Assassination?

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From the David Irving book: "THE WAR BETWEEN THE GENERALS" "INSIDE THE ALLIED HIGH COMMAND" "Chapter 11. Joan of Arc" we find this amazing account copied in entirety.

Charles De Gaulle the World War Two [WW2] leader of the Free French forces in exile the subject of an assassination attempt almost successful:

"It seems possible that somebody had [emphasis David Irving] tried to eliminate de Gaulle altogether, the month before. He was to fly from London to Glasgow to decorate sailors of the Free French navy. His personal plane was a a Wellington Mark IA bomber, placed at his disposal and maintained by the British government. Since the runway at Hendon airfield, north of London, was short and there was a railroad embankment at its end, a pilot would routinely rev up his engines to full power with the wheel brakes on, then would raise the tail by applying the elevator controls, release the brakes, and zoom down the airstrip. On this particular occasion, at 10:05 A.M. on April 21, 1943, the pilot of the de Gaulle plane had begun this routine when the tail suddenly dropped. The elevator control had gone dead: it was loose in his hands. The pilot halted the aircraft just in time. De Gaulle and his party were helped out of the plane, while the pilot - - Flight Lieutenant Peter Loat, DFC - - climbed into the tail. He found that the elevator control rod had parted. He summoned the airport security officer, a wing commander, who check the controls and allowed Loat to select another plane. Loat chose a Hudson trainer and flew de Gaulle and his party to Glasgow. The fractured control rod was sent to the Royal Aeronautical Establishment at Farnborough. Experts there found that the metal rod had been cut through [my emphasis] with acid."

The perpetrators almost without question NOT German! The German NOT having in England an espionage or sabotage capability during the entire war! Rather the opposite British counter-intelligence having captured for the entire length of the conflict in control of and "running" for purposes of deception the ENTIRE German espionage apparatus as existed in England!

WHO then would want De Gaulle dead? That murder of an ALLY and that man ACKNOWLEDGED AS THE LEADER OF THE FRENCH IN EXILE A most serious matter and one might assume also detrimental to the war effort.

De Gaulle without question a hard man to get along with AND a man more than anything else, hoping to control the political situation within France in the AFTERMATH OF THE WAR!

The man [de Gaulle] had MANY ENEMIES and was not held in high repute by the other allied leaders. That list of potential suspects in the apparent assassination attempt if compiled I might assume very long indeed.

AND within the context of the apparent attempt on the life of De Gaulle that airplane crash taking the life of the Polish General Sikorski deemed with hindsight justifiably suspicious?

You the devoted reader to the blog make your own appreciations and analysis.

coolbert.

Best?

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From Strategy Page that appreciation of Hezbollah the fighting arm of which is described by the # 3 man in the American FBI as BEST light infantry in the world. Confirmed!!

Hezbollah fighting units active in Syria as we speak, aiding and abetting the anti-insurgency campaign of the despot Assad, and very successful in doing so.

Well trained, disciplined, experienced AND RUTHLESS IN THE EXTREME!

Resilient, flexible and dynamic. Fighting as a conventional force when necessary but also availing themselves of time proven unconventional means and methods additionally.

"Counter-Terrorism: The Hezbollah Advantage"
 
 "the Hezbollah 'army' only consists of about 2,000 full timers and 10,000 part timers, there is also a much larger force of trained reserves (trained personnel no longer on the payroll). Many of these reservists have been called on to 'volunteer' to spend 3-6 months fighting in Syria."

"Hezbollah experience, training and professionalism has been a nasty shock to the rebels. Hezbollah fighters can operate as effectively (and often more so) than trained Syrian soldiers, but also fall back on many terrorist and commando techniques they have learned from the Iranians and decades of combat inside Lebanon and on the Israeli border. Inside Syria the Hezbollah fighters are feared by the rebels and respected by the Syrian soldiers."

Hezbollah of course also possessing a GLOBAL REACH THAT IS QUITE REMARKABLE.

Contingents and elements performing a degree of non-military activity, gangsterism and even lone-wolf operations on demand.

Flexible, dynamic, resilient!!

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Ft. Union.

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American Stonehenge!

More images from a recent trip the length of the Santa Fe Trail as it existed in the old days.

Following the route as close as possible [this can be done pretty accurately] in both directions, the mountain route and the Cimmaron route.

And a visit to the ruins of Ft. Union,, New Mexico Territory. [Ft. Union just west of Interstate-25 about half way between Santa Fe and Raton, New Mexico.

For a period of decades and during the American Civil War Ft. Union perhaps that most important American military installation west of the Mississippi river.

Having an organic combat capability and also a supply depot of some scale.

All other military forts and camps located in the American Southwest receiving supplies and rations, beans and bullets from that depot at Ft. Union.

Of the fort today, not much exists!

A national historic site maintained as best can be, ruins only a fraction remaining of what originally was.

 

The officers quarters at Ft. Union. Finished paving stone running parallel to the drill grounds. Quarters made of adobe brick plastered on the outside. Remnants as they exist now primarily the chimneys and stone foundations. NOT much more.

 

 

 

Storehouses for the depot. Sturdily built again of adobe brick plastered on the outside. Rather more of the construction still standing, the interior of those buildings when the fort occupied full of supplies, the depot manned by a goodly number of civilians as hired from the surrounding area.

 

 

Good image of the officers quarters looking from across the parade ground. American Stonehenge. That is the snow covered Sangre de Cristo mountains in the background. Brilliant sunny day as mostly is the case in the high plains of New Mexico.

Ft. Union having lost all usefulness with the building of the railroads, the fort abandoned and left to the elements, the desolation quite profound.

coolbert.

Killdeer Mountain.

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ONLY while traveling through Dakota Territory [North Dakota] last week came across this item in the local newspaper.

Killdeer Mountain Battlefield and the effort to preserve the area as a national historic site.

Preservation efforts evidently now NOT coming to fruition, the site to be "desecrated" with modern development.

Killdeer Mountain another engagement of what is termed the American Indian Wars. Primarily fought against the American Indians of the Great Plains.

A regimental sized unit under the command of Alfred Sully encountering a large and well organized band of Lakota Indians in significant numbers, successful engagement by the U.S. Army somewhat less than desired, inconclusive, the scorched earth policy subsequent to the battle harsh and unremitting.

"Soldiers burned between 1,500 and 1,800 lodges, 200 tons of buffalo meat and dried berries, clothes and household utensils, tipi poles, travois, and piles of tanned hides. With bayonets, they punctured camp kettles, buckets, and pails. They also shot abandoned dogs."

Please be aware that the battlefield site is in one of the remotest and most isolated and desolate areas of the United States. Population density LESS than that of Greenland in some instances!!

