on the 26th, the ship began preparations for another deployment to the Mediterranean-the last deployment of her career.

Topeka departed Mayport on 29 June and, after gunnery exercises at Culebra Island near Puerto Rico, she headed across the Atlantic. On 9 July, she relieved Columbus at Malaga, Spain, and began 6th Fleet operations. The warship's final deployment proved to be routine in nature. She visited ports all along the Mediterranean littoral and conducted operations in all portions of the middle sea from the Aegean and Ionian Seas in the east to the Riviera ports in the west. Spain, Italy, Greece, Turk ey, and France, as well as the islands of Malta, Crete, and Majorca, provided her with interesting ports of call. Topeka concluded her assignment with the 6th Fleet on 9 December at Rota when she was relieved once again by Columbus. That same day, she headed for Mayport, arriving 10 days later.

On 30 January 1969, Topeka steamed out of Mayport and proceeded north for inactivation. After a stop at Yorktown, Va., to off-load her ordnance, she arrived in Boston on 5 February. There, she completed inactivation preparations; and, on 5 June, Topeka was placed out of commission. The warship was towed to Philadelphia and was berthed with the reserve fleet group there. On 1 December 1973, her name was struck from the Navy list, and, on 20 March 1975, she was sold to the Southern Scrap Mater ial Co., Ltd., for scrapping.

Topeka was awarded two battle stars for her World War II service and three battle stars for her Vietnam service.

Big guns in Action!

On This Day In History

Facts for July 08
189th day of year with 176 days left.
1936 106øF highest temperature for July in NYC(more proof of global warming)
1963 54øF lowest temperature for this date in NYC (more proof of global warming)

Birthdates which occurred on July 08:
1545 Don Carlos, son of Spanish king Philip II (protagonist in Schiller's drama; hero in Verdi opera)
1838 Count Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin invented rigid dirigibles
1839 John D Rockefeller US capitalist; founded Standard Oil
1867 K„the Kollwitz Germany, print maker/sculptor (Bauernkrieg)
1882 Percy Grainger Melbourne, composer/pianist/conductor (Hill Songs)
1893 Fritz Perls father of Gestalt therapy
1898 Alec Waugh London, novelist (Island in the Sun); brother of Evelyn
1898 Melville Ruick Boise Idaho, actor (Barton-City Hospital)
1900 George Antheil Trenton NJ, composer (Airplane Sonata)
1907 George W Romney (Gov-R-Mich)/US Secretary of HUD (1969-73)
1908 Louis Jordan Ark, alto saxman (Caldonia)
1908 Nelson A Rockefeller (Gov-R-NY) 41st VP (1974-77)
1913 Walter Kerr NY drama critic (Sad Clowns)
1914 Billy Eckstine jazz singer (Tenderly, A Fool in Love)
1915 Charles Hard Townes Greenville SC, physicist, developed lasers
1917 Faye Emerson Elizabeth La, actress (I've Got a Secret)
1917 Glenn Langan Denver Colo, actor (Amazing Colossal Man, Margie)
1918 Craig Stevens Liberty Mo, actor (Craig-Dallas, Peter Gunn)
1918 Nelson Mandela Transkei South Africa, jailed political activist
1920 Dolph Sweet NYC, actor (Gimme a Break, Trials of O'Brien)
1923 Harrison Dillard 110m dash/hurdler (Olympic-gold-1948, 52)
1928 Carol Henry Newark NJ, choreographer (Garry Moore Show)
1929 Shirley Ann Grau author (Keepers of the House)
1931 Jerry Vale singer (Arriverderci Roma)
1931 Roone Arledge TV executive (ABC)
1933 Marty Feldman London England, comedian (Young Frankenstein)
1935 John David Crow football player (Heisman Trophy 1957)
1935 Steve Lawrence Bkln, singer/actor (Go Away Little Girl, Lonely Guy)
1935 Vitaly I Sevastyanov USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 9 Soyuz 18B)
1937 Barbara Ann Loden actress (Ernie Kovac's Show)
1940 Marcia Rodd actress (Little Murders, T.R. Baskins)
1944 Daniel Morelon France, 7 amateur sprint wins (1966-1975)
1944 Jaimoe "Johnny" Johanson drummer (Allman Brothers)
1946 Cynthia Gregory LA, ballerina (NY Ballet Co)
1948 Kim Darby N Hollywood, actr (True Grit, Enola Gay, Rich Man Poor Man)
1948 Raffi children's singer (Baby Beluga)
1951 Andy Fletcher rocker (Depeche Mode-Just Can't Get Enough)
1951 Anjelica Huston actress (Prizzi's Honor, Ice Pirates)
1952 Ulrich Wehling German DR, cross country (Olympic-gold-1972, 76, 80)
1953 Jonathan Segal NYC, actor (Jonathan-Paper Chase)
1956 Russell Christian rocker (The Christians-Harvest the World)
1958 Kevin Bacon Phila Pa, actor (Diner, Footloose, She's Having a Baby)
1960 Valerie Pettiford NYC, actress (Sheila Price-One Life to Live)
1964 Maryalice Demler N Tonawanda NY, Miss NY-America (1991)
1969 Lori Hallier Victoria BC Canada, actress (Shannon-Santa Barbara)
1971 Wendy Benson NYC, actress (Meredith-As the World Turns)

