#lovecraft country lb

[anonil88]

Pissed my entire lovecraft country episode 7 liveblog got deleted fuck. But imma try to summarize my thoughts.

My favorite episode of the season so far !

Dee is a badass just like her mom and dad and no matter what happens next episode that lil girl is amazing. She got snaps and claps from me for beating the jiggaboos ass and correcting those crooked ass cops.

"Hippolyta is greek assholes."

Christina and Tic are like Cain and Able. So it makes sense why Christina is so cold, if she cared about anyone but herself she would not be as motivated towards her goal of immortality or ascending magical heights. Because then she would have something/someone who she would have to consider in her decision. Tic is is similar in this way but its the reverse for him. Cousins not brothers but similar.

But lil miss Christina apparently got feeling strong as hell to subject herself to Emmet Tills exact death just so she can have some semblance of the pain it feels when black people look a member of the community so violently.

Ruby finally told Leti she is fucking her enemy. The pipe too good and honey pit too sweet to stop now lmfao.

Ruby had me wanting to cry though before and when that cop pulled up. William/Christina had to be like get off my woman. Which they are bold as hell being so publicly open in an interracial relationship.

That sex scene though:

We finally have seen the transformation from black to white to black Ruby and I wanna say the effects team brava.

The conversation they had about Christina feeling nothing toward's Emmets death anf not caring about anyone else is so crazy good. Everything Ruby said is exactly what it feels like dating a white person as a black person. You want them to relate and be sympathetic but they never will fully understand unless they go through it together. Which as I pointed to she did that.

Ruby is selfish, glad Christina pointed that out so bluntly, cause Ruby did not need to go to Christina after that funeral but she did. Cause she wanted some passionate, some strings, dick to numb her feelings.

I love how everyone could tell Leti was pregnant on Tics side, like pregnancy smelling noses.

Leti and Jiah that table conversation was tense as fuck. Tic is a p.o.s for how he treated Ji-ah and is treating Leti. Learn how to fucking communicate sir. He threw Ji-Ah out of that house like it was his but he don't pay no bills. Thats Leticia fucking Lewis' house. Ji-Ah was trying to help him and he was too dense and dumb to see she loves him.

Wild, that Tic saw the future and his sons book also i appreciate them tying the source material to the show in that way.

Montrose is actually being a good dad which is strange for me, but he never cheated on Tics momma. Also he is helping Tic use magic and is willing to sacrifice himself, there is so much about him that Atticus obviously doesn't know. Which is so sad.

That protection spell on Tic mirrored with the one Christina put on Leti and the baby. Which probably means something.

As I said in my original liveblog the Bible is a book of magic, spells, and faith in ways that people fail to see.

I found it funny that they gave Christina all the pieces she needed and she didn't even force their hands or coerce them, she just left the door open for communication. Which is something they all could learn.

Fuck these cops, fuck all of them. That mark of Cain (which is clever) came in handy completely. I wonder how Christina would react if Ruby had died. Yaknow what no i don't she a lil too powerful and bold for that.

Entirely and completely fuck that chief or sheriff or whatever the fuck he was. Nasty add spit.

So glad shoggoth puppy ripped him and all his goons to fucking shreds.

Speaking of which shoggoth puppy!!! What should we name him, im thinking shogo or crafty.

Does anyone know the significance of the lights being turned off in their town that night?

Next episode preview thoughts: I fucking love this show and I need more like it. Next episode looks wild. Leti is being all protective of her big sister because Christina and Ruby said:

And Montrose is playing captain save a legacy. I need more shows like this with black people ugh I feel so seen as a nerdy black person. Books are great but we shouldn't just be shoved into words without pictures and never seeing ourselves in realities we could only imagine.

[lesbianjamies]

hmmm i don't appreciate this ji-ah disrespect from tic tbh

[jessiemieli]

that was definitely the most horror-esque episode so far

[michaeltrevino]

HOLY FUCKING SHIT

[pvperplxnes]

lawd tic’s dad... I had no idea

[anonil88]

Glad im not the only one who ain't vibing with that at all.

