Category: Hard Nosed Folks Both Good & Bad

Tommy Atkins Guns & WWII

MilSurp: British Infantry Weapons of World War II: The Tools Tommies Used to Beat Back the Bosche

by WILL DABBS on FEBRUARY 21, 2018

On the night of June 5^th, 1944, a force of 181 men commanded by Major John Howard lifted off from RAF Tarant Rushton aboard six Horsa gliders. Their force consisted of a reinforced company from the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry along with twenty sappers drawn from the Royal Engineers. Their objective was to seize the bridge over the Caen Canal and subsequently secure the eastern flank of the Allied landings at Sword beach. Theirs was arguably the most critical piece in the entire D-Day invasion.

The Webley revolver was a break-open double action design that fired a relatively anemic .38/200 rimmed cartridge.

Any amphibious operation is tenuous until a lodgment is established. At first the advantage always goes to the defender. No matter the intensity of the pre-operation bombardment, the outcome ultimately turns on the fortitude of the attackers pitted against the fortitude of the defenders. This bridge was the choke point for German armor that might have attempted to reinforce the defenders on the beach.
The invasion, code named Operation Overlord, was indeed an iffy thing. Had the Allies hit the beaches and found them populated with the fully armed tanks of the German 21^st Panzer Division then they very likely could have been pushed back into the sea. General Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, had actually prepared a letter assuming full responsibility for the failure of this operation had this been the case. Thanks to Major Howard and his 181 British Glider-borne soldiers this letter went unused.
Five of the British gliders landed as close as 47 meters to the objective at 16 minutes past midnight. Considering these glider pilots made a silent unpowered approach in utter darkness this represents some of the most remarkable pilotage of the war. These brave British soldiers poured out of their wrecked gliders and took the bridge in short order.

The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) was a superb bolt-action design that served the British well during the First World War.

Lance Corporal Fred Greenhalgh was thrown clear of his glider on impact and knocked unconscious. He landed face first in a shallow pond no more than six inches deep but subsequently drowned. Lieutenant Den Brotheridge stormed the bridge firing his Sten gun and throwing grenades until he was mortally wounded by German machinegun fire. Greenhalgh and Brotheridge were the first Allied soldiers killed on D-Day.

The SMLE also saw extensive service, particularly early on, during the Second.

At around 0200 the lead armored vehicle of German 21^st Panzer rounded a corner and drove between two buildings that defined the approach to the bridge. Alerted by the sound of tracks in the darkness, Major Howard had dispatched Sergeant Charles “Wagger” Thornton with the unit’s last operational PIAT launcher and two hollow-charge projectiles. Thornton covered himself in garbage and had been in place around three minutes when the first tank arrived.
There is a dispute as to the type of vehicle involved. It has been reported to be either a Panzerkampfwagen Mark IV or a Marder open-topped self-propelled gun. Regardless, no doubt thoroughly terrified, Sergeant Thornton loosed his PIAT bomb at a range of 27 meters and center-punched the vehicle, igniting its onboard ammunition. The destroyed vehicle subsequently effectively sealed off the approaches to the landing areas from reinforcing German armor. As a result, Sergeant Thornton’s single desperate PIAT shot very probably saved the entire invasion.

The Lewis gun was an American design that was used extensively during WW1. Obsolete by 1940, the Lewis nonetheless soldiered on in second-line applications throughout the war. The most distinguishing characteristics of the Lewis were its bulbous barrel shroud and top-mounted pan magazine.

Weapons

That the British Army survived the evacuation at Dunkirk is a legitimate modern-day miracle. While more than 300,000 troops survived, they arrived in Britain exhausted, demoralized, and bereft of their weapons. Desperate to refit and re-equip in the face of an expected German invasion, the English military leadership initiated a crash program to produce small arms in breathtaking quantities.
It is easy to disparage the quality of British small arms from the comfort of our living rooms. However, the British people rightfully feared imminent invasion. Had Hitler not foolishly launched Operation Barbarossa in an attempt to conquer Russia they would have undoubtedly seen German troops on British soil. As a result, the British endured some shortcuts in both the quality and design of their small arms. That they still fared so well is a testimony to the grit and tenacity of the British fighting man and his leadership.

Handguns

At a time when the entire world was issuing autoloading handguns, the British persisted in issuing revolvers that were state of the art during the previous world war. Given the desperate pressures under which they operated British industry simply continued producing the handguns they were already tooled up to produce. Webley and Enfield revolvers were morphologically similar. Both were break-open designs that incorporated an automatic ejector to remove empty shell casings. While some earlier versions were chambered for a powerful .455 round, most WW2-era versions were .38’s.
Early WW1-era Webley Mk I’s fired the rimmed .455 round. However, many were subsequently converted to fire rimless .45ACP ammunition by having the faces of their cylinders shaved down appropriately. Rimless .45ACP rounds were subsequently managed via moon clips. This conversion allowed the continued issue of .455 Webleys after the supply of .455 rimmed ammunition was exhausted.

The star-shaped ejector on the Webley and Enfield revolvers automatically expelled the empty cases when the gun was broken open for reloading.

The most common WW2-era Webley was the Mk IV chambered for the .38/200 round. This round is 9x20mm and is interchangeable with the .38 S&W cartridge. By comparison the ubiquitous .38 Special is 9×29.5mm and much more powerful. The No2 Mk 1 Enfield fired the same round. However, the hammer was bobbed on the Enfield to affect double action only. This weapon was intended for use in tanks, aircraft, and vehicles for applications that might require that a sidearm be used one-handed.

The 4-1-1 on Handguns During Combat

Handguns of any sort seldom affect the big picture in combat. They serve as badges of rank or security talismans, but the pistol does not win wars. As such, though their revolvers were dated when compared to other autoloading designs, this made little difference in the grand scheme.

The PIAT was a monstrosity of a weapon that used a spring-driven piston to fire shaped-charge antitank warheads.

Rifles

The British began World War 2 with the SMLE (Short Magazine Lee-Enfield). This superb bolt-action design armed British Tommies in the fetid trenches of World War 1. As the SMLE cocked on closing it provided a greater rate of fire than other designs that cocked when the bolt was opened. As the scope of the war and its commensurate logistics demands grew, however, the British Army needed something cheaper and easier to produce.

The British Sten gun was simple, inexpensive, and effective. Sporting a left-sided magazine and remarkably sedate rate of fire, the Sten was found throughout all combat theaters of World War 2.

The No 4 Mk 1 Lee-Enfield was a product-improved version of the SMLE. This rifle retained the 10-round magazine and .303 chambering of the SMLE. And it deleted the SMLE’s magazine cutoff and, ultimately, its complicated adjustable sight. The No 4 was heavier and slightly more robust than the SMLE, but it was much easier and faster to produce.
The rimmed .303 cartridge was obsolete by World War 2. However, like the Lee-Enfield rifle, this was what British industry was tooled up to produce. As a result, both the No 4 Lee-Enfield and its tired round soldiered on through WW2 and well beyond. Once again, the English were forced to make do with what they had.

Submachine Guns

The British had no general-issue submachine gun at the beginning of the war. They made do with expensive, heavy, and obsolete Thompson guns purchased from the United States. In desperate need of something inexpensive and easy to build, English gun designers Major Reginald Shepherd and Harold Turpin set out to contrive the ultimate mass-produced pistol caliber submachine gun. The name Sten is drawn from the first letters of the designers’ names along with Enfield.

The Bren Light Machinegun was arguably the finest LMG of the war. Portable and reliable, the Bren offered dismounted Infantry a mobile base of fire that could accompany troops in the assault.

Sten

The British produced the Sten gun using components produced in tiny shops across the island. There were seven marks and around four million copies rolled off the lines. Unit cost in WW2 was around $10 or $156 today. Most Stens used a simple drawn steel tube as a receiver and fed from the left side via a double column, single feed 32-round magazine. All Stens were selective fire. Most incorporated a rotating magazine housing that could be positioned to seal the ejection port from battlefield grunge.

Mk IIS

The Mk IIS included an integral sound suppressor, a revolutionary feature for the day, as well as a bronze bolt. The Mk III was the simplest of the lot and incorporated a simple welded on magazine housing and a pressed steel receiver. The Sten was not the most reliable gun on the battlefield but it was widely distributed through both British combat formations as well as underground partisans operating in occupied territories.

The sole safety on the Sten was a notch to hold the bolt to the rear.

Machinegun

The Brits used Vickers and Lewis guns at the beginning of the war, some of which served until the armistice. The Vickers was an English adaptation of the same Hiram Stevens Maxim design that drove the German Maxim MG08 guns during WW1. Heavy, water-cooled, and imminently reliable, the Vickers was a superb sustained fire weapon when employed from vehicles or static mountings. It was useless in a mobile ground assault, however.

