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The Green Machine War

Somebody in the Army has gotten a good idea!

Army Will Add 2 Months to Infantry Course to Make Grunts More Lethal

A U.S. Army Infantry soldier-in-training assigned to Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 198th Infantry Brigade, engages the opposing force (OPFOR) May 2, 2017, with a M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) on a Stryker to provide support-by-fire during a squad training exercise. (U.S. Army photo/Patrick A. Albright)
A U.S. Army Infantry soldier-in-training assigned to Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 198th Infantry Brigade, engages the opposing force (OPFOR) May 2, 2017, with a M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) on a Stryker to provide support-by-fire during a squad training exercise. (U.S. Army photo/Patrick A. Albright)
The U.S. Army is refining a plan to extend by two months the service’s 14-week infantry one station unit training, or OSUT, so young grunts arrive at their first unit more combat-ready than ever before.
Trainers at Fort Benning, Georgia will run a pilot this summer that will extend infantry OSUT from 14 weeks to 22 weeks, giving soldiers more time to practice key infantry skills such as land navigation, marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, fire and maneuver and first aid training.

Currently soldiers in infantry OSUT go through nine weeks of Basic Combat Training and about 4.5 weeks of infantry advanced individual training. This would add an additional 8 weeks of advanced individual training, tripling the length of the instruction soldiers receive in that phase.
“It’s more reps and sets; we are trying to make sure that infantry soldiers coming out of infantry OSUT are more than just familiar [with ground combat skills],” Col. Townley Hedrick, commandant of the Infantry School at Benning, told Military.com in a June 21 interview. “You are going to shoot more bullets; you are going to come out more proficient and more expert than just familiar.”

A BETTER TRAINED INFANTRY SOLDIER

The former infantry commandant, Brig. Gen. Christopher Donahue, launched the effort to “improve the lethality of soldiers in the infantry rifle squad,” Hedrick said.
“In 14 weeks, what we really do is produce a baseline infantry soldier,” said Col. Kelly Kendrick, the outgoing commander of 198th Infantry Brigade at Benning, who was heavily involved in developing the pilot.
This works fine when new soldiers arrive at their first unit as it is starting its pre-deployment train-up, Kendrick said.
Unfortunately, many young infantry soldiers arrive at a unit only a few weeks before it deploys, leaving little time for preparation before real-world operations begin, he said.
“I was the G3 of the 101st Airborne and if a [new] soldier came up late in the train-up, we had a three-week train-up program and then after three weeks, we would send that soldier on a deployment,” he said.
With 22 weeks of infantry OSUT, “you can see right off that bat, we are going to have a hell of a lot better soldier,” Kendrick said. “I will tell you, we will produce infantry soldiers with unmatched lethality compared to what we have had in the past.”
The new pilot will start training two companies from July 13 to mid-December, Kendrick said. Once the new program of instruction is finalized, trainers will start implementing the 22-week cycle across infantry OSUT in October 2019.
The effort follows an Army-wide redesign of Basic Combat Training earlier this year, designed to instill more discipline and esprit de corps in young soldiers after leaders from around the Army complained that new soldiers were displaying a lack of obedience, poor work ethic and low discipline.
“If there are two things we do great right now, that’s physical fitness and marksmanship; I really think everything else has suffered a little bit,” said Kendrick. “If you went and looked at special operations forces … the SOF force has realized they have to invest in training and teaching. And they have done that, so we have been the last ones to get it.”
The Army has prioritized leader training for both commissioned officers and sergeants.
“[But] the initial entry, soldier side of the house, has not [changed] whole lot from the infantry perspective for a long, long time,” Kendrick said.

A NEW EMPHASIS ON LAND NAVIGATION TRAINING

Currently, soldiers in infantry training receive one day of classroom instruction on land navigation and one day of hands-on application.
“We put them in groups of four and they go and find three of about four-five points — that’s their land navigation training,” Kendrick.
The new land-nav program will last a week.
“They are going to do buddy teams to start with, and at the end, they will have to pass day and night land navigation, individually,” he said.
One challenge of the pilot will be, “can I get to individual proficiency in land-nav or do I need more time?” Kendrick said.
“Part of this what we haven’t figured out is hey, how long do those lanes need to be — 300, 600, 800 meters?” said Kendrick, adding that it would be easy to design a course “and have every private here fail.”
“Then I can turn around and have every private pass no matter what with just a highway through the woods,” he continued. “We’ve got to figure out what that level is going to be — where they leave here accomplished in their skills and their ability and are prepared to go do that well wherever they get to. That is really the art of doing this pilot.”

