I do not spend much time surfing the internet.  I find what I need and move on. But when I read a rumor that China was going to build 6 Aircraft Carriers by 2010, all I could think of was, No Way! Diplomatically and Militarily, I keep my ear to the ground. Something this big wouldn't have escaped my notice. So I started digging into what was posted on the web.

Not surprising, the Peoples Liberation Army Navy wants a couple of carriers. But there were always higher priorities and so the resources for the effort have always been low level. Surprisingly, China has bought a number of Carriers. In 1985 the Peoples Liberation Army Navy bought HMS Melbourne, ostensibly for scrap. One report also had Chinese engineers requesting the operation manuals for the steam catapults. Officially the HMS Melbourne was scrapped, though there are rumors to the contrary. Since we now live in the days of Google Earth, I don't believe it is hidden away somewhere.  Since she massed less than 20,000 tons, the HMS Melbourne wouldn't even make a good Tom Clancy novel.

China has bought the Soviet carriers, Minsk and Kiev, as well as the uncompleted Varyag (renamed from Riga). All the carriers were sold in a stripped condition. The Varyag didn't even have an engine. All were sold with the useless agreement never to be militarized.

What is China doing with these ships? The Minsk and Kiev have both been converted to theme parks. Though the parent company of "Minsk World" is bankrupt and is looking for a buyer. The Varyag is kept under tight guard, has been repainted and renamed Shi Lang, after a General that conquered Taiwan.

What other efforts are there from the Peoples Liberation Army Navy to acquire a carrier? There was quite a buzz when a frame from Google Earth revealed a Nimitz Carrier docked in China. But panning back shows the "Carrier" was land locked. It is actually the "Military Education Center" at the "Orient Green Boat After-School Camp for Youngsters," and built to look like a Nimitz class CVN.

While on the topic of where are they now, I had to research the the "Large Antisubmarine Cruiser" Leningrad, since I had an opportunity to see her once. See our Cold War Story called "A Bad Day for Communism."  The Leningrad and her sister ship Moskva were both scrapped in the mid 90's. So they, like the ships Jeff and I served on, USS Oklahoma City (CG-5), USS Worden (CG-18), USS Dale (CG-19), and the USS King (DDG-41), are no more.

Gallienus was one of the most controversial of the late Roman emperors. For various reason he was tarred with a lot of bad “press” by ancient writers. Much of this was picked up on by Edward Gibbon in his seminal work The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. Only recently have modern critical historians somewhat mollified the generally negative view of his complex and eventful reign.

When his father Valens was proclaimed emperor by his troops in 253 AD, one of his first acts was to name Gallienus as Augustus, effectively making him co-Emperor for the Western part of the Empire. Valens was busy in the east dealing with restive tribes across the Danube and incursions by the Sassanid Empire. Gallienus established his bases in Italy and Gaul guarding the Rhine with his father’s Praetorian Prefect at his side both to provide military advice and, one suspects, to keep a close eye on his ambitions. He served faithfully in this capacity for seventeen years until his father was captured by Shapur I during an ill-fated expedition in the East.

Upon notification of his father’s capture, Gallienus kept the news secret for over a month. Likely he was taking this time to contemplate the ramifications to the Empire of the unprecedented disaster of the only Emperor to ever fall into enemy hands. This fact, and his eventually refusal to ransom his father is one of the key reasons that his has been vilified historically.

There are some good reasons that in some ways justify his response. First, moral in the empire and among the legions was at low ebb. News of such a disaster would have been seen by the people and the army as a sign that the gods were punishing Valens for his lack of piety, and that, by extension, Gallienus was in disfavor with the along with the Empire as a whole.

He seems to have spent the ransom money on coinage which bore the inscription “Faithful to the Soldiers” as well as given donatives to the people which depicted his as loyal, faithful, and pious to the gods. While this propaganda campaign achieved its purpose with the army and the masses, powerful governors and wealthy land owners and senators were less than impress. They used the pretext of his abandoning Valens to an ignominious fate as a rallying cry from repeated rebellions. As a result, Gallienus’ career consisted almost entirely of military campaigns to defeat usurpers who frequently used barbarians as well as a handful of disloyal legions to raise arms against him.

Militarily he was for the most part a great leader. Even Gibbon had to admit that he was “never deficient in personal bravery. ‘ He also choose, and listened to good advisors, notably Claudius and Aurelian. Most of his campaigns were focused on the Eastern fringes of the Empire where the defeat of Valens had encouraged the most unrest. Perhaps one of his greatest mistakes was leaving Gaul in the hands of what he thought was a good friend and mentor, Postumus. He even left his son Saloninus and his father’s Praetorian Prefect in Gaul so trusting was he of his friend. Unfortunately Postumus murdered both of them and seized Gaul creating a short-lived Gallic Empire.

Gallienius’ military prowess is well represented in the game Tyrants of Rome. While not the strongest character with a rating of 7 (exceeded by Aurelian with an 8). He can command the most powerful legions in the game. He’s definitely a good card to have on your side.

Roman Coin with a depiction of Gallienius

The high point of his career involved an invasion of Sicily by the Allamani accompanied by a simultaneous Gothic incursion in the East. In a brilliant campaign during the spring and summer of 268, he first drove the Allamani out of Sicily in April and then rushed to the Eastern frontier and crushed the Goths at the battle of Naissus in September. From there, he marched west to deal with Postumus.

While besieging the town of Mediolanum, an important jumping off point for a full scale invasion of Gaul, he was betrayed in a conspiracy which involved the commander of his personal guard and murdered.

His legacy includes the creation of an innovative cavalry force (the first such force in Roman history).It was essential a “fire brigade” ala von Manstein. and could quickly and decisively respond to trouble anywhere in the Empire.  He also forbade Senators for holding military commands, given them instead to the more capable and less politically volatile equestrian class. Both of these reforms were ratified by later emperors and modern historians see them as important to prolonging the life of the empire.

In conclusion, while he had faults, he loved his carnal pleasures a bit too much some say, made some mistakes in trusting his friends with too much power, and clearly allowed his own father to suffer a terrible fate (Shapur I mocked him by using him as a mounting stool and even stuffed his corpse and continued that practice after Valen’s death in captivity), he was not so much a bad Empower as a man who had to make the best of a bad situation.

Next: The Gauls and the Macriani.