WWI

The Granatenwerfer or Grenade Thrower

Granatenwerfer Grenade Thrower

Granatenwerfer

War seems to bring out some of the strangest inventions known to man. In this case the Granatenwerfer which translates to “grenade thrower.” The device was developed for the Austro-Hungarian military by a priest and was used by the German army during WWI.  It could throw a grenade further than a person, but did not have the range that mortars would have. It served as a middle ground solution that was a product of its time.

Specifications

The Granatenwerfer itself weighed about 31lbs and came with a solid base plate that weighed in at 48lbs. Those weights meant that it could be easily carried by one or two people and assembled in place. It was capable of throwing a 14oz grenade to a maximum of 330 yards. With practice it could fire 4 to 5 projectiles a minute!

The grenade itself was designed to slip onto the launch tube and contained a “blank” rifle cartridge ( a normal round with the bullet removed) which it used as the propellant. A pull of a lanyard fired the unit. When the projectile exploded it could spread shrapnel over about a 30 meter radius. It could be fired effectively directly at a target, or indirectly (lobbed into trenches and such).

The Pigeon

To the French, the Granatenwerfer round made a very distinctive warbling sound when the round was in the air. Because of this the French referred to the grenades as pigeons. That distinctive sound came into play for the Germans later in the war.  Due to the short-range of the weapons it was hard to use them during full on assaults. By the time the grenades launched, the advancing Germans would have caught up to them. This put them in danger of getting into the blast range.

Knowing the enemy would likely go to ground when they fired with their distinctive sound, they would remove the explosives from the grenades. This gave them the advantage of advancing without worry of their own bombs, but also knowing the enemy would have their head down!

 

 

Word and Phrases

Wednesday Words & Phrases: Braille

Image result for braille

Braille

Braille is a tactile writing system used by people who are blind or visually impaired. It is traditionally written with embossed paper.

The origin of the system, and later the word, came from a young French artillery officer in 1819, Captain Charles Barbier de la Sierra. Faced with the difficulty of reading his orders at night and trying avoid the dangers of lighting a lantern and thus giving away his position to the enemy, Barbier came up with a code of embossed writing that allowed him to read the messages in the dark. The method used raised dots on paper, each cluster indicating a letter  that the user would be able to feel on the paper. Though revolutionary, the military took no interest in it.

Shortly after, a teacher at the French National Institute for Blind Children, Louis Braille, took an interest and began using the system in his school. From there the usage grew until it became the standard for visual impaired writing.

All thanks to a French military man that had trouble reading in the dark.

 

American Revolution

A Little Bit Of Common Sense Goes A Long Way

Common Sense

Common Sense

Above is an actual copy of the pamphlet Common Sense written by Thomas Paine in 1776 that is on display at Guilford Courthouse. Now, in history class you have all heard about Common Sense and that it helped the cause of the American Revolution. But how?

Tensions between the Colonies and Great Britain had grown more and more tense, starting with the end of the Seven Years War in 1763 and finally culminating in the first shots being fired in April of 1775 when the revolution went from political to all out war.

With initial rush of adrenaline that followed the opening shots and Lexington and Concord, the movement became a torrent of support. Volunteers came to fight, farmers gave up the crops to feed the troops and formed the Continental Army.  Soon the British became bottled up in Boston. The siege began and went on into winter.

Once the war started however the rebels in the American Colonies had a fundamental issue that they all had to face how were they going to stand up to the greatest empires on the planet? How were they going to rally the people of the colonies to the cause? To win they needed the support of the people and they had to be able to explain to them what they were risking and why they were fighting.

Thomas Paine

Then came Thomas Paine and Common Sense. Up until this point the arguments for revolution had come from lawyers and doctors, academics and aristocrats. Paine however spoke to the people in common language. He showed them the stakes and what they might gain from the struggle. He put the revolution in terms that everyone could understand.

When published the people read Common Sense in taverns and at public gatherings. Washington had it read to all his troops. People purchased the pamphlet at an unmatched rate, even today. The colonies had a population of almost 3 million and almost 100,000 copies sold. To this day no other publication in the history of the country has reached that ratio. With the new understanding, the revolution found its footing and the people settled in for the long fight.

Paine donated all his royalties from the publication to the Continental Army.  He then joined and became a chronicler of the cause. Later, after the horrible defeat in New York he would go on to write An American Crisis, once again saving the cause with his pen.

I encourage everyone to read it. You can get here from Project Gutenberg for free Click Here.

WWII

Airborne Assault

Assault From The Sky An American Airborne Trooper Uniform

Airborne Assault

Who would want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane? Well, there were many men who did during WWII. In operations that ranged from the Normandy Invasion to Operation Market Garden to the final jump into Germany the Airborne troops took their life in their hands to end up where there were needed, when they were needed.

