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Co-belligerence is the waging of a war in cooperation against a common enemy without a formal treaty of military alliance.

Co-belligerence is a broader and less precise status of wartime partnership than a formal military alliance. Co-belligerents may support each other materially, exchange intelligence and have limited operational coordination. The aims of war in which co-belligerents participate may differ considerably.

The term co-belligerence indicates remoteness between the co-belligerent parties, cultural, religious, ideological or otherwise, whereas alliance indicates a corresponding closeness.

Examples[link]

The Allies as co-belligerents with former enemies[link]

The term was used in 1943-45 during the latter stages of World War II to define the status of former German allies and associates (chiefly Italy, but also from 1944 Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Finland), after they joined the Allied war against Germany.

Finland as co-belligerent with Germany in World War II[link]

Co-belligerence is also the term used by Finland for her military co-operation with Germany in the Continuation War of 1941-44, when both countries had the Soviet Union as a common enemy. The Continuation War was a direct consequence of Germany's attack on the Soviet Union, Operation Barbarossa. Until then the German and Soviet governments had been allies, as during the Winter War (1940) against Finland.

While the Allied propaganda from 1941 often referred to Finland as one of the Axis Powers, Finland was never a signatory to the German-Italian-Japanese Tripartite Pact of September 1940. The Allies, in turn, pointed to the fact that Finland, like Japan and Italy, (as well as a number of countries including neutral Spain) belonged to Hitler's Anti-Comintern Pact

Remaining sympathy among the western Allies, from the turn of the century Russification of Finland, to the later Finnish Civil War and Finnish cooperation with Franco-British interventions in the Russian Civil War, and again enhanced during the Winter War, may have contributed to an Allied assessment of Finland that, despite the state of war, was more understanding than in the cases of Hungary and Romania.^{[citation needed]}

Adolf Hitler declared Germany to be im Bunde (in league) with the Finns, but Finland's government declared their intention to remain first a non-belligerent country, then co-belligerent after the Soviets started bombing Finnish cities all over the country, not the least due to a remaining neutralist public opinion. The truth was somewhere in-between:

1. By mining the Gulf of Finland Finland's navy together with the Kriegsmarine before the start of Barbarossa locked the Leningrad fleet in, making the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia practically domestic German waters, where submarines and navy could be trained without risks in addition of securing Finland's fundamental trade routes for food and fuel.
2. Germany was allowed to recruit a battalion from Finland which served under direct German command in operations away from Finnish-Soviet border. (It also recruited from non-belligerent Sweden and Spain. Germany didn't recruit from countries formally allied with it until 1943, when Italy surrendered)^[1]
3. The initial Finnish offensive was co-ordinated with Operation Barbarossa (see Continuation War for details of the pre-offensive staff talks).
4. Finnish re-conquest of the Karelian Isthmus (historically Finnish territory), and to a lesser extent the occupation of East Karelia contributed to the Siege of Leningrad. Finland also helped to block Soviet supply deliveries into the city and hosted, supplied and participated within the Lake Ladoga Flotilla which aimed to disrupt Soviet supply delivery.
5. A German army corps invaded the Soviet Union from Finnish Lapland, and German army and air force units reinforced the Finnish army during the decisive 1944 battles on the Karelian isthmus. Finland and Germany executed several joint German-Finnish Operations at the Finnish front. The Finnish conquests far exceeded the territory of pre Winter War Finland. Finnish conquest ranged as far as Lake Onega and Finnish troops even crossed the River Svir for a possible link-up with German troops.
6. Great Britain declared war on Finland on 6 December 1941.
7. Germany supplied Finland with military equipment of all kinds, ranging from weapons, uniforms and helmets to tanks and assault guns. Finland in exchange delivered rare resources like nickel.
8. Finland also extradited 8 Jews, 76 political prisoners with non-Finnish citizenship and 2,600-2,800 prisoners of war to Germany in exchange of 2,100 Fennic/Karelian prisoners of war from Germany. Some of the extradited had Finnish nationality, but had moved to Soviet Union before the war, received Soviet citizenship and returned to Finland in secret.

See also[link]

• Italian Co-Belligerent Army - Fighting with the Allies
• Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force - Fighting with the Allies
• Italian Co-Belligerent Navy - Fighting with the Allies
• 1st Bulgarian Army - Fighting with the Soviet Union during the Vienna Offensive
• 1st Romanian Army - Fighting with the Soviet Union and the 4th Romanian Army during the Prague Offensive

References[link]

1. ^ Mauno Jokipii, Hitlerin Saksa ja sen vapaaehtoisliikkeet, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura, 2002, ISBN 951-746-335-9

John Campbell McTiernan, Jr. (born January 8, 1951) is an American film director and producer, best known for his action films and most identifiable with the three films he directed back-to-back: Predator, Die Hard, and The Hunt for Red October, along with later movies such as Last Action Hero, Die Hard with a Vengeance, and The Thomas Crown Affair.

