BevoJoe
10,000+ Posts
Yep! That stuff can pack a real punch, and it doesn't take all that much to do some major damage.
On this day .....
- Thread starter Joe Fan
- Start date
Yep! That stuff can pack a real punch, and it doesn't take all that much to do some major damage.
Happy VE Day.
Even though the above scene occurred on 4/25/45, it seemed fitting.
Even though the above scene occurred on 4/25/45, it seemed fitting.
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LousianaHorn
Kabong
I can imagine there were alot of nervous men about now.........in ships at sea also because the invaision of Saipan went off on June 15th and actually involved more naval forces...(all the AC Carriers we had by 1944, England served as the "carrier" for D-Day).
BevoJoe
10,000+ Posts
June 6, 1944 - The "Great Crusade"
In the early morning hours, the Allied flotilla arrives on the cost of Normandy in northern France. Earlier, partroops from the 82nd and 101st airborne jumped into the area during the night. Most were scattered across the fields of Normandy and were under heavy fire from the German forces. Allied troops began to land on the beaches after the barrage, but encountered heavy fire especially on Omaha beach and at one point it appeared the troops would not be able to move inland. Despite the carnage, allied troops eventually overran the german emplacements and moved a short distance inland. The Germans did not have the reinforcements available to counter attack and the beachheads were secured. The Germans were now fighting on two fronts. Eleven months and two days after the landings, the Great Crusade ended with Germany, in shambles and overrun by allied troops, unconditionally surrendering in a French school house in the town of Reims bringing the war in europe to an end.
In the early morning hours, the Allied flotilla arrives on the cost of Normandy in northern France. Earlier, partroops from the 82nd and 101st airborne jumped into the area during the night. Most were scattered across the fields of Normandy and were under heavy fire from the German forces. Allied troops began to land on the beaches after the barrage, but encountered heavy fire especially on Omaha beach and at one point it appeared the troops would not be able to move inland. Despite the carnage, allied troops eventually overran the german emplacements and moved a short distance inland. The Germans did not have the reinforcements available to counter attack and the beachheads were secured. The Germans were now fighting on two fronts. Eleven months and two days after the landings, the Great Crusade ended with Germany, in shambles and overrun by allied troops, unconditionally surrendering in a French school house in the town of Reims bringing the war in europe to an end.
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It's impossible to overstate the debt of gratitude we owe to the brave men who fought their way onto the continent on D-Day and led to the defeat of Germany.
BevoJoe
10,000+ Posts
It did. And a good thing that Hitler never invaded. But that was also one of his biggest blunders of the war. The invasion of Russia with Britain unconquered in his rear was to be his downfall. That strategic blunder along with several others cost him the war. His biggest strategic failures in my opinion were:
1. Not invading the British Isles following the British evacuation of Dunkirk. Over 300,000 British troops escaped and were evacuated back to Britain.
2. Decision to have Air Marshall Goring bomb the British into submission which failed.
3. Attacking Russia before taking North Africa which if he had done so his forces could have moved into the Middle East and take or ally with Turkey and been poised to take the Russian oil fields in the Caucasus region, maybe even move into Saudi Arabia. Hitler had an ally in the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, who was more than willing to be an ally of Germany and met with Hitler at one point IIRC.
4. Delaying the work on the ME-262 and the V-2
5. Spreading concentration and death camps across Germany and Poland which were expensive and a drain on the economy needed for weapons manufacture and development, and material needed to sustain the military operations.
6. Taking the Balkans in the spring of 1941 which pushed the invasion of Russia to June 22, 1941 resulting ultimately in a failure to take Moscow due to the harsh winter weather.
7. Diverting troops from the Moscow objective to capture Kyiv then turning them back to support the Army group Central which slowed the attack moving to take Moscow.
8. Sending an entire army to capture Stalingrad, then failing to pull them out while retreat and escape was still possible.
9. Insisting the Allied Landings in Normandy was a mere diversion, and keeping troops at Pas-de-Calais where he was sure the invasion would take place.
10. The Ardennes Offensive, transporting men and tanks badly needed on the Russian Front to the western front which ultimately failed.
There are other blunders the Germans and in particular Hitler made that cost them the war . . . thank God! But the ones above are what I consider his top 10 biggest screw-ups. Feel free to add more.
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July 2, 1776.