A NEW MARKSMANSHIP STRATEGY

Currently, infantry OSUT soldiers train on iron sights and the M68 close combat optic at ranges out to 300 meters.
The new program will feature training on the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight, or AGOG, which offers 4X magnification.
“We don’t do much ACOG training; you go out to most rifle units, the ACOG is part of the unit’s issue,” Kendrick said. “It’s a shame that we don’t train them on the optic that half of them when they walk into their unit the first day and [receive it].”
Soldiers will also receive training on the AN/PAS-13 thermal weapon sightand the AN/PSQ-20 Enhanced Night Vision Goggle.
Soldiers will train with these system and their weapons “day and night with qualification associated,” Kendrick said.
The new program will also increase the amount of maneuver live-fire training soldiers receive.
“Everything from a buddy-team to a fire team to a squad, we are going to increase the time and sets and repetitions in getting them into live-firing, day and night,” Kendrick said. “Today when you do a fire-team, react to contact live fire, you do that twice — daytime only. At the end of this thing, when you are done, we will be doing live-fire [repetitions] on the magnitude of 20-plus.”
As with land navigation, Kendrick said, the time allotted for additional marksmanship training is not yet finalized.
“Like anything else, with being an infantryman, it’s sets and reps that make you proficient,” he said. “So now we are talking about the time to do that amount of sets and repetitions that will give them the foundation that can they can work in the rest of their career.”

MORE COMBATIVES AND FIRST AID TRAINING

Infantry OSUT trainees receive about 22 hours of combatives, or hand-to-hand combat training.
“We are going to take that to 40 hours,” Kendrick said. “At the end of 40 hours, we are going to take a level-one combatives test, so every soldier that leaves here will be level-one combatives certified.”
Level-one certification will ensure soldiers are practiced in basic holds instead of just being familiar with them, Kendrick said.
“We are talking about practicing and executing those moves.”
It will be the same with first aid training, he said.
Soldiers will spend eight days learning more combat lifesaver training, trauma first aid and “how to handle hot and cold-weather injuries … which cause more casualties than bullets do right now in some of these formations,” Kendrick said.
“You will have a soldier that understands combat lifesaver, first aid and trauma, all those things because right now you just get a little piece of that,” he said.
Infantry trainees will also receive more urban combat training and do a 16-mile road march instead of the standard 12-miler, Kendrick said.
The plan is to “assess this every week” during the pilot and make changes if needed, Kendrick said.
“Is it going to be enough? Do we need more? Those are all the things we are going to work out in this pilot,” he said. “In December, there will be a couple of 14-week companies that graduate at the same time, so part of this is to send both of those groups of soldiers out to units in the Army and get the units’ feedback on the product.”
The effort is designed to give soldiers more exposure to the infantry tasks that make a “solid infantryman here instead of making that happen at their first unit of assignment,” Kendrick said. “This is really going to produce that lethal soldier that can plug into his unit from day one.”
— Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

Categories
Art War

Some Good Art for your perusal

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A first rate looking scoundrel
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Bobby LeeImage result for mort kunstler robert e lee
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Image result for Charge of the Light Brigade (at the Battle of Balaclava) by Richard Caton Woodville,
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The Charge of the Light BrigadeImage result for thin red line crimean war
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Categories
Hard Nosed Folks Both Good & Bad War

The LEGION OF OLD TIMERS

A wise man at this point would be very wise to not fuck with this folks. As it would get really ugly in a few seconds.
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Categories
All About Guns The Green Machine War

Okay you win the Best BBQ Gun Contest !

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The Battlewagon USS Mississippi (BB-41) fires her forward 14-inch guns. During the bombardment of Makin on 20 November 1943. Photographed from USS Baltimore (CA-68).”


My Dad saw what the Iowa Class Battleships did during his time in the Korean War. He said that a whole salvo of 9, 16 inch shells. Would literally lifted an entire hike from the ground.Image result for Iowa Class Battleships in korea
For some reason I do not doubt this war story of his on this subject.
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What The Mississippi looked like in WWII

