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Milestones

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vadim69 said:
50 years ago
Nixon decided to resign. [88] In a nationally broadcast address from the Oval Office on the evening of August 8, 1974, the President said, in part:

"In all the decisions I have made in my public life, I have always tried to do what was best for the nation. Throughout the long and difficult period of Watergate, I felt it was my duty to persevere, to make every possible effort to complete the term of office to which you elected me. However, in the last few days it has become apparent to me that I no longer have a strong enough political base in the Congress to justify continuing this effort. While I had such a base, I felt strongly that it was necessary to see the constitutional process through to its conclusion, that to do otherwise would be disloyal to the spirit of this deliberately difficult process and a dangerously destabilizing precedent for the future.
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Nixon's resignation was a huge blow to the American people, who, up until that point, for the most part placed a fair amount of respect and trust in the political class. Post-Watergate, they stopped trusting politicians (good call) and now treat them with the cynicism and disdain that they so richly deserve.

As for us here in the UK, we were 11 years ahead of the US, having stopped trusting these ejits following the Profumo scandal of 1963 :)
 
A lot happened on this date - here is a small selection.
On August 9, 1173, the foundation stone for the Campanile was laid next to the Cathedral of Pisa. This building would later become world famous as the "Leaning Tower of Pisa". The tower, which is an iconic symbol of the city of Pisa due to its striking inclination, began to tilt soon after construction began - a phenomenon that made it an architectural wonder.
On August 9, 1896 - Aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal crashes during an experiment in Havelland and dies of his injuries the next day. A gust of wind caught his glider.
On August 9, 1902 - Edward VII is crowned King of Great Britain and Ireland in Westminster Abbey in London. He had succeeded his mother Queen Victoria to the throne after her death in 1901 at the age of 59.
On August 9, 1945, the city of Nagasaki was the scene of one of the most devastating bombings in history. Due to heavy cloud cover, the atomic bomb "Fat Man" was dropped on the Mitsubishi weapons factory, resulting in the immediate death of 70,000 people and having a decisive influence on World War II.
 
Eighty years ago, August 15th 1944 : Operation Dragoon, the almost forgotten second invasion of France.
Saint-Raphaël, Saint-Tropez and Saint-Maxime are nowadays known as mondaine Holiday destinations along France's Côte d'Azur. But in August 1944, they were the scene of a second invasion of occupied France from the sea.
The goal was to open another front in Western Europe (with Normandy and Italy), and taking the ports of Marseille and Toulon, for improving the logistic supply of the Allies already fighting in France.

Like in Normandy, two months earlier, the invasion started with airborne (paratroopers and gliders) attacks in the hinterland, to prevent German reinforcements reaching the landing area. Before, the French Resistance, had already been active in the area, giving trouble to the German Army. The landings were succesful. During the following offensive, the Aliies pushed nordward, through the Rhone valley. Mid September, in Burgundy, they would make contact with the other Allied front in France.

The invasion in southern France was particularly a political and military success for General de Gaulle, who had been an important proponent of the operations. A large part of the 151000 strong invasion force consisted of Free French troops. Operation Dragoon was the real revival of the French Army in the war, and this of course strengthened France's position in the Allied camp.
 
Loxuru said:
Eighty years ago, August 15th 1944 : Operation Dragoon, the almost forgotten second invasion of France.
Saint-Raphaël, Saint-Tropez and Saint-Maxime are nowadays known as mondaine Holiday destinations along France's Côte d'Azur. But in August 1944, they were the scene of a second invasion of occupied France from the sea.
The goal was to open another front in Western Europe (with Normandy and Italy), and taking the ports of Marseille and Toulon, for improving the logistic supply of the Allies already fighting in France.

Like in Normandy, two months earlier, the invasion started with airborne (paratroopers and gliders) attacks in the hinterland, to prevent German reinforcements reaching the landing area. Before, the French Resistance, had already been active in the area, giving trouble to the German Army. The landings were succesful. During the following offensive, the Aliies pushed nordward, through the Rhone valley. Mid September, in Burgundy, they would make contact with the other Allied front in France.

The invasion in southern France was particularly a political and military success for General de Gaulle, who had been an important proponent of the operations. A large part of the 151000 strong invasion force consisted of Free French troops. Operation Dragoon was the real revival of the French Army in the war, and this of course strengthened France's position in the Allied camp.
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An unjustly underestimated operation (compared with the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944) that led to the withdrawal of German troops from the whole of southern France.
It's also worth mentioning that the Free French forces that landed were essentially made up of colonial troops. So a big thank you to Africa!
 
On August 20, 636, the Battle of Yarmouk, - between the Rashidun Caliphate and the Eastern Roman Empire, allied with the Kingdom of the Ghassanids - concluded after six days, sealing a monumental Muslim triumph that terminated the ~700 years long Roman dominance in Syria. It unfolded beside the Yarmouk River, along the present-day Syrian borders with Jordan, and Israeli borders with Syria, southeast of the Sea of Galilee. It initiated an era of early Islamic conquests post-Muhammad's death, signaling Islam's swift expansion into the historically Christian and Roman-ruled Levant region.
 
On August 24 2006, the prestigious and utterly infallible International Astronomical Union (IAU) has decided to change the criteria that define a planet, and demote poor Pluto to a "dwarf planet". (The fact that Earth, Mars and Neptune do not meet one of the three criteria, and Jupiter do not meet two of them, is not a fact, it's a rumor spread by the haters).
 
PeterVl said:
On August 24 2006, the prestigious and utterly infallible International Astronomical Union (IAU) has decided to change the criteria that define a planet, and demote poor Pluto to a "dwarf planet". (The fact that Earth, Mars and Neptune do not meet one of the three criteria, and Jupiter do not meet two of them, is not a fact, it's a rumor spread by the haters).
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But if Earth, Mars, Neptune and Jupiter don't meet all the criteria, perhaps a new category could be proposed. How about Crux Planets?
 
