Today Steve Ambrose joins the project with the battle of the Eastern Solomons. Â A former S-3 NFO, Steve has a wonderful blog that runs the gamut from hand-crafted wooden canoes to an on-line novel about life at sea (‘On The Line‘). Coral Sea was the scene of the first carrier vs carrier battle where…
Assassin’s mace (English adaptation of the Chinese phrase ‘shashou jiang’) — one periodically hears of the term used, usually in combination with advocacy for avoiding the same through transformational (forces)(TTP)(platforms)(weapons)(networks) – pick any, none, or all. Most recently, the ASBM the Chinese are purported to be developing has served as the poster child for Assassin’s…
Today’s post examines the first major response at sea, to the invasion by Allied forces on Guadalcanal a couple of days earlier. Our guest author for this article is CDR Bill Bullard, USN. CDR Bullard has just completed his CO tour as the 70th Commanding Officer of Old Ironsides, where Age of Sail…
This week we get down to brass tacks – the kickoff of what would become the Solomons Campaign. UltimaRatioRegis once again provides this week’s post with the opening stages of the invasion and occupation of Guadalcanal, on this, the 67th anniversary of this signatory battle. And while we’re about remembering, if you haven’t signed the…
enâ‹…terâ‹…prise [en-ter-prahyz] –noun A project undertaken or to be undertaken, esp. one that is important or difficult or that requires boldness or energy: To keep the peace is a difficult enterprise; Participation or engagement in such projects: Our country was formed by the enterprise of resolute men and women. Boldness or readiness in undertaking; adventurous…
Next Friday, 7 August, is the 67th anniversary of the amphibious assault on Guadalcanal – the first halting offensive steps in the Pacific war. This week once again, UltimaRatioRegis joins the project with a look into the background of WATCHTOWER, setting the stage for next week’s post. The following week – Savo Island. – SJS…
The Navy *is* doing it right with Destroyers: Navy Christens New Guided Missile Destroyer Jason Dunham The Navy will christen the newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, Jason Dunham, Aug. 1, 2009, during a 10 a.m. EDT ceremony at Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine. Designated DDG 109, the new destroyer honors Cpl. Jason L. Dunham,…
This week, courtesy UltimaRatioRegis, is a look at the IJN post Midway. After suffering grievous losses in ships, sailors and airmen at Midway, the IJN was still far from finished.-for the moment. For while Midway had turned the tide, that razor’s edge could cut the other way given the reed-thin status of the US fleet….
Human nature, if it changes at all, changes not much faster than the geological face of the earth. – Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago, Book II Tucked away in the mountains of east-central North Korea, roughly 32 nm from the launch pad at Tae po-dong (or Musudan-ri) and 12 nm from the site of…
Apropos that on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the landing on the Moon, the latest US visitor and (hopefully) precursor to our return via the Constellation program, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter imaged the location in Mare Tranquilis that was the site of Apollo 11’s landing (click on image to enlarge): Note the object…
