There’s no denying that I’ve always been a car nut. I love cars. I’m always looking at them, thinking about buying them, and wondering how to improve the ones I own. And over the years, I’ve owned a number of them, foreign and domestic. Back in 2001, I purchased a project car (actually my first purchase on [...]
Archive for June, 2009
Drive, He Said
Posted in Twentieth century (1901-1960), United States, tagged 1953, Chevrolet, Corvette, Z06, ZR-1 on June 30 | 1 Comment »
Stalin Down with a Case of the Blau’s
Posted in Russia, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Case Blue, Fall Blau, Moscow, Siege of Leningrad on June 28 | Leave a Comment »
Today’s History Lesson won’t take too long, because it’s late…and I’m tired. Plus some of the background information we covered just last week. The massive German offensive in southern Russia was being prepared when plans for “Fall Blau” (Case Blue) fell into Russian hands. Stalin received the plans and then believed them to be part [...]
Clinton and Bush: Team of Rivals
Posted in Later twentieth century (1961-2000), United States, tagged 1993, Cruise Missiles, Gulf War, Iraq, Kuwait, President Bill Clinton, President George H. W. Bush on June 26 | 1 Comment »
President Bill Clinton and President George Bush (that’s George H. W. Bush) were pretty serious rivals back in 1992. Those of us that watched the two verbally duke it out as they “interviewed” for the job as President probably made a couple of observations. First, President Clinton was a much better orator than his opponent. [...]
North Korea: Then and Now
Posted in Twentieth century (1901-1960), United States, tagged 1950, 38th Parallel, Kang Nam, Kim Jong Il, North Korea, South Korea, USS John S. McCain on June 25 | Leave a Comment »
It seems somehow appropriate to talk about North Korea for Today’s History Lesson. Over the last several years, this secretive Communist stronghold, controlled by one that many consider to be a deranged lunatic, has managed to anger or threaten nearly every civilized nation on the planet. Determined to establish itself as a “power with which to [...]
General Stilwell Takes Over on Okinawa
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1945, Burma, Burma Road, Chiang Kai-shek, General Joseph Stilwell, General Roy Geiger, General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Okinawa, Ryukyu Islands on June 23 | Leave a Comment »
A year ago, we discussed the death of General Simon Bolivar Buckner. In command of the U.S. Tenth Army (comprised of both Army and Marine Divisions), the General had been killed in the closing days of the Battle of Okinawa (on June 18, 1945 to be precise). He had gone out to visit the front and see [...]
The Fall of France Finalized in Compiègne
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1940, Armistice, Blitzkrieg, Compiegne Forest, Eben Emael, France on June 22 | 1 Comment »
It had been a disaster from the first shot. ”Complete debacle” was probably a better term. From the moment the German vanguard passed through the supposedly impenetrable Ardennes Forest in May of 1940, the collapse had begun. The Netherlands were the first to surrender, buried under the weight and power of German bombs. The Belgians were the next. [...]
Like a Timex, Fort Stevens Takes a Lickin’…
Posted in North America, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Columbia River, Fort Stevens, I-25, San Juan Islands on June 21 | Leave a Comment »
Fort Stevens was built in 1863…during the Civil War. It remained in service until 1947…just about the time the Cold War was heating up. Situated near the mouth of the Columbia River, it was one of a series of forts designed to guard against British aggression. British?!? In Oregon?!? In the 1860′s?!? Yep. At this time [...]
Stalin Ignores “Bundle of Joy” From the Storch
Posted in Russia, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Case Blue, Fall Blau, Fieseler Fi 156 Storch, Joseph Stalin, Major Joachim Reichel on June 19 | 3 Comments »
As spring gave way to summer in 1942, the German High Command prepared to launch another major offensive against its bitter enemy…Russia. Having been checked at the gates of Moscow the following winter and pushed back in the brutal cold, German leadership considered it a mere “consolidation” of their forces. But the time to push [...]
The U.S. and Britain Begin the Fight Anew
Posted in The War of 1812 (1812-1815), United States, tagged 1812, Great Britain, Napoleon Bonaparte, President James Madison on June 18 | Leave a Comment »
It’s a super-brief lesson today, but mostly because we’ve covered the salient details already. In 1812, it was becoming more apparent that the United States and Great Britain were heading toward war again. The British government was arming Native Americans in the territories that settlers were trying to claim. They were forcing U.S. citizens (former British [...]
British Bloodied Badly at Bunker Hill
Posted in United States, The Revolution (1775-1783), tagged Boston, 1775, General William Howe, Battle of Bunker Hill, General William Prescott, Breed's Hill, Bunker Hill, Charlestown Peninsula on June 17 | Leave a Comment »
For many Americans Colonists, the time for “words with the homeland” was over. By the time June of 1775 rolled around, clashes with British soldiers in Massachusetts had already left Colonial blood pooled on the ground. It was now time to fight. A Continental Army had just been formed and, on the 15th of June, George [...]