Deaths which occurred on July 08:
810 Pepin son of Charlemagne, king of Italy, dies (birth date unknown)
975 Edgar, King of England (959-75), dies
1538 Diego de Almagro, Spanish conquistador (Chile/Peru), dies at 63
1695 Christiaen Huygens, inventor/astronomer, dies at 66
1822 Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet (Prometheus unbound), drowns off the Italian coast at 29
1957 Grace Goodhue Coolidge 1st lady, dies at 78
1957 William Cadbury chocolate maker, dies at 89
1959 Dale Buisand & Chester Ovnand 1st Americans killed in Vietnam War
1979 John Reed King TV host (Why?, Let's See), dies at 64
1981 Loring Smith actor (The Hartmans), dies at 86
1982 Isa Miranda actress, dies at 77 of infected bone fracture
1985 Phil Foster comedian (Frank De Fazio-Laverne & Shirley), dies at 72
1991 James Franciscus actor, dies at 57 of emphysema
1994 Kim Il Sung, North Korea's communist leader since 1948, died at age 82.
1999 Astronaut Pete Conrad, the third man to walk on the moon, died after a motorcycle accident near Ojai, Calif. at 69.

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 BRAM RICHARD C. CLEVES OH.
[SEARCH NEG]
1965 DINGWALL JOHN F. TROY NY.
[SEARCH NEG]
1966 BROWNING RALPH T. ORLANDO FL.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 1998]
1966 LONGANECKER RONALD LEE PORTLAND OR.
1969 ANDRE HOWARD V. JR. MEMPHIS TN.
1969 SIZEMORE JAMES E. SAN DIEGO CA.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
0951 Paris is founded
1099 Christian Crusaders march around Jerusalem as Muslims watch from within the city.
1497 Vasco da Gama departed Portugal in search of a sea route to India.
1608 The first French settlement at Quebec is established by Samuel de Champlain.
1663 King Charles II of England granted a charter to Rhode Island
1693 NYC authorizes 1st police uniforms in American colonies
1709 Battle of Poltava; Russians defeat Swedes
1776 Col John Nixon gave 1st public reading of Dec of Independence
1777 Vt becomes 1st state abolishing slavery, adopts male sufferage
1796 US State Dept issues 1st American passport
1797 1st US senator (William Blount of Tennessee) expelled by impeachment
1805 American Bill Richmond knocks out Jack Holmes, Kilburn Wells, England
1816 Frost in Waltham, MA
1835 Liberty Bell cracks (again)
1838 Arabs attack Jewish community of Safed
1849 St Paul's Place in the Bronx named
1870 Congress authorizes registration of trademarks
1870 Gov Holden of NC declares Casswell County in a state of insurrection
1876 White terrorists attack Black Republicans in Hamburg SC, killing 5
1881 Edward Berner of Two Rivers, Wisconsin created the Sundae
1889 John L Sullivan wins by KO in 75 rounds in last bare-knuckle bout
1889 Wall Street Journal begins publishing
1891 61ø F, the highest temp for July 1891, in Baltimore & Phila
1891 Future president Harding marries Florence K DeWolfe in Marion Ohio
1892 American Psychological Association organized, Worcester, Mass
1896 William Jennings Bryan "cross of gold" speech at Dem convention
1897 Harbor Hospital formally opens
1898 Phillies Red Donahue no-hits Boston Braves, 5-0
1900 1st night baseball, league game (Zanesville at Grand Rapids)
1905 Part of Angel Island allocated for Immigration Detention Center
1907 Florenz Ziegfeld staged 1st `Follies' on NY Theater roof
1909 1st pro baseball game (minor league) played under lights
1911 Nan Aspinwall is 1st woman to make solo transcontin. trip by horse
1912 Pitcher Rube Marquard loses after winning 19 straight games
1919 Pres Wilson returns to NYC from Versailles Peace Conference
1923 Harding becomes 1st sitting president to visit Alaska (Metlakahtla)
1928 Phillies set record of errorless 25 inning doubleheader
1932 Depression low point of Dow Jones Industrial Average, 41.22
1932 G Neujmin discovers asteroid #1255 Schilowa
1933 Public Works Administration becomes effective
1935 AL beats NL 4-1 in 3rd All Star Game (Cleveland)
1936 C Jackson discovers asteroid #1949 Messina
1941 AL beats NL 7-5 in 9th All Star Game (Briggs Stadium, Detroit)
1947 AL beats NL 2-1 in 14th All Star Game (Wrigley Field, Chicago)
1947 Demolition begins in NYC for UN HQ in NYC
1950 Gen Douglas MacArthur named commander-in-chief, UN forces in Korea
1950 Leroy Deans awarded 1st Order of Purple Heart in Korea
1952 NL beats AL 3-2 (5 innings) in 19th All Star Game (Shibe Park Phila)
1957 CDC incorporates
1958 AL beats NL 4-3 in 25th All Star Game (Memorial Stadium, Baltimore)
1960 The Soviet Union charges American pilot Francis Gary Powers with espionage.
1961 Portuguese steamer "Save" breaks up off Mozambique, 227 die
1967 Billie Jean King concludes Wimbeldon sweep (singles, doubles & mix)
1967 Helen Weston of Detroit rolls a record 4,585 in 24 games
1969 Thor Heyerdahl & reed raft Ra II land in Barbados 57 days from Morocco
1969 US troop withdrawal begins in Vietnam
1970 SF Giant Jim Ray Hart is 8th to get 6 RBIs in an inning (5th)
1973 NY Mets are 12« games back in NL, & go on to win the pennant
1974 Yank shortstop Jim Mason ties record with 4 doubles in 9 innings
1975 Pres Ford announced hell seek Republican nomination for pres
1975 Quake damages over 2,000 temples in Pagan, Burma. 20-foot-high seated Buddha of Thandawgya decapitated
1977 Sabra Starr finishes longest recorded belly dance (100 hrs)
1978 Bjorn Borg of Sweden won 3rd consecutive title at Wimbledon
1978 Pioneer-Venus 2 Multi-probe launched to Venus
1979 Voyager 2 takes 1st ever photo of Jupiter's satellite Adrastea (J14)
1980 NL beats AL 4-2 in 51st All Star Game (Dodger Stadium LA Calif)
1981 Senate confirms Sandra Day O'Conner to Supreme Court (99-0)
1982 Porn star John Homes convicted of receiving stolen property
1984 John McEnroe beats Jimmy Connors for Wimbeldon singles
1986 Farthest thrown object-an "Aerobie" flying ring, 383 m (1,257')
1986 NASA establishes Safety, Reliability Maintain & Quality Assurance
1987 Kitty Dukakis, revealed addiction to amphetamines for 26 years
1988 Stevie Wonder announces he will run for mayor of Detroit in 1992
1990 Brewers beat Angels 20-7, including 13 in the 5th inning
1990 Germany beats Argentina 1-0 for soccer's 14th World Cup at Rome
1990 Italy beats England in soccer's World Cup conselation game
1990 Stefan Edberg beats Boris Becker for Wimbeldon title
1990 Trailing 7-0, Brewers tie Angels & then score 13 in 5th to win 20-7
1998 Four leaders of the Montana Freemen were convicted in federal court in Billings, Mt., of conspiring to defraud banks. The anti-government, anti-tax group gained fame in 1996 during an 81-day standoff at its ranch.

