Saturday, May 5, 1945. Balloon casualties.

The Prague Uprising and the Battle of Czechoslovak Radio began.  The Axis raised Russian Liberation Army switched sides and supported the Czech partisans.

The Bratislava–Brno Offensive ended in Soviet-Romanian victory.

The Battle for Castle Itter in Austria resulted in an Allied victory.

A Japanese balloon bomb killed the pregnant wife of Reverend Archie Mitchell, Elsie, age 26, and five children of their Sunday School class on Gearhart Mountain near Bly, Oregon, where they had gone for an outing.

The bomb had likely been in place for a month before it was discovered by the party.

Rev. Mitchell moved to Vietnam in 1947 with his new bride Betty, the older sister of two of the children killed by the fire balloon in Bly, where they served as missionaries.  They were kidnapped by the Viet Cong in 1962 and forced to serve as medics, and ultimately disappeared.

The cartoon character Yosemite Sam appeared for the first time in the Bugs Bunny animated short Hare Trigger.

Otto-Heinrich Drechsler, age 50, German Nazi Commissioner of Latvia committed suicide in British captivity.

Last edition:

Friday, May 4, 1945. The war ends in northwest Europe.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Army, Austria, Bernard Law Montgomery, British Army, Czechoslovakia, German Wehrmacht, Red Army, World War Two, Yugoslav Partisans, Yugoslavia

Monday, April 30, 1945. Adolf Hitler commits suicide.

A post war PPK, the same type of pistol that Hitler used to end his life.

The man responsible for the deaths of millions in Europe, Adolf Hitler committed suicide with a .32 ACP PPK.  His wife of one day, Eva Braun, also killed herself. Both deaths occurred  around 3.30 p.m..

Their bodies were taken outside of the bunker, liberally doused with gasoline, and burned in a pit.

The Red Army was less than 500m from the Führerbunker.  Soviet troops reached the Reichstag.

Karl Dönitz and Joseph Goebbels took on Hitler's former roles as Head of State and Head of Government of Germany in accordance with his wishes.

Such was the engine of the German state that, even though the Nazis would never have come to power without Hitler, and the war would never have occurred without Hitler, the war nonetheless continued on without him.

The Battle of Bautzen ended in a localized German victory.

The U-879, U-1107 and U-326 were all sunk.

Actors Osvaldo Valenti and Luisa Ferida were killed by Italian partisans due to their links to fascism.

Last edition:

Sunday, April 29, 1945. Dachau.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Adolf Hitler, Dachau, Eva Braun, German SS, Italian partisans, Italy, Netherlands, Operation Chowhound, Operation Manna, Royal Air Force, The Holocaust, U.S. Air Force

Monday, April 23, 1945. Where's Hitler?

German radio broadcast that Adolf Hitler was in the "main fighting line" in Berlin and would "remain there despite all rumors." 

The Allies suspected he was in Bavaria organizing resistance there.

Göring sent a telegram asking for permission to assume leadership of the Third Reich which Hitler regarded as treason, ordering his arrest.

The Flossenburg concentration camp was liberated by the U.S. Army.

The U-183 was sunk off of Borneo by the U.S. submarine Besugo.

The Navy deployed Bat air to ship missiles against Japanese ships in Balipapan Harbor in Borneo, marking their first use.

Those arrested in the Freeman Field Mutiny were released.

"Lt. Richard K. Jones, OIC 3235th Sig. Ser. Det. of Hollywood, Calif., feeds Japanese children found in a tomb 50 yards from front line on Okinawa. 23 April, 1945."

Last edition:

Sunday, April 22, 1945. The Bunker.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Adolf Hitler, Army, Battle of Berlin, Heinrich Himmler, Heroes, Philippines, Philippines Campaign, Red Army, Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, The Holocaust, World War Two

Thursday, April 22, 1915. Gas!

The Germans used gas in scale for the first time at Ypres.  The Allies sustained mass casualties, but Canadians, improvising protection with urine soaked rags, held their ground.

The First German Gas Attack at Ypres by William Roberts 

Last edition:

Wednesday, April 21, 1915.

Labels: 1910s, 1915, actors and actresses, Artillery, British Army, Chihuahua Mexico, German Army, Mexican Diaspora, Mexico, World War One

Thursday, April 19, 1945. Broadcasting from Belsen.

Army machine gunners on Okinawa, April 19, 1945.  Not the visible rear sight on the M1917 machine gun and the high angle the gun is being used at.

