A good argument can be made that WWI changed the world more than any other man-made event (peaceful or otherwise) in the history of humanity. The effects of that war are still with us. The following maps give a birds-eye view of that war.
I
Before the war started. The pink countries were called the Central Powers. Russia, England and France were the Allied Powers. Any dispute between two members of these alliances could pull in the other countries. The stage for war is set.
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A United Germany. The Franco-Prussian war forty years prior to WWI united Germany as a single state. Germany became powerful. This scared Britain and Russia, which caused them to form an alliance with France, a long-time rival to both.
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Dwindling Hapsburgs. The Hapsburgs ruled from the 1200s until WWI. Their holdings at one time were huge. Even including parts of Mexico. Above is what was left just prior to the war. A multi-ethnic-cultural mess, made even more messy because nationalism was running rampant. Like in Serbia … who wanted Bosnia and Croatia to be part of their little kingdom. The Habsburgs didn’t like that idea too much.
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The Balkan mess in 1914. They fought two wars in 1912 and 1913. Serbia, Greece, and Bulgaria (who couldn’t stand each other) claimed territory from Turkey (Ottoman). Albania became independent. But Serbia was mad at Austria-Hungary for annexing Bosnia. Austria-Hungary was mad at Germany for not backing them enough. And Russia only cared about Serbia.
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A little bit of Africa for everyone. Europeans carved up Africa like a turkey (the bird, not the country) from 1881 until the start of WWI. The Brits and French got the most. Germany, not so much. German leaders blamed it on their small navy. So the Kaiser built up the navy. This pissed off Great Britain. They were afraid the Germans would build a larger, newer navy than theirs. Colonialism resulted in a destabilizing arms race.
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Shock and Awe. The Germans planned an end-around run into France. They were positive it would be a short war. The French soldiers were going to march directly across Franco-German border. They also were positive it would be a short war. Some historians believe WWI was caused by these expectations, because every state believed that the key to victory was a quick offensive strike and that the war would be won quickly and cheaply.
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The Duke should stayed home. There were eight Serbian assassins. They wanted to increase tensions between the Austrians and Slavs. The first seven either missed, or couldn’t get a shot off. The eighth, Gavrilo Princip, didn’t miss. The common belief is that this act initiated WWI. Others disagree. What does it matter at this point?
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Everybody hates everybody. Europe mobilizes for war. Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Russia declares war on Austria-Hungary. Germany has to go to war in defense of its ally. So, they attacked France. Because its so easy. Well, actually, because French policy had been to support Serbia against Austria. Because they hoped they hoped to start a war where Russia would help France fight Germany because they were too powerful for France to fight alone. I hope you’re taking notes. There will be a test later. Anyway, Germany also attacked Belgium. This brought Britain into the war. Now we’re off to the races.
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The first battle. The siege of Liège. The Germans wanted to capture Paris as quickly as possible before Russia could mobilize. Too bad Belgium was in the way. Things did not go Germany’s way. Now there’s a surprise.The Waffle People fought bravely against impossible odds and delayed Germany’s operations against France substantially, giving France and Britain critical extra days to prepare the defense of Paris.
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Paris is saved. Strange, that a battle so early in the war — the September 1914 battle at Marne — that it may be the decisive battle of the war. The hasty defense of the Paris suburbs included reinforcements being sent to the front from the city via a rapidly assembled fleet of urban taxis. This cracked up the Germans. Anyway, the French&Brits forced the Germans to fall back. After the battle there was a “race to the sea”. Both sides tried (and failed) to outflank each other until the lines reached all the way to the North Sea. Stalemate. Next came trench warfare. Another brilliant idea.
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Damned Russians! The Russians blow it at Tannenberg. The Germans send one army to face Russia’s two armies. The Germans lose at Gumbinnen. The Russians don’t send up their second army. So, the Germans march south and beat the Russioan second army at Tannenberg. Then the German army later beat the Russian first army at the Battle of Mausurian Lakes. Had the Russians gotten their shit together, and combined with the German defeat at Marne, this almost certainly would have resulted in the end of WWI right then and there.
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Blockade! Looks like my first etch-a-sketch. The map shows the travels of just one British shit, HMS Orvieto. The British blockade intended to halt Germany’s trade with the Western Hemisphere. It was quite successful. The blockade severely stressed the Central Powers’ economies as even food was considered a contraband of war. The Wilson administration supported the blockade. The Wilson administration did not support Germany’s efforts to use submarines to blockade American trade with Britain.
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Unterseeboot Krieg. Germany’s navy was vastly inferior to the Brits.But they had a new technology, submarines. The German navy used the Unterseeboot, or U-boat, to sink 5,000 ships measuring more than 13 million gross register tons during the war. Still, Germany didn’t have nearly sufficient submarine strength to cut off all Allied shipping. German submarine adventures would eventually drag the USA into the war.
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Italy shoulda stayed home. Those crazy Eye Talians. Italy was aligned with Austria-Hungary before the war. But, in the 1915 Treaty of London, the Allies succeeded in tempting Italy to enter the war on their side. They promised Italy big chunks of Austro-Hungarian territory. It was an offer even the Mafioso couldn’t refuse. They were fierce fighters. Yeah, so fierce that there were TWELVE different Battles of the Isonzo. As per the map above, those 12 battles accounted for half of Italy’s total casualties … without moving the lines hardly a kilometer. They shoulda sent Don Corleone.
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Wasted lives at Verdun. Verdun is a great battle to illustrate the insanity of war, and of Generals. It lasted 10 months. The Germans had lost over 430,000 men killed or wounded. The French approximately 550,000. To move the front line about 5 miles! Verdun is France’s Gettysburg. The trauma of the losses affected political and military decision-making during the war. And long after. Perhaps even through today, so great was the effect on French national consciousness.
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Jutland, wham, bam, thank you ma’am. The Battle of Jutland is considered to be the only major naval battle of World War One. The Germans claimed that Jutland was a victory because they sank 14 British ships at a cost of 6,000 lives. British Admiral John Jellicoe claimed victory because his forces sank 9 ships at the cost of 2,500 lives. Common Core math in England. Nevertheless, the German fleet was never again to be in a position to put to sea and challenge the British Navy in the North Sea.
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Lazy Boy Empires. Palestine was absorbed into the Ottoman Empire in 1517. In 1917, Britain invaded Palestine, defeated the Ottomans … and this changed the world forever. On November 2, 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour wrote a letter endorsing “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” In 1922, the League of Nations officially endorsed British administration of Palestine. British (mis) management of the Middle East (not just in the Palestinian region), creating new “countries” as if putting together an erector set, resulted in one disaster after another, and remain with us to this day.
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Middle East shafting; part uno. British betray Lawrence of Arabia. The Brits recruit Lawrence (an archaeologist with much knowledge of the Middle East) to organize an Arab revolt against the Ottomans. He fought between 1916-1918 with success. The Brits promised independence to those Arabs who participated. In 1918 Lawrence presented the above map to the Brits. But, the Brits and French divided up the Middle East according to a secret agreement (Sykes-Picot) which they made in …. 1916.
