#Ft. Liberty Army

[bumblebeeappletree]

One of the most inspiring conservation stories in American history is playing out on, of all places, a live-fire training ground at Ft. Liberty Army base in North Carolina. There, an improbable alliance is giving a special bird—the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW)—a new lease on life. After a clash between U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Army revealed that low-grade forest fires sparked by artillery and tracers inadvertently created excellent woodpecker habitat, the two sides joined forces to monitor and protect the birds on the base. Landowners on nearby properties are joining the effort—putting aside mutual suspicions and using fire to save the RCW and ignite a passion for wildlife.

[heswrongshesright]

Mike Glover Arrest Update, Change of Command at Fort Liberty, and Special Ops Fails - HWSR Ep 40

In Episode 40, 'Mike Glover Arrest Update, Change of Command at Fort Liberty, and Special Ops Fails' of the He's Wrong She's Right Podcast, join Andrew and Nona from Horr and POG Productions as they dive into a whirlwind of military stories, from an awkward change of command ceremony at the JFK Special Warfare School to a Colonel shooting an alleged spy on his property. An update on the Mike Glover Domestic Violence case as well with the trial schedule for June 11th, 2024. They also share some humorous personal anecdotes and discuss operational security (OPSEC) blunders. Get ready for a blend of serious discussions and lighthearted humor!

🌐 Visit our website: He's Wrong, She's Right 🔗 All HWSR Links: Explore Here 📧 For sponsor inquiries: Contact Us 📢 Get a Shoutout in a future episode: Get Featured

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[whencyclopedia]

Weapons in the American Revolution

The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) was a long and bitter conflict fought between Great Britain and its thirteen North American colonies over the Americans' liberties and, eventually, for the independence of the United States. The war, which was fought with both conventional linear tactics and guerilla-style warfare, utilized several different kinds of weapons for multiple styles of combat.

Some of the weapons used in the Revolutionary War had long been staples of European-style warfare. Variations of the flintlock musket, for instance, had been used in battle since the early 1600s and would continue to be used on Western battlefields for decades after the American Revolution had ended. Other weapons, like the groove-barreled Long Rifle, were relatively new additions to warfare; the rifle, used in a limited capacity during the Revolution, would see greater use on the later battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815) and American Civil War (1861-1865). Some weapons were useful in close-quarter combat such as the bayonet, tomahawk, and saber, while artillery guns were devastating at both long and short distances. None of the weapons discussed in this article were unique to the American Revolution. However, a quick description of the types of weapons used in that conflict could help give the reader a better understanding of what it may have been like to be on a battlefield during the US War of Independence.

Flintlock Muskets

The flintlock musket was the primary weapon of 18th-century European armies and was therefore used by both sides during the American Revolution. A musket was a muzzle-loading, smoothbore weapon that fired a large lead ball with reasonably decent accuracy. By the 1770s, a typical musket weighed about 10 lbs (4.5 kg), was about 5 ft (152 cm) in length, and had a caliber of about .75 (1.9 cm). A typical lead ball weighed about an ounce (28 g). As the name 'flintlock musket' suggests, such weapons relied on a flintlock mechanism to fire. This involved a piece of flint contained within the musket's cock, or hammer. When the trigger was pulled, the hammer would swing forward, causing the flint to strike a piece of steel called the 'frizzen'. This action created a spark that would fall into a flash pan below, wherein a small charge of black powder was contained. The spark would ignite the powder, which would, in turn, discharge the bullet from the gun barrel. By the time of the revolution, flintlocks had long been the most common kind of firearm; the flintlock had been developed in France in the early 1600s to replace the earlier matchlock and wheellock mechanisms and would remain in use until the mid-19th century.

Although the process of firing a flintlock musket sounds complicated on paper, a well-trained 18th-century soldier could typically fire three or four shots per minute. This is quite impressive, especially after considering what the loading process entails. A soldier would first take a pre-rolled musket cartridge – a paper tube containing gunpowder and a lead musket ball – and tear it open with his teeth. He would then pour a small amount of the powder into the flash pan and pour the rest down the muzzle. Next, the soldier would use a ramrod to pack the musket ball, powder, and paper of the cartridge down into the breech. Only after returning the ramrod to its place and fully cocking back the hammer was the soldier finally ready to take aim and fire.

The musket could be effectively fired from a range of about 80 yards (73 m); while it could sometimes be effective at a slightly greater range, musket balls rarely traveled more than 150 yards (137 m). The musket's accuracy largely depended, of course, on the man who wielded it. To increase the effectiveness of the weapon, 18th-century armies adopted the style of linear warfare; an individual musketeer was less likely to inflict damage than a line of soldiers firing coordinated, concentrated volleys. A typical battle line consisted of two or three ranks of soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder, with each man allowed just enough space to be able to present arms, fire, and reload. When the officer gave the order, the line of soldiers would fire in sync with one another (referred to as a musket volley); sometimes the first rank would kneel to give the second rank a better shot, thereby keeping up a higher rate of fire.

Continue reading...

[graymanbriefing]

National Security Brief: Summary In VA, on May 3rd; two men who had entered the U.S. illegally (Jordanian foreign nationals who "recently crossed the southern border into the U.S.") approached a security gate at Marine Corps Base Quantico. The men claimed to be Amazon delivery persons. Security personnel advised the driver to move forward to a secondary security area for further inspection, the driver refused an order to "halt" and accelerated attempting to navigate into the interior of the "Town of Quantico". Security personnel activated barriers, which prevented further entry. One of the men has been reported to have been on the U.S. terrorist watch list.  Two days after the attempted Quantico breach, a person crashed into the White House gates and died (similar breach attempted on Jan 8th and in both cases, mainstream media and Gov. were silent). In late April, a vehicle tried to enter Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story in Virginia Beach; the driver died in the crash. In late March, a Chinese national tried to access Twentynine Palms, was detained, and handed over to ICE. In early April a person attempted to breach an FBI field office by ramming a vehicle through the employee entrance gate. The vehicle was stopped by a security apparatus and the man was arrested. Separately, 3 Chinese nationals were captured after crossing over the Canadian border to the U.S. at Fort Fairfield, ME. Finally, in NC near Ft. Liberty (Ft. Bragg), a USASOC Colonel's property was reportedly surveilled by two Chechens, the Army officer shot one dead.  Debrief: (CLASSIFIED, get briefs in real-time unredacted with analysis by joining at www.graymanbriefing.com)

[shop-korea]