NONETHELESS an effort afoot to preserve this historic site in as pristine a condition as possible, and NOW to NO avail. Modern development related to energy production prevailing.

Pylons with high-power electrical transmission lines to run through the area. A DESECRATION!!

THAT DECISION AGREED SEEMINGLY WITH FINALITY, A DONE DEAL AS THEY SAY. SO AS REPORTED IN THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER.

"the battlefield study has become entangled with Basin Electric Power Cooperative's plans to build a new 345-kilovolt transmission line through the battlefield study area."

"The planned line from Basin's Antelope Valley Station near Beulah to the oil patch region is under environmental review by the federal Rural Utilities Service and the state Public Service Commission."

That "oil patch region" of course the Williston Basin, Bakken Formation. Five hundred billion barrels of oil the extraction of which will make the United States not only self-sufficient in oil but also an energy exporter.

Such as in the movie "Avatar" is the cost of progress, that rather pristine and unspoiled environment so bucolic now given way to industrial development.

In that movie "Avatar" that hero the man without legs who leads the indigenous tribe of aliens to victory over the mining interests also named SULLY! Such is the intended irony!

coolbert.

M-16.

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From ITAR-TASS and as reported by Freeper we have this confusing account of combat action in Ukraine.

"Militia fighters repel attack on block post near ammo depots in east of Ukraine (M-16s used)ITAR-TASS" 

"According to reports of eyewitnesses the attackers fired M-16 assault rifles "

"DONETSK, April 27, /ITAR-TASS/. Unknown people clad in camouflage uniforms have opened fire on a block post located bear the Ukrainian city of Soledar in the immediate vicinity of an ammunition depot, the press service of the government of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) confirmed. According to preliminary unconfirmed reports of eyewitnesses, only one people’s militia fighter of those who came under has fire survived, the rest were killed. According to the eyewitnesses, the attackers fired M-16 assault rifles. At the same time, a representative of the DPR press service in a conversation with Itar-Tass confirmed the fact of the shooting . . . the Ukrainian National Guard fighters landed from a helicopter in that area. The militia fighters managed to repel the attack, wounding one of the attackers and capturing another. The local residents have been coming to the block post in order to protect it from new attacks."

This "block post" is occupied by personnel favorable to Russia and against the central government of Ukraine?

And the attackers are who exactly?

THIS SOUNDS LIKE A FALSE FLAG MISSION TO INCITE FURTHER VIOLENCE AND HAS THE POTENTIALITY FOR ACCUSATIONS OF AMERICAN INVOLVEMENT!!

As was reported by the Soviet defector Suvorov in his book "Spetsnaz" from some years ago now:

"The Soviet high command even takes steps to acquire foreign weapons in peacetime. In April 1985 four businessmen were arrested in the USA. Their business was official dealing in arms. Their illegal business was also dealing in arms, and they had tried to ship 500 American automatic rifles [M-16], 100,000 rounds of ammunition and 400 night -vision sights to countries of the Soviet bloc."

Russian special purpose units dressed in American uniforms and wielding M-16 rifles attack those friendly to the Russian side in an effort to create false and scurrilous accusation, inflaming further the tension that exists between the U.S. and Russia, the situation made worse AND IN A DELIBERATE AND MOST PROVACTIVE MANNER?

coolbert.

Chlorine!

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From the DEBKAfile:

"Syrian-Iranian chlorine bomb mocks US-Russian chemical pact"

"21 April. On April 11, Syrian planes dropped Chinese-manufactured chlorine gas canisters rigged with explosive detonators on Kafr Zita near Hama. Since then, British and French intelligence sources have reported at least four such attacks against the northern towns of Idlib and Homs and the Harasta and Jobar districts outside Damascus. Assad is dropping these crippling gas bombs at the rate of one every three days, mocking the 2013 Kerry-Lavrov chemical disarmament pact. DEBKAfile: Iran is supplying Damascus with Chinese chlorine purchased in industrial quantities over the Internet from a Hangzhou-based firm."

Crude but effective chemical warfare agents not being used by the Syrian.

Having disposed of chemical stockpiles [?] and eschewed the further use of same, the Syrian now employing the old but effective and in the right concentrations lethal poison gas chlorine.

Here we find the Chinese-Iranian-Syrian connection?

Industrial level chlorine as purchased considered as legal and aboveboard but when used as a weapon nonetheless toxic and deadly.

Say what you will about DEBKA [the noted blogger Spengler rated DEBKA as unreliable under all circumstances] but NO WHERE ELSE IN THE MEDIA INTERNATIONAL OR LOCAL HAVE I FOUND THIS TOPIC EVEN MENTIONED!

Chlorine a choking agent and against personnel not equipped with protective mask and proper training causing death and injury.

coolbert.

Bent's Old Fort.

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Here with some images of a recent visit to Bent's Old Fort.

Located near La Junta, Colorado, USA. The fort an important way station on the Santa Fe Trail.

A civilian mercantile enterprise but built with a definite military application in mind.

That reconstruction now a National Historic Site and worth visiting for those in the area of La Junta.

Bent's Old Fort seen from the approach, a two-story structure with thick walls and not a wood stockade. That is an occupied graveyard in the foreground. Those cottonwood trees in the far background on the banks of the Arkansas river. North side of the river circa 1829 American territory.

 

 

 

 

Inside of the fort from one perspective. The replica built on the same location as the original and constructed of 3 million adobe bricks plastered on the outside. Also the dimensions known with a unprecedented exactitude and preciseness. As measured by an American military officer during a convalescent period, records still existing. Most remarkable.

 

 

 

A further image that interior of the fort from another perspective. Battlements having loop holes built into the construction for riflemen. From the ramparts also defenders could avail themselves of  a cannon, a two-inch swivel gun.

Bent's Old Fort primarily a trading post those travelers along the Santa Fe Trail finding the fort a brief respite and surcease from an arduous nine hundred mile [1,500 kilometer] journey. Obtain victuals, repair wagons, trade and obtain the latest news and gossip.

And a refuge from "hostiles" if necessary.

coolbert.

Open Skies!!

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Open Skies the treaty now in jeopardy?

Either in abeyance or now made null and void by the crisis in Ukraine?

At least for American and NATO aircraft no more over-flights of Russia.

BUT the Russians still allowed to continue with surveillance of the United States?

This is so?

Thanks to a variety of sources including Bill Gertz.

1. "Russian Spy Planes in U.S. Skies"

"The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. military and American intelligence agencies have quietly pushed the White House in recent weeks to deny a new Russian surveillance plane the right to fly over U.S. territory. This week, the White House finally began consideration of the decision whether to certify the new Russian aircraft under the so-called 'Open Skies Treaty.' And now the question becomes: Will the spies and generals get their way?"

