This is from Theo's - I don't know where he got it but it is worthy . . .
All the important battles that took place over the last ten centuries. The sizes of the explosions and labels are proportional to the number of casualties. The music is "Ride Of The Valkyries" of course, by Richard Wagner.
Because of blog format constraints I can't make it bigger, but you can see the original You Tube clip HERE
Speaking of You Tube, THIS could really cramp my style . . . seems they want to make it a Federal crime to embed a YouTube video - if turns out to be infringing, and more than 10 people view it . . . they're talking a five year jail sentence.
Today's Bird HERE
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Showing posts with label military history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label military history. Show all posts
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
THEY'D MURDER ME IF THEY EVER FOUND OUT . . .
The Incredible Story of Lt. Col. William M. Hoge and the Army's First Obstacle Course
Written by Dwight Jon Zimmerman for the Defense Media Network
Officers train on an obstacle course at Camp Edwards, Mass., around 1942. Hoge's invention of the American version of the obstacle course solved the problem of limited space and prompted countless groans and curses from generations of warfighters. Library of Congress photo
When World War II started in Europe in September 1939, the United States was the 17th largest military power. Its army, containing just 190,000 troops, was effectively a constabulary force. By February 1941, all that had changed. Thanks to the recently passed conscription law, the number of recruits had ballooned almost ten-fold, with millions more to come.
Before they could be shipped out to the new and expanding training centers being prepared for them, they had to be shaped up. While all base and camp commanders had that problem, it was particularly acute for Lt. Col. William M. Hoge.
Hoge’s most vexing problem was how to provide proper military outdoor physical exercise training. Because he was located on a peninsula, he couldn’t expand. Space was at a premium.
. . . one of his subordinates, Paul W. Thompson, had spent a year in Germany as an attaché. Calling Thompson into his office, Hoge asked him, “What in the hell do the Germans do to get exercise for their men? They have much less area than we have.” Thompson told him about specially designed fields filled with a variety of trenches and constructions that the men had to overcome through climbing, crawling, swinging, hopping, and jumping.
Hoge brought in the officer responsible for physical training and the three drew up a blueprint for the Army’s first obstacle course.
Read this incredible story in it's entirety HERE.
Enlisted men training on an obstacle course during World War II. The original caption reads: "Swinging across fifteen feet of horizontal ladders are soldiers of the anti-aircraft training center. This is the next-to-the-last obstacle on the course and comes at a time when a man's wind is coming hard and his arms are feeling fatigue. Library of Congress photo.
Today's Bird HERE
.
Written by Dwight Jon Zimmerman for the Defense Media Network
When World War II started in Europe in September 1939, the United States was the 17th largest military power. Its army, containing just 190,000 troops, was effectively a constabulary force. By February 1941, all that had changed. Thanks to the recently passed conscription law, the number of recruits had ballooned almost ten-fold, with millions more to come.
Before they could be shipped out to the new and expanding training centers being prepared for them, they had to be shaped up. While all base and camp commanders had that problem, it was particularly acute for Lt. Col. William M. Hoge.
Hoge’s most vexing problem was how to provide proper military outdoor physical exercise training. Because he was located on a peninsula, he couldn’t expand. Space was at a premium.
. . . one of his subordinates, Paul W. Thompson, had spent a year in Germany as an attaché. Calling Thompson into his office, Hoge asked him, “What in the hell do the Germans do to get exercise for their men? They have much less area than we have.” Thompson told him about specially designed fields filled with a variety of trenches and constructions that the men had to overcome through climbing, crawling, swinging, hopping, and jumping.
Hoge brought in the officer responsible for physical training and the three drew up a blueprint for the Army’s first obstacle course.
Read this incredible story in it's entirety HERE.
Today's Bird HERE
.
Monday, February 15, 2010
THEMES
Due to current increase in workload and professional constraints, I will not be able to maintain posting to Blog STORMBRINGER on a daily basis. I draw no income from my writings here - none whatsoever - and right about now Blog STORMBRINGER is starting to absorb way too much bandwidth; it's starting to interfere with what pays the bills.
From this point forward, I will post one or two originally crafted "articles" a week; and perhaps two or three cultural "hit pieces" such as this vid clip of Miss Shirley Bassey, singing ballads of praise dedicated to that great warrior and walking Id, James Bond:
Shirley Bassey performing Goldfinger & Diamonds Are Forever for the James Bond Silver Anniversary programm in 1988.
Now may be a good time for an interim summing up . . .
It all started about May of last year . . . Blog STORMBRINGER grew out of guidance from Theo Spark - enfant terrible of the Internet with his excellent Blog Last of the Few. Theo became Blogmeister of STORMBRINGER and continues to advise to this day. Hurrah! for Theo
I don't know how he does it. The guy is great, does great work, and I plan on linking up with him in the UK one of these days.
Here at Blog STORMBRINGER we like Great Britain and all things British (despite my Irish heritage - I'm not a nut or a revolutionary). Theo represents all that is good of the little island that is Great; he's possibly the best thing that came out of England since . . . Led Zeppelin?
