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Author Topic: This Day in History  (Read 200104 times)

besilarius

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Reply #120 on: September 26, 2019, 07:28:52 AM
America’s Biggest Battle

Probably most people would name the Battle of the Bulge in late 1944 and early 1945 as America’s greatest battle.  The Bulge, however, is only the second biggest battle in American history.  America’s biggest battle occurred a generation earlier, only about 60 miles southeast of where the Bulge unfolded, the Battle of the Meuse-Argonne, in 1918.
Battles Compared
   Meuse-Argonne   The Bulge
   Sep 26-Nov 11, ‘18   Dec 16, ‘44-Jan 16, ‘45
Days    47                            32
US *    1.26 million    1.0 million
Enemy    0.47 million    0.5 million
US Loses         
   Dead    26,277  (559/day)    c. 10,275 (321/day)
   Wound    95,786    c. 47,500
   Missing    c. 5,000**    c. 23,000***
* Figures exclude Allied troops.
** Some captured, most later declared kia.
*** Mostly captured, some later declared kia.

During the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the average daily number of American battle deaths, 559, exceeded the daily average of battle deaths suffered by the French Army during the 302 day Battle of Verdun (Feb. 21-Dec. 19, 1916), about 530.

The primacy of the Meuse-Argonne extends even to materiél expended; nearly 2,500 American and French artillery pieces expended four million rounds in support of the offensive. This came to nearly 50,000 a day, the greatest barrage in American history.

 

"These things must be done delicately-- or you hurt the spell."  - The Wicked Witch of the West.
"We've got the torpedo damage temporarily shored up, the fires out and soon will have the ship back on an even keel. But I would suggest, sir, that if you have to take any more torpedoes, you take 'em on the starboard side."   Pops Healy, DCA USS Lexington.


bob48

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Reply #121 on: September 26, 2019, 07:35:55 AM
Very Interesting. I was not aware of that fact.

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Sir Slash

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Reply #122 on: September 26, 2019, 12:02:53 PM
I've read about it but wasn't aware of all the numbers involved. Truly a massive, and decisive as I recall, battle/campaign. Thanks for the post.  :bigthumb:

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besilarius

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Reply #123 on: October 01, 2019, 08:04:07 AM
In 1880, John Philip Sousa becomes leader of the Marine Corps band.


"These things must be done delicately-- or you hurt the spell."  - The Wicked Witch of the West.
"We've got the torpedo damage temporarily shored up, the fires out and soon will have the ship back on an even keel. But I would suggest, sir, that if you have to take any more torpedoes, you take 'em on the starboard side."   Pops Healy, DCA USS Lexington.


bayonetbrant

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Reply #124 on: October 03, 2019, 06:24:14 AM
Quote
Black Hawk Down. The crew of Super Six-Four in Somalia in 1993: Winn Mahuron, Tommy Field, Bill Cleveland, Ray Frank, Mike Durant.


One of my ROTC classmates lost her husband that day.  SFC Earl Fillmore was one of the Delta guys (and one of the youngest E7s in the Army).  His wife, Felicia, was finishing her degree at NC State after going back to college on a 2yr Green-to-Gold scholarship, and had completed all her ROTC training the year before I did.  Might pull up the movie today in the office and rewatch it.

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mirth

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Reply #125 on: October 03, 2019, 09:02:42 AM

Being able to Google shit better than your clients is a legit career skill.


besilarius

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Reply #126 on: October 04, 2019, 11:36:41 AM
October 4, 1883.  First run of the Orient Express.

"These things must be done delicately-- or you hurt the spell."  - The Wicked Witch of the West.
"We've got the torpedo damage temporarily shored up, the fires out and soon will have the ship back on an even keel. But I would suggest, sir, that if you have to take any more torpedoes, you take 'em on the starboard side."   Pops Healy, DCA USS Lexington.


mirth

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Reply #127 on: October 06, 2019, 08:37:28 AM

Being able to Google shit better than your clients is a legit career skill.


mirth

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Reply #128 on: October 06, 2019, 11:33:02 AM

Being able to Google shit better than your clients is a legit career skill.


besilarius

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Reply #129 on: October 08, 2019, 07:42:09 AM
On October 3, 1943, Aircraft from USS Ranger sank five German ships and damaged three more in Operation Leader, the only U.S. Navy carrier operation in northern European waters during World War II. Defying enemy shore batteries and warships lurking in Norwegian waters, a combined United States and British naval force that included a strongly escorted American aircraft carrier, struck a surprise blow at German merchant shipping in the Norwegian “leads” or inner waterways in the Bodoe area. German naval units in Norway, where the powerful battleship Tirpitz was lying in a fjord somewhere northeast of Trondheim, refusing to accept the obvious challenge to come out and fight. The only opposition was by enemy anti-aircraft fire and by two German planes, both of which were destroyed by fighters that took off from the American carrier, USS Ranger. Three planes from the carrier were shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire.

"These things must be done delicately-- or you hurt the spell."  - The Wicked Witch of the West.
"We've got the torpedo damage temporarily shored up, the fires out and soon will have the ship back on an even keel. But I would suggest, sir, that if you have to take any more torpedoes, you take 'em on the starboard side."   Pops Healy, DCA USS Lexington.


bob48

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Reply #130 on: October 08, 2019, 07:47:05 AM
Now that is interesting. Its an operation I had not heard of before.  :bigthumb:
« Last Edit: October 08, 2019, 02:50:40 PM by bob48 »

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Martok

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Reply #131 on: October 08, 2019, 02:48:41 PM
Now that is interesting. Its an operation I had not hear of before.  :bigthumb:

Same.  I wasn't aware of *any* Allied carrier operations in the European theater (until now).  Thanks for sharing, besilarius! 


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bayonetbrant

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Reply #132 on: October 08, 2019, 03:02:32 PM
Same.  I wasn't aware of *any* Allied carrier operations in the European theater (until now).  Thanks for sharing, besilarius!


I knew there was some in support of Operation Torch, but didn't know about this one

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mirth

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Reply #133 on: October 08, 2019, 03:07:56 PM
We had to do something with Ranger. She wasn't suitable for operations in the Pacific.

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Sir Slash

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Reply #134 on: October 08, 2019, 07:27:20 PM
That couldn't have been the original Ranger could it? Wasn't she sunk in 1941? I remember the U.S.S. Wasp was in one of the Malta runs in the Med.

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