One of the cool things about social media is that history nerds are happily posting all sorts of obscure “on this date in history” items. I have a pretty decent knowledge of the subject, but what struck me is how condensed so many of these events are. June is a big month for battles.
Just off the top of my head, there is D-Day, Operation Barbarossa (the German invasion of Russia in 1941), the Battle of Gettysburg, the Battle of Waterloo, and this year is the 100th anniversary of Little Bighorn, a.k.a. Custer’s Last Stand.
Of course, the reason for this abundance of battles is the weather. Even today, good weather is highly desirable for military operations. This is something that people who spend entirely too much time inside in climate controlled environments overlook.
Out in the real world, weather matters, and in the northern hemisphere it is often not practical to move large bodies of troops (especially on horseback or on foot) until the spring rains have finished and the roads are reasonably dry.
Even modern campaigns during World War II benefit from clear flying weather (in Russia) and calm seas (in the English Channel). Seasonal weather changes are an essential part of the operational art, and this is why many “expert” takes on events are so badly off.
It is worth pointing out that the Taiwan Strait is almost four times as wide as the English Channel and is prone to much worse weather, up to and including massive typhoons, which would play havoc with an invasion fleet. As the experience of D-Day showed, it’s not just a day or two of good weather that is needed, it is weeks of it.
Similarly, a wet spell can wreck primitive roads, flood fords and even wash out bridges. Even with modern equipment, mud can play havoc with troop movements and supplies.
Winter adds even more layers of complexity. Even in the modern era, winter campaigns are grueling, brutal affairs adding on frostbite and hypothermia cases on top of battlefield losses. Weeks of cold wet rain can be even worse, fostering disease and demoralization. The famous “Mud March” during the American Civil War is a prime example of why even without snow or ice, winter campaigns can be brutal.
We are often used to imagery of troops slogging through the mire and contemporary World War II movies seem to have uniformly adopted the washed-out color palette pioneered in the vile and grossly overrated Saving Private Ryan, but in fact troops were much more often to fall in bright sunshine on beautiful summer days.
Chateau Lloyd 
Leave a comment