The 2nd Continental Congress votes to declare independence from Great Britain. Two days later final wording of the resolution was approved and adopted. John Hancock was the first to sign the document on August 2 of that year and Thomas McKean (DE) was the last to sign sometime in early 1777.
Happy Birthday USA!
The 1817 John Trumbull painting of the event which is displayed (for the time being, but hopefully for at least my lifespan) in the Capital Rotunda is highly fictionalized as Congress was never in the same room at the same time while the DOI was being signed.
The 2nd Continental Congress votes to declare independence from Great Britain. Two days later final wording of the resolution was approved and adopted. John Hancock was the first to sign the document on August 2 of that year and Thomas McKean (DE) was the last to sign sometime in early 1777.
Happy Birthday USA!
The 1817 John Trumbull painting of the event which is displayed (for the time being, but hopefully for at least my lifespan) in the Capital Rotunda is highly fictionalized as Congress was never in the same room at the same time while the DOI was being signed.
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BevoJoe
10,000+ Posts
July 3, 1863 Gettysburg, PA.
The largest battle ever on the North American Continent came to a close. The three day battle (July 1-3, 1863) resulted in casualties amounting to 23,049 for the Union (3,155 dead, 14,529 wounded, 5,365 missing), and 28,063 for the Confederacy (3,903 dead, 18,735 injured, and 5,425 missing) which amounted to more than a third of Lee's army.
Lee's advisors advocated for the army to head to Washington to take the capitol, but Lee insisted his troupes should strike the Union lines (which held the high ground on Cemetery Ridge) then take Washington. General Picket's division involved an infantry assault of approximately 15,000 men, lined up in close formation and walking across approximately one mile of open space and under Union artillery and rifle fire toward the Union line. Pickett's division suffered 2,655 casualties (498 killed, 643 wounded, 833 wounded and captured, and 681 captured, unwounded).
Although the some Confederate units reached the Union lines, they were unable to have much effect and were quickly wounded, killed or taken prisoner. The battle came to be called the "highwater mark of the Confederacy." Neither side conducted operations on July 4th.
The Confederate failure according to historians came down to two primary reasons: 1) The Union held the high ground and 2) the absence of J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate cavalry during the first day of operations.
Also on July 4th to the southwest, Union troops captured the confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, MS following a two month siege, giving the Union control of the Mississippi River, and splitting the Confederacy in half. On July 5th, Lee realized he did not have the military strength to march on Washington D.C. and began the long retreat back to Virginia.
The largest battle ever on the North American Continent came to a close. The three day battle (July 1-3, 1863) resulted in casualties amounting to 23,049 for the Union (3,155 dead, 14,529 wounded, 5,365 missing), and 28,063 for the Confederacy (3,903 dead, 18,735 injured, and 5,425 missing) which amounted to more than a third of Lee's army.
Lee's advisors advocated for the army to head to Washington to take the capitol, but Lee insisted his troupes should strike the Union lines (which held the high ground on Cemetery Ridge) then take Washington. General Picket's division involved an infantry assault of approximately 15,000 men, lined up in close formation and walking across approximately one mile of open space and under Union artillery and rifle fire toward the Union line. Pickett's division suffered 2,655 casualties (498 killed, 643 wounded, 833 wounded and captured, and 681 captured, unwounded).
Although the some Confederate units reached the Union lines, they were unable to have much effect and were quickly wounded, killed or taken prisoner. The battle came to be called the "highwater mark of the Confederacy." Neither side conducted operations on July 4th.
The Confederate failure according to historians came down to two primary reasons: 1) The Union held the high ground and 2) the absence of J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate cavalry during the first day of operations.
Also on July 4th to the southwest, Union troops captured the confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, MS following a two month siege, giving the Union control of the Mississippi River, and splitting the Confederacy in half. On July 5th, Lee realized he did not have the military strength to march on Washington D.C. and began the long retreat back to Virginia.
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BevoJoe
10,000+ Posts
July 20, 1944
After many failed attempts, Colonel Clause von Stauffenberg placed a single primed bomb inside his briefcase and entered the conference room containing Hitler and 20 officers, positioning the briefcase under the table near Hitler. After a few minutes, Stauffenberg received a planned telephone call and left the room. It is presumed that Colonel Heinz t Brand, who was standing next to Hitler, used his foot to move the briefcase aside by pushing it behind the leg of the conference table. This caused the blast to be deflected away from Hitler when the bomb detonated.
