The following are some recent news stories covering a variety of topics and from various sources that caught our eye. Table of Contents Notable News Stories Reported by Corporate Media (19 November […]

It’s a total coincidence that there’s a correlation between U.S. human trafficking and high Jewish population centers.✡️ pic.twitter.com/tPB0543vVQ — Stew Peters (@realstewpeters) November 19, 2024

  By 1918, after more than three years of hellish fighting, troops on both sides of the First World War were tired and demoralized. What everyone thought would be a short war turned out to be a static stalemate with no end in sight. Millions had died, an unprecedented casualty rate for the time, and soldiers began to question the worth of their own sacrifices.   Angry at their leaders, the time was right for mutiny and revolution. In Germany, this materialized as the Kiel Mutiny, leading to a series of actions designed to remove the Kaiser from power and end the bloody war that had destroyed all semblance of a brighter future for Europe.   The Atmosphere of 1918 Portrait of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Source: Hohenloher Freilandmuseum Wackershofen   By September 1918, the Entente and the Central Powers were exhausted by the war. Soldiers and sailors were angry and tired, and the time was right for a revolution. Indeed, revolution had already occurred in Russia, and it had spurred the soldiers in Germany to take matters into their own hands and push for a change of government.   The Kaiser was pressured to make changes to the government and steer Germany towards a more democratic system of governance. Seeking a ceasefire with the Entente, the Kaiser appointed Prince Maximilian von Baden as the new chancellor, and the government came under the prime influence of the Social Democrats (SDP), with Philipp Scheidemann as the most influential leader in the new government.   The Battle of Jutland on May 31, 1916. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Meanwhile, in the navy, sailors were demoralized by lack of action. In 1916, the Imperial German Navy had been defeated at Jutland, and with British naval supremacy, much of the German fleet was kept in the harbors, out of action. U-boats continued to operate, however, and many sailors requested transfers to these squadrons. To make matters worse, Germany’s economic situation was suffering from naval blockades, and as a result, food and fertilizer were in short supply. This meant that many soldiers and sailors had to make do with reduced rations.   One of the most important centers for this lack of morale was the port of Kiel, which represented one of Germany’s naval hubs. It was here that mutinous sentiment would take hold and spread throughout the rest of the country.   Insurrection! SMS Prinzregent Luitpold. Source: Bundesarchiv via destinationsjourney.com   The mutiny in Kiel was not the first incident to result from the low morale and lack of discipline. On August 2, 1917, 350 sailors staged a demonstration as part of a wider hunger strike that involved 800 crew members from the dreadnought Prinzregent Luitpold refusing to eat until the quality and quantity of food rations were improved. A commission was set up to address the concerns of the sailors, but two of the ringleaders were sentenced to death, while around 75 others were imprisoned.   Before he was executed by firing squad in Cologne, Albin Kobis declared, “I die with a curse on the German-militarist state!” Willy Weber, the other ringleader sentenced to death, escaped execution when his sentence was reduced to 15 years in prison. On recounting the events, he explained, “Nobody wanted a revolution, we just wanted to be treated more like human beings.”   In October, even as an armistice was being discussed, the German command began preparing for one last major engagement. When word reached the enlisted men, thousands became furious, as they saw it as an attempt to scupper the chance at an armistice and an end to the war.   They also saw it as an attempt by the German admiralty to regain prestige at the expense of the common sailors’ lives that would be lost to the icy waters of the North Sea. With peace around the corner, the attempt to throw men into combat was met with anger and resentment.   Revolutionary sailors and U-boats in port, November 5, 1918. Source: Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin   In the hopes of quelling the insurrection within the fleet, Admiral Hipper ordered the operation to be canceled and then ordered the fleet to disperse. Much of the insurrection had not spread to the smaller ships, including the U-boats, but was widespread among the larger ships, including the dreadnoughts, of which Germany had 18. When several of the ships arrived back in Kiel, the insurrectionists influenced others in the port, and Germany’s discipline problem got even worse.   