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Post by Edge on Nov 26, 2004 21:28:48 GMT -5
 This thread is for the purpose of discussing the American military: its branches, history, doctrine, and weaponry from the French and Indian War to the present. The War in Iraq is actually a minor skirmish compared to other conflicts in which we have engaged. The question is whether our military, its leadership, and the civilian population possess the esprit de corps which have characterized them in centuries gone by. If they do not, what are the reasons. ![]() www.imh.org/imh/jpg/washingt.jpg [/img]
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Post by Patriot on Nov 29, 2004 0:21:46 GMT -5
“Only the dead have seen the end of war.” Plato
America has been weaned on war from the cradle. We are not a nation unaccustomed to bloodshed or sacrifice. Since the day the first settlers established their colony at Jamestown, we have been engaged in armed conflict at least once every thirty years. Every single generation has seen, or heard of, an active American struggle. From frontier conquests to the quelling of Indian rebellions, to naval escapades against the British and defense against the same on home turf. To wresting lands from Spanish grasp, French Grasp, and Mexican grasp, to turning cannon on each other for two different interpretations of the Constitution. From pacifying the Old West to intervening on islands close to home, like St Eustacius in the Revolution and Cuba in the Spanish-American. And then there were islands further away, like the Philippines. We entered two world wars by choice, and established ourselves as the preeminent force on the planet. In the process we devised the first submarines, and airplanes/air-force. We beat the Russians in developing atomic weaponry and, over the course of forty years, choked off their life-support via Containment in the Cold War. We had a jaunt in Korea, followed by police actions in Asia, Africa, the Balkans, and South America, and finally, a fight on behalf of Kuwait in Desert Storm. Now, of course, we’re sifting through the marijuana fields of Afghanistan and whipping the Mujahadin to shreds in Iraq.
A lot of people think that Americans are ignorant or weak. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have the longest standing record of military victories of any nation in the Western hemisphere. We also have some of the best universities in the world— so good, in fact, that our enemies deign to matriculate.
Despite all this, our military was not technically the best in the world until revamped directly prior to World War 1. At that time the US Army ranked behind Spain, Portugal, and Turkey in our military equipment. Partially this was due to the fact that, up until the Spanish American War, we had never really fought an international conflict—and had little need to modernize. But ever since those days, we’ve been top dog.
We boast the best military in the world with the best special forces. In fact we have more special forces than any other nation in the world. Ours include:
NAVY : BUDs/SEAL, SBR, MCT, SDV, Seabees, and Shallow Water Mine Detachment.
ARMY: Green Beret, Airborne Rangers, PSYOP, Delta Force, 10th Mountain, LRSUs, and the 160th Special Ops Detachment.
MARINES: Force Recon, DAPs, SRTs, FAST, and SOCs.
AIR FORCE: Task Force 160 Night-Stalkers, 193rd SpecOps Wing.
COAST GUARD: Drug Interdiction Units and, in the good old days, Coastal Defense Artillery.
Indeed we have great reason to tremble before Ali Ahmad on his ten foot camel! Every other modern democracy in the world has not only emulated our Constitution, but also our special forces. Any country which can lay claim to similar forces can do so only because they have either worked with, or been funded by, the United States.
There is no question that we are great. There is no question that we are strong. There is no question that we will win in Iraq.
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Post by Patriot on Nov 29, 2004 0:42:01 GMT -5
1. AMERICAN CASUALTIES
This casualty report does not include the wars fought on American soil prior to the Declaration of Independence: including, but not limited to, the French and Indian War, King George's War, King Philip's War, Queen Anne's War, and the isolated Militia responses to Indian massacres on the frontier. Nor does it include isolated military interventions in more recent years, as in the case of Haiti, Bosnia, and Rwanda.