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Middle East shafting; part deux. It’s 1916. Georges Picot is a French diplomat. Sir Mark Sykes is his British counterpart. Sir Sykes draws up a map dividing up the Ottoman Empire. Not sure if they asked the Ottomans for permission. Anyway, the French guy likes it. They shook hands on it, and that was that. Countries were created out of thin air; Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan. Border Drawing 101 reflected nothing that made sense; not political realities, ethnic/cultural realities, religious realities, or pretty much anything that reflected, well, … Arab and non-Arab realities. Some scholars believe this is when and where the word “clusterfuck” originated.
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Armenian Genocide It resulted in 1-2 million deaths inflicted by the Ottomans. Why? An oft given reason pits “Muslim” Turks against “Christian” Armenia. This seems unlikely as they had been living more or less peacefully for centuries. A more likely reason is nationalism — which is the sub-theme of WWI. Peoples were demanding their own countries throughout the region. The Ottomans were struggling to hold their empire together. Then the Russians attacked. Armenian nationalists established paramilitary units to support the enemy. Fifth columns. Ottomans feared a Balkanization effect. So, they exterminated Armenians, or exiled them. (To this day Turks do not refer to the event as genocide, but “tehcir,” a benign word meaning “deportation”.)
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Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me? Biggest gun ever built, before or since. Delivered a 250 pound shell 80 miles. Had no effect on the war, or subsequent history. Because maximum firing rate was 20 shells …. per day. And, wildly inaccurate, which really freaked out the folks in Paris. They had no idea where to surrender. Including it here only because it’s really a cool and amazing piece of machinery, especially for the time period.
WWI introduced the tank. Developed by the British. The first ever tank battle occurred on September 2016, as part of the Battle of Somme. Tanks had no major impact on the outcome of the war. Slow. Notoriously unreliable. Thin armor. In some models soldiers died inside the tank from carbon monoxide. Interesting how the name came about. While under development of what they thought would be a super weapon, the Brits did not want to tip off what they were hiding under tarps. So, they told the people they were hiding water receptacles, hence, tanks. French were next to develop a tank. Their best model, Le Sui Renda, had 10 gears, nine of them in reverse. Germans were very late to the party. The Allies manufactured several thousand tanks during the War. Germany deployed 20.
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Is that you, Snoopy? WWI introduced Air Warfare.
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Tempting Mexico. Arthur Zimmermann was Germany’s foreign secretary. He pretty much knew the German submarine campaign would draw the United States into the war. Sends a a coded telegram to his German counterpart in Mexico. That guy was supposed to go to the Mexican government with this proposal: “Achtung! Ve vill geeve you zee money to attack Amerika, und help you take beck zee states of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico.” (The red line shows Mexican territory before 1845.) After seriously considering the proposal, Mexico ultimately rejected the proposal. Probably because they figured they’d own those states by 2017 anyways. The Brits were able to intercept and decipher the coded message. Gave to the American government. Who released the contents to the American people. Which outraged Americans and helped build support for entering the war. Which did happen on April 6, 1917.
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Uncle Sam Needs You! In 1916 the USA only had 130,000 soldiers. Anticipating a war, Congress authorized building 1,500 buildings, 32 training camps, each accommodating up to 40,000 men … in 60 days. About 200,000 troops arrived on French soil by the end of 1917. But, by war’s end, 200,000 fresh troops per month were flooding onto the continent.
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Germany’s Last Gasp. 1918 Spring Offensive, March 21 – July 18. The desperate Germans take a calculated gamble and go all-in via Operation Michael. The Allies face a huge concentration of German artillery, gas, smoke and infantry. In a war where advances were measured by yards, the Germans gained miles. Somehow, the Allied lines bend, but don’t break. Germans achieved tactical success, but strategic failure. The advances had no decisive goal other than to punch a hole in the Allied line. German casualties were high, particularly among the best units. Marshal Ferdinand Foch was appointed as Allied Commander. By early summer the tide began to turn. German offensives ground to a halt.
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ALLIES SEAL THE DEAL AT AMIENS. Allies counter-punch after surviving the German Spring Offensive. Also known as Hundred Days campaign. Four months of Allied success. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was key. They developed advanced operational methods; artillery bombardment based on scientific principles, tanks, aircraft, and flexible infantry firepower were seamlessly combined. They perfected counterattacks … knowing when to stop as effects diminished, and regrouping before resuming attack on increasingly exhausted German forces. On a counterattack on Aug. 8th the BEF made gains of seven miles on that one day alone. German General Erich Ludendorff described it as the ‘black day‘ of the German Army. Allied attacks relied on flexibility, mobility, and surprise. Allied casualties were still significant. But gains were decisive. By November 18 the German Army could fight no longer, and the war ended.
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WWI Consequence: No food This map is from a book published by the United States government in July 1918, shows the food situation in Europe as the war was drawing to a close.
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WWI Consequence: No economy. Well, the USA and Brits did OK. Economies across Europe were devastated. War debts. Massive losses in GDP .. one third of pre-war output for France and Russia. The Allies demanded huge punitive damages from from the losing side. Debt plus reparation payments incapacitated the Weimer Republic (German government from from the end of the war until Adolf Hitler rose to power in the early 1930s). The economies of Austria, Hungary, and Turkey were so devastated that they never made significant payments. Germany stopped paying reparations in 1931.
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WWI Consequence: Versailles, A Treaty Based on Revenge. There were 27 countries involved with the treaty. Germany was not one of them. They would be forced to accept the outcome. Germany would strip and relieve itself of nearly all importation, exportation, and production of war material; limit its navy to 24 submarines; reduce its army to 100,000; maintain naval personnel below 15,000; and abandon all military and naval aviation in the next 4 months. Politically, Germany must transfer significant amounts of territory from the former German empire to its neighbors, even land that had belonged to Germany prior to the war; maintain a stable peace and neutral stance with all countries.Financially, Germany was weighted with all the reparations of the war because they had been found as the cause of the war and guilty for everything within it. The treaty was not meant to merely punish Germany, but to utterly humiliate the German people. Whether or not you agree with that, the most important question to ask is — what was the final outcome of the Treaty of Versailles?
Germany plunged into an economic free-fall. They could not pay the $33 Billion dollar reparation fee. The Weimar government was ineffective. The people lost their identity. And, hope. They wanted someone to tell them that they did not deserve to be humiliated. That they were a proud and noble people. They wanted someone to give them answers, and the dignity of jobs. But more than anything they needed to be assured; “Everything will be OK again, you’ll see.”
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WWI Ultimate Consequence: The German people got exactly what they hoped for.
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The ultimate, ultimate consequence. Auf Wiedersehn Europa. WWI lead to WWII. As a result of WWII, Europe became libtarated. The rise of of multiculturalism. A continent of Rodney Kings believing everyone from everywhere can get along. From nationalism to take-my-country-ism. A world without borders ripping apart their cultures from beneath their feet. Where nothing is ever worth fighting for. Not even liberty. A continent so full of guilt and shame for imagined past sins, that they are willing to pay any price whatsoever to the New Invaders, even if it means this below … which now seems almost inevitable.
But, that’s a story for another day …..
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Got more to read but just gotta say that your humor within articles is priceless……….(couple of examples):
Some scholars believe this is when and where the word “clusterfuck” originated.
And, wildly inaccurate, which really freaked out the folks in Paris. They had no idea where to surrender.
