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Post by dbutler69 on Nov 9, 2020 8:46:15 GMT -5
I don't know if this has been posted here before or not, as I've been shamefully neglectful of this thread, but here's a wonderful series called Kings & Queens of England. Very interesting, and the narrator is wonderful! It's a 6 part series, and I'm just posting the video for the first in the series. I imagine most of you can find the rest easily enough.
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Post by Jesse on Nov 29, 2020 9:16:08 GMT -5
I've been obsessed with the Biographics YouTube channel lately (despite my girlfriend finding the narrator's voice annoying).  |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 4, 2020 12:56:00 GMT -5
70 years ago, 30, 000 US Marines were encircled, but fought off 120, 000 Chinese Communist soldiers at the Chosin Resevoir. After the success of the Inchon amphibious landing, the UN Forces had pushed deeply into North Korea and were approaching the Yalu River. Then, in September, the Chinese crossed the Yalu River with hundreds of thousands of men and were soon driving UN Forces back. The Marines found themselves trapped at the Chosin Resevoir, where they fought with everything they had. The fighting was in bitter cold, in one of the worst winters Korea ever experienced. Weapons would freeze up and troops resorted to using Wildroot Hair Cream oil to keep them firing. Eventually, the Marines were able to break out and make a fighting retreat to the port of Hungnam, where they were successfully evacuated, along with civilians who had retreated with them. However, thousands of civilians were trapped, after the Marines blew a bridge over the Songchon River, to block the Chinese pursuit.  The UN reported 10,000+ casualties, between the Marines, Army and South Koreans, while the Chinese lost nearly 50,000...about a third of the forces they committed against the UN. To the Marines, the words Chosin Resevoir are sacred, as they lost many brothers and spilt a lot of blood on the frozen ground. Bodies could not be buried, the weather claimed thousands of casualties that survived combat. |
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Post by Prince Hal on Dec 4, 2020 14:48:30 GMT -5
 Re the Chosin Reservoir. Read this book when it first came out and posted this review here in January 2019. Can't recommend it highly enough. (Or for that matter, any books by Sides.) "Just finished On Desperate Ground, about the battles around the Chosin Reservoir in the first months of the Korean War. Excellent in many respects. (More maps needed, though.) Not really revisionist history, though it certainly illustrates, as if much more proof were needed, what a narcissistic bunghole MacArthur was, and brings to the fore the leadership skills of the often overlooked and forgotten general Oliver Smith and puts in a more realistic perspective the lack of same in his commander, Ned Almond. Sides' descriptions of combat are right up there with the most frightening and memorable I've ever read. How these Marines and soldiers made it through ten minutes, let alone the two weeks of frozen hell they endured staggers me." I don't know if Marines "rank" their finest hours, but if this isn't in the top three, I can't imagine what would rank higher. Thirteen Medals of Honor were earned at Chosin, ten by Marines, two by the Army and one by an incredibly courageous navy pilot. Sides does an excellent job conveying the horror of the various engagements, and is particularly skillful in describing individuals, including several, if not all, of these men. The deeds of two of them, Hector Cafferatta and William Windrich, seemed superhuman. And, PS: The Army comported itself with particular gallantry here, too. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 4, 2020 23:03:07 GMT -5
When I worked for Barnes & Noble, I once was covering the check-out desk, and was serving on older gentleman, who had the Marine Corps emblem attached on a clip, to the lapel pocket of his blazer (it was a Sunday and he looked like he had been attending church services). Being a former Navy man, I enquired about his service in the Marines. He told me he served with them in Korea, and asked if I had ever heard of the Chosin Resevoir. I acknowledged him with a "Yes, sir! It's an honor, sir!" and held out my hand to shake his. Nothing more needed to be said.
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Post by beccabear67 on Dec 6, 2020 21:55:57 GMT -5
I heard that the Korean war vets once tended to get overlooked in the U.S., hopefully that's changed. They've been more at the forefront in Canada for awhile. I think there was an effort when the WWI vets were disappearing to make sure those who served in the Korean war got recognized as well as peace-keeper forces in Cyprus and other areas each November 11th particularly.
