Random Trivia Bouncing Around My Head

Unfortunately, Its Not Too Early

2008-04-08T22:12:00.001-07:00

So I sat there. My first Opening Day Game ever! And they lost.

And here are my thoughts, a day later....

Matt Cain, days like that are going to happen. Even though they touched him for 5, it still looked like he was in there trying to be the stopper for this team. Too bad no one on this team is able to drive in more than a run a game when he is pitching.

Brian Bocock, looks like he will be a good Majro League shortstop if he does the following: Take Charge Out There! Mr. Bocock, you have a glove, use it. The shortstop has always been the anchor, the captain, of the infield defense. If in doubt, you grab. Don't leave it up to Castillo or whoever is playing 2nd base.

Eugenio Velez is fun to watch. Not sure about his defense (mostly because Bruce Bochy has decided that since Kevin Frandsen is on the DL, he needs someone else's head to mess with by putting them in a different position every other day).

Rich Aurillia... I cannot decide if its just a bad hitting streak for him or what he really is these days. Back during his first go-round with the Giants, he was one of my favorites. Now... with diminished defense and a diminished bat... I am almost hoping that he goes gracefully out to pasture.

Jose Castillo, well what can I say? He has all the bad parts of Pedro Feliz and Armando Benitez. Hits when no one is on base. With runners in scoring position, he grounds out. Cannot field a ball to his right hand (i.e. non-glove) side if its fair, but damn, hit a hard hit foul ball 10 feet off the line in foul territory and he nabs it like it will help with getting a gold glove. Get rid of this bum!!!!

Fred Lewis is just an at-bat or two away from being back. He is just getting unlucky with where the ball falls. I like the fact that he is getting walks and not just swinging at everything to get out of the slump he is in right now.

As for the boo-birds heard at the ball park... I was one of them. But I think that if you are playing defense like Roger Dorn, then you deserve to get booed. On the other hand, I did not participate in some of the abuse heaped on Bocock and other rookies. A week into the season and trying to deal with the new pressure, especially on their first opening day, they get a pass for now.

Is It Too Soon To Talk About This?

2008-04-01T22:50:00.001-07:00

Normally I am not the guy who wants to do the drastic things but after watching tonight's game, I think that the Giants need to take some drastic steps. First, I think its time to dump Brian Sabean and Bruce Bochy.

First, Sabean, I think, is starting to take things too personally. Last season, if you listened to him in the interviews, it was as if he was feeling like the whipping boy of the Giants instead of Armando Benitez. And that tone seems to still be there right now. Furthermore, the team he has built is ... well... awful. For instance, he has signed a middle infielder (weak glove to begin with and now with a weak bat) to play first base. His solution to the injuries in Spring Training: sign Jose Castillo. Jose Castillo, stats-wise is arguably worse than Pedro Feliz, the player he nominally replaces at third base. His power is decreasing over the past few season, his on-base percentage is almost the same as Feliz's (.296 to .288) and their batting averages are almost identical (.256 and .252). Furthermore, Sabean has yet to pull off a good deal in the last four seasons (and it could be argued that its been six since he had structured either a good free agent signing or a trade with another team).

Under Sabean's watch, the Giants have failed to produce an effective big-league position player in eight years. The pitchers that it has produced can pitch as well as they can, but if there is no one to drive in the runs... well why not ask Matt Cain how much fun that is.

Second, Bruce Bochy must go. As I was listening to the start of the game tonight on the radio, Dave Flemming was talking about how Bochy is 7th on the active managers list for wins. He is. He has 1022 career wins. On the other hand, he has 1067 career losses. Even if you throw out last years abysmal finish by the Giants, his record with the Padres was 951 wins and 975 losses. That is otherwise known as a .494 winning percentage (meaning he loses more than he wins). Keep me as a manager in the Big Leagues for 13 plus seasons, and I would probably have at least 806 wins (thats if I lost 100 games each year).

Now, winning percentage alone is not the reason why Bochy needs to go. Its his managerial style. He does not manage the team. When was the last time you saw him bench an expensive player? Last season, he kept running out Benitez over and over again in save situations, leading to blown saves and lost games. The only reason Benitez did not lose more games was that they traded him away.

Then there is Ray "Can't Hit and Can't Field" Durham. Last season he hit .218. He played, inexplicably, in 138 games. And he was supposed to be the big bat in the Giants line up. The argument, I suppose, is that he had 71 RBIs, but those, I would argue, are misleading. He is no longer that fast. His glove, suspect in good years, is deteriorating before our eyes (Examples A and B would be the two ground balls that he was unable to get to.)

The Giants are a team in transition. They should be seeing what the new kids can and cannot do. So far, the only one to get any real playing time is the one rookie who will definitely not be around once Vizquel gets off the DL. Rather than playing Fred Lewis, he is sticking with Dave Roberts. Instead of seeing what Ortmeier can do as an everyday player, they are running out Rich Aurillia at first base.

As a manager, Bochy needs to bench some of these players. Already too many of the older ones are doing the same things that made 2007 such a dismal year. They are not advancing the runners. Hitting into double plays. Not being selective enough at the plate and then overcompensating by watching strike threes go across the plate with runners in scoring position.

I've lived through a 100 loss season. I was hoping to avoid it again. I'm no Salty Balty (if you listen to KNBR, you know who I am talking about) but with the way this team is going, the question is not whether its going to happen, but whether the Giants are going to make a run at setting a new record.

Mr. Magowan, please, reconsider your management team. Soon.

Will Life Imitate the Movies? One could only hope.

2008-03-31T13:37:00.001-07:00

So here I am watching the Giants' Opening Day against the hated Bums. And surprise of surprises, Dave Roberts gets a single. Not what I expected.

Of course, three pitches later, he gets thrown out by a mile trying to steal second.

And I flashed to the first game in Major League. I can only hope.

And then I saw Zito's first inning of work. I really need to hang on to that hope.

And then I saw Castillo... who is unfortunately no Feliz with a glove but looks to be one with the bat. (Runner in scoring position, less than two ours... and he hits into a double play.)

Thanks Mr. Gygax

2008-03-04T23:57:00.001-08:00

Gary Gygax, along with his partner Dave Arneson developed the rules for Dungeons & Dragons. I cannot imagine what my childhood would have been without D&D and the games it spawned.

Sadly, Gygax died today.

Rosenthal Snapped A Picture...

2008-02-23T13:36:00.000-08:00

...on this date in 1945... and did not even realize it was even published. At least, that is the story. Joe Rosenthal did not even set up to take the picture. He had been setting up to take a picture of a different group of Marines on the top of Mount Suribachi. According to his version, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye and swung around snapped the shot.

First, there are a couple things that need to be stated. This picture was not of the first flag raising over on Mt. Suribachi by the USMC. A few hours earlier, just after 10:30 a.m. on February 23, 1945, members of Easy Company, 2/28th Marines, 5th Marine Division, raised a smaller flag. Staff Sergeant Louis R. Lowery, snapped this picture:

The men in this picture are 1st Lt. Harold G. Schrier with Platoon Sergeant Ernest I. THomas, Jr. (both seated), PFC James Michels (in foreground with carbine), Sergeant Henry O. Hansen (standing, wearing soft cap), Corporal Charles W. Lindberg (standing, extreme right).

Despite the flag raising, Marine commanders decided that there needed to be a second one. Not because they wanted to get a photo opportunity, but because the flag used was not that big. The flag raised first was off the transport USS Missoula, was only 54 x 28 inches in diameter and hard to see from any distance. A second flag, this one taken off LST 779 and sent up the mountain. It was with this flag, that Rosenthal accompanied the Marines up Suribachi.

Ironically, Rosenthal had been deemed 4F by draft authorities because his eyesight was so bad. By the time of Iwo Jima, he had seen more combat time than most. He had accompanied McArthur's campaign through New Guinea, been in London during the Blitz, and been through U-Boat attacks in the Battle of Atlantic. The shot he had been setting up to take was taken a few minutes later. Apparently, when he was told that his picture had become so iconic, he had to ask which one. He thought it was it was this one:

In actuality, this is the one:

From left to right, the raisers are Ira Hayes, Franklin Sousley, Michael Strank, Rene Gagnon, John Bradley, and Harlon Block. Bradley is the Navy Corpsman, the rest were Marines.

(The color film was taken by Sgt. Bill Genaust, USMC, who was killed the next day in the fighting on Iwo Jima)

This Will Present A Problem For The Giants Next Year

2008-01-28T19:05:00.000-08:00

As you may or may not have heard, Pedro Feliz is now an EX- Giant.

That's right, Pedro Feliz has apparently inked a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies to play 3rd base for them next year.

Now, as a long time, die-hard Giants' fan, I'm glad to see Feliz go. Maybe somewhere else he can be the player we kept hoping, praying, and begging him to be. (I kind of find it interesting that some are saying that this will be a step in production from the 3rd base position for the Phillies. I cannot wait to hear from my friends who are Phillies fans how much they enjoy watching him strand runners in scoring position, swing at every pitch - no matter how far out of the strike zone it is -, or how they enjoy his ability to never, ever sacrifice someone.)

So this... this is not the problem. The problem comes in the form of Kevin Frandsen. As my wife likes to say, Bruce Bochy is the Dr. Mengele of the National League when it comes to the "Flying Squirrel". Sitting at a game (Jewish Heritage Night II, if I remember correctly), she pointed ou that in the past few weeks he had not played the positions he was supposed to be playing (2B or SS). By my count, last year he had played every position but pitcher and catcher, during a game (correct me if I am wrong).

If its true that the plan is try Frandsen out regularly at 3B, maybe platooning him with Aurillia, then what Bochy do? Without Frandsen to diabolically experiment with, who will be thrown into an unfamiliar position with no notice or time to work out how to play the position? Will Ortmeier suddenly be called upon to play 2B? Will Dave Roberts come in as the closer? Will Noah Lowry be converted from a starting pitcher to splitting his time between catcher and right field?!?

If You Think About It This Way...

2008-01-18T15:40:00.001-08:00

Today's anniversary set in motion two world wars and destroyed the old World Order. It was not necessarily the cause, but it established the required condition precedent.