Watch "Keyshia Cole - Love (Alt. Version) (Official Music Video)" on YouTube

SULLI - BRALESS - REQUIRED -

2 B - HANDCUFFED - 3 MEALS -

DAILY - NOT - MALAYSIA - AT -

6 HUGE - SPICY - MEALS YES -

AS - BLK - FEMALE - NURSES -

LOOKING - AT - HER BREASTS -

FORT MYERS - POLICE - BLK -

GHANA - POLICE - BLK MALE -

SUPERVISOR - 'U WERE NEVER -

THREATENED - SULLI' - 'THEN' -

AFTER COLUMBIAN - EX ARMY -

MERCENARIES - SPANISH YES -

ONLY - FLORIDA NATURALIZED -

COLUMBIANS 2 INTERPRETERS -

LET - FORMER - HAITI - BLK YES -

MALE - PRESIDENT CELEBRATE -

JUNE - BIRTHDAY - MIDNIGHT -

LIKE - INDIRA GANDHI - A WED -

WEDNESDAY - SHOT - HIM - 12 -

TIMES - AT - THE - HEAD ALSO -

INDIRA - 5'4 FT - 20 TIMES - XO -

THEN - SHOT - COLLEGE - YES -

SWEATHEARTS - WIFE - ONCE -

THEY'RE - NOT - CUBANS - SO -

PHILIPPINES - FIRST OLYMPICS -

MISS UNIVERSE - 2018 - TRUE -

KOREA - GOLD - MEDALS - XO -

GHANA - BLK MALE - SHUT UP -

U - CAN'T - TELL - KOREA - IN -

USA - GO - BACK - 2 - KOREA -

SMALL - EYES - SULLI - SML -

BREASTS - NO - BRA NEEDED -

BLK - MALE - SUPERVISOR IS -

HISPANIC - BURNT - 500 FAMILIES

IN PHILIPPINES - IN THEIR HOUSES

SULLI - U NEED - PSYCHIATRIST - 4

TOPIRAMAX - TOPIRAMATE - SO -

NO - MORE - BLEEDED - NO KIDS -

JUST - THIGHS - OPEN - ENTRY -

COLUMBIAN - ARABUCA COFFEE -

IN - VEHICLE - SULLI - WE - HAVE -

2 - HANDCUFF - U - WE - DO THAT -

24/7 - DAILY - IN - AMERICA -

9 DAYS - SULLI - MENTAL XO -

HOSPITAL - 4 - YEARS - BAKER -

ACT - 3 DAYS - INCLUDES YEARS -

TOPLESS - 3 MEALS - PUBLIC US -

CLASSES - DAILY - HOURS - TRUE -

ILLEGAL - ALL - THE - SHOOTINGS

SCHOOLS - COLLEGES - CHURCH -

SULLI - INSTEAD -

KNIFED - HEAD - 'TWICE' -

JUMPED - TALL BLDG KR -

LANDED - ON - EYES OPEN -

LEGS - BEAUTIFUL - SEOUL -

WHAT - HAPPENED INSTEAD -

USA - SUICIDE - LEGAL - 14TH -

NO - STATE - CAN - DEPRIVE -

ANY - PERSON - OF - LIBERTY -

ACT - AS - PLEASE - BAKER XO -

ACT - HISPANICS - BLK NURSES -

REMOVING - WIRED - BRA - 2 FL -

BITE THEIR - BREAST LESBIANS -

AMBILIFY - DEATH - BLINDNESS -

DAUGHTERS - BORN BLIND USA

[archiveikemen]

"Your Name" Twitter Campaign

ft. Taira no Shigehira & Kitsuji Sueharu

This is a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes with no guaranteed perfection; expect mistakes, grammatical errors, and some creative liberties. All original content and media used belongs to Cybird. Please support the game by buying their stories and playing their games. Reblogs appreciated.

Read this before interacting┊aikm’s Genjiden Glossary

Context: Shigehira and Sueharu had a body swap!?

— kashiing!

Shigehira (Sueharu): Ouch... hey, eyes in front when walking.

Sueharu (Shigehira): Owww... sorry.

Shigehira (Sueharu): ... Wait, what?

Sueharu (Shigehira): Why am I looking at my own face?

Both: DID WE... SWAP BODIES!?

Well, well, well... what will be the fate of these two men?

...

Benkei: What's this about, Sueharu? It's unusual to see you training in the morning.

Sueharu (Shigehira): Good morning! What a great morning, don't you agree?

Benkei: O-oh. Your eyes are sparkling so bright. Are you okay?

Sueharu (Shigehira): This body is taller than my own, so it feels different whenever I move around... I'm having too much fun...

Benkei: No idea what the hell you're going on about, but I won't lose to you. Bring it on! Let's spar a thousand times!

Sueharu (Shigehira): AYE! AYE!

...

Sueharu (Shigehira): That was a good morning training session...

Yoichi: Oi, Sueharu.

Sueharu (Shigehira): BE GONE!

Yoichi: Waah- what was that sudden murderous attitude for!?

Sueharu (Shigehira): S-sorry. I lost control of my emotions for a moment.

Yoichi: Losing your mind because you haven't been having enough fun with ladies? Am I right?

Sueharu (Shigehira): Don't make such disgraceful accusations!

Yoichi: Oh this is bad. There's something seriously wrong with Sueharu.

...

Shigehira (Sueharu): Money, money, money these will earn me so much money

Yoritomo: ... What's with that weird song you're humming on the corridor?

Shigehira (Sueharu): Ah, pardon me. I got excited looking at all the antiques and scrolls around here.

Yoritomo: Those lyrics make you sound like you're going to sell them all away for your own profit.

Shigehira (Sueharu): Damn... I'm just going to go hook up with some ladies in town.

Yoritomo: Is he in his rebellious phase?

...

Morinaga: Turning to a life of delinquency, Shigehira?

Shigehira (Sueharu): Oh piss off.

Morinaga: I don't mind this side of you.

Shigehira (Sueharu): Yeah sure all that camaraderie stuff.

Morinaga: Nope, it's because you remind me of Sueharu and there's no way I would leave him in a ditch.

Shigehira (Sueharu): I...

Morinaga: You...?

Shigehira (Sueharu): I hate you.

Morinaga: Wha-...

...

— kashiing!

Sueharu: Oww... oh my body is back.

Shigehira: Our bodies swapped back because we bumped into each other again...?

Sueharu: Ugh... why does my body ache all over!?

Shigehira: Maybe it's because I sparred with every single person in the Rebel Army?

Sueharu: Fine... oh that's right, I invited a hundred ladies to your mansion tonight, feel free to do as you please.

Shigehira: You did WHAT!?