When the bomb detonated at 12:42, the conference room was demolished and a stenographer instantly killed. All other people in the room were injured with three officers later succumbing to their wounds. Hitler survived, as did everyone else who was shielded from the blast by the conference table. His trousers were singed and tattered and he suffered from a perforated eardrum, as did most of the other 24 people in the room.
The failure resulted in the arrest of 7,000 people, over 4,980 of which were reportedly executed by being hung using piano wire. The executions were filmed and sent to Hitler for his viewing pleasure. The executions continued in Berlin reportedly to April 28th, 1945 just 2 days before Hitler committed suicide and 4 days before Berlin surrendered to the Russians (May 2. 1945).
Had the plot succeeded, the war in Europe may have ended much sooner than it did, possibly by late August if not sooner spearing hundreds of thousands of lives on all sides. But the failure allowed the Nazis to continue the conflict resulting in many more lives lost on both sides, Germany being overrun, and the nearly complete destruction of Germany's cities and infrastructure. By May 7th, 1945, Germany ceased to exist as a viable country.
The Conference Room
Hitler's shredded pants
After many failed attempts, Colonel Clause von Stauffenberg placed a single primed bomb inside his briefcase and entered the conference room containing Hitler and 20 officers, positioning the briefcase under the table near Hitler. After a few minutes, Stauffenberg received a planned telephone call and left the room. It is presumed that Colonel Heinz t Brand, who was standing next to Hitler, used his foot to move the briefcase aside by pushing it behind the leg of the conference table. This caused the blast to be deflected away from Hitler when the bomb detonated.
When the bomb detonated at 12:42, the conference room was demolished and a stenographer instantly killed. All other people in the room were injured with three officers later succumbing to their wounds. Hitler survived, as did everyone else who was shielded from the blast by the conference table. His trousers were singed and tattered and he suffered from a perforated eardrum, as did most of the other 24 people in the room.
The failure resulted in the arrest of 7,000 people, over 4,980 of which were reportedly executed by being hung using piano wire. The executions were filmed and sent to Hitler for his viewing pleasure. The executions continued in Berlin reportedly to April 28th, 1945 just 2 days before Hitler committed suicide and 4 days before Berlin surrendered to the Russians (May 2. 1945).
Had the plot succeeded, the war in Europe may have ended much sooner than it did, possibly by late August if not sooner spearing hundreds of thousands of lives on all sides. But the failure allowed the Nazis to continue the conflict resulting in many more lives lost on both sides, Germany being overrun, and the nearly complete destruction of Germany's cities and infrastructure. By May 7th, 1945, Germany ceased to exist as a viable country.
The Conference Room
Hitler's shredded pants
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I'm pretty well read on the battle and I have visited the Gettsyburg battle site. I always believed Stuart's absence leading up to and during the battle was the single biggest reason Lee lost. Stuart's cavalry was Lee's scouts - his eyes and ears - especially in advance of a major battle.
BevoJoe
10,000+ Posts
I've been out there a few times myself. After looking over the terrain, Lee would have been better off if he swung his forces to the south east and headed for Washington D.C. Even if he did not capture Lincoln, the taking of the Capital may have had a huge effect on the Union forces. But, Lee didn't. He took a beating in the attack across the open field on July 3rd, and had to retreat. The total casualties suffered by the South during the 3 day battle were approximately 50,000 irreplaceable troops.
I like to visit battle sites, Vicksburg and Gettysburg are my favorites. About 40-45 miles north of Tucson is a civil war battlefield at Picacho Peak. I've passed by it several times going up to Phoenix but never stopped there to walk it yet. Planning that for the fall. That was the westernmost battle of the Civil War.
I also like to visit WW1 and WW2 battlefields as well. Had the opportunity to visit and hang out around many of them when I was younger. . . a lot younger that is.
BevoJoe
10,000+ Posts
July 22nd
1793 - Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first Euro-American to complete a transcontinental crossing of Canada
1796 - Cleveland, Ohio, founded by General Moses Cleaveland. Originally called 'Cleaveland', the public adopted the current name after a newspaper editor noticed the name was too long to fit on the page.