Categories
War

The Battle of Germantown

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One of the better pictures of what an Infantry Assault looks like.
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The Battle of Germantown was a major engagement in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War. It was fought on October 4, 1777, at GermantownPennsylvania, between the British Army led by Sir William Howe, and the American Continental Army, with the 2nd Canadian Regiment, under George Washington.
After defeating the Continental Army at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, and the Battle of Paoli on September 20.
Howe outmanoeuvred Washington, seizing Philadelphia, the capital of the United States, on September 26. Howe left a garrison of some 3,000 troops in Philadelphia, while moving the bulk of his force to Germantown, then an outlying community to the city.
Learning of the division, Washington determined to engage the British.
His plan called for four separate columns to converge on the British position at Germantown. The two flanking columns were composed of 3,000 militia, while the centre-left, under Nathanael Greene, the centre-right under John Sullivan, and the reserve under Lord Stirling were made up of regular troops.
The ambition behind the plan was to surprise and destroy the British force, much in the same way as Washington had surprised and decisively defeated the Hessians at Trenton. In Germantown, Howe had his light infantry and the 40th Foot spread across his front as pickets.
In the main camp, Wilhelm von Knyphausen commanded the British left, while Howe himself personally led the British right.
A heavy fog caused a great deal of confusion among the approaching Americans. After a sharp contest, Sullivan’s column routed the British pickets.
Unseen in the fog, around 120 men of the British 40th Foot barricaded the Chew Mansion. When the American reserve moved forward, Washington made the erroneous decision to launch repeated assaults on the position, all of which failed with heavy casualties.
Penetrating several hundred yards beyond the mansion, Sullivan’s wing became dispirited, running low on ammunition and hearing cannon fire behind them. As they withdrew, Anthony Wayne‘s division collided with part of Greene’s late-arriving wing in the fog.
Mistaking each other for the enemy, they opened fire, and both units retreated. Meanwhile, Greene’s left-centre column threw back the British right. With Sullivan’s column repulsed, the British left outflanked Greene’s column.
The two militia columns had only succeeded in diverting the attention of the British, and had made no progress before they withdrew.
Despite the defeat, France, already impressed by the American success at Saratoga, decided to lend greater aid to the Americans.
Howe did not vigorously pursue the defeated Americans, instead turning his attention to clearing the Delaware River of obstacles at Red Bank and Fort Mifflin.
After unsuccessfully attempting to draw Washington into combat at White Marsh, Howe withdrew to Philadelphia. Washington, his army intact, withdrew to Valley Forge, where he wintered and re-trained his forces.

Background[edit]

The Philadelphia campaign had begun badly for the Americans. The Continental Army had suffered a string of defeats at Brandywine, and at Paoli, leaving the city of Philadelphia defenseless.
Charles Cornwallis subsequently seized Philadelphia for the British on September 26, 1777, dealing a blow to the revolutionary cause. Howe left a garrison of 3,462 men to defend the city, moving the bulk of his force north, some 9,728 men, to the outlying community of Germantown.[3]
With the campaigning season drawing to a close, Howe determined to locate and destroy the main American army. Howe established his headquarters at the Stenton Mansion, the former country home of James Logan.
Despite having suffered successive defeats, Washington saw an opportunity to entrap and decisively defeat the divided British army.
He resolved to attack the Germantown garrison, as the last effort of the year before entering winter quarters. His plan called for a complex, ambitious assault; four columns of troops were to assail the British garrison from different directions, at night, with the goal of creating a double-envelopment.
Washington’s hope was that the British would be surprised and overwhelmed much how the Hessians were at Trenton.

British positions[edit]

Germantown was a hamlet of stone houses, spreading from what is now known as Mount Airy on the north, to what is now Market Square in the south.[6]
Extending southwest from Market Square was Schoolhouse Lane, running 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the point where Wissahickon Creek emptied from a steep gorge, into the Schuylkill River.
Howe had established his main camp along the high ground of Schoolhouse and Church lanes.
The western wing of the camp, under the command of Hessian general Wilhelm von Knyphausen, had a picket of two Jäger battalions, positioned on the high ground above the mouth of the Wissahickon to the far left.
A brigade of Hessians, and two brigades of British regulars camped along Market Square. East of the Square, two British brigades under the command of General James Grant had encamped, with two squadrons of dragoons, and the 1st battalion of Light Infantry.
The Queen’s Rangers, a unit of loyalist Americans recruited from New York, covered the right flank.

American advance

After dusk on October 3, the American force began the 16 miles (26 km) march southward toward Germantown in complete darkness.
To differentiate friend from foe in the darkness, the troops were instructed to put a piece of white paper in their hats to mark them out.[7]
The Americans remained undetected by the Jäger pickets, and the main British camp was, subsequently, unaware of the American advance.
For the Americans, it seemed their attempt to repeat their victory at Trenton was on the road to success. However, the darkness made communications between the American columns extremely difficult, and progress was far slower than expected.
At dawn, most of the American forces had fallen too short of their intended positions, losing the element of surprise they otherwise enjoyed.
The Pennsylvania Militia, led by Brigadier General John Armstrong Sr., advanced down the Manatawny Road(Ridge Avenue) to the confluence of the Wissahickon Creek and Schuylkill River.
There on the cliffs opposite General Knyphausen‘s Hessian encampment, the militia set up their artillery and began a desultory fire until withdrawing back up the Manatawny road.
Armstrong’s Brigade played no further part in the battle. The three remaining American columns continued their advance.
One column, under the command of General John Sullivan moved down Germantown Road. A column of New Jersey militia under Brigadier General William Smallwood moved down Skippack Road to Whitemarsh Church Road, and from there to Old York Road to attack the British right.
General Nathanael Greene‘s column, consisting of Greene’s, General Adam Stephen‘s divisions and General Alexander McDougall‘s brigade, moved down Limekiln Road.

