PzLdr History Facts

[PzLdr]

McSorley's Ale House, a lower NYC institution opened this day in 1854. Home of [when I went there] two beers for a buck [a pale ale, or a stout], and the best ham/cheese and onion sandwiches on Earth, McSorley's was famous for not letting women in until a lawsuit in the late '60s/ early 70s. I still remember the front page of the DAILY NEWS with a picture of a pioneering feminist getting a beer poured on her head. Last time I was there, they still had one restroom, and were in the process of replacing the frosted glass door panels with clear glass, allowing an unobstructed view of the urinals. the memorabilia on the walls, the dust covered wishbones on the ceiling lamp made it the best place in NYC t drink.

If you haven't been there, I believe you've missed out. I think it recently closed. If you have been there, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

[PzLdr]

When Lucky Luciano boarded the ship for exile in Italy after WW II, he left the New York mob in the more than capable hands of one of his oldest associates, Frank Costello. Costello was almost the antithesis of the commonly held image of a mobster. He dressed well, associated with mostly non-mobsters of caf? society, was soft spoken, and did not have a reputation for violence although it is likely he was part of assassination team that murdered Joe "The Boss" Masseria at Luciano's order]. What Costello did have was connections. He made the payoffs, got a NYC Mayor [Vincent Imperiale] elected, controlled a good part of the judiciary, and had a good portion of the police department in his pocket. And Costello did this, not only with bribery, political fixing and corruption, but with 'smart' crime. Costello was adamantly opposed to the mob getting involved in narcotics trafficking. As he argued, the general populace would turn a blind eye to, or at least put up with prostitution, gambling, bid rigging, extortion, loan sharking and a host of other mob money makers. But, he said, they would not countenance the mob selling heroin to their children. So he banned it.

Unfortunately, there were three problems with that. Mob "soldiers" were required to 'kick up' hefty portions of all their earnings [except their loansharking monies]. So they were always looking for new opportunities that returned big profits for little investment. Heroin was one such opportunity. Costello might have weathered that, but he was confronted with a mob rival who wanted the mob into heroin sales big time. That rival was Don Vito Genovese, Luciano's underboss. And Luciano, far away in Italy, couldn't shield Costello [interestingly, he was setting up the pipeline to move opium from the middle east to Marseilles, where it woulod be turned into heroin to ship to the States]

Vito Genovese was, even by mob standards a thug to be feared. He had been in exile in Sicily during the war after committing a murder in New York [Genovese had killed the then husband of his wife so he could marry her]. He came back when the chief witness, in protective custody in jail ingested, in the words of the medical examiner, enough poison to kill a horse. And he both challenged Costello, and sought to allay the fears Costello raised by promising to sell narcotics only to blacks. Costello still wouldn't budge. But the ground was being cup out from under him.

First there was an abysmal performance before the Kefauver commission that made him a laughing stock. And then there was the murder of his strongest mob supporter, Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia, the Lord High Executioner of Murder, Inc.

Albert Anastasia may well have been the only Mafioso in New York more terrifying that Genovese. Anastasia had been killing people since the '20s. He, too, was purportedly one of Masseria's assassins. And the sobriquet, "The Mad Hatter" was well deserved. Anastasia had been watching the Ed Sullivan show one Sunday when as was his wont, Ed introduced a member of his audience, one Arnold Schuster. Schuster had two claims to fame. He ran a news stand. And he had 'fingered' Willie Sutton, the bank robber to the FBI. As Sullivan introduced Schuster, Anastasia exploded and ordered Schuster to be killed. The FBI was clueless, for years as to why, and by whom Schuster had been killed [Sutton had no mob connections, and never hurt anyone during his career].

Anastasia was solidly behind Costello in his argument with Genovese. And while sitting in a barber chair in New York City, two masked men came up behind Anastasia and killed him. They were Crazy Joey Gallo and his brother. Costello was now alone.

And one night as he returned to his apartment lobby, he heard his name called. When he turned, he saw Genovese's driver, one Vincent "Vinny the Chin" Gigante with a gun in his hand. Costello was shot in the head; it was a graze, rather than a penetrating shot, but it was enough. Costello decided to, and was allowed to, retire [Luciano's hand?]. He went on to fail to identify Gigante in court, leading to an acquittal, and Gigante's thanks.

So Genovese got control, the mob got into narcotics, and Costello got into retirement. Bu Don Vito's victory was hollow. the mob did not restrict heroin sales to the black community. Society reacted just as Costello said they would, and judges and cops would not play ball with the new criminal enterprise. One result was a Genovese called mob meet that blew up in the mob's collective face. It was set at Appalachia. And when it was blown EVERYBODY knew there was a Mafia. The fig leaf was gone.

Genovese did more to destroy the mob than anybody but John Gotti. He bungled a hit in prison that sent Joe Valachi to the government. The narcotics trade brought heat the mob had never seen, even if the money was good. Genovese died in prison for trafficking. Costello died in bed. there's a lesson there.

[PzLdr]

It has gotten lost in the idiocy of Presidents' Day [originally an amalgam of Lincoln's and Washington's birthday. Does anybody but a Marxist cretin believe we should be celebrating BARACK OBAMA??], that almost maniacal drive for a three day weekend, and the concomitant amnesia over what the three day weekend is about.

But TODAY is George Washington's BIRTHDAY. The first commander of the United States Army. The man who oversaw the U.S. victory in the Revolution. Our FIRST [and IMHO] greatest President [he invented the job], and, indeed, our GREATEST American.

So, in honor of the man, his service to our Country, and his impact on history, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. PRESIDENT! Or has he preferred to be addressed, "GENERAL"!

[PzLdr]

Two iconic events in American history occurred on this date:

1836 - The battle of the Alamo:

Mexican President Antonio de Lopez y Santa Ana forces marches an Army into the province of Texas to suppress a Texican revolt. His march takes him to the former mission known as the Alamo, where contrary to orders to destroy the mission and join the Texas Army, acting commander decides to hold the position and fight it out, believing he will be reinforced by a force from Goliad under Col. Fanning.