The Battle of the Seelow Heights ended in Soviet/Polish victory.

The US 1st Army took Leipzig.

Robert Cappa, the famous photographer, took a series of photos in an event that occurred in this battle, in which a tank crewman who was manning a machinegun in a building was killed by a German sniper.  The bloody scene and the soldier's lifeless body is the recalled photograph.  A nearly as dramatic photo of another crewman stepping over him to man the gun is not as well recalled.

Richard Dimbleby broadcast the conditions of Belsen on the BBC.

The Battle of Odžak began in Croatia between Yugoslav Partisans and the Axis aligned Croatian Armed Forces.  The last battle to be fought in the Second World War in Europe, it would continue until May 25.

Pyinmana, the base of the Japanese aligned Burma Defence Army, fell to the 5th Indian Division.

Japanese Gen. Sōsaku Suzuki, age 53, was killed in action in the Philippines.

Nazi Party member Fritz Wächtler,  age 54, was executed by the Nazis for desertion over the surrender of Bayreuth. The charge was unjust and due to rivalry on the part of other Nazis.  

It's amazing to think of this sort of infighting when it should have been obvious they'd all be facing trials by the victors soon.

The U-251, U-548 and U-879 were sunk.

Johnny Kelley won the Boston Marathon.

Last edition:

Wednesday, April 18, 1945. The death of Ernie Pyle.Labels: 1940s, 1945, Adolf Hitler, Army, Canadian Army, Heroes, Mussolini, Okinawa, The Holocaust, The Press, The written word, Waffen SS, World War Two

Seriously?

What the crap?  Some of the weird stuff that comes out of the "elite" of our culture now days.

I learned in Basic Training how to fight with a bayonet.  The US M7 bayonet specifically.

Solider in Vietnam with M16A1, early flashhinder variant, and a M7 bayonet.

It's not all that easy to do, frankly.

I have a deep suspicion that a lot of people who back really libertarian firearm's laws as politicians. . .

have probably never shot a .22, or anything else.

I really do.

Mind you, I'm pro 2nd Amendment myself, but at the same time I don't think you need to pack heat into schools or on college campuses.

And I really truly suspect that at least a few politicians who really carry blazing torches on this, probably have no interest in the topic whatsoever, and even less than that.  

Indeed, while I may be very off, I can think of one pro gun politician whom I bet hasn't even fired a BB gun, let alone a real firearms.

World War Two Daisy advertisement, a really interesting example of rebranding for the times.

Truth be known, you suspect this too. . . 

But. . . wait a minute. . . Wyoming communities begin to grapple with the new (lack of) firearms restrictions.

This has been an interesting development as it seems that lot of people didn't really pay all that much attention to the legislatures elimination of gun free zones and expansion of concealed carry rights in public facilities.

Laramie Residents Balk At Guns In Schools, School Board Says There’s No Choice

An interesting quote, from the Cowboy State Daily:

This decision was made beforehand (by the Wyoming Legislature), and we’re just here to clean up the mess.

 Trustee Nate Martin at School Board meeting.

Laramie's residents basically want their school board to resist the statute.

State Agencies, Schools And Towns Scramble To Get Rid Of Gun-Free Zones

And the state is out trying to figure out rules, which is going to be quite a trick if they read the statute which really doesn't allow for rules.

Sunday, April 8, 1945. Cebu City.

"Sam Yoshihana, Chicago, Ill., leads a bunch of German prisoners taken by the 100th Bn., through the village of Valecchia to a PW cage. 8 April, 1945. Valecchia, Italy. 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Photographer: Bull, 196th Signal Photo Co."  Yoshihana is armed iith a Thompson submachinegun.

British and French forces prevailed in Operation Amherst.

The US won the Battle for Cebu City.

The Battle of Lijevče Field ended in victory for the forces of the Independent State of Croatia which wasn't to be independent for very much longer.

"C and D Troop, 10/65 Field Btry., 4/22 Field Regt., South African arty., 6th South African Arm'd Div., firing a mission. They are equipped with "sextons", self-propelled 25 pounder cannons. 8 April, 1945. Pian Di Setta area, Italy. Photographer: Thomas, 196th Signal Photo Co"

Last edition:

Saturday, April 7, 1945. Desperate efforts.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Free French, German Luftwaffe, Imperial Japanese Navy, Japan, Kamikaze, Netherlands, Operation Amherst, Operation Kikusui I, Operation Ten-Go, Special Air Service, U.S. Navy, World War Two

M59 APC. National Museum of Military Vehicles.

