History Thread

[Clokr]

Corpse of a Confederate soldier taken near the Harris Farm in Spotsylvania following the battle.
​

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, or just The Battle of Spotsylvania, was fought from May 9th through the 21st in 1864. Being the second major battle of the Overland Campaign which saw fighting throughout Virginia.

Among the combatants that took part in the battle was the 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment. Organized at Corinth, Mississippi. And pushed into Confederate service at Lynchburg, Virginia in 1861. Among the original men mustered was a then 22 year old law student known as James Robert Montgomery. Mustered in then for Company A of the 11th, known as the “University Greys” For many of them being well educated men for being southerners with then very limited education

J.R. Montgomery would be killed during Upton’s Charge during the battle. But before his death, he had enough time to write the following.

“Spotsylvania County. Va
May 10th, 1864
Dear Father

This is my last letter to you. I went in to battle this evening as Courier for General Heth. I have been struck by a piece of shell and my right shoulder is horribly mangled & I know death is inevitable. I am very weak but I write to you because I know you would be delighted to read a word from your dying son. I know death is near, that I will die far from home and my friends of my early youth but I have friends here too who are kind to me. My friend Fairfax will write you at my request and give you the particulars of my death. My grave will be marked so that you may visit if you desire to do so, but is optionary with you wether you let my remains rest here or in Miss. I would like to rest in the graveyard with my dear mother and brothers but it’s a matter of minor importance. Let us all try to reunite in heaven. I pray my God to forgive my sins & feel that his promises are true that he will forgive and save me. Give my love to all my friends my strength fails me. My horse & my equipment will be left for you. Again a long farewell to you. May we meet in heaven.

Your dying son,
J.R. Montgomery”

J.R. Montgomery is buried in a unknown, unmarked grave somewhere in Spotsylvania

This is the image of his final letter. Only delivered once his body was discovered.​

J.R. Montgomery was only 1 of the 4.240 total killed during the battle. With over 30,000 total casualties recorded after the battle.

 

[Clokr]

Early Age Body Armor

U.S. Soldier posing with experimental body armor, 1918

​

Come 1917, and the US enters the war, the Germans at this point have their Sappenpanzer armor and the Italians their Farina armor. And of course the US sought to adopt their own armor for soldiers advancing over no man’s land or in places there they could be easy targets.

Enter Dr. Guy Otis Brewster, who had had previous experience creating armor for boxing training. Brewster had developed a suit of 0.21” thick chrome nickle steel. Which weighed 18kg with a future attachable 5kg backplate for more protection. With some sources stating the entire suit weighed upwards of 50kg

The suit itself was stated to be able to withstand .303 British rounds fired from a Lewis Gun which would travel around a given 820 m/s. As well as a 1903 Springfield Rifle firing .30-06. As well as funnily enough to a point being able to withstand slams from a sledgehammer.

There is actually footage of Dr. Brewster himself testing his own invention, including a sledgehammer wielding soldier, a marksman, and a detail of soldiers resembling a firing squad shooting the Doctor.

​

Dr. Brewster had stated that being shot with a Lewis Gun was “only 1/10th the shock as being struck by a sledgehammer”

Ultimately though, the armor was deemed too heavy and cumbersome for the US Soldier, and such never deployed to war.

The Doctor did go on to produce a steel scaled waistcoat, which is similar to the modern day flak jacket.

 

[Bronn]

so I found this bad boy in my collection, you think its authentic?

 

[Hunk]

A whole box full of old military documentation from the Colonial/Overseas War (1961-1974)

 

[Deleted member 243]

Does the term 'Technical' bring to mind WW2 GIs? It didn't for me either, but look at the shit I found.

Maybe four is too much for you? Have a double-barreled tank killer on wheels.

Meanwhile, the Germans were stuck with this...

The Dutch want their bicycles back, Hans.

 

[Clokr]

A US Army (presumably) Radio Operator preforming live saving measures for a fellow soldier after being struck in the stomach following a firefight, exact date and location unknown

“I remember running to the aid of a Marine who stepped on a land mine. He was screaming and crying—and obviously in a lot of pain. When I saw his legs, I realized they were barely attached. His entire body was a bloody mess. He was conscious and how he remained alert was beyond me. I applied a tourniquet to each his legs and battle dressings on his other wounds. I also injected two ampoules of morphine for his pain. He was in hypovolemic shock due to his severe blood and fluid loss.

There was not much more I could do for him. I kept telling him, however, that help was on the way. I knew he was dying, and I’m sure he knew it, too. I sat next to him and put his head in my lap. I squeezed his hand to let him know he was not alone. He stopped crying out in pain as his breathing became more labored. His heartbeat slowed, and his pulse began to weaken.

Finally, he made a few gurgling sounds and was quiet. In that final moment, when you hear his last breath and feel his final heartbeat, there is such a sense of loss. I remember the trembling of his hand as his grip faded. I was there for him to the end, and I surrendered him to the Angels. There was nothing else I could do. My tears began to flow and wouldn’t stop because they were coming from deep down inside.

