MAN PROPOSES NATURE DISPOSES

Nature is all powerful. Man wishes to tame her but fails repeatedly. We cannot imagine how much power Mother Nature has over our lives. A wise leader respects nature and plans his military advances accordingly. The most glaring example of such a leader was Field Marshal S.H.F.J. Manekshaw.

On March 25, 1971, when political events in East Pakistan had taken a turn for the worse, the Pakistan army cracked down on Bengali intellectuals and leaders, killing over 50,000 of them. Millions of refugees began fleeing into India to escape from this organized genocide. The exodus of refugees placed an unbearable financial burden on India and strained the fabric of social structure and political stability in eastern India.

Field Marshal S.H.F.J. Manekshaw

Then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi toured the border and on her return from Calcutta, she drove straight to South Block and walked into the operations room of army headquarters. She turned to Manekshaw and bluntly asked, 'what can the Indian Army could do in this situation?’ Manekshaw in his inimitable cryptic style, replied, 'Nothing.' The army chief went on to explain it took time to launch military operations and the army was not ready. The PM said, 'I want the army to launch an offensive into East Pakistan as early as possible. You should be prepared to attend a Cabinet meeting in two days' time and outline your plans.'

Later, Manekshaw attended a Cabinet meeting where the PM repeated she wanted the armed forces to invade East Pakistan as quickly as possible. Manekshaw was unmoved, 'even when my troops are in position in June, I do not recommend we launch any operations for two reasons. Firstly, the monsoon would be raging at the time. Secondly, the Himalayan mountain passes would be open and I will not be able to withdraw troops from the northern borders for operations against East Pakistan. Moreover, India must guard against the prospect of fighting a war on two fronts. That would present me with problems far more complex than what had been the bane of the German general staff for more than 50 years across two world wars. It would be unwise to rely on diplomatic assurances that the Chinese would not react in support of Pakistan. We must wait for the snow to block the northern passes.'

Pakistani General Niazi signing the instrument of surrender

Manekshaw told the Cabinet the monsoon in that region was very severe. He quietly explained how the whole area of Bengal, East Pakistan and northeast India becomes a virtual lake. All road transport would cease. If India launched operations in June, the results would be disastrous. He would rather resign than act against his professional judgment. The military assault was launched on December 3, 1971, and the Indian Army was able to end the campaign in a fortnight and capture over 90,000 prisoners of war. Genl. Manekshaw did not succumb to the political pressure but respected the power of nature!

However history tells us that all leaders were not as wise as Field Marshal Manekshaw. They thought they had it all figured out, but as the following facts of history prove, the weather can intervene even the most thought out plans, for better or for worse. These are 6 instances where natural conditions have altered the course of important events and eventually also changed the course of history.

1. The bombing of Nagasaki

The tragic fate of the city of Nagasaki could have been avoided had it not been for a few clouds. When American bomber Bockscar took off from Tinian island on August 9, 1945, its target was not Nagasaki at all. The notorious atomic bomb was originally intended for the Japanese city of Kokura, which was home to one of the largest arsenals in Japan.

However, when the bomber approached the city, its target was obscured by dense clouds. Pilot Charles W. Sweeney circled the area a few times, before deciding to move on the mission’s secondary target Nagasaki. And so the clouds that spared one city doomed the other. At 10:58 a.m. local time, Bockscar dropped its nuclear bomb, killing an estimated 35,000 and obliterating 44% of the city.

2. Napoleon's invasion of Russia

Napoleon

Russians owe a lot to the extremely harsh winters in their country. With the exceptions of the Mongols at the beginning of the 13th century, no force was able to conquer Russia thanks to these harsh weather conditions. Of course, this fact did not deter Napoleon Bonaparte, who was known to be a bit cocky, nor did his fellow officers who advised against it. 

In 1812, 600,000 men and about 200,000 horses invaded Russia. Only about 100,000 soldiers returned to France. Many horses died of the cold and without them, the army was unable to transport weapons and supplies. Starvation and disease soon set in, and when Napoleon realized defeat was inevitable, he abandoned the army and returned home on a sleigh to prevent a coup. 

3. The Dust Bowl

While the rest of the country struggled with the Great Depression that hit in 1929, the farmers of the Southern Plains of the United States continued to grow crops and bring in money. Their luck ran out in 1931. As a result of a severe drought that hit the region in 1930, crops began to fail and left the farmland bare. Eroding soil led to massive dust storms and economic devastation that lasted a decade. The once prosperous farmers became the nation’s most imperiled.

The course of the Southern Plains was altered forever. Many families packed up and moved west. Regular rainfall returned to the area in 1939 bringing the dust bowl years to an end, but population decline in the worst-hit counties continued well into the 1950s.

4. Hitler's invasion of Russia

Hitler

Another leader who did not take the Russian winters seriously enough and refused to learn the lesson from Napoleon’s failure was Adolf Hitler. On June 22, 1941, he led his troops there. He was confident the campaign, dubbed Operation Barbarossa, would be swift and the whole conquering business would be done by October. In fact, Hitler and his army were so presumptuous they left their winter gear at home.

As many of you may know, the German army was all but wiped out by the bitter cold and constant attacks of the Soviets. “The ghastly cold of that winter had the strangest consequences. Thousands and thousands of soldiers had lost their limbs; thousands and thousands had their ears, their noses, their fingers…” wrote the Italian journalist Curzio Malaparte. Operation Barbarossa was the beginning of the end for the Third Reich. 

5. The Battle of Long Island

Although the Battle of Long Island was a British victory in the Revolutionary War, it could have been much more disastrous had Mother Nature not been on the side of commander-in-chief George Washington and his men. After a week of fighting, the British forces in Long Island decided it was time to cross the East River from Brooklyn to Manhattan and withdraw.

George Washington

The troops began the ferrying process at night, but by morning a big part of the Continental Army was still on the wrong side of the river. Had the British seen them they would have been captured or killed. However, it was a very foggy morning. The fog was so thick it concealed the ferrying troops, and by the time it was lifted the whole army had reached safety. Washington himself was one of the last to retreat. If it wasn’t for that mist, General Washington could have been captured, and the war could have taken a very different turn. 

6. The Divine Kamikaze Winds

During the 13th century, Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, took the throne of the Mongol Empire, defeated southern China, and united the country under the newly formed Yuan Dynasty. He then set his sights on the islands of Japan.

After a few failed attempts to persuade the Japanese Emperor to surrender, the Mongol Army decided to attack. The Japanese style of combat was utterly unsuited for the massive Mongol army and its 900 ships. Luckily for the Samurai who were meant to fight, a powerful typhoon struck the coast and destroyed the attackers’ fleet and most of the army. Kublai Khan did not give up. Seven years later, he brought together an even larger force to take the islands once and for all. Mother Nature intervened again, wrecking all but a few hundred ships in a furious storm. As the story goes, the emperor ‘summoned’ the kamikaze - or divine - winds to save Japan.

Today, the need to respect nature and all that constitutes it has become far more important. Increasing human population interacts with local and global environments to deplete biodiversity and resources humans depend on, thus challenging societal values centered on growth and relying on technology to mitigate environmental stress. Although the need to address the environmental crisis, central to conservation science, generated greener versions of the growth paradigm, we need fundamental shifts in values that ensure transition from a growth-centered society to one acknowledging biophysical limits and centered on human well-being and biodiversity conservation. The COVID-19 pandemic is a rude shock which nature has given us and it has rocked both our lives and our livelihoods. This is nature’s way of reminding us to respect her all the time.