Lovecraft Country: killed the only fat darkskin black woman and acted like it wasn’t nothing....

Me to the writers and Misha Green

[chuuphic]

“three people went missing inside the house”

me when those three crackers broke into the house: 😈😈😈

[littlefreakjezebels]

“It’s a small favor, really. Inconsequential.” Why are white men always lyin?

[rubysevens]

i hate haunted houses dude i hate them so much. dude i live in a house

[summerdutkowsky]

lovecraft country time y’all! i’ll tag spoilers and liveblogging if i decide to actually liveblog but i’m so fucking ready for this show

[fvckyouimaprophet]

i haven’t seen the ep of lovecraft country yet, but i saw that ruby died, and did they have to kill the dark-skinned, queer, fat woman (who was also their best character)??? 

i never got the shipping with christina. it’s predictable and 🙄 that everyone went crazy over the one main white character on this show and shipped ruby with someone who was clearly evil.

but like... did she have to get punished and die for basically wanting to be treated with basic human decency? at the end of the day, ruby navigated the world very differently than her sister, and her desires reflected that.

anyway, it’s making me anxious to watch it, and idk. i don’t know what i expected, but it wasn’t that.

[anonil88]

Lovecraft country episode 7 liveblog

Aw Hip :'(

Rmfe at Tic being a dumb dumb

Aww he's out....ish, well eatting breakfast with bae kind of and here he goes ruining a happy moment.

Ole complaining and mean head ass, well got what u wanted before u could self sabotage your own relationship, someone else gon do it for you, I guess.

Ruby got herself a "woman", Christina said i got feelings for you. I've never seen blood magic portrayed like this Frankenstein mash up thats dope.

FUCK YOU TIC. (Also why it seem like the actor really didn't wanna say that lmao)

Idgaf, yes he was a hypocrite, but Tic thats shitty to say.

Oh lord Hippolyta be safe.

Ruby is so damn thick like oh man gawd.

Leti keep your ass at home, his life isn't your own and you have your own stuff to deal with.

Ayy Hip likes French music

I miss soul food so bad, like this hurts to watch....

Aw two ole ladies being friends til death,, when you are all alone.

R.i.p Emmet Till

I do love Ruby and Leti as siblings, ooo wait baby juju oh no. All that raw pipe was bound to lead to something. Such as a baby. Wait....can Christina get Ruby pregnant ahem.

Ohhhh shit this device is so cool looking.

Noooo Hip! NO !

Wait how the hell Tic just show up?

Its time travel time:

Wait they are coordinates, AFRO FUTURISM !!!

Yes girl get ya life but also no but also yes

If i met Josephine Baker I might of thrown my gay self at her lmfao, like thrown.

Oh wow this is all her past lives and its like healing generational trauma through shared/lived experiences.

Oh they gon die damn

Awwww George

PSA: STOP SHRINKING YOURSELF FOR OTHERS ESPECIALLY MEN AND PEOPLE THAT WANT TO MINIMIZE YOUR WORTH.

And again AFRO FUTURISM

[lesbianjamies]

seeing jamie chung again in lovecraft country just reminds me that she was and always will be the only live action mulan i acknowledge 😔

[typingtess]

Tiptoeing through the “Indentured″ guest cast

Charles Ambrose as Lukas Meyer Ambrose appeared in episodes of Sons of Anarchy Castle, Hollywood Vampire and Lovecraft Country.

Inside his trailer. Outside his trailer.

Lex King as Mia Hahn Played Kat in Dominion, Aphrodite in Troy: Fall of a City and Callie in American Princess.  Had guest roles in Brave New World and The Good Lord Bird.

Outside her trailer:   With Daniela Ruah, Medalion Rahimi and their stunt doubles.  

Michael O'Neill as Retired U.S. Army General Richard Collins O’Neill is one of those “that guy” actors who you see and say “I know that guy!”

