I’ve been away from the electronic “pen” far too long. There were topics on my list for the days I missed, but I didn’t really make the time for the research necessary to do them justice. Of course, I could have just gone to some other site, paraphrased/copied some material, and called it good, but [...]
Archive for December, 2009
Jefferson Tosses in the Towel as Secretary of State
Posted in Constitutional period (1789-1809), United States, tagged 1793, Alexander Hamilton, President George Washington, President Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State on December 31 | 3 Comments »
Operation Ke: Japanese “Soldier-ectomy”
Posted in Pacific, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1942, Guadalcanal, Imperial Japanese Navy, Operation Ke, Solomon Islands on December 26 | Leave a Comment »
For two months, the Japanese had been trying to keep their soldiers on Guadalcanal supplied with food, ammunition, and replacement troops. They had been less than successful in doing so. The combination of the U.S. Navy and the Cactus Air Force (stationed at Henderson Field on Guadalcanal) was enough to keep the Japanese attempts at [...]
Christmas Discovered in the South Pacific
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged 1643, British East India Company, Captain William Mynors, Christmas Island, Royal Mary on December 25 | Leave a Comment »
I hope you’re all having a wonderful Christmas. We woke up to, you guessed it, more snow. The forecasters had originally called for nearly a foot of the stuff, making it the 2nd such storm in two weeks. I was worried because, with a fair amount of the first storm still on the ground, I’d have [...]
Malmedy: A Night of Peace in the Midst of War
Posted in World War II (1939-1945), Europe, tagged 1944, Malmedy, Silent Night, Josef Mohr, Franz Gruber on December 24 | Leave a Comment »
I have in front of me my Today’s History Lesson spreadsheet. In it are a series of pages…one page per year, one event (occasionally two) per day. Some days have events running out to 2016, which still surprises me. History is big. But today is Christmas Eve, and a quick look at the spreadsheet (which [...]
Alexander Hamilton’s Affair a Grand Mess
Posted in Constitutional period (1789-1809), United States, tagged 1791, Adultery, Alexander Hamilton, Blackmail, James Reynolds, Maria Reynolds, Secretary of the Treasury on December 22 | 1 Comment »
Alexander Hamilton was obsessed with his reputation. As Treasury Secretary, he did everything possible to maintain the integrity of the office. He was detailed, almost to a fault, with the records. Every “i” was dotted and every “t” was crossed. Nothing untoward interested Hamilton in the slightest. The mere thought of impropriety was anathema to [...]
TFX Project Creates World’s Fastest Aardvark
Posted in Later twentieth century (1961-2000), United States, tagged 1964, General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, Grumman F-14 Tomcat, McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom, Republic F-105 Thunderchief, Robert McNamara, TFX Project on December 21 | 1 Comment »
As has been discussed before, the U.S. Government tends to favor multi-taskers in the process of aircraft procurement. The more missions a proposed platform can perform well, the better the chance it will be selected for development and deployment. But one could argue that it’s possible to take the “multi-role” concept too far. The government [...]
Adolf Hitler: Commander-in-Chief
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1941, Adolf Hitler, Moscow, Rostov on December 19 | Leave a Comment »
Tonight, it’s a quick one. Adolf Hitler, secure in the Wolf’s Lair, his East Prussian fortress outside of Rastenburg, was an unhappy dictator. Just two weeks before, his forces had been forced from the outskirts of Moscow by a massive Soviet counteroffensive. Hitler had ordered his men to hold their positions, but against the Red [...]
The Massacre at Malmedy
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1944, Battle of the Bulge, Joachim Peiper, Kampfgruppe Peiper, Malmedy, Massacre on December 17 | Leave a Comment »
The Battle of the Bulge was an offensive born of desperation. As its creator, Adolf Hitler may have, in the back of his mind, suspected it was a gamble. But his subordinate generals, closer to reality than their weakening leader, knew without question that it was a last gasp. Field Marshal Walter Model asked one [...]