Mutinous sailors were not just confined to one port. To the west, Wilhelmshaven also became a center of activity as it was there that the High Seas Fleet was anchored and thus a major population hub for angry German sailors.   Inspired by the success of socialism in Russia, the German sailors, distrusting of their officers, realized that their combined strength through revolutionary action could shift the balance of power.   Mutiny! “The Kiel Workers’ and Soldiers’ Council met in this house at the beginning of November 1918. It gave the decisive impetus for the proclamation of the First German Republic on November 9, 1918 in Berlin.” Source: Wikimedia Commons   On the German mainland, the mutinies started on October 28 in the port town of Wilhelmshaven, where several German ships had been ordered to dock. Mutinous soldiers refused to follow orders. Hundreds of their comrades had been imprisoned for doing so, and hundreds more rose up against their superiors in defiance. On two of the ships, mutiny and sabotage were committed, but when nearby torpedo boats turned their guns on these ships, the mutineers surrendered.   The Third Squadron, under the command of Vice Admiral Hugo Kraft, sailed towards Kiel. Insurrection had been dealt with, and around 200 mutinous sailors had been imprisoned. As the ships sailed without too much incident thereafter, Kraft assumed that the situation was under control. However, when the fleet arrived in Kiel, it became clear that the situation was ongoing. Sailors refused to follow orders and tried to prevent the fleet from leaving port again.   On November 1, around 250 insurrectionists met in the Union House in Kiel. Here, they discussed further developments and agreed upon a plan of action to have their imprisoned fellows released. They tried appealing to their officers, but they were refused any opportunity for negotiation. Upon being brushed off by their officers, the insurrectionists widened their plans beyond that of the navy.   They spread the word among the workers’ unions in Kiel. As the situation developed, city authorities ordered the closure of the city’s union buildings, but this made the problem even worse. A meeting subsequently took place in open air, and news of what was happening thus spread even faster.   Map showing the spread of the Kiel Mutiny to a nationwide rebellion and the establishment of workers’ and soldiers’ councils. Source: libcom.org   Taking the lead in the uprising were a sailor named Karl Artelt and a shipyard worker, Lothar Popp. They were both members of the Independent Social Democratic Party, an institution closely linked to the struggle of the working classes in Germany. They called for another, larger open-air meeting in Kiel, preceded by the slogan “Peace and Bread!” turning what was a sailor’s mutiny into a wider rebellion of the working class. Their movement was joined by thousands of industrial workers who downed their tools and took part in the demonstrations.   This slogan even echoed Lenin’s Bolshevik call, “Peace! Bread! Land!” which had stoked the fires of communist rebellion in Russia just months before. At the rally on November 3, workers from all over Kiel joined with the disgruntled sailors and marched towards the military prison to force the release of the mutineers held there.   The governor of the naval station, Admiral Wilhelm Souchon, had only been appointed on October 30. Being new to the position, he had difficulty knowing who to rely on to quash the mutiny. This played into the mutineers’ hands, and Souchon was forced to the negotiation table.   Soldiers sent to deal with the insurrection ended up joining them instead. They detained their own officers and formed workers’ councils, similar to the Soviet councils formed by the Bolsheviks.   A sailors’ march in Wilhelmshaven on November 6, 1918. Image: Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin   By November 4, 40,000 soldiers and sailors were in firm control of Kiel. They drew up “fourteen points” that were presented to Souchon:   All inmates and political prisoners to be released. Freedom of the press. Abolition of mail censorship. Crews to be treated appropriately. Comrades returning from ships and to the barracks to be exempt from punishment. The fleet cannot be launched under any circumstance. Defensive measures that entail the possibility of bloodshed to be prevented at all costs. All troops not belonging to the garrison are to be withdrawn. The Soldiers’ Council is to immediately take measures to protect private property. Military superiority is not to be recognized outside of duty. Personal freedom for every man outside of duty. Officers who agree with the provisions of the Soldiers’ Council are welcome in our midst.     Those who disagree must resign without provision. All members of the Soldiers’ Council are to be released from any duty. The consent of the Soldiers’ Council is to be sought regarding any future measures taken.   