This is a M59 Armored Personnel Carrier.  They had a brief production life, 1954 to 1960, and were replaced by the long serving M113.  They replaced the also fully tracked M75, which saw use in the Korean War. The M59 saw some use in the Vietnam War.

Last edition:

Amphibious vehicles of World War Two. National Museum of Military History.

Labels: 1940s, Military, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Tracked vehicles, Transportation, Trucks, World War Two, Wyoming (Dubois)

US approves $64M sale of M4A1 carbine rifles to Ecuador

 US approves $64M sale of M4A1 carbine rifles to Ecuador

The question would be, however, with the US moving away from the 5.56 and the AR platform, why would any country want M4s now?

Seriously, the ATF rule and the Supreme Court decision are no surprise, and . . .

 I really doubt the administration gives a rat's ass about this.

Tuesday, March 27, 1945. The last rockets.

The Germans fired their last V-2 rockets killing 200 civilians in England and Belgium.

The US captured Cebu City.

Argentina declared war on the Axis, after having been sympathetic to it for much of the war.

The Royal Navy sank the U-722.

"Elements of the 9th Armored Division, 1st U.S. Army, roll through the streets of Limburg, Germany. 27 March, 1945. 73rd Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 9th Armored Division. Photographer: T/4 W. D. MacDonald, 167th Signal Photo Co.

Last edition:

Monday, March 26, 1945. Last action at Iwo Jima.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Battle for Cebu City, boats and ships, German Kriegsmarine, Imperial Japanese Army, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Philippines, U.S. Navy, World War Two

M24 Chaffee, National Museum of Military Vehicles.

Like the M26 Pershing, the M24 Chaffee shows the speed of armor evolution during World War Two.  A much more modern light tank than the M3, it remained in service until 1953 with the U.S. Army, and various other armies long after that.  The tank was heavily, if not terribly successfully, used by the ARVN during the Vietnam War.

M4 Sherman. National Museum of Military Vehicles.

 Last edition:

M577 and M113. National Museum of Military Vehicles.

Labels: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2020s, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Tracked vehicles, Wyoming (Dubois)

Mortars. National Museum of Military Vehicles.

Last edition:

Helmet Development. National Museum of Military Vehicles.

Labels: Military, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Wyoming (Dubois)

Wednesday, March 14, 1945. Large bombs.

"Mortar team of the 99th Infantry Division, U.S. First Army, prepares to fire 81mm mortar shell to halt advance of enemy patrol in woods between American-held Ariendorf, and Germany-held Honningen.

14 March, 1945. Company M, 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division."

The Red Army took Zvolen, Czechoslovakia.

Army Group South committed its reserves in Hungary.

The RAF used a 22,000 lbs bomb, the largest conventional bomb of the war, for the first time on a raid on the Bielfeld viaduct.

The U-714 and U-1021 were sunk by British and South African surface ships, and a mine, respectively.

Last edition:

Tuesday, March 13, 1945. The road to Mandalay.

Labels: 1940s, 1945, Battle of Kiauneliškis, British Army, Burma, China, Chinese Army, Indian Army, Lithuania, Lithuanian Partisans, Red Army

Punitive Expedition Display, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Dubois Wyoming

This is a smaller display, adjacent to the larger World War One display.  

The first displayed item is the typical field uniform worn by soldiers in the Border War.  This sweater pattern is unique to the period, the M1910 sweater. The campaign hat is the long serving M1911 campaign hat. Some National Guard units that served on the border were not yet equipped with it.  The saber is the M1913 "Patton" Saber, which was designed, based on a British pattern, by George S. Patton.  For the most part, enlisted men were not allowed to carry their sabers into Mexico, following a tread that had started during the Indian Wars.

The car is a Dodge touring car, perhaps most famously associated with a raid conducted by Patton.  Automobile use was heavy during the Punitive Expedition in spite of it being largely a horse cavalry effort.  Indeed, the Army's 1st Provisional Aero Squadron was committed to the effort largely due it being the only U.S. Army unit that was completely  motorized.

Last edition:

Equipment of the Vietnam War, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Dubois Wyoming.

Labels: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 4x4, Aircraft, Armor, Artillery, Automobiles, boats and ships, National Museum of Military Vehicles, The Cold War, Transportation, Vietnam War, Wyoming (Dubois)