Battle

Map of the Battle of Germantown, October 4, 1777

  British, Hessian and Loyalist forces
  Continental Army and Militia forces

 
A thick fog[8] clouded the battlefield throughout the day, greatly hampering coordination. The vanguard of Sullivan’s column, upon Germantown Road, opened fire upon the British pickets on Mount Airy, just after sunrise at 05:00.
The British pickets fired their cannon in alarm, and resisted the American advance. Howe rode forward, thinking they were being attacked by foraging or skirmishing parties, and ordered his men to hold their ground.
It took a substantial part of Sullivan’s division to finally overwhelm the British pickets, and drive them back into Germantown.
Howe, still believing his men were facing only light opposition, called out; “For shame, Light Infantry! I never saw you retreat before! Form! Form! It is only a scouting party!”
Just then, three American guns came into action, opening fire with grapeshot. Howe and his staff quickly withdrew out of range.
Several British officers were shocked to see their own soldiers rapidly falling back before the enemy attack. One British officer later described the number of attacking Americans as “overwhelming”.[9]
Cut off from the main force, Colonel Musgrave, of the British 40th Regiment of Foot, ordered his six companies of troops, around 120 men, to barricade and fortify the stone house of Chief Justice Chew, called Cliveden.
The American troops launched a determined assault against Cliveden, however, the outnumbered defenders repulsed their attempts, inflicting heavy casualties.
Washington called a council of war to decide how to deal with the fortification. Some of his subordinates favoured bypassing Clivden entirely, leaving a regiment behind to besiege it. However, Washington’s artillery commander, Brigadier General Henry Knox, advised it was unwise to allow a fortified garrison to remain under enemy control in the rear of a forward advance. Washington concurred.
General William Maxwell’s brigade, which had been held in reserve, was brought forward to storm Cliveden. Knox positioned four 3-pound cannon out of musket range to bombard the mansion.
However, the thick walls of Cliveden withstood the bombardment from the light field guns. The Americans launched a second wave of infantry assaults, all of which were repulsed with heavy losses.
The few Americans who managed to get inside the mansion were shot or bayoneted. It was becoming clear to the Americans that Cliveden was not going to be taken easily. Among this assault was Lieutenant John Marshall of the Virginia Line, the future Chief Justice of the United States, who was wounded during the attack.

The Battle of Germantown, October 4, 1777

  British, Hessian and Loyalist forces
  Continental Army and Militia forces

 
Prior to Maxwell’s futile attack against Cliveden, Sullivan’s division advanced beyond in the fog. Sullivan deployed Brigadier General Thomas Conway‘s brigade to the right, and Brigadier General Anthony Wayne‘s brigade to the left before advancing on the British centre-left.[10]
The 1st and 2nd Maryland Brigades of Sullivan’s column paused frequently to fire volleys into the fog. While the tactic was effective in suppressing enemy opposition, his troops rapidly ran low on ammunition.
Wayne’s brigade to the left of the road moved ahead, and became precariously separated from Sullivan’s main line. As the Americans launched their attack on Cliveden, Wayne’s brigade heard the disquieting racket from Knox’s artillery pieces to their rear.
To their right, the firing from Sullivan’s men died down as the Marylanders ran low on ammunition. Wayne’s men began to panic in their apparent isolation, and so he ordered them to fall back.
Sullivan was subsequently forced back, although the regiments fought a stubborn rearguard action. Since the British units pursuing them were redirected to fight Greene’s column, Sullivan’s men fell back in good order.[11]
Meanwhile, Nathanael Greene’s column on Limekiln Road had finally caught up with the bulk of the Americans at Germantown.
Greene’s vanguard engaged the British pickets at Luken’s Mill, driving them back after a savage skirmish. The fog that clung to the field was compounded by palls of smoke from the cannon and musket fire, throwing Greene’s column into disarray and confusion.
One of Greene’s brigades, under Brigadier General Adam Stephen, veered off-course and began following Meetinghouse Road, instead of rendezvousing at Market Square with the rest of Greene’s troops. The wayward brigade collided with Wayne’s brigade, and mistook them for redcoats.
The two American brigades opened fire on each other in the fog, causing both to flee. The withdrawal of Wayne’s New Jersey Brigade, having suffered heavy losses attacking Cliveden, left Conway’s right flank exposed.
To the north, an American column led by McDougall came under attack by the Loyalist troops of the Queen’s Rangers, and the Guards of the British reserve.
After a brutal contest, McDougall’s brigade was forced to retreat, having suffered heavy losses. Despite the reversal in fortune, the Continentals were still convinced of a possible victory.
The 9th Virginia Regiment of Greene’s column launched a determined attack on the British lines as planned, managing to break through and capturing a number of prisoners. However, they were soon surrounded by two arriving British brigades under Cornwallis.
Cornwallis then launched a counter-charge, cutting off the Virginians completely, forcing them to surrender. Greene, upon learning of the main army’s defeat and withdrawal, realised he stood alone against Howe’s entire army, and so withdrew.
The primary attacks on the British and Hessian camp had all been repulsed with heavy casualties. Washington ordered Armstrong and Smallwood’s men to withdraw. Maxwell’s brigade, still having failed to capture Cliveden, was forced to fall back.
Howe ordered a pursuit, harrying the retreating Americans for some 9 miles (14 km), though he did not follow up on his victory.
The pursuing British forces were finally forced to retire in the face of resistance from Greene’s infantry, Wayne’s artillery, and a detachment of dragoons, as well as the coming of the night.

