On this day in history, April 11th 1900, some (presumably) bored cavalry trooper stood in a line and turned in his carbine to be upgraded at the arsenal. And this pictured carbine MAY have been one of those. On this day, the 6th Cavalry Regiment turned in their Model 1896 carbines, presumably receiving fresh new Model 1899 carbines in return, shortly before shipping off to China.
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"It's more likely for a snake to smoke a pipe than for the FEB to go to the front and fight". -- Basically a Brazilian version of "When pigs fly". On this day in history, 21 February 1945, the Forca Expedicionaria Brasileira (Brazilian Expeditionary Force) conclusively put that saying to rest when they, alongside American forces (including the 10th Mountain Division), defeated dug-in German defenders at the Battle of Monte Castello in Italy. Click below to read more! The recently acquired crown jewel of my US weapons collection was in fact a fairly mediocre sniper rifle when in service. But that's OK because it is part of the history of the exigencies of war, and it is still a pretty excellent example I'm stoked to have! All documents are thanks to the great work of Andrew Stolinski of the Archival Research Group, and are used with permission. Make sure to check ARG out!
Click below to read more! On this day (14 November) in 1965 elements of the United States Army's 1st Cavalry division conducted the first large scale helicopter air assault in history by landing in the Ia Drang valley in the central highlands South Vietnam. Their goal was to fix in place and destroy North Vietnamese Army regiments believed to be in the area. On 16 September 1945, the British formally accepted the Japanese surrender in Hong Kong, bringing an official end to an enemy occupation that had lasted over three and a half years. While the people of Hong Kong were not freed of colonial rule (they remained a colony / dependent territory of the UK), the city once again flourished and quickly became a hub of international finance and trade.
On the 29th of August 1944 the 28th Infantry Division, a unit of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, paraded under the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs Élysées within the newly liberated city of Paris. While Allied forces had allowed Free French troops to have the honor of entering Paris first and accepting the German surrender, the men of the 28th Infantry, bearing the distinctive “bloody bucket” keystone insignia, represented the bulk of those fighting in the ETO — men from outside of continental Europe fighting for the freedom of strangers.
On this day in history (25 July 1940) the following order was given: Aggressively attack invaders; act on your own initiative; regard any surrender broadcast or announcement as enemy propaganda; resist to the end.
These dire instructions came not from Stalin or the Japanese high command, but instead from General Henri Guisan and the Swiss government who understandably feared an imminent invasion from their belligerent Italian and German neighbors. This pronouncement was in addition to earlier instructions to fight to the last drop of blood and to the last cartridge. On this day (13 July) in 1945, some communists did the only thing they are useful for – fight fascist assholes. Following their invasion of Yugoslavia, the Germans, Italians, Hungarians and Bulgarians (the aforementioned assholes) set up a predictably brutal occupation of the country.
This caused some unlikely fellows to join forces, at least for a time. First were the hardcore Yugoslavian nationalists known as the Chetniks, whose standard featured a skull-and-crossbones and whose membership was mainly composed of those royal to the monarchy. Their foil was the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, and the Commander-in-Chief of their military forces Josip Tito. Together they launched what became known as the Uprising in Montenegro against occupying Italian troops. On this day in 1944 U.S. Soldiers and Marines encountered the largest Banzai attack of the Second World War. Approximately 4,000 able-bodied Japanese Soldiers, followed by their walking wounded, surged out of their positions and towards the American forces that were steadfastly working their way across the island of Saipan. With fixed bayonets and flags waving they sought to annihilate the American invaders in close combat.
On July 1st 1898, the United States Army successfully seized the San Juan Heights in what has become popularly known as “The Battle of San Juan Hill”. The battle itself was a bit of a mess tactically, but when the American forces finally surged up the hill they swept over the Spanish Forces and seized the last strategic terrain outside of the city of Santiago.
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Jon K.Weapons collector, history buff, Army officer, Pug enthusiast. Archives
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