Gilbert M. Stack's Blog, page 134
June 7, 2018
The Battle for Amatista
Legionnaire 4 The Battle for Amatista is now available for purchase.
Today in History: The Battle of Midway
On this day (June 7) in 1942 the U.S. won the Battle of Midway. Midway was a trap laid by the Japanese in which they intended to inflict another substantial demoralizing defeat on the United States and drive them out of the war in the Pacific. But the U.S. turned the tables on the Japanese sinking four of their Fleet Carriers while losing only one air craft carrier and a destroyer. The battle was a turning point in the Pacific War. Japan could no longer keep up with the material losses of the war and lost the initiative in the larger conflict.
June 6, 2018
Great Military SF Series
Looking for a great military sf series? Check out Fierce Girls at War by Mike Adams. You can find my review of the series at http://www.gilbertstack.com/reviews.
Today in History: D-Day
On this day (June 6) in 1944, the Allies launched Operation Overlord and invaded Nazi held Europe through Normandy. The landings on D-Day put 155,000 troops onto four Normandy beaches. There is a wonderfully detailed account of the invasion in Stephen Ambrose’s book, D-Day.
June 5, 2018
Today in History: RFK Was Assassinated
On this day (June 5) in 1968, Sirhan Sirhan assassinated Robert F. Kennedy over his support for Israel. RFK’s death undoubtedly helped Richard Nixon win the presidency later that year. RFK’s son has recently made news asking for the investigation into his father’s death to be reopened as he believes that Sirhan Sirhan could not have acted alone.
June 4, 2018
Today in History: Dunkirk
On this day (June 4) in 1940, the great evacuation of British and French forces from Dunkirk was completed. Some 338,000 soldiers were rescued and they formed the core of British forces that would let them build the army with which they fought World War II. After the evacuation, Winston Churchill gave one of his most famous speeches to the House of Commons. It reads in part: “You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime… We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”
June 3, 2018
Today in History: Edward VIII Marries Wallis Simpson
On this day (June 3) in 1937, the former Edward VIII married Wallis Simpson, the woman for whom he had given up the throne of the United Kingdom. Simpson had been twice divorced and was not considered fit to be queen, and Parliament was not interested in permitting her to marry the king without becoming queen. So Edward abdicated for love and he and his wife were never permitted back into the royal family’s good graces.
June 2, 2018
Map of the Jeweled Cities
Today in History: The Vandals Sack Rome
On this day (June 2) in 455, the Vandals sacked Rome. The Vandal King, Gaiseric, ruled Northern Africa and had arranged to have his son, Huneric, marry Eudocia, daughter of Emperor Valentinian III, but Valentinian was assassinated and his successor, Petronius Maximus, married Eudocia to his own son. Gaiseric retaliated by invading Italy, knocking down all the aqueducts supplying Rome, and moving to besiege the city. The new emperor tried to flee, but a mob of frightened and angry Romans murdered him. Pope Leo I then begged Gaiseric not to burn the city or murder its citizens and Gaiseric agreed if the gates of the city were thrown open to them. For three days, the Vandals sacked the city, looting its treasures, taking away thousands of residents into slavery, doing some property damage and still murdering many, but the city physically survived This was the third sacking of Rome after the Gauls destroyed the city and all of its records in 390 BCE and the Visigoths sacked the city in 410.
June 1, 2018
Today in History: Benedict Arnold
On this day (June 1) in 1779, Benedict Arnold was court-martialed for malfeasance. The charge resulted from a Congressional investigation that was instigated by Arnold’s political enemies. He was acquitted of all but two minor charges, but the process added to his discontent with the young United States and helped push him toward treason.