Today is January 18, 2008. 137 years ago today, in Versailles of all places, the German Empire was announced. Prussia, with its German allied states, had just defeated Imperial France, forcing the abdication of Napoleon III.

Bismarck, as Prime Minister of Prussia, had always been committed to course which expanded Prussian dominance within Central Europe. His goal was to further the power of the Prussia king whom he served. To that end, he had already guided Prussia through two wars, one with Denmark in 1863, and another with Austria in 1866. Both of these wars ended in victories, leading to the formation of a Prussian dominated confederation in the North, mainly at the expense of the Austro-Hungarian Empire which had controlled several southern German principalities. In furtherance of goal of establishing Prussian dominance over Central Europe, Bismarck orchestrated the causus belli for the Franco-Prussian War itself of 1870 - 1871 with the Ems Dispatch (sometimes Ems Telegram).

Napoleon III's French Empire was soundly defeated in a series of battles. After the defeat of the French Army at Sedan, Napoleon III was forced to abdicate. Even though France fought on

But flush with victory, Bismarck pushed for one more: the creation of a Prussian dominated, German Empire. On January 18, 1871, in the Hall of Mirrors in the Château de Versailles, Bismarck had the assembled German princes proclaim King Wilhelm I of Prussia as Kaiser of the new German Empire.

This new German Empire (or as it was formally known the German Reich) would occupy an area of nearly 208,826 square miles (540,857.54 km2) and would dominate Central Europe. Unlike the decaying empires to the south (Austro-Hungary and Ottoman), this new Empire was vibrant, competing for the lead, or leading, in many economic and military categories.

But the formation of the German Reich completely altered the European political landscape, and with it, the balance of power among the World or Great Powers. In the East, Russia no longer looked west at a confederation which may or may support the Prussian monarchy for power and dominance in Eastern European matters.

Austro-Hungary could no longer count on being able to influence events in Europe and so had to look south towards Ottoman lands for its own outlets. Instead of looking to base its power in the southern German states and Eastern Europe, Austro-Hungarian policy makers began to look towards the Balkans and Ottoman lands.

France had been utterly defeated in the Franco-Prussian War, and further humiliated by Versailles use as the site of the new Kaiser's coronation while the Prussian boot was on its throat. The new French Republic committed itself to the idea of revenge (revanchism), seeking to prepare itself for the day when her armies could reclaim the lost provinces of Alsace and Lorraine.

Across the North Sea, King Wilhelm son and heir's mother-in-law, Queen Victoria of Great Britain, and her ministers were forced to reevalute the balance in Europe. For centuries, British foreign policy had been based on the idea of always supporting coalitions against the dominant land power in Europe, as well as ensuring that the harbors associated with the Scheldt Estuary remained in friendly hands.

To an extent, it almost seems like Bismarck understood the dangers that the very existence of the new German Reich posed to all these. Being an astute policymaker, he recognized the inherent weaknesses which Germany's frontiers left her. To that end, he sought to always involve Germany in alliances, ones which the German Empire could control and which would work to ensure that German borders were protected and its allies were prevented from going to war with each other. By allying with Russia and Austro-Hungarian Empire, while ensure that Britain remained neutral and focused on its overseas colonies, all of which would keep France isolated, then the German Reich could be protected.

But all of that required someone who recognized the ability of other states to combine into alliances. A person who understood that simply because one possessed a fearsome, well trained, superbly armed military, did not ensure victory. From what I have read, it seems fair to say that Bismarck realized that what he created required that this balance be maintained. Allowing France to escape her isolation would ensure that Germany would almost certainly face enemies on two fronts. That to allow Britain to lose focus on its colonial possession and its trade, would force her to get back to the policy of creating a new balance of power in Europe, instead of a dominant power which Germany occupied.

Unfortunately, those who followed in Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelm's footsteps failed to see the reason why the German Reich acted as it had. Instead, Kaiser Wilhem II took the throne and dismissed Bismarck, seeing him as an impediment to Germany obtaining its place in the sun. Suddenly, gone was the "honest broker" image which Bismarck sought to maintain, replaced with Wilhelm II's more aggressive foreign policy.

Now, it could be argued that Wilhelm's folly, World War I, was not inevitable. However, the necessary precursor for a war involving the world's Great Powers of the time required that there be a dominant, or at least one which could claim dominance, land power in Europe. So long as the balance within Europe was assured, France, Austro-Hungary, Prussia, and Russia were seemingly content to remain at peace. Great Britain, the fifth Great Power, was not interested in European affairs unless they directly threatened the British Home Islands. Once the buffers of the independent German states were gone, coupled with power of the new German Reich, it was almost a certainty that there would be struggle in Europe since the center of Europe was now controlled by a single entity. Even if Wilhelm II had possessed tempermant of his father, Frederick III, whose reign was shortened by cancer, the potential of a German threat would simply have gone on like a ticking time bomb till a future German Kaiser would arise that would embark on an aggressive foreign policy.

As it was, the creation of the German Reich resulted in the Wilhelm II being placed as master over a massive German Army, a threat to other land-based powers in Europe. It gave him the resources needed to create a Navy which was designed, almost exclusively, to seek a massive battle in North Sea. He neglected the alliances which had secured Germany's borders. and let his allies dictate policy instead of vice versa. In the end it, his policies enrupted into the First World War. Even though millions died as a result of the war, it was largely inconclusive because of how it ended. And the effect of the war resulted in an upheaval, destroying 3 empires, leading to the creation of the Soviet state, and formenting Germany's version of revanchism to rectify the "stabbed in the back" myth created to explain Germany's defeat. Eventually, it would lead to Hitler's desire to reassert German' dominance in world affairs, sparking a second world war.

The Climax

2007-09-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

Sixty-seven years ago, the Battle of Britain hit its climax. Between August 13 and September 4, the Luftwaffe targeted the RAF for destruction. This climatic phase of the Battle of Britain was inaugurated with Aldertag, attacks on radar stations and coastal airfields. On August 15, Luftwaffe sorties hit their peak, nearly 2000 sorties. Countering them, the RAF flew approximately 974 sorties. The Luftwaffe lost approximately 75 aircraft to the British 34.

Even as the battle continued, Winston Churchill had this to say about it:

Almost a year has passed since the war began, and it is natural for us, I think, to pause on our journey at this milestone and survey the dark, wide field. It is also useful to compare the first year of this second war against German aggression with its forerunner a quarter of a century ago. Although this war is in fact only a continuation of the last, very great differences in its character are apparent. In the last war millions of men fought by hurling enormous masses of steel at one another. "Men and shells" was the cry, and prodigious slaughter was the consequence.

In this war nothing of this kind has yet appeared. It is a conflict of strategy, of organisation, of technical apparatus, of science, mechanics, and morale. The British casualties in the first 12 months of the Great War amounted to 365,000. In this war, I am thankful to say, British killed, wounded, prisoners, and missing, including civilians, do not exceed 92,000, and of these a large proportion are alive as prisoners of war. Looking more widely around, one may say that throughout all Europe for one man killed or wounded in the first year perhaps five were killed or wounded in 1914-15.

The slaughter is only a small fraction, but the consequences to the belligerents have been even more deadly. We have seen great countries with powerful armies dashed out of coherent existence in a few weeks. We have seen the French Republic and the renowned French Army beaten into complete and total submission with less than the casualties which they suffered in any one of half a dozen of the battles of 1914-18.

The entire body - it might almost seem at times the soul - of France has succumbed to physical effects incomparably less terrible than those which were sustained with fortitude and undaunted will power 25 years ago. Although up to the present the loss of life has been mercifully diminished, the decisions reached in the course of the struggle are even more profound upon the fate of nations than anything that has ever happened since barbaric times. Moves are made upon the scientific and strategic boards, advantages are gained by mechanical means, as a result of which scores of millions of men become incapable of further resistance, or judge themselves incapable of further resistance, and a fearful game of chess proceeds from check to mate by which the unhappy players seem to be inexorably bound.

There is another more obvious difference from 1914. The whole of the warring nations are engaged, not only soldiers, but the entire population, men, women, and children. The fronts are everywhere. The trenches are dug in the towns and streets. Every village is fortified. Every road is barred. The front line runs through the factories. The workmen are soldiers with different weapons but the same courage. These are great and distinctive changes from what many of us saw in the struggle of a quarter of a century ago.

There seems to be every reason to believe that this new kind of war is well suited to the genius and the resources of the British nation and the British Empire and that, once we get properly equipped and properly started, a war of this kind will be more favourable to us than the sombre mass slaughters of the Somme and Passchendaele. If it is a case of the whole nation fighting and suffering together, that ought to suit us, because we are the most united of all the nations, because we entered the war upon the national will and with our eyes open, and because we have been nurtured in freedom and individual responsibility and are the products, not of totalitarian uniformity but of tolerance and variety.

If all these qualities are turned, as they are being turned, to the arts of war, we may be able to show the enemy quite a lot of things that they have not thought of yet. Since the Germans drove the Jews out and lowered their technical standards, our science is definitely ahead of theirs. Our geographical position, the command of the sea, and the friendship of the United States enable us to draw resources from the whole world and to manufacture weapons of war of every kind, but especially of the superfine kinds, on a scale hitherto practised only by Nazi Germany.

Hitler is now sprawled over Europe. Our offensive springs are being slowly compressed, and we must resolutely and methodically prepare ourselves for the campaigns of 1941 and 1942. Two or three years are not a long time, even in our short, precarious lives. They are nothing in the history of the nation, and when we are doing the finest thing in the world, and have the honour to be the sole champion of the liberties of all Europe, we must not grudge these years of weary as we toil and struggle through them. It does not follow that our energies in future years will be exclusively confined to defending ourselves and our possessions. Many opportunities may lie open to amphibious power, and we must be ready to take advantage of them.

One of the ways to bring this war to a speedy end is to convince the enemy, not by words, but by deeds, that we have both the will and the means, not only to go on indefinitely but to strike heavy and unexpected blows. The road to victory may not be so long as we expect. But we have no right to count upon this. Be it long or short, rough or smooth, we mean to reach our journey's end.