Fanning never arrives, his column being tricked into surrender, then massacred by a Mexican column. And after a siege, a night assault by the Mexican Army breaches the defenses. the entire garrison [except for some civilians - women children and slaves] are killed. Among the dead are Travis, Jim Bowie and former Tennessee Congressman, Davy Crockett.

On April 21st, at San Jacinto, Santa Ana and the column he commands are surprised and attacked by the Texican Army led by Sam Houston. to cries of "Remember the Alamo", the Mexicans are crushed in approximately 20 minutes. Subsequently captured in disguise, Santa Ana recognizes Texas independence to save his own life.


1945: The "U.S Marines raise the flag on Mt. Suribachi on Iwo Jima. Targeted on Day 1 of the invasion while two other columns of Marines attack toward the Japanese airfields to the northeast, Suribachi is a warren of tunnels, bunkers and firing positions, and is an anchor of the Japanese defensive system.

There are two flag raisings on Suribachi. It is the second, memorialized in a newsman's photograph, that became an icon of the Second World War.

[apples]

McSorley's Ale House, a lower NYC institution opened this day in 1854. Home of [when I went there] two beers for a buck [a pale ale, or a stout], and the best ham/cheese and onion sandwiches on Earth, McSorley's was famous for not letting women in until a lawsuit in the late '60s/ early 70s. I still remember the front page of the DAILY NEWS with a picture of a pioneering feminist getting a beer poured on her head. Last time I was there, they still had one restroom, and were in the process of replacing the frosted glass door panels with clear glass, allowing an unobstructed view of the urinals. the memorabilia on the walls, the dust covered wishbones on the ceiling lamp made it the best place in NYC t drink.

If you haven't been there, I believe you've missed out. I think it recently closed. If you have been there, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Sad to see old places shut down. 

[PzLdr]

1815: Napoleon Bonaparte slips exile on the island of Elba, boards a ship and sails to the southern coast of France, beginning the so-called 100 days. Bonaparte will march on Paris gathering military units, generals, Marshals and popular support sufficient to send Louis XVIII into flight. Napoleon's return will be capped by the battle of Waterloo, his second abdication, and his second exile, this time to the island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic, where he will die.

1871: Preliminary negotiations between the Prussian led German, and the government of Napoleon III of France to end the Franco-Prussian War begin at Versailles. When the Treaty is finalized, Germany will gain Alsace and Lorraine, become the primary military power on the European continent, and with the coronation of Kaiser Wilhelm I in the Hall of Mirrors, become the German Empire.

1924: The treason trial of Adolf Hitler, Gen. Erich Ludendorff, and other participants in the so-called "Beer Hall Putsch" begins in Bavaria. By its conclusion, Ludendorff will be acquitted, and Hitler will receive a five year sentence at Landsburg prison [he'll serve a little over two]. But the trial puts Hitler on the map all over Germany, receiving extensive press coverage. He is a national figure by its conclusion.

[PzLdr]

It had started in Munich as 8 men called the STOSSTRUPP ADOLF HITLER, an SS bodyguard for the Fuehrer which included Christian Weber, Ulrich Graf, Emile Maurice and others. It expanded to the STABWACHE, allowing guards to move ahead of Hitler on his speaking tours, while leaving a contingent with him. And it got the commander who would lead it the longest, Josef "Sepp" Dietrich, a former NCO in the Imperial German Army [and the only senior WW II commander who had been a tanker in WW I].

And on 17 MAR 1933, in a ceremony choreographed by Joseph Goebbels himself, the 120 men of the STABWACHE were re-christened the LEIBSTANDARTE SS ADOLF HITLER, complete with cuff bands bearing the Fuehrer's name in silver bullion cursive.

Dietrich and his men were garrisoned in the Lichterfelde barracks in Berlin. Trained by the unit they replaced, the German army's Ninth Regiment, they assumed the guard duties at the Reichs Chancellary, and when he was there, Hitler's retreat at the Berghof. Restriced to guard duty, the LEIBSTANDARTE became known by the sobriquet, 'The Asphalt Soldiers'. But neither Hitler, nor Himmler, intended their two SS paramilitaries [the LEIBSTANDARTE,  and the SS VERFUNGESTRUPPEN] to be ornamental  guard formations. Both were of the view that the two formations would need to be 'blooded' inasmuch they were intended to guarantee the internal security of the regime by armed force, if necessary.

The LEIBSTANDARTE'S first major 'test' came with the "Night of the Long Knives" in 1934, the so-called Roehm Putsch. Dietrich and at least one company f his men accompanied Hitler to Munich and Bad Weissee, where Roehm and the senior leadership of the SA were arrested. the LEIBSTANDARTE then provided the firing squads that executed them [but not Roehm. He was killed by Theodor Eicke, commander of the Dachau Concentration camp, and the Totenkopf Verbaende], both in Munich, and Berlin.

As a result of their actions, the SS, until then a subsidiary of the SA was made an independent organization of the NSDAP. Himmler was on his way.

The LEIBSTANDARTE continued to expand in the 1930s, despite the rigorous admission standards. something like 8 or 9 out of 10 volunteers were rejected.  Requirements included a minimum height of 5' 11", no tooth cavities and proof of German ancestry to the 1850s for EM, and 1750 for officers.

Still, by 1939, the LEIBSTANDARTE was a regiment, and a motorized regiment at that. And in achieving that status, Dietrich had fought both the Army, and on more than one occasion, the Reichsfuehrer SS himself. Dietrich's position was quite simple. He took his orders from Hitler. So the LEIBSTANDARTE tended to give Himmler respect rather than obedience. And on at least one occasion when Himmler sought to exercise his command prerogatives, he received a note from Hitler that said, , in sum and substance, "Dietrich is the master in his own house, which I might add, is my house'. Dietrich would be semi-independent, as would the LSSAH, from Himmler for the rest of the Third Reich's insistence.