1. American Revolution (1775–1783)
Total servicemembers 217,000
Battle deaths 4,435
Nonmortal woundings 6,188
2. War of 1812 (1812–1815)
Total servicemembers 286,730
Battle deaths 2,260
Nonmortal woundings 4,505
3. Indian Wars (approx. 1817–1898)
Total servicemembers 106,0001
Battle deaths 1,0001
4. Mexican War (1846–1848)
Total servicemembers 78,718
Battle deaths 1,733
Other deaths in service (nontheater) 11,550
Nonmortal woundings 4,152
5. Civil War (1861–1865)
Total servicemembers (Union) 2,213,363
Battle deaths (Union) 140,414
Other deaths in service (nontheater) (Union) 224,097
Nonmortal woundings (Union) 281,881
Total servicemembers (Conf.) 1,050,000
Battle deaths (Conf.) 74,524
Other deaths in service (nontheater) (Conf.) 59,2972
Nonmortal woundings (Conf.) unknown
6. Spanish-American War (1898–1902)
Total servicemembers 306,760
Battle deaths 385
Other deaths in service (nontheater) 2,061
Nonmortal woundings 1,662
7. World War I (1917–1918)
Total servicemembers 4,734,991
Battle deaths 53,402
Other deaths in service (nontheater) 63,114
Nonmortal woundings 204,002
Living veterans fewer than 500
8. World War II (1940–1945)
Total servicemembers 16,112,566
Battle deaths 291,557
Other deaths in service (nontheater) 113,842
Nonmortal woundings 671,846
Living veterans 4,762,0001
9. Korean War (1950–1953)
Total servicemembers 5,720,000
Serving in-theater 1,789,000
Battle deaths 33,741
Other deaths in service (theater) 2,827
Other deaths in service (nontheater) 17,730
Nonmortal woundings 103,284
Living veterans 3,734,0001
10. Vietnam War (1964–1975).
Total servicemembers 8,744,000
Serving in-theater 3,403,000
Battle deaths 47,410
Other deaths in service (theater) 10,789
Other deaths in service (nontheater) 32,000
Nonmortal woundings 153,303
Living veterans 8,295,0001
11. Gulf War (1990–1991)
Total servicemembers 2,183,000
Serving in-theater 665,476
Battle deaths 147
Other deaths in service (theater) 382
Other deaths in service (nontheater) 1,565
Nonmortal woundings 467
Living veterans 1,852,0001
America's Wars Total
Military service during war 42,348,460
Battle deaths 651,008
Other deaths in service (theater) 13,998
Other deaths in service (nontheater) 525,256
Nonmortal woundings 1,431,290
Living war veterans 17,578,5004
Living veterans 25,038,459
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Post by Patriot on Nov 29, 2004 4:39:06 GMT -5
2. FAMOUS COMMANDERS This post will feature some of the most renowned commanders in American history, to educate the liberals on this board as well as remind conservatives of the rich traditions on which we can draw in times of crisis. Pictures and descriptions will be added. ![]() www.usna.edu/LDSSA/Media%20Files/Religious%20Military%20Images/George%20Washington%20prayer.jpg[/img]WASHINGTON: Famed for the Delaware Crossing, and Manhattan Evacuation. For eight years he managed to hold the American volunteers together to defeat the greatest military force on the earth at that time. When the British finally surrendered at Yorktown, its band played a tune titled "The World Turned Upside Down". ![]() www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/traditions/html/jpj2.gif[/img]JONES: "I have not yet begun to fight" was what he screamed in a primitive bullhorn over the blast of naval artillery in the North Sea. As his own ship, the Bonhomme Richard was sinking, Jones ignored the British invitation to surrender and instead led his men aboard the enemy ship, the Man'o War Serapis, where the British surrendered on their own deck. ![]() www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/RevWar/ss/p142b.jpg [/img] VON STEUBEN: author of the Blue Book, America's first drill manuel. Served under Frederick the Great prior to serving under Washington, he trained the Colonials to be a force on par with the Prussian infantry. A massive statue of Von Steuben stands in front of the White House in Layfeyette Park. ![]() www.homeofheroes.com/tribute/upload/William_B_Travis.png [/img] TRAVIS: Defender of the Alamo. Famed for drawing a line in the sand with his sword, inviting all willing defenders to cross. All did. 188 volunteers fought to the death and inflicted two thousand Mexican casualties. ![]() www.nps.gov/gett/gettkidz/gkimages/josh1.jpg[/img] CHAMBERLAIN: Famed for the defense of Little Round Top at the Battle of Gettysburg. A professor of English at Bowdoin College, he left his tenured staff position to lead Union troops in the field. At Little Round Top he defended the far left wing of the Union Army and, after running out of ammunition, ordered his regiment to undertake a