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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

29 September 1854: The Royal Navy began landing the Royal Marine Brigade at Balaklava to defend the port. 1,216 Royal Marines, under Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Hurdle, were landed over three days and incorporated into the army.

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

28 September 1854: The Allies established camp on the plateau before Sevastopol while the heavy siege guns continued to be landed. A local Tatar reported a large Russian army was present in the interior of the Crimea. French engineers cut off the water supply to Sevastopol. 📸 Roger Fenton, 1855

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

26 September 1854: The Allied army crossed the Tractir Bridge over the Chernaya River to the east of Sevastopol. British forces moved to occupy the small port of Balaklava as their supply base, while the French secured the more spacious port of Kamiesch as their base.

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

24 September 1854: The Allied army marched from the Katcha River to the Belbek River where they encamped. A Russian supply convoy was captured by British light cavalry and the Allied warships took ranging shots against the forts of Sevastopol.

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

23 September 1854: The Allies moved out from their camps at the Alma and continued on towards Sevastopol, halting at the Katcha River. On the same day, the Russians continued to scuttle ships of their Black Sea Fleet to block the entrance to Sevastopol harbour.

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The yacht Cruinneag III off of Inveraray Pier. Cruinneag III was designed by William Campbell and built in 1936 by A.M. Dickie & Sons in Tarbert, Loch Fyne. Inveraray Pier reopened in 2024 after restoration work.

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

21 September 1854: Following the Russian army's defeat at the Battle of the Alma the previous day, the Russian Black Sea Fleet began scuttling their warships to block the entrance to Sevastopol harbour before the Allies closed in on the city.

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 20/09/2026

On the heights above the River Bulganak on 19 September 1854, the first military engagement of the Crimean campaign (1854-1856) took place when the advance guard of the allied army clashed with Russian forces that had been sent to observe and harass the allied advance toward Sevastopol.

militaryhistory.org.uk

First blood in the Crimea: Cavalry engagement at the Bulganak

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Defence Today @defencetoday.com · 16/09/2026

Royal Air Force KC2 Voyager ZZ343, callsign Tartan 39, coming in to land at Prestwick Airport earlier today after air-to-air refuelling circuits over the North Sea.

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

14 September 1854: The Allied expeditionary force of 30,000 French, 26,000 British, and 5,000 Ottoman troops began landing unopposed in the Crimea at Kalamita Bay, 25 miles north of the city and naval base of Sevastopol, the objective of the Allied forces.

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

On 13 September 1653, a Cromwellian flotilla anchored off Duart Castle, Isle of Mull, was ravaged by a storm, which sank three warships, including the Swan. The ships were supporting Colonel Ralph Cobbett's expedition to subdue Clan Maclean during the Earl of Glencairn's Royalist uprising.

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 09/09/2026

James Robertson's photo of the dry docks at Sevastopol before their destruction by British and French engineers over the winter of 1855-56. After an 11-month siege, the Russians evacuated Sevastopol on 9 September 1855, allowing the Allied army to take control of the city and Black Sea Fleet base.

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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 10/08/2026

10 August 1745: Edward Wilson, commanding Bernera Barracks at Glenelg, reported to Major Hugh Wentworth at Fort Augustus on the situation on the Isle of Skye and ships seized by a French warship. He stated that he expected the barracks to come under attack by the French or Jacobites at any time.

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 26/07/2026

26 July 1914: The British Admiralty issued orders countermanding the dispersal of the Home Fleets as the European crisis continued to deepen. The Admiralty were concerned about the German High Seas Fleet, which had concentrated off the coast of Norway as part of their Spring-Summer manoeuvres.

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 17/07/2026

With tensions rising in Europe, a grand review of the Royal Navy was held at Spithead on 17 and 18 July 1914. A test mobilisation of the reserve Third Fleet had begun on 15 July, and the three Home Fleets were at heightened readiness when orders for a full mobilisation came through on 1 August.

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Scottish History @scottishhistory.org · 10/07/2026

10 July 1455: In support of the Black Douglases, Dòmhnall Ballach Mac Dhòmhnaill (Donald Balloch Macdonald) of Dunnyveg launched a raid on the Clyde, burning the town of Inverkip, attacking the Stewart stronghold of Rothesay Castle and raiding the Isles of Cumbrae and the Isle of Arran.