As for the Army, they soon realized they had traded a bloated constrictor [the SA] for a Black Mamba [the Waffen SS, of which the LSSAH was the spearpoint. the best they could come up with was subordinating the Waffen ['Armed'] SS to Army command.


The LSSAH participated in the invasion of Poland, as did the SS VT. The unit performed creditably, but took heavy casualties [Dietrich was not rated highly as a regimental commander, tactically speaking, although his men worshipped him]. One of the first Iron Cross Is went to an LSSAH man. Bu there were also signs of the 'other side' of the Waffen SS. While not engaging in the wholesale slaughter associated with the seven EINSATZGRUPPEN Reihard Heydrich loosed on the Poles, men of the LSSAH murdered some fifty Jewish civilians and killed other civilians while they were in Poland. Despite Army complaints, nothing was done.

In 1940, the LSSAH was part of Army Group B for the SICKELSCHNITTE, marching into the Netherlands [where they severely wounded the commander of the German airborne, GEN. Kurt Student, in Rotterdam], and then France. It was during this part of the campaign, that Dietrich came close to dying, when his command car was ambushed by the British. Although he survived, for a while that fact was unknown. As a result the LSSAH shot at least 50 British POWs to death at a place called Wormhout. They then, to the Army's chagrin, marched in the victory parade in Paris.

1941 found the LSSAH, now a motorized brigade in Bulgaria, preparing to invade the U.S.S.R. But a pro-British coup in Yugoslavia, and a botched invasion of Greece by Mussolini, sent the LEIBSTANDARTE south.

The unit performed spectacularly. the recon battalion, under Sturmbannfuehrer Kurt Meyer, took Thermopolye, breaking the British defensive line. And using the railroad tracks as a road, they spearheaded the German drive into southern Greece, with Athens surrendering to Sepp Dietrich.

The LSSAH then re-deployed northward, and on 22 JUN 1941 crossed the Soviet border. BARBAROSSA was on.

The LEIBSTANDARTE fought, as a brigade, with Army Group South throughout 1941 [by now there were three SS divisions in the USSR: SS VT [renamed "DAS REICH"], SS TOTENKOPF ['Death's Head', formed from concentration camp regiments], and SS "WIKING" [an amalgam of German and volunteer Western European units]. There was a fourth, fairly ineffective division of reserve police units [SS POLIZEI], but it didn't amount to much.

It was during the campaign in Ukraine that the LSSAH developed their reputation for terror to a high point. Having found a recon patrol with the members hands tied, the bodies mutilated, and the corpses shot in the head, the LSSAH went on a three day spree, murdering 3,500 or so Soviet POWs.  The LEIBSTANDARTE spent the rest of 1941 in Ukraine, retreating with the rest of the Army Group from Rostov in November.

1942 was spent in France, where the LSSAH was brought up to division strength, and converted to a Panzer Grenadier Division, as were DAS REICH and TOTENKOPF [all would later be upgraded to Panzer Divisions, along with WIKING]. But 1943 brought all three back to the Soviet Union, in time for Manstein's riposte at Kharkov, and the greatest tank battle in history, Kursk.

The now SS Panzer Corps, under Dietrich served at Kursk as part of Hermann Hoth's 4thPanzer Army, on the southern side of the Kursk salient. Of all the troops on that side, the LSSAH was the only one to make its first day objectives. the 1st SS Panzer Corps, bore the brunt of the tank battle with the 5th Guards tank army; and tactically, they won.

But the operation [ZITTADELL] ended in a strategic victory for the Soviets. The German attack on the northern side of the salient had been stopped cold. And then came news that the western Allies were in Sicily. The LSSAH was withdrawn to Italy, where it came under the command [for the first time] of Erwin Rommel. The relationship didn't last long. Rommel was sent to France, while the LSSAH was sent back to Russia, where it performed with the elan, competence and brutality that had become its hall mark [the 1st Panzer Regiment, commanded by SS LTC Jochen Peiper became known as the 'Blowtorch Battalion' for their penchant for burning every village they saw]. Then, in Spring, 1944, the 1st SS Pz. Corps [minus TOTENKOPF] returned to the west in expectation of the Allied invasion.

Fighting on eastern end of the front [against Montgomery], the LSSAH performed exceptionally well [see the thread "Tyger, Tyger"]. But, like the rest of the forces in AG 'B', they were being worn down. So, on 17 JUL 1944, Dietrich, and several of his senior SS generals [one was Willi Bittrich] hosted a meeting with their commander, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Rommel was involved to some degree, in the plot to kill Hitler [Rommel wanted him tried, not killed], but it appears  his immediate plan was to surrender the western front to the Allies, and open their path into Germany. So he posed the question to Dietrich, whose orders would te Waffen SS obey, Rommel's? Or Hitler's?  Dietrich, who had already said the war was lost, chose Rommel.

Unfortunately, later that day, Rommel was severely wounded when his staff car was strafed. On 14 OCT., he was forced to commit suicide. Without his leadership, the Waffen SS soldiered on, fighting the battle of Mortain, withdrawing East, re-fitting.

The LSSAH next appeared, in a major role on 16 DEC 1944, spearheading the main drive, as part of Dietrich's 6th SS Panzer Army, in the Battle of the Bulge. The right hand of the attack, 12th SS Pz. Div., on the Elsenborn Ridge, got nowhere. The left hand, the LSSAH, led by Jochen Peiper's regiment initially blew a hole through the Losheim Gap and made rapid progress [They also murdered over 100 American prisoners at Malmedy, and several hundred Belgian civilians at Stavelot], but then they slowed, and ground to a halt. The LSSAH' part in the Battle of the Bulge was over.