The following day, November 5, red flags flew over the ships in Kiel. In historical circles, it is debated whether the communist imagery and the heavy use of red in the protests were from a desire to establish communism or whether they were simply symbols of a broader desire of the workers and soldiers for more representation and freedom.   Revolution! Postcard from 1918. Source: Wikimedia Commons   By this point, word of what was happening started spreading throughout the rest of Germany, with the 14 points forming the basis for their marches. Workers and civilians sympathizing with the cause began to take action, demanding an end to the war.   What had started as issues relevant to a band of unhappy sailors had spread across the Second Reich and turned into a major political movement that threatened to upturn the entire German societal order. The established nobility began to fear for their lives as they saw what was happening in Germany as being a possible copy of what had happened in Russia, wherein the Romanov family was assassinated less than four months earlier.   Soldiers in Berlin, November 1918. Source: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstbibliothek, Photothek Willy Römer / Gebrüder Haeckel   By November 7, the revolution reached Munich, and King Ludwig III of Bavaria fled the state after being forced to sign his abdication. In other German states, the same events would occur in the following days. By the end of the month, all 22 of Germany’s dynastic rulers had been dethroned. On November 9, Phillip Scheidemann declared Germany a republic from the balcony of the Reichstag. Wilhelm II fled the country and abdicated his throne. On November 11, an armistice was declared, and the First World War came to an end.   Although the SPD supported the workers in their endeavor, the party was staunchly opposed to sweeping changes such as those that had happened in Russia and was fearful that an all-out attack on the bourgeoisie and their property would lead to a civil war. As such, the SPD pushed for democratic reform, and the Weimar Republic eventually came into being upon the adoption of a new constitution in August 1919, effectively ending the revolution.   With a softer approach to the nobility than the Bolsheviks had taken, the German state stripped their nobles of privileges associated with noble titles but did not go on hunts to eradicate the German nobility. Today, the titles still exist as a matter of family heritage, and there is immense wealth in these families, but there is no legal distinction between “nobles” and other members of German society.   German crowds outside the Reichstag on November 9, 1918. Source: Wikimedia Commons   On the same day that the Kiel Mutiny reached its peak on November 4, the Austro-Hungarian Empire asked the Entente for an armistice, which was granted. It was clear that the situation in Germany was untenable. There was no way the country could continue the war, with its alliances crumbling and the specter of communism looming.   The Kiel Mutiny was an immensely important event. It served as the catalyst to a revolution that resulted in a change of German government and a definitive end to the First World War. The change it precipitated was realized in the formation of the Weimar Republic.   The state that was founded, however, would not last long. Weakened by economic collapse, democracy would give way to a new revolution in Germany, which would catapult Adolf Hitler to power.

  The Great War in 1914 started with rapid advances but quickly bogged down. Both sides burrowed in, covering France with deep trenches. This often-depicted trench warfare kept both sides locked in a stalemate that neither poison gas nor artillery barrages could break. The 1917 Battle of Cambrai introduced more than tanks, creating the development of armored warfare, and armored pioneers. The Battle of Cambrai, 1917. Source: Imperial War Museums   The stalemate almost buckled under Allied intelligence. 1916 saw the first Allied use of tanks, breaking through some of the German lines. Horrified German soldiers fled, only rallying later. At the November 20, 1917, First Battle of Cambrai, the Allies deftly devised a combined arms team of planes, tanks, and artillery to push back the Germans. Tanks were used en masse. Battles involving tanks like 1916’s Flers-Courcelette or their mass use at Cambrai caught the attention of talented individuals like J.F.C Fuller, Liddell Hart, and Heinz Guderian. Each brought a different take on the pioneering use of tanks.   JFC Fuller: Command and Theorist JFC Fuller. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Often considered among the best-armored warfare pioneers, Fuller’s theories still resonate today. Born in 1878, Fuller entered the Royal Army as an 1899 graduate of Sandhurst. He fought in the Boer War and the Great War as the Tank Corp’s Chief of Staff (1916).   