[sfc-paulchambers]

UNIT PROFILE – 54TH MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEER INFANTRY REGIMENT The Emancipation Proclamation’s promulgation in 1863 opened the Union Army’s ranks to Black soldiers for the first time, allowing Black Americans to fight for the Union’s preservation and the end of slavery. The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was among the first all-Black units to be stood up. Led by COL Robert Gould Shaw (scion of a prominent abolitionist family) and promoted by prominent figures like Frederick Douglass, the 54th was flooded with recruits. Despite Confederate promises to punish captured Black soldiers and their white officers with summary execution for promoting “servile insurrection,” the 54th marched to war in high spirits, leaving Boston on 28 MAY. From 18 – 19 JUL the Union began operations to capture Fort Wagner (a critical part of the harbor defenses of Charleston, South Carolina) following an early unsuccessful attack from 10 – 11 JUL. Deploying a force of 5,000 infantry in a frontal assault, the Union placed the 54th in the vanguard of the attack force, sending them charging across an open field towards Ft. Wagner under withering rifle and artillery fire rained on them by the 1,800 Confederate defenders. COL Shaw led the 54th up the fortifications, rallying his men with a cry of “Forward Fifty-Fourth!” from atop the ramparts before being killed. Despite their commander’s death the 54th pushed on, engaging the rebels in bitter hand-to-hand fighting. Despite 54th’s best efforts, the Union was unable to break through the fort’s defenses; the 54th paid an exorbitant price for its extraordinary valor, suffering a staggering 42% casualty rate (280 of the 600 of its men who fought in the Second Battle of Ft. Wagner). The stories of the 54th’s heroism quickly spread across the Union, motivating Black Americans to enlist in the U.S. Army. Between 1863 and 1865 nearly 200,000 Black soldiers served the cause of liberty, contributing roughly 10% of the U.S. Army’s Civil War manpower. #Armyhistory #USArmy #TRADOC #CivilWar #CivilWarHistory #ArmyHeritage #MilitaryHistory #BlackHistoryMonth #54thmassachusetts Posted @withregram • @armyhistory (at Army Recruiting Columbia, TN) https://www.instagram.com/p/CocK6HVutK2/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[frxdaynxghtfxrefxght]

//Added a playlist:

A Like Supreme by SAMURAI

After Dark by Mr. Kitty

Archangel by SAMURAI

Bad Guy by Billie Eilish

Barrel of a Gun by Little V (ft. Black Pestilence)

Believer by Imagine Dragons

Black Dog by SAMURAI

Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

Blood // Water by grandson

Bones by Imagine Dragons

Chippin' In by SAMURAI

Delicate Weapon by Grimes

Disturbia by Rihanna

Do You Feel It? by Chaos Chaos

F.T.W.W.W. by My Chemical Romance

Friday Night Fire Fight by Aligns

Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio

Hero (The Legion of Doom Remix) by Skillet

Hole in the Sun by Point Break Candy

I Really Want To Stay At Your House by Rosa Walton

I Wanna Be A Machine by The Living Tombstone

Killshot by Frost, Justtjokay, Dubbygotbars & Knyvez

LED Spirals by Le Castle Vania

Let You Down by Dawid Podsiadlo

Little Dark Age by MGMT

Major Crimes by HEALTH

Mortified by Wonder Brown

Na Na Na by My Chemical Romance

Never Fade Away by P.T. Adamczyk (ft. Olga Jankowska)

Never Fade Away by SAMURAI

No Save Point by Run The Jewels

Oh Mama by Run The Jewels

Oh No!! by grandson

Phantom Liberty by Dawid Podsiadlo

Plug In Baby by Muse

Resist and Disorder by Rezodrone

Seven Nation Army (The Glitch Mob Remix) by The White Stripes

Shame On A N***a by Wu-Tang Clan

Skyfall by Adele

Spoiler by Hyper

STAY by The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber

Superheroes (Twist ft. Maxim Remix) by Quartus Saul

Survival by Eminem

The Ballad of Buck Ravers by SAMURAI

The Rebel Path (Cello Version) from Cyberpunk 2077

The Search by NF

This Fffire by Franz Ferdinand

Tobey by Eminem (ft. BabyTron & Big Sean)

Who's Ready For Tomorrow by Rat Boy

You Know My Name by Chris Cornell

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 8.5 (1860-1930)

1860 – Charles XV of Sweden of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Norway in Trondheim. 1861 – American Civil War: In order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government levies the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US$800; rescinded in 1872). 1861 – The United States Army abolishes flogging. 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Baton Rouge: Along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops attempt to take the city, but are driven back by fire from Union gunboats. 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Mobile Bay begins at Mobile Bay near Mobile, Alabama, Admiral David Farragut leads a Union flotilla through Confederate defenses and seals one of the last major Southern ports. 1874 – Japan launches its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in the United Kingdom. 1882 – Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, today known as ExxonMobil, is established officially. The company would later grow to become the holder of all Standard Oil companies and the entity at the center of the breakup of Standard Oil. 1884 – The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor. 1888 – Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip, commemorated as the Bertha Benz Memorial Route since 2008. 1901 – Peter O'Connor sets the first World Athletics recognised long jump world record of 24 ft 11.75 in (7.6137 m), a record that would stand for 20 years. 1906 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, King of Iran, agrees to convert the government to a constitutional monarchy. 1914 – World War I: The German minelayer SS Königin Luise lays a minefield about 40 miles (64 km) off the Thames Estuary (Lowestoft). She is intercepted and sunk by the British light-cruiser HMS Amphion. 1914 – World War I: The guns of Point Nepean fort at Port Phillip Heads in Victoria (Australia) fire across the bows of the Norddeutscher Lloyd steamer SS Pfalz which is attempting to leave the Port of Melbourne in ignorance of the declaration of war and she is detained; this is said to be the first Allied shot of the War. 1914 – In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed. 1916 – World War I: Battle of Romani: Allied forces, under the command of Archibald Murray, defeat an attacking Ottoman army under the command of Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, securing the Suez Canal and beginning the Ottoman retreat from the Sinai Peninsula. 1925 – Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language that is at the time in danger of dying out. 1926 – Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.

[dis-astre]

(r u trying to make me write another big post about barricades and french riot again)

june 1832 could have worked but a lot of different factors came into play and lead to failure.

sooo im gonna base this mostly on this excellent book La Barricade by the historian Eric Hazan.

first, the barricades. they are used since 1588, and to quote Chateaubriand: "barricades are entrenchments that belongs to parisian geniuses." they've been used a lot during three centuries, before being killed by the haussmannisation of paris (see this post). it was the main fighting strategy for revolutionaries and it worked. in 1830, people rise and we see the famous Trois Glorieuses (the three glorious), a revolution triggered by censorship, the dissolution of the deputy chamber and the reduction of the electorate. people deemed it as a violation of the Charte and a coup. the people rise, fought, and what help was the implication of the press who took the side of the people and help spread the word. to quote Adolphe Tiers in a newspaper : "today the government is violating legality. we don't have to obey; we'll try to publish our papers without asking for the permission require." thanks to the press and the working class, a lot of people rise and fought and won. they were everywhere, building huge barricades, and successfully scared the royal battalions.