1945 found the 6th SS Panzer Army back in the East. But by now, 'East' was a relative term. In this case,'East' meant Hungary, and a Fuehrer ordered attack to re-secure the Lake Balaton oil fields. The ground was soupy mud, the weather was horrific, the Germans were outnumbered, there was no meaningful air cover, or support, but BEFEHL IST BEFEHL, so the Germans, with the LSSAH in front attacked. And were handily defeated, with heavy losses.

Hitler, enraged, ordered Himmler to go to Hungary and strip all the SS units of their cuffbands. An apochryphal, but quite possibly true story, claims the LEIBSTANDARTE sent theirs , with one man's arm still in the sleeve to the Fuehrer. Along with medals. In a chamber pot.

Aside from the guard unit that fell in Berlin, the LSSAH traveled west, and surrendered to the western allies. They were done.

Dietrich, Preiss, Kramer and Peiper were tried as war criminals for Malmedy. all were sentenced to death. all had their sentences modified. All survived prison [Dietrich was sent back to prison by the West Germans over the Night of the Long Knives]. Peiper was murdered in France, where he had settled.

The LEIBSTANDARTE SS ADOLF HITLER represented both facets of the Nazi regime. One of the elite units of the Wehrmacht by the end of the war, they displayed almost foolhardy bravery, tactical competence and fanaticism in combat. They also displayed a brutality, and disregard for human life that was breathtaking. And it all began when they became the LEIBSTANDARTE on 17 MAR 1933

[PzLdr]

The SS started out as a single celled [as it were] organization, called the ALLGEMEINE [or 'General'] SS. Limited to 10% of the SA in their area, they were intended to provide bodyguards for Nazi speakers, rallies and meetings, especially for those times when the SA [STURM ABTEILUNG], the 'Storm Troopers', or 'Brown Shirts', were banned by the governments of the various German states, or by the central government.

The SS was under the overall control of the SA leadership, and initially wore much the same uniform, with the same rank insignia as the SA , the key differences being black jodphurs, black kepis, and a 'TOTENKOPF', or Death's Head insignia under the Nazi Eagle on the cap [their sleeve band also differed, with a black stripe above and below the swastika in the white circle on the red armband]. The SS remained small, with less than 3,000 members. And then in 1929, they received a new commander or "Reichsfuehrer SS", one Heinrich Himmler [Reichsfuehrer was not a title unique to the SS, it was merely a command designation for a Nazi Party organization. there was, for example, a 'Reichsfuehrer Hitler Jugend' for the Hitler Youth]. And with the ascession of Himmler to the leadership of the SS, the organization took off.

From the current vantage point of history, looking back at Himmler, we tend to forget what an effective political animal he was in the jungle of Nazi politics. Initially subservient to Hans Pfeffer von Salomon, and then Ernst Roehm, chiefs of the SA, by the end of 1934, Himmler was free of both, the SA had been broken, and Roehm was  dead.And Himmler's first significant organizational expansion of the SS had much to do with it.

Himmler decided he wanted to create an 'elite' party formation, disciplined, selective in its membership, and based on absolute loyalty to Hitler, which was after all, how the SS started. So the uniform changed to a black tunic, with a distinctive SS Eagle on the left sleeve, the same black jodphurs, but with a military hat with a re-styled eagle and re-styled Death's Head. He also decided to establish his own intelligence service. Thus, the SS expanded to include the SS SICHERHEITSDIENST, or SD. The SD was run by a disgraced former Naval signals officer named Reinhard Heydrich. At the time of its formation, almost ALL the Nazi party organizations had their own intelligence services. But Himmler got Hitler to issue an order making the SD the ONLY party intelligence service. Himmler now had a leg up on his rivals [service in the SD was characterized at first by a black diamond with silver piping and the silver letters 'SD' in the center, on the left sleeve. Later SD officers, as part of the REICHSICHERHEITHAUPTAMT [RSHA], an SS Hauptamt, would also wear blank collar tabs on their right collar.

Heydrich's SD began to make lists of the state's enemies: Jews, Freemasons, Communists, etc. They also fabricated evidence against the SA leadership used in the Night of the Long Knives, evidence used to remove General Werner von Fritsch from command of the Army, and evidence used in efforts to turn Stalin against his generals in the Tuchachevsky purge. They also participated in the Kristallnacht pogrom and its aftermath.

While all this was going on, Himmler assumed command of the police of all the German states, with Heydrich right at his heels. With the police power of the state now at the party's disposal, Himmler needed a force to hold the Reich's enemies in confinement. The result was the TOTENKOPFVERBAENDE, the SS Death's Head regiments, the next SS expansion.

The Death's Head regiments arose out of Himmler's attempts to 'rationalize' the administration of a concentration camp system that initially developed on an ad hoc basis, with camps set up by the SS, the SA, and various other Nazi groups. Some of the excesses [see Columbia Haus]were so extreme that the courts, police, and even the Gestapo [a creation of Hermann Goering, it functioned in Prussia, under the leadership of Rudolf Diels] was forced to intervene.

As with his gaining control of party intelligence from his rivals, Himmler seized a march on them, and took control of camp administration. A 'model' camp was set up at Dachau, under Theodor Eicke. All subsequent camps were set up on the Eicke model. Eicke went on to become Inspector General of Concentration camps, and the guard units were organized into regiments based on the region their camps] were in. The Death's Head formations made every effort to be considered separate from the rest of the SS. Initially they wore brown, almost SA type uniforms. Even when they switched to the SS black uniform, they wore a death's head on their right collar patch, instead of the SS runes, or the unit insignia Allgemeine SS units wore. In 1940, Himmler organized a division of Waffen SS troops from the camp guard detachments, replacing them with middle aged reservists. Called the TOTENKOPF division, the 3rd SS fought in France in 1940 [committing the massacre of British POWs at Le Paradis], and on the Eastern Front for the rest of the war.

