Today’s History Lesson comes from a note I jotted down months ago…”Germany occupies Channel Islands“. That phrase probably won’t have the seed-power comparable to “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit“, but it does give us something to talk about.
The Channel Islands are a small group of islands just a few miles off the coast of [...]
Archive for June, 2008
It is Better to Give…
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1940, Channel Islands, Guernsey, Jersey on June 30 | 1 Comment »
Road Scholars, Celebrate!!!
Posted in Twentieth century (1901-1960), United States, tagged 1956, Autobahn, Eisenhower Interstate System, President Dwight Eisenhower on June 29 | Leave a Comment »
It’s Interstate day! On June 29, 1956, the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act of 1956 was passed. President Dwight Eisenhower was a strong supporter of the measure, and the resultant Eisenhower Interstate System bears his name. Eisenhower got his first real exposure to the “interstate” when, serving as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe during World War II, [...]
The Treaty that Began a War
Posted in Period between World Wars (1919-1939), tagged 1919, Fourteen Points, League of Nations, President Woodrow Wilson, Treaty of Versailles on June 28 | Leave a Comment »
World War II began on the last night of August, 1939, with a staged attack on a German radio station by German operatives wearing Polish uniforms. But there were numerous incidents that led to that act. Leonard Mosley does a superb job of recounting many of them in his book “On Borrowed Time“, going back [...]
Le First American Winner of Le Tour
Posted in Later twentieth century (1961-2000), United States, tagged 1961, Greg LeMond, Lance Armstrong, Tour de France on June 26 | 1 Comment »
If you ask anyone in America to tell you what they know about the Tour de France, you won’t hear much about hors-catégorie climbs, or the overall French domination of the event, or Miguel Induráin, or the peleton. What you are likely to get is a two-word answer: Lance Armstrong. And you should probably expect that. After all, [...]
The “Other” Armistice
Posted in Mediterranean, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1940, Armistice, Compiegne Forest, France, Italy on June 24 | Leave a Comment »
On June 24, 1940, France signed an Armistice which signified the end of the fighting. But it wasn’t with Germany as you might have expected. That deed was done back on June 22nd, and Adolf Hitler had gone to great lengths to make the ceremony as “meaningful” as possible. He chose the Compiègne Forest because [...]
A State of Primary Importance
Posted in The Confederation (1783-1789), United States, tagged 1788, Christa McAuliffe, Mount Washington, New Hampshire, President Franklin Pierce on June 21 | Leave a Comment »
I kind of like doing the state birthdays because, to be perfectly honest, it’s a great chance to learn some facts about each one. When I was in grade school, we had to be able to spell all the states and their capitals (which I did, by the way), but we didn’t really have to know [...]
U.S. Navy Celebrates Thanksgiving Early
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1944, Battle of the Philippine Sea, Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, Saipan on June 19 | Leave a Comment »
…and…after another two days sans solid Internet connection, I’m able to start publishing again. Just when I think everything’s in order…
For more than two years, the Japanese fleet had been looking for a chance to engage the U.S. fleet in that one decisive, all-out naval battle that would finally crush the Americans and give the Imperial [...]
Rank Has No Privileges
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1945, General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Okinawa on June 18 | Leave a Comment »
Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. had been kept from the front lines long enough. The battleground, the Island of Okinawa, was as bloody as any of the entire war. And despite the fact that Japanese resistance was rapidly weakening due to reduced enemy numbers fighting for smaller and smaller areas, Okinawa was still very dangerous, even in [...]
Pétain Makes Bad Career Move
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1940, France, Francisco Franco, Paul Reynaud, Philippe Petain, Vichy on June 16 | Leave a Comment »
Philippe Pétain may have been 84 years old and no spring chicken when it came to warfare, but he was a complete novice where German-style Blitzkrieg was concerned. The “Savior of Verdun” was called out of retirement (well, pseudo-retirement…he was the ambassador to Spain) on May 17th (just a week after the German invasion of France began) by [...]
Paris – Under New Ownership
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1940, Dunkirk, France, Low Countries, Paris on June 14 | Leave a Comment »
The invasion of France and the Low Countries by Germany quickly turned into a stunning rout. Begun on May 10, 1940, the German army had traversed the “impenetrable” Ardennes Forest and reached the Meuse River in just two days. And elsewhere along the massive front, the invading forces had encountered poorly-prepared troops in too small numbers [...]