"it's not just a riot, it's a revolution." - Auguste Frederic Viesse de Marmont, french officer.

now, 1832 is another kettle of fish. the context is very different. firstly, people started being angry because of a plague (cholera) killing so many people (1000 pers/day) and mostly the poor. and how could people fight when they are sick ? the trigger was Lamarque's death, a well-liked deputy advocating for the people and their emancipation. so the republicans choose his funeral to start the riot. everything was very well organized, they formed platoons, choose leaders, they were working men, medicine and law students, students from polytechnic, former soldiers, members of friends of the people society

"les élèves de droit et de médecine se mêlent aux membres de la Société des amis du peuple" - La Barricade, Eric Hazan

barricades were then raised, after the start of the insurrection (and a man riding a horse all in black with a frigian cap carrying a red banner with "liberty or death" on it). the first day, paris was a mess. fights everywhere, barricades everywhere, people everywhere kinda like rats. that was very smart and fast. now the heart of the insurrection was in Saint-Merry (like in Les Misérables). there, the barricades were huge, as in five ft high and six ft large. in the night, the revolutionaries were chased and had to regroup in St-Merry.

the 6th of june, only one barricade remained. they resisted a long time but unfortunately, the army + the national guard won.

the thing is, people did rise. they were everywhere at first (and i also want to add that they did opened their doors to the fighters to protect them from the soldiers, fighters were not all alone like Les Misérables make us believe). and it could have worked. unfortunately, probably because of the cholera, probably because the trigger point wasn't as huge as in 1830, probably because it was a relatively calm period in regard of 1827 and 1830 and probably because the press was not involved this time, not enough rised. but it still could have worked. in 1827, people rioted again, to protest against the government and censorship. the national guard shoot them, but they rised again the next day, continued the fight and successfully rallied the army to them. they failed but created the spark for another revolution three years later.

to me, what really killed 1832 is the fact that the national guard didn't join them. at the end, they were 60 vs 60 000. they were resisting but the king called the army in reinforcement and that was the end of 1832. i wouldn't say it was doomed to fail because they started the same as 1830 and in 1830 they did win. and in 1848 for example they had everything to win (and could be seen as obligated to win) and still they failed. i really think the issue of a riot cannot be predicted, cause so many factors came into play and just one good or bad decision can change everything.

"it's when we rised all together and welcomed them (the soldiers) so warmly screaming "long live the republic !", that they stopped, indecisive: this uncertainty on their end was soon set when a new gunshot from the barricade and the windows cleared up their ranks. then, it was not a disciplined body anymore but a cloud of cossacks in complete disarray." - Charles Jeanne, leader and revolutionary in 1832.

but i find something really beautiful in knowing thay 60 revolutionaries were fighting so hard that it took 60 000 armed men to defeat them. they had to multiply their number by 1000 to even have a chance to win. they were young people, not trained soldiers. just like in 1827, and 1830, and in all the other revolutions, it's not trained soldiers who riot and still they did win a lot of the time (take 1789, the poor people fought alongside the youth and women, and the won).

it's insane to me.

(and here's a link to the book right here if you are interested.)

AND WHAT IF I SAID THAT MAYBE IF GAVROCHE HAD TRAINED THOSE RATS THAT LIVED IN THE ELEPHANT OF BASTILE TO FIGHT IN THE BARRICADES THE JUNE REBELLION MIGHT HAVE SUCCEEDED???

[parkerbombshell]

Color Red Radio #101 - 2022

SATURDAY'S 8PM EST bombshellradio.com   CRED #102 LFM  01/07/2023   OPENING JINGLE 22   NARRATION:   M1)  Dry Cleaning    -  Liberty Log            6:53   M2) S-Type   - I Like It         2:56   Short jingle   M3) Vitamin String Quartet - Sunday Morning   2:56   M4)  Big Lazy            - Skinless Boneless 2:48   jingle 13   M5)     Laurent Lombard      - Soul Beat    1:10   M6) Tucker    - Solid Party  1:40   M7) Postmodern Jukebox  ft Haley Reinhart      - Seven Nation Army           4:32   End Talk:   M8) Brain Eno & David Byrne        - America is Waiting 3:39   M9)     Seiho -           The Stick In The Water In The Cup          3:24   M10) Sp acewolf      - Apparition   1:10   jingle 16   M11) Julie      - Johnny Guitar (Waves on Canvas)        4:05   M12) Chris Ianuzzi   - Edge of the Earth  5:13   JINGLE 13 L   M13) Mk Groove Orchestra            - Roy Ayer's (Party On The 69th Floor)    4:48   M14) Elmo Weber    - You’re A Mean One          3:00   END TALK:   M15) Tokyo Groove Joshi  - My tears were lost on you  5:03   END TALK:   M16) Lucky Me         - On One - Prelude  7:02 Read the full article

[historicalfirearms]

The Tank That Climbed a Mountain

In April 1919, a US-built M1917 light tank, climbed Pikes Peak in Colorado. At the time the road up to Pikes Peak was said to be the ‘World’s Highest Motor Drive’. In terms of publicity having the tank make it up the mountain would have been quite a feat. 

The purpose of the stunt was to encourage American’s to purchase ‘Victory Liberty’ War Bonds in an effort to pay of the US’ national debt accrued by the war. This was the fifth, and final, round of Liberty Bond sales, began in mid-April 1919, and aimed to sell $4.5 billion of government bonds.

We can see that on the front of the tank the words ‘Pike’s Peak or bust’ have been painted in white – this is a reference to a phrase coined by prospector’s during the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush of the 1860s. The woman seen in the photograph above, smashing a bottle of local mineral spring water over the bow of the tank, is Mrs W.H.R. Stote, the chairwoman of Colorado Springs’ Victory Liberty loan committee.

A Pathe Newsreel featuring some footage of the tank’s ascent (source)

The tank was driven by Corporal Howard Brewer and tended by a crew of mechanics and support vehicles. The road which climbed the 14,115 feet tall mountain was unsurfaced and had only been completed in 1916. The tank’s ascent began on April 14 and incredibly over the next two days the tank climbed to 11,440 feet, 13 miles along the road and through several deep snow drifts before a track plate snapped. After repairs the tank and support convoy pressed on – but the tank never made it to the summit. Not because of mechanical failure but unbelievably because it was needed to appear in other Colorado towns as part of the victory loan drive. 

While the tank may not have reached the very top of the mountain, it undoubtedly broke the elevation record for tanks and set an impressive new bench mark possibly as high as 12,000 feet.

Sources:

Images: 1 2 3

100 years ago, a tank took on Pikes Peak, The Colorado Springs Gazette, M.L. Cavanaugh, (source)

More contemporary photographs from the ascent - source

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[whatdoesshedotothem]