The Vickers machinegun.

The BREN gun was arguably the finest light machinegun used by any major combatant. A license-produced copy of the Czech ZGB-33, the Bren fired from the open bolt and fed from top-mounted 30-round box magazines. It had a rate of fire of around 500 rounds per minute. The BREN gave the dismounted Infantry squad a portable base of automatic fire that could maneuver with dismounted ground forces. Though heavy by today’s standards, the BREN was rugged and dependable.

The PIAT

The weapon Wagger Thornton used to save D-Day was the Projector, infantry, Anti-Tank. This monstrosity of an anti-tank weapon was actually a handheld spigot mortar. The PIAT incorporated a spring-driven piston that extended into the base of its hollow-charge projectile. It would then ignite a propellant charge. The prodigious recoil of the shot should theoretically recock the heavy spring action. The PIAT weighed 32 pounds and had a maximum effective range of 115 yards. Sergeant Thornton later described the PIAT as “Rubbish, really” in a post-war interview.

The Vickers machinegun was a water-cooled belt-fed behemoth intended to be fired from fixed positions.

The PIAT was a monstrosity of a weapon that used a spring-driven piston to fire shaped-charge antitank warheads.

Gestalt

The British fought and won WW 2 with a hodgepodge of obsolete weapons mass-produced via a disseminated industrial base with their backs literally against the sea. While they lacked a semiautomatic handgun or an autoloading Infantry rifle, their Bren gun was enormously effective. And the PIAT did indeed save D-Day. In the final analysis, it was the men behind the weapons, and not the weapons themselves, that wrested control of mainland Europe from the grip of Nazi tyranny.

Hard Nosed Folks Both Good & Bad

The Royal Fusiliers or another British Regiment lost to the Budget

Post author By Grumpy
Post date February 26, 2018
No Comments on The Royal Fusiliers or another British Regiment lost to the Budget

Ever wonder where the term Fusiliers came from? Well here is your answer — The Royal Fusiliers. They were a very old (est. 1685) & a very fashionable regiment. Since It was based in the Tower of London & near the throne.

Nonetheless it was a very hard fighting outfit filled with London Cockneys. Here is it’s story.

Related image

7th Regiment of Foot Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment)
Cap badge of the Royal Fusiliers
Active	1685–1968
Country	Kingdom of England (1685–1707) Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1800) United Kingdom (1801–1968)
Branch	British Army
Type	Infantry
Role	Line infantry
Size	1–4 Regular battalions Up to 3 Militia and Special Reservebattalions Up to 4 Territorial and Volunteerbattalions Up to 36 Hostilities-only battalions
Garrison/HQ	Tower of London
Nickname(s)	The Elegant Extracts
Motto(s)	Honi soit qui mal y pense
March	The Seventh Royal Fusiliers

The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881.^[1]
The Royal Fusiliers Monument, a memorial dedicated to the Royal Fusiliers who died during the First World War, stands on Holborn in the City of London.
Throughout its long existence, the regiment served in many wars and conflicts, including the Second Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War.
In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the other regiments of the Fusilier Brigade – the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, the Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers and the Lancashire Fusiliers – to form a new large regiment, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.

History[edit]

George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth, founder of the regiment

Formation

It was formed as a fusilier regiment in 1685 by George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth, from two companies of the Tower of London guard, and was originally called the Ordnance Regiment.
Most regiments were equipped with matchlock muskets at the time, but the Ordnance Regiment were armed with flintlock fusils. This was because their task was to be an escort for the artillery, for which matchlocks would have carried the risk of igniting the open-topped barrels of gunpowder.^[2] The regiment went to Holland in February 1689 for service in the Nine Years’ War and fought at the Battle of Walcourt in August 1689^[3] before returning home in 1690.^[4] It embarked for Flanders later that year and fought at the Battle of Steenkerque in August 1692^[5] and the Battle of Landen in July 1693^[6] and the Siege of Namur in summer 1695 before returning home.^[7]
The regiment took part in an expedition which captured the town of Rota in Spain in spring 1702^[8] and then saw action at the Battle of Vigo Bay in October 1702 during the War of the Spanish Succession.^[9] The regiment became the 7th Regiment of Foot (Royal Fusiliers) in 1751, although a variety of spellings of the word “fusilier” persisted until the 1780s, when the modern spelling was formalised.^[10]

American War of Independence[edit]

The Royal Fusiliers were sent to Canada in April 1773.^[11] The regiment was broken up into detachments that served at Montreal, Quebec, Fort Chambly and Fort St Johns (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu). In the face of the American invasion of Canada in 1775/76, most of the regiment was forced to surrender. The 80 man garrison of Fort Chambly attempted to resist a 400-man Rebel force but ultimately had to surrender. This is where the regiment lost its first set of colours. Captain Owen’s company of the 7th, along with a handful of recruits, assisted with the Battle of Quebec in December 1775.^[12]
The men taken prisoner during the defence of Canada were exchanged in British held New York City in late 1776. Here, the regiment was rebuilt and garrisoned New York and New Jersey. In October 1777, the 7th participated in the successful assaults on Fort Clinton and Fort Montgomery.^[13] In December 1777, the regiment reinforced the garrison of Philadelphia. During the British evacuation back to New York City, the regiment participated in the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778.^[14]The 7th participated in Tryon’s raid in July 1779.^[15]
In April 1780, the Royal Fusiliers took part in the capture of Charleston.^[16] Once Charleston fell, the regiment helped garrison the city.^[2] In January 1781, a contingent of 171 men from the Royal Fusiliers was detached from General Charles Cornwallis‘s army and fought under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Cowpens in January 1781.^[17] The Royal Fusiliers was in the first line during the battle: Tarleton was defeated and the regiment’s colours were lost in the heat of the battle.^[18] A contingent from the regiment fought through North Carolina participating in the Battle of Guilford Court House in March 1781.^[19] There was another detachment, which remained in the South under the command of Lt Col. Alured Clarke: these men remained in garrison in Charleston, until they were transferred to Savannah, Georgia in December 1781.^[20] The regiment returned to England in 1783.^[21]

Napoleonic Wars[edit]

Lieutenant Colonel Walter Lacy Yea, Commanding Officer of the Royal Fusiliers, receives a signal from his adjutant, Lieutenant J. St. Clair Hobson, Royal Fusiliers, both killed at Sevastopol 18 June 1855

The regiment embarked for Holland and saw action at the Battle of Copenhagenin August 1807 during the Gunboat War.^[22] It was then sent to the West Indiesand took part in the capture of Martinique in 1809.^[23] It embarked for Portugallater that year for service in the Peninsula War and fought at the Battle of Talaverain July 1809,^[24] the Battle of Bussaco in September 1810.^[25] and the Battle of Albuera in May 1811.^[26]^[27]
The regiment then took part in the Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812,^[28]the Siege of Badajoz in spring 1812^[29] and the Battle of Salamanca in July 1812^[30] as well as the Battle of Vitoria in June 1813.^[31] It then pursued the French Army into France and fought at the Battle of the Pyrenees in July 1813,^[32]the Battle of Orthez in February 1814^[33] and the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814.^[34] It returned to England later that year^[35] before embarking for Canadaand seeing action at the capture of Fort Bowyer in February 1815 during the War of 1812.^[36]

The Victorian era[edit]

The regiment embarked for Scutari for service in the Crimean War in April 1854 and saw action at the Battle of Alma in September 1854, the Battle of Inkerman in November 1854 and the Siege of Sebastopol in winter 1854.^[2] The 1st battalion embarked for India in 1858 and took part in the Ambela Campaign in 1863.^[2] Meanwhile, the 2nd battalion was deployed to Upper Canada in October 1866 and helped suppress the Fenian raids and then deployed to India and saw action at the Battle of Kandahar in September 1880 during the Second Anglo-Afghan War.^[2]
The regiment was not fundamentally affected by the Cardwell Reforms of the 1870s, which gave it a depot at Hounslow Barracks from 1873, or by the Childers reforms of 1881 – as it already possessed two battalions, there was no need for it to amalgamate with another regiment.^[37] Under the reforms, the regiment became The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) on 1 July 1881.^[38]^[39] The 2nd battalion of the regiment took part in the Second Boer War from 1899 to 1902.^[40] A 4th regular battalion was formed in February 1900,^[41] and received colours from the Prince of Wales (Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment) in July 1902.^[42]
In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve;^[43] the regiment now had three Reserve and, because they had been transferred into the London Regiment, no Territorial battalions.^[44]^[45]

First World War[edit]

22 August 1914: Men of “A” Company of the 4th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), resting in the town square at Mons.