Exactly 210 years ago, on August 24, 1814, British paratroopers captured the US capital. President James Madison and his henchmen fled the White House so quickly that an untouched dinner was left on the living room table, which the British officers ate with pleasure.

And then their leader, Rear Admiral George Cockburn, wiped his mouth with a napkin and asked: "Well, gentlemen, shouldn't we burn this snake pit to the ground?" He may have used a different wording, but that was the meaning. "An excellent idea, sir!" the gentlemen answered in unison, and soon tongues of flame began to dance merrily in the residence of the American presidents.

Then the same thing happened to the buildings of Congress, the State Treasury, the Arsenal, the Supreme Court and the army barracks, and the Americans themselves, before fleeing the city, managed to set fire to the city shipyard with the unfinished frigates "Columbus" and "Argus" standing there, so that they would not fall into the hands of the enemy.
 

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vadim69 said:
British paratroopers
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Not an airborne assault. :rolleyes:

More correctly “soldiers and sailors”. The raid was in retaliation for an American raid the previous year in British Canada, resulting in the burning and looting of the town of Dover and its port.
 
vadim69 said:
Exactly 210 years ago, on August 24, 1814, British paratroopers captured the US capital.
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"Paratroopers" seems a bit advanced technology for the War of 1812.
The war was concluded by the Treaty of Ghent (December 24th 1814), but hostilities kept on for several months afterwards. The treaty specified that all POW would be released and that all conquered territories (in the US by the British and in Canada by the Americans) would be returned to their pre-war situation.
 
Loxuru said:
"Paratroopers" seems a bit advanced technology for the War of 1812.
The war was concluded by the Treaty of Ghent (December 24th 1814), but hostilities kept on for several months afterwards. The treaty specified that all POW would be released and that all conquered territories (in the US by the British and in Canada by the Americans) would be returned to their pre-war situation.
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Yes, paratroopers, dropped from His Majesty's airships.
airship.jpg
 
Eighty years ago, on Augusr 25th 1944, Paris was liberated, by the Allies, mainly by the full force of the Free French 2nd Armoured Division of General Leclerc, and units of the 4th US Infantry Division. Since 10 days, with the Allies approaching, resistance units had already started fighting in and around the city.
Hitler had ordered that Paris should not be fall into Allied hands intact, and had ordered its destruction. But although preparations to it had been going on, the military governor of Paris, General von Choltitz, did not carry out the order, and surrendered in his headquarters, Hotel Meurice, on August 25th.
 
Loxuru said:
Eighty years ago, on Augusr 25th 1944, Paris was liberated, by the Allies, mainly by the full force of the Free French 2nd Armoured Division of General Leclerc, and units of the 4th US Infantry Division. Since 10 days, with the Allies approaching, resistance units had already started fighting in and around the city.
Hitler had ordered that Paris should not be fall into Allied hands intact, and had ordered its destruction. But although preparations to it had been going on, the military governor of Paris, General von Choltitz, did not carry out the order, and surrendered in his headquarters, Hotel Meurice, on August 25th.
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A few hours later, General De Gaulle entered Paris. At the Hôtel de Ville, he pronounced his famous words: Paris, Paris outragé, Paris brisé, Paris martyrisé, mais Paris libéré! (Paris, outraged Paris, broken Paris, martyred Paris, but liberated Paris!).


Liberation_Paris.jpg
 
vadim69 said:
Exactly 210 years ago, on August 24, 1814, British paratroopers captured the US capital. President James Madison and his henchmen fled the White House so quickly that an untouched dinner was left on the living room table, which the British officers ate with pleasure.

And then their leader, Rear Admiral George Cockburn, wiped his mouth with a napkin and asked: "Well, gentlemen, shouldn't we burn this snake pit to the ground?" He may have used a different wording, but that was the meaning. "An excellent idea, sir!" the gentlemen answered in unison, and soon tongues of flame began to dance merrily in the residence of the American presidents.

Then the same thing happened to the buildings of Congress, the State Treasury, the Arsenal, the Supreme Court and the army barracks, and the Americans themselves, before fleeing the city, managed to set fire to the city shipyard with the unfinished frigates "Columbus" and "Argus" standing there, so that they would not fall into the hands of the enemy.
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The prelude to the burning of Washington was the Battle of Bladensburg, Maryland. The U.S. Army and the state militia tried unsuccessfully to stop the British (Army Regulars and Royal Marine) from advancing on Washington. Both the President (Madison) and the Secretary of State (Monroe) were there and like the U.S. forces, fled back to Washington.
 
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ducon007 said:
A few hours later, General De Gaulle entered Paris. At the Hôtel de Ville, he pronounced his famous words: Paris, Paris outragé, Paris brisé, Paris martyrisé, mais Paris libéré! (Paris, outraged Paris, broken Paris, martyred Paris, but liberated Paris!).


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The French have defeated the Germans, French Resistance fighters and police escort a captured German officer accompanied by citizens
on the square in front of the Opera. Paris. French state. August 1944.
 

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Barbaria1 said:
Not an airborne assault. :rolleyes:

More correctly “soldiers and sailors”. The raid was in retaliation for an American raid the previous year in British Canada, resulting in the burning and looting of the town of Dover and its port.
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I always admire and sympathize with those amazing people who translate Kipling's poems into Russian or Pushkin's poems into English. In my opinion, this is basically an impossible task. Even AI can't handle it. Although I have seen talented translations of Kipling's famous poem "The White Man's Burden" into Russian. In the language of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, this brilliant British verse sounds no less menacing and pathetic.
 
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