Saturday 26 May 1838

8

12 ¼

fine morning F61 ½° at 8 ½ am A- went to the cathedral about 8 or after to sketch the interior and returned at 9 35 – I sat writing till 10 – then breakfast – changed our room – from the small one to the next adjoining a large very good room and breakfasting and moving our things till 12 – our garçon Paul Voisin a nice civil good countenanced unmarried aetatis 31 man from Lyons – does not like here – would be glad to be in a private house again – would be glad to go with us – lived 15 years with la marquise de Montague – was then in the army – then not getting a good place at Lyons came to Paris and from there here – in bed at 12 or 2 and up at 4 – so hard a place, nobody could stay long – he makes 800fr. a year – but would rather have less in a different place – had 350 fr. a year with the marquise de M- and livery – she lived in the r. de la université, but is not now in Paris – lives in the country – A- and I out at 12 35 – took a commissionaire to shew us the way, and then sent him home – Mr. Mumm or somebody, a very civil young man, protestant it seemed, and speaking English very fairly – a German shewed us over the cellars, and afterwards shewed us into a large good salon, and gave us champagne and biscuits – the wine Mousseux and very fair but not so good as Moets’ of Epernay in 1833. should I have as good of Moet at 3/. a bottle? ordered a dozen of his 1ere qualité at 4/50 per bottle to be sent off on Monday and would be in Paris on Tuesday or Wednesday to my address rue St. Victor n° 27 à Paris – thought we might get this dozen over to England for Lady Stuart – en petite cadeau – about an hour at the cellars (at Mr. Mumms’) underground and above – 3 stories of cellars to the depth of 36 to 40 ft. ventilated by grates communicating from the bottom cellar to the top – each story divided into separate vaults perhaps the loftiest 7 or 8ft. high in the centre – perhaps 4 or 5 yards wide and 20+ long – in the lowest story 3 men corking – one filling up the bottles – another putting in the cork, and driving it down with a machine (has only had it about 15 months) on the principle of a corn or button-stamping machine, and the 3rd man tying down the corks, (the tightness gained by a small steel thing round which the string is turned and held fast while the other end is pulled tight) – It is not long since everybody left off gaudon (rosin) and covered the corks with lead-paper – a great improvement

Monday 28 May 1838. no good wine in champagne says our landlord of the Ecu at Epernay since the year 1834.

asked for champagne tranquille – cannot have it now – not till next year – not ripe enough now – that of 1834 will not be ripe till next year – taken with the double-incline clearing racks  the bottles ranged in an angle = about 25°? require turning twice a day for 2 or 3 weeks till all the sediment has sunk down to the cork – then the cork taken out (a difficult operation saw it done) and with the cork out gushes the sediment in the froth that escapes and the bottle being refilled is immediately re-corked – vintage in October – wine remains in cash till April May or June – about 6 months – Mr. Mumm has no vineyards of his own – buys the grapes – shewed us his great ton = 19,000 bottles = 70 such casks as we saw lying about – sends wine to America in boxes containing 12 bottles and 50 ditto has a house in London, Francfort and Cologne – Inquired respecting the ventilation of cellars – he said wine should have good pure air – Madeira should be kept warm and may do without air, but good air cannot do it any harm if the temperature be attended to – the breakage of champagne = 50p.c. the time of year now coming on – best to order champagne for a years’ consumption – should not be kept too long – he owned that the Bordeaux wines (Claret) for the English market were mixed with hermitage and brandy – on leaving Mr. Mumms’ at 1 55 sauntered in the little Jardin des Plantes – nothing particular in it – 2 or 3 little  serres, not much in them – then to the Cours the very nice shaded promenades – then Champs Elysées of Rheims – very pretty cool and pleasant (hot and very fine sun today) sat there writing in pencil in my rough note book all the above of today till now 2 ¾ - and then to the cemetery close by – i.e. close by the Porte de Mars leading to Flanders (the gate by which we entered yesterday) and the ‘Mission’ i.e. croix de la mission erected in 1825, and now turned to a monument to the memory of the brave who died fighting for the liberty of France (viz. the revolutions of the 3 days of July 1830) – sometime in the cemetery spite of boiling sun – among the tombeaux and epitaphs one of the latter by a father to the memory of his daughter, Marie Antoniette Sophie l’Inglois decêdée Thursday 5 December 1822 dans sa 21me année – after 10 foregoing lines ends thus

‘ô mon chere enfant, attends en paix

ce père malheureux ! attends-le sous cette terre

Qui d’après un homme religieux et sensible,

‘n’est que la cendre des morts pétrie avec les larmes

de vivans’ pretty idea  

not aware at this moment that the ancien porte de Mars (arc de triomphe of the Romans) was so near

from the cemetery thro’ the streets and marché to the palais archiépiscopale

the archbishop M. le cardinal de Couci set off to Paris a day or 2 before the outburst of the revolution of July 1830, and has never been here since – at Goritz with the ex-royal family – the bishop of Numidie does the duties of the archbishop – the archbishop much regretted – a very good man – did a great deal of good –the palais worth seeing the grande salle surrounded by the pictures of the king crowned here from Clavis downwards very handsome – pity that damp is spoiling some of the pictures e.g. Louis XVI. at the end of  the salle – Charles X. taken away – the picture still in the palais but his place in the salle vacant, and several fleurs de lis here and there defaced – (as also the fleurs de lis on the shield of Louis 15 in the Place royale – how puerile!) – the grande salle 130x36 pieds and height = about 36 pieds up to the square – ceiling domed – large poutres (beams) across the room partly gilt with 2 rings in each beam towards the side of the room for suspending 2 chandeliers – 4 windows on each side the great entrance door by flight of steps from without – 4 doors on the opposite side of the room – the great fire-place at the end of the room and over it St. Remy crowning Clovis – shewn into what Charles x intended turning into the chapel – the painted glass windows put in – but all stopt by the revolution – this place was the palais de justice after the revolution of 1789 and 3 stories of prisonniers were in this very spot – the duke of Orelans was lately at our hotel (the Lyon d’or) but did not see the Palace – no! said I, he is still a Bourbon, and the sight could not be agreeable – from here went home at 4 ½ for A- to have wine and biscuit and then out again at 4 52 and off to the church of St. Remy – a 20 minutes walk and there at 5 ¼ - under repair – expected to be done in 2 years from this time – very curious old church – the whole of the nave boarded off – had been new roofed and now full of workmen – 2 stories of double aisle round the apsis and choir and a narrow gallery above the upper story immediately under the painted windows – do not remember to have seen this sort of 2 storied double-aisle – went up to the upper story – same dimensions apparently even as high as the story below – the vitreaux – (painted glass) – very ancient – date not known – supposed to be as old as the church – evidently very ancient – all the ceilings of aisles and choir stone-work plastered and painted in imitation of brick-work – the new vaulting (new roof of the nave) done in wood – the old stone roof too heavy on the walls – the 2 stories of double aisle run all round the nave too – see as we return, that the new roof is not quite so steep as the old one – as seen from the old walls of the town the eves are all in one line but the ridge of the old roof of the choir is about 3ft. higher than the ridge of the new roof of the nave – just peeped into the nave after having seen the high altar and chasse containing the relies of St. Remy – the chasse of solid silver before the revolution of 1789 – now of cuivre argenté – the relies exposed to the faithful

