Vietnam

Tanks for the Memories

Tanks for the Memories

Tanks for the Memories

In a previous post, we looked at the history of the  M60 Patton tank that served the US during the Cold War and beyond.  Above is an action shot of an M48 Patton charging off into battle during the Vietnam War.

During the course of the war, there were very few “tank on tank” battles. The tanks served mainly in the role of infantry support. No sight was more welcomed than to see one of these bad boys flying down the road. This variant, used by both the US and South Vietnamese units, provided ample protection for the crew. They were able to win in most engagements against enemy armor. Of course, having the war fought in the jungle and mountains of the region did limit its deployment capabilities.

After the United States pulled out, many of the M48s were turned over to the South Vietnamese. They went to good use in several engagements against their Northern counterparts. However, in the wake of the Watergate scandal, Congress began cutting off the military aid to the South and eventually actually passed laws that made the selling of fuel and ammunition to our former allies illegal.

Without that support, the tanks were unable to be put into the field and eventually the South Vietnamese were defeated. A number of the surviving tanks found their way into service with the victors but were soon abandoned in total.

So looking at the picture it is hard to say where that tank was headed, but I for one would not want to be on the other end when it got there.

 

Spanish American War

The Philippine Campaign 1899-1913

The Philippine Campaign 1899-1913

The Philippine Campaign 1899-1913

 

In 1898 during the Spanish-American War, the United States liberated the Philippines from the Spanish. Unfortunately, many Filipinos were not any happier to be under American control than Spanish control. Even after the war with the Spanish ended the war in the islands continued. For three years, until July 1902 the United States and the Philippines remained in a state of war. Even an official peace did not stop the fighting. Rebel factions continued to fight the US until June of 1913. Yep, what started in 1898 continued until 1913. This particular conflict had a huge effect on our military and policies.

 First and foremost it was during this conflict, that was primarily a guerrilla war against unconventional forces, that the book was written on how to deal with this sort of war. In fact, the original blueprint for dealing with the unconventional tactics of the Viet Cong, came from the lessons learned during this war.

 So how did one get this ribbon?

 

 The following is from the USmilitary.about.com Page: 

The Philippine Campaign Medal was awarded for military service in the Philippine Islands under any of the following conditions indicated in AR 600-8-22, between the dates 4 February 1899 and 31 December 1913:

  • Ashore between 4 February 1899 and 4 July 1902.
  • Ashore in the Department of Mindanao between 4 Feb 1899, and 31 Dec 1, 1904.
  • Against the Pulajanes on Leyte between 20 July 1906 and 30 June 1907, or on Samar between 2 August 1904, and 30 June 1907.

With any of the following expeditions:

  • Pala on Jolo between April and May 1905.
  • Datu Ali on Mindanao in October 1905.
  • Against hostile Moros on Mount Bud-Dajo, Jolo, in March 1906.
  • Against hostile Moros on Mount Bagsac, Jolo, between January and July 1913.
  • Fighting hostile Moros on Mindanao or Jolo between 1910 and 1913.
  • Any action in which U.S. troops were killed or wounded between 4 February 1899, and 31 December 1913.

Considering that the Spanish-American war is barely remembered today, it is not a surprise that this conflict gets overlooked. It also doesn’t help that the dates of when it ended are up for discussion. Casualties are hard to quantify because of this also. For the US it was somewhere around 10,000 killed and wounded. For the Filipino’s between 12 and 20,000 killed and wounded with civilian casualties estimated at around 200,000 thousand.

That medal above represents a lot of lives in a forgotten conflict.

Word and Phrases

Wednesday Words & Phrases: Pitched Battle

Image result for pitched battle

Pitched Battle

A Pitched Battle is a major conflict that usually involves lost of men on all sides. It comes from the sixteenth century where battlefield communication was somewhat suspect. It would not be unusual to have armies wandering around the countryside for days trying to find each other. Realizing this was a huge waste of killing time and resources important battles were formally arranged ahead of time. Basically “we’ll meet you here at this time”.

So the Old English word picung  which would become pitch means “to throw something into the ground (like a spear). That evolved into one of the modern day definitions of pitch, set up and fix in a definite position. Thus a pitched battle is one planned for a fixed and definite position.

 

Civil War

Rodman Guns

The Rodman Guns of Ft. McHenry

Rodman Guns

 

Those heavy iron beauties in the picture above are examples of a Rodman Gun. They were designed during the Civil War by Union artilleryman Thomas Rodman. The ones above are located at Ft. McHenry in Baltimore.