The Royal Fusiliers served with distinction in the First World War:^[46]

Regular Army[edit]

The 1st Battalion landed at Saint-Nazaire as part of the 17th Brigade in the 6th Division in September 1914 for service on the Western Front;^[47] major engagements involving the battalion included the Battle of the Somme in autumn 1916 and the Battle of Passchendaele in autumn 1917.^[48]
The 2nd Battalion landed at Gallipoli as part of the 86th Brigade in the 29th Division in April 1915; after being evacuated in December 1915, it moved to Egypt in March 1916 and then landed in Marseille in March 1916 for service on the Western Front;^[47] major engagements involving the battalion included the Battle of the Somme in autumn 1916 and the Battle of Arras in spring 1917.^[48]
The 3rd Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 85th Brigade in the 28th Division in January 1915; major engagements involving the battalion included the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915 and the Battle of Loos in September 1915.^[48] The battalion moved to Egypt in October 1915 and then to Salonika in July 1918.^[47]
The 4th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 9th Brigade in the 3rd Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front;^[47] major engagements involving the battalion included the Battle of Mons and the Battle of Le Cateau in August 1914, the First Battle of the Marne and the First Battle of the Aisne in September 1914 and the Battle of La Bassée, the Battle of Messines and the First Battle of Ypres in October 1914.^[48] Members of the Battalion won the first two Victoria Crosses of the war near Mons in August 1914 (Lieutenant Maurice Dease^[49] and Private Sidney Godley).^[50]

New Armies[edit]

The Royal Fusiliers marching through the City of London in 1916

Men of the 10th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) marching to the trenches, St Pol (Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise), France, November 1916.

The 8th and 9th (Service) Battalions landed in France; they both saw action on the Western Front as part of the 36th Brigade of the 12th (Eastern) Division.^[47]The 10th (Service) Battalion, better known as the Stock Exchange Battalion, was formed in August 1914 when 1,600 members of the London Stock Exchangejoined up: 400 were killed on the Western Front. The battalion was originally part of the 54th Brigade of the 18th (Eastern) Division, transferring to the 111th Brigade, 37th Division.^[51] The 11th, 12th, 13th and 17th (Service) Battalions landed in France; all four battalions saw action on the Western Front: the 11th Battalion being part of the 54th Brigade, 18th (Eastern) Division, the 12th with the 73rd Brigade, later the 17th Brigade, 24th Division, the 13th with the 111th Brigade, 37th Division and the 17th with the 99th Brigade, 33rd Division, later transferring to the 5th and 6th Brigades of the 2nd Division.^[47] The 18th through 21st (Service) Battalions of the regiment were recruited from public schools; all four battalions saw action on the Western Front, all originally serving with the 98th Brigade in the 33rd Division, the 18th and 20th Battalions transferring to the 19th Brigade in the same division.^[47] The 22nd (Service) Battalion, which was recruited from the citizens of Kensington, also landed in France and saw action on the Western Front.^[47] The 23rd and 24th (Service) Battalion, better known as the Sportsmen’s Battalions, also landed in France and saw action on the Western Front:^[47] they were among the Pals battalions and were both part of the 99th Brigade of the 33rd Division, later transferring to command of the 2nd Division, with the 24th Battalion joining the 5th Brigade in the same division.^[52] The 25th (Frontiersmen) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, formed in February 1915, served in East Africa.^[47] The 26th (Service) Battalion was recruited from the banking community; it saw action on the Western Front as part of the 124th Brigade of the 41st Division.^[47] The 32nd (Service) Battalion, which was recruited from the citizens of East Ham, also landed in France and saw action on the Western Front as part of the 124th Brigade of the 41st Division.^[47] The 38th through 42nd Battalions of the regiment served as the Jewish Legion^[53]<
/a> in Palestine; many of its members went on to be part of the founding of the State of Israel in 1948.[47]
The Royal Fusiliers War Memorial, stands on High Holborn, near Chancery Lane tube station, surmounted by the lifesize statue of a First World War soldier, and its regimental chapel is at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate.^[54]

Second World War[edit]

For most of the Second World War, the 1st Battalion was part of the 17th Indian Infantry Brigade, 8th Indian Infantry Division. It served with them in the Italian Campaign.^[55]

Infantrymen of the 1st Battalion, Royal Fusiliers reconstruct a street-fighting scene in a street in Caldari, Italy, 17 December 1943.

The 2nd Battalion was attached to the 12th Infantry Brigade, 4th Infantry Divisionand was sent to France in 1939 after the outbreak of war to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). In May 1940, it fought in the Battle of France and was forced to retreat to Dunkirk, where it was then evacuated from France. With the brigade and division, the battalion spent the next two years in the United Kingdom, before being sent overseas to fight in the Tunisia Campaign, part of the final stages of the North African Campaign. Alongside the 1st, 8th and 9th battalions, the 2nd Battalion also saw active service in the Italian Campaign from March 1944, in particular during the Battle of Monte Cassino, fighting later on the Gothic Line before being airlifted to fight in the Greek Civil War.^[56]
The 8th and 9th Battalions, the two Territorial Army (TA) units, were part of the 1st London Infantry Brigade, attached to 1st London Infantry Division. These later became the 167th (London) Infantry Brigade and 56th (London) Infantry Division. Both battalions saw service in the final stages of the Tunisia Campaign, where each suffered over 100 casualties in their first battle. In September 1943, both battalions were heavily involved in the landings at Salerno, as part of the Allied invasion of Italy, later crossing the Volturno Line, before, in December, being held up at the Winter Line.^[57] Both battalions then fought in the Battle of Monte Cassinoand were sent to the Anzio beachhead in February 1944.^[58]
Two other TA battalions, the 11th and 12th, were both raised in 1939 when the Territorial Army was ordered to be doubled in size. Both were assigned to 4th London Infantry Brigade, part of 2nd London Infantry Division, later 140th (London) Infantry Brigade and 47th (London) Infantry Division respectively.^[59] Both battalions remained in the United Kingdom on home defence duties. In 1943, the 12th Battalion was transferred to the 80th Infant

Hard Nosed Folks Both Good & Bad This great Nation & Its People Well I thought it was funny!

R. Lee Ermey Geico Commercial – Gunny Therapy

Post author By Grumpy
Post date February 23, 2018
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I just think that this is one of the Best Commercials ever made! Grumpy

Hard Nosed Folks Both Good & Bad

Never Trust Anyone Who Hasn’t Been Punched in the Face by Scott Locklin

Post author By Grumpy
Post date February 20, 2018
No Comments on Never Trust Anyone Who Hasn’t Been Punched in the Face by Scott Locklin

Never Trust Anyone Who Hasn’t Been Punched in the Face

Conservatives like to talk about the causes of Western Civilization’s downfall: feminism, loose morality, drug abuse, Christianity’s decline, reality TV. Blaming civilization’s downfall on lardy hagfish such as Andrea Dworkin is like a doctor diagnosing senility by an old person’s wrinkles. The fact that anyone listened to such a numskull is a symptom, not the cause, of a culture in decline. The cause of civilizational decline is dirt-simple: lack of contact with objective reality. The great banker-journalist (and founder of the original National Review) Walter Bagehot said it well almost 150 years ago:

History is strewn with the wrecks of nations which have gained a little progressiveness at the cost of a great deal of hard manliness, and have thus prepared themselves for destruction as soon as the movements of the world gave a chance for it.

Every great civilization reaches a point of prosperity where it is possible to live your entire life as a pacifist without any serious consequences. Many civilizations have come to the state of devolution represented by modern Berkeley folkways, from wife-swapping to vegetarianism. These ideas don’t come from a hardscrabble existence in contact with nature’s elemental forces; they are the inevitable consequence of being an effete urban twit removed from meaningful contact with reality. The over-civilized will try to portray their decadence as something “highly evolved” and worthy of emulation because it can only exist in the hothouse of highly civilized urban centers, much like influenza epidemics. Somehow these twittering blockheads missed out on what the word “evolution” means. Evolution involves brutal and often violent natural selection, and these people have not been exposed to brutal evolutionary forces any more than a typical urban poodle.

“I think there is a certain worldview that comes from violent experience. It’s something like…manhood.”