Which brings us to the third major branch of the SS, the WAFFEN SS [Armed SS], the combat formations of the SS. They started with two units the LEIBSTANDARTE SS ADOLF HITLER [later the 1st SS Panzer Division], and the SS VERSUNGESTRUPPE, or SS-VT [ later the 2d SS Panzer Division, 'DAS REICH']. By the end of the war there were over 35 SS divisions [some no more than a regiment], totaling over 900,000 men, and included German units [with SS collar tabs, or in the case of Totenkopf, a death's head] units of German and non German troops [WIKING, with the prow of a Viking ship], to completely non-German units [including two Muslim divisions raised in the Balkans, HANDSCHAR and SKANDERBURG],all of whom were given distinctive collar insignia, but were forbuidden to wear the SS runes.

And the Allgemeine SS? Films showing Hitler driving through the streets with SS men holding back the crowds are Allgemeine SS. But Himmler expanded the duties of the Allgemeine SS as well. There was the RuSHA, the Race and Re-settlement office. there was the AHNERNERBE, as well as other SS formations under the SS umbrella.

But clear lines of distinction didn't last. In 1940, Himmler put the camp guards under the Waffen SS command. Wounded soldiers were detailed to guard the camps. Camp guards were posted to the front. Then there was the intermingling in the RSHA of the SD [an SS formation], and the Criminal Police and Gestapo [state organs Police officers received SS rank. Resrve order police battalions were sent to the Eastern and Balkan fronts as part of Einsatzkommandos, or as independent extermination units.

By 1944, Himmler was the second most powerful man in the Reich. He was Reichsfuehrer SS, Chief of the German Police, Interior Minister, Commissioner for Germanization, head of the Reserve Army, and right behind his Fuehrer. Yet within a year, it was all over. Himmler failed as an Army Group commander. His Waffen SS saw itself as part of the Army. Himmler tried to cut deals for captive Jews with the Allies. He then tried to negotiate a separate peace with the Western Allies, without Hitler's sanction. Hitler ordered him shot, and stripped him of all his posts. Himmler died, a suicide in British captivity in late May, 1945.

And the SS? Declared a criminal organization at Nuremburg, it's members face, at a minimum sever de-Nazification processes, with a concomitant impact on their post-war survival, and at a maximum, trial and execution for war crimes [one of the defendants at Nuremburg was Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Heydrich's successor as head of the RSHA, who was hanged]. It died not with a bang, but a whimper of 'Befehl ist Befehl'.

[PzLdr]

3,500 United states Marines become the first U.S. ground troops deployed to the Republic of Viet Nam [South Viet Nam], in what will be an escalating commitment to defend the South from Communist North Vietnamese, and indigenous Communist [Viet Cong] troops.

The Marines land near Da Nang, in the northernmost part of the country [I Corps]. Eventually, the Marine units in Vieet Nam will be expanded, and will be joined by the U.S Army's First [Air] Cavalry Division, the 1st Infantry Division, the 5th Infantry Div. [Mech.], the 9th Infantry Division, the 4th Infantry Division, the Americal Division, and various Special Ops. groups, brown water Navy units, support units, and Naval units.

The Americans will be withdrawn after the Paris Peace Accords in 1972. South Viet Nam will be overrun in 1975, a casualty of War, Watergate, internal corruption and a gutless Democratic controlled Congress.

CPT ARMOR
MACV 1971

IMJIN SCOUT
ROK   '68-'69

[PzLdr]

In the early third century, B.C, the Mediterranean world was in turmoil. The Empire of Alexander was collapsing after his death, with civil wars raging among his successor generals [Alexander named no heir] across the Greek, Persian, Egyptian and Middle Eastern World. But two the west, matters were proceeding peacefully between the two dominant powers in the region, Rome and Carthage. In fact a treaty had existed [heavily favorable to Carthage] for almost a century.

Carthage, in what is now Tunisia, had been founded by Phoenician sailors, possibly the best in the ancient world, as part of their growing trade network. It became first a local power, then a regional power in its own right, with trading partners as far as Spain, and perhaps even Great Britain. It also traded, and treated, with a new emerging city state on the Italian mainland, Rome. And both cities got along quite well. For a while.

But south of Rome were various Latin tribes with which the Romans were at war. And intermingled with them, and south of them was Magna Graecia, a series of Greek city states, including present day Taranto. And who was fighting who and when got a little hazy. the Romans were invited into south Italy by at least one of the Greek cities at war with some of the Latins. And Rome stayed, and expanded. Which brought them face to face with the crown jewel of the Greek constellation. and face to face with the Carthaginians.

There were various Greek settlements on Sicily, the largest being Syracuse. But there was also a Carthaginian presence in the western part of the island, and it had been there for a long time. The Carthaginians considered Sicily in their sphere of influence. the Greeks disagreed. And one Greek city decided they needed help. Who you gonna call? Rome.

The Romans likely realized that if they went into Sicily, they were likely going to war with Carthage at some point. Several factors argued against the move. First, Sicily would be Rome's first move outside of mainland Italy. Secondly, Rome was a land power, but Carthage dominated the seas. And Sicily meant naval warfare. And Rome had no navy, except some coastal 'monitors' [think Coast Guard]. Thirdly, Rome had been engaged in warfare on the mainland for well over a century. Sicily, and a concomitant war with Carthage would be expensive, both in manpower and coin.

But Sicily was a potential breadbasket for the Republic. It was known for grain production. And Sicily was strategically located. Who possessed Sicily had a virtual stranglehold on the trade routes to Gaul, and the Eastern Med. [Sicily was some 60 miles from Tunisia]. And Rome was tired of the "junior" partnership the treaty with Carthage imposed. the romans went.

If ever a war matched unlikely opponents, it was the first Punic War. The Carthaginians were, as noted, a naval power. Land combat for them, was conducted by mercenary armies [formed by peoples of the North African littoral, Greek mercenaries, and whoever else they could hire, led by Carthaginian generals and officers [not the best of jobs. Unsuccessful Carthaginian generals were crucified - by Carthage. the Carthaginian Navy, however, was all Carthaginian [or Punic - which is the Roman name for Phoenicians]. And they were armed with one of the super weapons of the ancient word, the quinquetrireme, a five banked war galley. And Carthage had a bundle of them.