Fuller planned the 1917 Battle of Cambrai, massing nearly 400 tanks for the fight. Before Cambrai, tanks were only used for infantry support or in small groups. After the war, Fuller had several roles, chiefly in the Experimental Mechanized Force. He constantly advocated for a war of movement, with tanks being dominant. His thinking contradicted the traditional thinking, which focused on infantry and cavalry tactics.   Fuller’s theory boiled down to a “combined arms” approach of air power, tanks, infantry, and big guns attacking on a limited front. The tank stood at the center, able to exploit any breakouts and wreak havoc.   Liddel Hart: Always Indirect Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart by Howard Coster, 1934. Source: National Portrait Gallery   Like Fuller, Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart fought in the Great War. Born in 1895, he served in the Royal Army, got wounded twice, and retired in 1927 to teach and publish. Horrified by so many deaths during World War I, Liddell Hart figured a different way of waging war must exist.   Liddell Hart’s thought that wars should be indirect. Direct assaults rarely succeeded, cost lives, and were often too bloody. Tanks squarely fit into his theory nicely, being the centerpiece. Any attacks should be one of movement, attacking to dislodge the enemy. With a “combined arms” approach, as Fuller believed, Liddell Hart also believed this to be the quickest path to winning.   A Mark V Tank Going into Action, by Adeney, W Bernard, 1918. Source: Imperial War Museum   To Liddell Hart, once the enemy got dislodged, you’d stir fear in troops and commanders. Liddell Hart’s theories foreshadowed many future developments. His idea of “tank marines” or infantry riding tanks to take on knock-out tougher spots foreshadowed armored infantry decades later.   Both Liddell Hart and Fuller studied, hypothesized, and wrote about tanks and their uses. Their works were read and absorbed by innovative, flexible thinkers outside of Britain. One such general, Germany’s Heinz Guderian, was an innovator.   Heinz Guderian: Thinker and User Heinz Guderian. Source: War Relics   Like many German generals, Guderian served in the Imperial Army and later in the Wehrmacht. He served as a staff officer but did have combat experience. In the 1920s, he became interested in tanks and armored warfare. Guderian rose fast through the ranks postwar, allowing him to develop his own principles. As such, he read frequently, especially foreign writers.    Like his British counterparts, Guderian’s ideas of using tanks contrasted with current views as an infantry support vehicle. Guderian advocated that tank units must be independent but with air and infantry support. He incorporated some ideas from Fuller, Liddell Hart, and others. Unlike many, Guderian’s ideas were fostered and used, especially in World War II’s opening phases. His 1937 book Achtung Panzer helped develop the idea of blitzkrieg.    Heinz Guderian. Source: War Relics   Guderian theorized (and used) that tanks backed by the other elements must be used to exploit vulnerabilities in any enemy defenses. Once through, the tanks needed to encircle the enemy. His idea that German panzer units should be all in one unit – infantry, tanks, and artillery- became the Wehrmacht’s norm.    Also, though Fuller or Liddell Hart had combat experience, Guderian commanded at the corps and army level. He participated in the 1939 Poland invasion and 1941 Operation Barbarossa but later was relieved from command. The 1920s and 1930s saw the tank’s use pushed to the forefront, breaking decades of infantry first. Under pioneering thinkers like these men, war became mobile and fluid.

  Of all Napoleon’s marshals, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte’s career was the most unusual. As a young soldier in the French Revolutionary Wars, he rapidly rose up the ranks before becoming part of Napoleon Bonaparte’s extended family. He fought in Napoleon’s great campaigns after 1805, but his tendency to question Napoleon’s orders caused him to fall out of favor. He was unexpectedly elected Crown Prince of Sweden in 1810 and commanded allied armies against Napoleon in 1813-14. He reigned as King Charles XIV John of Sweden from 1818 until his death in 1844.   The Coronation of a Frenchman to the Swedish Throne King Charles XIV John of Sweden by Emilé Mascre, 1843. Source: Wikimedia Commons (National Museum of Sweden)   In July 1810, an assembly of Swedish notables met at the city of Örebro to elect a successor to 61-year-old King Charles XIII. The previous crown prince, Prince Charles August of Denmark, had died suddenly at the end of May. Among the list of candidates was the 47-year-old French soldier Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, Marshal of the French Empire.   