Civil War

[Major B]

Originally posted by Jeff Weaver:
Some of the Kentucky Confederates were quite colorful.
As a side note on Kentucky -- those boys were lazy. Every unit that Kentucky put in the Confederate army was either cavalry, or mounted infantry, save a couple of early units which were disbanded.

There were KY union units too. My great grandfather, at age 43, because of his religious objections to slavery joined the 1st KY Volunteer (Union) Cavalry, and fought for four years, returning home in one piece. He lived until 1900.

Also, don't forget that Buford, whom Shaara at last credits with saving the high ground at Gettysburg, was a professional cavalry officer and indian fighter from Kentucky who stayed union when the war started.

 

[mioque]

Major B
On a tactical level you are absolutely right, on a strategic level, the whole let's not do anything crazy simply grind them down with superior numbers and equipment, was the basis of the allied strategy during the second half of WWII.

"The US Generals, especially MacArthur, with his island hopping, were much more into slash and bypass."
Against the Japanese there was no alternative. In fact the war with Japan was truly about slowly wearing them down. One island at a time.

 

[Major B]

Originally posted by mioque:
Against the Japanese there was no alternative. In fact the war with Japan was truly about slowly wearing them down. One island at a time.

The US started that way against the Japanese, but after the initial battles in New Guinea and Guadalcanal, they started island hopping. Neither MacArthur nor Nimitz attacked the Japanese one island at a time. To the contrary, after these initial and bloody campaigns, the only islands they attacked were the ones that were strategcally important. They would bypass large Japanese garrisons on other islands and allow them to wither on the vine from lack of supply. One of the best examples of this tactic was the large island of Formosa (Taiwan), which was bypassed in favor of attacking the Philippines.

 

[rsr]

Rabaul is another good example; it had up to 200,000 Japanese soldiers who were left to "wither on the vine" because it could not be resupplied.

 

[Dr. Bob]

MacArthur did NOT want to island hop. He desired to go via the Philippines head on to Japan. OF course, he had been the leader of that island and a great love for those people.

Thankfully, the Navy (not the army) recognized the "head-on" strategy would cost a horrendous toll and so developing a better strategy.

 

[Major B]

Originally posted by Dr. Bob Griffin:
MacArthur did NOT want to island hop. He desired to go via the Philippines head on to Japan. OF course, he had been the leader of that island and a great love for those people.

Thankfully, the Navy (not the army) recognized the "head-on" strategy would cost a horrendous toll and so developing a better strategy.

Actually, MacArthur changed his mind about frontal assaults after the initial large battles in New Guinea. He did island hop, but the dispute between him and the navy was over which islands to hop. The Navy wanted to go to Formosa for one set of strategic political reasons, and Mac wanted to go to the P.I. for another (as well as for personal reasons). His idea worked, not in the least because it smoked out the Japanese Navy, whose attack during the Philippine campaign became the largest naval battle in history, Leyte Gulf.

It has always been curious to me that the Navy wanted to go to Formosa. They would have had a lot longer supply line there, and the naval battle might have not gone their way.

 

[Dr. Bob]

The fall of Taiwan/Formosa would have had a much greater impact on the war in Southeast Asia/China theater than did the invasion of Luzon. The war there is almost forgotten by many US historians because it involved a lot of French/British and Australian troops and wasn't a total "American show"

The fortunes of war smiled on the Navy in Leyte Gulf and the Mariannas. Lord only knows the "what if" had the same events happened near China.

 

[Bro. James Reed]

Good gracious Dr. B. Get a hobby. 18,000 posts!!! Your fingers must be worn down to nubs!

 

[Major B]

Bob does not have fingers. He is hard-wired into his laptop, and sends posts at the speed of thought!

 

[Dr. Bob]

LOL

This IS my hobby. Because of my illness forcing me to spend much time in therapy morning and evening, I am saddled into sitting somewhere. I read a lot, watch NFL (in season) and cover three boards - including the BaptistBoard.

Trust me, I would rather be doing a lot of other things!!