It is our intention to maintain and enforce a strict blockade not only of Germany but of Italy, France, and all the other countries that have fallen into the German power. I read in the papers that Herr Hitler has also proclaimed a strict blockade of the British Islands. No one can complain of that. I remember the Kaiser doing it in the last war. What indeed would be a matter of general complaint would be if we were to prolong the agony of all Europe by allowing food to come in to nourish the Nazis and aid their war effort, or to allow food to go in to the subjugated peoples, which certainly would be pillaged off them by their Nazi conquerors.

There have been many proposals, founded on the highest motives, that food should be allowed to pass the blockade for the relief of these populations. I regret that we must refuse these requests. The Nazis declare that they have created a new unified economy in Europe. They have repeatedly stated that they possess ample reserves of food and that they can feed their captive peoples.

In a German broadcast of 27th June it was said that while Mr. Hoover's plan for relieving France, Belgium, and Holland deserved commendation, the German forces had already taken the necessary steps. We know that in Norway when the German troops went in, there were food supplies to last for a year. We know that Poland, though not a rich country, usually produces sufficient food for her people. Moreover, the other countries which Herr Hitler has invaded all held considerable stocks when the Germans entered and are themselves, in many cases, very substantial food producers. If all this food is not available now, it can only be because it has been removed to feed the people of Germany and to give them increased rations - for a change - during the last few months.

At this season of the year and for some months to come, there is the least chance of scarcity as the harvest has just been gathered in. The only agencies which can create famine in any part of Europe now and during the coming winter, will be German exactions or German failure to distribute the supplies which they command.

There is another aspect. Many of the most valuable foods are essential to the manufacture of vital war material. Fats are used to make explosives. Potatoes make the alcohol for motor spirit. The plastic materials now so largely used in the construction of aircraft are made of milk. If the Germans use these commodities to help them to bomb our women and children, rather than to feed the populations who produce them, we may be sure that imported foods would go the same way, directly or indirectly, or be employed to relieve the enemy of the responsibilities he has so wantonly assumed.

Let Hitler bear his responsibilities to the full and let the peoples of Europe who groan beneath his yoke aid in every way the coming of the day when that yoke will be broken. Meanwhile, we can and we will arrange in advance for the speedy entry of food into any part of the enslaved area, when this part has been wholly cleared of German forces, and has genuinely regained its freedom. We shall do our best to encourage the building up of reserves of food all over the world, so that there will always be held up before the eyes of the peoples of Europe, including - I say deliberately - the German and Austrian peoples, the certainty that the shattering of the Nazi power will bring to them all immediate food, freedom and peace.

Rather more than a quarter of a year has passed since the new Government came into power in this country. What a cataract of disaster has poured out upon us since then. The trustful Dutch overwhelmed; their beloved and respected Sovereign driven into exile; the peaceful city of Rotterdam the scene of a massacre as hideous and brutal as anything in the Thirty Years' War. Belgium invaded and beaten down; our own fine Expeditionary Force, which King Leopold called to his rescue, cut off and almost captured, escaping as it seemed only by a miracle and with the loss of all its equipment; our Ally, France, out; Italy in against us; all France in the power of the enemy, all its arsenals and vast masses of military material converted or convertible to the enemy's use; a puppet Government set up at Vichy which may at any moment be forced to become our foe; the whole Western seaboard of Europe from the North Cape to the Spanish frontier in German hands; all the ports, all the air-fields on this immense front, employed against us as potential springboards of invasion. Moreover, the German air power, numerically so far outstripping ours, has been brought so close to our Island that what we used to dread greatly has come to pass and the hostile bombers not only reach our shores in a few minutes and from many directions, but can be escorted by their fighting aircraft.

Why, Sir, if we had been confronted at the beginning of May with such a prospect, it would have seemed incredible that at the end of a period of horror and disaster, or at this point in a period of horror and disaster, we should stand erect, sure of ourselves, masters of our fate and with the conviction of final victory burning unquenchable in our hearts. Few would have believed we could survive; none would have believed that we should to-day not only feel stronger but should actually be stronger than we have ever been before.

Let us see what has happened on the other side of the scales. The British nation and the British Empire finding themselves alone, stood undismayed against disaster. No one flinched or wavered; nay, some who formerly thought of peace, now think only of war. Our people are united and resolved, as they have never been before. Death and ruin have become small things compared with the shame of defeat or failure in duty.

We cannot tell what lies ahead. It may be that even greater ordeals lie before us. We shall face whatever is coming to us. We are sure of ourselves and of our cause and that is the supreme fact which has emerged in these months of trial.

Meanwhile, we have not only fortified our hearts but our Island. We have rearmed and rebuilt our armies in a degree which would have been deemed impossible a few months ago. We have ferried across the Atlantic, in the month of July, thanks to our friends over there, an immense mass of munitions of all kinds, cannon, rifles, machine-guns, cartridges, and shell, all safely landed without the loss of a gun or a round. The output of our own factories, working as they have never worked before, has poured forth to the troops. The whole British Army is at home. More than 2,000,000 determined men have rifles and bayonets in their hands to-night and three-quarters of them are in regular military formations. We have never had armies like this in our Island in time of war. The whole Island bristles against invaders, from the sea or from the air.

As I explained to the House in the middle of June, the stronger our Army at home, the larger must the invading expedition be, and the larger the invading expedition, the less difficult will be the task of the Navy in detecting its assembly and in intercepting and destroying it on passage; and the greater also would be the difficulty of feeding and supplying the invaders if ever they landed, in the teeth of continuous naval and air attack on their communications. All this is classical and venerable doctrine. As in Nelson's day, the maxim holds, "Our first line of defence is the enemy's ports." Now air reconnaissance and photography have brought to an old principle a new and potent aid.

Our Navy is far stronger than it was at the beginning of the war. The great flow of new construction set on foot at the outbreak is now beginning to come in. We hope our friends across the ocean will send us a timely reinforcement to bridge the gap between the peace flotillas of 1939 and the war flotillas of 1941. There is no difficulty in sending such aid. The seas and oceans are open. The U-boats are contained. The magnetic mine is, up to the present time, effectively mastered. The merchant tonnage under the British flag, after a year of unlimited U-boat war, after eight months of intensive mining attack, is larger than when we began. We have, in addition, under our control at least 4,000,000 tons of shipping from the captive countries which has taken refuge here or in the harbours of the Empire. Our stocks of food of all kinds are far more abundant than in the days of peace and a large and growing programme of food production is on foot.

Why do I say all this? Not assuredly to boast; not assuredly to give the slightest countenance to complacency. The dangers we face are still enormous, but so are our advantages and resources.

I recount them because the people have a right to know that there are solid grounds for the confidence which we feel, and that we have good reason to believe ourselves capable, as I said in a very dark hour two months ago, of continuing the war "if necessary alone, if necessary for years." I say it also because the fact that the British Empire stands invincible, and that Nazidom is still being resisted, will kindle again the spark of hope in the breasts of hundreds of millions of downtrodden or despairing men and women throughout Europe, and far beyond its bounds, and that from these sparks there will presently come cleansing and devouring flame.

The great air battle which has been in progress over this Island for the last few weeks has recently attained a high intensity. It is too soon to attempt to assign limits either to its scale or to its duration. We must certainly expect that greater efforts will be made by the enemy than any he has so far put forth. Hostile air fields are still being developed in France and the Low Countries, and the movement of squadrons and material for attacking us is still proceeding.

It is quite plain that Herr Hitler could not admit defeat in his air attack on Great Britain without sustaining most serious injury. If, after all his boastings and blood-curdling threats and lurid accounts trumpeted round the world of the damage he has inflicted, of the vast numbers of our Air Force he has shot down, so he says, with so little loss to himself; if after tales of the panic-stricken British crushed in their holes cursing the plutocratic Parliament which has led them to such a plight; if after all this his whole air onslaught were forced after a while tamely to peter out, the Fuehrer's reputation for veracity of statement might be seriously impugned. We may be sure, therefore, that he will continue as long as he has the strength to do so, and as long as any preoccupations he may have in respect of the Russian Air Force allow him to do so.

On the other hand, the conditions and course of the fighting have so far been favourable to us. I told the House two months ago that whereas in France our fighter aircraft were wont to inflict a loss of two or three to one upon the Germans, and in the fighting at Dunkirk, which was a kind of no-man's-land, a loss of about three or four to one, we expected that in an attack on this Island we should achieve a larger ratio. This has certainly come true. It must also be remembered that all the enemy machines and pilots which are shot down over our Island, or over the seas which surround it, are either destroyed or captured; whereas a considerable proportion of our machines, and also of our pilots, are saved, and soon again in many cases come into action.

A vast and admirable system of salvage, directed by the Ministry of Aircraft Production, ensures the speediest return to the fighting line of damaged machines, and the most provident and speedy use of all the spare parts and material. At the same time the splendid, nay, astounding increase in the output and repair of British aircraft and engines which Lord Beaverbrook has achieved by a genius of organisation and drive, which looks like magic, has given us overflowing reserves of every type of aircraft, and an ever-mounting stream of production both in quantity and quality.

The enemy is, of course, far more numerous than we are. But our new production already, as I am advised, largely exceeds his, and the American production is only just beginning to flow in. It is a fact, as I see from my daily returns, that our bomber and fighter strength now, after all this fighting, are larger than they have ever been. We believe that we shall be able to continue the air struggle indefinitely and as long as the enemy pleases, and the longer it continues the more rapid will be our approach, first towards that parity, and then into that superiority in the air, upon which in a large measure the decision of the war depends.

The gratitude of every home in our Island, in our Empire, and indeed throughout the world, except in the abodes of the guilty, goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the world war by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.

All hearts go out to the fighter pilots, whose brilliant actions we see with our own eyes day after day; but we must never forget that all the time, night after night, month after month, our bomber squadrons travel far into Germany, find their targets in the darkness by the highest navigational skill, aim their attacks, often under the heaviest fire, often with serious loss, with deliberate careful discrimination, and inflict shattering blows upon the whole of the technical and war-making structure of the Nazi power. On no part of the Royal Air Force does the weight of the war fall more heavily than on the daylight bombers who will play an invaluable part in the case of invasion and whose unflinching zeal it has been necessary in the meanwhile on numerous occasions to restrain.