Thanks, much!
Two things I greatly enjoyed, even far back as a first grader; comics and maps. Visual learner, I suppose … indeed, one picture is worth a thousand words.
Just look at the map of Africa (4th map):
— you instantly see how different Africa looked just 100 years ago
— how tiny Algeria is!
— where is Libya?? Oh, it’s a country called Tripoli
— many countries that no longer exist … names I don’t recall even knowing
— look at the German colonies … although considered small, especially compared to those of England and France …. wiki reveals the land area is a little over one million square miles ….. about one third the size of the USA!!!
Maps. They’re fascinating!!!
Algeria………………..there is a small gravesite (I think for American G.I.’s) with a marker that reads:
“As you go by, think of us and say
We gave our today, for your tomorrow”
Sad that nobody today gives a fuck
HA!
I agree: “French were next to develop a tank. Their best model, Le Sui Renda, had 10 gears, nine of them in reverse.”
Stucky, I thoroughly enjoy your articles. Rings true that if we forget history…but it always makes me wonder what kind of a world we would have if a person could go back in time and kill Hitler.
Stephen King wrote a book, 11-22-63, about going back in time to stop Oswald and the results in the future. Good read.
Thanks for your efforts, information and humor.
Ooops…..yeah, I did forget that French Tank line; it was great.
I am envious of that talent.
Also, thank you!
I’m with you totally. I often wonder “what if so-and-so was killed as a child, or never born?”.
The specific person I wonder most often about? Mohammed.
I can barely imagine what the world would BE like today had he never been born.
Staying with WW I, what if Woodrow Wilson had not been spawned?
I enjoyed the National Geographics that had a map enclosed, that was good for hours of study and learning about the world. Alas, NG turned into the Global Warming mouthpiece for the elites.
Yeah, I truly LOVED [!!!] those maps also.
My parents saved at least 50 of their favorite issues … maps included. Pure golden treasure, imho.
Doesn’t EVERY garage in America have stacks of Nat Geo ‘s stashed away? Few people can bear to throw them away. A veritable treasure trove of info for archeologists a few thousand years from now!
PS: I am re-friending you today. Cuz you were nice. Don’t blow it. ?
Stucky- BL does not blow (it) or anything else.
Can’t you see now that computers have turned the population into dummies? They stopped putting maps in NG because maps are no longer needed as they can be accessed online. But do these young folks spend hours pouring over maps online to learn about the world? Hell no.
Bea, Stuck never re-friended me. I think I got an amnesty.
EC
Stucky neglects to say Nat Geo also had early Playboy models, chocolate version.
EC- This is all about containment, Stuck considers me to be the the mean dog on the street that bites at the heels of a certain gang/club. He believes that slowly they can roll back into town and that he has trained the old dog to heel. Like the wise dobie pup, I stay very, very quiet until the perp actually comes through the window……..and then I chew him to pieces.
But it is great fun playing along with the psychological conditioning (think dobie with fangs exposed waiting silently). Friending/UNfriending , this is why I loves that boy….he is a challenge.
I just sit quietly, like Elmer, huntin’ wabbits.
And cooking chili.
100
I win
Stucky, your long format pieces are incredible. Whatever the subject, it’s an education on that subject, done with a touch of humor. The teachers unions could learn a lot from that approach.
National Geographic has zero journalistic standards anymore. In your piece on happiness the other day was this. My comments in paretheses.
The cover story of the current issue (Nov 2017) of National Geographic is titled, “The Search For Happiness”. Turns out that Costa Rica is the happiest nation on earth. Quoting from the article;
“Who is the world’s happiest person? It may be Alejandro Zuniga (not white!!!), a healthy middle aged father who socializes at least six hours a day (he must not know his kids) and has a few good friends he can count on. He sleeps at least seven hours most nights, walks to work (because he’s too fucking poor to own a car), and eats six servings of fruits and vegetables most days(come on, who wrote this?). He works no more than 40 hours a week (not a go getter) at a job he loves (what job might that be?) with co-workers he enjoys (he hates them). He spends a few hours every week volunteering (sure he does); on the weekend he worships God (he drinks) and indulges his passion for (putas)soccer. In short he makes daily choices that favor happiness, choices made easier because he lives among like-minded (poor)people in the verdant, temperate (sorry boss, it’s tropical, where’s your editor?) Central Valley of Costa Rica.” Some SJW chick sitting in an office in New York City wrote this shit, this is an imaginary person for sure. Talk about projecting.
“Some SJW chick sitting in an office in New York City wrote this shit, this is an imaginary person for sure”
Lol
Well, they did include a picture of the guy and his wife! That makes it real. Right?
That rag used to be more of a science rag when it first started out. Not sure when they became so overtly one-sided political. Damned shame, really. I still check out every issue — free, at the library. The photography is still phenomenal.
My mother had no trouble throwing away my NG collection from 1888 while I was in the military. Sigh….
NoneYaBiz
Nice work, Stuck. Really enjoyed it. It is shameful how the German people were treated after WWI, and especially after WWII.
Danke mein Freund.
I hope the article helps folks connect the dots … not that this is some kind of amazing unknown revelation …. but, nevertheless, to see the similarities between the world in 1917 and 2017;
— whether a good thing or bad, nationalism everywhere
— the rise of patriotism … Balkans back then, South China Sea today, as just one example of many …. ANY of which can spark the next “Archduke” moment
— arms races everywhere
— many bat-shit crazy “alliances” whereby entire groups of nations are to come to the defense of one nation that is attacked regardless of the circumstances
— fucked-in-da-head leaders who think wars will be fast, easy,and cheap …. like a skank ho from Newark
— and, yet, despite all the wars and rumors of wars …. the FALSE belief that a full-scale war between the major powers is unthinkable
— the relentless March towards globalization
— the incredibly naive trust in our leaders, that they have OUR best interests in mind, even as they plot secretly behind our backs
That’s a few, for starters. Will we learn from that? Noooo … you silly wabbit!!
The nationalism today, which I support, is in defiance of Globalism and Immigration of Muslim hordes.
Very different from 1917.
I hope to be able to read this post and the tadpole’s later tonight. Am stalking deer. This raccoon or possum (hard to tell on the deer cam) is munching the buck grub beside the doe.
Hoping to bring one in today before nightfall.
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Reflexes are amazing aren’t they? I finally got on the quad to see if I could stir them up, get them moving again after full daylight was upon us. After I passed her by, I came here to make that chili out of a package of frozen venison that needs to be eaten anyway.
She came in half an hour later saying she put her bow down after I passed by on the quadrunner, thinking I’d probably scared them away. Then, here came that doe. Haha! She reached for her bow and that was the end of that. They can jump ten feet in just about any direction from standing still. Amazing creatures.
Here’s the black bean, portabella mushroom and lentil and venison chili I’m serving for dinner tonight.
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Possum. 100%
Well Stuck,
As with most (or all) wars, the big winners are banks and arms manufacturers. Everyone else pretty much loses. You did a good job of illustrating how we are still stuck in a cycle of warfare that is more than a century old now (and likely goes back even further). Can’t wait for more.