Rome, on the other hand, had almost no navy. They did, however, have the best Army in the western Med, if not the whole Med. It was conscript [landowners only], led by increasingly effective leaders [the consuls, hence the phrase consular armies], and using a new formation, the manipular legion as opposed to the phalanx. The legion was far more flexible and maneuverable, and allowed more delegation of command than a phalanx [the formation used by the Greeks, Carthaginians, and just about everyone else].

The First Punic War was initially a see saw affair. As expected, Carthage dominated on the sea. But Rome more than held their own on the island. But for Greeks switching sides, from Carthage to Rome to their own team, Rome might have conquered the island early. But then, maybe not. Because in a scene to appear on the other side of the world in WW II, Carthage, like the Japanese at Guadalcanal, kept reinforcing and supplying their troops on Sicily by sea, which the Romans were powerless to stop.

And then, a Carthaginian quinquereme washed ashore on an Italian beach, apparently severely damaged in a storm, or in combat. It was the turning point.

The romans reverse engineered the ship. they built bleachers on land to train the rowers necessary for the ship to work. And being Romans, they decided to improve on the basic model. Realizing they were soldiers, not sailors, the Romans reasoned their best shot at defeating the Carthaginian Navy was to fight a land battle at sea. Hence, the Corvus [or 'crow'].

The Corvus was a boarding plank which had a hooked spike at its top. It was secured to the deck [and mast when not in use], and pivoted on the deck. The principle was simple. Maneuver alongside. Drop the Corvus, letting gravity and the spike 'anchor the ships together. Send legionaries aboard the 'pinned' ship. Fight a land battle. It was a game changer. The Romans began to not only win at sea, but win big. And not a minute too soon.

Because the Carthaginians had sent a new general to Sicily. His name was Hamilcar Barca. And he was good. Very, very good. So while he couldn't drive the Roman Army out, they never really defeated him.

It was fitting that the first Punic War ended at sea. the Romans caught the greater part of what was left of the Carthaginian fleet in the islands immediately to the west of Sicily. they destroyed it. With Hamilcar now trapped on the island, and their fleet for all extents and purposes gone, Carthage sued for peace.

Rome got a free hand in Sicily. They also seized Sardinia and Corsica. A heavy fine was imposed. And so it seemed to end. Carthage's army, on their return, mutinied when the city refused to pay them. Hamilcar put them down with great ferocity. It got so bad, Rome offered to help the Carthaginians, but the offer was refused.

Carthage began rebuilding. And to do so, they targeted Spain. they had a presence there, and Spain had silver. Hamilcar Barca led the conquest, bringing his sons with him. There was Mago. There was Hasdrubal. And there was Hannibal.

Hamilcar taught his sons the 'trade', and made at least Hannibal swear undying hatred of Rome. When Hamilcar was killed fighting the Iberians, Hannibal succeeded him as commander of the Carthaginian Army in Spain. He also used the ambiguous position of the town of Sagentum to trigger the Second, and most famous, Punic War with Rome.

Stripped of a navy, Hannibal marched his army through southern Gaul to reach Italy. But a consular army, blocking a route march along the coast, forced Hannibal over the Alps.

Debauching into northern Italy, Hannibal made alliances with, and hired large numbers of, Celts the romans had been beating like a drum for years. He added these Celts to his [standard practice] mercenary army, which was composed of Spaniards, Libyans, Numidians [cavalry] and others. Between 218 B.C and 216 B.C Hannibal fought a meeting engagement [Tinictus], and two major battles of annihilation [Lake Trasimene and Cannae (see the thread on Cannae)]. But Hannibal, while a fine tactician, was a lousy strategist. He completely misread the romans. They refused to treat after Cannae. And Hannibal had no siege train. so he couldn't take Rome.

And while Hannibal wandered around southern Italy, the Romans took Iberia, killed his brother Hasdrubal leading a relief Army, and invaded North Africa. Called home, Hannibal was defeated by Scipio Africanus at Zama. Carthage sued for peace.

The peace was draconian. Carthage was forbidden a navy. The reparations seemed backbreaking. and Carthage was forbidden to wage war without Rome's permission. And that provision was the wishbone Carthage choked on.

Carthage again rebuilt. They again became a successful commercial power. And that did not sit well with the roman Senate. Cato the Elder ended every speech, on every subject with the phrase "Cartago Delenda Est" ['Carthage must be destroyed']. and events in North Africa allowed that to happen.

Part of the endgame against Hannibal had involved detaching some of his allies from him, particularly his Numidian cavalry. the efforts started in Spain, and bore fruit at Zama, where the Numidians fought alongside the Romans. Now the Numidians, clients of Rome got involved in a war with another kingdom, but raided Carthaginian territory. Carthage, requested roman permission to war, but was denied. Carthage then responded against the Numidians with military action. Then, so did Rome.

the Third Punic War was basically the siege of Carthage. unlike Hannibal, the Romans brought the right equipment. But the Carthaginians, trapped in their city, and facing extermination fought on. But the result was a foregone conclusion. Rome took Carthage. Those not killed were sold into slavery. the city was torn down and razed [according to legend the Romans sowed the site with salt so nothing could grow there]. Carthage was history. Or was it?

Carthage had been what it was because of its harbor. It was a natural trading center. So, eventually, Rome rebuilt Carthage and settled it. And it again became a major trade center, and a great city, but not as great as Rome. Then, in the 4th century A.D. Carthage was seized by the Vandals under Gensaric [Gaeseric]. they built a navy, became pirates, and, eventually sacked rome. somewhere in the afterlife, Hannibal laughed. 

[PzLdr]

He considered himself a German. He served in a Bavarian infantry regiment if the Imperial German Army in World War I. He had lived in Munich for several years before the War. But he was born a subject of the Austro-Hungarian Empire on 20 APR 1889, within a stone's throw of the German Border, at Braunau am Inn. And his name was Adolf Hitler.

