tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post277838657633822809..comments2024-03-27T19:30:21.547-07:00Comments on Chant du Départ: First EncounterOldAFSargehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-71613626114172555362023-04-03T10:36:06.470-07:002023-04-03T10:36:06.470-07:00Indeed they did. I've been a few places in the...Indeed they did. I've been a few places in the world where I had a sense of an unseen presence, if you know what I mean. They were places like Waterloo, the Ardennes, the Hürtgenwald, Okinawa, and (closer to home) the forests around Fort Ticonderoga.<br /><br />Great story.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-35420876287242093672023-04-03T09:39:34.819-07:002023-04-03T09:39:34.819-07:00The "ghost photo" is a reminder that no ...The "ghost photo" is a reminder that no matter if reading of Kasprowicz or von Lüttwitz, we should be mindful that a good 6-7 generations of troopies humped the same ground. <br />In that vein, I recall flanking post in Washington, D.C. fifty odd years ago while assigned to a guard platoon. Walking a well-lit path, I noted an object that didn't "blend in". Stooping down, I immediately realized it was a Minié ball...likely from the Civil War. My discovery was not so much any observation skill as it was the whiteness of lead's natural oxidation against the darker color of the surrounding ground. Other than having been dropped by a long ago soldier and the paper covered powder charge subsequently dissolving and natural erosion shifting things about, there's no other rationale for my discovery. When I came off watch I gave the Minié ball to a shipmate. <br />During the Civil War a network of approximately 70 forts encircled Washington, D.C. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-5740070441726151142023-04-01T20:36:53.299-07:002023-04-01T20:36:53.299-07:00TB has written of this.TB has written of this.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-54341444755438169372023-04-01T20:29:02.412-07:002023-04-01T20:29:02.412-07:00The closest you can find in England is the Danelaw...The closest you can find in England is the Danelaw. Basically it was "We conquered it, suck it, Anglo-Saxons." And the tension of the Danelaw and issues thereof laid the groundwork for the year of 1066 as the Dane-Anglo-Saxons caused quite a stir and led to Harold Godwinson (whack-sptoooie) to take the throne after Edward the Confessor shuffled off his weak mortal coil.<br /><br />The Anglo-Saxons basically 'gave' the secured Danelaw to the Danes in exchange for the Danes to quit pillaging the rest of the Anglo-Saxon areas, which worked. For the most part.<br /><br />So what Charles did wasn't too far-fetched nor new. It had been done before, would be done later.Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-85794551584268667382023-04-01T17:59:16.483-07:002023-04-01T17:59:16.483-07:00Good point TB.Good point TB.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-14884719074800733962023-04-01T17:02:26.619-07:002023-04-01T17:02:26.619-07:00It is interesting - in doing my review of Anglo-Sa...It is interesting - in doing my review of Anglo-Saxon history (and indirectly of Viking history) I cannot think of another example that where the Vikings were effectively "bought off" with land - usually it was with money and they would return, eventually. Mostly (at least in the British Isles) they just conquered where they wanted to be, or at least tried to conquer it. In that sense, perhaps Charles got it right. Toirdhealbheach Beucailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14872794169534403463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-40607361187382634192023-04-01T16:26:47.770-07:002023-04-01T16:26:47.770-07:00There you go, you understand how things work. And ...There you go, you understand how things work. And yes, good sergeants make things work. I won't say a word about the bad ones.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-5991064256656289152023-04-01T16:11:18.818-07:002023-04-01T16:11:18.818-07:00Nothing wrong with that. From what I've seen,...Nothing wrong with that. From what I've seen, sergeants have more control and real power, well, good sergeants do, than most LTs and even Captains.Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-17841842206862558602023-04-01T14:56:36.498-07:002023-04-01T14:56:36.498-07:00juvat @ 2:48 PM - I'll try not to make you wai...juvat @ 2:48 PM - I'll try not to make you wait too long!OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-28897129696683157522023-04-01T14:56:10.000-07:002023-04-01T14:56:10.000-07:00juvat @ 2:47 PM - Yeah, I guess history does repea...juvat @ 2:47 PM - Yeah, I guess history does repeat itself, at least it rhymes I suppose.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-25822580556058299602023-04-01T14:48:16.954-07:002023-04-01T14:48:16.954-07:00Hit enter a bit too fast. Really looking forward ...Hit enter a bit too fast. Really looking forward to reading it in its entirety. Pretty sure it'll be a one seating read.<br />Well Done.juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-74982947970094202702023-04-01T14:47:12.350-07:002023-04-01T14:47:12.350-07:00Not that that would happen here...EVER!, No not a ...Not that that would happen here...EVER!, No not a chance!<br /><br />RIIIIIIGGGGGHHHHHHTTTTTT!juvathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09096708575138552532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-90346643843130323262023-04-01T14:16:40.830-07:002023-04-01T14:16:40.830-07:00George C. Scott recites part of it in the movie Pa...George C. Scott recites part of it in the movie <i>Patton</i>.<br /><br />While Patton always seemed to envision himself as an officer of one sort or another, I'm sure I would have been a simple foot slogger, the eternal sergeant ...OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-41443370470677812092023-04-01T13:38:31.997-07:002023-04-01T13:38:31.997-07:00Never read it before, as my education seems sorely...Never read it before, as my education seems sorely lacking. Powerful piece.<br /><br />The eternal warrior is a theme that keeps coming up in almost every culture. <br /><br />Gilgamesh was perhaps the first eternal warrior written about. <br /><br />Then there's the stories about Longinius, the legionnaire who stabbed Christ in the side.<br /><br />Edgar Rice Burroughs' Captain John Carter was also an eternal warrior, fighting for one cause or another until semi-dying and being transported to Barsoom.