We are able to verify the results of bombing military targets in Germany, not only by reports which reach us through many sources, but also, of course, by photography. I have no hesitation in saying that this process of bombing the military industries and communications of Germany and the air bases and storage depots from which we are attacked, which process will continue upon an ever-increasing scale until the end of the war, and may in another year attain dimensions hitherto undreamed of, affords one at least of the most certain, if not the shortest of all the roads to victory. Even if the Nazi legions stood triumphant on the Black Sea, or indeed upon the Caspian, even if Hitler was at the gates of India, it would profit him nothing if at the same time the entire economic and scientific apparatus of German war power lay shattered and pulverised at home.

The fact that the invasion of this Island upon a large scale has become a far more difficult operation with every week that has passed since we saved our Army at Dunkirk, and our very great preponderance of sea-power enable us to turn our eyes and to turn our strength increasingly towards the Mediterranean and against that other enemy who, without the slightest provocation, coldly and deliberately, for greed and gain, stabbed France in the back in the moment of her agony, and is now marching against us in Africa.

The defection of France has, of course, been deeply damaging to our position in what is called, somewhat oddly, the Middle East. In the defence of Somaliland, for instance, we had counted upon strong French forces attacking the Italians from Jibuti. We had counted also upon the use of the French naval and air bases in the Mediterranean, and particularly upon the North African shore. We had counted upon the French Fleet. Even though metropolitan France was temporarily overrun, there was no reason why the French Navy, substantial parts of the French Army, the French Air Force and the French Empire overseas should not have continued the struggle at our side.

Shielded by overwhelming sea-power, possessed of invaluable strategic bases and of ample funds, France might have remained one of the great combatants in the struggle. By so doing, France would have preserved the continuity of her life, and the French Empire might have advanced with the British Empire to the rescue of the independence and integrity of the French Motherland.

In our own case, if we had been put in the terrible position of France, a contingency now happily impossible, although, of course, it would have been the duty of all war leaders to fight on here to the end, it would also have been their duty, as I indicated in my speech of 4th June, to provide as far as possible for the Naval security of Canada and our Dominions and to make sure they had the means to carry the struggle from beyond the oceans. Most of the other countries that have been overrun by Germany for the time being have preserved valiantly and faithfully. The Czechs, the Poles, the Norwegians, the Dutch, the Belgians are still in the field, sword in hand, recognised by Great Britain and the United States as the sole representative authorities and lawful Governments of their respective States.

That France alone should lie prostrate at this moment, is the crime, not of a great and noble nation, but of what are called "the men of Vichy." We have profound sympathy with the French people. Our old comradeship with France is not dead. In General de Gaulle and his gallant band, that comradeship takes an effective form. These free Frenchmen have been condemned to death by Vichy, but the day will come, as surely as the sun will rise to-morrow, when their names will be held in honour, and their names will be graven in stone in the streets and villages of a France restored in a liberated Europe to its full freedom and its ancient fame.

But this conviction which I feel of the future cannot affect the immediate problems which confront us in the Mediterranean and in Africa. It had been decided some time before the beginning of the war not to defend the Protectorate of Somaliland. That policy was changed when the French gave in, and when our small forces there, a few battalions, a few guns, were attacked by all the Italian troops, nearly two divisions, which had formerly faced the French at Jibuti, it was right to withdraw our detachments, virtually intact, for action elsewhere. Far larger operations no doubt impend in the Middle East theatre, and I shall certainly not attempt to discuss or prophesy about their probable course. We have large armies and many means of reinforcing them. We have the complete sea command of the Eastern Mediterranean. We intend to do our best to give a good account of ourselves, and to discharge faithfully and resolutely all our obligations and duties in that quarter of the world. More than that I do not think the House would wish me to say at the present time.

A good many people have written to me to ask me to make on this occasion a fuller statement of our war aims, and of the kind of peace we wish to make after the war, than is contained in the very considerable declaration which was made early in the Autumn. Since then we have made common cause with Norway, Holland, and Belgium. We have recognised the Czech Government of Dr. Benes, and we have told General de Gaulle that our success will carry with it the restoration of France.

I do not think it would be wise at this moment, while the battle rages and the war is still perhaps only in its earlier stage, to embark upon elaborate speculations about the future shape which should be given to Europe or the new securities which must be arranged to spare mankind the miseries of a third World War. The ground is not new, it has been frequently traversed and explored, and many ideas are held about it in common by all good men, and all free men. But before we can undertake the task of rebuilding we have not only to be convinced ourselves, but we have to convince all other countries that the Nazi tyranny is going to be finally broken.

The right to guide the course of world history is the noblest prize of victory. We are still toiling up the hill; we have not yet reached the crest-line of it; we cannot survey the landscape or even imagine what its condition will be when that longed-for morning comes. The task which lies before us immediately is at once more practical, more simple and more stern. I hope - indeed I pray - that we shall not be found unworthy of our victory if after toil and tribulation it is granted to us. For the rest, we have to gain the victory. That is our task.

There is, however, one direction in which we can see a little more clearly ahead. We have to think not only for ourselves but for the lasting security of the cause and principles for which we are fighting and of the long future of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

Some months ago we came to the conclusion that the interests of the United States and of the British Empire both required that the United States should have facilities for the naval and air defence of the Western hemisphere against the attack of a Nazi power which might have acquired temporary but lengthy control of a large part of Western Europe and its formidable resources.

We had therefore decided spontaneously, and without being asked or offered any inducement, to inform the Government of the United States that we would be glad to place such defence facilities at their disposal by leasing suitable sites in our Transatlantic possessions for their greater security against the unmeasured dangers of the future.

The principle of association of interests for common purposes between Great BritainUnited States had developed even before the war. Various agreements had been reached about certain small islands in the Pacific Ocean which had become important as air fuelling points. In all this line of thought we found ourselves in very close harmony with the Government of Canada. and the

Presently we learned that anxiety was also felt in the United States about the air and naval defence of their Atlantic seaboard, and President Roosevelt has recently made it clear that he would like to discuss with us, and with the Dominion of Canada and with Newfoundland, the development of American naval and air facilities in Newfoundland and in the West Indies. There is, of course, no question of any transference of sovereignty - that has never been suggested - or of any action being taken, without the consent or against the wishes of the various Colonies concerned, but for our part, His Majesty's Government are entirely willing to accord defence facilities to the United States on a 99 years' leasehold basis, and we feel sure that our interests no less than theirs, and the interests of the Colonies themselves and of Canada and Newfoundland will be served thereby.

These are important steps. Undoubtedly this process means that these two great organisations of the English-speaking democracies, the British Empire and the United States, will have to be somewhat mixed up together in some of their affairs for mutual and general advantage.

For my own part, looking out upon the future, I do not view the process with any misgivings. I could not stop it if I wished; no one can stop it. Like the Mississippi, it just keeps rolling along. Let it roll. Let it roll on full flood, inexorable, irresistible, benignant, to broader lands and better days.

The Day Tree Trimming Almost Restarted a War

2007-08-21T16:35:00.000-07:00

Tree trimming. Trees get too big, you call someone to come out and prune back or remove the offending tree. Maybe a couple of hundred dollars if you have to get them to pull out the stump right?

Well, today is the anniversary of probably the most expensive tree trimming operation ever. What made it so expensive? Usually, when the guys come to cut down the tree, its 2 or 3 guys, some chainsaws, a truck, maybe a chipper. Well, on this date in 1976, chopping down a few trees was done by sixteen U.S. Army Engineers. Divided into two groups of eight men each, each team was accompanies by a 30 man security platoon drawn from A Company, 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment (A/2/9)which was then assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division.

Also accompanying the 16 engineers, 60 infantrymen (wielding axe handles and pistols) were 64 members of the Republic of Korea's Special Forces (officially unarmed but unofficially reported to be carrying their weapons). There were also 23 vehicles to transport the force. In addition to the ground detachment, there was a combat air patrol orbiting above the men. At low altitudes, there were 20 UH-1 "Huey" Helicopters carrying the better part of another U.S. infantry company (B/2/9) and 6 AH-1 Cobra gunships. Flying at much higher altitudes were B-52 Stratofortresses (on loan from Strategic Air Command) being escorted by F-4 Phantoms. Waiting to be called upon if needed was a battalion of artillery (with 18 155mm howitzers) and F-111 fighter-bombers on ground alert at Osan Air Force Base. Backing up all that was the USS Midway's carrier battle group with 70 or so attack aircraft (including F-4 Phantoms, A-6 Intruders, and A-7 Corsairs).

And it should also be mentioned that, in addition to all those units directly moving to support the 16 guys with chain-saws, all U.S., United Nation, and Republic of Korea armed forces on the Korean peninsula were put on full alert.

Now what would cause all this?

In fact, it was a couple trees. It just happened that these trees were located in the Joint Security Area (aka the JSA). The JSA is the only place in the Korean peninsula were United Nations soldiers and soldiers of the North Korean People's Army come into contact. It is the area around the truce town of Panmunjom, where negotiations can occur between the two parties who are still technically at war with one another.

In 1976, technically was creeping towards actually when the Axe Murder Incident happened on August 18. Earlier that year, NKPA units had begun a series of provocations which included firing on UN/US/ROK aircraft. Almost a week earlier, NKPA soldiers had chased out a detachment of wood cutters who had been sent out to prune a 30 foot high poplar tree. After a few days of rains, Captain Bonifas, Captain Kim (ROKA) 1st Lieutenant Mark Barrett and 11 U.S. soliders and KATUSAs went out to take care of the tree that was blocking the line of sight for the UN troops.

As soon as they started working, they were met by NKPA patrol of 30 men led by Lt. Pak Chul. Nicknamed the "Bulldog" for his ability to try and provoke incidents, Lt. Chul initially ordered the US/ROK tree cutting operation to cease. When they did not, he ordered his men to attack and kill them. Since neither side had much in the way of firearms, the fight quickly degenerated into a melee of fists and axes as both sides fought.