The previous year, Sweden had been defeated by the Russian Empire and was forced to cede Finland to Russia. As part of the peace agreement, Sweden was also obliged to the Continental System, Emperor Napoleon’s economic policy to ban trade between continental Europe and Britain. In June 1809, Swedish army officers overthrew King Gustav IV Adolf in a coup and placed his uncle Charles XIII on the throne, and Sweden switched to a pro-French foreign policy.   In this context, a large party of Swedish nobles favored a Frenchman to succeed their king. Not only was Bernadotte one of Napoleon’s marshals, but his wife Desirée was Napoleon’s sister-in-law, making him part of the extended imperial family. While Bernadotte was flattered by the approach, Napoleon was initially bemused as Bernadotte was out of favor. After some consideration, he saw the advantages of keeping Bernadotte at arm’s length and signaled his support for his candidacy. On August 21, the Örebro Diet elected Bernadotte as their crown prince with the name Carl Johan, or Charles John.   General of the Revolution Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, lieutenant of the 36th regiment of the line in 1792 by Louis-Félix Amiel, 1834. Source: Château de Versailles   Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte was born in January 1763 at Pau in Gascony. He trained as a lawyer before joining the French Royal Army in 1780. He was soon promoted to sergeant and earned the nickname Sergeant Beau-jambes for his fine legs.   The French Revolution of 1789 allowed talented officers like Bernadotte to climb rapidly up the ranks. In early 1794, less than a year after seeing action in battle for the first time at Rulzheim in Germany, Bernadotte was promoted to colonel. At the Battle of Fleurus in June, Bernadotte distinguished himself and received a field promotion to brigadier general. Before the year was over, he was already a general of division.   In February 1797, Bernadotte was sent to reinforce General Napoleon Bonaparte’s Army of Italy, which had swept aside the Austrian armies in northern Italy and was approaching the Austrian border. On March 16, Bernadotte led the French vanguard in Bonaparte’s victory over Archduke Charles of Austria at the Battle of Tagliamento, and the following day his division cut off an Austrian column at Gradisca. Within a month, Bonaparte advanced to within 100 miles of Vienna and agreed on preliminary peace terms.   Part of the Family Desirée Clary by Robert Lefèvre, 1807. Source: Wikimedia Commons (Drottningholm Palace, Stockholm)   In early 1798, Bernadotte was sent to Vienna as ambassador, but his tenure proved short-lived after he provocatively flew the French tricolor outside his embassy, prompting a Viennese mob to attack the building. An indignant Bernadotte refused to accept Austrian apologies and returned to France.   Back in Paris for the summer, Bernadotte met the 20-year-old Desirée Clary, who had been engaged to Bonaparte before the latter chose to marry Josephine de Beauharnais instead. Since Desirée’s older sister Julie married Napoleon’s brother, Joseph, she remained close to the Bonaparte family. The pair duly married in August 1798, strengthening Bernadotte’s ties to Bonaparte, who was then away on campaign in Egypt.   While Napoleon was away in Egypt and Syria in 1799, the French armies in Europe were suffering a series of setbacks against Austrian and Russian armies in Germany and Italy. In July 1799, Bernadotte was appointed Minister of War by the Directory, the French Republic’s five-man executive body. However, Bernadotte lasted only a couple of months before the directors dismissed him from office, motivated by fears that he could leverage his popularity among the army to lead a coup.   In November 1799, the Directory was overthrown in the Coup of 18 Brumaire, led not by Bernadotte but by Bonaparte, who had returned to France after slipping away from Egypt in August. Bernadotte was firmly neutral during the coup and refused to support Napoleon.   Marshal of the Empire The Distribution of the Eagle Standards by Jacques-Louis David, 1810. Source: Château de Versailles   After Napoleon seized power as First Consul of the Republic, he ordered Bernadotte to lead the suppression of Royalist rebels in the Vendée region of western France. This was not the most prestigious of appointments, and Napoleon soon learned that Bernadotte’s subordinates were plotting against him. It was only the intervention of the Clary sisters that prevented Bonaparte from shooting Bernadotte.   In 1802, Bonaparte offered Bernadotte the twin offices of Governor of French Louisiana and Ambassador to the United States. However, while Bernadotte was preparing to leave for his new posting in April, he learned that Napoleon had sold the Louisiana Territory to the United States. This left Bernadotte as a mere ambassador, prompting him to resign the appointment.   