. . . .

"At issue is the Open Skies Treaty. First signed in 1992 and finally ratified in 2002, the treaty adopted by 34 nations allows the safe passage of planes equipped with advanced cameras and sensors that give governments the imagery and data they use to assess everything from compliance with arms control treaties to troop movements."

2. "Flying Blind, Russia Blocks U.S. from Treaty-Approved Spy Flights"

"The Russian government this week canceled a planned U.S. surveillance flight over Russian territory in a bid to limit spying on massed troops facing off against Ukraine and Eastern Europe, according to U.S. officials."

. . . .

"The Russian cancellation of the flight comes amid heightened tensions between Russia and the West over the crisis in Ukraine, where Russian troops militarily annexed the Crimean peninsula last month and continue to foment pro-Russian unrest in the eastern part of the country."

Open Skies as originally proposed during the Eisenhower Administration and not becoming a done-deal for four decades subsequent now apparently in a time of crisis yet more victim of international machinations and we are all the worse for it too.

coolbert.

SR-72?

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Thanks to the Daily Mail online and the tip from Freeper we have news of the SR-72. Alleged American spy plane.

Manned or unmanned? A drone for surveillance and high-altitude high-speed reconnaissance flights or a combat warplane? NONE of this is clear. And should NOT be!

 "Is THIS America's newest top-secret spy plane? Clearest picture yet of mystery aircraft spotted flying over Kansas just weeks after being seen in Texas"

 

This wedge-shaped object is not hypersonic and cannot cross an "entire continent" in  a hour? More likely the RQ-180 steal recce drone?

•"A new image shows a mysterious aircraft flying over Kansas"
•"The jet appears to be the same one that was spotted over Texas last month"
•"Photographer Jeff Templin says it may have been as high as passenger jets"
•"A retired Marine previously said the mysterious plane is the SR-72"
•"The SR-72 is designed to cross entire continents in less than an hour"
•"Developers at Lockheed Martin say the plane could be operational by 2030"

. . . .

"The Aviationist speculates that the plane could be a RQ-180 stealth drone or a prototype of America's next generation long range strike bomber (LSRB)."

NOT operational until 2030? Seems like a long way off.

And those contrails [condensation trails] have got to go! How stealthy is a combat warplane when it leaves a distinct and highly visible trail behind.

coolbert.

Loot!

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Pillage!!

Yet once more please do not think that merely with the end of the Second World War [WW2] in Europe [V-E Day], that the murder and atrocity came to an abrupt and final end!

 Those as designated Trophy Brigades of the Red Army looting and pillaging on a massive even apocalyptic scale. Organized and institutionalized the contrast with the random and almost casual theft by allied troops most apparent.

"The plunder and looting of art and other treasures was not limited to the Third Reich.... The Soviet and American armies also participated, the former more thoroughly and systematically, the latter at the level of individuals stealing for personal gain."

"The term trophy art is used for the cultural objects that were taken by the Red Army and the Soviet Trophy Brigades from occupied Germany to the Soviet Union after World War II."

NOR was the theft and pillage by the Red Army confined strictly to Germany proper. Where ever the Red Army marched in eastern Europe such theft on a massive basis occurred.

The "collecting" of art works by Goering and his various Nazi minions well known. Even just recently that "treasure trove" of  art recently found, the provenance and ownership undetermined.

"PHOTOS: See the German hoarder who had $1 billion stash of stolen Nazi art"

"79-year-old Cornelius Gurlitt of Munich had some 1,400 paintings in his possession, which are valued at more than $1 billion and are believed to have been pillaged by Nazis — mostly from Jewish owners — during World War II. Gurlitt only offered a cryptic response when approached by journalists: 'Applause from the wrong side is the worst thing there is.'"

Red Army Trophy Brigade activity from that same period much less know. Indeed, little if anything ever made apparent to the outside world until only around the time of the break-up of the old Soviet Union"

"In what has been called one of the most important pieces of investigative journalism ever undertaken in the art world, Konstantin Akinsha and Grigorii Kozlov tell the story of how the Russians stole millions of art objects from European museums and private collectors in the final days of World War II and hid them away for fifty years. The Nazi confiscation of art from Jewish families and occupied countries has been well documented, but the story of what happened to the art after the Nazis were defeated in 1945 was virtually unknown until recently. Secret "trophy brigades" were established early in 1945, with specific instructions from Stalin to remove art from Germany and ship it back to the USSR on special trains. This operation began while the fighting was still going on and was conducted at a frenzied pace for several months. It was the most prodigious transport operation of artworks in the history of mankind. Trophies were being removed from Germany as late as 1948. Works by such masters as Botticelli, El Greco, Goya, Delacroix, Picasso, Velazquez, Matisse, Renoir, Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian, and Degas made their way to the Soviet Union. It was not until the late 1980s, when the Soviet Union began to dissolve, that it was possible to piece together this story. Akinsha and Kozlov were instrumental in revealing it to the West and in forcing Russian authorities to acknowledge the existence of the secret depositories. The Hermitage exhibited its collection of previously hidden Impressionist paintings early in 1995, but the Russians have been adamant in their refusal to return the stolen things, and the fate of the trophy art continues to be hotly debated."

See the whole story here:

"Top Ten ARTnews Stories: Tracking the Trophy Brigade"

That Russian even know refusing to return to the rightful owners art works and other valuables. Legislated theft now apparently a done-deal!

 "In 1998, and after considerable controversy, Russia passed the Federal Law on Cultural Valuables Displaced to the USSR as a Result of the Second World War and Located on the Territory of the Russian Federation to legalize the possession of the stolen art works and to prevent any restitution."

These "looted" items never to be returned to the rightful owners, the provenance not ever to be fully established. These paintings and other treasures too improperly stored for decades now [?], deterioration perhaps having occurred, much to the disgrace of Soviet/Russian authorities?

coolbert.

Amelia & MH370.

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From the Chicago Tribune of several weeks ago:

"CHICAGO FLASHBACK"

"Vanishing into thin air"

"Disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 recalls Earhart flight in '37"

Those Chicago Tribune banner headlines subsequent to 2 July 1937:

"AMELIA MISSING; SEARCH SEA"

"58 PLANES TO HUNT AMELIA"

"HEAR AMELIA; HOPE REVIVES"

"AMELIA HUNTERS SEE FLARES"

"HUNT FOR AMELIA ON ISLANDS"

"NAVY'S FLYERS HUNT AMELIA"

The famous American woman pilot Amelia Earhart on her around-the-world flight having disappeared many decades ago, her final fate never determined with certainty.

Earhart at that exact moment in time perhaps of the half-dozen to dozen most recognized women in the world.