The main innovation with these pieces was in the way they were cast. Traditionally artillery pieces were cast as one solid piece with the bore drilled out after cooling. This solid piece method meant that as the piece cooled, it did so from the outside in. This allowed small cracks and imperfections to form. While many of these imperfections would be taken care of during the drilling of the bore, there was always the possibility that others existed.

The Rodman method consisted of casting the piece as a hollow tube with a cooling tube in the center. This allowed the metal to cool from the inside out, which allowed for it to be stronger with fewer imperfections. Here is an article that gets into some of the small details. Basically, it made the gun stronger and allowed for heavier projectiles to be fired.

This casting method became the standard during and after the war and Rodman Guns were produced in many different sizes. Attempts were made to cast the unit as rifled pieces, with the spiral grooves in place, but it was not very successful. Later on, most of the guns were rifled.

The cannons above could fire a projectile weighing up to 444 pounds close to a mile. With that kind of power and distance, they became the go-to for coastal defense. Though several thousand of this style of artillery were made during the Civil War, very few if any actually were fired in combat. The two in the picture above in Baltimore harbor have only been fired for holidays and special occasions.

 

American Revolution

The Tyrant Falls to Pieces

The Tyrant Falls Pieces of the Tyrant

The Tyrant Falls to Pieces

 

The Question

 

On May 10th, 1775 the Second Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia to figure out what was going on. Less than a month before British troops and Massachusetts militia met in a running battle at Lexington and Concord. The King’s troops now were penned up in Boston. Surrounded by thousands of militia from all the colonies. The simmering tensions between the two sides had now become a real war. Congress now was tasked with figuring out how to govern the colonies and fight a war. The bigger question that was debated became what was the end game for the colonies?

Some wanted a peaceful resolution and full integration into the British empire. Some wanted full-on independence. The debate ran through the august body until June 7th, 1776 when Richard Henry of Virginia presented his famous resolution.

Resolved: That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.

The question was now on the table and less than a month later the resolution was passed. The fear and uncertainty gave way to jubilation as the Declaration of Independence was read throughout the colonies. Nowhere was it greeted with more enthusiasm that New York City.

On July 9th, 1776 General Washington, currently in New York with the army, had the declaration read to the troops and people. The assembled crowd was so moved that they immediately headed to a park in Bowling Green. There they found what they were looking for.

The Statue

A few years earlier a large statue of King George III had been erected. Astride a horse, wearing Roman garb, made of lead gilded in gold, it hovered over the park. The assembled crowd proceeded to tear the statue down. The gold peeled away and the lead melted down for musket balls. They would take the tyrant down and use his body to defend their new nation.

In the photo above we have two pieces of the actual statue that have survived all these years. Symbols of the new-found spirit of independence that was sweeping the land. The gold still covers them. The perfect representation of what came into being that day. The glint of gold from the old world, peeled away for the earthy strength of the new world.

 

 

Word and Phrases

Wednesday Words and Phrases: Best Man

Best Man
[Image credit: The South Texas Border: The Robert Runyon Photograph Collection]

Best Man

The good news is she said yes! Now all you have to do is ask your good friend to be your Best Man and your work is pretty much done as far as the wedding goes. (Just kidding ladies!) So how did the term Best Man come about?

Back in the day, prior to 1000 AD when the term was first recorded, it was not unusual for most weddings to be the result of a peace treaty between warring clans, groups, nations, etc. Sometimes this would involve a groom kinda sort of kidnapping the bride. To guard his back during the excursion he would be sure to take the best swordsman from his circle of friends with him. In fact, the other men that are part of the wedding party, groomsmen, ushers, etc are symbolic of the extra men that provided the muscle.

In the early 1800s the official term Best Man entered the British wedding traditions in a much more congenial way.

Interwar Years

Patton the Olympian?

Patton the Olympian?

 

Patton the Olympian?

 

On display at the National Infantry Museum at Ft. Benning is this sweatshirt that belonged to General George S. Patton. With all his bombast, all his skill and his incredible military aptitude it’s kind of hard think of him as a guy that liked to play sports. In fact, he was always a bit of a sportsman.

In fact, during the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, he competed for the United States in the first modern version of the  Pentathlon which was only open to military officers since it focused mainly on the skills every good officer was expected to have. The five events that made up the Pentathlon included pistol shooting from 25 meters, fencing, swimming (9300-meter freestyle) horseback riding (800 meters) and a four-kilometer cross-country run.

Twenty-six-year-old Patton did remarkably well in the multi-event sport, consisting of pistol shooting from 25 meters, sword fencing, a 300-meter freestyle swim, 800 meters horseback riding and a 4-kilometer cross-country run. He did very well in the competition. Ending up finishing fifth overall. If not for the shooting portion he may have won.