A failure at almost everything he turned his hand to, as a young man in Vienna; arrested in Munich, and sent back to Austria in 1913 for failing to register for the draft [he was rejected by the Austrian military on health grounds], one would think that Hitler would have been happy to forget any and all ties with the nation of his birth. One would be wrong.

While Hitler loathed the polyglot nation of the Empire, he valued the German part of it highly. As early as MEIN KAMPF, Hitler called for the return to the greater Germany of those Germans separated from the Fatherland by the Versailles Diaspora; and indeed of all Germans living under foreign rule in Europe[although later he threw the German speakers of the Italian Tyrol under Mussolini's bus]. And those Germans included the Austrians.

Austria itself, the Empire having been broken up into constituent polities under Wilson's 'self-determination, was ruled by the Fascist dictatorship [of sorts] of Dolfuss. And as early as 1934, an indigenous Nazi movement, supported by, coordinated by, and egged on by Berlin, sought to violently overthrow that government, assassinating Dolfuss in the process. The plot failed, in large part because Mussolini, at that time no friend to Hitler, sent troops to the Brenner Pass, and threatened military action against Germany. Many of the would be Putschists fled to Bavaria, where they stayed for the nonce, including Ernst Kaltenbrunner, future head of the RSHA. And having been stymied, Hitler pulled in his horns, and bided his time.

By 1936, Hitler was ready to begin the assemblage of the the Germans outside Germany's then current borders. First came the Rhineland, which while considered part of the Reich, was demilitarized, and had been occupied by foreign troops. It was done with nary a whisper of protest in the West, and in full violation of the Versailles Treaty. After a year's hiatus, Hitler moved against his next target, Austria.

At first he tried persuasion, gradually rachetting up the rhetoric, and the pressure. But negotiations were a failure. And the new Austrian Chancellor, Schussnigg, was capable of a battle plan of his own. Calling Hitler's bluff [as he believed it was], Schussnigg called for a plebiscite [one of Hitler's favorite tools] to vote on absorption into the Reich. Not sure such a plebiscite would go his way, hitler ordered the Wehrmacht in. And on March 12, 1938, the German Army and Waffen SS crossed the border, and began to occupy the country. The panzers were festooned with flowers, the troops receiving a widespread and rapturous welcome. Schussnigg was forced to resign, replaced by the Austrian Nazi, Artur Seyss- Inquart [hanged at Nuremburg], who then invited the already in -country Germans into the country.

Hitler entered Austria several hours later, escorted by the FUEHRERBEGLEITBATALLION, with its new commander, one Erwin Rommel. Hitler proceed to Linz, the home of his youth, visiting the graves of his parents, and then motored on to Vienna, now as conqueror. He had been preceded by Reichsfuehrer SS Heinrich Himmler, and his deputy, Reinhard Heydrich, who set the wheels of repression in motion. These included arrests, brutalization and humiliation of Vienna's Jews, and the establish of a Central Registry, for the expeditious processing of Jews wishing to emigrate, under Adolf Eichmann. the Luftwaffe had already flown into Austrian airfields.

Hitler was received [contrary to post war claims] with rapturous adulation by the Viennese, and indeed the Austrians. the Austrian Army was integrated into the Wehrmacht without missing a beat. the country was "Nazified" with terrifying speed.

The Germans profited by the Anschluss in other ways. The German Army's panzer divisions learned of the requirements for a road march, having suffered equipment breakdowns, and fuel shortages. Both issues would be dealt with. The SS took the first steps in streamlining, simplifying, an standardizing their mechanisms for dealing with the Jews of Europe. And Hitler took note of the failure by anyone [Mussolini had green lit the Anschluss in advance] in the west to object to his absorption of a foreign country.

Hitler would, later in the year, coerce Britain and France into giving him the western portion of Czechoslavakia, on the grounds the Sudeten Germans belonged in the Reich. It would be his last success. Driven now by his determination to go to war, he tried to force Poland to return East Pomerania and Danzig to the Reich at the same time as he extorted Memel from Lithuania. Poland refused. Hitler invaded. Britain and France, rather than back down yet again, declared war. But the fuse had been lit in March, 1938. In Austria.

 

[apples]

My father was there. I remember seeing the fall of Saigon on  TV.

[PzLdr]

My father was there. I remember seeing the fall of Saigon on  TV.

I was finishing up Law School when that happened. A lot of the ARVNs I served with got screwed when we left, and then wouldn't supply them with the arms, ammo and equipment we promised them. I was VERY depressed watching Saigon fall.

[PzLdr]

Rome had evolved as a Republic after banishing the last of its Etruscan kings, Tarquin the Proud. So anathema to the Romans was the thought of kings, that the proposal of one could bring a nasty end.

Rome opted for shared power: Two consuls, the Tribunes of the Plebs, Quaestors, and of course, the Roman Senate. And within those institutions, a system developed for the attaining of individual glory for the good of the state. The ciriculum honorum was the course Roman males followed to gain status, power and wealth. It involved serving as military tribunes in the legions, quaestors in the government, and eventual membership in the Senate. But it didn't stop there. Eventually the consuls almost all came from Senatorial ranks. But it didn't stop there. Senators vied for the consulship [there were two every year], and then for plum [usually military] assignments. Because Roman politics were individual, not party, operations.

By the 1st Century, B.C., Rome was failing. With the Marian Reforms, the army was professionalized, but the legions tended to follow their generals, not the Senate. Sulla had marched on Rome, made himself Dictator and proscribed his enemies, to either death, or banishment [one of the latter was a young man named Caius Iulius Caesar].More and more, Rome came to be dominated by military strong men [who, remember, were politicians], and combinations of such men who dominated the Senate.

One such combination that rose to power in mid-century was called the First Triumvirate [with hindsight]. It consisted of [then] Rome's greatest living genral, Gnaeus Pompeiius Magnus, Marcus Lucinius Crassus [the richest man in Rome], and the abovementioned Caesar, Pompey's father-in-law.