Edit – my Granpa always used to joke, with regards to the Italian involvement – that after the war the best surplus to buy was an Italian battle rifle. They’d never been fired and only dropped once. 🙂 His dad had fought in WWI and, later he fought in WWII. The Italians never got any respect in either conflict.
And yet, Mussolini was Hitler’s idol.
EC
You can’t have a war without money. The American and European taxpayers eventually paid the financial debt of the Great War, but who actually funded the war?
…..exactly. Que Prescott Bush and his pals.
Que?
okay grammar nazi, cue – fuck…relax, it’s Friday. I’ll bet ‘your’ and ‘you’re’ just send you screaming into the night….
No, but when I do that, Raydawg howls at the moon. I was being silly.
EC
It’s true, I do.
I quit bringing it up, though; I know when I’m beaten.
Jim, Jimmerino, the Jim-meister
Looks to me like we are going to need a map to find Indentured, Muck, SSS, FLASH, Riser and anyone else that has been very quiet of late. Those boys need to let us hear from them, just sayin’……
Rise Up was just here yesterday. I-S was here last week, I think. The others chimed in last month. Admin has gotten pretty lax about attendance; allows the old-timers to “telecommute”.
Thanks Anon- I must have missed them. Still that is not a daily or semi-daily attendance. 🙂
Whatever happened to Billy?
He encountered problems with CAPTCHA and gave up. I think the BW troll also wore on him. Despite his wild claims, he was more reasonable than YoBo and Nkit. He was actually funny too, unlike the dynamic duds who think smashing a jackboot on your face is funny.
EC
He ripped into me like a coyote on a three-day dead rabbit when I suggested BW, in fact, was his wife or had any connection to him. I steered clear of Billy Badass for a long time.
His attack on T4C was worse. It was shameful to see. He got his comeuppance with BW. Billy the badass might have seemed unassailable but BW played a game of ‘why’d you hit yourself?’ with him. After a while, you almost felt sorry for the dude; his wife and kid got dragged through the pigsty in worse fashion than he could ever do to anybody. BW accused his wife of incest, bestiality, and a host of maladies with suppurating holes and incontinence. Billy also got accused of shitting the bed and other gross habits.
Poor billy had nobody to attack, it was like the story of Odysseus and the blinded giant, Billy couldn’t very well call out Billah’s wife since he would be effectively calling out ‘Noman’. He tried to pin it on me. So when you accused him of being BW, you stepped in it, Maggie, that was definitely the wrong thing to say.
I had to throw those shoes away. Really.
Bea, you can’t weep for those that choose to leave. This place is like a dark cave filled with voices. They keep you company. Sad as it is, the real horror is not when one voice (fleabaggs) disappears but when all the voices are quieted. The best way to honor the departed is to carry on in TBP tradition and school the young pups before Maggie scares them away with her endless prattle about her glory days as a Red Rope.
Whatever happened to fleabags? Did he just disappear or leave in a huff?
He said the docs had finally screwed him good, their error was irreversible, and probably would not be back.
EC
Wow
Soon to be replaced with my endless prattle about being a huntswoman’s apprentice, queen of venison chili.
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Fuck SSS, he thinks Salma Hayek is hot (but he masturbates to pictures of Netanyahu).
What, are you gay or something (not that there’s anything wrong with that)? Salma Hayek is hot.
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Hell yeah, she’s why Fred moved to Mexico.
I wonder if Maggie meant something by posting her selfie above Salma’s.
Check out the long legs on Maggie!
Every pic of hers has Mag the Knife holding a shiv. She may have spent too much time in the Middle East.
https://youtu.be/SEllHMWkXEU
Wowzer. Obviously a lot of effort went into this. Very well written and presented too. Thoroughly enjoyable.
@Yo, It wasn’t Holocaustianity that replaced Christianity. It was Churchianity: the self-centered narcissism of the modern church. These people are completely unprepared for their coming persecution.
Excellent article.
It just goes to show, when there is a war in Europe, the only thing that matters is whose side the yanks are on – “beziehungsweise” which states belong to the masonic satanic New World Order.
The mistake after the Great War was not billing the perpetrators for the damage, but allowing them to continue functioning as a country.
Germany should have been dissolved completely and it’s territories divided among the victors.
Billing Germany (Versailles Treaty) is what created the pathway to WW 2. The stupid, it burns.
Do you think paying reparations to victims of slavery will lead to a Hitler redux and a Nazified America?
Germany was allowed to continue as a country, while being bankrupted. That was not a good plan. The results were foreseeable.
If the country had been completely occupied and split up between the victors, there would have been no bankruptcy at all.
German citizens would have become Alsace, Flemish, Romansh, Polish or a dozen other identities they already culturally identified with, as well as speaking a common language differentiated only by regional dialect. It would have been an almost seamless transition, resulting in no physical displacement, other than those who wanted to move to areas more attractive to them, which is highly unlikely.
But, my education was European. Americans are inherently ignorant about European identity, through no fault of their own, and how it has changed regularly over the last two thousand years. English were once Celts, then Viking, Norman even Frank. The ancient European tribes crossed over all of Europe, from Russia to Greenland, creating new tribes wherever they went. Royals from Russia to England are all related.
Europeans are easily assimilated. It’s been a part of their survival for millennia.
I would suggest, therefore, before labeling people who want to have a discussion stupid, that you take a look at history yourself and taste the cool breeze that comes when you remove the head out of the ass.
Yeah, okay, but I can’t help but think the world would have been a lot better off if Britain weren’t allowed to continue as a country…much less an empire.
In the present day I say the same thing about the United States. Break that bitch into a dozen independent states that are a danger to nobody but their inhabitants and the world would be so much better off.
Whoville appreciates that.
Wow. Yeah, like that wouldn’t cause a shitload of problems for a very very long time. Actions have consequences. You didn’t think about those consequences when you typed that.
Besides, how does one ‘completely dissolve’ a country? Did you even think about that?
Maybe NedNed was thinking along the lines of Czechoslovakia. Speaking of which, I read somewhere that Chamberlain intentionally let Hitler prosper so he could contain Russia. i think that was #5 in Games People Play: Let’s You and Him Fight.
EC
“Biggest gun ever built, before or since. Delivered a 250 pound shell 80 miles.”
Great work, Stucky. History condensed. Not a lot of Germans know this. Most believe the official story: A Serbian radical kills an Austrian Archduke in Serbia, a war breaks out, and it’s all Germany’s fault. Well, sounds logical.
Here’s a question: Germany made the last payments resulting from reparations from WWI in:
1. 1921
2. 1933
3. 1945
4. 1989
5. 2010
2017
“Not a lot of Germans know this.”
Ain’t that the truth!
My full blooded German landlord. Germans in dad’s German club. Conversations with relatives in Germany and Austria. Most of them clueless … following hook, line, and sinker the official government / elite narrative.
When folks here complain about clueless Americans, I often think to myself …. “you should speak to a German!”. You’ll come away feeling like an Einstein.
I’m exhausted just reading about it. You know, war is hard.
You know what’s easy: NOT waging war.
We should try that.
Stucky,
I’m impressed. I didn’t realize you had such depth.
It almost makes me want to take back all of those nice things I wrote about you (just kidding).
I’m not a map freak. I’m a history nerd. WWI is of special interest to me.