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 03/07/2026

Carl Röchling's painting of Captain August von der Groeben’s Austrian horse artillery battery being overrun by the Prussian Guards during the Battle of Königgrätz on 3 July 1866. Groeben, along with 53 men and 68 horses were killed attempting to hold off the Prussian advance.

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 26/06/2026

Men of 12 Platoon, 'B' Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers, advancing into St Manvieu during Operation EPSOM on 26 June 1944. The Royal Scots Fusiliers secured their initial objectives of St Manvieu and La Gaule in close quarters and hand-to-hand fighting.

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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 21/06/2026

21 June 1690: Major-General Hugh Mackay left Perth with a force of 3,000 Scottish government troops heading for Inverlochy, where he would establish a new fort. Mackay marched his army via Strathardle, Braemar, Nethy Bridge, Strathspey and Glen Spean before arriving at Inverlochy on 3 July.

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 17/06/2026

Robert Alexander Hillingford's painting 'On the eve of Waterloo' depicting Sir Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, on his horse Copenhagen, chatting to an innkeeper while troopers of the Life Guards water their horses in the town of Waterloo on the evening of 17 June 1815.

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Its possible the captain mistook the yacht for a Japanese gunboat.

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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 15/06/2026

On 15 June 1725, Russian warships and transport vessels anchored off the Isle of Lewis while en route to Spain. Rumours quickly spread that they were there to land arms and men to support a Jacobite rising, and it was feared that this was part of a larger Russian invasion.

jacobitewars.com

Russia and the Jacobite scare of 1725

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Book haul today from The Book Shop in Wigtown, Scotland's largest second-hand bookshop 😀

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 12/06/2026

Royal Marines of 42 Commando moving off Mount Harriet during the battles to secure the high ground around the Falkland Islands' capital of Stanley. 42 Commando, supported by elements of 3 Commando Brigade and 5 Infantry Brigade, assaulted and secured Mount Harriet on the night of 11-12 June 1982.

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Grand Tactician: Napoleonic Wars (1792-1815) is shaping up nicely 😀

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 25/05/2026

The battleship HMS SUPERB and the battlecruiser HMS LION seen here at anchor in Lamlash Bay off the Isle of Arran in May 1914. The Admiralty stationed warships at Lamlash in March 1914 in anticipation of civil war in Ireland amid the escalating Home Rule Crisis and possible action against the UVF.

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 21/05/2026

Three landing craft from HMS FEARLESS, loaded with Royal Marines from 3 Commando Brigade, move towards BLUE Beach at San Carlos on 21 May 1982. FEARLESS is in the background with two Sea King helicopters on the flight deck. Delays meant that the landing operations mostly took place in daylight.

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

A nurse and a paratrooper from 16 Air Assault Brigade going off the ramp of an Atlas A400M in tandem to provide hantavirus medical support for the people residing on Tristan da Cunha. 📸 AS1 Georgia Callaway / UK MOD © Crown Copyright 2026

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 05/05/2026

Operation NIMROD: At 19:23 on 5 May 1980, the 22nd Special Air Service Regiment stormed the Iranian Embassy in London to free hostages being held by members of the Democratic Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Arabistan (DRFLA).

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

30 April 1650: Following his defeat at the Battle of Carbisdale on 27 April, James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, arrived at Ardvreck Castle on the shores of Loch Assynt. Here, Montrose sought refuge but was betrayed by the laird Neil MacLeod of Assynt and delivered to General David Leslie at Tain.

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 24/04/2026

24 April 1877: Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire, marking the start of the 1877-1878 Russo-Turkish War. Triggered by Balkan uprisings, Russia, with allies including Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro, sought to free the Balkans from Ottoman rule.

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

On 23 April 1733, construction of Tay Bridge at Aberfeldy began when Lieutenant-General George Wade placed the first stone. The bridge was designed by William Adam and cost £4095 5s 10d. It was part of Wade's Crieff-Dalnacardoch military road and still carries road traffic today.

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

22 April 1854: British and French warships bombarded the Russian port of Odessa on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. British naval commander Vice-Admiral James Dundas had been instructed by the Admiralty to "make an early impression on the enemy's coast".