Through human history, vigorous civilizations had various ways of dealing with the unfortunate human tendency toward being a weak ninny. The South Koreans (for my money, the hardest men in Asia today) have brutally tough military training as a rite of passage. I’ve been told that the Soviet system had students picking potatoes during national holidays. The ancient Greeks used competitive sports and constant warfare. The Anglo-American working classes, the last large virtuous group of people left in these countries, use bullying, violent sports, fisticuffs, and hard living.
I think there is a certain worldview that comes from violent experience. It’s something like…manhood. You don’t have to be the world’s greatest badass to be a man, but you have to be willing to throw down when the time is right.
A man who has been in a fight or played violent sports has experienced more of life and manhood than a man who hasn’t. Fisticuffs, wrestling matches, knife fights, violent sport, duels with baseball bats, facing down guns, or getting crushed in the football field—men who have had these experiences are different from men who have not. Men who have trained for or experienced such encounters know about bravery and mental fortitude from firsthand experience. Men who have been tested physically know that inequality is a physical fact. Men who know how to deal out violence know that radical feminism’s tenets—that women and men are equal—are a lie. We know that women are not the same as men: not physically, mentally, or in terms of moral character.
Men who have fought know how difficult it is to stand against the crowd and that civilization is fragile and important. A man who has experienced violence knows that, at its core, civilization is an agreement between men to behave well. That agreement can be broken at any moment; it’s part of manhood to be ready when it is. Men who have been in fights know about something that is rarely spoken of without snickering these days: honor. Men who have been in fights know that, on some level, words are just words: At some point, words must be backed up by deeds.
Above all, men who have been in fights know that there is nothing good or noble about being a victim. This is a concept the modern “conservative movement,” mostly run by wimps, has lost, probably irrevocably. They’re forever tugging at my heartstrings, from No Child Left Behind to Israel’s plight to MLK’s wonders to whining that the media doesn’t play fair to the overwrought emotional appeals they use to justify dropping bombs on Muslims. The Republicans are even taking seriously a pure victim-candidate: Michelle Bachman. As far as can be told, she’s a middle-American Barack Obama with boobs and a slightly loopier world view.

Modern “civilized” males don’t get in fistfights. They don’t play violent sports. They play video games and, at best, watch TV sports. Modern males are physical and emotional weaklings. The ideal male isn’t John Wayne or James Bond or Jimmy Stewart anymore. It’s some crying tit that goes to a therapist, a sort of agreeable lesbian with a dick who calls the police (whom he hates in theory) when there is trouble. The ideal modern male is the British shrimp who handed his pants over to the looter in south London.
How did we get here? Estrogens in the food supply? Cultural Marxism’s corrosive influence? Small families? Some of the greatest badasses I’ve known had many brothers to fight with growing up. When good men who will fight are all extinct, there is no more civilization. No lantern-jawed viragos are going to save you from the barbarian hordes. No mincing nancy boys with Harvard diplomas will stand up for the common decencies: They’re a social construct, dontcha know. The conservative movement won’t save you: They’re chicken-hearted careerists petrified of offending a victim group.
Teddy Roosevelt, my ideal President, kept a lion and a bear as pets in the White House and took his daily exercise doing jiu-jitsu and boxing. He even lost vision in an eye in a friendly boxing match while he was president. Our last three glorious leaders are men who kept fluffy dogs and went jogging. I don’t trust squirrelly girly-men in any context. When confronted with difficult decisions, they don’t do what’s right or tell the truth—they’ll do what’s easy or politically expedient. Unlike the last three, Teddy Roosevelt never sent men to die in pointless wars, though he was more than happy to go himself or risk his neck wrestling with bears.
I’m no great shakes: I’m a shrimpy egghead in a suit who thinks about math all day. I don’t train for fighting anymore, and my experiences with violence are fairly limited. Nonetheless, I judge people on these sorts of things. When I first meet a man, I don’t care what kind of sheepskins or awards he has on his walls. I don’t care if he is liberal or conservative. I want to know if they have my back in a fight. That’s really the only thing that matters.

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Hard Nosed Folks Both Good & Bad The Green Machine War

The Brutal Truth About Violence When The SHTF by Tyler Durden

Post author By Grumpy
Post date February 16, 2018
No Comments on The Brutal Truth About Violence When The SHTF by Tyler Durden

Are you prepared for the extreme violence that is likely to come your way if the SHTF? No matter what your plan is, it’s entirely probable that at some point, you’ll be the victim of violence or have to perpetrate violence to survive. As always, Selco is our go-to guy on SHTF reality checks and this thought-provoking interview will shake you to your core.

If you don’t know Selco, he’s from Bosnia and he lived through a year in a city that was blockaded with no utilities, no deliveries of supplies, and no services. In his interviews, he shares what the scenarios the rest of us theorize about were REALLY like. He mentioned to me recently that most folks aren’t prepared for the violence that is part and parcel of a collapse, which brings us to today’s interview.

How prevalent was violence when the SHTF in Bosnia?

It was wartime and chaos, from all conflicts in those years in the Balkan region Bosnian conflict was most brutal because of multiple reasons, historical, political and other.
To simplify the explanation why violence was common and very brutal, you need to picture a situation where you are “bombarded” with huge amount of information (propaganda) which instills in you very strong feelings of fear and hate.
Out of fear and hate, violence grows easy and fast, and over the very short period of time you see how people around you (including you) do things that you could not imagine before.
I can say that violence was almost an everyday thing in the whole spectrum of different activities because it was a fight for survival.
Again, whenever (and wherever) you put people in a region without enough resources, you can expect violence.
We were living a normal life, and then suddenly we were thrown in a way of living where if you could not “negotiate” something with someone, you solve the problem by launching a rocket from an RPG through the window of his living room.
Hate stripped down the layers of humanity and suddenly it was “normal” to level an apartment building with people inside with shells from a tank or form private prisons with imprisoned civilians for slave work or sex slaves.
Nothing that I saw or read before could have prepared me for the level of violence and blindness to it, for the lives of kids, elders, civilians, and the innocent.
Again, the thing that is important for readers is that we were a modern society one day, and then in few weeks it turned into carnage.
Do not make the mistake of saying “it cannot happen here” because I made that mistake too.
Do not underestimate power of propaganda, fear, hate, and the lowest human instincts, no matter how modern and good your society is right now and how deeply you believe that “it can not happen here”.

You’ve mentioned warlords and gangs in several of your articles. Were they responsible for the majority of the violence or was it hungry families?

Fighting of the armies through the whole period of war brings violence in terms of constant shelling from a distance from different kind of weapons.
For example a few multiple rocket launchers (VBR) could bring in 30 seconds the destruction in an area of 3-4 apartment buildings, and being there in that moment and surviving it gives you a completely new view on life.
Snipers were a constant threat and over time you simply grow a way of living that you constant scan area in front of you where your next steps gonna be. Are you gonna be visible and from where? Etc.
Most brutal violence was actually lawlessness and complete lack of order between different factions and militias, so in some periods there were militias or gangs who simply ruled the cities or part of the city where they were absolutely masters of everything in terms of deciding of taking someone’s life.
In lawlessness, you as one person could be really small and not interesting, or join some bigger group of people to be stronger, some family or militia or gang.
An example of a gang would be group of people of some 300 or 500 people who “officially” were a unit or militia and operate for some faction, but in reality they operate mostly for themselves.
That included owning part of the black market, having prison (for forced labor or ransom), attacking people and houses for resources, smuggling people from dangerous areas.
Violence from those kinds of group was the most immediate violence, the most visible in terms of SHTF talking.
If those people came on your door you could obey, fight, or negotiate, but mostly you could not not ask for help from any kind of authority, because there was no real authority.
In any society, no matter where you are living, there are a great number of people who are waiting for the SHTF to go out and do violent things. Small time criminals or simply violent persons who are not openly violent because system is there to punish them for that. It is like that.
Some gang leaders that I knew were actually completely sick people with a strange type of charisma that makes people follow them, weird situations that can happen only in a real collapse.
They are people who just waited for their time to rise.
Those kinds of people together with criminal organization that are already there in any city in the world will be the backbone of SHTF gangs.

Who were the most likely victims?

A very simple answer would be that the most likely victims were people who had interesting things without enough defense.
But it was not always that simple.
For example one of the first houses that got raided in my neighborhood, right at the beginning of collapse while there was still some kind of order, was a rich family’s home.
They had a nice house with bars on the windows, a pretty good setup for defense, and they had enough people inside so they could give pretty good resistance to the mob.
But they got raided simply because they were known that they are rich, so they were attacked with enough force to be overwhelmed.
It was not only about how much manpower you had and how well-organized defense of your home was, it was also about how juicy a target you were.
If you are faced with 150 angry people attacking your home because they are sure you have good stuff inside your chances are low, no matter how good and tough you are.
People who were alone were a pretty easy target and old people without support of family or friends.
It was not always about killing someone or violence. For example, if you were alone and without resources but you had something else valuable like some kind of skill or knowledge you could easily be “recruited” for some faction or group, not by your will of course.

What were some ways to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of violence? How do you recommend that people prepare themselves for the possibility of violence?