But since you ARE a map freak, here’s a link to a map of Europe in 1914 that you should like. If you click on the box at the top left of the map it changes to 1919-1939. There are also maps in that box to Europe in 1956, and even 2000. You should be in map heaven…
http://www.fsmitha.com/h2/map01eu.htm
For those interested in the causes and culprits in initiating WWI I recommend reading “The Sleepwalkers – How Europe Went to War in 1914” by Cambridge professor Christopher Clark.
It’s a tough read, but it is excellent. It really connects all the dots.
Steve C.
Spring, Texas
Oh, yeah, I can pile it high and DEEP! lol
I’m contemplating doing another map-torial. It just takes so looong to do. But, folks seem to have enjoyed this.
Thinking of doing a similar piece for WWII. Or, the Civil
War.
Do you have a preference? Or … any other suggestions?
We haven’t had a civil war…YET!
Or did you mean, “The War To Prevent Southern Independence”?
For the record; A civil war is one in which two or more (key words – two or more) factions are fighting for control of the government.
The Confederate States of America had no more intention of taking over Washington DC and the American government than the American Colonists had of taking over London and the British Crown.
Calling it ‘The Civil War’ is all a part of the mind-fuck the Federal Government does to us.
Steve C.
Spring, Texas
Yeah, I know. Civil War is just easier to type.
Anyway, do you have a preference for the next map-torial? WWII, or the War of Northern Aggression?
“…the War of Northern Aggression?…”
Yeah, I guess there are three names for it.
Yankees call it The Civil War.
Still bitter Southerners call it The War of Northern Aggression.
I prefer historical accuracy so I usually go with The War To Prevent Southern Independence.
My vote is for that to be your next map-torial.
You did a good job Stucky.
Steve C.
Spring, Texas
War of Northern Aggression is the more accurate term. Civil War is a propaganda term invented by the North to camoflage the fact of their invasion of a sovereign nation to the south complete with its own currency, ambassadors, flag, army, navy, congress, Constitution, etc. When you use that term, however convenient, you are engaging in the Big Lie. Civil War is war between the same people, not two nations.
So I think Sticky needs to write all the information for the WW I museum in Kansas City. It would definitely spice up the visit?
Anyone who is interested in WW I should definitely make it a destination.
It takes 2 days to see it all.
Oh and I read somewhere that the assassins were told to stand down and the one that killed the archduke never got the memo. This could be a rumor. I don’t know.
Actually no.
The assassins were members of a group called The black Hand.
The official Serbian government tried to say that they weren’t responsible, but files that have been uncovered since have shown clearly that The Black Hand was the actual functioning government.
The Serbian people were fully supportive of them too.
Steve C.
Spring, Texas
A little more detail on the Serbian assassins.
Assassin #1. A copfuk was practically right next to him. Assassin never got a shot off.
Assassin #2. Hurls a grenade. Injures several.
Motorcade continues on. Due to the confusion and commotion, the other assassins didn’t have a good shot.
Franz Ferdinand. Wants to assist those wounded by the grenade. Orders his driver to turn the car around.
The driver misunderstood. Continues along the original route.
When he does finally try to turn the car around … it stalled.
Meanwhile, the last assassin, Princip, had made his way to Franz Joseph Street, where he found the gift of a stalled car … and bang!bang!, he made his way into the history books.
Nice work Stucky. I have done a lot of reading regarding WW1 and am familiar with most of the events as you summarize them (brilliantly). I was happy to learn a little new information when you wrote:
“Blockade! Looks like my first etch-a-sketch. The map shows the travels of just one British shit, HMS Orvieto. ”
I’m impressed. I had no idea that the British could muster such a resilient turd. Do you have any recommendations for additional reading about it? I would love to learn more as I have a lot of questions. Like what made it strong enough to remain at sea for so long?
Did the person who snapped it out eat mostly cheese for a weeks?
What was it’s codename?
Is there a ballad written about it?
Are there photos of it’s christening?
Obviously it was a floater as opposed to a sinker but was it able to remain a floater until the armistice?
Other than that, as far as the time travel bucket list goes I have said for years that I would simply buy Gavrilo Princip a sandwich. I would delay him just long enough that the Archduke’s driver would have time to drive away. Gavrilo ends the day with a full belly and a new love of generous yankees but not history’s most successful anarchist. Probably wouldn’t have solved the real issues though. Just delayed things until the weapons were even more deadly most likely. There is an argument though that things were so even that had one side had an evolution in weapons it would have ended things sooner and ultimately saved lives. Who knows but its fun to process.
Also, I fabricate conspiracy theories out of thin air. It’s my gift. I have always thought that the Zimmerman Telegram was a false flag. A little too convenient. Do you know if the Germans or Mexicans ever admitted it or if they denied it. I’ve never come across that info and am curious because I could check the great Zimmerman Telegram Hoax off my list of stupid ideas. Or not.
Cheers. Hope your weekend is perfect.
” … travels of just one British shit, HMS Orvieto.”
OMG! LMFAO. Nice catch.
Just goes to show … NEVER be your own proof-reader. Totally missed that one, and I proofed a couple times before submitting.
Loved your funny questions!
I picked up on it first thing, but it never even occurred to me that it was a typo, I thought it was a dig at the Brits. Mesomorph’s questions are hilarious (as is Looks like my first etch-a-sketch).
WRT “Civil War”: The most succinct, neutral and accurate name I know of is War Between The States, but even that isn’t completely accurate – the states weren’t all monolithic one way or the other. Probably best to stick with US Civil War, but include the disclaimer. Maybe start the piece with something like Most wars, people can at least agree on what to call it . . . For background research (and well worth reading on its own) check out The Republican Charade: Lincoln and His Party. [Link 1]
If you decide to go with WWII, be sure to have a look at Pat Buchanan’s take on it. Here’s a good place to start. [Link 2]
PS: Apologies if this shows up more than once, I’ve tried posting it a few times before adding this, kept either not posting or saying “duplicate comment detected”.
PPS: Remove all the underscores from the following URLs – don’t know if it is WordPress stupid bug or censorship, but I tried several times to post this with the URLs as links and it never worked.
Link 1:
htt_ps://w_ww.abbeville_institute.o_rg/clyde-wil_son-library/the-republican-char_ade-lincoln-and-his-party/
Link 2:
htt_ps://w_ww.lew_rockwell.c_om/2009/06/laurence-m-vance/buch_anans-necessary-book/
Just wanted to take a moment to thank you for taking the time to supply those links / other info. They are tucked away for future reference.
Already spent an hour or two looking at Civil War maps. That’s gonna be a hard project.
Why? Well, WWI is very diverse … lots of countries and lots of players, makes it more interesting and “fun”. Of course, the Civil War (or, whatever ya wanna call it) only has ONE player and location (Americans and America). Harder to do, imho.
But, I am not yet discouraged. I’ll keep thinking about various possibilities. Where there a will, there’s a way.
———–
NOTE to BL:. Tolstoy did NOT originally name War and Peace, “War, what is it good for”. That was from a Seinfeld ( curses be upon him) episode.
The Zimmerman / Mexico incident does not appear to be a false flag.
“In 2005, an original typescript of the deciphered telegram (with Blinker Hall’s handwriting) was discovered in UK.