SH:7/ML/E/21/0110

for 9 days in October every year – the figures round the high altar not finished sculptured at the back because stood originally against a wall – done under the orders of a cardinal of Lorraine 300 or 400 years ago – interesting as representing in marble statues the 6 ecclesiastical and 6 lay paises de France and their officers who assisted at the sacres (coronations) of the kings of France – looking towards the altar

the left

‘Duke de Bourgogne’ holding the crown

D. de Normandie – a standard

D. de Aquitaine – a standard

Comte ‘de champagne’ – a standard

C. de Flandre – the sword

C. de Toulouse – the spurs

the right

archduke de Rheims holding sa croix

Ev. duke de Laon – a crosier et l’ampoule

Ev. d. de Langres – a crosier et containing the oil and sceptre

Ev. comte de Beauvais – a crosier

Ev. c. de Chalons – a crosier and the ring

Ev. c. de Noyon – a crosier et la selle the kings’s saddle

immediately at the back of the altar in the space between the last Evêque and last court is a St. Remy seated in his archiepiscopal robes and mitre teaching Clovis kneeling at his feel and a Diacre or assistant holding the cosier and an open book – Left the church (much interested) at 6 20 – sauntered back along the  boulevard very lately planted with young elms – cart road in the middle and 2 allées (promenades) (old rampart) the Vesle river running close along its foot on the other side the old wall – on our right towards the town, great deal of garden ground – pépinières and sale vegetable gardens – delighted with our walk back – nowhere such good views of the exterior of the cathedral – too short – too lumping as a whole – wants the lantern tower the lengthiness of York minster, and its freedom from flying buttresses at the east end which look like steps to graduate the high roof gently down to the ground – the effect of this is bad – as if the building could not support its height at that end – never travel without a view of York minster – take it all in all, has it an equal in the world? when very near our hotel at 7 the light so beautiful on the cathedral turned into a courtyard for a better view – the gentleman of the house civilly asked us in and the wife shewed us in the garden – she said the effect would be still better in about an hour – she regretted the great numeros of pigeons jackdaws, crows etc that inhabited the exterior of the building – to us these birds give life to the scene and improve the picturesque – she said the crows assembled on the wire all along the ridge of the roof so as sometimes to form an almost continuous line from end to end, and all regularly flew away to les champs at 9pm – as good as a clock for 9pm we inquired about Mr. Mumm as to the street in which he lived – she did not know the name – supposed we had seen the cellars of Mr. Muller or Mr. Roeder (a German we said he spoke English well and was a protestant) – asked who was really the most renommé négociant en vins in Reims – Madame Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin- I said the town was full of dyers – yes! but only 6 or 7 great dyers in the town – It turned out her husband was a dyer and also a wine merchant – she said we ought to see les filatures en laine (woollen spinning mills) – it seems they have power looms here – she says trade has been very bad, but is now reviving or revived and pretty goof again – Had ordered dinner at 7 – not in till 7 ½ - dinner immediately but the lateness an excuse for a bad dinner – no épinards – nothing left – I sent for one mutton cutlet for I had literally nothing but cold fish not eating the bit of beef or the little redone overdone poulet or asparagus – sat over dinner and dessert till 10 – then wrote till 11 – very fine day – F67° at 11 pm

[kensharp]

[ torrance coombs, male, he/his ] KENELM “KEN” SHARP has been spotted in beacon hills. the 28/274 year old VAMPIRE is known for being SARCASTIC and QUICK-TEMPERED, but they can also be JUST and CHARMING. it’s said they are currently a ADJUNCT HISTORY PROFESSOR in BEACON HILLS COMMUNITY COLLEGE, and that they are INDIFFERENT TO integration. [ ally, 26, she/her, pst ]

Ken started every new semester the same way. Waiting until the class was settled, he'd enter the room, set his things at his desk, and look out at the students. Once he had their attention, he'd turn to the board and start scrawling on it as he recited the quote. "Timid men prefer the calm of despotism to the tempestuous sea of Liberty." Then he'd turn back to them and wait. Usually, nobody said anything, but everyone in a while, there would be a student who was brave enough to name the author. If no one spoke, Ken would tell them. "Thomas Jefferson said this in a letter to Philip Mazzei in 1796. What do you think that was about?" And the class would begin.

Basics

❍ Name Kenelm “Ken” Sharp ❍ Gender Male ❍ Age 274 ❍ Turned 28 ❍ DoB 22 Dec. 1748 ❍ Height 5 ft 7 in. ❍ Build Muscular/lean ❍ Sexuality Ambiguous ❍ Status Single ❍ Maker Margaret

Brief Biography 

❍ Born in pre-revolutionary America, Ken grew up the son of a farmer in Chesapeake City, MD with one brother and two sisters. Before his brother was unfortunately kicked by a horse he was set to attend the College and Academy of Philadelphia, but his brother’s injury derailed the plan. 

❍ Later moved to Boston, MA at sixteen to become an apprentice to a local gunsmith. While living on Boston, Ken was witness to the Boston Massacre which unsettled him causing him to leave Boston as soon as his apprenticeship was complete at age twenty one.

❍ His apprenticeship complete, Ken moved to Philadelphia and took a position at another gunsmith’s shop as an aide. He soon met his future wife Priscilla, the daughter of a bookkeeper. They married quickly and had a total of three children together, though only their two sons survived to adulthood.

❍ Over time, Ken’s Patriot leanings had been growing as the tensions were jacketed up between the colonies and the English. After the Battle at Lexington and Concord when the Continental Army was formed he along with his best friend Edmund joined without hesitation. 

❍ After the battle of White Plains, Ken is promoted from Sergeant to Lieutenant.

❍ Ken served sixteen months with the Continental Army. Until the Battle of Fort Lee where he was shot in his attempt to go back for Edmund who he feared has been caputred during Patriot retreat from the Fort. A vampire named Margaret who enjoyed following battlefields found him as he lay dying and decided to turn him.

❍ The relationship between Margaret and Ken was complicated as he felt drawn to her as his maker, but he longed deeply for his former life. He was stricken at being unable to ever return to his wife. However, the magnetism between himself and Margaret created a fire and water relationship that he couldn’t escape. She had saved him after all.

❍ Then there was his brother via Margaret’s line. Gerard was a Frenchman she had turned a at the turn of the 18th century (around 1710). He loved Margaret obsessively and was extremely jealous of the attention Ken got from her. Their relationship remained tense for several decades. Until Gerard decided upon a way to get his revenge.

❍ Over a few years time Gerard cultivated a friendship with Ken. The two even shared a few moments of true comradeship and intimacy, but Gerard still betrayed him in the end. 

❍ Feigning the desire to help Ken close out his human life, he suggested they pay a visit to his wife behind Margaret’s back -years prior she had strictly told Ken he could not return home. Ken jumped at the chance and Gerard convinced him to make the journey with haste not even allowing them time to stop and feed. 

❍ When they arrived at the Sharp residence, Ken didn’t even realize he was near starving. In her shock Priscilla stumbled at the sight of him scraping her hand when she fell. Ken was unable to control the bloodlust at the sight and smell of it. He with the help of Gerard drained Priscilla dry.

❍ Seeing what he had done Ken was horrified and fled. Hiding out in the Louisiana Territory for several years, Ken wallowed in his sorrows only feeding when it became absolutely necessary. Margaret found him a few years later on her own. She had spurned Gerard for what he’d done and convinced Ken to come with her.

❍ They spent the next century or so together, but their relationship wasn’t the same. While Priscilla’s death had closed the last chapter on his human life, Ken was melancholy for a time and when he dragged himself out of it he no longer felt such a strong pull towards Margaret. As fond of Ken as she was, Margaret knew it was only a matter of time until she’d have to let him go.