1934 - Outside Chicago's Biograph Theatre, "Public Enemy No. 1" John Dillinger is mortally wounded by FBI agents
1936 - Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Johnny Moore hits 3 straight home runs in a 16-4 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates
1942 - Warsaw Ghetto Jews (300,000) are sent to Treblinka Extermination Camp
1960 - Cuba nationalizes all US-owned sugar factories
1967 - 1st major appearance by Vanilla Fudge (Village Theater NYC)
1975 - US House of Representatives votes to restore citizenship to General Robert E. Lee. (I'm sure he appreciated that)
1793 - Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first Euro-American to complete a transcontinental crossing of Canada
1796 - Cleveland, Ohio, founded by General Moses Cleaveland. Originally called 'Cleaveland', the public adopted the current name after a newspaper editor noticed the name was too long to fit on the page.
1934 - Outside Chicago's Biograph Theatre, "Public Enemy No. 1" John Dillinger is mortally wounded by FBI agents
1936 - Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Johnny Moore hits 3 straight home runs in a 16-4 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates
1942 - Warsaw Ghetto Jews (300,000) are sent to Treblinka Extermination Camp
1960 - Cuba nationalizes all US-owned sugar factories
1967 - 1st major appearance by Vanilla Fudge (Village Theater NYC)
1975 - US House of Representatives votes to restore citizenship to General Robert E. Lee. (I'm sure he appreciated that)
Lee was advised by many on his staff to do that very thing. He felt, however, that the enemy was there and this was the opportunity to destroy Meade and the Army of the Potomac. Knowledge of the terrain in front of him and the disposition of Meade’s army might have swayed him to make that decision, but the absence of his cavalry blinded him to these facts. Stuart really let the Confederacy down.
Shelby Foote speculated that the disaster on July 3 was the price the Confederacy paid for R.E. Lee. The man believed his troops would do anything he asked them to do no matter how long the odds. Lee and Pickett were optimistic of the advance on Cemetery Ridge. Most everyone else knew they were going to meet their Creator that day.
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BevoJoe, I'm with you on this. I have one key item on my bucket list that I probably will never do - seeing the beaches at Normandy.
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BevoJoe
10,000+ Posts
If that is the only WW2 site a person visits, it is well worth the stay. The first time I visited in 1970, I walked out on Omaha Beach to the edge of the water and turned to look at what our guys saw when the ramp dropped and there was nothing but beach and a rise covered with German gun emplacements firing down on them. My thought was "my God! How did any of them survive!" If you can spend the time, 4 or 5 days, there is lots to see in Normandy. You won't be disappointed, I can guarantee that!
August 6, 1945.
Paul Tibbets helped hasten the end of WWII. Truman’s use of “the device” saved a million Allied lives and countless Japanese lives and Soviet occupation by shortening the war by perhaps a year or more.
80,000 soldiers and civilians died instantly and 200,000 in the coming months, but I’m not sure the residents of Tokyo and Yokohama in LaMay’s firebombing raids the previous March (Operation Meetinghouse, 90-100K dead, 1M homeless) would scarcely know the difference.
Paul Tibbets helped hasten the end of WWII. Truman’s use of “the device” saved a million Allied lives and countless Japanese lives and Soviet occupation by shortening the war by perhaps a year or more.
80,000 soldiers and civilians died instantly and 200,000 in the coming months, but I’m not sure the residents of Tokyo and Yokohama in LaMay’s firebombing raids the previous March (Operation Meetinghouse, 90-100K dead, 1M homeless) would scarcely know the difference.
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^An invasion of Japan would have exacted a horrible toll - and probably would have lasted more than a year.
On Veterans Day, 2001 my wife & I visited what was then the D-Day Museum in NOLA. An hour or so into the visit, we got in line for coffee and struck up a conversation with a WWII vet and the subject of Hiroshima came up (at the time there was some controversy over supposed racist motivations of using nukes in Japan and not in Germany). He was a machinist mate on a DE in the North Atlantic that was about to get redeployed to the Pacific Theater. He told me the news about Hiroshima was received enthusiastically by the crew as they realized this meant they were going to survive the war, as a DE on picket duty screening an invasion force was a prime target for suicide planes, speedboats, or manned torpedoes.
9 August 1945. The bombing of Hiroshima on 6 Aug was followed by a second atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Shortly thereafter the Japanese surrendered, bringing an end to WW II.
LousianaHorn
Kabong
missed by a day..............71 years ago a legend was born.............double/double with jalpenos and bacon! August 8, 1950.