(Photographs of the actual Axe Murder Incident)

Caught by surprise, many accounts stating that he was hit in the back of the head by Pak while he ignore the NKPA officer's orders, Bonifas was killed before he could know what happened. Lt. Barett was killed as well. Three KATUSAs and four Americans on the party were also injured. Five NKPA troopers were also either serious injured or killed in the brawl. The survivors of the tree cutting party quickly retreated back the UN side of the JSA.

Following the incident, NKPA units began firing on U.S. and ROK aircraft which were patrolling south of the DMZ. The situation seemed to be escalating out of control.

Realizing what would happen if they allowed the NKPA to force them out of the JSA, even over something as trivial as a tree, the commander of the UN forces, General Richard G. Stillwell, decided that this could not go unanswered. Coming on the heels of the Pueblo incident, the Mayaguez incident, and the evacuation of Saigon, it was probably felt that there needed to be a decisive, and successful, response to the North Korean aggression. Stillwell's solution was Operation Paul Bunyan, launched on August 21, 1976.

The 16 engineers and the immediate support troops, designed Task Force Vierra, rolled into the JSA, NKPA officers began reacting. They dispatched a company of their own, approximately 150 to 200 soldiers, fully armed. Upon seeing their advance, Lt. Col. Vierra, in command of the actual ground operation, called for his air cover to demonstrate against the NKPA troopers. Upon seeing the firepower that was being brought to bear, the NKPA deployed to watch, but not hinder the operation.

For the next 42 minutes, the engineers cut down the trees. An illegal roadblock which had been earlier set up by the NKPA was also dismantled. For good measure, the ROK Special Forces detachment vandalized two nearby guard posts of the NKPA. By 7:15 a.m., the US and ROKA forces were back in their vehicles.

Although there were fears that the show of force could provoke an even more violent response, the North Koreans seemed unwilling to up the stakes further after that day. The NKPA's series of provocations were now being met more forcefully by US and ROK forces. When shots were fired later on August 21 at a US Army helicopter, another show of force by AH-1 Cobra put an end to the shooting.

Whether it did or did not prevent a resumption of the Korean War can be debated (although history suggests that it did). For the people who served there in 1976, Operation Paul Bunyan was seen as a necessary and effective way of preserving peace and freedom on the Korean peninsula. Today, there is a small stone statue that marks the spot of the incident.

There are accounts of Operation Paul Bunyan here, here, and here. I borrowed some of these photos from websites recording personal experiences of people. Some of those include Wayne Johnson's (who was a member of A Company on that day in 1976) story which is here.

Note: I made an error in reporting casualties the first time, which a reader pointed out. The error was entirely my own from a double I did. I apologize for that. The error has been corrected ( I hope).

Brian Sabean May Now Have To Go

2007-08-09T17:55:00.001-07:00

Alright, I have been through a lot as a Giants fan. I have

- Suffered through Greg Minton
- Developed ulcers watching Jeff Brantley pretend to be an effective closer
- Watched the Giants lose 100 games

Since 2002, I have had to watch the odds catch up to Sabean with deals like

- Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano, and Boof Bonser for A.J. [Unprintable] Pierzynski.
- the signing of Armando "Lose the Game" Benitez
- sending Jeremy "20 Saves and Counting" Accardo for Shea "Can't hit anything while wearing Orange and Black" Hillenbrand and Vinnie Chulk.
- Resigning Ray "Approaching Mendoza" Durham
- Signing Edgardo Alfonzo and then trading him for Steve Finley.

I could live with all that. I mean, no one is perfect. After all, this was the GM who pulled off the trades for He Who Must Be Booed (yes there were years when we loved him here in the City by the Bay, even when he was "falling" while "washing" his truck), Jason Schmidt, David Bell, and Randy Winn. All good deals for the Giants.

But today is it. This is like trading for Damian Moss. He sent Mark "Money in the Pinch" Sweeney for... a player to be named later or cash. Ok, so thats not so bad. Whats bad is where Sweeney is going.

The Dodgers.

The frakking Dodgers who are just above the Giants in the standings. The Dodgers who are in free fall right now.

This is a betrayal of the Giants' fans. The last trade was between these two teams was done 20 years ago, during the off-season (Al Rosen could almost be forgiven this sin. After all, he had only taken the job of GM at the end of th 1985 season and having no prior affiliation with the Giants organization). If one must trade with the Dodgers, that is the only way it should be done, and then only as a last resort.

Sabean, in trading with the Dodgers for such an uncertain quality, has crossed a line.

He needs to go.

97 Years Ago Today...

2007-07-11T22:02:00.000-07:00

That the Boston Red Sox let a 19 year-old kid take the mound for the first time. The Boston Red Sox's had purchased his contract from the Baltimore Orioles two days earlier for around $25,000.00 dollars (the actual amount is disputed). They brought him up as a pitcher. And he did pretty well as one. He went 2 and 1 with a 3.19 ERA in 4 games. Two years later, he would win 23 games.

But then someone noticed, probably the next season, that the kid from Baltimore could hit as well as pitch. In 1914, he batted .200 in 10 at-bats. The next year, in 92 at-bats, he would hit .315 with 4 home runs and 21 RBIs. That would be 1 home run every 23 at-bats during the deadball era. Arguably, if he had 400 at-bats, he would have had 17 home runs. As it was, the home run crown in 1915 was won with a total of 7 home runs.

Eventually, the owner of the Boston Red Sox, Harold Frazee, would need funding for a play he was producing. Following the 1919 season, when the Red Sox finished sixth, he sold the player to a team that had never finished higher than 2nd place in the American League and had already undergone a name change from the New York Highlanders to the New York Yankees.

With the Yankees, he would no longer be a pitcher, instead converting him primarily to being an outfielder.

And eventually he would call his shot in a World Series game.

Babe Ruth broke into professional baseball on this day in 1914.

Operation Thunderbolt

2007-07-03T22:20:00.000-07:00

It happened thirty-one years ago. America was preparing to celebrate its Bicentennial. People were travelling on summer vacation.

The story started on June 27, an Airbus A300, flying as Air France Flight 139, left Athens for Paris carrying 248 passengers and 12 crew members. Among the passengers were two Arabs, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - External Operations, and two Germans, members of the German Revolutionary Cells. Just after take off, the four terrorists took control of the plane and redirected it first to Benghazi and then to Entebbe in Uganda. Once in Uganda, the terrorists were joined by three more.

In addition to the reinforcements, they were welcomed by the Idi Amin. Amin's forces would provide security around the airport for the terrorists.

The terrorists demanded the release of 40 Arab prisoners from Israeli jails as well as 13 other terrorists held in other country's jails. If the prisoners were not released by July 1, then they would begin killing the passengers. The terrorists released all non-Jewish, non Israelis passengers. Although this meant that the crew could have left, Flight 139's pilot, Captain Michael Bacos, and his flight crew and a French nun remained behind to attempt to care for their remaining passengers. In all, there were about 109 hostages remaining at Entebbe Airport.
Although the Government of Israel began negotiations, it did so to buy time for rescue mission. On July 3, the plan put forward by Brigadier General Dan Shomron. The plan called for an assault on the airport by four C-130 Hercules transport aircraft and the Sareyet Matkal under the command of Colonel Yoni Netanyahu. The planners had managed to locate the original blue prints of the airport which were turned into an accurate model on which the assault team practiced. To maintain the element of surprise, the raiding force would bring along a Mercedes that was an exact copy of the one used by Idi Amin.

On the night of July 3/July 4, the mission was put into action. Taking advantage of the terrorists belief that Israel would not initiate a mission on the Sabbath, the raiders launched from Israeli airfields at just after 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 3. In addition to the four Hercules, there were two 707's to provide an aerial command center and an aerial hospital as well as F-4 Phantoms escort the transport aircraft.

Arriving at Entebbe Airport at just after 11 p.m., the Israeli commandos quickly deployed. Using the Mercedes to confuse the sentries, 29 commandos assaulted the airport terminal where the hostages were being held. Other detachments provided security for and refuled the Hercules aircraft while others set about destroying the Ugandan MIG aircraft which were housed at the airport.

The speed of the assault was so fast, that hostages and terrorists alike were confused. Despite yelling to the hostages in English and Hebrew to stay down, three of the passengers were fatally wounded by friendly fire. Three minutes after the first Hercules touched down, Israeli commandos has killed four of the terrorists. A few minutes later, the last four terrorists were hunted down and killed. During the assault Within 30 minutes the hostages were secured and being loaded onto the transport aircraft. Despite Ugandan troops firing on them, the IAF Hercules had all taken off by 23:59, 58 minutes after the first aircraft touched down.

The Sareyet Matkal commandos managed to liberate 106 hostages (the three fatalities at the airport plus Dora Bloch who had been moved to a hospital earlier in the day). They had killed
the terrorists. All of this was accomplished in exchange for one IDF fatality: Yoni Netanyahu.

In their infinite wisdom, Captain Bacos' employers, Air France, suspended him from flying and reprimanded him for staying with the hostages.

Volunteers

2007-07-02T20:29:00.000-07:00

For many years, and many wars, the United States military was composed primarily of volunteer formations. The tradition dates back to the days when we were still colonies of the British Crown. Some National Guard units today still claim that their lineage can be traced back to militia regiments raised for service during the American Revolution, such as Company A of the 69th Infantry Regiment (New York National Guard) or the 115th Infantry Regiment (Maryland National Guard).

Some of the more well known units, in addition to the "Fighting 69th" are 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment (better known as the Rough Riders), or the Texas Rangers (which were originally informal groups of volunteers before they became a formal group). To Civil War buffs, there are such famous units as the Irish Brigade, Louisiana Tigers, Hood's Texas Division and the Iron Brigade. Perhaps the best known of the Civil War units, at least recently, has been the 20th Maine for it stands on Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Not getting nearly their due is the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Raised on April 27, 1861. It was one of the first to arrive in Washington D.C. as part of Lincoln's call for volunteers to put down the rebellion and prevent the south from seceding from the Union. By the time of July 2, 1863, it had served at virtually every major battle as part of the Army of the Potomac. On the morning of July 2, Colonel William Colvill lead 262 men of the regiment which had been assigned to Harrow's Brigade, 2nd Division of the II Corps of the Army of the Potomac. As the fighting on the flanks developed of the Union position, the 1st Minnesota was being held as part of the II Corps' reserve force.