Life and career[link]

McTiernan was born in Albany, New York and attended the Juilliard School before graduating with an M.F.A. from the AFI Conservatory.

In 1986, he wrote and directed his first feature, Nomads, starring Pierce Brosnan. While not successful, it did land him the job of directing the smash science fiction action film Predator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the wake of that films' success, he followed it up with a string of hits, including Die Hard starring Bruce Willis; The Hunt for Red October with Alec Baldwin and Sean Connery, and Medicine Man, also starring Connery.

In 1993, he helmed Last Action Hero, an action-comedy vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film was rushed into production, and became a victim of its own overblown hype when it opened to mixed reviews and lackluster box office, however it gained a cult following. In 1995, he rebounded with Die Hard with a Vengeance, the second sequel to Die Hard.

In 1999, he took on the remake of The Thomas Crown Affair starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo, which opened to solid reviews and strong box office; he also directed the troubled production of The 13th Warrior, adapted from the novel Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton. In 2002, he directed Rollerball, a remake of the 1975 movie starring James Caan, but the film came and went without much fanfare. In 2003, his thriller Basic with John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson had a much more successful run.

Personal life[link]

Criminal charge[link]

On April 3, 2006, McTiernan was charged in federal court with lying to the FBI during an evening phone call to McTiernan's home in the wiretapping investigation involving Anthony Pellicano. He was arraigned and pleaded guilty on April 17, 2006, and is the 14th person charged in this case.

McTiernan was charged with an information, rather than in grand jury indictment, which means he waived his right to an indictment and suggests he may have reached either a prior plea agreement with prosecutors or some sort of cooperating agreement.^[1]

Some time later, upon retaining new counsel, McTiernan attempted to withdraw his guilty plea because his prior counsel had not offered an available defense.^[2] On September 24, 2007 this bid was denied by Federal District Judge Dale S. Fischer. She then proceeded to sentence McTiernan to four months in prison and $100,000 in fines for lying about his relationship with Pellicano. McTiernan's lawyers had asked for no jail time, arguing that even the Department of Justice policy manual stated that no single False Statement charges would be filed against an individual. The prosecution argued that the manual is a guide and the government cannot be held to the statements contained in it. The judge sided with the prosecution and characterized McTiernan as someone who "lived a privileged life and simply wants to continue that." He was ordered to surrender for incarceration by January 15, 2008. His lawyers stated thereafter he planned to appeal this conviction.^[3] Fischer allowed McTiernan to remain out of prison on bail pending his appeal of her decision to the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.^[4]

In October 2008, a federal appeals court vacated McTiernan's four-month sentence and ruled that Judge Fischer had erred and he was entitled to a hearing as to whether his plea could be withdrawn given that prior counsel did not state with sufficient clarity that he had offered McTiernan a defense. The prosecution agreed for McTiernan to withdraw his plea rather than proceed with a hearing and Judge Fischer allowed McTiernan to do so on February 24, 2009. The case remained open, with prosecutors intending to proceed a second time against McTiernan on the same charge.^[5]

According to McTiernan's attorney, former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz, the overzealous prosecutors filed two charges against McTiernan for the same sentence to the unverified FBI Agent, and a third charge for perjury since he had asked to withdraw his guilty plea. Due to court rulings, McTiernan entered a conditional guilty plea in order to get back to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Fischer sentenced McTiernan to one year in prison though no additional criminal activity was indicated since his plea was allowed to be withdrawn. Diaz states "his client was forced to plead guilty to what most people do not even know is a crime" and is a "victim of prosecutorial vindictiveness." McTiernan is free on bail pending appeal. Diaz is confident his client will prevail.^[6]

Invasion of privacy civil suit[link]

On July 3, 2006, McTiernan's former wife, film producer Donna Dubrow, filed suit against him for invasion of privacy and other claims arising from her belief that he hired Pellicano to wiretap her telephone. Judge Dale S. Fischer refused to give any credence to the claim when it was mentioned by the prosecution during McTiernan's hearing.^[7]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• John McTiernan at the Internet Movie Database
• "Filmmaker Says He Lied in FBI Probe" The Los Angeles Times, April 18, 2006.
• "Links Between Pellicano, Director Come Into Focus" The Los Angeles Times, April 5, 2006.
• "Pellicano Inquiry Expands to Snare Director of 'Predator'" The Los Angeles Times, April 4, 2006.
• "Film Director Accused of Lying to FBI in Pellicano Scandal" The LA Weekly, April 3, 2006.