As with the current missing airliner MH370 search-and-rescue [SAR] efforts strenuous and continuing for weeks after her disappearance. But neither wreckage or bodies or debris or ANYTHING DEFINITIVE EVER FOUND!

And everlasting mystery so it seems.

IT ALSO BEING SPECULATED THAT THE AROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT HAVING AN "EMBEDDED" INTELLIGENCE MISSION TOP SECRET AND NEVER REVEALED!.

High-altitude photography of Japanese Pacific installations a possible. From Lae, New Guinea a slight detour en route to Howland Island the high-flying Lockheed as piloted by Amelia could have passed over the Japanese naval base at Rabaul?

That high-flying and properly equipped Lockheed Electra as flown by Earhart indeed as used by the British Secret Intelligence Service [MI-6] for aerial reconnaissance of German military facilities in those years just prior to World War Two [WW2].

Private citizens as intelligence gathering assets during that period also not unusual.

That private oceanic-going yacht of the American multi-millionaire David Astor [a close personal confidant of President Roosevelt] also dispatched on an intelligence gathering mission, results scant to nil!

That American SAR mission in the aftermath of the disappearance more extensive than normal and the military dimension unmistakable?

A battleship, an aircraft carrier and four destroyers in addition to an American Coast Guard cutter already on the scene spending some weeks searching but to no avail.

The truth is out there but never will be found? This I believe to be so!

coolbert.

Ten-Dash.

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We have been aware of the "Nine Dash Line".

NOW to that add the "10-Dash Line".

As duly noted and reported by the Filipino media.

"China's new '10-dash line map' eats into Philippine territory"

Further claims and encroachment by the Chinese into what is deemed as Filipino Economic Exclusion Zone [EEZ].

Apparently included within the Chinese Ten-Dash line claim of sovereignty Scarborough Shoals.

 

All areas within the dashed line area as claimed by China.

"The Philippines has protested China's recent publication of a new "10-dash line" map that places sprawling offshore territories it claims within Beijing's "national boundaries," officials said Friday."

. . .

"The new Chinese map, which was first published last January by China's state mapping authority Sinomap Press, features 10 dash lines instead of nine dash lines to mark a huge swath of the South China Sea in a tongue-shaped encirclement as Chinese territory."

. . . .

"China's nine-dash line claim in the South China Sea, it added, "encroaches on the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of the Philippines" and in Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal, site of a standoff last year between Chinese and Philippine ships."

The beat goes on.

The UNITED STATES TOO HAVING A BINDING AND LEGALLY OBLIGATING BI-LATERAL DEFENSE TREATY WITH THE PHILIPPINES.

coolbert.

Trans-Dneister.

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NOT forgotten this blog entry from almost six years ago now.

The significance of which cannot be minimized when taken within the current Ukraine context.

Moldova and Trans-Dneister.

"Here is another Russian-speaking area, Moldova/Trans-Dneister, not contiguous to the Russian 'motherland', where we may see future agitation and strife. Conflict leading to military action on the part of the Russian. An embattled and 'mis-treated' Russian minority, desiring succor and eventual reunification with 'Big Brother' in Moscow?"

"Breakdown of ethnic groups (2005)":

"32% Moldovans 31% Russians 29% Ukrainians"

A conflict having the potentiality of the proverbial "civilizational clash". Language, history, and religion! A volatile and dangerous mix.

Moldova/Trans-Dneister NOT having a contiguous border with the Russian Federation. BUT having a large and restive Russian-speaking population.

That Russian-speaking populace of Moldova/Trans-Dneister concentrated too, that area along the Dneister river predominantly Russian ethnics. Where there is concentration of focused energy there is strength!

Rumania I bring to your attention a constituent member of NATO!

coolbert.

RD-180.

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"Houston, we have a problem!"

Indeed, we do!

All in light of the Ukraine crisis.

That Atlas V rocket booster, responsible for placing American satellites into orbit, INCLUDING WHAT ARE DEEMED AS ESSENTIAL "SPY" SATELLITES, dependent on Russian rocket engine [RD-180] technology and export.

As from:

1. "Pentagon Asks Air Force About Russia Rocket Engine"

"Pentagon officials have asked the Air Force to review whether the use of Russian engines on rockets from a Lockheed Martin Corp.-Boeing Co. (BA) team creates a national security risk."

"Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said last week at a House of Representatives subcommittee hearing that a review was needed after Russia’s incursion into the Crimea and threats to the Ukraine prompted a reassessment of U.S.-Russia relations."

And from only yesterday:

2. "U.S. sends spy satellite into space aboard Russian-powered Atlas V rocket"

"A U.S. spy satellite successfully launched into orbit atop an American Atlas V rocket was ironically helped into orbit courtesy of a Russian-made rocket engine that provided part of the necessary boost."

NO more Russian rocket engines, NO more American launch capability, NO more spy satellites?

There is the alternative of the Delta IV launch booster rocket. That is a strictly American-made space vehicle? Or is it?

For some time now too, American nuclear power plants operating predominantly on fissionable material as obtained from de-activated and re-cycled Russian atomic weapons. That source as deemed as ALSO essential NOW in jeopardy?

coolbert.

Stalin & Djilas.

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Here with a response to a comment from Steiner as from a previous blog entry:

"Steiner said..."

"The Wehrmacht never indulged in mass rape in the Soviet Union, and in fact, made some considerable effort to reestablish and encourage Christian worship and legalize private economic exchange in the occupied territories of the former Russian state. As for the invasion itself, the violent overthrow of constitutional German government and the establishment of a German Soviet was the primary foreign policy goal of the Soviet Union after 1918 . . . So where's the karma?"

Those words of mine "Karma can be a bitch!" not so well thought out and poorly chosen.

Better to  have said PLEASE DO NOT THINK WITH THE END OF THE WAR IN EUROPE [V-E DAY] THAT THE KILLING AND ATROCITY CAME TO AN INSTANTANEOUS END! HARDLY SO THAT BEING THE CASE!!

That Red Army [Russian] indeed in the aftermath of Bagration and the destruction of German Army Group Center [1944] moving westward for almost a full year behaving quite often in the manner of a rampaging mob, murder, rape and atrocity quite the norm.

Russian troops engaging in mass rape, NO MATTER WHERE THEY MARCHED. Even the women of nations presumably favorable to Red Army liberation not exempt form rape either.

Those of you that have seen that particular episode from the PBS series "WW II BEHIND CLOSED DOORS STALIN, THE NAZIS AND THE WEST" of where Stalin confronts the Yugoslav communist Djilas that matter of mass rape by Red Army troops addressed:

"Does Djilas, who is himself a writer, not know what human suffering and the human heart are? Can't he understand it if a soldier who has crossed thousands of kilometers through blood and fire and death has fun with a woman or takes some trifle?" - - Stalin in response to Djilas!