Played Father Jansen in Days of Our Lives, Secret Service Agent Ron Butterfield in The West Wing, Ron Cheals in The Unit, Nick Ford in Bates Motel, Alan Sparks in Extant, Sen. Roland Foulkes in Rectify, Lonnie Mencken in Scandal, Carl Luca on SWAT, Senator Mitchell Chapin in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Cameron Collier in Messiah and Larry Mills in Council of Dads.

Had two roles in JAG – Commander Bradley in season four’s “Shakedown” and Major General Harold Rossing in the series finale.  Was Former NCIS Special Agent Riley McCallister in the season eight “Enemies Foreign”/”Enemies Domestic�� in the season eight two-parter of NCIS.  He also showed up in NCIS episode 200th episode “Life Before His Eyes” as McCallister.

Famously also played Gary Clark the mass shooter in Grey’s Anatomy.

Guest roles go back to the 1980’s and include Quincy, LA Law, Picket Fences, One West Waikiki, The Cape, Promised Land (starring Gerald McRaney), The Lazarus Man, The Pretender, Millennium, Orleans, The X-Files, Roswell (1999), Chicago Hope, NYPD Blue, Diagnosis Murder, 24, Boston Public, Ally McBeal, Without a Trace, Presido Med, Carnivale, The Practice, Judging Amy, Crossing Jordan, LAX, Boston Legal, Cold Case, ER, Commander in Chief, Close to Home, 3 lbs., Lincoln Heights, The Nine, K-Ville, Criminal Minds, The Women’s Murder Club, The Mentalist, Prison Break, My Own Worst Enemy, Leverage, Army Wives, FlashForward, Sons of Anarchy, Numb3rs, Fringe, Miami Medical, Law & Order: LA, The Glades, Prime Suspect (US version), CSI: Miami, Vegas, Necessary Roughness, Rizzoli & Isles, Battle Creek, Manhattan, The Resident, Shooter and The Romanoffs.

Stephanie Erb as Tranquility Villa Staff Member Psychologist Vicky Weber Was Camille Owens on Port Charles, Luellen in True Blood, Dr. Janice Mead in The Young and The Restless and Helen Miller in Ray Donovan,

Played Rachel Nasry in “The Enemy Within” season 12 episode of NCIS, Molly Layne in season two NCIS: New Orleans episode “Sleeping with the Enemy”.

Guest roles include Star Trek: The Next Generation, One West Waikiki, The Naked Truth, Grace Under Fire Elle, Partners, Dream On, NewsRadio, Everyone Loves Raymond, ER, Freaks and Geeks, Third Rock from the Sun, Bette, Days of Our Lives, Inside Schwartz, Will & Grace (2002), Six Feet Under, Star Trek: Enterprise, Miracles, NYPD Blue, Strong Medicine, Two and a Half Men, Threshold, House, 24, Grey’s Anatomy, Monk, Close to Home, Ghost Whisperer, Criminal Minds, Knight Rider (2009)  Parks and Recreation, Weeds, Three Rivers, Numb3rs, The Mentalist, Desperate Housewives, Falling Upwards, Bones, The Fosters, Girl Meets World, Murder in the First, Bosch, Superior Donuts, Mom, 9-1-1 and Grace and Frankie.

Ju'an Monsalvez as ATF Special Agent Francisco Reyes Played Det. Ben Johnson in Saints and Sinners and has been Father Reyes on General Hospital since 2015.  

Guest roles include Veronica Mars, Lie to Me, Without a Trace, 90210 (2009), Castle, The Kill Corporation, The Mentalist, Scorpion, Code Black, Baby Daddy, Get Shorty, American Housewife, Hawaii Five-0 (2019), Jane the Virgin and 9-1-1.

Gigi Bermingham as Laura Played Dr. Lois Banks in Days of Our Lives and is currently Naomi Dreyfus on General Hospital.