❍ That time came when the two ran into Gerard in Oregon 1901. Ken brutalized him, but in the end he gave him mercy at Margaret’s behest and staked him.

❍ After Gerard’s death, Ken separated from Margaret to travel on his own. Moving from place to place, he continued the hobby he had started around the year 1800, journaling. Ken kept numerous journals of all world events he felt significant over time collecting quite a large collection. He went wherever the action was documenting in a way he imagined Herodotus had centuries before him. 

❍ Around 2010 Ken decided on a whim that he could share his knowledge with the youth of the day. He’d grown to realize that so many people easily forgot the past. Fabricating himself the credentials necessary to become a college Professor he glamored his way into a job teaching night classes at University of Philadelphia -the school he’d so wished to attend when he was still human.

❍ In 2016 when The Unveiling took place, Ken saw the way the public was reacting and decided it was prudent to lay low. He quit his job at Philidephia University and hid out in a rural Iowa for the next two years.

❍ When it appeared to Ken that things had begun to somewhat stabilize he came out of hiding. He was in no rush to get back to teaching and with the discrimination supernaturals were still facing he wasn’t sure he’d be able to. So for the next two years he traveled, though Ken still kept a low profile.

❍ At the tail end of 2020, Ken found himself in Beacon Hills where he came across an ad for an open Professorship in the History department. He’ll begin with teaching two classes for the Spring semester of 2021: American History 1776- 1800 and World History.

Positions

❍ The Authority Neither positive or negative.  

❍ The United Worlds Association Neither positive or negative. Skeptical of what their true agenda is. 

❍ The Human Rights Protection Union Considers them somewhat of a nuisance, but not necessarily a threat.

❍ The Supernaturals Integration Act Fairly neutral, but still sees it as somewhat of a hindrance.

❍ Proposed Supernatural Registration Bill Vehemently Against

[hermanwatts]

“I Wish to the Devil the Country was Prepared”

In early January 1932, Robert E. Howard in a letter to H. P. Lovecraft had this to say:

“I love peace, yet I wouldnt [sic] mind a war right now such a hell of a lot, if the country was prepared; but it isnt [sic]. Japan knows it; that’s why she thinks she can kick the flag around, beat up American officials, and get away with it. I wish to the devil the country was prepared.”

This comment was in relation to Japan’s recent seizure of Manchuria in late 1931. Historians often view this as the first shot that would lead to World War 2.

I recently read Cry Havoc: The Arms Race and the Second World War 1931-1941 by Joe Maiolo. It fits in with After the Trenches by William O. Odom, Linn’s Guardians of Empire, and Geoffrey Perrett’s There’s a War to be Won.

Maiolo makes the case that Stalin’s First Five Year Plan set off the 1930s arms race that led to WW2. The Japanese made a gamble to grab Manchuria before the Red Army was modernized and too powerful.

Robert E. Howard was correct. The U.S was not in a good condition to fight a war. But then again, that is the condition it generally goes into war. In 1932, the U.S. Army had 133, 200 men. The National Defense Act of 1920 called for 17,000 officers and 280,000 enlisted men. The National Guard was to be at 435,000 men.

The U.S Army had received no new equipment after WW1. In the 1930s, it was still using the British Mark VIII “Liberty” tank and had 950 French Renault FT-17 made under license. The Renault FT-17 was used up through the 1930s so in terms of quality, not at a disadvantage.

Renault FT-17 Tank

There were designs on the books for new artillery such as the 105 mm howitzer but in 1932, the Army was still using 75 mm and 155 mm cannons of WW1 vintage. Mortars were 3 inch trench mortars with often faulty ammunition due improper storage.

What the U.S. Army had plenty of were around 2 million M1917 Enfield rifles in Cosmoline. During WW1, Winchester, Remington, and Eddystone could produce Enfields in far greater numbers than Springfield Armory with the Springfield ’03 rifle. Corporal (later Sergeant) Alvin York used the M1917 Enfield on that October day in 1918 where he picked off one German after another. Most U.S. Army units in WW1 carried Enfields.

The Enfield was accurate but long (46.25 inches). It does have that short and smooth action the Enfield series of rifles is known for. Some had been sold to the civilian market, but the supply seemed inexhaustible. They were used in basic training during WW2. In the late 1930s, the Army sold around 40,000 a year to the Philippine Commonwealth for the army that Gen. Douglas MacArthur was supposed to create. Enfields were also sold to the Free French, Nationalist Chinese, Irish Free State, and the Royal Netherlands Indies Army. I have seen pictures of stacks of Enfields handed out to Philippine guerrillas in WW2. Some were sent to Britain after Dunkirk. Rear echelon troops such as Signal Corps in the Pacific had Enfields late in WW2. All the M-1 carbines were being sent to Europe. The M1917 is still in use by the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol in Greenland. The Patrol is an elite unit of the Danish Navy. The M1917 works in extreme cold conditions.

M1917 Enfield

The official rifle of the U.S. Army in 1932 was the Springfield ’03. The Army had somewhere around 800,000 of those left over from WW1. It is an accurate rifle owing its action to the Mauser.

The U.S. Army had 102,174 Browning Automatic Rifles from WW1. Ever talk to WW2 vets, they liked the BAR. It was heavy, weighing around 19 lbs. It was originally designed for suppressing fire crossing no-man’s land. Bonnie and Clyde used BARs and did Frank Hamer who took out Bonnie and Clyde. Foreign especially British writers hate the BAR calling it a poor light machine gun. It was used sort of as an LMG but gave a rifle squad a little more fire power. The Marines had two BARS per rifles squad in WW2.

Browning Automatic Rifle

The M1919 Browning machine gun began service right after WW1 and used up through Vietnam. John Moses Browning was a firearms genius.

Browning M1919 Machine Gun

The Thompson submachine gun was not adopted until 1938 by the U.S. Army but in use by the Navy and Marines. So, overall, the U.S. was in similar condition to all other great powers following WW1 with small arms.

The biggest problem is the U.S. Army had no large-scale training exercises during most of the 1930s due to lack of funding. Gen. Douglas MacArthur fought tooth and nail to keep the Army from being further by Roosevelt but money was not present for training.

A bright spot is the Army Air Corps. The Air Corps took 20% of expenditures in 1933. The U.S. at least kept up with new designs of aircraft and some purchases. The Curtis P6-E Hawk would have been the standard “pursuit” plane in those last years of bi-wing airplanes.

Out of 133,200 men, 25% of the U.S. Army was overseas. The old thinking of garrisons strewn across colonial empires ready to deal with any local emergencies.  U. S. Army strength overseas:

Philippines: 11,744 (5207 Army, 6537 Philippine Scouts). Three infantry regiments, four coast artillery, one cavalry regiments, two field artillery regiments.

Hawaii: 14,223. The Hawaiian Division (“The Pineapple Army”) and coast artillery.

Alaska: two understrength companies at Juneau.