Casualties

Grave stone in upper burrying ground.[12]

Of the 11,000 men Washington led into battle, 30 officers and 122 men were killed, and 117 officers and 404 men were wounded.[13]
According to a Hessian staff officer, some 438 had been taken prisoner by the British, including Colonel George Mathews and the entire 9th Virginia Regiment.[13][14]
Brigadier General Francis Nash, whose North Carolina brigade covered the American retreat, had his left leg taken off by a cannonball, and died on October 8 at the home of Adam Gotwals.
His body was interred with military honours on October 9 at the Mennomite Meetinghouse in Towamencin.[15] Major John White, who was shot at Cliveden, died on October 10.[16]
Lieutenant-Colonel William Smith, who was wounded carrying the flag of truce to Cliveden, also died from his wounds.[16] In total, 57 Americans, over one-third of all those killed in the battle, died in the attack on Cliveden.[17]
British casualties in the battle were 71 killed, 448 wounded and 14 missing, only 24 of whom were Hessians.[5]
British officers killed in action include Brigadier General James Agnew and Lieutenant-Colonel John Bird. Lieutenant-Colonel William Walcott of the 5th Regiment of Foot was mortally wounded, and later died.[18]
Wyck House served as a hospital during the battle.

Analysis[edit]

Washington’s ambitious plan failed for several factors:

  • Washington mistakenly believed his troops were sufficiently trained and experienced to launch such a complicated, coordinated assault.[19]
  • Success of the plan required constant communication between the many columns of his army and precise timing. Communication was lacklustre because of the night march, and it was further handicapped by the fog.
  • When the British 40th Foot put up stubborn resistance, Stephen disobeyed orders and attempted to assail the Chew House. All attempts were repulsed. Stephen was later court-martialed and cashiered from military service after evidence surfaced that he was intoxicated during the battle.[20]

Washington had intended for his attack to be a second Trenton. Had everything gone according to plan, Washington may have trapped and destroyed a second major British force. Coupled with Burgoyne’s defeat at Saratoga, the defeat of Howe at Germantown could have compelled Lord North and the British government to sue for peace.[21]

Aftermath[edit]

The battle was a limited strategic success for the British, but the long-term strategic consequences favoured the Americans. Howe had, once again, failed to follow up on his success and allowed Washington to escape with his army, leading to their encampment at Valley Forge.
The battle in particular made a strong impression upon the French court that the Americans would prove worthy allies. Sir George Otto Trevelyan, in Volume IV of his History of the American Revolution, concluded that although the battle had unquestionably been a defeat for the Americans, it was of “great and enduring service to the American cause”. In particular, the engagement persuaded the Comte de Vergennes to vouch for the United States against Britain.[22] He continues:

John Fiske, in The American Revolution (1891), wrote:[21]

Trivia[edit]

