Yank Levy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bert Levy
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | "Yank" |
| Born | October 5, 1897 Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| Died | September 2, 1965 (aged 67) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Allegiance | Internationalism |
| Battles/wars | World War I; World War II
|
| Other work | Guerrilla warfare instructor/advocate |
Bert "Yank" Levy (October 5, 1897 – September 2, 1965) was a Canadian soldier and teacher. He wrote one of the first books about guerrilla warfare. This book was very popular, with over half a million copies printed.
Guerrilla warfare is a type of fighting where small groups use surprise attacks and quick movements. They avoid big battles. Bert Levy fought in many parts of the world in the 1920s and 1930s. He was especially known for his role in the Spanish Civil War. During World War II, he taught soldiers at the Osterley Park training school in Britain. He also trained forces in the United States and Canada. He traveled a lot, giving talks and sharing his ideas about this type of fighting.
Contents
Early Life and Adventures
Bert Levy was born in Hamilton, Canada, to a Jewish family. His family moved to the United States when he was very young. They lived in Buffalo, New York, and then Cleveland, Ohio. His father was a tailor. Bert was one of ten children.
To become stronger, Bert joined the Boy Scouts and learned to box. He said he learned a lot from life's challenges. At 16, he left school to help his family after his father was hurt. He worked at a printing company for four years.
In 1916, he joined the British Merchant Navy as a stoker, which meant he shoveled coal to power ships. In 1918, Levy joined the 39th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. This group was part of the Jewish Legion. He continued boxing during World War I and was the champion of his army group. After the war, he boxed professionally for a short time. He stopped to keep his family happy.
Levy married Mary Prezenter, who worked as a clerk. They had one daughter. He enjoyed smoking a pipe and playing the mandolin.
Military Service Around the World
Bert Levy fought in many conflicts between 1911 and 1945. He sometimes made his stories sound even more exciting than they were.
World War I and Beyond
From 1918 to 1919, Levy served in Palestine and Transjordan. He was a machine gunner. His time there ended when he was exposed to mustard gas and got malaria. In September 1918, his unit moved through the Egyptian desert. They helped take control of Es-Salt in a fight against the Turks.
Levy met scouts from Colonel T. E. Lawrence's group. These scouts told him amazing stories. Levy decided then that he wanted to spend his life involved in guerrilla warfare.
Adventures in Latin America
In 1920–21, Levy was involved in the end of the Mexican Revolution. Later, he helped move guns in Nicaragua. There, he worked with General Sandino. He even helped prepare a ship with sandbags for protection. He left when U.S. Marines arrived, as he did not want to fight against Americans. Another reason might be that General Sandino's group no longer trusted Americans to fight alongside them.
In 1921, Levy trained Mexicans to use a type of machine gun. He left after six months because some trainees used their guns on prisoners. Levy also said he was involved in other conflicts south of Mexico. He claimed he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for moving guns.
Fighting in the Spanish Civil War
During the Spanish Civil War, Levy joined the International Brigade in 1937. He was an officer in the British Battalion, working with Tom Wintringham. This group fought against the right-wing Falangists. Levy was captured at the Battle of Jarama while using a heavy machine gun. He spent six months in a prison run by Franco's forces.
The Canadian government helped get him released. He was exchanged for two Italian officers. Levy called this "a fair deal." Even after being released, his friends had to stop him from rejoining the fight. When he returned to Canada, he helped recruit 1,200 volunteers for the Republican side.
World War II and Training Efforts
In 1940, when World War II began, Levy tried to join the Canadian Army. But he was not allowed to join for health reasons. Some also thought it was because of his reputation as a leader for unemployed people in Canada.
Becoming a Training Expert
Teaching in the United Kingdom
After being refused by the Canadian Army, Levy traveled to Britain. He worked his way there as a stoker on a ship. In the United Kingdom, he joined up with Wintringham and other veterans.
Levy and these veterans helped train the Home Guard. This was a group of part-time soldiers who defended Britain. They set up a training school at Osterley Park. Levy's lessons were very popular there. This school became famous around the world. However, the British government did not like the socialist ideas taught by the instructors. The War Office took over the school in September 1940. It closed in 1941, and its staff moved to other official training schools.
While teaching, Wintringham helped Levy write his book, Guerrilla Warfare. This book was a practical guide based on the lessons taught at Osterley Park. It talked a lot about fighting up close. The book was published in Britain and the U.S. and had many editions. Levy believed guerrilla warfare was a good way to fight fascism. He often criticized military leaders who ignored lessons from irregular warfare. He even shared stories, like how he used mouse traps on cats' tails to distract guards!