Lee had sent Longstreet to attack the Union left. Attacking in echelon, desperate fighting was taking place on the Little Round Top, the Wheatfield, the Peach Orchard, and Devil's Den starting in the late afternoon. The lack of coordination in the Army of Northern Virginia's attack was now starting to work for the Confederates. With so much of the Union center being used to reinforce the flanks, Cemetary Ridge was being held with only a handful of troops. A.P. Hill's III Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia was driving the battered remnants of Brigadier Humphrey's division back, threatening to rupture the Union line.

Reinforcements were on the way, but at just after 6:30p.m., the only troops left were Colvill and his Minnesotans. Charging towards the gap were the 1,800 men of Wilcox's Alabama Brigade (part of Hill's III Corps). Major General Winfield Scott Hancock, commander of the II Corps, had to commit his last available reserve. He would later state,
“I had no alternative but to order the regiment in. We had no force on hand to meet the sudden emergency. Troops had been ordered up and were coming on the run, but I saw that in some way five minutes must be gained or we were lost. It was fortunate that I found there so grand a body of men as the First Minnesota. I knew they must lose heavily and it caused me pain to give the order for them to advance, but I would have done it (even) if I had known every man would be killed. It was a sacrifice that must be made. The superb gallantry of those men saved our line from being broken. No soldiers on any field, in this or any other country, ever displayed grander heroism.”
Riding to Colonel Colvill, Hancock asked, pointing to a mass of men (most likely either the 9th or 14th Alabama Infantry Regiments), "Do you see those colors?" Colvill answered he could. Hancock ordered "Then take them!"

Outnumbered 6 to 1, Colvill did not hesitate. The 1st Minnesota charged into the flank of the oncoming Wilcox's Brigade. To left of Wilcox's Brigade, Perry's Florida Brigade stopped, trying to counter the Minnesotans charge. Now the 1st Minnesotans were taking on more than 2500 Confederates, nearly 9 to 1 odds, and plugging the gap in the Union lines.

As the charge went, the lead elements of the reinforcements, Willard's Brigade of New Yorkers as well as a regiment of Massachusetts infantry, were beginning to arrive and take the Confederates under fire. Meanwhile, the Minnesotans were taking casualties as they moved against the Alabama regiments. Halting his men about fifty yard from the Wilcox's Brigade, Colvill ordered a volley by the remnants of his regiment. Confused by the sudden appearance of the Minnesotans, Wilcox's Brigade haphazardly returned fire, the second line of Confederates apparently fired into the first. The 1st Minnesota was now taking fire from three directions as they pressed home their charge with bayonets.

Colvill fell, a bullet in his shoulder. Three color bearers went down in succession. For approximately 15 minutes, the small Minnesota regiment continued its suicidal attack on the Alabamans. Willard's Brigade had moved up into position now. Humphrey's Division had rallied under Hancock's direction and was re-entering the fight.With each moment that the Minnesotans continued, the Confederate opportunity to rupture the line slipped away. First Wilcox's Brigade began to fall back, followed by Perry's.

As the reinforcements re-established the line, the 1st Minnesota began to reform. Of the 262 that had charged into the Confederates, 215 of them were, or 82% of the regiment's strength, killed or wounded. The 47 survivors reformed around its senior surviving officer, a captain. They had not captured the flag which Hancock had demanded of them, but their charged had held the line long enough.

Despite the horrendous losses it suffered, the 1st Minnesota was not finished. The next day they were still on Cemetery Ridge when Pickett's Charge began. In the fighting to repel Pickett's Division, Private Marshall Sherman of the 1st Minnesota's Company C captured the colors of the 28th Virginia Infantry. The flag is still held by the State of Minnesota, despite attempts by Congress and the State of Virginia to reclaim it. Minnesota's position can be best be summed up by their former governor when Jesse Ventura stated, "Tell them (Virginia) to come and get it... We won the flag. To the victors goes the spoils."

A quick note about numbers. For many years, the strength of 1st Minnesota on July 2 has been listed as 262 men. However, more recent reviews of the numbers indicates that there may have been 330 men. The number of dead has remained, as far as I can see, the same. Whether it be 82% or 65% (or the odds being 7 to 1), the outcome was the same. The Union line held. The Army of the Potomac would go on to defeat Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and drive him forever on to the defensive.

The 1st Minnesota's monument still stands on the field at Gettysburg where they made their charge.

El Dia Triste

2007-07-01T00:14:00.000-07:00

At least that is how I think this day should be named.

Why?

Well, this day has seen its share of disasters. For example,...

...it was on this day that the Battle of Abrittus was fought in 251 between the Roman Empire and the Goths. Fought in what is now Bulgaria, the Roman army was lead by the Emperor Decius and his son, Herenius Etruscus, were both killed. The new Roman Emperor, Trebionanus Gallus, had to conclude a hasty peace treaty under extreme duress which resulted in Rome paying tribute to the Goths. Contemprorary historians rated the defeat as one of worst, even worse than the disaster of Teutonborg Forrest.

Speeding forward a thousand years, in 1520, this was the day that Cortes decided to retreat out of Tenochtitlan (modern day Mexico City). Cortes had arrived in Tenochtitlan eight months earlier with a little over 500, largely Castillan, Conquistadores and his native allies. Together, they had held the Aztec monarch captive, Moctezuma. He had been effectively the ruler of the Aztec empire. After defeating an attempt by his superior, Navarez, the subdue and wrest control away from him, he had increased the number of Europeans under his command to approximately 1,200.

However, while he was away dealing with Navarez's forces, he had left a trusted subordinate in charge of Tenochtitlan. Pedro de Alvarado had heard news, from his native allies, that the Aztecs were conducting a religious festival in preparation for an attack on the Castilians. Whether this was true, or whether Alvarado was in fact the crazy that some have suggested, is irrelevant. The result was the death of thousands of Azetecs. Their temple defiled. The people humiliated by the hundred of so men left on Alvarado.

When Cortes returned, he found the formerly pacified city in full rebellion. The Aztec nobility and the people were no longer willing to listen to Cortes' mouthpiece, Moctezuma. When Cortes ordered him to calm his people, he was hit with a stone while calling out to them.

For more than a week, Cortes and his men would sally out into the streets. His heavily armored Castilians, backed by their cannon, would mete out death in a fashion completely foreign to the Aztecs. Some have estimated that for each Castilian who was captured and later sacrified by the Aztecs, hundreds of Aztecs were killed or wounded. Realizing that in the end, the numbers were against him, Cortes resolved that he had to break out of the city so that he could regroup and try and retake the city. On the night of June 30/July 1, 1520, with his Tlaxcalan allies, he lead his men as quietly as possibly to the Tacuba Causeway.

To prevent him from using this way out, the Aztecs had cut the causeway. But knowing this, Cortes had brought bridging equipment to help him slip away in the night. Unfortunately, they were spotted by an Aztec sentry. Soon, Cortes, his men, and their allies were surrounded in a bloody street fight. Ladened down with armor, weapons, and treasure, the Castillans were easy targets to catch, but hard to kill. The head of the column was able to make it across the causeway, but the rear third was cutoff and overwhelmed. Order broke down, and what had started as an orderly maneuver turned into a desperate rout. As Victor Davis Hanson writes in his book, Carnage and Culture, "Fewer than half the Castilians and Tlaxcalans finally stumbled onto shore. What saved them from seeming annihilation was the near manic determination of Cortes himself. Far from panicking, Cortes quickly organized in Tlacopan what was left of his little army..." Those who survived the escape from the Aztec capital would refer to the night as La Noche Triste.

Then, perhaps the saddest July 1 of all took place in 1916. For eight days, British Artillery had been pounding a 25 mile section of German trenches with 1,500 artillery pieces near the Somme River in north-eastern France. Watching the bombardment was the New Army of the British Empire, waiting for the order to go over the top.

In every sense of the word, the British Empire's army was new. Britain had started the war with the smallest army of the major combatants of the First World War. At first, the British Expeditionary Force consisted of six infantry divisions and one cavalry division, approximately 100,000 men deployed to the continent. All were volunteers. On the average, they had a little over three years of experience. The senior NCOs and senior officers had been blooded along the Northwest-Frontier, in the Sudan, and in the South African War. It was light on artillery, having opted for mobile light field artillery and neglecting heavy artillery. It possessed machine guns, but failed to develop a doctrine to make full use of it. It's power lay in the rifle training. Infantry and cavalry alike had been trained with the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifle. Both accuracy and rate of fire (15 rounds a minute was expected when the command "rapid fire" was given) had been emphasized.

Unfortunately, the B.E.F. was sent to fight on the continent against the massive German army. The quality of the B.E.F. was overwhelmed by the numbers of the German Army. At the battles of Mons, Le Cateau, and the Marne it gave a good account of itself, disrupting the Schlieffen Plan. In the race to the sea, they prevented the German Army from outflanking the Allies. At the Battle of the Ypres, the old British Army died stopped the final German attempt to breakthrough and drive to either the Channel or Paris.

For the next year, the France shouldered the burden while the British Empire turned its massive resources to creating a new army. In fact, that was what they were called. Even as the B.E.F. was sacrificing itself on the Western Front, the new minister of war, Lord Kitchner, had issued a call for volunteers. Between August 1914 and January 1915, approximately 1 million men volunteered for the British Army. Units were also raised for Imperial service in the Dominions of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Even South Africa and Newfoundland raised units for service on the Western Front. Although Britain had begun the war with a professional army, the heads of British war effort believed that this could not be reproduced with the Kitchner Armies.

As a consequence of this, they were trained to a different standard and with a different doctrine. Although rifle training was continued, gone was the same emphasis on rate and accuracy. Fire and movement tactics and decentralized control, which the British Army had spent the previous decade learning, were abandoned. Instead, all manuevers were to be rigidly controlled by headquarters. In the Dominion forces, where Kitchner had less control, the latter problems were not as pronounced.