My fatigues were covered in his blood. Water from the rice paddy had soaked through everything. My hands were stained red from his wounds. What a sight I must have been. I didn’t even know the name of this Marine. I don’t think I had ever spoken to him before this fateful day, but now we were united.

At times like this it was very solemn and serious. For a few minutes, the war had stopped and everything was quiet. A could of sadness and sorrow enveloped us. Our walk back to the CP was very quiet except for the suction sounds from walking in the mud and rice paddies.

We were all in our own world. We thought about our families and friends and wondered what they were doing. We tried to think about anything, except for what had just happened.” -Corpsman Ronald C. Mosbaugh, Hotel Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines. 1966​

 

[Gabby]

Corpse of a Confederate soldier taken near the Harris Farm in Spotsylvania following the battle.
​

The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, or just The Battle of Spotsylvania, was fought from May 9th through the 21st in 1864. Being the second major battle of the Overland Campaign which saw fighting throughout Virginia.

Among the combatants that took part in the battle was the 11th Mississippi Infantry Regiment. Organized at Corinth, Mississippi. And pushed into Confederate service at Lynchburg, Virginia in 1861. Among the original men mustered was a then 22 year old law student known as James Robert Montgomery. Mustered in then for Company A of the 11th, known as the “University Greys” For many of them being well educated men for being southerners with then very limited education

J.R. Montgomery would be killed during Upton’s Charge during the battle. But before his death, he had enough time to write the following.

“Spotsylvania County. Va
May 10th, 1864
Dear Father

This is my last letter to you. I went in to battle this evening as Courier for General Heth. I have been struck by a piece of shell and my right shoulder is horribly mangled & I know death is inevitable. I am very weak but I write to you because I know you would be delighted to read a word from your dying son. I know death is near, that I will die far from home and my friends of my early youth but I have friends here too who are kind to me. My friend Fairfax will write you at my request and give you the particulars of my death. My grave will be marked so that you may visit if you desire to do so, but is optionary with you wether you let my remains rest here or in Miss. I would like to rest in the graveyard with my dear mother and brothers but it’s a matter of minor importance. Let us all try to reunite in heaven. I pray my God to forgive my sins & feel that his promises are true that he will forgive and save me. Give my love to all my friends my strength fails me. My horse & my equipment will be left for you. Again a long farewell to you. May we meet in heaven.

Your dying son,
J.R. Montgomery”

J.R. Montgomery is buried in a unknown, unmarked grave somewhere in Spotsylvania

This is the image of his final letter. Only delivered once his body was discovered.​

J.R. Montgomery was only 1 of the 4.240 total killed during the battle. With over 30,000 total casualties recorded after the battle.

As a Mississippian this brings sadness to my heart. It seems many from my state ended up in the worst spots of the war, including my great great grandfather who was taken as a POW twice. Once after his unit was destroyed and a second time after a patrol took him in by mistake after being released.

 

[ElectricTaco]

 

[FreeSpy]

i fucking hate history at school
Unless i learn about 1930s+ politics
then you have my attention

 

[Andrew]

nancy reagan

 

[Deleted member 442]

nancy reagan

throatzilla of hollywood

 

[unvrsl1]

obviously from WWII era to current times

 

[Clokr]

“Close Combat”
​

“I saw men die was in close combat with the Chechens in Grozny. We were occupying an apartment building on orders from our commander. I was on the second floor with one squad, and another squad was on the floor below us. A rocket sailed across the street and into the first floor window. A loud explosion was followed by screaming men below us. I ran down the stairs to find the room filled with dead and dying Russian soldiers. The one in the middle of the room was missing one of his arms and I decided to drag him back up the stairs with me.

As I dragged him on the floor, I slipped on a liquid and fell on my bum while the wounded man thrashed in my lap. It was a puddle of blood and human organs. The blood quickly soaked through my trousers and I could feel the warmth against my skin. As we were sorting out the situation on the first floor, a burst of rifle fire came through the window and hit my comrade in my squad. The bullet severed an artery in his throat and he collapsed on the ground and gurgled while he rolled on dead and wounded men. I didn’t know what to do. I looked around for an officer but none were there. Two Chechen fighters then rushed through the front door. Luckily one of my guys thought they may rush the door, and he shot the first one directly in the face, spraying brains on the one behind him. The second one slipped on the gore in the doorway and fell down onto the flat of his back. Another soldier quickly jumped on top of him and dispatched the Chechen a blade. The sound of a knife puncturing cloth and flesh over and over is not something I’d ever like to hear again.

Later that day a truck came to get our dead and wounded and newsman came with the vehicle. We told him to leave. Our mothers already feared for us. They didn’t need videos to fuel their fear. It was the single worst day of combat I ever experienced in both wars.” – “Alexei”, Russian Army. First Chechen War. Grozny, 1995

​

 

[Bronn]

 

[The_Grass_Man]

My favourite period gotta be maximun expansion of the roman empire