It can be done in steps, or in layers.
Do not be interesting (or attract attention) when the SHTF.
This means a lot of things, for this article I can give a few examples with shortened explanations because it is a huge topic:

Do not look like a prepper (before or after SHTF). There is no sense in announcing that you are prepping for EMP, civil collapse, apocalypse, or whatever. With that you are risking the probability that when the SHTF, people will remember that you have interesting things in your home
Your home should look ordinary. For example, if you are living in the city on a street where all houses look similar, there is not much sense in making your home look like a fortress. You’ll just attract attention.
Your defense should be based on more subtle means. Some examples are having means to reinforce doors and windows quickly when you need it, or to reinforce them from inside. Make changes in your yard to funnel possible attackers where you want them to be (trees, fence, bush…). You can make your home look abandoned or already looted.

Think about what survival is!
Survival is about staying alive, it is not about being comfortable at the expense of losing your life.
I have seen many times people lose their lives simply because they were too attached to their belongings (house, car, land, goods…) so they simply did not want to leave something and run in a particular moment.
Everything can be earned and bought again except life.
Forget about statements like “I will defend it with my life” or “over my dead body” or similar because the real SHTF is usually not heroic or noble. It is hard and brutal. When you are gone you are gone and there might be nobody to take care of your family just because you have been stubborn or trusted in movies when it came to violence.
To rephrase it: Be ready to leave your home in a split second if that means you and your family will survive, no matter how many good things you have stored there.
Be mentally ready for violence
In a way, it is impossible to be ready for violence, especially widespread violence when the SHTF, but you can minimize shock when that happens with some things.
If you are not familiar with what violence is, you can try to get yourself close” to it today (in normal times). It can be done, for example, by doing some voluntary work for example in a local hospital, ER or similar… or simply by working with homeless people.
Sounds maybe strange but activities like this can get you a bit of a feeling of what it is all about, not to mention that you can learn some practical and useful skills for SHTF.
Have means and skills (physically) to defend – or to do violence
No matter how old or young you are, your gender or religion I assure you that you are capable of doing violence. It is only a matter of the situation and how far you are going to be pushed.
It is not just “some people are capable of violence.” Everybody is capable. Not everybody enjoys doing it or is willing to do it so easily.
In today (normal times) you can learn some violence skills and you should do it, again no matter if you are a woman or old or young.
You should own a weapon and know how to use it. You should practice with it, or have at least some basic knowledge about hand-to-hand combat.
The worst case scenario is to have a weapon that you try for the first time when SHTF.
Be familiar with your means for defense, let your family members know what they need to do in case of attack ofyour home, have plan, and go through it.
Only through practice will you minimize chances for mistakes.
Use common sense
I know lot of survivalists almost dream about how they are going to use weapons against bad guys when SHTF, and that they will be something like super heroes from movies, saving innocents and killing villains.
Truth is that in a real collapse, a lot of things are kind of blurred and you are not sure who the bad guys are. Good guys turn out to be lunatic gang members who want to bring food to their kids.
There are no super heroes when SHTF, and if some of them show up they end up dead quickly.
There is only you and your skills and mindset and what you prepared.
Use violence as a last resort because of the simple fact that by using violence you are risking of getting killed or hurt. Remember when SHTF there is maybe no doctor or hospital to take care of your wound.
It is a time when even a small cut can eventually kill you through infection and lack of proper care.

I’m a single mom with a household full of girls. In an SHTF situation, what would our best strategies be to remain safe?

Just like I have mentioned before, strategy is always same for any part of survival, and shooting from the rifle is pretty similar no matter are you man or woman.
Being single mom with household full of girls on first look make you as a ideal target in some situations, but we are talking here in prepper terms so there is no reason not to be perfectly well prepared as a single mom with girls.
But yes I admit it is not perfect situation, even if you are prepared well, some things are sure, you need to connect with other people even more.
House with couple of girls will always look like easy prey for some people.
It is like that.

Were people in the city safer than people in the country? Can you tell us more about rural living during this time?

In my case definitely no.
In the essence it always come to the resources and people.
City meant more people less resources, country (rural) meant less people more resources, and because that level of violence simply was lower. That was most important reason.
There are few more reasons why it was much better in the country.
People in the country (rural settings) were much more “connected to ground” they were more tough if you like, they grew their own food, had cattle, lived more simple life prior SHTF and when everything collapsed they had less problems getting use to it.
Yes they also did not have electricity and phones, running water or connection to other places but they adapted easier to the new life because they had more useful skills then people in the city.
Life was harder for them too than prior to the collapse, but they had means to get resources: land, woods, river…
Another thing is that people in small rural communities “in the country” were more connected to each other, people knew their neighborhood and some things were easier to organize, like community security watch, help in case of diseases and similar.

What types of weapons did people have for self-defense?

It was different political system prior the collapse where it was not so usual to own a weapon legally. And to own one illegally could mean a lot of troubles.
Right prior to SHTF, it became possible to buy different weapons on the black market but still, a majority of people did not own weapons.
When it all collapsed, it was possible to get a weapon through trade.
Because of the military doctrine here prior to the collapse, we used “East Bloc” weapons. A favorite was AK-47 in all different kind of editions, or older weapons like M-48 rifle, SKS rifle, 22 and similar.
People used what they had, so in one period you would be lucky if you had any kind of pistol and knife.
Later through the different channels weapon become more available so people had them more. A lot of that was actually junk that some warlords somehow “imported”.
Weapons 50-60 years old without proper ammunition, or not in operating condition. A lot of people simply did not have a clue how to use any kind of weapon so a lot of accidental deaths happened.
I remember people storming abandoned army barracks that was mostly looted, but they found in one building a lot of RPGs while other part of the same building was burning.
Two guys were trying to figure out a single-use RPG, and while they were messing with it clearly not knowing how that thing worked, they accidentally armed it and launched a rocket that flew through the crowd, not hurting anyone and exploding in wall 100 meters from where they stood.
They were smiling, clearly happy because they thought they figured out how that thing worked.

What weapons do you suggest to have for SHTF?

It is a never-ending discussion and a favorite prepper topic, and I must say that whole discussion is overrated.
I have used them in a real situation, and tried and tested lot of different kind of weapons and what works for me may simply not work for you.
For example, here for me good choice is AK-47 rifle, maybe for you wherever you are it is very bad choice.
Good advice is : you need to have a weapon that most people have around you because of multiple reasons: spare parts, repairing, ammunition availability, possibility that you can pick that rifle from other people and you know how to use it.
What caliber and similar is a matter of discussion again. I am talking from the point of owning a rifle.
Another thing is that you need to know how that weapon works. Luckily, most of my readers live in an area where gun laws are great comparing to region where I am.
You have much more choices when it comes to owning a weapon and practicing with it. Use that.
And do not forget that using weapon in a real life situation is not like shooting at beer bottles with your friends after a barbecue.
In real life you might be in a situation to use a weapon while you are tired, dirty, and hungry and while someone is screaming next to you.
It is going to be maybe when you are not ready to do that, maybe in pitch dark, maybe after you have been awake for 48 hours.
At least think about that.

When should you use violence?

Contrary to some popular beliefs in the prepper community, the point is to use violence only as a last solution.
The reason is as I mentioned already, the risk that you can be hurt or killed too, but also once you do violence you change your own rules, or push it more forward, and it is easy to get lost in violence.
There are consequences to that, and you are not going to be the same person ever again.
Violence is a tool, not a toy. You need to know how to use it as best as possible, but also to avoid using it when it is not necessary.
It is a good idea to set up a clear set of rules (mentally too) when you are gonna use violence and to try to stick to it.
For example you will use weapon if someone tries to break your home and attack you, and you need to be ready to do that without hesitation.

What else should we know about post-collapse violence?

Think with your head and research.
One thing that is absolutely important when it comes to understanding how violent it is going to be and what can you expect in your own case of SHTF, is to understand how much media can influence people in making their decisions about violence.
In my case, the media built up situation where people feared so much from other people that they actually hated them. They hated them so much that they actually strip them down from humanity.
In a real-life example, it works in a way that people killed other people, including kids and women, because they hated them so much because media told them.
It may look ridiculous and not possible to you, and you might again think “that can not happen here” but please trust your own resources, look for independent information, not mainstream media, in order to get the right information about what is really happening in the beginning of collapse.
Do not be pulled into “popular opinion” just because the “man from TV” (whoever he might be) told you so.
It is easier today. Because of the internet, you have much more choices for correct information than in my time. But still be careful, you might find yourself rioting together with 500 people just because you trusted some media.
* * *

More information about Selco

Selco survived the Balkan war of the 90s in a city under siege, without electricity, running water, or food distribution.
In his online works, he gives an inside view of the reality of survival under the harshest conditions. He reviews what works and what doesn’t, tells you the hard lessons he learned, and shares how he prepares today.
He never stopped learning about survival and preparedness since the war. Regardless what happens, chances are you will never experience extreme situations like Selco did. But you have the chance to learn from him and how he faced death for months.
Real survival is not romantic or idealistic. It is brutal, hard and unfair. Let Selco take you into that world.
Read more of Selco’s articles here: https://shtfschool.com/blog/
And take advantage of a deep and profound insight into his knowledge and advice by signing up for the outstanding and unrivaled online course. More details here: https://shtfschool.com/survival-boot-camp/

Hard Nosed Folks Both Good & Bad

Some sage advice!