Eight Army National Guard units (103rd Eng Bn,[23] A/1-104th Cav,[24] 109th FA,[25] 111th Inf,[26] 113th Inf,[27] 116th Inf,[28]175th Inf[29] and 198th Sig Bn[30]) and one active Regular Army Field Artillery battalion (1-5th FA)[31] are derived from American units that participated in the Battle of Germantown. There are only thirty currently existing units in the U.S. Army with lineages that go back to the colonial era.
On October 6, there was a brief cease-fire. A little terrier that was identified from its collar as belonging to General Howe was formally transferred from Washington’s camp to Howe’s under a flag of truce. The little terrier that had been found wandering on the battlefield was brought to Washington, who had the dog fed, cleaned and brushed before being returned to Howe.[32][33]

Categories
War

Some more War Pictures

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Categories
War

A neat couple of Bullets from the Crimean War

 

Bang on target! Crimea War bullets collided in a billion-to-one chance

As an illustration of luck, it doesn’t get much more explosive.
This remarkable picture shows how two bullets from opposing troops fused after striking each other in mid-air.
The odds of the clash are said to be a billion-to-one and it could well have saved the lives of two soldiers.

light brigade bullets

Billion to one chance: Two bullets (one French, one Russian) which fused in mid-air during the Crimea War. It is almost impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins

What makes the discovery more incredible is that the bullets are 150 years old and were found on the battlefields of the Crimean War, now in Ukraine. One has been identified as Russian, the other French.
The discovery is said to have been made close to Balaclava, site of the notorious Charge of the Light Brigade, one of the most notorious events in British military history.
The finder of the bullets – a walker whose name has not been disclosed – is said to be seeking to sell the unique war memorabilia to a military museum.

Crimean War

Conflict: French troops march on Russian lines in the Crimean War

The Ukrainian authorities were unable to throw any light on the exact circumstances of the find or who had validated the discovery as being genuine Russian and French bullets.
A spokesman for the local authority in the Crimea said: ‘We have no official information about this discovery.’
Nor has the exact site of the discovery been disclosed, though there has been a wide discussion of the bullets in blogs.

charge of the light brigade

Warfare at its most courageous and tragic: The Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854 during the Crimean War

The Crimean War, between 1853 and 1856, was fought between tsarist Russia and an alliance of Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire.
More than 374,000 perished in the campaign, including 2,755 British killed in action, 2,019 from wounds and 16,323 from disease.
At issue was European influence over the territories controlled by the declining Ottoman Empire.
light brigade bullets

The bullets would originally have looked like this

The Crimea War also brought to public attention the pioneering nursing of Florence Nightingale – called ‘The lady with the lamp’ – who cared for soldiers killed in battle but also from diseases such as typhoid, cholera and dysentery.
The Charge of the Light Brigade was seen as highlighting the failings of aristocratic, self-centred generals who appeared to have little concern for casualties.
It is recalled in the poem by Allfred, Lord Tennyson, as showing war at its most courageous and horrific.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1157582/Bang-target-Crimea-War-bullets-collided-billion-chance.html#ixzz4xrGxvEoi

Categories
Born again Cynic! The Green Machine War Well I thought it was funny!

French Passport!

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War

From the History Channel D Day Normandy 1944

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Seventy Three years ago today, America and her sturdy Allies began the Liberation of Western Europe from the Horrors of the Nazi. It was one of the great things that helped furthered the Life & Liberty of all mankind.
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During World War II (1939-1945), the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control.
Codenamed Operation Overlord, the battle began on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, when some 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region.
The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning. Prior to D-Day, the Allies conducted a large-scale deception campaign designed to mislead the Germans about the intended invasion target.
By late August 1944, all of northern France had been liberated, and by the following spring the Allies had defeated the Germans. The Normandy landings have been called the beginning of the end of war in Europe.
After World War II began, Germany invaded and occupied northwestern France beginning in May 1940.
The Americans entered the war in December 1941, and by 1942 they and the British (who had been evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk in May 1940 after being cut off by the Germans in the Battle of France) were considering the possibility of a major Allied invasion across the English Channel.
The following year, Allied plans for a cross-Channel invasion began to ramp up. In November 1943, Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), who was aware of the threat of an invasion along France’s northern coast, put Erwin Rommel(1891-1944) in charge of spearheading defense operations in the region, even though the Germans did not know exactly where the Allies would strike.
Hitler charged Rommel with finishing the Atlantic Wall, a 2,400-mile fortification of bunkers, landmines and beach and water obstacles.

In January 1944, General Dwight Eisenhower (1890-1969) was appointed commander of Operation Overlord. In the months and weeks before D-Day, the Allies carried out a massive deception operation intended to make the Germans think the main invasion target was Pas-de-Calais (the narrowest point between Britain and France) rather than Normandy.
In addition, they led the Germans to believe that Norway and other locations were also potential invasion targets. Many tactics was used to carry out the deception, including fake equipment; a phantom army commanded by George Patton and supposedly based in England, across from Pas-de-Calais; double agents; and fraudulent radio transmissions.

