US History – Page 13 – General History

Great War Generals: Erich Ludendorff

This dynamic and very physical soldier was born in 1865. Obviously destined for the Army, he did singularly well as a cadet, passed through the junior ranks at panther’s speed, and by the timeEuropewas (not) ready for World War I he was already on the German General Staff.

First off he led his troops with verve and bravery to capture the Belgian fortress at Liège. Promoted instantly to general, he became Chief-of-Staff of the 8^th Army under Hindenberg (q.v.) who was busy at the time dealing with the Russian invasion of East Prussia.

Ludendorff rapidly became known as a master of strategy, the most important quality in a fighting general. Using this talent he smashed two Russian armies at Tannenberg and theMasurianLakes, and keptGermanysupreme on the Eastern Front until September, 1916. Falkenhayn (q.v.) was dismissed and replaced by Hindenberg as Supreme Commander. Erich became his most senior Quartermaster-General, a vital post. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-09-05T10:51:25+00:00 September 5th, 2012|English History, French History, German History, Russian history, US History, World History|0 Comments

These sports: where do they come from?

Spectator sports they are called, presumably because they are designed for watching by spectators. Soccer, cricket, boxing, tennis, rugby and athletics were nursed, improved and nurtured in hundreds of independent (public) schools in Victorian Britain. Some, like boxing and athletics, had existed in the time of the original Greek Olympics, but they would have become forgotten relics of the past if it had not been for ‘sportin’ instincts’ of young people from the British Isles. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-08-30T11:49:15+00:00 August 30th, 2012|British History, English History, French History, History of Afghanistan, History of India, History of New Zealand, Italian History, Romanian History, Scottish history, Spanish History, Today, US History|0 Comments

Let us above be politically correct . . .

Some years ago one of those correct persons who infest modern life pointed out to a bottling company that the label on one of their jams was politically incorrect. The label included an illustration of a ‘dark-skinned’ puppet popular for more than a century called a ‘Gollywog’. The lobbies moved in, the righteous demonstrated, normally sleepy MPs awoke to the horror of it all and made clanging speeches. The Robertson Company had to remove the offensive Gollywog from labels and advertising. Political correctitude had won again. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-08-25T12:32:47+00:00 August 25th, 2012|English Language, History of haute cuisine, Humour, Philosophy, Today, US History|0 Comments

Seven (magnificent) Westerns

The Magnificent Seven: all these actors are dead except Horst Buckholtz / blogofmanly.com

The genre started right at the beginning of movie making with The Great Train Robbery, a silent Western. These mostly imaginary films had a great run right through the Thirties, Forties and Fifties, earning cowboy actors vast sums. One of them made it in both films and television, though it is mostly his horse and his wife who are remembered. I refer to Roy Rogers, Trigger and Dale. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-08-24T07:56:33+00:00 August 24th, 2012|History of the Cinema, US History|0 Comments

Great War Commanders: the despised Haig

Douglas Haig / therooms.ca

Despised he was by most historians, many journalists, more idealists, and especially pacifists, Douglas Haig was born in 1861. He served under Kitchener at the Battle of Omdurman in 1898, and continued successful fighting in the colonial South African War. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-08-23T09:46:31+00:00 August 23rd, 2012|British History, English History, French History, German History, Philosophy, US History, World History|0 Comments

Cowboys: the reality

Some cowboys working / teaxasbeyondhistory.net

These hard workers guarded cattle and sheep, sometimes horses on the Great Plains of the United States. The work was arduous and the pay little. Cowboys originated in the Spanish ranches on territory originally conquered by the Spanish, especially Mexico. Working on horseback with unpredictable cattle taught them extraordinary skills with horse, lariat (or lassoo) and the branding iron. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-08-21T09:10:32+00:00 August 21st, 2012|History of the Cinema, Spanish History, US History|0 Comments

A short history of the PSOE (Spanish Workers’ Socialist Party)

Spain as a modern country is naturally bent towards Socialism, as a direct result of centuries of oppression of workers by the Monarchy, the Church and the Nobles on whose huge estates serfs toiled every day all their life, often starting work at six years old. The natural inclination of any Spaniard is a hatred of any kind of boss, and a surge towards Communism/Socialism after the success of the Russian Revolution was inevitable. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-08-16T11:17:29+00:00 August 16th, 2012|Russian history, Spanish History, Today, US History, World History|0 Comments

Prohibition: a dry America

In every Western you have ever seen a Hollywood cowboy, spurs jangling, goes to the saloon and slaps some cash on the huge counter, saying nothing. The barman picks up the nearest bottle and pours a healthy slug of some kind of whisky. No-one says anything. Cowboy knocks the contents of the glass back in one gulp, wipes his mouth with his sleeve, and leaves. Sometimes he just leaves. Other times he pauses to shoot dead three or four villains down from their rickety tables, all trying to draw their six-shooters. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-08-14T11:56:17+00:00 August 14th, 2012|Humour, US History, World History|0 Comments

Jean Monnet: turning in his grave?

Jean Monnet / lewebpedagoguique.com

Monnet (1888 – 1979) was, if not the progenitor, at least the clever uncle of the European Union. He was an able administrator and economist who devised and became the chief commissioner of a project that bears his name, whose object was to restore the French economy by means of a centralised planning system. But he was also an internationalist who was forever campaigning for European unification.

Monnet it was who worked out the details of the Schuman Plan, before French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman put it forward. The Plan aimed (at first) to pool the resources of the coal and steel industries of France and (what was then) West Germany, following a common authority that other European nations might join. It was 9 May, 1950; this was the first indication of what should have been a mutually beneficial European common market. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-08-11T07:38:30+00:00 August 11th, 2012|English History, EU History, French History, Philosophy, US History, World History|0 Comments

The Marquis who survived the French Revolution

The Marquis fights in America (against the English) / ushistory.org

Marie-Joseph, Marquis de LaFayette, was born in 1757, into a firmly established aristocratic family in a large European country whose people had been spoiling for a rebellion since the death of Louis XIV. Aged only twenty he was an officer in the French Army, showing enthusiasm for the American War of Independence. In fact his enthusiasm was unbounded and he emigrated to North America to join the colonists in their struggle against British control.
George Washington soon got to hear of this Gallic firebrand, who fought well at Brandywine, endured with the rest at Valley Forge, and then again at Monmouth in 1778. He was just twenty-one years old. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-08-06T08:23:43+00:00 August 6th, 2012|French History, US History|0 Comments