101st Airborne Division

The most famous of the airborne troops in the US Army came from the 101st Airborne Division, the Screaming Eagles who first saw battle during the Normandy invasion. Tasked with jumping behind the German line to capture strategic targets in advance of the landings, they were to use a combination of parachute drops and gliders to reach their targets. It did not go well.  The start of their offensive led to the troops ending up widely scattered, sometimes miles from their targets.

That first night they lost almost 1,500 men. But with an incredible fighting spirit and some reinforcements they were eventually able to reach their goals. During the rest of the campaign they would serve as a mobile reserve, filling gaps in the line and relieving other units. As  one of the best units they saw a lot of action. But the heavy losses of men and material took its toll. The spent the summer of 1944 refitting and reinforcing the unit. Called upon several more times to make drops and fill gaps in the lines the 101st would eventually find its place in history at Bastogne where they stood surrounded by the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge.

The Uniform

The uniform in the picture would be an example of the in from these men wore. They were light troops, fast and mobile but often lacked the heavier weapons of regular infantry. But all things considered it was not the weapons that made them the best . It was the warrior nature, the never say die attitude. Whatever drove these men to jump out of perfectly good airplanes, showed itself even more once they hit the ground.

Uncategorized

Wednesday Words & Phrases: Old Fogey

Image result for Old fogey
No idea who he is, but I guess he looks like an old fogey.

Old Fogey

Old-Fashioned man.

What an old fogey that teacher was.

In the mid-18th century the British Army used the term “foggy” or “fogey” to mean an invalid soldier or one so old that he was restricted to garrison duties.

By the 19th century, “fogey”was appearing in American military jargon to denote a supplement in pay which increased with service. In turn, this produced the term “old fogey” for the typical old soldier who kept telling the rookies what it was like back in the good old days.

Of course it could also mean a Magic: The Gathering Card

Uncategorized

Eisenhower’s D-Day Message to the Troops

Eisenhower's Message to the Troops on D-Day

Eisenhower’s D-Day Message to the Troops

In February 1944 Allied General Dwight D. Eisenhower started writing of an order that would change the world.  WWII had been raging for years and the final act was on the verge of beginning. The Allies would be invading German occupied France and the results of the invasion would most likely determine the war.

For years the Germans had worked to turn Europe into a fortress. The Atlantic Wall, a series of fortifications that spanned the entire coast, would be the great obstacle that must be overcome. To that end the Allies gathered over 4,000 ships and almost three million troops to breach the defenses. Strategy questions, weather issues and proper timing was the next obstacle.

The Decision

Finally on the morning of June 5th Eisenhower made the decision that the next day would be the day. Looking back on the letter he started in February he finalized his words. In the letter he took responsibility for the decision to go ahead, and the blame should it fail. The daily order was issued to the troops in letter form before the invasion kicked off. The letter above belonged to one of the soldiers from that day.

For a readable version click here.

The invasion started with a bombardment of naval guns and flights of bombers.  This was followed by an airborne assault of paratroopers that would pave the way for the landings. 175,000 men proceeded to storm the beach and turn the tide of history.

There is a footnote to this story. Eisenhower had another letter ready to go should the invasion fail. Thankfully he didn’t need it The original is in the archives of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas.

 

 

Civil War

The Last Wagon From A Long March

A Civil War Supply Wagon

The Last Wagon

That wagon you see in the picture is special and the last of its kind. If the picture was a little better and a different angle you would see names carved into it. Names of cities and battlefields. Many names that even to this day when people see they will recognize and either smile or grimace. Actually seeing this wagon during the war meant different things to whoever viewed it. For the Union soldier it carried supplies or wounded and represented forward movement and that the war was one step closer to being over. For someone in the Confederacy, seeing that wagon meant one thing. That devil Sherman and his minions had arrived.

Yes, this wagon is the last of those that General Sherman used during his infamous March to the Sea.

The March

After his successful campaign to capture Atlanta from May to September 1864, Sherman started planning his next move. He would send his army from Atlanta to Savannah carving a path of destruction and devastation along the way. The army would leave its supply base and live off the land, in effect it would be on its own behind enemy lines and taking what it needed to survive.

The idea would be to either capture or destroy any and all war materials along the way and to, honestly, terrorizes the civilians and undermine their will to fight. Was it harsh? Yes. Was it immoral and improper? Depends on what side you were on.

What no one can argue is that the march was one of the most famous military campaigns ever. And that wagon in the picture, it was there. Oh the stories I am sure it could tell…

 

 

Word and Phrases

Wednesday Words & Phrases: Pay Through the Nose

Image result for pay through the nose

Pay Through the Nose

Render Excessive Fees

We really paid through the nose for that new car!