Eisenhower selected June 5, 1944, as the date for the invasion; however, bad weather on the days leading up to the operation caused it to be delayed for 24 hours.
On the morning of June 5, after his meteorologist predicted improved conditions for the following day, Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for Operation Overlord. He told the troops: “You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you.”
Later that day, more than 5,000 ships and landing craft carrying troops and supplies left England for the trip across the Channel to France, while more than 11,000 aircraft were mobilized to provide air cover and support for the invasion.
By dawn on June 6, thousands of paratroopers and glider troops were already on the ground behind enemy lines, securing bridges and exit roads. The amphibious invasions began at 6:30 a.m.
The British and Canadians overcame light opposition to capture beaches code named Gold, Juno and Sword, as did the Americans at Utah Beach. U.S. forces faced heavy resistance at Omaha Beach, where there were over 2,000 American casualties.
However, by day’s end, approximately 156,000 Allied troops had successfully stormed Normandy’s beaches.According to some estimates, more than 4,000 Allied troops lost their lives in the D-Day invasion, with thousands more wounded or missing.
Less than a week later, on June 11, the beaches were fully secured and over 326,000 troops, more than 50,000 vehicles and some 100,000 tons of equipment had landed at Normandy.
For their part, the Germans suffered from confusion in the ranks and the absence of celebrated commander Rommel, who was away on leave. At first, Hitler, believing the invasion was a feint designed to distract the Germans from a coming attack north of the Seine River, refused to release nearby divisions to join the counterattack.
Reinforcements had to be called from further afield, causing delays. He also hesitated in calling for armored divisions to help in the defense. Moreover, the Germans were hampered by effective Allied air support, which took out many key bridges and forced the Germans to take long detours, as well as efficient Allied naval support, which helped protect advancing Allied troops.
In the ensuing weeks, the Allies fought their way across the Normandy countryside in the face of determined German resistance, as well as a dense landscape of marshes and hedgerows.
By the end of June, the Allies had seized the vital port of Cherbourg, landed approximately 850,000 men and 150,000 vehicles in Normandy, and were poised to continue their march across France.
By the end of August 1944, the Allies had reached the Seine River, Paris was liberated and the Germans had been removed from northwestern France, effectively concluding the Battle of Normandy. The Allied forces then prepared to enter Germany, where they would meet up with Soviet troops moving in from the east.
The Normandy invasion began to turn the tide against the Nazis. A significant psychological blow, it also prevented Hitler from sending troops from France to build up his Eastern Front against the advancing Soviets. The following spring, on May 8, 1945, the Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. Hitler had committed suicide a week earlier, on April 30.
Categories
War

Canadian Army & Its long affair with the Sherman Tank

Canada’s long-running and unlikely Sherman obsession

Today the Canadian Army rocks some gently used (mainly former Dutch Army) Leopard 2A4+/2A4M/2A6M main battle tanks but their armored tradition goes way back. In the 1930s, the branch trained with early US M1917 tanks and Vickers MKVI light tanks then by 1941 was using MkIV Churchills.
In World War II, Canada actually rolled their own tanks, producing 1420 locally-built Valentines at the Canadian Pacific Railway’s Angus Shop in Montreal. While most of the V’s went to the Soviet Union for use on the Eastern Front, the Montreal Locomotive Works built a modified version of the M3 Lee medium tank as the Ram to equip Canuck units in Northern Africa early in the war.
In 1943, MLW switched from the Lee/Ram to the Sherman (called “Grizzly” in Canadian service), which included British radio gear, a 2-inch smoke mortar mounted on the turret and a cast hull as opposed to the more common welded-hull version.
The 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade was equipped with Grizzlies in time for the invasion of Sicily in July 1943.
In all, MLW made 188 Canuck Grizzlies while others were acquired from allies.
The novice Canadian Armored Corps in Italy caught hell from both the terrain and German PzKpfw IV’s when 36 Shermans from the Three Rivers Regiment (Tank), CASF (now the 12e Régiment blindé du Canada) took on the brunt of the veteran German 16th Panzer Corps near Termoli in one of the most epic armored engagements of Canadian military history.

The 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade, and the 4th Canadian Armoured Division, training in Britain for Operation Overlord, had their Ram tanks swapped out with the new tank just before D-Day.
They also caught hell in Northwestern Europe.

