ACG WebOps (26 August 2007)
Welcome to WebOps, Armchair General’s weekly recon of links to military history news, articles, websites, and more. Military history news this week includes Gettysburg and Normandy, a closer look at ACG’s close friend and podcaster George Hageman, a history of friendly fire incidents since the Gulf War, and a new website of historical maps. Clicks away!
News
Itty Bitty Unit off to make history in Iraq – Charlotte Observer
The N.C. National Guard’s smallest unit got a big-unit goodbye before it left for Iraq, where it will record military history as it happens.
{default}Frozen Remains May be WW2 Airman – Military.com
Mountain backpackers have discovered remains believed to be those of a missing World War II Airman resting atop a glacier near where an aviation cadet’s body was found two years ago, authorities said Monday.
College knowledge relegates more to history – MSNBC.com (video)
The class of students entering college this month is the first post-Cold War class, according to the Beloit College Mindset List, a compilation of the events, technology, people and social trends that shaped the incoming crop of freshmen.
Muster on the Tallapoosa scheduled for Saturday – Alexander City Outlook
Residents can witness history come alive during the Horseshoe Bend National Military Park‘s Eighth Annual Muster on the Tallapoosa Saturday.
Dice against the Nazis – BBC News
Nazi-era board games are being auctioned this week, one with points given for bombing UK cities. But what were British children playing during WWII? It wasn’t all hopscotch and conkers, the Brits had their own propaganda games.
At Gettysburg, a new battle: urban sprawl – The Christian Science Monitor
A new list of ‘endangered battlefields’ reveals tensions between preservationists and developers.
Cemetery opens visitors center – The Columbus Dispatch
The Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, best-known for its sober rows of white grave markers honoring fallen U.S. troops in World War II, has gotten a visitors center at last.
Russia confirms Soviet sorties over Dimona in ’67 – The Jerusalem Post
The chief spokesman of the Russian Air Force, Col. Aleksandr V. Drobyshevsky, has confirmed in writing for the first time that it was Soviet pilots, in the USSR’s most-advanced MiG-25 "Foxbat" aircraft, who flew highly-provocative sorties over Israel’s nuclear facility at Dimona in May 1967, just prior to the Six Day War.
Articles
George Hageman | The peaceful podcaster rides to fame on military might – Seattle Times Newspaper
Two surprising facts about George Hageman, creator of a military-history podcast that boasts 1.5 million downloads and 20,000 subscribers and briefly cracked iTunes’ Top 100 list: First, Hageman is 16 years old, a Lakeside junior who, mostly for fun, produces weekly episodes about war animals, Roman fighting tactics, King Shaka Zulu, Clausewitz’s Principles of War, Napoleon, military robotics, English long bowmen, the Chinese PLA threat and the fight for Iwo-Jima.
Second, Hageman is a pacifist.
Dieppe: 65 years later – CNEWS
Anniversary marks one of the bloodiest events in Canada’s military history.
Salutes to Gen. Pat – Cleburne Times-Review
Maj. Gen. Patrick Ronayne Cleburne, or the Stonewall Jackson of the West, is known as one of the South’s most aggressive battlefield commanders. He was “a brilliant military officer who was liked, admired and inspired by those who knew him. No man could ask for more,†Ann Kieschnick wrote in “History of Johnson County, Texas.â€
The secret history of the Nazi mascot – BBC News
Alex Kurzem came to Australia in 1949 carrying just a small brown briefcase, but weighed down by some harrowing psychological and emotional baggage.
His Salute to History – NOLA.com
A New Orleanian with a passion for the past shares his home with masses of military memorabilia. And that’s just the upstairs.
US friendly fire: a long history – Times Online
Since the first Gulf War in 1991 the American military has killed dozens of people in "friendly fire" incidents. Click the links for coverage from The Times archive.
The Borinqueneers – WNYC (audio)
The 65th Infantry was the only all Puerto Rican regiment in the history of the U-S military. The soldiers were known as The Borinqueneers. Tonight in the Bronx, the New York debut of a new film about the fabled regiment will take place at Hostos Community College in the Bronx. But as Brigid Bergin discovered, it’s not a simple story to tell.
Military history teaches us about honor, sacrifice, and the inevitability of conflict.
Military secrets – TwinCities.com
Two interesting museums are filled with old planes and tanks, but few people in the Twin Cities – beyond aviation and history fans – seem to know about them.
Blogs – Netcasts
Scorpion Down – Military History Podcast
This episode is a summary of the USS Scorpion incident of 1968 and a review of the book, Scorpion Down, by Ed Offley (Published by Perseus Books).
World War II: North Africa, Sicily, & Italy – about.com: Military History
Our overview of World War II continues with a look at the fighting in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy.
The Provinces Are Revolting! – Investigations of a Dog
An article that I’m working on involves getting on top of the debates over the causes and outbreak of the English Civil War. This is something that I avoided like the plague during my PhD, partly because it wasn’t vital to my study of the development of administrative systems, and partly because it was too big and complicated (and, let’s be honest, too scary – Conrad Russell wasn’t entirely joking when he called it “bloodsportâ€). Now all that’s changed and I’m getting stuck into the historiography.
Brigadier General Charles FitzClarence, VC – Military History Blog on the Web
Brigadier General Charles FitzClarence, VC, was one of the few senior British officers to be killed in action during the First World War.
Aerial Insults: The Tradition of Inscribing Lead Sling-Bullets in Antiquity – Military History Blog
Typically, when one ponders the use of the sling in antiquity the first image that comes to mind is the story of how David slew Goliath. The exact origins of the sling, however, are not precisely known.
Websites
The David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
The David Rumsey Historical Map Collection has over 15,800 maps online. The collection focuses on rare 18th and 19th century North American and South American maps and other cartographic materials. Historic maps of the World, Europe, Asia, and Africa are also represented. Collection categories include antique atlas, globe, school geography, maritime chart, state, county, city, pocket, wall, childrens, and manuscript maps.
WebOps is a weekly report linking to military history news and articles published in mainstream online media. Excerpts are taken exactly as they are on the noted source websites; quotation marks are not used. The hyperlinks are added by me as I can find them. Please visit the Armchair Forums to discuss the topics in WebOps. If you just can’t wait until Sunday for the next WebOps, plug yourself into the new del.icio.us Armchair General WebOps feed and get each link as its posted!
Stay Alert, Stay Alive!
Jim H. Moreno
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp legal and financial troubles are getting bigger.The U.S. Justice Department has beenhave contacted British law enforcement officials to look at allegations of illegal payments reportedly paid by Murdoch’s News of the World to Scotland Yard police officers. If the allegations can be proved, Rupert Murdoch’s troubles are just starting as any payments may have violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that makes it illegal for any American company to pay bribes to foreign government officials.