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Hard Nosed Folks Both Good & Bad

What a Real Hero looks like

Post author By Grumpy
Post date February 9, 2018
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Hard Nosed Folks Both Good & Bad

Lessons From Bill Jordan

Half A Century After The Debut Of His Classic Book
On Gunfighting, The Old Master’s Lessons Endure.

By Massad Ayoob
The year 1965 saw Bill Jordan’s book No Second Place Winner arrive. I was in high school, with a budget not geared to hardcover books, but I bought it anyway and pored over every word. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve reread it since. I got to meet the man himself about a decade later, and learned enough more from him to call him a mentor. Bill was kind enough to write the foreword for my first book, Fundamentals of Modern Police Impact Weapons in 1978, and I was one of a great many who deeply mourned his death in 1997.
A veteran of World War II and violent years on the Mexican Border alike, Bill was famed for his lightning speed and combat savvy. I got to see both up close and personal about 40 years ago when he picked me as his “victim demonstration partner” in one of his trademark exhibitions. His hand well clear of the K-Frame S&W in the Border Patrol holster he designed, he had me hold a Colt SAA cocked on a primer blank and with my finger on the trigger, with instructions to fire as soon as I saw his hand move. Once, twice, I did just that—and his double action flashed from its holster and “shot” me each time just before my own shot went off. He granted me a third chance, and I was watching his still holstered K-Frame when a shot exploded on my right: he had taken advantage of my tunnel vision to draw his bobbed-hammer Airweight Chief from his hip pocket and pop me with a primer blank, using his other hand!

Mas cherishes this autographed early ’70’s picture of him with
mentor Bill Jordan, who is holding the S&W Model 57 .41 Magnum
Jordan and Elmer Keith godfathered.

Bill Jordan legacies: S&W .357 Combat Magnum, and No Second Place Winner.
The Border Patrol holster he created has been replaced in police circles by more secure designs, and the classic .357 Combat Magnum he inspired has long since given way to modern autos. The .41 Magnum he and Elmer Keith inspired is still with us, his Jordan Trooper stocks are still made by Herrett’s, and both are still prized by the revolver cognoscenti. Much of Bill’s life-saving advice remains absolutely, timelessly valid.
Jordan wrote, “I consider myself fortunate in having known one of the greatest peace officers this country has produced—Captain John Hughes of the Texas Rangers… Like most old timers, he was reluctant to talk of personal experiences but occasionally passed out advice well worth heeding. One such gem that I have always remembered and will pass on was: ‘If you get in a gunfight, don’t let yourself feel rushed. Take your time, fast.’” (Page 107)
Earlier in the book, Bill remarked, “And above all, take all the time necessary but don’t dawdle. Remember, ‘speed’s fine, but accuracy’s final’—if you are given time to display it!” (Page 99)
Some have attributed “Take your time, fast” to Jordan, but Bill himself scrupulously attributed it to Hughes. “Speed’s fine, but accuracy’s final” does seem to be Jordan’s own take on the advice of the legendary Ranger Captain, though on Page 57 he describes it as “an old adage.” The old adage is a paraphrase of a line attributed to Wyatt Earp.
Bill Jordan was one of the all-time great masters of the double-action revolver, and his advice on how to shoot it is as valid now as it was then. In NSPW, Bill wrote, “…the thumb should not ride high but should be curled firmly down onto the second finger. The revolver should be a continuation of the straight line of the forearm and the trigger should be contacted at a point midway between the tip and first joint of the index finger. This is the best position…” (Page 98)
True then, and for most, true now. When you have to exert an up to 14-pound trigger pull suddenly on a gun weighing only a couple of pounds, you need to be holding it hard. Take one hand away from this magazine, hold your thumb up, and squeeze your lower three fingers as hard as you can while mentally measuring the pressure. Now, slowly close your thumb and feel how much stronger your hand becomes. The distal joint trigger finger placement? It gives you more leverage for a smooth, fast, straight back pull. Again, try it and experience Jordan’s wisdom for yourself.

Bill’s Jordan Trooper stocks are still available from Herrett’s and
still popular, seen here today on Joe Toluse’s S&W .357.
Bill Jordan wrote of the terrifying revelation coming at the moment of truth: “You are struck with the realization that your opposition is a man who is trying to kill you and that in the next instant the world might have to find someone else to revolve about. His bullet may end life for you!”(Page 105) It is a strain of survival mindset that began with the title of his most famous book, and ran through the whole of it, and it is one of the many legacies this great man left to the armed citizen and the law enforcement officer alike. One of the great honors of my life came when Bill got tired of self-publishing and turned the book over to a publishing firm I had founded. Still published last I knew by Police Bookshelf, Bill Jordan’s No Second Place Winner remains a must-read classic for any who keep or carry handguns for self-defense.
No Second Place Winner, by Bill Jordan, ISBN13: 9780-9362-7909-1, Hardcover, Police Bookshelf, P.O. Box 122, Concord, NH 03302.
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A Stud of a Man! Gunnery Sgt John Basilone USMC

Post author By Grumpy
Post date February 9, 2018
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John Basilone (November 4, 1916 – February 19, 1945) was a United States Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant who was killed in action during World War II.
He received the Medal of Honor for heroism above and beyond the call of duty during the Battle for Henderson Field in the Guadalcanal Campaign, and the Navy Crossposthumously for extraordinary heroism during the Battle of Iwo Jima.
He was the only enlisted Marine to receive both of these decorations in World War II.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps on June 3, 1940, after serving three years in the United States Army with duty in the Philippines.
He was deployed to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and in August 1942, he took part in the invasion of Guadalcanal.
In October, he and two other Marines used machine guns to hold off an attack by a far numerically superior Japanese force. In February 1945, he was killed in action on the first day of the invasion of Iwo Jima, after he single-handedly destroyed an enemy blockhouse and led a Marine tank under fire safely through a minefield.
He has received many honors including being the namesake for streets, military locations, and two United States Navy destroyers.

Early life and education

Basilone was born in his parents’ home on November 4, 1916, in Buffalo, New York.^[2] He was the sixth of ten children. His five older siblings were born in Raritan, New Jersey, before the family moved to Buffalo when John was born; they returned to Raritan in 1918.^[1]
His father, Salvatore Basilone, emigrated from Colle Sannita, in the region of Benevento, Italy in 1903 and settled in Raritan. Basilone’s mother, Dora Bencivenga, was born in 1889 and grew up in Manville, New Jersey, but her parents, Carlo and Catrina, also came from Benevento. Basilone’s parents met at a church gathering and married three years later.
Basilone grew up in the nearby Raritan Town (now Borough of Raritan) where he attended St. Bernard Parochial School. After completing middle school at the age of 15, he dropped out prior to attending high school.^[3] Basilone worked as a golf caddy for the local country club before joining the military.^[4]

Military service

Basilone enlisted in the United States Army in July 1934^[4] and completed his three-year enlistment with service in the Philippines, where he was a champion boxer.^[5]
In the Army, Basilone was initially assigned to the 16th Infantry at Fort Jay, before being discharged for a day, reenlisting, and being assigned to the 31st Infantry.^[6]^[7]
After he was released from active duty, Basilone returned home and worked as a truck driver in Reisterstown, Maryland.^[8]
After driving trucks for a few years, he wanted to go back to Manila and believed he could get there faster by serving in the Marines than in the Army.