The fate of the German nation in the aftermath of WW2 very grim, and for those living in the area of the Soviet Zone of Occupation most harsh and unremitting without question.

coolbert.

Red October!

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Spetsnaz! Lenin would be pleased.

Those events in Ukraine transpiring almost exactly was the case during the Red October of 1918.

As was reported by the NEWS HOUR this evening. Strategy Page also with a more detailed analysis of the situation from the military standpoint.

A clear and consistent pattern has emerged and is understood first from events in Crimea and now in the eastern part of Ukraine, where the Russian speaking population is in the majority.

The model of a Soviet style uprising, that small but dedicated and inspired band of revolutionaries occupying key governmental and civilian installations, fomenting rebellion most successfully.

Insurgents as have been noted and observed consisting of:

* First a small group of Russian speaking and professional military men, no more than twenty in  number, but heavily armed, wearing standard but unmarked uniforms with battle kit. These are the MASKED MEN! Those professional military men NOT locals, presumably citizens of Russia. Troops more than likely also Russian Spetsnaz. Special operations, ranger/commander type units and forces acting under the command of Russian military intelligence [GRU].

* A second similarly attired and armed contingent of LOCALS numbering about fifty or so personnel. Probably NOT professional military men.

* A third group of men armed but not dressed in uniform, this group about five hundred LOCALS obviously not professional military men having the appearance of a spontaneous and not rehearsed reaction to events.

A provisional government favorable to the Russian Federation subsequently declaring itself, calling for sham and rigged elections, partition, annexation and a fait accompli the result, opposition quashed and silenced.

Soviet style insurrection NOT REQUIRING A LONG AND PROTRACTED CAMPAIGN BY A LARGE ARMY OF ADHERENTS. THE SMALL BUT HIGHLY COMPETENT MILITARY FORCE ABLE TO ACHIEVE RESULTS QUICKER AND WITH A MINIMUM OF DISRUPTION.

Then, when in power, use brute force to maintain yourself in power. Steamroll all that oppose you, and that is that!

coolbert.

TDN-1

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From that era of the Second World War [WW2] here was a new one on me.

Called an assault drone. Remotely [unmanned] piloted naval aviation combat warplane [drone] launched from an aircraft carrier. Multi-engine and given the technology and reliability of same at that moment in time state-of-the-art.

TDN-1 assault drone!

 

This version of the TDN-1 has a cockpit with pilot. That was a research and development feature only. The deployed drone in production stage of course not needing a pilot.

"The Naval Aircraft Factory TDN was an early unmanned combat aerial vehicle - referred to at the time as an "assault drone" - developed by the United States Navy's Naval Aircraft Factory during the Second World War. Developed and tested during 1942 and 1943, the design proved moderately successful, but development of improved drones saw the TDN-1 relegated to second-line duties, and none were used in operational service."

"The development of the radar altimeter and television in the early 1940s made remotely guided, bomb- or torpedo-carrying aircraft a practical proposition"

"the TDN-1 project, with the aircraft being designed to be capable of using either television or radar as its guidance system. Constructed mainly from wood, the TDN-1 had a fixed tricycle landing gear, and could be fitted with a conventional cockpit in place of its guidance equipment for test flights."

Drones too are the future for naval aviation even as we speak? More warplanes [drones] can be produced cheaper in greater numbers and more expendable and better suited for all manner of combat operations?

That super-carrier to be replaced with the "light carrier" and DRONES are a fundamental part of that effort?

coolbert.

Dogs!

This is coolbert:

Dog O' War!!

That U.S. Navy SEAL team assaulting the Bin Laden compound as has been known for some time attack dog equipped.

Some details of that mission:

"Latest Navy SEAL K9's Equipped with Live Camera, Kevlar Vest, and Night-Vision Goggles"

That breed of choice for all [?] special operations units [at least those of the "western" military persuasion] the Belgian Malinois.

"The breed is similar to a German Shepherd but a bit smaller/more compact -adult male 65 lbs- [about thirty kilograms] and is therefore considered better for various parachute jumping and rappelling operations with the USN's SEAL teams."

 

SEAL parachutist with dog. Dog muzzled and strapped to the man. When hitting the ground the two operating as intended as a TEAM!

Malinois can be carried by one man easily but still capable as a breed with aggressiveness and the suitable size to taken on a larger opponent.

Also, Cairo leading the way for the SEAL's, dedicated to the mission, even in the aftermath personally presented to President Obama. A rare and great honor indeed!

"This particular dog [Cairo the dog] was the one who first entered the Abbottabad compound the night that SEAL Team Six got Bin Laden."

Attack dogs that are parachute and rappelling qualified, suitable for SEAL oceanic missions where parachuting into the water is a requirement. Attack dogs body armor equipped and having an attached real-time TV feed camera, even some sort of night-vision goggles!!

 

Here dogs and handlers rappel from a chopper. Have a nice ride down

See previous blog entries regarding the use of dogs in modern combat situations.

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/07/war-dog.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/07/roy.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/10/dogs.html

NOT merely a SENTRY dog as that term understood but an attack dog able to carry the fight to the adversary.

coolbert.

Eastern Europe.

This is coolbert:

I see that Vice President Biden of the United States has made a recent trip to the Baltic states the purpose obviously being to reassure the Lithuanians, the Latvians, and the Estonians that NATO and specifically the United States will honor Article Five of the NATO charter.

And Poland too is making ready? Don't mess with Texas AND DON'T MESS WITH POLAND EITHER!

As just reported in the Associated Press:

"AP Interview: US troops may be sent to E Europe"

 "PARIS (AP) -- NATO's top military commander in Europe, drafting counter moves to the Russian military threat against Ukraine, said Wednesday they could include deployment of American troops to alliance member states in Eastern Europe now feeling at risk."

That word "TROOPS" most subjectively defined and might possibly including a unit of drone combat UAV, piloted by personnel located in Nevada or California?

That word "TROOPS" most subjectively defined and might possibly including a nuclear attack submarine located in the Mediterranean and tasked with a potential mission against Eastern European targets?

That word "TROOPS" most subjectively defined and might possibly including maintenance personnel in the continental United States preparing vehicles for pre-positioning in Eastern Europe?

So what is it? We wait to see.

"Don’t Mess With Poland"

Thanks to Robert Beckhusen.

"Warsaw’s military may be the only thing standing between Putin and Europe"

Three times in the last one thousand years the Pole protectors of Christianity and Europe.

* Fighting and losing six battles against the invading Mongol, but weakening the invader substantially in the process.

* That Polish cavalry force under the command of King John Sobieski providing overland relief to Vienna when under attack by the Ottoman Turk.