Pompey's power base was Spain, where he had raised the VIIth, VIIIth, and IXth legions. Crassus' was his wallet [despite some success in putting down the Spartacist revolt, Crassus was not known as a military man, which he would prove at Carrhae - see that thread]. Caesar could not match either of those attributes. While a more than passable orator, a skilled politician, and a solid junior officer and official, he was in serious debt, and out of step with the majority of the Senate, taking pro-
Pleb positions more likely than not.

Caesar's fortunes, and Rome's, changed when his consulship ended. Rome made use of former consuls by having them govern provinces as proconsuls. Caesar was made governor of Cisalpine Gaul, the southern part of Switzerland and Gaul. It was a highly strategic province, sitting astride both east-west and north-south trade routes. And then, in transalpine [free] Gaul, the Helvetians arrived from Switzerland, looking for land. Gallic tribes allied with Rome requested Caesar's aid. And at that moment, Caesar was drawn into Gaul, and history. He drove the Helvetians back. He then did the same to a German warlord, Ariovistus, who had settled in Gaul. All well and good. By fighting these battles, Caesar had protected Cisalpine Gaul, which was in his writ [He also showed military genius of a frightening order]. What he did next was not. Caesar proceeded over the next few years to invade, and conquer Gaul. Some claim he killed or enslaved over a million people. He added significantly to the land mass controlled by Rome. He paid off his debts, and made himself a rich man. And he was on his way to becoming the first man of Rome.But Caesar had made powerful enemies. Marcus Tullius Cicero called for his arrest. Pompey sided with Caesar's enemies [his wife, Caesar's daughter Julia had died in child birth, ending their alliance]. And the Senate ordered Caesar to Rome to face the charges.

Caesar came - with the XIII legion. By crossing the Rubicon river with troops, Caesar was in rebellion against the Republic. But Rome was about to learn what the Gauls already had, Caesar traveled at his own speed, with his own troops [his legions loved him].

When the proverbial smoke had cleared, Pompey was defeated and dead [killed in Egypt], and the rest of the opposition put down. Caesar was THE man in Rome, although he was merciful to his opponents. Caesar was made Dictator for Life [even Sulla hadn't done that]. He began planning expansive building projects, political and economic reform, and the inclusion of Gallic nobles from Cisalpine Gaul into the Senate. And a secret opposition began making plans.

the common argument for the assassins was that they feared Caesar was going to make himself King. Personally, I don't think so. He had the power. he didn't need the title. What I believe is the reason for the plot is much simpler. Caesar had bottlenecked the Cursus Honorum for other Senators. In effect, he had removed the Senate from a ruling body to a consultive one. The result was the same.

On 15 MARCH 44 B.C. Caesar, despite signs and portents, attended a meeting of the Senate held in Pompey's Theater [the Senate was undergoing repairs. In a cleverly crafted ambush, Caesar was set upon by a group of dissidents led by Cassius Longinus and Marcus Junius Brutus, both of whom had been pardoned by Caesar. These self-proclaimed 'Liberators' then inflicted some 23 stab wounds, one of which was fatal, on a man defending himself with a writing stylus. Caesar was dead.

But the end result was the same. Two civil wars followed. In the first, Brutus, Cassius and their cohorts were defeated and were either killed or committed suicide [another victim-of Mark Antony-was Cicero]by an alliance of Octavian [later Augustus] Caesar and Mark Antony. A second between Octavian and Antony and Cleopatra, left Octavian as the sole master of the Roman world, and 'First Among Equals' in a thoroughly cowed and broken roman Senate.

[PzLdr]

It is often shrugged off as unfinished business that was finished, the second half of the notorious Munich Pact. But, in fact it was much more than that, and much more important than Munich.

Adolf Hitler believed that he would die at age 50, probably of cancer, because his mother had. He also believed that Germany's future lay in the East, and would require war to accomplish that future. Hitler was going to be 50 on April 20th, 1939. So, in his view, he had much to do, and little time to do it.

It started off well. The Rhineland was re-occupied without a shot being fired. Austria was absorbed to public adulation, and nary a peep from the Western Allies. But Hitler had already told his service chiefs he wanted to be ready for war BEFORE the Anschluss. And the country he wanted to go to war with was Czechoslovakia.

It was a hard nut to crack for the Wehrmacht. Western Czechoslovakia had  a miniature version of the Maginot Line [the Germans would use it to prep for the invasion of France. the Czechs had an exceptional defense industry, including the Skoda Works [Rommel's 7th Panzer Division was equipped primarily with Czech T-38 tanks during the invasion of France]. So when Neville Chamberklain came calling, Hitler 'let' himself be talked into the Munich Pact. He got the Sudetenland, mostly German, which included the defense lines, and the Skoda works, in return for a pledge of no more territorial demands.

That didn't last long. The President of Czechoslavakia, was summoned to the Berghof, and was told to surrender his country or be invaded. He may have had a heart attack or stress attack during the meeting. But the die was cast. On 15 NOV 1939, the German Army marched into, and occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia [Slovakia, which had been colluding with the Germans under Father Tiso was granted 'independence']. Hitler arrived Prague that evening. It was a fait accompli.

But it was more than that. The rump of Czechoslovakia seized by Hitler was the first piece of real estate he had seized without claiming he was doing so to return Germans to the Reich. that had been accomplished at Munich. So aside from proof that Hitler's word couldn't be trusted, Czechoslovakia pulled the wool from Britan and France's eyes. It was a land grab, plain and simple. That led to a guarantee of Poland's independence. And the stiffening [if needed] of Poland's spine when Hitler demanded the return of the Polish Corridor [formerly Eastern Pomerania]. And that led to World War II.

So Hitler got his war. Not where he wanted it. Not before his 50th birthday. In fact, Hitler would die shortly after his 56th birthday. Of self-inflicted lead poisoning.