Allies Weighed Down by the Battle of the Bulge
Posted in Europe, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1944, Antwerp, Ardennes Forest, Battle of the Bulge, Operation Watch on the Rhine on December 16 | Leave a Comment »
When people talk about “the battle of the bulge”, it generally has something to do with weight. One might refer to the struggle to control his or her waistline. Possibly it’s a discussion of some new exercise equipment. Or it’s a conversation around the water-cooler about the latest episode of the many weight-loss programs that occupy our [...]
British Catch up to Admiral Graf Spee
Posted in South America, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1939, Admiral Graf Spee, Captain Hans Langsdorff, Commodore Henry Harwood, Montevideo, Plate River, Uruguay on December 13 | Leave a Comment »
To say the Admiral Graf Spee was successful as a merchant raider is to understate the grief she caused France and Britain. Having deployed in August of 1939 (to be in position when hostilities opened in September), the pocket battleship had roamed the Indian and South Atlantic Oceans, wreaking havoc on Allied merchant shipping. As the [...]
F-15E Strike Eagle Hits the Ground
Posted in Later twentieth century (1961-2000), United States, tagged 1986, General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark, General Dynamics F-16XL SCAMP, McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle, Panavia Tornado on December 11 | Leave a Comment »
When the McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing) F-15 Eagle took to the skies for the first time, there was little doubt that it would be a tremendous success…as a fighter. There was a non-trivial group of influencers in the fighter community that believed fighters were fighters and bombers were bombers, and never the twain should [...]
Finnish Cooks Put Enemy in the Soup
Posted in Scandanavia, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1939, Colonel Paavo Talvela, Finland, Lt. Colonel Aaro Pajari, Sausage War, Tolvajarvi, Winter War on December 10 | Leave a Comment »
We’ve gotten mostly dug out from the biggest blizzard to hit the area in more than 30 years. It began in earnest Tuesday and, by noon yesterday, had dumped 15″ of snow. Of course, the snow didn’t fall in a vacuum…it was carried about by 40+ mph winds. We don’t have a snowblower, just shovels, [...]
Continental Army Surrenders New Jersey
Posted in The Revolution (1775-1783), United States, tagged 1776, Continental Army, Delaware River, General George Washington, New Jersey on December 8 | 1 Comment »
The loss of Fort Washington in mid-November and the subsequent surrender of Fort Lee meant that the Colonies had not only lost control of Manhattan and the Hudson River, but they had lost New York altogether. General Washington’s forces were bedraggled, defeated, and in full retreat. For the last couple of weeks (since the Mahattan [...]
Finns Strike Back in Winter War
Posted in Scandanavia, World War II (1939-1945), tagged 1939, Carl Gustav Mannerheim, Finland, Lake Tolvajarvi, Lt. Colonel Aaro Pajari, Winter War on December 7 | Leave a Comment »
It was a dark, cold, and moonless night as Lt. Col Pajari moved his men into position. Of course, in Finland, December was mostly dark and always cold. But while the winter of 1939 was as dark as any given winter, the weather was unusually cold, with temperatures that would hit -30°F regularly. There was plenty [...]
Burger King’s Croissan’wich: A Little Bite of Heaven
Posted in Twentieth century (1901-1960), United States, tagged 1954, Breakfast, Burger King, Croissan'wich, Florida, Heaven, Miami on December 4 | 6 Comments »
During the week, I eat breakfast at my desk and it ususally consists of: 1 cup pistacchios (they’re super-healthy) 1 serving of fruit (yogurt/applesauce/etc…) 1 multi-vitamin & 2 fish oil pills Water Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? You’re right, it’s not exciting…not in the least. But it tastes good and it’s healthy. Weekends are different. My wife might [...]
Hamilton Resigns: The Anti-Federalist Nightmare Ends
Posted in Constitutional period (1789-1809), United States, tagged 1794, Alexander Hamilton, Anti-Federalist, Federalist, President George Washington, Secretary of the Treasury on December 1 | Leave a Comment »
Alexander Hamilton’s tenure as the country’s first Treasury Secretary was a stormy one. In those 5 years, he had overseen the creation of America’s financial system and a national bank. He had witnessed the first stock offering and, a few months later, the first stock market crash. He had created a system by which the [...]