Wintringham said Levy was the best at teaching commando and guerrilla tactics in Britain. Levy mainly taught knife fighting and hand-to-hand combat.
Bert "Yank" Levy was not just a soldier. He was also a Socialist. His beliefs shaped his ideas and how he taught. He wanted to inspire people to defend their country. He compared the Home Guard's fight against Adolf Hitler to historical heroes. He mentioned Hereward the Wake, who resisted William the Conqueror. Levy also suggested reading books about guerrilla warfare in Ireland, Spain, and China.
His book had a big impact and received good reviews. Time magazine wrote that anyone worried about invasion should read Levy's book. Time liked his unusual methods:
- He taught how to set up wire cables to knock motorcycles off roads.
- He showed how to wreck trains, blow up tanks, and destroy planes.
- He advised approaching sentries from behind.
- He suggested using everyday items as weapons, like a lady's hatpin or a handkerchief with sand.
- He also taught about booby traps.
They believed that well-trained irregular fighters could stop tanks and fast attacks. Wintringham noted that guerrilla warfare needs brave, self-confident people. It also needs support from the local population. He believed that democracies could use this type of fighting better than fascist countries.
The book was affordable, costing only 17 to 25 cents. This helped over half a million copies be printed.
Training in the United States
Even though Levy had been sent out of the United States in 1933, the U.S. asked him to come back. They wanted him to train soldiers. General Sherman Miles put Levy in charge of training soldiers in Concord, Massachusetts. The training location was chosen to remind people of the Minutemen from the American Revolution.
Levy taught that ordinary people could rise up and fight an enemy. This was a new idea at the time. He taught the methods he used with the Home Guard. He also shared ideas like "scorched earth" tactics. This is where you destroy everything useful to the enemy. He showed how small groups could attack enemy supplies and communication lines. He told students at Harvard University that knowing the land well was key. He said that Home Guard units had beaten regular army troops in war games.
Helping Canada's Defense
During World War II, Levy kept pushing for home guards in America, Canada, and Britain. He believed guerrilla warfare was vital for defense. He trained the Pacific Coast Militia Rangers in Canada. He also trained forces at Nanaimo, Vancouver Island. These forces were preparing to invade the Aleutian Islands in Operation Cottage.
Later War Years
In 1943, Levy designed a combat knife. He tried to get it patented and sold, but it did not work out.
Later, he went back to America to prepare for Wintringham to start a new school. This school was planned for San Bernardino. But the school was canceled after two local Home Guard commanders shot each other during an argument. Levy gave a successful lecture tour in the U.S. His face even appeared on the cover of Life Magazine. The magazine called him an "Ace Guerrilla" and had a story titled "How to be a Guerrilla."
He then returned to the UK. He joined Wintringham's "flying squads." These were mobile training units that traveled to different Home Guard groups.
Levy spoke at Harvard University. He was called an "Instructor in 'cad warfare'" for British Commandos. He talked about his work to military students and others. He stressed the importance of individual civilian fighting. The Harvard Crimson newspaper noted that Joseph Goebbels had promised to shoot Levy first if the Germans captured England.
The United States Infantry Journal called him the best instructor on defensive fighting. His life story was even told in a comic book called Jewish War Heroes in 1944. Some people saw his ideas about fighting as a sign of future conflicts after World War II.
After the War
In 1946, Levy wanted to go to Palestine. He asked the U.S. government for a passport. But his request was denied. They were worried about his reputation for teaching guerrilla warfare and "dirty tricks."
Levy suffered a heart attack in 1965 and passed away. He had planned to write a biography with writer Don Dwiggins. Levy's reputation today mostly comes from his World War II textbook. His work was also featured in magazines like Liberty Magazine and Life Magazine.
Published Works
- Guerrilla Warfare
- 1942 | Penguin Special 102. Introduction by Tom Wintringham. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
- 1942 | Melbourne: Lothian Publishing.
- 1964 | Boulder: Panther Publications.
- 1964 | Introduction by Franklin Mark Osanka and "Editor's Notes" by Robert K. Brown. Boulder: Paladin Press.
- 1968 | Arabic edition translated by Sami Kaaki. Beirut: House of Science for Millions / Dar Al-Adab.
- 2008 | "An Infantry Journal Penguin Special." London: Penguin.
See also
- Guerrilla Warfare by Che Guevara
- History of guerrilla warfare
- International Brigades order of battle
- Jewish Legion
- Jewish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War
- On Guerrilla Warfare by Mao Zedong