* That Miracle on the Vistula the newly forced Polish army defeating the Red Army of Mikhail Tukachevsky and preventing further the westward expansion of Soviet Communism.

"The Poles are taking their already sizable tank force and making it bigger. They’re buying new fighter planes. And Poland wants to develop an anti-air and anti-missile system of a kind the U.S. would have installed before the Obama administration attempted to restart relations with Russia—and failed at it."

That Polish tank an enhanced and improved version of the Soviet era T-72. According to Colonel Austin Bay, the United States NO LONGER POSSESSES A EUROPEAN TANK FORCE.

"There’s another reason for Poland’s emphasis on defense: a traumatic history. During the lifetimes of some of the country’s political leaders, and certainly during their parents’ lifetimes, Poland had—for a time—ceased to exist."

"Last month, Ukraine experienced a Russian invasion. There’s a possibility Ukraine could experience another one, but much larger and involving the east or even the whole of Ukraine."

"'Peace is a precious and a desirable thing. Our generation, bloodied in wars, certainly deserves peace. But peace, like almost all things of this world, has its price, a high but a measurable one. We in Poland do not know the concept of peace at any price. There is only one thing in the lives of men, nations and countries that is without price. That thing is honor.'" - - Jozef Beck, 1939.

coolbert.

The Wall.

This is coolbert:

Again from the program "Sahara with Michael Palin" we have an item with a military dimension to it.

That conflict over the nation of Western Sahara as from three decades ago now. Fought between the forces of Morocco and the indigenous rebels of the Polisario Front.

That conflict now and for some time stalemated.  A wall of massive proportions thwarting guerrilla incursions, the Polisario now in quiescent phase of their insurrection.

That "wall" referred to as the Moroccan Wall and the most massive structure [?] of its type on the planet!

"The Moroccan Wall of Western Sahara is an approximately 2,700 km-long structure, mostly a sand wall (or 'berm'), running through Western Sahara and the southeastern portion of Morocco. It acts as a barrier between the Moroccan-controlled areas (Southern Provinces) and the Polisario-controlled section of the territory (Free Zone) that lies along its eastern and southern border."

"Physical structure"

"The fortifications [the Moroccan Wall] lie in uninhabited or very sparsely inhabited territory. They consist of sand and stone walls or berms about three meters in height, with bunkers, fences and landmines throughout. The barrier minebelt that runs along the structure is thought to be the longest continuous minefield in the world. Military bases, artillery posts and airfields dot the interior behind the wall at regular intervals, and radar masts and other electronic surveillance equipment scan the areas in front of it."

Western Sahara as controlled by the Moroccan on the west side of the wall. That area much smaller on the east side of the wall as within the control of the Polisario.

That "wall", more properly and correctly called a BERM also assiduously patrolled by up to 160,000 Moroccan troops. That wall the total cost for construction, maintenance and manning for a period of DECADES I must think to be exorbitant.

Also that wall as acknowledged successful! The guerrilla attacks of the Polisario now either at a minimum or non-existent at all!

Polisario generally very socialist and even pink at the edges as they say. Having backers and support from a long-ago to include Cuba. Even the presence of possible Cuban soldiers embedded with the guerrillas, UNCIRCUMCISED DEAD FOUND AMONG THE POLISARIO CASUALTIES ON THE BATTLEFIELD AS DETERMINED BY POST-MORTEN AUTOPSIES!

That Cuban presence to a degree undiminished? According to Michael Palin, Spanish speaking Cuban teachers continue to run schools for the refugee children of the conflict.

AND WITH NO END IN SIGHT, AFTER THIRTY YEARS, POLISARIO IS NOT ABLE TO ARRIVE AT A NEGOTIATED OR AN AMELIORATED SETTLEMENT BUT CONTINUES TO FIGHT EVEN WHEN THE SITUATION SEEMS HOPELESS?

Hard to throw in the towel after so much time and effort but what is the alternative?

coolbert.

Afrika Korps!

This is coolbert:

You get ideas for blog entries from the most interesting places.

Thanks in this instance to the Englishman Michael Palin.

And yet once more an extract and comment from the book: "Life of a Nazi Soldier".

Those German troops and the German military across the board when deployed to north Africa encountering the difficult conditions of the Saharan desert for the first time?

"Newcomers to the Desert"

"'No war games or even more  modest exercises had examined tactical problems. The orientation, the training and the armament of the force that finally disembarked at Tripoli were entire those of a formation designed for European conditions/'"

That German soldier in a locale totally unfamiliar to him unprepared and even at odds with the environment, a novitiate with a long and hard learning curve?

PERHAPS NOT!

French Foreign Legion [FFL] troops for a period of at least one hundred years prior to 1939 having a long and storied military experience in the desert conditions, of north Africa, the Sahara, etc.

That FFL predominantly [?] comprised of ethnic Germans as has been noted by various authorities. There WAS among those of the German Afrika Korps a cadre of personnel that previously had served with the FFL in the desert of north Africa and WERE familiar with the terrain, the environment, the particular difficulties as might be encountered during desert warfare.

A devoted reader to the blog is familiar with this more so than I am?

During those decades PRIOR to 1939, the British, the Italians and even the French [?] had experimented and been successful in developing techniques for mechanized warfare in the desert. This is so! And the German having absorbed "lessons learned" from at least the Italians and also [?] members of the FFL found the "learning curve" to NOT BE so long and steep?

coolbert.

Mercantile Battery.

This is coolbert:

Yet once more from the Chicago Tribune of today "Chicago Flashback"

"THE CIVIL WAR 150 YEARS LATER."

As usual, thanks to the Tribune and Stephan Benzkofer.

"A good unit's bad decision"

That Red River Campaign of the American Civil War another defeat for the Federal forces. Shameful and disastrous rout, a pell-mell rush to the rear, unorganized and defeat without amelioration. AND REPORTED SO IN THE TRIBUNE OF 150 YEARS AGO IN DETAIL, WITHOUT QUALIFICATION.

Especially galling the conduct of the Mercantile Battery, described as:

"A number of Illinois-based units were involved in the fighting, and the fate of one was particularly painful."

"The Chicago Mercantile Battery was recruited and funded by Chicago Businessmen in 1862."

These artillerymen their comportment in battle prior to Red River without question honorable. After Red River, behavior less than illustrious.

As is described by a soldier and as printed in Chicago Tribune at the time:

"THE RETREAT OF THE CHICAGO MERCANTILE BATTERY."

(Testimony of Janesville Boy.)

