Comments for H&I* Fires, 01 Jul 2008

H&I* Fires, 01 Jul 2008

2008-07-02T04:57:34Z

Open post for those with something to share, updated through the day. New, complete posts come in below this one. Note: If trackbacking, please acknowledge this post in your post. That's only polite.

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Happy Canada Day! As you'd expect, today is a national day of celebration up here. But what some of you might not know is that today is also a day of mourning in one province, because of what happened to The Royal Newfoundland Regiment at Beaumont-Hamel on this day in 1916.

So today, while I'll raise many a glass in celebration, I'll also raise one in sombre salute. We will remember them. - Damian

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Jets. Up close and personal.

For this, words are entirely inadequate. However, having lived in the desert where temperatures reached 125, I understand the foot placement... - FbL

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Damian is a bit understated.

At Beaumont-Hamel, the 1st Battalion of the Newfoundland Regiment, part of the 29th British Division, lost two-thirds of its entire strength in about an hour's exposure to German artillery and machine guns. July 1 in Newfoundland is still a day of commemoration and mourning.

More here, at Veteran's Affairs Canada. Today the Maple Leaf and the Red Ensign wave in the breeze above Castle Argghhh!. - the Armorer

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Today is also the anniversary of the opening of the Battle of Gettysburg, when the Union lost a darn good General, John Reynolds. -the Armorer

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Oh, yeah - the New Castle - one year old and going strong. -the Armorer

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]]> *A term of art from the artillery. Harassment and Interdiction Fires. Back in the day, when you could just kill people and break things without a note from a lawyer, they were pre-planned, but to the enemy, random, fires at known gathering points, road junctions, Main Supply Routes, assembly areas, etc - to keep the bad guy nervous that the world around him might start exploding at any minute. Not really relevant to today's operating environment, right? But, it *is*. The UAVs we fly over Afghanistan and Pakistan looking for targets of opportunity are a form of H&I fires, if you really want to parse it finely. We just have better sensors and fire control now. Of course, now I have to call them UAS's, because someone got a Legion of Merit for the name change.Anyway, I call the post H&I Fires because it's random things posted by me and people I've given posting privileges to that particular topic. Another term of art that might be appropriate is Free Fire Zone.

Comment from Tbird on 2008-07-02

2008-07-02T14:28:12Z

Aye, we should honor the valor of those Newfoundlanders. We should honor them all. Brave men ill used. First day of the Somme: 60,000 casualties of which 20,000 were KIA. Sent out to pay the butcher's bill for a commanding General (Haig) who thought the machine gun a "highly overrated weapon." Overrated indeed......

Comment from MaryAnn on 2008-07-01

2008-07-01T20:58:22Z

You did indeed!

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2008-07-01

2008-07-01T19:42:10Z

Hey - and we got some buyers, too!

Comment from MaryAnn on 2008-07-01

2008-07-01T18:14:14Z

I come home from work to find out you've been pimping me around?

And all this time I thought you were a gentleman...

Comment from BillT on 2008-07-01

2008-07-01T17:50:45Z

Bill, I'm humbled to see that you take GO1 seriously.

They have non-alcoholic beer over here, but I figure drinking one would be like taking a shower while wearing a poncho...

Comment from Oldloadr on 2008-07-01

2008-07-01T17:21:41Z

Bill, I'm humbled to see that you take GO1 seriously. As an enlisted guy, I, of course had to push that envelope. However being an older enlisted guy, I was very careful and never got caught.

That said, I'm now in a more accepting environment (UAE), so I will toast the Canadians who served so valiantly in a terrible meat-grinder in WWI. I surely do appreciate the patriots who live North of the longest undefended border in the world (and that says about everything about how we really feel about each other (regardless of what some media reports have said).

Comment from FbL on 2008-07-01

2008-07-01T15:45:31Z

Thanks, John--on both counts. :)

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2008-07-01

2008-07-01T15:44:15Z

Both of your links are Good Stuff, Fuzzy. I pimped MaryAnn's around a bit.

Comment from BillT on 2008-07-01

2008-07-01T14:22:57Z

I've just remembered the Newfounlanders and their valor with a glass of the only thing we're allowed over here -- water.

But in my mind, it was 80-proof...