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Post by Prince Hal on Dec 6, 2020 23:40:26 GMT -5
I heard that the Korean war vets once tended to get overlooked in the U.S., hopefully that's changed. They've been more at the forefront in Canada for awhile. I think there was an effort when the WWI vets were disappearing to make sure those who served in the Korean war got recognized as well as peace-keeper forces in Cyprus and other areas each November 11th particularly. As the son of a Korean War vet, I can attest to the truth of that observation. Latest information I could find says that there are about 400,000 Korean war vets (not Korean War-era vets) still alive. The youngest are probably about 85. Nearly 37,000 Americans perished in Korea in just three years' time. Another 8200 were MIA. For comparison's sake, American battle deaths during the worst three years of the War in Vietnam (1967-69) totalled just over 25,000. |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 10, 2020 15:11:55 GMT -5
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 11, 2020 1:25:02 GMT -5
Did they find the section where some local etched in "Romans go home!"? |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 9, 2021 18:10:28 GMT -5
Scientists one step closer to cracking Linear ALost languages fascinate me. I was intrigued by both Linear A and the Mayan pictographs, both of which hadn't been deciphered when I discovered them-I even did a paper in my archeology class as an undegrad on the problem of the Mayan script. I've watched with interest as inroads have been made with the Mayan script, but Linear A still eludes us, so I am excited to see articles like this one detailing that progress is being made. -M
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Feb 18, 2021 12:06:00 GMT -5
Viking treasure trove found by retired man on the Isle of Man. So that's pretty cool. |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,201 
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Post by Confessor on Mar 20, 2021 13:17:34 GMT -5
I'm three episodes into Ken Burn's epic 2017 TV documentary The Vietnam War and its really, really good.  I was already well versed in the history of the Vietnam War, as I've been fascinated by the conflict since I was around 11 or 12. I own several books about it and also have the DVDs Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1987) and the 6-part History Channel documentary Vietnam in HD (2011). So, my knowledge of the war's events was already pretty good, but Ken Burn's documentary series is so in-depth that I've learnt a ton of stuff I never knew before -- especially about the historical roots of the conflict, the political road to America's involvement, and also Ho Chi Minh's life and background. In fact, fleshing out the North Vietnamese history is one of the most appealing things about this documentary for me, and is where it scores over other Vietnam documentaries. Viet Cong veterans are interviewed right along with their American counterparts, giving equal weight to their side of things. Prior to watching the first couple of episodes of this series, I had never heard of Lê Duẩn, who became Ho Chi Minh's General Secretary in 1960 and within a few years was largely the actual power in North Vietnam, rather than Uncle Ho! This documentary strongly suggests that it was Lê Duẩn who actually gave the order to attack the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, which of course is the point where America first got really drawn into Vietnam. The fact that someone as interested in the conflict as me had never heard of someone as important to understanding it as Lê Duẩn, just shows you how under-represented the Viet Cong side of things has been prior to this film. I also like the way that the series places a lot of weight and emphasis on those at home in the States, who were either protesting the war or who had beloved family members serving in the military. The way the series attempts to take in all those different viewpoints serves to make it the most balanced overview of the conflict that I've ever watched. They've also licensed some pretty kick-ass music to accompany the series too!  So far, I've heard the likes of Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, the Rolling Stones, and Johnny Cash -- and none of their music is cheap to licence! The first episode looks at France's colonial rule of Indochina, with the second episode showing us America's ever increasing entanglement in the country and concluding with the assassination of John F. Kennedy. As this second episode ends, America has over 16,000 military advisers in Vietnam propping up the largely ineffectual and non-committed South Vietnamese Army (or ARVN). It's not until the third episode (which covers January 1964 – December 1965) that the Vietnam War, as we popularly know it, actually begins. It goes without saying that The Vietnam War is a "must watch" series if you are at all interested in the confict. But at over 18 hours in length, it's quite a time commitment, and may be too much for the more casually interested. But personally, I think it's great. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 20, 2021 16:53:15 GMT -5