LousianaHorn
Kabong
A fella by the name of David Crockett is born........... “You can all go to hell; I will go to Texas” . This from the Republic of Texas facebook page.
August 17th, 1786
On this day in 1786, frontier icon and Alamo defender Davy Crockett was born in Tennessee. He began his military career as a scout in the Tennessee militia in 1813 and was elected to the Tennessee legislature in 1821. After a turbulent political career, during which he split with President Andrew Jackson, a fellow Tennessean, and acquired a national reputation as a sharpshooter, hunter, and yarn-spinner, Crockett grew disenchanted with the political process and decided to explore Texas. He set out in November 1835 and reached San Antonio de Béxar in February 1836, shortly before the arrival of Antonio López de Santa Anna. Crockett chose to join Col. William B. Travis, who had deliberately disregarded Jackson sympathizer Sam Houston's orders to withdraw from the Alamo, and died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. No matter how many fabrications gathered around him, the historical David Crockett proved a formidable hero in his own right and succeeded Daniel Boone as the rough-hewn representative of frontier independence and virtue.
August 17th, 1786
On this day in 1786, frontier icon and Alamo defender Davy Crockett was born in Tennessee. He began his military career as a scout in the Tennessee militia in 1813 and was elected to the Tennessee legislature in 1821. After a turbulent political career, during which he split with President Andrew Jackson, a fellow Tennessean, and acquired a national reputation as a sharpshooter, hunter, and yarn-spinner, Crockett grew disenchanted with the political process and decided to explore Texas. He set out in November 1835 and reached San Antonio de Béxar in February 1836, shortly before the arrival of Antonio López de Santa Anna. Crockett chose to join Col. William B. Travis, who had deliberately disregarded Jackson sympathizer Sam Houston's orders to withdraw from the Alamo, and died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. No matter how many fabrications gathered around him, the historical David Crockett proved a formidable hero in his own right and succeeded Daniel Boone as the rough-hewn representative of frontier independence and virtue.
BevoJoe
10,000+ Posts
August 26th
1346 - Battle of Crécy, south of Calais in northern France; Edward III's English longbows defeat Philip VI's army, cannons used for first time in battle.
1682 - English astronomer Edmond Halley first observes the comet named after him.
1903 - Phillies walk 17 Dodgers in a game
1945 - Japanese diplomats board USS Missouri to receive instructions on Japan's surrender at the end of WWII
1971 - Bobby Orr signs a five-year contract with the Boston Bruins worth one million dollars, the first million dollar contract in NHL history
1346 - Battle of Crécy, south of Calais in northern France; Edward III's English longbows defeat Philip VI's army, cannons used for first time in battle.
1682 - English astronomer Edmond Halley first observes the comet named after him.
1903 - Phillies walk 17 Dodgers in a game
1945 - Japanese diplomats board USS Missouri to receive instructions on Japan's surrender at the end of WWII
1971 - Bobby Orr signs a five-year contract with the Boston Bruins worth one million dollars, the first million dollar contract in NHL history
September 8, 1900. The Great Galveston Hurricane.
121 years later, still the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
Galveston Hurricane of 1900 (U.S. National Park Service)
For those unfamiliar, Issac’s Storm written by Eric Larsen is a good account of the event and a terrific read. Also the Rosenberg Library has a collection of oral histories of survivors, if you want to invest an hour or two.
121 years later, still the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
Galveston Hurricane of 1900 (U.S. National Park Service)
For those unfamiliar, Issac’s Storm written by Eric Larsen is a good account of the event and a terrific read. Also the Rosenberg Library has a collection of oral histories of survivors, if you want to invest an hour or two.
There is a snippet of irony to this.
Issac Cline who was the chief meteorologist for the U.S. Weather Bureau (now the National Weather Service) held the idea that the possibility of a destructive hurricane ever causing significant damage to Galveston was absurd. This was partly due to the relatively shallow water offshore and what they then understood about wave mechanics made development of destructive waves unlikely, if not outright impossible.
Unfortunately for the residents of Texas’ then fourth-largest city, the combination of sustained 145 mph winds, a storm surge of over 15 feet and a city whose highest elevation was less than 9 feet proved deadly. Thus Science (or unquestioned faith of), as some would argue today concerning contemporary issues, failed the citizens of the Gulf Coast.
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