<br /><br />Some form of ancestral memory or semi-reincarnation or ghostly thoughts would explain why some people seem to be able to do things that they never knew about before, and considering that war and fighting is very violent, and violent moments tend to fix memories or dredge up memories, then it is possible, if thoughts and memories can be transmitted from ancestors to descendants, that said memories would be there.<br /><br />Or it's just a case of very vivid imagination. I remember reading "The Illiad" (translated, not in the original Greek) and it felt like I could smell the ground where 10 years of struggle and siege happened. Same with reading about the Battle of The Hot Gates (or watching the two movies about it,) good story telling can pull you into feeling like you are there.<br /><br />Which is what you do very well. Or you (or part of you) was there. Or going there in modern times caused some memory ghosts to jump you. Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-61680126473045903092023-04-01T13:36:55.781-07:002023-04-01T13:36:55.781-07:00Keep your friends close and your enemies closer pe...Keep your friends close and your enemies closer perhaps?<br /><br />But it was about his only move.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-69580810834054353872023-04-01T13:31:56.980-07:002023-04-01T13:31:56.980-07:00There were rural areas where royalist sentiment re...There were rural areas where royalist sentiment remained strong. In general though, Napoléon did a lot to make France one country and not a collection of provinces.<br /><br />As always, upon his return, there were a number of politicians and generals who were more interested in preserving their own privileges and power than what was perhaps best for France.<br /><br />We'll meet them.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-90803422669664993362023-04-01T13:29:36.086-07:002023-04-01T13:29:36.086-07:00Yeah, the new Bourbons were far worse than Charles...Yeah, the new Bourbons were far worse than Charles the Fat (or Charles the Stupid, or Fat and Stupid, depending on who you are talking to (if talking to Normans, Stupid or Fat and Stupid were the ways to go.) For those playing at home without the answers, Charles mentioned was King of France when Rolf/Rollo and his gang of merry Norwegians raided Paris and said Charles bought them off with a semi-breakaway province that became known as Normandy. He was fat, and not remarkably bright, but at least he was smart enough to see the handwriting on the walls, that is, the Vikings will keep viking (yes, it's a verb!) unless stopped, and since a military victory was iffy at best, hey, here's this disgruntled semi-breakaway province to the west of Paris full of malcontents and disgrunted and very aggressive people...Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-48211275431712604152023-04-01T13:24:55.437-07:002023-04-01T13:24:55.437-07:00Oversimpification, but that's what I do best!!...Oversimpification, but that's what I do best!!!<br /><br />I don't know enough about the period to know if the individual provinces were at hatred with each other like they'd been since the days of Charlemagne, but I'm sure there's some of that along with the always city folk vs country folk, mixed in with the remnants of the anti-aristocracy movement and the old/new aristocrats, bitterness over how the Revolution went, peeves over stuff that happened before the Revolution, longstanding hatreds that, with some, went back as far as... the time of Charlemagne, the war against the new scientific ways vs the old ways that always worked, the Great Awakening vs Luddites, and many more. So oversimplification always works.Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-22745622934077740432023-04-01T12:10:39.455-07:002023-04-01T12:10:39.455-07:00I have read so much about that time period, that i...I have read so much about that time period, that it almost feels as if I was there.<br /><br />Who knows?<br /><br />Yes, I'm a big fan of Patton's <i>Through a Glass, Darkly</i>. You can read it <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through_a_Glass,_Darkly_(poem)#Text" rel="nofollow"><b>here.</span></b></a>)<br><br /><br />OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-12860872953081541762023-04-01T12:06:05.280-07:002023-04-01T12:06:05.280-07:00As was said about the Bourbons upon Napoléon's...As was said about the Bourbons upon Napoléon's First Abdication, "They have learned nothing, and they have forgotten nothing." - Talleyrand (a right piece of work himself, Napoléon allegedly referred to him as "manure in a silk stocking.")OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-50543722029876952092023-04-01T12:04:09.018-07:002023-04-01T12:04:09.018-07:00That's an oversimplification but we can live w...That's an oversimplification but we can live with that.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-83923331967087741762023-04-01T11:04:43.424-07:002023-04-01T11:04:43.424-07:00Excellent. You have a way of making big moments i...Excellent. You have a way of making big moments in history very personal. Must have been one hell of a ride those 100 days (and all the time before as the preparations for Nappy's return were secretly and not-so-secretly bandied about. Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-37901824832571913382023-04-01T11:02:41.133-07:002023-04-01T11:02:41.133-07:00It was a choice between a blithering idiot and a c...It was a choice between a blithering idiot and a charismatic cult leader. Or face the takeover or breakup of France itself.<br /><br />No good choices at all.Beanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15293778848879361153noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-72397865842557873872023-04-01T10:50:53.577-07:002023-04-01T10:50:53.577-07:00My impression - and it is purely an impression - i...My impression - and it is purely an impression - is that the restored Bourbon monarchy was not at all inspiring or inspirational. Sometimes given the option between seeing what is available and remembering what was, people often choose what was.<br /><br />(And can I say again how happy I am to wake - two days in a row - with new stories? Yay!)Toirdhealbheach Beucailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14872794169534403463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7684531976778247960.post-49552339333735709132023-04-01T08:41:32.449-07:002023-04-01T08:41:32.449-07:00Same here.Same here.OldAFSargehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15935839956936191547noreply@blogger.com