U.S. Marine Corps[edit]

He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1940, from Baltimore, Maryland. He went to recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, followed by training at Marine Corps Base Quantico and New River.
The Marines sent him to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba for his next assignment, and then to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands as a member of “D” Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division.^[8]

Guadalcanal

In October 1942, during the Battle for Henderson Field, his unit came under attack by a regiment of about 3,000 soldiers from the Japanese Sendai Division. On October 24, Japanese forces began a frontal attack using machine guns, grenades, and mortars against the American heavy machine guns.
Basilone commanded two sections of machine guns which fought for the next two days until only Basilone and two other Marines were left standing.^[9]^[10]
Basilone moved an extra gun into position and maintained continual fire against the incoming Japanese forces. He then repaired and manned another machine gun, holding the defensive line until replacements arrived.
As the battle went on, ammunition became critically low. Despite their supply lines’ having been cut off by enemies in the rear, Basilone fought through hostile ground to resupply his heavy machine gunners with urgently needed ammunition.
When the last of it ran out shortly before dawn on the second day, Basilone, using his pistol and a machete, held off the Japanese soldiers attacking his position.
By the end of the engagement, Japanese forces opposite their section of the line had been virtually annihilated. For his actions during the battle, Basilone received the United States military’s highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor.^[11]
Afterwards, Private First Class Nash W. Phillips, of Fayetteville, North Carolina, recalled from the battle for Guadalcanal:

Basilone had a machine gun on the go for three days and nights without sleep, rest, or food. He was in a good emplacement, and causing the Japanese lots of trouble, not only firing his machine gun, but also using his pistol.^[8]

War bond tours[edit]

In 1943, Basilone returned to the United States and participated in war bond tours. His arrival was highly publicized, and his hometown held a parade in his honor when he returned.
The homecoming parade occurred on Sunday, September 19 and drew a huge crowd with thousands of people, including politicians, celebrities, and the national press. The parade made national news in LIFE magazine and Fox Movietone News.^[12]
After the parade, Basilone toured the country raising money for the war effort and achieved celebrity status. Although he appreciated the admiration, he felt out of place and requested to return to the operating forces fighting the war.
The Marine Corps denied his request and told him he was needed more on the home front. He was offered a commission, which he turned down, and was later offered an assignment as an instructor, but refused this as well.
When he requested again to return to the war, the request was approved. He left for Camp Pendleton, California, for training on December 27. On July 3, 1944, he reenlisted in the Marine Corps.^[13]

Marriage

While stationed at Camp Pendleton, Basilone met his future wife, Lena Mae Riggi, who was a Sergeant in the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve.^[14]
They were married at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Church in Oceanside, California, on July 10, with a reception at the Carlsbad Hotel.^[15] They honeymooned at an onion farm near Portland, Oregon.^[16]

Iwo Jima and death

John Basilone’s headstone in Arlington National Cemetery

After his request to return to the fleet was approved, Basilone was assigned to “C” Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division.
On February 19, 1945, the first day of invasion of Iwo Jima, he was serving as a machine gun section leader on Red Beach II.
While the Marines landed, the Japanese concentrated their fire at the incoming Marines from heavily fortified blockhouses staged throughout the island. With his unit pinned down, Basilone made his way around the side of the Japanese positions until he was directly on top of the blockhouse.
He then attacked with grenades and demolitions, single-handedly destroying the entire strong point and its defending garrison.
He then fought his way toward Airfield Number 1 and aided a Marine tank that was trapped in an enemy mine field under intense mortar and artillery barrages.
He guided the heavy vehicle over the hazardous terrain to safety, despite heavy weapons fire from the Japanese. As he moved along the edge of the airfield, he was killed by Japanese mortar shrapnel.^[17]^[18]
His actions helped Marines penetrate the Japanese defense and get off the landing beach during the critical early stages of the invasion.
Basilone was posthumously awarded the Marine Corps’ second-highest decoration for valor, the Navy Cross, for extraordinary heroism during the battle of Iwo Jima.^[19]
Based on his research for the book and mini-series The Pacific, author Hugh Ambrose suggested that Basilone was not killed by a mortar, but by small arms fire which hit him in the right groin and neck, and nearly took off his left arm.^[20]

Burial

Basilone is interred in Arlington National Cemetery, in Section 12, Grave 384, grid Y/Z 23.5.^[21]
His widow, Lena M. Basilone, died June 11, 1999, aged 86, and is buried at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.^[22] Lena’s obituary notes that she never remarried and was buried still wearing her wedding ring.^[23]

Awards and decorations

GySgt. Basilone’s military awards include: ^[24]

Medal of Honor	Navy Cross	Purple Heart Medal
Navy Presidential Unit Citation with one star	Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal	American Defense Service Medal with one star
American Campaign Medal	Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal with two stars	World War II Victory Medal
United States Marine Corps Rifle Sharpshooter badge

Medal of Honor citation

Basilone’s Medal of Honor citation reads as follows:
The President of the United States in the name of The Congress takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to

SERGEANT
JOHN BASILONE
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For extraordinary heroism and conspicuous gallantry in action against enemy Japanese forces, above and beyond the call of duty, while serving with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division in the Lunga Area, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 24 and 25 October 1942. While the enemy was hammering at the Marines’ defensive positions, Sgt. BASILONE, in charge of 2 sections of heavy machine guns, fought valiantly to check the savage and determined assault. In a fierce frontal attack with the Japanese blasting his guns with grenades and mortar fire, one of Sgt. BASILONE’S sections, with its gun crews, was put out of action, leaving only 2 men able to carry on. Moving an extra gun into position, he placed it in action, then, under continual fire, repaired another and personally manned it, gallantly holding his line until replacements arrived. A little later, with ammunition critically low and the supply lines cut off, Sgt. BASILONE, at great risk of his life and in the face of continued enemy attack, battled his way through hostile lines with urgently needed shells for his gunners, thereby contributing in large measure to the virtual annihilation of a Japanese regiment. His great personal valor and courageous initiative were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.^[11]

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

Navy Cross

Basilone’s Navy Cross citation reads as follows:
The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the NAVY CROSS posthumously to

GUNNERY SERGEANT
JOHN BASILONE
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For extraordinary heroism while serving as a Leader of a Machine-Gun Section, Company C, 1st Battalion, 27th Marines, 5th Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces on Iwo Jima in the Volcano Islands, 19 February 1945. Shrewdly gauging the tactical situation shortly after landing when his company’s advance was held up by the concentrated fire of a heavily fortified Japanese blockhouse, Gunnery Sergeant BASILONE boldly defied the smashing bombardment of heavy caliber fire to work his way around the flank and up to a position directly on top of the blockhouse and then, attacking with grenades and demolitions, single handedly destroyed the entire hostile strong point and its defending garrison. Consistently daring and aggressive as he fought his way over the battle-torn beach and up the sloping, gun-studded terraces toward Airfield Number 1, he repeatedly exposed himself to the blasting fury of exploding shells and later in the day coolly proceeded to the aid of a friendly tank which had been trapped in an enemy mine field under intense mortar and artillery barrages, skillfully guiding the heavy vehicle over the hazardous terrain to safety, despite the overwhelming volume of hostile fire. In the forefront of the assault at all times, he pushed forward with dauntless courage and iron determination until, moving upon the edge of the airfield, he fell, instantly killed by a bursting mortar shell. Stouthearted and indomitable, Gunnery Sergeant BASILONE, by his intrepid initiative, outstanding skill, and valiant spirit of self-sacrifice in the face of the fanatic opposition, contributed materially to the advance of his company during the early critical period of the assault, and his unwavering devotion to duty throughout the bitter conflict was an inspiration to his comrades and reflects the highest credit upon Gunnery Sergeant BASILONE and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life in the service of his country.

For the President,
JAMES FORRESTAL
Secretary of the Navy

Other honors

Basilone has received numerous honors, including the following:

Sgt. Lena Mae Basilone, USMC(WR), widow of John Basilone, prepares to christen the destroyer USS Basilone (December 21, 1945)

Marine Corps

Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton:

An entry point onto the base from U.S. Interstate 5 called “Basilone Road”;^[25]
A section of U.S. Interstate 5 running through the base called “Gunnery Sergeant John Basilone Memorial Highway”;^[26]
A parachute landing zone called “Basilone Drop Zone”.^[27]
During the Crucible portion of Marine Corps Recruit Training on the West Coast, there is an obstacle named “Basilone’s Challenge” that consists of carrying ammunition cans filled with concrete up a steep, wooded hill.^[28]

Navy

USS Basilone (DD-824): The United States Navy commissioned USS Basilone, a Gearing-class destroyer, in 1949. The ship’s keel was laid down on July 7, 1945, in Orange, Texas, and launched on December 21, 1945. His widow, Sergeant Lena Mae Basilone, sponsored the ship.^[29]
A plaque at the United States Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C.;^[30]
USS John Basilone (DDG-122): The future John Basilone (DDG-122) will be commissioned in 2019.

Public

Public honorable recognitions include:

In 1944, Army Barracks from Washington State were moved to a site in front of Hansen Dam in Pacoima, California and rebuilt as 1,500 apartments for returning GIs. This development was named the “Basilone Homes” and was used until about 1955. The site is now a golf course.