Appeared in episodes of Beverly Hills 90210 (1992), Hudson Street, Can’t Hurry Love, Saved by the Bell: The New Class, The Tony Danza Show, Any Day Now, Oh Baby, The Geena Davis Show, State of Grace, Judging Amy, CSI (2002), Weeds, Hart of Dixie, Mistresses, The Britishes, Chasing Life, Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, American Horror Story and Jane the Virgin.

Nicola Lambo as Lead ATF Agent Was Dr. Kristin Stanwicke in Last Life.  In NCIS season 15, was CGIS Special Agent Amanda Graham in the “Fallout” episode.

Had guest roles on 90210 (2013), Hart of Dixie, General Hospital, Scandal, Scorpion, Parenthood, Revenge, CSI: Cyber, The Young and The Restless, Castle, The Catch, Jane the Virgin, Fresh Off the Boat, Baby Daddy, Major Crimes, Speechless, Law & Order: True Crime, How to Get Away with Murder, Freakish, Me Myself and I, Lethal Weapon, Mom, American Crime Story, SWAT, Will & Grace (2019), Bounce, Criminal Minds, Good Trouble, Rebel and Lucifer.

On the set. On the lot.  

Written by:  Frank Military wrote or co-wrote “Little Angels”, “Deliverance”, “Lockup”, “The Job”, “Greed”, “Betrayal”, “Crimeleon”, “Vengeance”, “Out of the Past” Part One, “Rude Awakenings” Part Two, season four’s finale “Descent”, season five’s premiere “Ascension”, “Allegiance”, “Spoils of War”, “Black Budget”, SEAL Hunter", “Rage”, “Unspoken”, “Unlocked Mind”, “Revenge Deferred”, “The Seventh Child”, “Crazy Train”, “Uncaged”, “The Silo”, “Monster”, “Line in the Sand”, season ten opener “To Live and Die in Mexico”, “The Patton Project”, “Better Angels”,  season 10 finale “False Flag”, “A Bloody Brilliant Plan”, season 11 finale “Code of Conduct”, “Raising the Dead” and “Through the Looking Glass”.

Directed by: Eric A. Pot directed “Resurrection”, “Windfall”, “Traitor”, “Internal Affairs”, “Home is Where the Heart Is”, “Forasteira”, “Reentry”, “Hit List”, “The One Who Got Away”, “Kill Beale Vol 1”, “Fortune Favors the Bold”, “A Fait Accompli” and “Imposter Syndrome”.

[writinglionqueen]

Drew McIntyre Rough Sex Headcannons

Because I love all my Drew girls and this popped into my head while I was on my way back from getting my bed. I still need to set that shit up but this seems more important. 

There’s no telling when you’re going to get your whole world rocked by Drew wanting to get rough with you. 

He may come home a little frustrated due to the outcome at work or because of an ambush or something and that’s a tell he may be a little rough with you to let out that frustration. 

There could be times where he’s more smiling and mischievous and he wants to push your limits just a bit, where he wants to experiment, where there’s just the fun kind of rough. 

Or there could be times where the two of you fight and it leads to rough sex. Where he is staring you down, nostrils flaring in anger before on of you two grab for the other to crash your lips onto others and kicking-starting a night of passionate sex that is on the rough side. 

And when he wants to get rough, the man will get rough. 

When he’s wants to be rough, he likes to bite a little more, mark your neck a little more, leave little bruises on your hips because he’s holding onto you a little more. 

At times, he likes to pick you up, showing off how strong he is as he pushes you up against the nearest wall or lays you down on the bed. 

The man likes to restrict your movements; gathering your wrists and one, large hand and pinning it above you head as he kisses you, just a way to hold you down and keep you where he wants you.

He gets more careless when he’s rough; when he undresses you, he doesn’t care if he has to, literally, rip you out of your clothes. You may have to mourn your torn lace on the days where he wants to be rough with you, because he sure could rip the material. 