A rare colorchrome of a Sherman V of the Canadian 29th Reconnaissance regiment (The South Alberta Regiment). The Tank was commanded by Major David Currie (VC), and the tank was named ‘Clanky’. This photo was taken in Normandy around Arromanches in July of 1944. Photo via TheShermanTank.com http://www.theshermantank.com/category/allied-use-wwii/

A rare colorchrome of a Sherman V of the Canadian 29th Reconnaissance regiment (The South Alberta Regiment). The Tank was commanded by Major David Currie (VC), and the tank was named ‘Clanky’. This photo was taken in Normandy around Arromanches in July of 1944. Photo via TheShermanTank.com

A pair of burnt out Canadian M4A2 Shermans of the 10th Armored Regiment (The Fort Garry Horse) at the foot of the church at Rots – June 1944

A pair of burnt-out Canadian M4A2 Shermans of the 10th Armored Regiment (The Fort Garry Horse) at the foot of the church at Rots – June 1944

Some Grizzlies were converted into the Skink anti-aircraft tank with a turret mounting four 20 mm Polsten guns– a very effective anti-personnel and AAA platform.

"Tank AA, 20 mm Quad," better known as the Skink was Canadian self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, developed in 1943-44 fully enclosed mounting on the chassis of the Grizzly Canadian-built M4A1 Sherman

“Tank AA, 20 mm Quad,” better known as the Skink was Canadian self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, developed in 1943-44 fully enclosed mounting on the chassis of the Grizzly Canadian-built M4A1 Sherman

Other variants included the Badger flame tank and Kangaroo APC, both made from Sherman hulls.
When Hitler was vanquished, the Canadians left their Grizzlies/Shermans in Europe while in 1946 they picked up 294 “Easy Eight” M4A2(76)W HVSS Shermans cheap– just $1,460 each (Late model Shermans cost $200,000 to make in 1945). They were left overs from Lend Lease production meant for Uncle Joe in Moscow but by that stage of the 1940s, the U.S. would rather sell them at scrap prices that give them to the Soviets.
The batch of M4A2(76)W’s (M4A3E8’s) were kept in Canada proper for training purposes, even though they were different from the Shermans forward deployed along the Rhine.
When Korea came, the Canadians borrowed 20 Shermans from the U.S. Army and Marines in-country and, after using them in often very heavy combat and tense DMZ patrol from 1951 to November 1954, returned all 20 back to the U.S.

Trooper Andy Parenteau of the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) sleeps on the back of a Canadian Sherman M4A3(76)W HVSS tank, Korea. Note the American ration box and United Nations/Canada crest on the tail

Trooper Andy Parenteau of the Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) sleeps on the back of a Canadian Sherman M4A3(76)W HVSS tank, Korea. Note the American ration box and United Nations/Canada crest on the tail

British forces used Centurions in the conflict– speaking of which…
In 1952, the Canadian Army bought the first of what would be 274 Centurion Mk 3 Tanks and split these MBTs between the active units in Germany (with their Grizzles being passed on to Portugal) and at home, later adding 120 Mk 5’s to the arsenal– while transferring the Easy Eight Shermans to reserve units.
They remained in service until 1978 when Canada replaced their aging Centurions with 127 new German-built Leopard C1 (equivalent to Leopard 1A3 with laser rangefinder) MBTs and, as the buy was limited and 114 were based in West Germany, just a handful were sent home to Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, New Brunswick for training.
The days of large tank lots in Canada had come to an end.
This led to the retirement of the last Canadian reserve force Shermans in the 1970s, one of the last Western countries to do so.

Canadian Easy Eight Shermans in reserve units 1970s

Canadian Easy Eight Shermans in reserve units 1970s out for a Sunday drive

You have to admit, the camo scheme looks good on these tanks...

You have to admit, the camo scheme looks good on these tanks…and they were an instant WWII veterans parade every time they left the armory

After retirement, many Canadian Shermans remained in use well into the 1980s– as targets.

Ex-Canadian M4 Sherman used for target practice with anti-tank weapons, 1986

Ex-Canadian M4 Sherman used for target practice with anti-tank weapons, 1986

It should be noted that as late as 1989, the Finning Tank Drill, a rock drill used in logging road construction, was produced in British Columbia from Sherman hulls while BC’s Morpac Industries, Inc., still produces heavy-duty, off-road load crawlers based on Sherman components. It is very likely these civilian mods will be in the wilds of Canada’s western forests for decades to come.
Here is a Finning caught in its natural state:

Today some 60~ intact models are thought to still exist in the country as gate guards and museum pieces and they pop up from time to time in both their Grizzly and later Easy Eight variants for sale at reasonable prices.
The Ontario Regiment (RCAC) Museum in Oshawa, Ontario has a pair of great working Shermans, (“Bart” #78-904 and “Billy #78-856).

Overall, not a bad track record for the often derided Sherman.