bayonet charge against Rebel forces. Without ammunition and unsupported by artillery or infantry, his unit, the 20th Maine, obtained victory. Wounded six times in subsequent battles, he was promoted from Colonel to Brig. General and commanded the Honor Guard at the Surrender of Robert E. Lee. He returned to Maine where he served as president of Bowdoin and was later elected Governor for two terms. One of the few truly "great" American icons of yesteryear to be caught on film, Chamberlain may be seen on video in a 1914 reunion of Union war veterans at Gettysburg. ![]() www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/pershing-bust.jpg [/img] BLACK JACK PERSHING: First American General to lead a large grouping of expeditionary forces abroad in a multinational conflict. ![]() www.cityofalhambra.org/photos/community/patton.jpg[/img]PATTON: Leader of the Third Army, defeated the Nazis in Africa, Sicily, and Italy. ![]() www.usmcvta.org/vntankernews/images/chesty.jpg [/img] PULLER: Perhaps the greatest Marine officer of all time, Let. Gen. "Chesty" Puller is famed for a single quote: "All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us... that means they can't get away this time." Architect of several victories against great odds, Puller exemplified the grit and innovation synonymous with the USMC.
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Post by Patriot on Nov 29, 2004 4:48:06 GMT -5
3. FAMOUS EARLY BATTLES ![]() www.lordnelsons.com/gallery/frontier/griffing/images/griffing_06l.jpg [/img] FALLEN TIMBERS: On August 20, 1794 Sergeant Eli Edmonson of Anthony Wayne's 4th Sub-Legion laid his life on the line. Edmonson fought for two hours in the cane break until he was struck down by a bullet near the end of the Battle of Fallen Timbers. Too badly wounded to move, he lay on the field, alone and suffering, for two days and two nights. On August 22, Edmonson died just minutes before his body was found by the first burial detail. About 8 am two days days prior, the one hundred-fifty mounted Kentucky volunteers that were leading Wayne's army downstream bumped into the center of an ambush line of about 1,100 Indian warriors and 100 British volunteers. Overwhelmed by a heavy fire the Kentuckians fled towards the main army some 500 yards behind. They were pursued by 300-400 warriors who, anticipating a quick victory, gave up their prepared positions and rushed forward. A front guard of army regulars was also overwhelmed, but the Indian attack stalled when it encountered a skirmish line of several hundred Light Infantry and riflemen that were covering the deployment of the main body of the Legion infantry. Here, in a jumble of trees felled by a tornado, the warriors and the Legion skirmishers traded gunfire for fifteen to twenty minutes while the main army completed its battle line and then opened fire with its light cannon. Once in position, the Legion battle line charged into the fallen timber, supported by its Dragoons and some militia. Two hundred years later the United States stretches across an entire continent and is the richest and most powerful nation in the world. Much of the size, population and wealth of our country developed from the resources and industrial might of the territory that was won here two centuries ago. In the Battle of Fallen Timbers, the United States won Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. For two hundred years, Canada has been overshadowed by that same population and industrial power that developed in areas that were once under the control of British Canada. The Fallen Timbers Campaign was a turning point in the development, not only of the United States, but of all of North America. ![]() www.seacoastnh.com/jpj/res/painting3.jpeg [/img] DEFEAT OF THE SERAPIS: On September 23, 1779, John Paul Jones engaged the British frigate Serapis in the North Sea, lashing his vessel, the Bonhomme Richard, to the British ship. The fighting was at point-blank range. The most famous American naval duel of all time resulted in two US cannons bursting open, injuring numerous American sailors. The British captain asked Jones if he was ready to surrender when the Bonhomme Richard's hull split in half, amid concentrated British firepower. Replied Jones: "I have not yet begun to fight." The American crew boarded the Serapis and ferociously battled the British crew on its own deck. The U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard sank into the North Sea, but Jones took the victory and sailed home on the British frigate. ![]() www.usmcartist.com/art/large/tripoli.jpg [/img] TRIPOLI (1805): US Marines mount their first international intervention efforts. 