The Deadly Venom of the Coastal Saipan
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1944, Admiral Chuichi Nagumo, Admiral Kelly Turner, General Holland Smith, General Yoshitsugo Saito, Saipan on June 15 | Leave a Comment »
As we’ve seen, June 5th of 1944 was “get it moving” day for the massive invasion fleet crossing the English Channel to its date with destiny on the French coasts of Normandy. We’ve alluded to how much effort was required to make the landings of Operation Overlord even possible, much less successful. And that was to [...]
Goin’ to Carolina in My Mind
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1777, Continental Army, Marquis de LaFayette, Silas Deane, South Carolina on June 13 | Leave a Comment »
Today’s History Lesson is likely to be brief. Well, as brief as a name like Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier will allow. Every time I wrote the name Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, it’d be like adding another paragraph to the piece. So I’ll just use his title and, once I [...]
Operation Corkscrew: A Pantelleria Raid
Posted in Mediterranean, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1943, North Africa, Operation Corkscrew, Pantelleria, Sicily on June 11 | Leave a Comment »
After securing North Africa in May, it was time for the Allies to turn their attention to the “soft underbelly of Europe”. It had been decided that, rather than attacking Italy directly, Sicily would be dealt with first. Clearing the island nation would not only provide an excellent staging area for the landings in Italy, [...]
Norwegian Armies Back in Their Sleevies
Posted in Scandanavia, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1940, Iron Ore, Narvik, Norway, Oslo on June 10 | Leave a Comment »
More than a year ago, we got to wax “Scandanavian” when we talked about the German invasion of Denmark and Norway. Having achieved almost complete surprise, the German army and navy forced Denmark to surrender just hours after hostilities had commenced. Norway, however, would be a tougher nut to crack. Adolf Hitler had long had [...]
Madison’s “10 Commandments” of Freedom
Posted in Constitutional period (1789-1809), United States, tagged 1789, Bill of Rights, First U.S. Congress, President James Madison, U.S. Constitution on June 8 | Leave a Comment »
The United States, now just a couple of years old, had been operating for six years under the Articles of Confederation. Its framework essentially provided the States with all the powers of government and a central government was only given the powers the States allowed it to have. And no small number of people believed that arrangement was [...]
Operation Overlord: The Liberation Begins
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1944, D-Day, Lt. Denny Brotheridge, Normandy, Operation Overlord, President Dwight Eisenhower on June 6 | 2 Comments »
At 0016 hours on June 6, 1944, the Horsa glider carrying Lieutenant Den Brotheridge and his men landed right near the Orne River Bridge. That bridge, as we saw a year ago, was a crucial target for Allied capture. Brotheridge led his platoon across the bridge, in the process killing a German sentry…the first German [...]
Overlord: Dwight Says “We Go!”
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1944, English Channel, Normandy, Operation Overlord, President Dwight Eisenhower on June 5 | Leave a Comment »
There had been months and months of planning. Hundreds of thousands of men had been gathered, as had million of tons of supplies and ammunition. A vast deception operation had been in play, making every attempt to convince German leadership that the French coasts of Normandy were not the destination of the long-awaited cross-Channel attack. Thousands of ships had [...]
Dunkirk: Where Retreat was a Major Victory
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1940, British Expeditionary Force, Dunkirk, Evacuation, Prime Minister Winston Churchill on June 4 | Leave a Comment »
When we left the British last week, they had just begun the process of attempting to evacuate the British Expeditionary Force (or BEF, as well as French and some Belgian troops) from northwest France. As we saw, this effort, called Operation Dynamo, was something reminiscent of a football game’s last-second “hail mary” play…a desperation play [...]
No Folsom Prison Blues for President Cleveland
Posted in Late nineteenth century (1865-1900), United States, tagged 1886, Frances Folsom, President Grover Cleveland, Wedding, White House on June 2 | Leave a Comment »
On June 2, 1886, 49-year-old Stephen Cleveland got married. It’s not a big surprise, because lots of people get married at some point in their lives and, as you all know, June is the month when most weddings take place. So why waste Today’s History Lesson on a such a “common little miracle”? Well, Stephen [...]
4th President Rings the Bell for Round 2
Posted in Early nineteenth century (1810-1850), United States, tagged 1812, President James Madison, War of 1812 on June 1 | Leave a Comment »
When the Colonies ended their war with the British in 1781 (and signed the treaty in 1783), they probably looked at their new-found freedom with little inkling that, just 30 years down the road, they’d be on the brink of open conflict with the British yet again. But as May of 1812 gave way to June, [...]
