Real “Thanksgiving”

Ok, so there are gonna be a lot of specials on TV this week about the “Real Thanksgiving” and most of those, especially on the History channel, will probably be fairly accurate. And that’s great, that we’ve finally gotten to the point where what TV is telling us is breaking the tradition of what we are taught in school.

So, the Pilgrims left England in September 1620, heading for the New World with a charter to form the Plymouth Bay Colony, wherever they landed. In November of 1620, they came to land off Cape Cod, in what is now Provincetown Harbor. Unsure of where to make their new colony, they sent several scouting parties ashore, led by English soldier Myles Standish.

Coming soon!

Filler post: I’ve been sick with a bad head cold for just short of a week, and I have not been up to finishing the research I plan to do to finish a post about the Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945), and I don’t want to half-ass a post about what I consider to be the turning point of World War 2.

To fill some space, I was going to do a quick post about the history of transportation tonight, but I took my Nyqul before I started working on it, and my drugs are starting to kick in. The post was just a sloppy mess of words and definitely not the kind of quality I expect from myself. So, I have two drafts in the process, and hopefully I can get at least one of them finished by this weekend. Of course, I should probably do a post on Turkey Day, since I did work at the Plimoth Plantation for a while, and I actually know the real story about the first feast….Ok, THREE posts in the works. FML.

Veteran’s Day

Happy Veteran’s Day everyone. I hope everyone took a few minutes to remember and honor those who served, and died for our country. Whether you believe in the cause they were fighting for or not, please remember it is not the fault of the soldier doing the dirty work if a war is unjust. Thank you Veterans.

 

WW2 Memorial in Washington DC

 

Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC

The Greatest Rifle Ever Made.

Yes that’s right, I fully believe the M1 Garand was and is the finest rifle ever made. Better than the AK47, the M16, the 1903 Springfield (my vote for 2nd) and many others. Why do I think this? Because it was considered the most accurate of its generation, it was light, it was efficient, it was reliable and it was ahead of its time.

John Garand was born in Quebec in 1888, but he and his family moved to Connecticut shortly after. At the age of 12, young John got a job as a machinist at a local textile mill in the -then- prosperous Connecticut River Valley area. In 1917, at the age of 29, he submitted a design he had been working on for a sub-machine gun to the US War Department. They liked his design enough to offer him a job as a consultant at the Springfield Armory, however not enough to actually commission his design to be produced. They did however, ask of him to work on a design for a semi-automatic infantry rifle.

I’m baaaaack

Ok, so my attempt of blogging “frequently” failed miserably, almost a year ago. For many reasons: started a new relationship in the beginning of February. Started a new job (and another new job after that) in March.

 

Anyways. I’ve been feeling rather inspired lately, and have felt an urge to get back into the History game. I don’t know whether it’s because I need something to do with my spare time besides playing video games, whether it’s because I miss writing, reading and thinking about history, or if it’s because my newest slew of job searches have led to jack and squat. Two interview, but “not enough experience” to get either job. One of them was my fucking dream job too. “Collections Coordinator” of a WW2 museum in NH. I would have been top dog in the collections, in an area of focus that I have wet dreams about (WW2, perverts!).

 

Anyways, I’m not putting any “3 posts a week” thing on myself this time. I’ll post when I feel particularly creative/focused/etc.  The good news is I have been reading at work, during my breaks, and have so far knocked off three more books on my reading list. The Victors by Stephen Ambrose, The Steel Wave by Jeff Shaara, and Pirate Hunter: the True Story of Captain William Kidd by Richard Zacks and I am currently reading What If?. That’s about it…Time to work on a real post to put up soon. Cheer all. And here’s to hoping this attempt lasts longer than 4 weeks!

Tanks, a brief history.

Tanks are a fascination of mine. I did a 20 page research paper on them in college. They are incredible machines capable of tremendous fire power as well as inducing both shock and awe. When they were first created, they were a novelty, thrown into battle simply to confuse the enemy. They did more than confuse. There are hundreds of records of German soldiers from World War I who witnessed the lumbering behemoths in person, and describe nothing but pure terror as the only emotional response they were capable of at the time. Never before had a vehicle been seen on land that was capable of withstanding all sorts of infantry attacks; bullets, flamethrowers, barbed wire, land mines, most hand grenades. It still had one weakness, direct artillery fire would knock out a tank with ease.

Alesia

The Battle of Alesia, occurred in 53 BCE, between the armies of the Gaul Vercingetorix and the legions of Julius Caesar. This is one of Julius’s most famous battles, and involves some serious genius when it comes to tactic and military know-how. The Gauls had rebelled against the Romans, led by Vercingetorix, causing Caesar a huge headache. Their guerrilla tactics took away the advantages of the Roman legions and caused some pretty devastating losses. Eventually Caesar tracked the Gauls down at the fort-city of Alesia, in modern Eastern France. What followed is one of the most impressive displays of man power and superior tactics against overwhelming odds.

MLK

So, although this has nothing to do with Military History, I hope every American takes time to think about Martin Luther King Jr. today. Besides the fact that today is MLK Day, it is always important to remember the great people of history. MLK was immeasurably important in the history of the United States during the 50s and 60s. He was incredibly important in the Equal Rights movement and in making our country the great social community it is now. I hope everyone, regardless of skin color, takes time to be thankful for him and those who have come since, for making our country a place where all men (and women of course) can live the “American Dream.”

Fort Driant

The Siege of Fort Driant was, well, a catastrophe of epic proportions. The Fort was built in 1902 as one of many Forts circling the town of Metz, which lies in the Northeastern area of France, near the borders with Belgium and Luxembourg. Metz was situated at the meeting of the Moselle and Sielle rivers, and was an extremely important city for the Allies to capture on their way East towards Germany during the Fall/Winter of 1944.

The act of taking Metz, as well as the rest of Eastern France, fell upon General George Patton and his Third Army.

Thermopylae

So, not really knowing where to start my journey on, I think I’ll go with the picture that is the banner for my site. The image depicts the Spartans defence of the pass at Thermopylae against the mighty army of the Persian God-king Xerxes. Most people now-a-days will recognize this as being the story of the movie 300, based off the graphic novel by Frank Miller. Well, yes, that is all correct. Miller’s version is of course a bit Hollywooded, but he did a good job of more or less representing the events that took place at Thermopylae. Sadly, the thing he got wrong, is also the reason most people love the story. While it is true that the Greek forces were outnumbered by some accounts over 100 to 1, and yes there was a mere 300 Spartans at the battle…the Spartans were but a small (albeit influential) piece of the Greek army at Thermopylae. There was an estimated 4000-7000 Greeks, from Sparta, Thebes, Mynecea, Thespiae and other city-states. The idea of holding the pass at Thermopylae was not even the brainchild of the now infamous King Leonidas, but instead is reported to have been suggested by the Athenian Thermistocles. While Leonidas led the land forces to Thermopylae, Thermistocles, also a great general of his own, led a large naval force to the straits of Artemisium to hold off Xerxes large naval invasion.