And when he has you, all naked and ready for him....you better hang onto him. The man will rock into you at a pace that will make you whimper and cry in pleasure, will make you rake your nails down the man’s back, will make the bed slam into the wall at every movement of his hips. You will loose your voice by morning. 

The man will hold you down, using his strength against you to keep you pinned how he likes atop the bed. 

Or, even better, using his weight to hold you down. Having 265 lbs of Scotsman keeping you in place, pinning you to the mattress and making your head spin to know how strong he is, how big he is, how great he is at everything he does to your body.

While he’s thrusting into you, he’s whispering how good your being for him, he’s whispering how good you feel around his big cock, he’s whispering how much he’s enjoying wrecking your body. He’s praising you. Some of it is absolute filth while....he can also spill some of the sweetest things, when he’s simultaneously making a mess of your pussy. 

If he doesn’t say a word, he’s growling like an absolute animal. But it’s ok because all you can do is cry and whimper and moan in return. 

When he wants to be rough with you, he can push you to climax a little faster than usual. He can be so impatient because he wants to feel your body draw tight around his large cock.

And when you do cum, you scream his name. You’re clawing down his back. making him growl in your ear as he follows. 

In the end, he’ll make sure to clean you up. Especially if he makes a mess. He’d whisper the sweetest and loveliest things to you. Pulling your body into his side, fingers running across your heated skin as you listen to his heart slow down, your own fingers feeling at his pecs and running across his chest. 

When you drift off to sleep not soon after, you’re content and satisfied to the point of the deepest kind of sleep you ever get. 

And when you wake up the next morning, you wouldn’t complain one bit about how sore your body may be for the next couple of days. 

Tag: @adriennegabriella @amariemoore @andie01 @annoyingasian @ar3le @artemisapalla316 @ashkrystal @axelwolf8109 @balorstrowmanblackmurphy @beckyann6879 @bigbabyscottishpsychopath @blackmoonrising @brownskinafro @calicina @calwitch @claymoreme @crossfitjesusinblackskinnyjeans @curlyafrogirl @dalia-corven @darlingambrose @dcnmarvelgamergeek @demonqueen29 @detectivecrepe @drewshoneybadger @fabulousrockstar @fireyegale @fivefootxo @flawlessglamazon @fullofmelaninsarcasmandepression @gold--gucciempress @hardcoresweet45 @heel-rollins @homeorbust @ihavenowilltolivelol @i-have-saracasm @itsicantbelievethis666 @jazzy-tzw @jeffhardyenigmawwefan @junglecassidy​ @kalliravenne​ @lilred91​ @littlesuperstar​ @madamaholmes​ @madebypointlesswerewolves​ @malethirsty​ @meishaabae​ @meremaidqueen​ @midnight--luna​ @monocromaticstaircase​ @moxleysbaby​ @moxley-unhinged​ @mox-made-me-do-it​ @moxnmurphy​ @moxtiel​ @neversatisfiedgirl​ @nevertoofarfromivar​ @new-zealand-chic​ @nicolewoo​ @nothinginlifebutgreif​ @number1120​ @ofbeornandbjorn​ @pandaluver96​ @queenofthearchitect​ @saiyandude​ @sassymox​ @savemeroman​ @scuzmunkie​ @sebstanismylife​ @shieldgirl18​ @shortyiceheart​ @slytherinyourrpants​ @softmoxymuffin​ @superrezzy00​ @taryn-dibiase​ @thatnerdwriter​ @thatpanpal​ @the-beastslayers-queen​ @thehoundsofjustice​ @thewrestlingwarehouse​ @theworldofotps​ @trashofambrolleigns​ @twistedbeautifully​ @unabashedwrestlefics​ @undiscovereddisneyroyalty​ @unprettypeony​ @voidstrugh​ @waywardwrestlewritingwaif​ @welcome-to-lovecraft-country​ @xbreezymeadowsx​ @yaint-me​ @youcantreignonmyparade​

[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/