Napoleon was infuriated by Bernadotte’s tendency to pick and choose his appointments, though Napoleon himself was responsible for such behavior as a young officer. Nevertheless, when Napoleon created his Marshal of the Empire in May 1804, Bernadotte was one of the generals elevated to the new dignity.   When Napoleon launched his campaign against Austria during the War of the Third Coalition in August 1805, Marshal Bernadotte commanded the I Corps on the French left, participating in the operation that resulted in the encirclement of General Karl Mack’s army at Ulm in October. At the Battle of Austerlitz on December 2, Bernadotte fought in the French center and helped to occupy the Pratzen Heights, though his contribution was not as brilliant as those of fellow marshals Davout and Soult.   Neither Here nor There Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout (1770-1823) by Tito Marzocchi de Belluci after Pierre Gautherot, 1852-59. Source: Château de Versailles   During his march to Ulm in 1805, Bernadotte took a shortcut through Ansbach, which was then part of the Kingdom of Prussia. This violation of Prussian neutrality prompted a strong diplomatic protest, but it was not until the summer of 1806 that the Prussians were sufficiently alarmed by Napoleon’s German policy to go to war with France.   The Prussians began the campaign confidently, but morale was significantly dented after Marshal Jean Lannes crushed Prince Louis Ferdinand’s column at Saalfeld on October 10 and killed its popular commander in the process. The Prussian command was thrown into disarray, and Napoleon struggled to make sense of the movements of the two Prussian field armies.   By October 13, Napoleon believed that the main Prussian army was intending to assemble at the university town of Jena. Accordingly, he gave orders to his corps commanders to converge on Jena to surround the enemy.   On October 14, Napoleon defeated the Prussians at Jena with his main army. Around ten miles to the northeast, Marshal Davout’s III Corps ran into a sizable Prussian force, which turned out to be the Duke of Brunswick’s 65,000-strong Prussian main army. Heavily outnumbered, Davout sought assistance from Bernadotte, whose I Corps was closest to him. Bernadotte refused to march to Davout’s aid and instead followed Napoleon’s original orders to march towards Jena. An infuriated Davout managed to defeat Brunswick on his own, and by the time Bernadotte arrived at Jena, the battle was already over.   Insubordination Jean-Baptiste-Jules Bernadotte as Marshal of France by Joseph Jouy after François-Joseph Kinson, 1852. Source: Château de Versailles   Bernadotte’s conduct on October 14 was heavily criticized by Napoleon, and he narrowly escaped a court martial. In an attempt to redeem himself, Bernadotte sprung forward with his fresh corps in pursuit of the Prussians, defeating a strong reserve force at Halle on October 17. He then pursued Prussian general Gebhard von Blücher to the port of Lübeck and forced his surrender on the Danish frontier. His lenient treatment of a Swedish contingent caught up in the situation was a factor in his later election as Crown Prince of Sweden.   In the winter of 1806-07, Bernadotte fought in isolated actions against General Bennigsen’s Russians but was absent from the major battles at Eylau and Friedland. After a stint as a governor of northern German cities, when Austria renewed hostilities in 1809, Bernadotte was given command of the Saxon Army, designated IX Corps in Napoleon’s Grande Armée.   At the climactic Battle of Wagram on July 5-6, Bernadotte’s Saxons occupied the French center. A costly frontal assault on the evening of the first day of battle severely dented morale, and the following day, Bernadotte’s men, whose white uniforms resembled those of the Austrians, were targeted by friendly fire. Bernadotte ordered his men to fall back from the village of Aderklaa, creating a dangerous gap in the French line, which Napoleon desperately sought to fill. Napoleon stripped Bernadotte of his command on the field and won the battle without him.   Crown Prince Charles John Charles XIV John as Crown Prince of Sweden by François Gérard, 1811. Source: Wikimedia Commons (National Museum of Sweden)   Bernadotte’s conduct at Wagram caused him to fall out of favor with Napoleon, though he performed more effectively at the head of the Army of Antwerp defending an ill-fated British invasion force that had landed at Walcheren in the Netherlands.   In September 1810, as Bernadotte prepared to depart for Stockholm, Napoleon formally released him from his obligations as marshal but advised him to pursue a pro-French policy. When Bernadotte replied that he intended to prioritize Swedish interests, Napoleon belatedly realized that Bernadotte was unwilling to be a French puppet, but by then, it was too late to withhold his consent.   