"We remained until our horses commenced to drop when Capt. White told us to limber up and make for the rear as we could not do a thing more without support. So, we limbered up and started. Just then Lieut. Throop was mortally wounded, shot in the bowels. We could not go a great way, however as the wagon train loaded with forage blocked up the road and we had to go through the dense pine woods. But we got our guns and caissons about two miles the rebs right after us crying out, 'halt and surrender you d - - - - d Yankees.' It was not long before, we got stuck fast, between about a dozen wagons, logs, and in a big mud hole. Then the Captain told us to cut the traces and save ourselves. Well, we started leaving everything we had behind us except the clothes on our backs and what we had in our pockets. It was a perfect rabble, a regular Bull Run: It was devil take the hindmost, sure enough"

Subsequent dereliction of duty and downright mutinous behavior of the Battery leading to dissolution of the unit!

Indeed, a retirement of a military unit, a movement to the rear, retreat if you want to term it such, best understood if done in an organized or disorganized and panicked manner. The former [organized] not so bad, the latter [disorganized] very bad, shameful and deplorable.

coolbert.

Fort Pillow.

This is coolbert:

From the Chicago Tribune and "CHICAGO FLASHBACK" of today:

Thanks also to Stephan Benzkofer.

THE CIVIL WAR 150 YEARS LATER.

"Massacre at Fort Pillow"

"In one of the worst atrocities during a war filled with horrors, Confederate Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's troops 'cruelly butchered every colored soldier they could lay hands upon!' The Tribune reported."

"NEWS BY TELEGRAPH"

"THE FORT PILLOW MASSACRE."

"FIENDISH ATROCITIES OF THE CAPTORS. "

"Sickening details of Rebel Sepoyism."

"REPORTED FLUNKEYISM OF CERTAIN UNION OFFICERS."

"Later from Paducah - - The Rebels Still Hanging About."

"MATTERS IN CONGRESS YESTERDAY. "

"IMPORTANT LETTERS OF SECRETARY CHASE."

"HIS STATEMENT OF THE DEMANDS OF THE HOURS. "

"The New Tax Bill as Far as Agreed Upon. "

"From New Orleans, Texas and Mexico - - French Successes. "

"After a ferocious battle, the garrison [Union garrison at Fort Pillow] surrendered, and as the Tribune reported, the 'butchery' started. Casualty numbers vary widely but hundreds of black U.S. troops and some black women and children were killed. Their white officers were also murdered."

White federal troops having been spared, albeit the white officers in command of what at the time were called "colored troops" also murdered in cold-blood.

Nathan Bedford Forrest rated by Shelby Foote as one of the two geniuses to emerge from the American Civil War. Forrest the intuitive and talented amateur soldier and military commander adept and able to flummox and outwit the professionals. Lincoln for those interested that second genius as enunciated by Foote.

The Paducah Raid of Forrest I was not familiar with. Cavalry very light moving quickly in a raid into Yankee controlled territory. So late in the war too!

Sepoyism  referring to the native British Indian Army troops during the Sepoy Mutiny, the outright murder of surrendered English men, women and children during that conflict.

coolbert.

Gold!

This is coolbert:

Here with extracts and comments from an article by Ugo Bardi through Lew Rockwell:

HOW the Romans lost their Empire. At least from the perspective of the author.

"PEAK GOLD: How The Romans Lost Their Empire"

By Ugo Bardi

"In this post, I [Ugo] argue that precious metal currency was a fundamental factor that kept together the Roman empire and gave to the Romans their military power. But the Roman mines producing gold and silver peaked in the first century CE and the Romans gradually lost the capability of controlling their resources. In a way, they were doomed by 'peak gold.'”

Currency, coinage of the realm as used to pay soldiers became debased. Gold and silver that tender of the period adulterated, the intrinsic worth and purchasing power much devalued.

 "The Roman Empire was so large and so successful because it was, possibly, the mightiest military force of ancient times. The Romans had been so successful at that not because of special military innovations. The recipe for their success was simple: they paid their fighters with precious metal currency. The combined technology of gold mining and coin minting had allowed the Romans to create one of the first standing armies in history."

The number and size of the Roman armies not necessarily declining but the quality and fighting power of the troops markedly less than had been the case in previous centuries.

"With the decline of the precious metal mines, it became more and more difficult for emperors to recruit troops . . . the number of troops was not reduced, but their quality strongly declined."

My understanding has always been that the heavy infantry of the Roman armies no longer were able and fit enough to fight the mounted horsemen and light cavalry of the barbarians.

Adrianople is the type specimen of Roman defeat in this regard. Roman troops when confronted by agile and fast moving barbarian horsemen, enemy light cavalry maneuvering quickly, Roman infantry unable to respond in a dynamic manner. Defeat inevitable and often in a catastrophic manner.

Those contingents of the Roman armies during the late period the percentage of troops citizens of the Empire but actual residents of Rome very small indeed. Loyalty too and devotion to the Eternal City not what it used to be! This of course over and period of many centuries.

coolbert.

Nikolay Chiker.

This is coolbert:

A somewhat dated report now but still worthy of consideration. Especially when taken within the context of the current crisis in Ukraine.

From MARCONI through Harry at Sharkhunters:

"I checked a couple of ship tracking sites and learned that the Nikolay Chiker's position at the time of the transmission was about 30.6301 N / 81.0776 W which is off the coast of Fernandia Beach, Florida. With the conflict currently going on in the Ukraine, it is interesting to note that the tug's position is very close to the major US Navy Submarine Base at Kings Bay, GA as well as to the US Navy Station - Mayport, which is the home of the US Navy's 4th fleet. Apparently the Chiker has been in that vicinity for several days."

Nikolay Chiker a large ocean-going Russian tug. Seems very large for a tug to me but then is ocean-going so perhaps that is standard for such vessels.

 

An image of the Nikolay Chiker.

As of this almost exactly instant, at least only seven minutes ago as the time of this post, the position of the Nikolay Chiker is:

Last Position
Info Received: 7 min ago
Area: Caribbean Sea
 Latitude / Longitude: 17.48586 / -63.0081
 Speed/Course: 0.5kn / 132°

[amazing what can be found on the Internet, isn't it? ]

Further more we have from another web site more info on the Chiker:

"The Nikolay Chiker is widely considered to be one of the worlds most powerful ocean tugs, but more important from this observers perspective, the tug seems to always be escorting high value assets of the Russian Navy when it deploys."
 . . . .

"In addition to that though, during previous visits to the US east coast by the tug, US media reported that Nikolay Chiker escorted Russian nuclear attack submarines that were patrolling our coast at the time. Given circumstances taking place in Ukraine, I think it is very possible that Nikolay Chiker is staying near Cape Canaveral for legitimate reasons (to monitor the launch) but is also standing nearby as one or more Russian nuclear attack submarines monitor US Navy activity out of Kings Bay, Mayport, and or Norfolk during a period of political crisis between the US and Russia."