Also, as noted below, Zimmerman himself admitted to sending it.”
More from above quote here;
https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/1031/was-the-zimmerman-telegram-a-ruse-on-the-us-or-a-way-of-germany-to-incite-mexico
Also, at least one book covers the incident.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/613792.The_Zimmermann_Telegram
“The first ever tank battle occurred on September 2016, as part of the Battle of Somme.”
Rommel and Patton were born too soon.
Um, where is the Meuse Argonne, Sept. 26 – Nov. 11 (the day armistice was declared that ended the war (not Nov. 18)? My grandfather was on that battlefield. I enjoyed your article until that HUGE oversight.
Also known as the Battle of the Argonne Forest.
Yup. That was a big miss on my part. My apologies to you, and your grandfather.
=====================
*The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I. It was one of the attacks that brought an end to the War and was fought from September 26 – November 11, 1918, when the Armistice was signed.
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the largest operations of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in World War I, with over a million American soldiers participating. It was also the deadliest campaign in American history, resulting in over 26,000 soldiers being killed in action (KIA). Indeed, the number of graves in the American military cemetery at Romagne is far larger than those in the more commonly known site at Omaha Beach in Normandy.”
More here:.
https://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww1/meuse-argonne.html
Wasted lives at Verdun.
It’s incredible to think of a battle that stretches months, not days.
Excellent work, Stucky. Very impressive. I literally laughed out loud at Some scholars believe this is when and where the word “clusterfuck” originated. Seriously, though, one of the most pernicious areas of current popular ignorance is of the Middle East shafting and Lazy Boy Empires, and yours are among the best short explanations I’ve ever seen.
A couple nit-picks, one trivial, one not so trivial:
Richthofen served in the infantry before seeking his pilot’s license.
I’m pretty sure there weren’t even driver’s licenses at that time, let alone pilot’s licenses.
He pretty much knew the German submarine campaign would draw the United States into the war.
True, but the Germans were doing quite a bit to avert it. Search “Lusitania warning”. And I think that if America had stayed out of WWI, the warring parties would have exhausted themselves into the lasting conclusion that tolerating the neighbours was better than war, nobody would have been later driven to the conclusion that war was the only option, and the world would be a far better place today.
WRT your comment @ 10/27 8:59a: Woodrow Wilson, Saul of Tarsus. Either one would have, IMO, rendered Mohammed nowadays completely irrelevant.
“True, but the Germans were doing quite a bit to avert it. Search “Lusitania warning”. ”
I actually had a Lusitania section. Added it on the last day of editing at the library. Went to save my work with a shortcut —- ctrl-s — and hit something else and I accidentally deleted my ENTIRE article!!! I was able to recover most of it with the last previously saved version … but I still lost 2+ hours of work. Went from memory to add everything back in … and forgot about Lusitania. Dammit.
——–
“And I think that if America had stayed out of WWI, the warring parties would have exhausted themselves …”
Damned right!!! There’s ZERO doubt about it.
Wilson won the Presidency at least in part due to his PROMISES to NOT enter the war. Of course, he changed his mind once in office.
The million dollar question is “Why??”. Was is really submarine warfare / Lusitania? War mongering Corporations and politicians? The will of the people? The Zimmerman telegram? Did Wilson want war all along, and made promises just to get elected? Or, was it something else altogether?
Many possibilities … and raging debates about it.
I believe the basic cause was something(s) altogether; in part, empire-building English royals and bankers putting the U.S. to work.
Great piece Stuck, it had the same level of humor as your poorly-engineered-cars piece and the informative value of your castles article. Thank you every much!
Thanks, El. Glad you liked it.
What do YOU think about the Zimmerman telegram?
It seems to me that Mexican animosity — at least at the government level — towards the USA is long-standing, and deep.
I wonder … if there’s ever another world war … whose side will Mexico chose? I’m talking about the Mexican government.
Mexico was in the midst of a revolution from 1910 to 1921. Pancho Villa attacked Columbus, NM in an effort to either draw the US into the war or to secure arms from the Army depot or to fuck with his old pal, Black Jack Pershing. (Supposedly, he was called Black Jack for having commanded black soldiers at one time). All Villa managed to do was provide a training exercise for the American expedition in Mexico before they headed to Europe.
The Americanos never forgot Villa’s offense, they assassinated him in Parral in ’23 and brought his head back to be stored in a pickle jar. I wondered why they didn’t do the same to Bin laden. Certainly, they must have Saddam’s head in a pickle.
The Mexican AF actually fought on the side of the Americanos. Lots of Mexicans joined Bush’s Coalition of the Willing.
EC, have you seen Cristiada? If so, how much of the movie is true?
Probably tame compared to the real events. After the revolution, the church was deprived of the right to own property. My grandfather didn’t think much of preachers, he saw them as crooks, much like the IRS over here.
Kinda dumb to put a Cuban Andy Garcia to play the role of a Mexican general. Oh well.
James Michener’s book “The Eagle and the Raven” provides the best look into why current Mexican/U.S. relations are what they are.
Pancho Villa was just a two-bit player in the big picture of history. But sensationalism sells. Sam Houston and Santa Anna were the real stars.
Spoiler alert: Santa Anna wasn’t who you thought he was.
A worthwhile read.
Two different wars, amigo. Houston and Santa Ana were in the Texas revolution of 1836. Pancho Villa and his dorados fought in the Mexican revolution of 1910.
I discovered that trying to find out about the little cockroach!
Well brown people all look alike ya know ?
Herr Stucky,
Good overview of WW1. Another nit that needs to be picked is:
The picture shown is of “Dora”, an 80cm WW2 era railgun. It was used operationally only during the siege of Sevastopol in 1942 firing 48 times with good result. One round penetrated 30 meters (100 ft.) of earth to detonate an underground Russian magazine.
The HE projectile weighed in at 4800kg with a max range of 29.2 miles, while the concrete penetrator weighed 7100kg with max range of 23.6 miles. (1kg =2.2 pounds)
The manpower, a crew of 1420, & other assets needed to use the gun were enormous. The gun’s vulnerability due to its huge size & time from transport to action doomed its further use without total air supremacy.
I’m not sure where you got the 80 mile thing. Most railguns were in the 15 to 30 mile range with c. 50 to 250kg projectiles until WW2 when the 28cm K5 gun was equipped with the ‘Peenemunder Pfeilgeschoss’ which extended the range to c. 94 miles but with a lighter projectile of only 136kg.
Dora fires…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxuW8gG8Hfg
I got the 80 mile thing from wiki.
Wiki??? Yeah, .. I know, I know ….
Hey, at one point I think I had 20 tabs open simultaneously!
As with all research projects, one of the most difficult issues is dealing with all the conflicting data.
Small example. The Armenian genocide death toll — data ranges from well under a million – to as high as 3 million. What’s a writer to do?? Lol
At any rate, I appreciate you and a couple others here pointing out where I made errors. I mean that sincerely.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzPZJwczLVA
actual video of it in action!
That was a very interesting read, Stucky.
Another Stucky masterpiece! Very well done and might I say,only you can take the subject of World Wars and condense it down then add a little humor to come up with a fantastic read. This is like the fun days Stucky, your castles and car articles that bring fun and excitement into reading here at TBP.