(BTW, 18k in 4 years - I joined June 2000 - is 12 posts a day. It just SEEMS like I'm always posting!!)

 

[paidagogos]

Originally posted by Dr. Bob Griffin:
I have stood at Cold Harbor, Virginia. 7,000 Union dead in 20 minutes. Why? Grant the Butcher, as did almost all the Union generals ahead of him, felt that his superior numbers in manpower could overwhelm the enemy.

Think of the millions of Russians who died useless in that same manner on the way to Berlin.

Or Japanese on Guadacanal in their Banzai charges against machine guns.

Or ANZAC's at Gallipoli.

We condemn such tactics and villify the generals who have such callous disregard for the lives of their men. We have 25 examples of such imprudent waste of life we could share - only one (Day 3, Gettysburg) is Lee.

AMEN!

 

[Major B]

Illness...therapy? Was ist?

 

[Major B]

I, on the other hand, only post during brief periods of respite (between school terms) when I am down to only two full-time jobs instead of my normal three!

The essence of the strategic logistics balance between the South and the North was well stated by Rhett Butler--"All we have is slaves and arrogance, and too much of both..."

 

[Dr. Bob]

Originally posted by Major B:
Illness...therapy?

Have profound peripheral neuropathy. Lost nerves in feet and lower legs and losing them in hands. Doing both anodyne and rebuilder therapy, which take time. Hence an hour in the am and an hour in the pm when I'm strapped in and can't do anything else.

Doctors give me about four years until it moves into the lungs and then I'm honored on Memorial Day. I give them the same! (Never believed a MD in my life, so not starting now) But I am "investing" my life every day with a little more earnest than ever before!

 

[KenH]

Originally posted by Dr. Bob Griffin:
Have profound peripheral neuropathy. Lost nerves in feet and lower legs and losing them in hands.

Do you know what caused this?

 

[Dr. Bob]

Drugs for me.

85% get it through poor circulation (diabetes, leprosy, aids). 14% hereditary. 1% from drugs.

Sheath around nerves die and cannot function. In the past year I have done physical therapy to learn to walk. Muscles are fine; nerves are dead so have taught inner ear to communicate with the feet and let me walk again!

 

[JGrubbs]

Originally posted by Daniel David:
Lee should have been hung to rot and then drug through the mud. He will forever be proof that not all military personnel have honor.

I found this interesting quote from one of my favorite people in American history, Booker T. Washington, who admired Robert E. Lee.

Washington once stated to a noted Congressman: "No people could live in the atmosphere of Lee and Jackson and not be the best."

 

[JGrubbs]

Here is an excellent commentary from a famous black conservative, Walter Williams, who is an academic advisor to the Independent Institute, and chairman of the Department of Economics at George Mason University:

The problems that led to the Civil War are the same problems today—big, intrusive government. The reason we don’t face the specter of another Civil War is because today’s Americans don’t have yesteryear’s spirit of liberty and constitutional respect, and political statesmanship is in short supply.

Actually, the war of 1861 was not a civil war. A civil war is a conflict between two or more factions trying to take over a government. In 1861, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was no more interested in taking over Washington than George Washington was interested in taking over England in 1776. Like Washington, Davis was seeking independence. Therefore, the war of 1861 should be called ‘The War Between the States” or the “War for Southern Independence.” The more bitter southerner might call it the “War of Northern Aggression.”

SOURCE

 

[Dr. Bob]

I've been called worse than "bitter" over the late great unpleasantness.

BTW, when you think of factionalism in the Balkans or in Iraq after 1000+ years that is still dividing those countries, it is amazing that the effects of our War which were so devasting were also so soon remedied.

 

[Roy]

Question for you Dr. Bob: Since you are both a doctor and Civil War enthusiast, I thought you would be the one to consult.

What did Civil War soldiers do for athlete's foot? I know it must have been a big problem back then.

As to your condition: is Lorenzo's Oil not an option for you? I saw the movie, and Lorenzo's condition appeared to be similiar to yours. The kid's mom and dad were scientists and developed that product through their own research.

Roy