The Nikolay Chiker has below water torpedo tubes? More than a mere tug? Has a possible organic combat capability with GRU naval spetsnaz personnel "embedded" with the crew? I believe King's Bay is the home of a Trident submarine force the activity of which would be of extreme interest to the Russian military command.

coolbert.

Soldaten IX.

This is coolbert:

Conclusion!

Concluding with extracts and comments from the book: "Life of a Nazi Soldier".

Some reader to the library book before me having highlighted this particular passage and in the margin of the page placed a question mark!

NO! NOT a question mark!

"Army of Retribution"

"The Red Army was turned loose for an orgy of destruction, rape, and murder that was exceeded only by the violence and cruelty that the Germans had inflicted on the Soviet Union earlier in the war."

MOST of that "orgy of destruction, rape, and murder" occurring in the aftermath of German surrender!

Atrocity to include:

* Mass rape of German women. Within the Soviet zone of occupation about one to two million German women raped by Russian [Red Army] soldiers. Often repeated rape or gang rape.

* Systematic and widespread looting of German industry, entire factories dismantled and shipped off to the Soviet Union.

These not being merely spontaneous actions but widespread and condoned behavior as authorized from the highest levels of the Kremlin.

Retribution also in those years subsequent to the end of the war continuing, the forced repatriation of ten to fifteen million ethnic Germans from all parts of eastern Europe a massive movement of persons reputedly the loss of live about one to two million as a result!!

Karma can be a bitch!!

coolbert.

Soldaten VIII.

This is coolbert:

Continuing with extracts and comments from the book: "Life of a Nazi Soldier".

"The Smell of Death"

"My first sight of a dead soldier was an unexpected shock. We had been trained to deliver death quickly and efficiently, and we knew that in war people get killed. But 'knowing' it  intellectually was entirely different from seeing and experiencing it . . . the word 'killed still had a clinical connotation about it compare to its meaning when you saw lying on the ground before you a bloodied, mutilated, foul-smelling corpse that had previously been a vital, living human being."

Inexperienced and "green" troops, individuals and units collectively both developing a paralysis when confronting dead bodies on the battlefield for the first time?

The smell of decomposing human remains quite intense and foul. And if a human body having also been subjected to fire and flame the odor even far worse. A person at any given moment possessing in his internal system two to six pounds [one to three kilograms] of solid waste. Expelled or being burned that solid waste most putrid in the extreme.

1. The Israeli subjecting troops during maneuvers and anti-terrorist exercises to the "smell of death". A canister opened that emits an odor resembling the smell of a decaying human body. So that troops subsequently not so shocked when first encountering the smell.

2. American soldiers in preparation for deployment overseas to a combat zone having to witness an autopsy and handle human organs as removed from the cadaver. At this time such a methodology of training restricted to officers and NCO's [sergeants] of the 101st Airmobile.

HEY, nobody ever said this was going to be easy!!

coolbert.

Soldaten VII.

 This is coolbert:

Continuing with extracts and comments from the book: "Life of a Nazi Soldier".

Prisoner of War. POW!

And those two words from the era of the Second World War [WW2] as associated with POW being PRODIGIOUS and ALAS.

A. Prodigious in that on both sides so many POW captured?

B. Alas that so many POW perishing!

Attitudes toward the POW both barbaric, cruel, even sadistic.

1. "War Against the Subhumans"

"'All you have to do is look at the Russian prisoners. Hardly ever do you see the face of a person who seems rational and intelligent. They all look emaciated and the wild half-crazy look in their eyes makes them appear like imbeciles. And these scoundrels, led by Jews and criminals, wanted to imprint their stamp on Europe, indeed on the world. Thank God that our Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, is preventing this from happening! . . . This war against these sub-human beings is about over. It's almost insulting when you consider that drunken Russian criminals have been let loose against us. We really let them have it!'" - - Fuchs, Nazi officer


"'the War against Russian will be such that is cannot be conducted in a knightly fashion. This struggle is one of the ideologies and racial differences and will have to be conducted with unprecedented, unmerciful and unrelenting harshness . . . I insist absolutely that my orders be executed without contradiction. The [Red] commissars are the bearers of ideologies directly opposed to National Socialism. Therefore the [Red] commissars will be liquidated. German soldiers guilty of breaking international law . . . will be excused.'" - - A. Hitler.

Whoa Boy!!

2. "Prisoners of War and War Criminals"

"Of the 9 million German soldiers serving in the Wehrmacht in 1945, more than 7 million became prisoners of war. More than 4 million were taken prisoner by the Americans and British before and after the surrender. All German POW's still being held by the western Allies were freed by 1948, but three hundred thousand had died of a result of mistreatment while in American and French captivity. The death rate among the 6 million Germans taken captive by the Russians over the course of the war was much higher, with well over half perishing."

"Up to twenty thousand Germans died clearing minefields in France - - a direct violation of the 1929 Geneva Convention, which prohibited use of POW's for dangerous work."

We have to be absolutely clear so even persons possessing a mere baccalaureate degree can understand this with 100 % certainty.

Enormous numbers of POW continuing to expire long AFTER HOSTILITIES AND ACTUAL SHOOTING HAD FINISHED!!


3. "German Prisoners of War"

Allied forces, American and British it generally being conceded that their treatment of the German POW more humane.

* "After interrogation, German POW's were classified based on their political nature. Each man was graded White, Grey, or Black."

* "'Whites' were those judged to be anti-Nazi and who might be persuaded to work actively for the Allies"

* "The 'Greys' were those POW's who showed themselves not to have any particular political allegiance but were thought unlikely to work for the Allies."

* "'Blacks' however, were those prisoners who showed true loyalty to Hitler and National Socialism . . . most were sent to Canada or America."


4. "Chaos and Revenge"

See item # 1 above!

"Conditions were harsh for all POW's taken by the Germans, but in the Soviet Union the Wehrmacht was given great latitude and even encouragement to either kill outright or starve to death prisoners of war. Nearly 6 million Soviet soldiers were captured by the Germans. Almost 60 percent of them died in captivity. This death rate was unprecedented in modern warfare and derives from several factors."

* "First the Germans executed POW's who were Communists, intellectuals, and Jews immediately upon capture. Military historians estimate that over half a million Russian POW's did not survive their first day as prisoners."

* "Second, the Germans did little to prepare for the huge numbers of Russian prisoners they captured and so killed them through deliberate neglect. POW's were routinely exposed to the elements . . . given little or no medical attention, and fed very little."

Indeed, according to my understanding, those first German military units reconstituted in the aftermath of WW2 Kriegsmarine sailors organized into sea-mine clearing contingents under the commander of Kapitan Rossing! German POW willing to do work no one else wanted to do.

coolbert.