Dedication sign for the Basilone Memorial Bridge

The memorial parade for Basilone along Somerset Street in his hometown, Raritan, New Jersey, has been held since 1981,^[2]^[31]
A residential building at Montclair State University,^[which?]
At Bridgewater-Raritan High School:
- The football field is called “Basilone Field”. On the wall of the fieldhouse next to the field is a mural honoring Basilone.
The Knights of Columbus Council #13264 in his hometown is named in his honor;^[32]
An overpass at the Somerville Circle in Somerville, New Jersey, on U.S. Highway 202 and 206 that goes under it, is named for Basilone^{[citation needed]}
The New Jersey Turnpike bridge across the Raritan River is named the “Basilone Bridge“,^[33]
A connector road at the southwest of Newark Liberty International Airport, that connects to Earheart Road, is named after Basilone^[34]
The new John Basilone Veterans Memorial Bridge crosses the Raritan River, in Raritan, NJ, at First Avenue and Canal Street
A memorial statue featuring him holding a water-cooled Browning machine gun is located at the intersections of Old York Road and Canal Street in Raritan (Basilone’s childhood friend Phillip Orlando sculpted the statue),^{[citation needed]}
A bust of Basilone is sited at Piazza Basilone, in Little Italy San Diego, at Fir and India Streets. The war memorial there is dedicated to residents of Little Italy who served in World War II and Korea.^[35]
The Order of the Sons of Italy In America Lodge #2442 in Bohemia, New York is named in his honor,^[36], and
The Basilone Room in Raritan Public Library is where memorabilia about him is kept.^[37]

On November 10, 2005, the U.S. Postal Service issued the “Distinguished Marines” stamps honoring four Marine Corps heroes, including Basilone.^[38]^[39]
In 2011, Basilone was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.^[40]^[41]

In media

The film First to Fight (1967) features Chad Everett as “Shanghai Jack” Connell, a character based on “Manila John” Basilone.

The 10-part HBO miniseries The Pacific (2010) is based on the intertwined stories of Basilone and two other Marines (Robert “Lucky” Leckie and Eugene “Sledgehammer” Sledge).^[42] Actor Jon Seda stars as Basilone. In the film, he was killed by Japanese machine gun instead of mortar.

Hard Nosed Folks Both Good & Bad

Death Of A Pistol Pioneer

Post author By Grumpy
Post date January 31, 2018
No Comments on Death Of A Pistol Pioneer

by J. Scott Rupp | September 24th, 2010 0 Comments

By J. Scott Rupp

The Leatherslap competition led Jack Weaver to develop his namesake stance. Prior to that, there was a lot more missing than hitting at Leatherslap. (That’s Jeff Cooper peering out from the hay bale behind Weaver.)

As the story goes, the late Col. Jeff Cooper and a bunch of like-minded shooters were participating in Cooper’s Leatherslap competition back in the late 1950s–shooting from the hip as they blazed away at balloons less than 10 feet away. They missed. A lot.
Then along came Jack Weaver, a Los Angeles County deputy sheriff.
“Most of the talk was about how fast different contestants were; ‘hundredths of a second’ seemed very important,” Weaver, referring to the first Leatherslap in 1956, wrote in the February 1994 issue of Handguns. “Nobody ever mentioned accuracy–that problem was somehow going to take care of itself, like all the Westerns on TV during that time.”
Weaver set out to find a better way, and when he showed up at Leatherslap the following year, he tried point-shooting with two hands on the gun, which he extended about 1.5 feet from his stomach.
“It worked pretty good in practice but was a complete flop at the contest.…A short time later I discovered that if I tilted my head down a little and brought the gun up a foot higher, I could see the sights. Eureka–something that worked every time and was still pretty fast!”
The following year, Weaver won Leatherslap and won a lot of converts as well. It wasn’t long before everybody was using what became known as the Weaver Stance–shooting with a two-handed grip in which the firing hand pushes forward as the support hand, which is wrapped around the firing hand, pulls back.
At the time, though, the inventor himself hadn’t really given the details a whole lot of consideration.
“No thought was given to foot position, recoil control or pushing with one hand and pulling with the other,” Weaver wrote. “I found out all kinds of things about myself that I didn’t know until I read them in gun magazines.…I had to go out and fire a few rounds to see if I really did push the right and pull the left arm–sure enough!”

Weaver’s two-handed, shoot-with-sights style was adopted by both Jeff Cooper for the Modern Technique and embraced by the FBI.

Col. Cooper was so impressed with the Weaver Stance that he made it one of the foundations of his famed Modern Technique. The FBI was so impressed that in 1982 it embraced his technique after an in-depth study of handgun shooting, calling it the “quickest ‘on target’ technique with first-hit capability, as well as having the weapon remain on target after recoil.”
“The important thing is the hand position on the gun (no wrist grabbing or palm-under-the-hand stuff),” Weaver wrote in Handguns. “I put my left thumb over my right and squeeze tighter with my left (weak) and than the right…The rest is up to the individual. Unless you are a Jack Weaver clone, you can’t be expected to do everything exactly like I do.”
Weaver never sought fame nor glory, never sold videos, never wrote books, which in a way is a shame because as a pioneer of combat shooting it seems he could have taught us so much. But at least we can pass on this little pearl of wisdom from his 1994 letter to the magazine:
“So, my free advice is: Practice, experiment, shoot in competition, stick to one gun, one style (no last-second decisions) and don’t wait until you’re in a shootout to find out what works and what doesn’t.”
The father of the Weaver Stance died at his Carson City, Nevada, home last April. He was 80 years old.
Image result for Jack Weaver (1 November 1928 – 7 April 2009)

Read more: http://www.handgunsmag.com/tactics-training/tactics_training_hg_deathofa_-200909/#ixzz55B28AzNl
____________________________________
Jack Weaver (1 November 1928 – 7 April 2009) was a Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriffand the developer of the Weaver stance, a popular shooting stance for firing handguns.^[1]

Biography[edit]

Weaver was born on November 1, 1928 in South Gate, California. He was the second youngest in a family of five children. Weaver briefly attended Glendale Community Collegebut left when he was drafted into the U.S. Army. It was around this time that he met Joy Moniot, whom he married on Aug. 30, 1952, in Glendale, California.
He was a member of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Pistol Team, along with Ray Chapman^[2] and several other world class shooters. In 1955, the team and individuals won the national championships at the Toledo, OH combat range using both one and two handed stances. The team defended the trophy for most of the following decade at practice matches in preparation for the National Pistol Matches, held shortly thereafter at Camp Perry, OH.
Weaver retired from the L.A. County Sheriff’s department in 1979, and resided near Carson City, Nevada until his death.

Weaver stance[edit]

The Weaver stance was developed by Jack Weaver in 1959 to compete in Jeff Cooper’s “Leatherslap” matches.^[3] The stance, which incorporates a two-handed grip, isometrictension to reduce muzzle flip, and aimed fire using the weapon’s sights, was adopted in 1982 as the official shooting style of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

References[edit]

Jump up^ Jack Weaver Remembered Retrieved on July 23, 2009
Jump up^ About Ray Chapman Retrieved on September 4, 2014
Jump up^ Death Of A Pistol Pioneer Retrieved on July 23, 2009

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Contents

Contents

MilSurp: British Infantry Weapons of World War II: The Tools Tommies Used to Beat Back the Bosche

Weapons

Handguns

The 4-1-1 on Handguns During Combat

Rifles

Submachine Guns

Sten

Mk IIS

Machinegun

The PIAT

Gestalt

Related Posts:

Contents

History[edit]

Formation

American War of Independence[edit]

Napoleonic Wars[edit]

The Victorian era[edit]

First World War[edit]

Regular Army[edit]

New Armies[edit]

Second World War[edit]

How prevalent was violence when the SHTF in Bosnia?

You’ve mentioned warlords and gangs in several of your articles. Were they responsible for the majority of the violence or was it hungry families?

Who were the most likely victims?

What were some ways to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of violence? How do you recommend that people prepare themselves for the possibility of violence?

I’m a single mom with a household full of girls. In an SHTF situation, what would our best strategies be to remain safe?

Were people in the city safer than people in the country? Can you tell us more about rural living during this time?

What types of weapons did people have for self-defense?

What weapons do you suggest to have for SHTF?

When should you use violence?

What else should we know about post-collapse violence?

More from Selco

More information about Selco

Half A Century After The Debut Of His Classic Book On Gunfighting, The Old Master’s Lessons Endure.

Contents

Early life and education

Military service

U.S. Marine Corps[edit]

Guadalcanal

War bond tours[edit]

Marriage

Iwo Jima and death

Burial

Awards and decorations

Medal of Honor citation

Navy Cross

Other honors

Marine Corps

Navy

Public

In media

by J. Scott Rupp | September 24th, 2010 0 Comments

Biography[edit]

Weaver stance[edit]

References[edit]

Half A Century After The Debut Of His Classic Book
On Gunfighting, The Old Master’s Lessons Endure.