14 May 1801, the Pasha of Tripoli, Yousuf, cut down the flagstaff in front of the US consulate. This led to a declaration of war by the United States and warships were dispatched to the Mediterranean. During a storm, one of these, frigate Philadelphia, went on the rocks off Tripoli, with her crew being captured and imprisoned at Derne. This event led to the formation of a bold rescue plan, which included Marine Lt. Presley O’Bannon. The plan, conceived by naval agent William Eaton, proposed the formation of an alliance with Hamet, elder brother of Yousuf. In January 1805, Lt. Presley O’Bannon, in command of a Marine detachment consisting of one sergeant and six privates, joined Eaton’s allied force at Alexandria, Egypt. This motley hoarde of 500 mercenaries and soldiers of fortune then began an overland expedition against Derne. There, on 27 April 1805, with bombardment support provided by Hornet, Nautilus, and Argus, Lt. O’Bannon led his force through a hail of musketry and stormed the principal edifices. The enemy was routed in such haste that they left their guns loaded and primed. Lt. O’Bannon planted the United States flag upon the ramparts, then turned the guns upon the enemy. The stronghold was occupied after some two hours of hand-to-hand fighting, and for the first time in history the flag of the United States flew on foreign soil. The Tripolitans counterattacked the fortress a number of times, but were repelled with heavy losses. Finally, through a spirited bayonet charge, they was driven from the vicinity of Derne. This stubbornness and pugnacity by the Americans led to an almost mythical belief in their fighting ability. O'Bannon was awarded the Mamluke sword, which has since been replicated by the USMC and issued successively to every generation of officers since Tripoli. ![]() lsm.crt.state.la.us/cabildo/cab6a.gif [/img] NEW ORLEANS (1812): In December of 1814 British forces, numbering over 10,000, under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham landed along the lower Mississippi River. At first they met with only minor skirmishes of resistance. The Americans, massively outnumbered and led by General Andrew Jackson, (later to become President) set up defensive positions at Chalmette, Louisiana, some 5 miles below the city of New Orleans. The first British troops reached the American position on January 1, and in an exchange of artillery fire the Americans held their ground. Packenham ordered 3 large assaults on the American positions, all of which were cut down by American fire, Packenham himself being mortally wounded in the 3rd attack. The British withdrew having suffered a loss of 2,036 men, while the Americans lost but 71. ![]() www.latinamericanstudies.org/mex-war/chapultepec-2.jpg [/img] CHAPULTEPEC (1847): Toward the end of the Mexican War (1846–48), U.S. forces marched into the interior of Mexico, intent upon capturing the capital city. The western approach to Mexico City was protected by Chapultepec, a fortified hill that rose some 200 feet above the city plain. Atop this rocky bluff stood the fortress of Chapultepec, once a palace, but now used as the Mexican military academy. On the morning of September 13, 1847, after a day’s bombardment, General Winfield Scott ordered American troops to storm the fortification. By mid-morning, General Nicolás Bravo and his Mexican troops remaining in the citadel, including the cadets of the academy, capitulated. Mexico City fell on September 14, and the Mexican War ended thereafter. Several states--including Texas and New Mexico-- were gained as a result. U.S. Marines still wear a red stripe on the trousers of their dress uniform to commemorate the Battle of Chapultepec. ![]() www.bartleby.com/51/42.gif [/img] SAN JUAN HILL (1898): Roosevelt poses with the Rough Riders after charging a quarter mile upward against Spanish infantry and German artillery specialists in Cuba. Richard Harding Davis was a reporter who observed the charge up San Juan Hill in Cuba. "Colonel Roosevelt, on horseback, broke from the woods behind the line of the Ninth, and finding its men lying in his way, shouted: 'If you don't wish to go forward, let my men pass, please.' "They had no glittering bayonets, they were not massed in regular array. There were a few men in advance, bunched together, and creeping up a steep, sunny hill, the top of which roared and flashed with flame. The men held their guns pressed across their breasts and stepped heavily as they climbed. Behind these first few, spreading