Panama: 2 infantry regiments, 2 coast artillery regiments, 1 battalion field artillery

Tientsin, China: 15th Infantry Regiment at 2 battalions

Puerto Rico: 65th Infantry Regiment.

Another 20% of the U.S. Army was on the Mexican border. The 2nd Infantry Division was kept at full strength at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. The 1st Cavalry Division at Ft. Bliss, Texas at 9,595 men; the 24th Infantry Regiment, one of the Army’s two black infantry regiments was at Ft. Huachuca in Arizona on the border.

The Washington Treaty of 1922 restricted the U.S. Navy. The Navy had 11 battleships, 3 fleet carriers, 19 cruisers, 102 destroyers, 55 submarines for two oceans. The Navy had 93,384 personnel.

The U.S. Marines stood at 16,561. The Marines were scattered from Shanghai in China to Cuba in small detachments. The 4th Marine Regiment had been in Shanghai with two battalions. The North China Marines fluctuated between 200-300 men at this time.

North China Marines

REH to HPL, 1932: “Along the Border there is a definite undercurrent of expectation, or at least apprehension, of Mexican invasion in case of war. There has been a persistent rumor, every [sic] since the last war, of the mysterious presence and vaguely sinister activities of a hundred thousand Japanese in the interior of Mexico.”

The Mexican Revolution from 1910-1920 gets most historical press. Mexico continued to have turmoil through the 1920s and 30s. Some were regional military commander led revolts against downsizing. The Yaqui Indians in northern Mexico fought the Mexican government 1926-27. There was the Cristero Rebellion 1927-29 and Cedillo Rebellion 1938-39.

Closer to home for Robert E. Howard was the San Diego Plan of 1915. Named after the small town of San Diego in southern Texas, the manifesto stated:

“On the 20th day of February, 1915, at two o’clock in the morning, we will arise in arms against the Government and Country of the United States of North America, ONE AS ALL AND AS ONE, proclaiming the liberty of individuals of the black race and its independence of Yankee tyranny which has held us in iniquitous slavery since remote times.”

In the summer of 1915, Mexican rebels and bandits (Sedicionistas) launched 30 raids against targets carried from across the Rio Grande River. The Seditionistas killed almost two-dozen U.S. citizens including kidnapping, torturing, and decapitating a U.S. soldier displaying his head on a pole in the border. The Anglo-Texan response was with extreme prejudice including extra-judicial executions in retaliation. Robert E. Howard would have been nine years old during these events.

The 2nd Infantry Division and 1st Cavalry were kept at full strength through the 1920s and 30s ready to deal with Mexico.

Could war have happened in 1932? The U.S. was so weak militarily that Japan contemptuously went about its aggression with little fear. The U.S. simply could not intimidate Japan. There was a chance of a clash with the North China Marines at Peking and the 15th Infantry Regiment at Tientsin sparking a wider war. The Japanese could have taken out scattered, isolated U.S. detachments in China, Philippines, and even Hawaii.

The plan was for the U.S. Navy to rush to relieve the Philippines in War Plan Orange while the Philippine garrison retreated to the Bataan peninsula and Corregidor island. It was thought it would take the Japanese six months just to cut through the jungle to get to American lines.

A daring attack by the Japanese on Panama could have put the canal out of use. Opportunistic politicians or generals in Mexico under Japanese encouragement could have attacked along the U.S.–Mexico border in the hope of regaining the South West. The Japanese could have trainers and advisors with the Mexican Army. They even could have a regiment of infantry to stiffen up their allies.

The U.S. could find itself with almost 25% of its army gone and another 20% desperately holding the border with no new tanks, no new artillery. It would take around eight months before you get the skeletal army and National Guard divisions filled out and trained. The Army at least had lots of rifles in storage. There were over 2 million WW1 veterans. A fair number would have been still young enough and in acceptable physical shape to provide a trained reserve to draw upon.

American industry would be able to supply plenty of trucks and other vehicles but things like tanks and cannons would take time.

Curtis P-6 Hawk

The Army Air Corps first monoplane P-26 fighter was a year away from first deliveries and the B-10 bomber two years. The Curtis P-6 Hawk, the last biplane used by the Army Air Corp would have been the plane used along the Mexican border and patrolling the West Coast.

Perhaps some sort of new tank would have been produced. An imaginary tank linking the WW1 leftovers and the M-2 tank of the late 1930s could have been produced.

The Japanese Navy could sail at will along the California coast shelling Los Angeles and San Francisco. There would not be much the U.S. could do about it for a while. In the long run, the U.S. would pummel Mexico into submission. A young Robert E. Howard joins up in the Texas National Guard (36th Infantry Division) or the Army to give the Mexicans and Japanese hell.

If there were an opportune time for the Japanese to attack, it would have been around 1936-1937. The U.S. Army would have another four years of deteriorating equipment and financial starvation. Franklin Roosevelt had taken officers out of active duty for one of his New Deal programs. They ran Civilian Conservation Corps camps. The U.S. was lucky in that a generation of young men were in a quasi-military environment providing pre-basic training. Roosevelt admired Mussolini and Stalin’s central controlled economies and emulated them. Hitler had very similar camps for German youth at the same time.

The U.S. was lucky in that when war came, a new generation of planes, tanks, rifles, vehicles were coming off the assembly lines. The Japanese and Italians were off by 10 years. Both had up modern armies for the early 1930s.  Involvement in wars during the 30s delayed modernization giving the Allies the upper hand.

A war in 1932 would have looked a lot like something at the end of WW1 with bolt action rifles, bi-planes, primitive tanks. The 1st Cavalry Division would have been on horseback on the border with some old armored cars confined to the probably few functioning roads in northern Mexico. The Marines might have made a landing at Veracruz with a thrust to Mexico City to put an end of that part of the war.  The expanding army would have made its mistakes and growing pains in Mexico. The .30-06 cartridge used in the ’03 Springfield, M1917 Enfield, and Browning Automatic Rifle was perfect for fighting in the open territory of the border. If Mexico did not join with Japan, there would have been a period of just some naval clashes for up to two years. The Japanese might have invaded Alaska making for a scenario of warfare in polar conditions.

The fleet would begin the hard fight across the Pacific as laid out in various versions of War Plan Orange would get underway ending with a blockade of Japan. By the 1930s, Navy admirals had a realistic view of a Pacific War with an island-hopping campaign through the Japanese Mandate islands including the Marshall and Caroline Islands. The Army said it could hold out in the Philippines for 6 months, the Navy estimated a two-year campaign across the Pacific to get the Philippines. So, the Army commander of the Philippine Department would be surrendering before help arrived. It was a command that few relished.

The U.S. could have trained Chinese troops to tie down the Japanese Army. Who knows, the Soviets might have joined in taking Manchuria from Japan once the war turned.

A war in 1932 with Japan and Mexico is an interesting topic. Gen. Douglas MacArthur was Chief of Staff of the U.S Army so there would be drama to the conflict. Who knows, maybe Grandpa Theobald would have volunteered as an ambulance driver like he tried to do in WW1.

“I Wish to the Devil the Country was Prepared” published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/