In effect, the British New Armies which began taking up positions in the Allied trenches looked like British Army troops, carried British Army weapons, and sounded like British Army troops. But to the few surviving Old Contemptibles, it was a complete foreign entity.

To prepare for its first major operation, the troops were taken out of the line and walked through the operation. Literally. They would start in a taped off area, instructed how long to wait till the artillery bombardment was completed and then walked in formation over the ground to the objective.

It was believed that the eight days of artillery fire would destroy the German fortifications. That the wire would be cut. That the German machine gun positions would be wrecked.

As the barrage shifted to strike at German positions behind the front lines, thirteen British Divisions started to go over the top at 7:30 am. Among them was a company of the 8th East Surreys of Captain Nevill. Each of his four platoons, in addition to its regular gear, was equipped with footballs to dribble across no-man's land.

Captain Nevill, two footballs, and nearly 60,000 other British Imperial troops failed to return at the end of the day. The Germans held most of the positions, losing approximately 8,000.

A Man Of His Word

2007-06-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

Generalleutnant Karl von Schlieben was an officer of the old school. A scion of a German military family, he was commissioned as a Fahnenjunker (the Imperial German equivalent of a cadet) in 3 Garde Regiment zu Fuß at the start of the First World War. In just over a year, he comanded his own company. By the end of the war, he had been wounded two times and risen to the rank of Lieutenant and put in charge of ordnance for Generalkommando 60.

During the interwar period, he managed to remain in the substantially reduced Wehrmacht of the Weimar Republic. In 1939, he was the commander of a rifle regiment attached to a panzer division. He would later be transferred to the Western Front in 1941, where he would command 4th Schützen Brigade of the 4th Panzer Division and then the 208th Infantry Division. For his command of the 208th Infantry Division, he was awarded the Knight's Cross.

Despite this, he was eventually ordered to take command of the 709th Infantry Division (Static). Essentially, it was a unit meant for occupation duty. Static divisions of the Wehrmacht were intended to build and occupy defensive position while Infantry, Panzer, and Panzergrenadier Divisions were better equipped to fight in a variety of situations. In addition to not having the same firepower as other formations, its men were considered to be lower quality recruits. By and large, they were on the average older if they were Germans. In many cases, they would be drawn from conquered territories, the Rhineland or Westphalia. In fact, by the time of the Normandy campaign, the 709th had lost one of its regiments and was being ordered to hold its sector with only 11 battalions.

On 6 June 1944, the combined Allied forces seized the five beachheads in Normandy. From the westernmost beach captured by the U.S. forces, Utah, the VII Corps under Major General Collins struck out to cut off the Cotentin peninsula. The object of this was to cut off and force the surrender of the German forces holding the port of Cherbourg. Cherbourg was critical in the minds of the SHAEF planners. It was only deep water port in the Normandy region that was not Calais. To be able to supply the Allied effort in Northwest France, the staff at SHAEF believed that a deep water port was absolutely necessary. Without it, they were afraid that they simply could not bhring in enough supplies to keep the men fighting.

Which brings us back to Generalleutnant von Schlieben. Von Schlieben and the 709th were the primary defenders of Cherbourg. Starting on June 18, after the U.S.'s 9th Infantry Division finished cutting off the base of the peninsula, he was faced with an attack by elements of three divisions (4th, 9th, and 79th Infantry Divisions). Essentially, he was outnumbered 27 battalions to 11 battalions. The VII Corps had about 40,000 men at the time of the Battle of Cherbourg. At full strength, which is had not been since one of its regiments was transferred prior to D-Day, the 709th would have had approximately 13,000.

To compound his problems, Hitler was overruling his field commanders, demanding that Wehrmacht units in Normandy, including on the Contentin peninsula, contest the Allied advance at every opportunity and counter-attack. Instead of being able to retreat behind the prepared Atlantic Wall fortifications, he was forced to fight. Within two days, von Schlieben's men were encircled in Cherbourg. In all, with the addition of Kriegsmarine men stationed there, von Schlieben had approximately 21,000 men. However, he was almost totally outclassed in artillery. Most of the artillery, some of which his men had held participate in the construction of battery fortifications for, could only fire on targets at sea. Like Singapore, the massive coastal cannons could not be turned on targets inland. Finally, he had no tanks and almost no antitank weapons.

Beginning on June 22, 1944, the U.S. 79th Division began the slow, arduous task of clearing the German bunker systems defending the city. On June 26, the Fort de Roule, one of the key points of the landward defense was captured. At St. Sauveur, on the outskirts of Cherbourg, the 9th Infantry Division had found von Schlieben's headquarters.

Realizing that the end was near, and under orders to deny the use of the port to the Allies, von Schlieben began stalling for time while Kriegsmarine personnel went about the task of destroying the port facilities. When called upon to surrender, he stated that he could surrender while he still had the ability to resist an infantry attack.

Noting how he had answered the surrender demand, the American commander apparently asked something along the lines of "Well, can you resist an armored attack?" To which von Schlieben responded that he could not since he had no antitank weapons left.

As soon as one could be found, a single tank was sent moving up towards von Schlieben. True to his word, von Schlieben surrendered along with the 709th on June 26, 1944.

The Battle of Cherbourg continued until June 30, when the final units, including the Kriegsmarine detachments sabotaging the harbor surrendered. Von Schlieben's defense had stalled the U.S. long enough for them to wreck the harbor so badly that it would not be able to use the harbor in even a limited fashion until the middle of August.

Who Says One Person Can't Make a Difference?

2007-06-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

Well, then I would say they should take a look at this man. His name Gavrilo Princip. An ethnic Serb born in Bosnia, he moved to Sarajevo for his schooling. He drifted into nationalist organizations, first the Mlada Bosna (Young Bosnia), and from there was eventually recruited into the Ujedinjenje ili Smrt (literally translated as Union or Death but more commonly known in English as the Black Hand).

Once a member of the Black Hand, he was trained in the ways of terrorism. The goal was the overthrow of the Austro-Hungarian rule over the Serbs and the establishment of a Pan-Slav state. Eventually it was decided that further this, a decision was made to strike at the heart of the entity that was seen as oppressing the Serbs: the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Princip and the rest of the assassination team went to Sarajevo in time for the visit of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. After the rest of the team had bungled the attempts, pure luck dropped the Archduke's car into Princip's lap as he was trying find some food after missing his chance earlier. (And in a weird quirk, Archduke Ferdinand was unpopular with the rulers of the Empire because he was advocating giving the Serbs an enlarged voice in the Empire.)

Anyways, with a pull of the trigger, Princip set in motion the events that would lead to the start of the First World War. In four years, the conflagration would reshape the balance of power among the world's Great Powers. Gone would be the Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires. Imperial Germany would cease to exist with the abdication of the Kaiser.

The war also brought about the creation of a number of nations, some still in existence, such as Iraq, Czechoslovakia, and the U.S.S.R. In effect, many of the current problems in the Middle East can be traced back to decisions made by the British and French governments who, even in the midst of a life and death struggle with Imperial Germany, showed a propensity to supporting operations to expand their colonial empires. This culminated in the Sykes-Picot agreement which divided the Middle East. (Note, when dividing up a good portion of the world, use a good scale map and do not make the marks in green crayon.)

But just as profound, there would be a change in the way that war was viewed. Prior to 1914, war was viewed as something beneficial, not to be shied away from. Yes, there was an acknowledgment of the human costs. This disappeared in the mud and blood of the Western Front. Following the war, it was the works of Wilfred Owen, Sigfried Sassoon and Robert Graves that took hold, rather than Ernst Junger's writings. Instead of the old view of war, there was the development of the way that war and conflict is popular today: War is bad, that it is to be avoided at all costs.

If Princip had not been there, or decided to just give up on the plot altogether, the world would be a very different place. The Russian Empire might not have fallen, and Bolshevik-style communism would not have risen to hold sway over so much of the world. Hitler would possibly have lived out his life as a paper-hanger and failed painter. Perhaps the Austro-Hungarian Empire would have survived, being reformed along the lines of the heir apparent in 1914, Archduke Ferdinand, to become the Austro-Hungarian-Serbian Empire.

A lot of things happened because one person managed to kill two people on June 28, 1914 in Sarajevo.

RIP: Rod Beck

2007-06-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

Before the awfulness of Armando Benitez....

Before the chaos of emergency closers like Tim Worrell, Matt Herges, and Dustin Hermanson...

Before the Nenth Inning was ever imagined....

And after the awfulness of Jeff Brantley...

There was Rod Beck.

Unfortunately Rod Beck passed away while I was away this weekend. He made his debut with the Giants in 1991, but he did not enter my mind until one night in 1992.

1992 was an awful year for the Giants. Roger Craig, the man who had guided the Giants out of the misery of its 100 loss season in 1985 to the World Series in 1989, was starting to show his age. The team was in a funk that would see it lose 90 games. The team just felt lifeless.

That lifelessness was apparent one night in the middle of the summer. It had to be a Friday night. I cannot remember (without going to my parent's house and finding my old score cards) and the Giants were in a, surprisingly, close game.

Anyways, as I recall, Beck was brought into the game in the seventh inning with runners on. I had not seen him pitch before, and was lukewarm on him (sometimes it seemed like he was good, but then sometimes, as happened often in 1992 campaign, he did not seem so good). He came into the game and just started to mow down the oppositions batters. He looked like he should be dressed in a Hell's Angels jacket and riding a Harley instead of taking the mound. When he stared in to get the sign, with his arm dangling from his side as if it was just something hanging by a hook on his shoulder, Beck looked fierce.

He finished out the seventh and took the mound to start the eighth. Then, for some inexplicable reason, the manager paid a visit to the mound after Beck had gotten the first out in the inning and called for a new pitcher. Jeff Brantley came trotting out as Beck stood there on the mound, clearly arguing with Craig saying that he wanted to stay in the game and finish it out.

In the end, Craig won out, and Beck stomped off towards the dugout. When he got about half-way there, he hurled his glove into the dugout. Out of all the people on that field at the 'Stick that night, he might have been the only one getting paid by the Giants organization who was fighting to stay in the game.