out like a fan, were single lines of men, slipping and scrambling in the smooth grass, moving forward with difficulty, as though they were wading waist high through water, moving slowly, carefully, with strenuous effort. It was much more wonderful than any swinging charge could have been. They walked to greet death at every step, many of them, as they advanced, sinking suddenly or pitching forward and disappearing in the high grass, but the others' waded on, stubbornly, forming a thin blue line that kept creeping higher and higher up the hill. It was as inevitable as the rising tide. It was a miracle of self-sacrifice, a triumph of bulldog courage, which one watched breathless with wonder. The fire of the Spanish riflemen, who still stuck bravely to their posts, doubled and trebled in fierceness, the crests of the hills crackled and burst in amazed roars, and rippled with waves of tiny flame. "The men of the Ninth and the Rough Riders rushed to the blockhouse together, the men of the Sixth, of the Third, of the Tenth Cavalry, of the Sixth and Sixteenth Infantry, fell on their faces along the crest of the hills beyond, and opened upon the vanishing enemy. They drove the yellow silk flags of the cavalry and the Stars and Stripes of their country into the soft earth of the trenches, and then sank down and looked back at the road they had climbed and swung their hats in the air. And from far overhead, from these few figures perched on the Spanish rifle-pits, with their flags planted among the empty cartridges of the enemy, and overlooking the walls of Santiago, came, faintly, the sound of a tired, broken cheer."
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Post by Patriot on Nov 29, 2004 4:56:43 GMT -5
4. LEGENDARY WARRIORS This post will feature a select group of America's most formidable warriors, whose actions in combat have reached a near mythic historical status. Pictures will be added. ![]() www.shelbycountyhistory.org/schs/indians/images/danielboone.gif [/img] BOONE: The only American in Colonial times to have two biographies written about him during his own lifetime, one of which was partially featured in a metropolitan magazine. What is known to be factual in the life of this frontiersman is as follows. In 1778 Boone went to Blue Licks to obtain salt for the settlement of Boonesborough, and was captured by the Shawnee and taken to Detroit, where he successfully ran barefoot through the "warrior gauntlet" (two parallel lines of sixty warriors who swiped at the running prisoner with tomahawks.) His knowledge of the Indian character, as well as his bravery and physical stamina which impressed the Natives, enabled him to gain favor with his captors, and he was adopted into one of their families after recovering from his wounds. Discovering a plan laid by the British for an Indian attack upon Boonsborough, he contrived to escape, and set out for the Kentucky settlement. He reached Boonesborough in less than five days, traveling on foot from Detroit. His family, supposing that he was dead, had returned to North Carolina. Boone at once put the Boonesborough garrison in order and successfully repelled the British and Indian attack. Despite the victory, he was subsequently court-martialed for endeavoring to make a treaty with the Indians before the attack on the fort. Conducting his own legal defense, he was acquitted on account of his reputation for personal integrity, and was instead promoted to the rank of major. He reuinted with his family and retired in Missouri, where he served as a district judge, living to the age of 86. ![]() images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/t058/T058857A.jpg [/img] MARION ![]() upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e4/Jimbowie.jpeg[/img]BOWIE: While on a silver mine expedition in 1834, Jim Bowie, designer of the classic knife, encountered Indian Chief Tres Manos whose war party outnumbered Bowie's outfit 200 to 11. Tres Manos set fire to the area directly around Bowie's camp, but a quickly-erected rock buttress and a wind change, contained the fires. For thirteen long hours, Bowie and his men lay prone behind their self-made breastworks, fighting for their lives. One of Bowie's men, Thomas McCaslin, was killed. Bowie and his remaining ten men inflicted eighty Indian casualties. Tres Manos was mortally wounded. Bowie returned to San Antonio for his wounded men to recuperate. A historical marker was erected on the Calf Creek road to commemorate the battle site and mark the grave of Thomas McCaslin. ![]() users.ricc.net/ramrod/crockett-portrait.jpg [/img] CROCKETT: His rifle "Betsy", presented by the Whigs of Philadelphia in 1834, is currently on display in Nashville, Tennessee. The tomahawk presented in 1834 with the rifle, currently resides in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. Separating fact from fiction in the life of this hunter, soldier, US Congressman, and adventurer has posed a dillema for historians for over a century. But what can be documented with certainty is that during the Mexican seige at the Alamo, Crockett arrived on the scene galloping through enemy lines with only twelve men. He entered Church grounds without losing a single man amid a hail of gunfire. Ten days later, 2,000 Mexicans, many of them sniped, lay dead outside Church walls.  CUSTER: It didn't matter to George Armstrong Custer that he was outnumbered. So what if he only had 600 men to face the 10,000 warriors massed in the valley below. This was the US Cavalry, by God. ![]() www.futura-dtp.dk/SLAG/images/YorkAlvin.jpg[/img]YORK: A conscientious objector whose petition was denied, he went on to become the greatest infantry hero of WWI, singlehandedly inflicting 9 German kills and taking 128 German prisoners while capturing two machine gun nests. ![]() www.medalofhonor.com/rickenbacker.jpg[/img] RICKENBACKER: A racecar driver prior to WWI, Rickenbacker shot down 22 enemy planes and 4 enemy observation balloons. ![]() www.jrotc.org/images/audie_warportrait.jpg [/img] MURPHY: Winner of every single US Army decoration. ![]() www.cybersniper.com/carlos1.jpg [/img] CARLOS HATHC-CK: 93 CONFIRMED VC KILLS. The greatest USMC sniper of all time and an Olympic shooter, "Gunny Hath" once pinned down, and annihilated, an entire company of VC guerillas over a course of five days. He wore a white feather in his hat while in the field to taunt his enemies, and was known as "Long Trang" to his enemies. The bounty on his head was several thousand dollars at a time when most American snipers had an eight dollar bounty on their heads. He is thought to have killed well over 300 VC, with 93 of those deaths confirmed. ![]() www.trashcity.org/ARTICLES/pics/con2002b.jpg [/img] GRITZ: Most decorated Green Beret in American history. Bo Gritz served as the basis for the Rambo trilogy. He ran for president on the Populist Party ticket in the early 90s and has since been involved in the White Separatist Movement, intervening on behalf of Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge during the FBI siege. ![]() robotassassin.com/pic/RWarrior/rmaf.gif [/img] MARCINKO: Founder of Navy Dev Group, Seal Team Six, Richard Marcinko has played a key role in developing the Navy's anti-terrorist capabilities and is known throughout the military as a "rogue warrior", the title of his autobiography.
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Post by Patriot on Nov 29, 2004 5:02:23 GMT -5
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Post by Patriot on Nov 29, 2004 5:06:39 GMT -5
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Post by Patriot on Nov 29, 2004 5:11:15 GMT -5
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Post by Patriot on Dec 1, 2004 6:32:34 GMT -5
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Post by Patriot on Mar 2, 2005 18:21:56 GMT -5
I think it's time to re-open this thread with more information. I'll get to it when I find time.
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Post by Ian on Mar 2, 2005 18:36:47 GMT -5
Perhaps if only to add to the color scheme of this dreary, grey, intellectual, penal complex .
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Post by Patriot on Mar 2, 2005 18:52:59 GMT -5
I'm sorry you feel that way, Ian. Actually this thread is meant to delineate the sequential high points of American military history, mainly as an informative source for conservatives amid debate with liberals over US capabilities and tendencies in warfare. Indulgence must be asked for traversing the tedious posts, but I daresay they are not entirely barren in breadth. If some are lacking, that will be soon remedied.
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Post by Ian on Mar 2, 2005 19:54:57 GMT -5
And I am sorry that you misinterpreted my meaning or if my delivery was less than fitting. I quite enjoyed this thread and was just highlighting the fact that its colorful nature deepened that enjoyment for your fellow conservative commando.  |
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Post by Patriot on Mar 2, 2005 20:01:40 GMT -5
Feel free to add your own information.
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