Not long after his arrival in Sweden, Charles John began to take control of the government. He recognized that his adopted country was still lamenting the loss of Finland, but while the prospect of taking Finland back from Russia was remote, he set his eyes on Norway, part of the Danish crown.   Charles John also came to realize that cutting Sweden off from British trade would be disastrous for the Swedish economy, and continued to trade with Britain. When Napoleon responded by sending Marshal Davout to occupy Swedish Pomerania in northern Germany in 1811, Swedish foreign policy began to pivot towards Russia.   Although Napoleon still expected Bernadotte to support his invasion of Russia in 1812, the Crown Prince instead met Tsar Alexander I of Russia and signed a defensive treaty, while Alexander agreed to furnish Russian troops for a future Swedish invasion of Norway. This enabled Alexander to free his corps guarding Finland to strike at Napoleon’s northern flank.   Coalition Commander Crown Prince Charles John’s entry into Leipzig, 1813 by Fredric Westin, between 1818 and 1844. Source: Wikimedia Commons (Skokloster Castle, Sweden)   Following Napoleon’s defeat in Russia, in early 1813, Russian and Prussian armies combined to liberate northern Germany. When Napoleon returned to the field in May and defeated the coalition at Lutzen and Bautzen, a panicked Tsar Alexander requested assistance from the Swedish crown prince. Although he preferred to go after Denmark and Norway, Bernadotte agreed to supply 30,000 men for the coalition subsidized by British money.   After an armistice in early summer, Austria joined the coalition against Napoleon. During allied strategic discussions, Charles John offered his insights into Napoleon’s strengths and weaknesses and contributed to the development of the Trachenberg Plan, whereby the coalition armies would avoid battle with Napoleon and attempt to bring his marshals to battle instead. Charles John was given command of the 90,000-strong Army of the North, consisting primarily of Russian and Prussian units, in addition to his Swedish army.   Although the coalition was defeated by Napoleon at Dresden in late August, Bernadotte’s Army of the North defeated Marshal Oudinot at Grossbeeren on August 23 and Marshal Ney at Dennewitz on September 6, securing northern Germany in the process. Charles John was reluctant to campaign too far south and had to be persuaded by his ally and former rival Marshal Blücher to join the Battle of Leipzig in October. Bernadotte arrived at Leipzig on October 18, the third day of battle, and his presence encouraged a Saxon contingent to defect to the allies.   King of Sweden & Norway Coronation of King Charles III John of Norway by Jacob Munch, 1822. Source: Norwegian Parliament   After Napoleon’s defeat at Leipzig, Charles John marched his Swedes north to fight the Danes, who agreed to exchange Norway for Swedish Pomerania. He led his army into France in February 1814 but did not make it to Paris in time when the city surrendered to the coalition at the end of March.   By the time Charles John returned to Sweden in May, the Norwegian Parliament declared independence rather than become part of Sweden. In response, the crown prince led an army to defeat the Norwegians but granted them autonomy under the Swedish crown.   In 1818, following the death of Charles XIII, Bernadotte became King Charles XIV John of Sweden and Charles III John of Norway. As a constitutional monarch, he did not play a leading role in political affairs, but he remained generally popular, and the country’s economy prospered during his reign. As king, Charles John kept his realm at peace, and in 1834, he pre-emptively declared neutrality amidst tensions between Britain and Russia in the Near East, marking the beginning of Swedish neutrality.   King Charles XIV John of Sweden died in March 1844 at the age of 81, one year after celebrating his Silver Jubilee, and was succeeded by his son Oscar. The House of Bernadotte ruled Norway until its independence in 1905 and continues to occupy the Swedish throne to this day.

The worlds of cryptozoology and paranormal research are definitely strange, encompassing a wide range of phenomena that range from the odd to the downright weird. Yet when does the weird become something so utterly bizarre that it defies classification and even the limits of our own perception of reality? From where do these things spring forth from and are they even of the world as we know it at all? Perhaps some of the stranger phenomena out there have their place not in cryptozoology, the paranormal, or delusion and lies, but rather in the ever-growing idea of a multiverse and the notion that things might be able to traverse the barrier between our reality and the next, perhaps using liminal spaces as a way to do it.