And that sort of set the tone for what I got to see over the next five seasons that he played with the Giants. When he came out, he was coming out to challenge the batters he faced. Even when was no longer able to bring the heat with 90+ mph stuff, he still had a splitter that befuddled National League hitters. There was no question, when he was called he would take the mound, looking as if he was preparing for a brawl. Coupled with Mike Jackson, it felt as if the team could just get the game to the eighth inning then all would be well.

Then there was the 1997 game versus the Dodgers. Brian Johnson hammered the homerun to put the Giants up, but it was Beck who nailed the coffin shut.

Unfortunately, that would be his last season with the Giants. After that would come a series of stops with other teams, including the Cubs, Red Sox and Padres. I was sad when I heard he had arm troubles with the Red Sox that resulted in him being written off. When he caught on with the Cubs minor league team in 2003, I cheered for him. When he made it back to the majors with I cheered for his success (except those outings when he as facing the Orange and Black... and even then I did not treat him like He-who-must-be-booed). Eventually though, his arm troubles and his own personal problems surfaced once again to put a final end to his career.

It was nice to see that the Giants had a little memorial for him tonight before the game. He was a good Giant who will be missed.

Apparently someone got the name wrong

2007-06-20T17:15:00.000-07:00

This is one of the most famous pictures in American History. After at least three movies, and September 11 (when comparisons were drawn from this photograph to the picture of the fireman raising a flag at the WTC) it is a good bet that most people would be able to tell you that this is a picture of the U.S. Marines raising the flag on Mt. Suribachi at Iwo Jima.

The only problem is, apparently the island was not called Iwo Jima. Like Bunker Hill (which was actually fought on Breed's Hill), Iwo Jima was not known as Iwo Jima until someone made an error in paperwork. In fact, until the error, which is believe to have happened during the evacuation of the island's inhabitants in 1944, the island was referred to as Iwo To.

Both Iwo Jima and Iwo To mean the same thing: Sulphur Island. The residents of the island, unhappy with the publicity of the movies Flag of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima have been mounting a campaign to have the name of the island changed back to Iwo To. This campaign has succeeded, and the Japanese Geographical Survey Institute will start printing maps with the name altered to its original.

Apparently, the hubub started when the former inhabitants and current inhabitants of Ogasawara (the municipality which administers Iwo Jima and 2 other islands) were upset because of the usage of Iwo Jima as opposed to Iwo To in the movies.

No matter how many times you tell someone that the Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on Breed's Hill, people still call the ground Bunker Hill. Somehow, I think that Iwo To will forever be referred to as Iwo Jima.

Its Designed to Break Your Heart

2007-06-19T22:48:00.000-07:00

Being a Giants' fan (that would be the San Francisco Giants, not that New York team that plays football) that is.

Over at the McCovey Chronicles, Grant is ready to throw in the towel and buckle in for a repeat of 1985. However, as the ObsessiveCompulsiveGiantsFan points out, the Giants are not out of it under the Dusty Baker rule (games back > weeks to play = out of it; games back < weeks to play = still in the hunt).

Personally, this team is not, yet, as bad as the 1985 team. Reminds me more of the 1992 team. The only thing is, I can not see the chance for us to get rid of any the players that we would want to get rid of. I mean, what fool would possibly trade to get Pedro Feliz? Sure he has a golden glove caliber skills, but his ability to take a pitch is almost non-existent, his hitting comes more and more infrequently, and he strikes out too much. Then there is Ray Durham. Sure, he has power but two hamstrings which are so tempermental that after Bonds, he is the most fragile player on the team.

And then there's Ryan Klesko? Rich Aurillia? Steve Kline? I'm sorry, but only the San Francisco Giants are crazy enough to pay for these players.

What we have to offer are pitchers coming out of our ears. However, in order to get anything of value, the Giants would need to be willing to give up either Lowry, Caine, Lincecum, or Sanchez. Some teams might possibly be wiling to trade for Morris. Giving up one,.... would hurt and probably end up like the Joe Nathan-Francisco Liriano deal the way that Sabean's track record has been in the last few years.

Ok, surely it cannot be this bad. Right? Will someone tell me not to jump yet? I'm trying to believe, but I'm just seeing oncoming trains.

The Black Hole of Calcutta

2007-06-19T22:22:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard the phrase, when referring to a mess, that it looks like the Black Hole of Calcutta?

Well, if you have, and ever wondered what it refers to, it is a reference to a dungeon in Calcutta, India (now Kolkota). Located in Fort William, in Calcutta, it was where the Nawab of Bengal imprisoned British prisoners during a conflict with the East India Company.

After capturing Fort William in June 1756, the Nawab's troops place British prisoners in the dungeon. The precise number is disputed. The only first-hand account comes down to us from John Zephaniah Holwell, the surgeon who was left in command of the fort after the rest of garrison escaped. He states that there were 146 prisoners who were originally incarcerated in the dungeon. The dungeon itself was said to measure 14 feet by 18 feet. The next day, without any food or water, there were only 23 survivors.

Scholars have disputed this claim, partly on the grounds that the records available show that there were only 69 men left defending the fortress when it fell.

The survivors of the fortress remained in the hands of the Bengalis until Robert Clive recaptured the city in February 1757.

Great Orators

2007-06-18T15:09:00.000-07:00

Until I was reminded today, I had completely forgotten about one of the other notable events that happened many a year ago today: Winston Churchill's third address to the House of Commons.

Otherwise known as the "Finest Hour" speech, it is Churchill telling the government and the British Empire that even though they have just experienced one of the most crushing defeats in modern history, tempered only by the miracle of Dunkirk, that the war will go on. This was perhaps the nadir of Britain's fortunes in the war. What was left of her army had no weapons, and no way of immediately replacing them. The Royal Navy, no longer as dominant as it had been in 1914, was face with the prospect of covering not only areas originally envisionaged but now having to extend its strained resources to protect the Mediterranean sea lanes which France had promised to protect. The RAF, though concentrated on British isles, was preparing to face off against the Luftwaffe which outnumbered it nearly 3 to 1. The Soviet Union was abiding by its Non-Agression Pact with the Nazis and the United States was keeping its head firmly buried in the sand, hoping that the war would not cross the ocean.

He could have mentioned that the situation was the result of the policies of the British and French governments for the previous decades. He does not. He could have trumpted his own horn, since he had been almost alone in predicting what Hitler's true intensions were. He did not. Instead he simply, clearly, concisley states what the new policy will be, and why it will work.

In this speech, Churchill laid out exactly what the penalty was for failing to stand up to the Nazi menace, now only tens of miles away across the English Channel. The decision was simple: to either fight the Nazi foe and win or to see the world"sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science."

People do not talk like this anymore.

If you take into account the time zones

2007-06-17T23:07:00.000-07:00

Then it would be 8:00 a.m. in the morning in Belgium. 192 years ago (that is if I am doing my math correctly), at about this time, a combined force of British, Dutch, Hanoverian and Brunswickers were assembling in a line of battle under the command of Arthur Wellesley, better known as the Duke of Wellington.

The line formed by the Allied force was perpendicular to the main road to Brussels. To their front, two farms, La Haye Sainte and Hougmont, had been coverted in makeshift fortresses. In La Haye Sainte, the men of the King's German Legion's 1st and 2nd Light Battalions, reinforced with the light company of the King's German Legion's 5th Line Battalion. In the Hougamont, the men of th 95th Rifles waited.

The Allied line looked down on the low slope of the ridge towards their oppostion: Emperor Napoleon and his Grande Armee. This was the 100th day since Napoleon had returned from his exile on Elba.

In the previous 99 days, Napoleon had seemed to return to form. Within days of his landing, virtually the entire army of the restored Bourbons had gone over to him. After reassuming control of France, he had quickly reassembled the Grande Armee. His arrival had caught his enemies by surprise. The coalition which had brought down his empire had drifted apart. Russia and Austria had turned back to dealing with their own interests. Britain had dispatched may of her best units to deal with the war against the United States. With the Coalition forces scattered, Napoleon had a chance to deal with the separate components and defeat them in detail.

The first clashes happened on June 16. Trying to prevent the Allied force under Wellington from combining with the Prussian Army under Blucher, Napoleon split his forces and surprised both columns. At Ligny, Napoleon ordered two corps, 2nd Corps and the 3rd Cavalry Corps, to block Blucher's army. Outnumbered 68,000 to 84,000, the French force drove off the Prussian in a day long battle. Nearby at Qatre Bras, the balance of the Grande Armee ran into the lead elements of Wellington's force. Although the battle ended in a draw, with both sides suffering more than 4,000 casualties, it was the Allies who had to withdraw.

This brings up to June 18. After a day of manuevering, and a long night in the rain, the Allied forces found themselves near the Mont St. Jean, near the town of Waterloo, on a low ridge blocking the road to Brussels. Blucher had sent word that he was bringing his army to meet up with Wellington's, despite his subordinates questioning whether they should. Until Blucher arrived, Wellington would have approximately 67,000 men to hold off approximately 73,000 French troops.

In a way, this was the equivalent of two boxing champions meeting for the first time. Despite nearly twenty years of war between the Great Britain and France, the Sepoy General (as Wellington was sometimes derisively referred) had never faced the Corsican Corporal. As he ate his breakfast with his Marshals, a number of whom had been beaten by Wellington in the Peninsula Campaign, Napoleon was reported to have said, "Just because you have all been beaten by Wellington, you think he's a good general. I tell you Wellington is a bad general, the English are bad troops, and this affair is nothing more than eating breakfast."

In the years to come, he probably had to regret that remark. By the end of the day, the Grande Armee would be broken as an offensive force. Nearly a third of its strength would lie dead or dying on the field of battle. Another 7,000 would be prisoner and 15,000 would be missing from its rolls. The battle would not be easy for the Allied and Prussian armies, who would lose respectively 15,000 and 7,000 men.

For the full story of the Battle of Waterloo, you might want to read Jac Weller's Wellington At Waterloo, Elizabeth Longford's Wellington the Years of the Sword, or Waterloo New Perspectives: The Great Battle Reappraised by David Hamilton-Williams. Or if you want a fictional account, you could always treat yourself to Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe's Waterloo.