Wait! What?

Are you saying he didn’t do well on the shooting portion? Patton? Well, see what happened was that for the competition all the other competitors used .22 caliber revolvers. Patton, however, felt that since the competition had its foundation in military training, a more appropriate weapon was needed.

So he used a .38 for his round. Unfortunately, after his score was tallied up he found that he had lost points when one of his shots missed the target. He tried to explain that he didn’t miss. One of the shots had gone through the hole left by a previous shot. The .38 leaving much bigger holes than the .22. The judges, however, did not agree with his contention and his score was docked.

Not to worry though, he bounced back from the defeat and did pretty good for himself.

 

 

 

Cold War

The Berlin Airlift

 

The Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Airlift

The Berlin Airlift was one of the first events of the burgeoning Cold War. It saw the Western powers facing off against their former ally the Soviet Union. The picture above depicts diorama of the event, but let’s look at it a little more.

At the end of WWII Germany was divided into several occupation zones split between the US, The United Kingdom, and The Soviet Union. The split Berlin four ways between the US, UK, France and Soviet Union. The question of how to rebuild and reunify Germany became a political hot topic. No one could quite agree and Berlin was at the center of the argument. Sitting deep within the Soviet occupation zone the city was almost an island unto itself.

In January 1947 the US and UK merged their German occupation zones.,This move that caused great discomfort to the Soviets. By 1948 the Western powers had taken steps to grant their occupied section of Germany and Berlin statehood. It was to serve as the primary bulwark against Communist expansion into West Europe. The Soviets responded in kind within their occupation zone. Germany officially became split in two.  As part of this and in an attempt to gain control of the city, the Soviets implemented a blockade of the Western part of the city blocking all major, road, rail and canal links to the outside.

The Blockade

Neither side wanted war, but the people of West Berlin needed supplies. As an answer, the US and UK opted to fly supplies in through an air corridor that was agreed upon at the end of the war. They gambled that the Soviets would not be willing to go to war. During the height of the crisis that ran from June 1948 to May 1949 the West was able to land almost one supply plane every 45 seconds in one of the major airports and were also able to put in place a counter-blockade of East Berlin, these things combined caused the Soviets to lower the blockade, but also solid split Europe for the better part of fifty years.

Word and Phrases

Wednesday Words & Phrases: Escalade

Image result for escalade

Escalade

So when you hear this word I bet the first thing you think of is the SUV by Cadillac. That’s OK, a lot of these words are far older than you would think.

Escalade actually goes all the way back to Latin word scala or ladder. From there to medieval Latin scalare “to scale, climb”. From there into the late 16th century where it found its way into French and Spanish where “to climb” stuck.

So where did it come from? Well back in the day men and resources were so scarce that not many field battles were fought. Instead, it was decided that sieges were to be the order of the day.  For the defenders, it meant hunkering down in fortifications or castles and waiting for the attackers to come at them. For the attackers it meant either pounding the walls with artillery or climbing the walls and taking the place by force. So the has to scale the walls, or climb the walls. that attack became known as the “escalade”. And there we are.

What that has to do with an SUV from Cadillac is a mystery to me.  Maybe climbing over the competition or scaling the mean streets or… Nope no idea.

War of 1812

Star-Spangled Banner Draft

Star-Spangled Banner Draft

The Star-Spangled Banner Draft

 

Above is something really incredible. This is an original draft of the Star-Spangled Banner written by Francis Scott Key. Originally it was written in September 1814 as the poem, “Defence of Fort M’Henry”. Written during the British siege of Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the War of 1812.

It proved to be very popular and was eventually set to music. Not just any music though but an old British drinking song, “To Anacreon in Heaven” which was already popular in the United States. Not the first British song we appropriated, but it would go on to great things.

The Star-Spangled Banner would grow in popularity and would be adopted by the US Navy in 1889 for official use. President Wilson followed suite in 1916. Finally, after more than a hundred years, Congress passed a resolution naming it as the official national anthem in 1931.

The poem that Francis Scott Key wrote was four stanzas and the song follows suit. Though we pretty much always just sing the first verse. Below we have all four verses. Ready to play ball? (Spelling and punction preserved as per the original.)

Defence of Fort M’Henry

 

O say can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O’er the ramparts we watch’d were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket’s red glare, the bomb bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream,
‘Tis the star-spangled banner – O long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore,
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a Country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand
Between their lov’d home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with vict’ry and peace may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the power that hath made and preserv’d us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto – “In God is our trust,”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

People, Places and Things from US Military History

WP2Social Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com
error: Content is protected !!