STORMBRINGER is about philosophy . . . soldiering . . . honor . . . military history . . . theology . . . current affairs and global security (which is to say the current conflict against the Islamofascists) . . . we take it from Ancient Greece and Rome (with a little bit of the Old Testament thrown in there from a historic point of view) and bring it up to the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist and the anti-Federalist Papers, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address . . . we tie in the struggles of a Free People against the Forces of Tyranny and Oppression . . . throughout the ages . . . and a tidbit here and there from my friends and associates serving overseas in the great Global War on Terror . . .
Name that Drop Zone . . .
This is the correct time for me to thank my good friend David Frum for all the help & support he and his heroic editor Meghashyam Mali have shown me over the past year at his worthy site Frum Forum.
I also wish to offer a gracious "Thank You" to Dave's lovely wife Danielle, for having me as a guest at their home in DC. The Frum guest cottage is a wonderful enclave, from whence I've produced more than one memorable STORMBRINGER post, and Dani can knock together a meal, the best food you could possibly imagine . . .
I especially wish to thank David for the tolerance and patience he shows me; David Frum has taught me to understand that bit, when politicians speak of a colleague across the aisle; "We do not see eye-to-eye on politics, but he is a great friend, and a great human being." This is a Life's lesson of wisdom and understanding that no money can buy . . .
A special thanks also to my buddy, fellow Green Beret "Uncle Jimbo" over at Blackfive . . . the Blackfive Team are great, they do heroic work there against the Forces of Darkness . . .
I would be remiss if I did not mention the many emails I receive from readers, with much blog material, images and links - I thank you all; keep it coming and do not be discouraged if I don't post it right away. I save it all in a couple of special folders and now is the time for me to construct a queue. Like I said, I don't know how Theo does it; I simply do not have the bandwidth.
For now this Science Project will have to move to the back burner because I've got a sh*tload of 25-meter targets popping up like whack-a-mole - like I've told my friends and associates; in my professional life, I'm a sheepdog . . . and the wolves are always out there . . . circling in . . . waiting to make their move . . .
From this point forward, I will post one or two originally crafted "articles" a week; and perhaps two or three cultural "hit pieces" such as this vid clip of Miss Shirley Bassey, singing ballads of praise dedicated to that great warrior and walking Id, James Bond:
Shirley Bassey performing Goldfinger & Diamonds Are Forever for the James Bond Silver Anniversary programm in 1988.
Now may be a good time for an interim summing up . . .
It all started about May of last year . . . Blog STORMBRINGER grew out of guidance from Theo Spark - enfant terrible of the Internet with his excellent Blog Last of the Few. Theo became Blogmeister of STORMBRINGER and continues to advise to this day. Hurrah! for Theo
I don't know how he does it. The guy is great, does great work, and I plan on linking up with him in the UK one of these days.
Here at Blog STORMBRINGER we like Great Britain and all things British (despite my Irish heritage - I'm not a nut or a revolutionary). Theo represents all that is good of the little island that is Great; he's possibly the best thing that came out of England since . . . Led Zeppelin?
STORMBRINGER is about philosophy . . . soldiering . . . honor . . . military history . . . theology . . . current affairs and global security (which is to say the current conflict against the Islamofascists) . . . we take it from Ancient Greece and Rome (with a little bit of the Old Testament thrown in there from a historic point of view) and bring it up to the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist and the anti-Federalist Papers, the Constitution, and the Gettysburg Address . . . we tie in the struggles of a Free People against the Forces of Tyranny and Oppression . . . throughout the ages . . . and a tidbit here and there from my friends and associates serving overseas in the great Global War on Terror . . .
Name that Drop Zone . . . This is the correct time for me to thank my good friend David Frum for all the help & support he and his heroic editor Meghashyam Mali have shown me over the past year at his worthy site Frum Forum.
I also wish to offer a gracious "Thank You" to Dave's lovely wife Danielle, for having me as a guest at their home in DC. The Frum guest cottage is a wonderful enclave, from whence I've produced more than one memorable STORMBRINGER post, and Dani can knock together a meal, the best food you could possibly imagine . . .
I especially wish to thank David for the tolerance and patience he shows me; David Frum has taught me to understand that bit, when politicians speak of a colleague across the aisle; "We do not see eye-to-eye on politics, but he is a great friend, and a great human being." This is a Life's lesson of wisdom and understanding that no money can buy . . .
A special thanks also to my buddy, fellow Green Beret "Uncle Jimbo" over at Blackfive . . . the Blackfive Team are great, they do heroic work there against the Forces of Darkness . . .
I would be remiss if I did not mention the many emails I receive from readers, with much blog material, images and links - I thank you all; keep it coming and do not be discouraged if I don't post it right away. I save it all in a couple of special folders and now is the time for me to construct a queue. Like I said, I don't know how Theo does it; I simply do not have the bandwidth.
For now this Science Project will have to move to the back burner because I've got a sh*tload of 25-meter targets popping up like whack-a-mole - like I've told my friends and associates; in my professional life, I'm a sheepdog . . . and the wolves are always out there . . . circling in . . . waiting to make their move . . .
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