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
US: National Canned Luncheon Meat Week
US: Be Nice to New Jersey Week
US : Liberty Bell Day [1835]
South Africa : Family Day - - - - - ( Monday )
Swaziland : Reed Dance Day - - - - - ( Monday )

Religious Observances
Old Catholic : Feast of St Elizabeth (St Isabella) of Portugal, widow

Religious History
1663 Following restoration of the English monarchy, a new charter was issued to theAmerican colony of Rhode Island. It guaranteed religious freedom regardless of 'differencesin opinion in matters of religion.'
1741 Influencing the start of New England's 'Great Awakening,' colonial Americantheologian Jonathan Edwards preached his classic sermon, 'Sinners in the Hands of an AngryGod,' at Enfield, CT.
1792 Birth of Lowell Mason, Presbyterian pioneer of congregational singing. He composedover 1,000 hymn tunes, including BETHANY ('Nearer, My God, To Thee'), DENNIS ('Blest Be theTie That Binds'), and HAMBURG ('When I Survey the Wondrous Cross').
1948 The Moscow Conference convened to celebrate the 500th anniversary of theindependence of the Russian Orthodox Church from control of the Eastern OrthodoxPatriarchate of Constantinople.
1959 Meeting in Oberlin, OH, the Congregational Christian and the Evangelical andReformed churches adopted a united statement of faith. (The two groups merged to form theUnited Church of Christ in 1961.)

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"Better the shoulder to the wheel than the back to the wall."

Today's 'You Might Be A Redneck If'Joke...
"When you put your hunting boots on you only get them on the right feet 50% of the time."

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Army	Navy	Marines	Air Force	Coast Guard

The Army

The Changing Army of the New Kingdom

The Army Organisation

Standards of Behaviour After Victory

The Navy

The Rewards of Military Life

The scribes' view of the soldier's life

Booty and Glory

Quasi Feudal Privileges

The Ordinary Soldier's Lot

The Standing of the Military

The Mercenaries

The Army Organization

Standards of Behaviour After Victory

The Navy

The Rewards of Military Life

Booty and Glory

The Mercenaries