Thinking about the million men sacrificed at Verdun and I’m wondering if they were all wasted lives for the TPTB, it is always the slaughter to take that hill or move that line for months at a time while men are blown to bits. WAR, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing…..
Thanks, BL.
Did you know that “War, what is it good for?” was Tolstoy’s ORIGINAL title for “War and Peace”?
Really, it’s true.
No, I did not know that. Very interesting…..
Steve C. would like the next map-torial to be about The War To Prevent Southern Independence …. or, as you fucken Yankees know it, The Civil War.
WWII is the other option.
Now, if I’m gonna do it, I wanna give the peeps what dey wants. So, please …
— Vote UP ………. if you want WWII
— Vote DOWN …. if you want Civil War (you know what I mean Steve!)
I am an WWII enthusiast. I have a minor in both history and political science to accompany my worthless journalism degree. I could have a minor in World War II if there were such a degree offered. That is how much WWII history and Western European polysci I took. Of course, now that I just hunt with my cousin, sing a few tunes after we come in while the chili simmers, I don’t read here as much as I used to.
There’s a war coming, Stucky. I feel it in my bones. Today, I saved the tallow from a huge beef brisket I trimmed by cooking it down and sealing it into jars. Why? I just felt I might need it. You never can have too much good fat in storage.
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Caption contest:
1. Shaddup before I cut your balls off and throw them in my chili pot.
2. That’s right, we’re white women but we’re not easy Swedish girls, we’re American.
3. We were not hunting all night for you to say you want to go to Famous Dave’s BBQ.
4. Sing one more verse of Cielito Lindo and I swear…you’ll have something to cry about.
Enrique looks a bit like the Cuban.
Julio Iglesias is Spanish, he is part of the golden era (La Epoca de Oro of the ’70’s and 80’s) that flouished after Franco croaked. Like a lot of stars, Julio had more women than Buckhed could only dream of. Enrique’s mom is Filipino.
When Nick’s father came to Oklahoma and became my Poppa, he brought Julio, Jerry Vale and a library of big band singers that we would dance to on ballroom dance day at the old folks home. We were meant to be together, Nick’s father and I. He told everyone I was his daughter.
Maggie, my daughter was working at Best Buy one Christmas season when a couple of old ladies came in distraught because their LP of Julio Iglesias had been damaged. My daughter mock commiserated, Oh no, not Julio! (her ex is named Julio). She was able to find them a replacement.
Julio is a Miami guy. Used to live up on Indian Creek. I saw him driving around a couple of times in the eighties in a steel blue Rolls. Enrique lives on one of the Sunset Islands, kind of surprised I never saw him out, back then there were only so many places to go.
Thanks Stucky, this masterpiece was both entertaining and educational.
My great great grandfather came from Alsace-Lorraine. He was a draft dodger who didn’t want anything to do with serving in the German army. Lucky for me and the rest of the family…
Great article. I have one issue I wish to point out, though.
The French are maligned as “cheese-eating surrender monkeys” in American popular culture, but I think popular (and we should be wary of what is “popular” in America, including popular so-called “wisdom”) history is unkind. Prior to WWI, the French were rather powerful and prior to WWII they were considered a major power in Europe with the largest armored force on the continent and strong alliances with Russia, the Czechs, and others, effectively boxing in Germany. It was British intelligence and diplomacy and economic maneuvering that worked to undermine and weaken French morale and isolate them diplomatically through the 1920s-1930s, essentially creating the conditions for German militarism to triumph. The Brits essentially set the stage for WWII.
While I have no great respect or love for the French, I think we should recognize much of this popular derision toward the French was Bush administration propaganda after they opposed us in the War on Terror. Remember “Freedom Fries?” That shit was pure US govt pro-war propaganda. When you look at the results of America’s neverending War on Noun, the French don’t look quite that stupid. For what it’s worth, if you ever look at the record of the French Foreign Legion, they don’t look quite as weak as popular culture would have us believe, although they can probably lay a lot of that at the feet of the Germans and Poles who fought for them after the War. While they don’t have a great record as warriors in the last century, I think it might be worth cutting them some slack, since they did lose the best of a couple generations fighting the Banksters’ wars on their home territory. Additionally, they were the ones who had to rebuild all the shit everyone else destroyed fighting in their yard. TWICE! After WWI, for example, the German nation was largely intact, since the fighting never occured on their soil. They were starving, but generally intact. Looking at the rest of Europe these days, it looks like enduring massive wars every 20 years might not be a good idea for your long-term productivity and national strength and Will to exist.
We’re unique in that we’ve been able to go fight practically all our wars on other people’s land, then furnish them with reconstruction, the funding for which we then channel to our own businesses, growing our economy at their expense.
Nice post.
You are correct … that the French are too often maligned.
Also worth mentioning … their contributions to the American Revolution.
But … when looking for some funny stuff to insert, ya gotta go where Comedy leads ya! Hey, I also made fun of Belgium, Italy, Mexico, Russia and Germany. No one is safe.
That’s the one thing that gives me pause in doing a Civil War map-torial. Off the top of my head, I just can’t think of ANY material therein whereby on could inject a bit of levity.
OH MAN! I can’t wait to see your Silly War project!
The Italians have managed to end up on the winning side a LOT. Just sayin’
The closest to something funny Civil War related was Carol Burnett wearing the curtains with the curtain rod back in the day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1JPQh5rBCw
Speaking of the French, here’s a couple of interesting tidbits for ya:
1) At the beginning of WWI the French army was still wearing red pants while the Germans had nice grey cammo uniforms. The French considered it unthinkable to give up their ‘red trousers’.
Until they realized that German sharpshooters were using the natural upside down V those red trousers gave them in sighting with their upright V rifle sites. French soldiers were being shot at long range and getting their you-know-whats blown off.
All of a sudden, the French army decided that maybe it was time to change and went to the light blue uniforms that they standardized on for the rest of the war.
2) Prior to hostilities the French army believed that all they needed to overcome any enemy was their ‘French willingness to fight’. They called it ‘cran’
So the French army entered The Great War with red pants and cran. The German army had grey cammo and portable field artillery.
The results were predictable…
Steve C.
Spring, Texas
Nice.
But, here’s the real story.
A French diplomat met with a British General and asked, “Why do your soldiers wear red into battle?” The Brit answered — “To keep morale high. Blood is also red. So, when one of our officers gets shot the regular troops won’t notice it, and they keep fighting bravely.” The French diplomat then went back to France and said to his Generals, — “Quick! We must immediately switch to brown pants?*
Thanks for that, Gilbert. Makes me less embarrassed to admit I am half French!
I couldn’t help adding this to the record:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVERRhp7aL4
Chaplin advancing against the Allies
and this, Chaplin’s speech against the war:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibVpDhW6kDQ
This is one of the only ones without the shitty music added.
I read Solzhenitsyn’s August 1914. It was a fascinating book and did not do any favors for the Russian military. It was funny reading the Russian reaction when they broke through into German territory and found nice, clean, modern farms and villages which were lightyears ahead of Russian ones and actual roads, not dirt trails.
What the heck? That WAF skank snuck one in like a silent fart. See you at 200, darling!
