A recruiting poster by Charles B. Falls created in 1918 was one of the first recorded references to the term Devil Dog. Image from the United States Marine Corps – University Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Devil Dog
WWI had been going on for a number of years before the US decided it was time to get into the fight and on April 20, 1918, the soldiers of Imperial Germany had their first meeting with the US Marine Corps.
On that date, The Germans attacked a Marine detachment and made several attempts to dislodge the Americans from the position. The failed as the Marines put up an incredible fight, well beyond what the Germans expected from the American forces.
In an article printed on April 27th in the LaCrosse Tribune, it was reported that the German soldiers called the Marines “Teufel Hunden” or “Hounds from Hell.” (Grammatically it should probably have been Teufelshunde). This quickly was turned into Devil Dog and has been a term of endearment for Marines ever since.
(Possibly. There are a number of versions and timelines that make an exact date hard to determine.)
This phrase simply means to protect yourself from unforeseen circumstances.
It originated during the Vietnam War when US troops used helicopters to move around the countryside. When going over enemy-controlled territory the more experienced soldiers took the extra step of sitting on their steel helmets to prevent stray bullets from the ground penetrating their… softer sides.
Laconic is a word that means “of few words”. This can refer to either spoken or written words and well it comes with a heck of a back story.
Near the end of the 8th century BC the region of Laconia, (part of modern-day Greece), was under the control of Sparta. The people of Laconia were known to be people of few words, which says something when putting next to the Spartans. When King Phillip II of Macedonia sent word to the Spartan council that “If I enter Laconia, I will level Lacedaemon to the ground.”
In response, the senior magistrate from the province stared at the King and said simply, “If.”
That is some stone cold laconic phrasing right there.
Ah yes… logistics. The science of transporting men and material from place to place. In military terms, it is the means by which the soldiers and sailors have places to sleep and recreate, bullets to shoot and food to eat. Without the logistics, service wars would be a lot more difficult to fight.
So where does the word “logistics” come from? How about the 18th-century French military? Originally logistiques and referred to one of the duties of the army’s quartermaster who were charged with finding the men places to sleep or to loger or lodge. They would then need to also make sure that there was food and supplies for the men.
The phrase logistics was apparently coined by Baron Jomini. A Swiss officer who fought with the French and later Russians during the Napoleonic Wars. He did so in his very popular Treatise on Major Military Operations. Jomini was a contemporary of Clauswitz and between the two pretty much set the standard for European military thinking up until today.
In 1859 a terrible battle was fought in the town of Magenta in the province of Lombardy during the Second War of Italian Independence. On that day 54,000 French troops fought 58,000 Austrians and when all was said and done over 9,000 men lay dead. When the armies moved on the locals in the town collected all the bodies and placed the bones in an ossuary (a building for such things) which still is in place today.
Also in 1859 the first red aniline dyes started being used and were known as Fuchsine or Roseine. The color never really took off and in an attempt to cash in on recent events the name of the color was changed to Magenta in an effort to evoke the image of the blood-soaked fields of the small town after the battle. The name stuck.
In the military sense, the phrase campaign means “military operations for a specified objective”. In the old days, it meant military operations for one season. Back when you didn’t fight in the winter each late spring into summer was “campaign season”. It would eventually enter into wider usage as a political term, but still kind of hold s the “operations for a specific objective” meaning.
The term came into usage in the mid-1600’s and took its origin from the Late Latin “campania” meaning level ground. This is where “camp” (field) came from. When an army left its fortifications to start an operation it literally, “took the field”. And thus went on campaign.
This actually can tie into the political meaning of the word also. See up until recently, at least in the US, when someone ran for office they relied on others to go out and drum up support. So in effect, they were sent out to take the field, or campaign or their candidate. Huh, sort of makes sense.
When we here decimate we think maybe “wiped out” or “destroyed”. “That buffet table was just decimated once Mike showed up.” Or something like that. That, however, is not what it means.
In the Roman Army, any unit that showed cowardice was guilty of disobedience or any other such crime would be punished. The punishment would be called decimation. The unit would be lined up and every 10th man would be killed. But wait there’s more…
If the unit contained 100 men and the punishment was handed down. A hundred men would draw lots and however pulled the ten marked lots would be the ones killed. The other ninety men would be tasked with doing the killing, usually using clubs and beating the men to death. That sounds so very Roman…
The word patriot comes to us from the Middle French and Late Latin word, patriota, which means countryman. Dig a little further to the Greek and it means “from the same country” and ultimately to its root, patris which means “fatherland”.
The term “patriot” was first seen in the Elizabethan era (1558-1603) and according to the Oxford English dictionary, “patriotism ” began appearing in the 18th century.
The solid definition as to what makes a patriot is wide and varied. For the most part, it simply means someone who loves, supports and defends their country. People who are overzealous in this can sometimes be considered “jingoistic”. People that want to spread that love of country into other countries through various means can sometimes be considered “nationalistic”.
Happy Fourth of July and please be safe, have fun, and avoid the -ics!
First thing first. Searching for images of Pirate Booty may not turn up what you think it should. This one works, however. The term booty, meaning illicit goods, steams from Norse byti which means “spoils of war”. Get your mind out of the gutter.
Naval tradition until the 19th century held that when the enlisted men of one ship boarded and captured another, they were entitled to anything that was on the main deck or above that they could carry with one hand. This was their reward for a job well done and it had the added benefit of keeping the men busy in the aftermath of the battle. Officers, of course, would be given shares of what was found below decks where all the good stuff was.
A quick and easy one for today. Your rival is someone that is in competition with you for the same objective or goal. The term first appears around 1500 and stems from the word “river” as they often formed political and geographical boundaries. Two people on different sides of the river usually were in competition for the resources of the region. As such, rivals.
People, Places and Things from US Military History