Going back as far as the 9th century, having ones nostrils slit stood as common punishment for not paying your taxes/fines or for theft

It was practiced by the Vikings in areas of northern England where those that could not pay were sliced as a reminder that they should save up for the next time. Not only was this an everyday reminder for the poor person it happened to, but it was a mark where by the next time the raiders came back they would know who had trouble paying last time.

Later when the actually slitting of the nose became less common the phrase turned to mean paying a high price for something.

Ouch.

WWII

A Day of Infamy at Pearl Harbor

Scrap from a Japanese bomb used at Pearl Harbor

A Day of Infamy at Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941. We all know the date. We all know what happened at Pearl Harbor. This picture is of a piece of a bomb that was dropped by a Japanese airplane that morning.

The build up to the war between the US and Japan was a slow burn. That burn was brought to a boil when Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931. Japan needed space and China had it. The story of what happened to the Chinese people during the occupation is for another time. While the US had many interests in China, it was not prepared to go to war, yet.

Fast forward almost a decade and we see Germany making taking over much of Europe, but being very, very careful to not bring the US into the war even though they were ostensibly supporting the Allies through the Lend Lease act. Germany, however had allies of their own, namely Japan.

Conspiracy?

This is where things get a little difficult. There are those that believe that the US, and President Roosevelt, took steps to goad Japan into war, which because of their alliances, would force Germany into direct conflict with the US.

Acting through a series of laws and executive orders, exports of many items classified as war materials were banned for export The president was granted the authority to make exceptions to this law and he did, choosing to provide material to the Allies.  He refused to allow Japan access to those resources. Not long after the administration seized Japanese assets in the US and cut off their supply of oil.

Cut off from these much-needed imports meant they needed to find the material somewhere. The rest of the Pacific Rim would do. All this happened in an environment where the Japanese tried seeking diplomatic solutions, but war with the US looked more and more like a possibility.

The hope was that a strong enough blow would stun the US into inaction. This would give Japan time to expand its holdings and replace much of what the embargoes were disallowing. Once done they would then try to negotiate a peace with the US.

Infamy

On December 7, 1941 they attacked the US Fleet at Pearl Harbor and struck a crippling blow. The biggest mistake was that while they decimated the fleet, they missed the aircraft carriers that were not in port that day. While stunned, America maintained the capacity to strike back.

Japan, declared war, the US declared war on Japan, and right on cue Germany declared war on the US. Roosevelt got just what he wanted.

That little piece of metal is a souvenir that we get to keep from that day, a day which will live in infamy.

To learn more about the historic sites located at Pearl Harbor, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vietnam

The Vietnam Generation – Those That Fought

American soldier in Vietnam

The Vietnam Generation – Those That Fought

The Vietnam War is still a controversial topic today. The question of should we have been there and what the goals were will never go away. The one thing that can not be questions is that many of our country’s young people served in the war. Some volunteered and some were drafted. Some fought for a cause, some because they were told to. Below are some statistics on those who served.

Totals

The total amount of military personnel on active duty during the Vietnam Era numbered 9,087,000. (1964 to 1975)

Of them 2,709,918 served in uniform during the war.

Out of those, 240 received the Medal of Honor.

The average age of the soldier during the war was 22 (not 19 as a song would have you believe.)

Losses

58,148 American soldiers died during the war.

61% of those were under 21 years old.

Almost 20% were under 20 years old.

17,539 of those killed were married at the time.

Legacy

Veterans of the Vietnam War have a lower unemployment rate then non-veterans in the same age group.

Personal income of Vietnam Veterans exceeds that of non-veterans in the age group by 18%.

Only one-half of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have served any prison time.

97% of veterans received an honorable discharged.

91% of Veterans say they are glad to have served.

74% say they would serve again, even knowing how the conflict turned out

Forgotten?

For such a  long time the Vietnam War was at the center of the American consciousness. Every conflict since them has driven it deeper and deeper in the collective memory. As we stand now with so few WWII and Korean War veterans left, that Vietnam generation are the next ones to pass into history. Some believe that the First Gulf War was partially fought to purge ourselves from the uncertainty of Vietnam. That might be, however many of the wars fought since has given us a new perspective.

Was the fight in the jungles of Southeast Asia worth it? is any war really worth it? I don’t have the answer. All I know is that those who fought, for whatever reason, need shown the respect they deserve. Maybe even a VA Hospital system that actually looks to help them instead watching them fade away? I think it’s the least of what they deserve for their service.

For more statistic on the Vietnam War, click here.

People, Places and Things from US Military History

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