I reserve the term “skank” for Hillbitch and Billah’s wife. Watch it. I’m carrying the Buck knife and it doesn’t need to be sharpened.
It was harsh but fitting to the purpose, I softened it with the term darling.
In other news, mijo means son. I have no idea what a meho is.
Seriously, only Mexican nationals call their GF or BF ‘mija’ or ‘mijo’.
To us on this side of the border, it sounds incestuous.
My Cuban friend told me that mejo/mijo, which I misheard as meho, thinking he was being naughty… he said it means “my dear friend” so blame him, not me. Except don’t blame him; he works for an agency now and I’m not supposed to mention him. Ever.
However, there was a time, back in my prime, when me and the Cuban got into some escapades. Maybe I’ll save that for another day.
What the hell … it’s OK if I change subjects on my post, I think.
Anyway, below link is very much worth checking out. Article plus several vids …
… showing huge throngs of Iranian PEOPLE protesting strongly against their GOVERNMENT … including “death to the central bank” … and calling their own copfuks ISIS traitors.
Should give the anti-Iranian crowd something to think about!
This is where Trump drives me crazy with his tough-guy bullshit.
It is clear that neither he nor his war whore Generals know anything else except threats and bullying. All his threats against Iran with America’s wrath (read, bombs) and increased sanctions (an act of war) over a legitimate nuke deal, which has NOT been violated (except in “spirit”, whatever the fuck that means) …. can ONLY RESULT IN UNITING THE IRANIAN PEOPLE!!!!
How about some fucking DIPLOMACY to help the Iranian people get the government THEY want … on THEIR own???
Good Lawd Almighty! At this point I actually miss Henry Kissinger!
I’m sorry for shouting. This war-ish President, who promised us something much different than this same old SHIT is really PISSING ME OFF!!
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/10/looted_and_lied_to_irans_people_are_protesting.html
You certainly have my permission to change the subject on your post. I’ve always believe spicy variety in topical positions (or missionary ones) adds a little flavor to the meat.
In other words, I tend to prattle about whatever I fancy prattling about. Like the little Who in Whoville, I just want someone to know I’m here.
Note: This comment originally intended as reply to Stucky @ October 28, 2017 6:34 am but it never would show up, so, try again as just a post comment, not reply and see if that makes any difference . . .
I picked up on it first thing, but it never even occurred to me that it was a typo, I thought it was a dig at the Brits. Mesomorph’s questions are hilarious (as is Looks like my first etch-a-sketch).
WRT “Civil War”: The most succinct, neutral and accurate name I know of is War Between The States, but even that isn’t completely accurate – the states weren’t all monolithic one way or the other. Probably best to stick with US Civil War, but include the disclaimer. Maybe start the piece with something like Most wars, people can at least agree on what to call it . . . For background research (and well worth reading on its own) check out The Republican Charade: Lincoln and His Party.
If you decide to go with WWII, be sure to have a look at Pat Buchanan’s take on it. Here’s a good place to start.
PS: Apologies if this shows up more than once, I’ve tried posting it a few times before adding this, kept either not posting or saying “duplicate comment detected”.
What number are we at micasa sucasa. Lol
When Nick’s father came to Oklahoma and became my Poppa, he brought Julio, Jerry Vale and a library of big band singers that we would dance to on ballroom dance day at the old folks home. We were meant to be together, Nick’s father and I. He told everyone I was his daughter.
And…in case you suspect I am off topic? My poppa grooch, first generation American from Bari Italy was born to an Italian immigrant who fled Mussolini after being targeted as part of the freedom fighters.
I married well.
@EC
No reply button was available to your 10/28 @10:30 reply.
I surely know that they were separate wars. My point was that Poncho Villa was merely the equivalent of Billy the Kid in the history of the Southwest U.S.
He is only a footnote.
That little footnote led the largest revolutionary army – La Division del Norte. That little footnote rubbed elbows with Pershing and Zapata. That little footnote attacked the US. That little footnote was filmed by the Hollywood crowd. That little footnote changed the way the war was conducted, he used the railroad and horses and eliminated the attached women and children to make his army faster, thus anticipating the blitzkrieg. Obregon managed to stop him with the modern trench warfare methods of the time. That little footnote eclipsed Zapata, Madero, Huerta, Obregon, and many more personalities of the Mexican revolution that Dr Pangloss spent his career researching that little footnote.
BTW, When I was a kid, there was still a plaque on the sidewalk next to a brick building commemorating the site of the first Fort Bliss near downtown El Paso on Texas Street a bit east of Cotton Street. (There was the Clardy Fox home on Myrtle nearby.) I imagine Villa went there to take a pic with Pershing, I doubt Black Jack went to Juarez to take a selfie with Pancho. Those streets are so close to the border that when you read that the El Pasoans watched the battle of Juarez from their homes, it’s not hard to picture it.
When there is no reply button, scroll up just a bit until you find one.
I was trying to find the lyrics to La Cucaracha and stumbled upon Pancho Villa and got sidetracked. An interesting footnote. He’s more of a sidebar that deserves its own title.
When morans attack dept:
Maybe US Grant is a footnote. Maybe RE Lee is a sidebar.
Francisco “Pancho” Villa (born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican Revolutionary general and one of the most prominent figures of the Mexican Revolution. – Wikipedia
Haldeen Braddy – Paradox of Pancho Villa, Cock of the Walk, Pancho Villa at Columbus, Pershing’s Mission in Mexico.
I was being sarcastic, mejo, I mean hombre, I mean amigo.
It was an interesting sidetrack I found myself upon while trying to get the words to the little cockroach song.
Did you like my link on you buddy Alejandro? Tell the moran never say I’m full of shit. You get a pass, he doesn’t.
I saw the link. And it did not do my dear old friend from Miami, Florida (aka “the Cuban”) justice. He was/is the second best-looking guy I ever knew. I married the first.
I just realized we are chattering on Stucky’s post. Oh, never mind… a comment is a comment is a comment. As long as they add up to 200 and I get the honor, he won’t mind.
Will he?
Not at all, it’s like being on mids, boringi as hell.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ciudad_Ju%C3%A1rez_(1911)
I enjoyed this article a lot.
My understanding of the events leading to the German entry are:
1) The Germans were afraid of the Russians. The Czar had on paper the largest army in the world with 6,000,000 active soldiers.
2) Kaiser Wilhelm had been bullshitted by his Generals, who were certain they win.
3) Germany decided that it better beat the Russians to the punch and decided that eliminating France would allow them to concentrate their forces on the Russians.
4) Nobody foresaw that the Russians would fight like dogshit.
5) The British were chomping at the bit to fight Germany.
6) The Kaiser was crushed when Russia declared war on Austro-Hungary. The Kaiser and the Czar were first cousins and best buddies….Willie could not believe that Nikki would hurt him.
Oh yeah and
7) Woodrow Wilson was a monumental prick.
4. They wasted Napoleon’s Grand Army
5. champing
Well, I’m up checking an upload to You Tube. I decided to go all out for something. You will like it. Me Hoe.
This will be 160 I think, so I shall return to my cozy bed and NOT THE FREEZING DEER CAMP. Not tonight.
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Yo, did you see my question about Sheldon Adelson and his contributions to Trump?