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Jacobite Wars @jacobitewars.com · 17/04/2026

Detail from George Augustus Schultz's battle map of Culloden showing the Duke of Cumberland's army moving from column to line formation just beyond Dalcross Castle on Drumossie Moor on the morning of 16 April 1746. 📸 © Royal Collection Trust

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 14/04/2026

The USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) struck an Iranian mine in the central Persian Gulf on 14 April 1988 during Operation EARNEST WILL, a mission to escort reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers during the Iran-Iraq War. Four days later, the US launched a massive retaliatory strike against the Iranian navy.

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

5 April 1854: The first troops of the British contingent sent to defend Turkey against Russia arrived at Gallipoli. The force consisted of the Rifle Brigade and the 7th and 11th Companies of the Royal Engineers under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir George Brown.

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Pipes and Drums of 4 SCOTS and 3 SCOTS lead the parade from Edinburgh Castle to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, which was formed in March 2006. 📸 CC MARK OWENS / UK MOD © Crown copyright 2026

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

It is looking like Easter escalation and a ground operation. The danger is an Eagle Claw 2.0 and going from a limited operation into something much bigger.

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

The 9th (Glasgow Highland) Battalion, Highland Light Infantry of the Territorial Force at Gailes Camp, Ayrshire, in 1909. The Territorial Force came into existence on 1 April 1908 as part of the army reforms under Richard Haldane, Secretary of State for War.

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Stormer vehicle armed with Starstreak SP HVM being unloaded from a C-17 at RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus. The Mach 4 + Starstreak is designed to counter threats from very high-performance, low-flying aircraft, UAVs and late-unmasking attack helicopters. 📸 Sgt Lee Goddard / UK MOD © Crown copyright 2026

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 27/03/2026

Royal Navy Avenger-class escort carrier HMS DASHER (D37) suffered an internal explosion and sank in the Firth of Clyde on 27 March 1943. The vessel sank within eight minutes with the loss of 379 of the 528 crew members, in one of the worst Royal Navy losses in home waters.

themilitaryjournal.com

The loss of HMS DASHER

HMS DASHER (D37) was a Royal Navy Avenger-class escort carrier that suffered an internal explosion and sank in the Firth of Clyde between Ardrossan and the Isle of Arran on 27 March 1943. The vessel s...

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 23/03/2026

In 1838 and in 1856, Britain occupied Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf to exert military and diplomatic pressure on the Persian Qajar dynasty, primarily to stop Russian-backed Persian expansion into Afghanistan, a buffer state between the expanding Russian Empire and British India.

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 12/03/2026

Felician Myrbach's 1906 drawing of officers of the elite Prussian Garde du Corps sharpening their swords on the stone steps of the French Embassy in Berlin in 1806 in an effort to provoke war with Napoleon.

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 04/03/2026

Balaklava served as the principal supply base for the British Army during the Crimean campaign (1854–1856). This small, deep-water harbour was crucial for delivering food, ammunition, clothing, and equipment to British troops involved in the Siege of Sevastopol. 📸 James Roberston / IWM (Q 71108)

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 04/03/2026

British Commandos watching fish oil tanks burning during Operation CLAYMORE on 4 March 1941. The commando raid on the Lofoten Islands, Norway, resulted in the destruction of approximately 3,600 tonnes of fish oil used in the production of vitamins A and D for the Wermacht. 📸IWM (N 396)

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Neil Ritchie @neilritchie.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Men of the Royal Marine Division training in the snow at Hawick in March 1942. Their mountain and cold-weather warfare training was part of the deception operation HARDBOILED, designed to fool the Germans into believing a landing in Norway was imminent.

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 01/03/2026

"The eye-tooth of the bear must be drawn, and until his fleet and naval arsenal in the Black Sea are destroyed there is no safety for Constantinople, no security for the peace of Europe" - Sir James Graham, First Lord of the Admiralty to Lord Clarendon, 1 March 1854.

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 19/02/2026

US volunteer infantry standing along a street in Saltillo, Mexico, in 1847 during the Mexican-American War (1846–1848). US forces under General John E. Wool occupied the city in early 1847. It was a crucial logistics and control point in the Coahuila region. 📸 Amon Carter Museum of American Art

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Military History Journal @militaryhistory.org.uk · 18/02/2026

Soldiers of the Royal Canadian Regiment crossing the Paardeberg Drift on the Modder River during the Battle of Paardeberg, 18-27 February 1900. The Second Boer War (1899-1902) saw Canadian troops deploy overseas for war for the first time.

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