Unfinished Home Ends Up as Pieces
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged 1886, Bavaria, Ludwig Friedrich Wilhelm II, Neuschwanstein Castle on June 13 | Leave a Comment »
I’m pretty excited about Today’s History Lesson. In fact, I’ve been anxiously awaiting June 13th just so I could write about it. But it’s not because today happens to be a Friday and I have some super-spooky “Friday the 13th” thing, although mystery surrounds the subject.
I want to write a few words about Ludwig Friedrich Wilhelm II. Ludwig II’s [...]
The Siege of Malta
Posted in Mediterranean, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1940, Abbeville Boys, Jagdgeschwader 26, Malta on June 11 | Leave a Comment »
For Today’s History Lesson, let’s talk about the island of Malta. If you can find Italy on a map, you can find Malta. Sicily is the big island off the toe of Italy, and Malta is tiny island that lies about 60 miles off the southeast corner of Sicily. Actually, it’s not just one island, [...]
Liquidation at Lidice
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Chelmo, Lidice, Ravensbruck, Reinhard Heydrich on June 10 | 2 Comments »
It was an ugly day in Lidice. In a World War that spanned nearly 2,200 days, there were bound to be a fair share of ugly days, but June 10, 1942 was particularly nasty for the small town located just a few miles from Prague. At 7:00am, when preparing for work or eating breakfast was the normal activity, the town was quiet, [...]
Crash of the Valkyrie
Posted in Later twentieth century (1961-2000), United States, tagged 1966, Aircraft, Compression Lift, Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, North American Aviation, North American XB-70 Valkyrie on June 8 | Leave a Comment »
I think the North American XB-70 Valkyrie is one of the coolest airplanes to never enter military service. First flown in 1964, the aircraft had its roots in design and feasibility studies from the mid 1950’s. At that time, the Strategic Air Command had Boeing’s B-52 Stratofortress as its primary heavy bomber. It carried an enormous payload for [...]
Preamble to the Declaration
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1776, Richard Henry Lee, Lee Resolution, Declaration of Independence, Second Continental Congress on June 7 | Leave a Comment »
Yet another back-post…and hopefully the last for a while. It turns out my ISP has been having trouble since a big storm rolled through here early Thursday morning. But things seem to be better today, so maybe that’s a good sign.
July 4, 1776 is well known as the day that the Declaration of Independence was [...]
Troubled Bridge Over Water
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1944, Major John Howard, Operation Overlord, Orne River, Pegasus Bridge, Ranville Bridge on June 6 | Leave a Comment »
June 6, 1944 is a date that is instantly recognizable to almost anyone who studies (or reads about or just watches movies about) World War II. It’s the day that the Orne River Bridge was captured by Allied soldiers. Wait. You thought it was the day that Operation Overlord began. D-Day. The Invasion of France [...]
The Morning After…
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, I-168, Midway Island, Mikuma, Mogami, USS Yorktown on June 5 | Leave a Comment »
Once again, I’m writing a day late and “back-publishing”…I really dislike doing that. But the cable modem at home refuses to connect to the wondrous Internet cloud and, last night, clouds of a tornadic variety had us watching the weather and scurrying to the basement. All of which served to make this piece “late to press”…my apologies. [...]
The Six-Minute Miracle
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, Admiral Raymond Spruance, Midway Island, Operation K on June 4 | Leave a Comment »
The Foreward to Walter Lord’s ”Incredible Victory” begins as follows: “By any ordinary standard, they were hopelessly outclassed. They had no battleships, the enemy eleven. They had eight cruisers, the enemy twenty-three. They had three carriers (one of them crippled); the enemy had eight. Their shore defenses included guns from the turn of the century. They knew [...]
Dutch Harbor Makes Zero Contribution to the War
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Akutan Island, Deadliest Catch, Dutch Harbor, Mitsubishi A6M Zero, Tadayoshi Koga on June 4 | Leave a Comment »
When I think of Dutch Harbor, two things usually come to mind. First, crab fishing. For years, this small city has been the center of an enormous fishing business. Located in the middle of the Aleutian Island chain that hangs off the southwest side of Alaska, it has become synonymous with King and Opilio Crab fishing, [...]