I'm three episodes into Ken Burn's epic 2017 TV documentary The Vietnam War and its really, really good. I was already well versed in the history of the Vietnam War, as I've been fascinated by the conflict since I was around 11 or 12. I own several books about it and also have the DVDs Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1987) and the 6-part History Channel documentary Vietnam in HD (2011). So, my knowledge of the war's events was already pretty good, but Ken Burn's documentary series is so in-depth that I've learnt a ton of stuff I never knew before -- especially about the historical roots of the conflict, the political road to America's involvement, and also Ho Chi Minh's life and background. In fact, fleshing out the North Vietnamese history is one of the most appealing things about this documentary for me, and is where it scores over other Vietnam documentaries. Viet Cong veterans are interviewed right along with their American counterparts, giving equal weight to their side of things. Prior to watching the first couple of episodes of this series, I had never heard of Lê Duẩn, who became Ho Chi Minh's General Secretary in 1960 and within a few years was largely the actual power in North Vietnam, rather than Uncle Ho! This documentary strongly suggests that it was Lê Duẩn who actually gave the order to attack the USS Maddox in the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, which of course is the point where America first got really drawn into Vietnam. The fact that someone as interested in the conflict as me had never heard of someone as important to understanding it as Lê Duẩn, just shows you how under-represented the Viet Cong side of things has been prior to this film. I also like the way that the series places a lot of weight and emphasis on those at home in the States, who were either protesting the war or who had beloved family members serving in the military. The way the series attempts to take in all those different viewpoints serves to make it the most balanced overview of the conflict that I've ever watched. They've also licensed some pretty kick-ass music to accompany the series too! So far, I've heard the likes of Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, the Rolling Stones, and Johnny Cash -- and none of their music is cheap to licence! The first episode looks at France's colonial rule of Indochina, with the second episode showing us America's ever increasing entanglement in the country and concluding with the assassination of John F. Kennedy. As this second episode ends, America has over 16,000 military advisers in Vietnam propping up the largely ineffectual and non-committed South Vietnamese Army (or ARVN). It's not until the third episode (which covers January 1964 – December 1965) that the Vietnam War, as we popularly know it, actually begins. It goes without saying that The Vietnam War is a "must watch" series if you are at all interested in the conflict. But at over 18 hours in length, it's quite a time commitment, and may be too much for the more casually interested. But personally, I think it's great. Welllll, the US was embroiled earlier than that, supplying the French with armaments and air support, up to Dien Bien Phu, though mostly covertly. The Eisenhower Administration was pushing for an Allied response, pressuring Churchill and the UK into direct aid to the French, but Churchill and Eden weren't having it and had their own crises. Eisenhower didn't think public opinion would support US intervention on behalf of the French, without UK support, as a battle against communism, rather than a colonial revolution. The Gulf of Tonkin gave the justification needed for more direct support of South Vietnam. I liked the documentary, as it follows the World at War template of talking to all sides involved, and focusing on home fronts as well as the battlefield. The Anti-War Movement gets treated as even-handed as the government and the military, in terms of showing the pros and cons. It does a really good job of showing the fog that had developed in assessing the war and how the defense Department kept sinking deeper into it, even as all indications were that their strategy wasn't working. I also have the History Channel doc and am a bit more ambivalent about it. This has more scope, with better coverage of the major factions involved, from the US and Vietnam, to the Anti-War protesters in personal terms, rather than just as a social factor. Burns has good contacts within the music world and his rep helps with licensing, especially since he has covered jazz and country music. That said, he also is pretty well-financed, given sales of his previous documentaries for broadcast and home video. |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,201
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Post by Confessor on Mar 20, 2021 20:14:04 GMT -5
Welllll, the US was embroiled earlier than that, supplying the French with armaments and air support, up to Dien Bien Phu, though mostly covertly. The Eisenhower Administration was pushing for an Allied response, pressuring Churchill and the UK into direct aid to the French, but Churchill and Eden weren't having it and had their own crises. Eisenhower didn't think public opinion would support US intervention on behalf of the French, without UK support, as a battle against communism, rather than a colonial revolution. The Gulf of Tonkin gave the justification needed for more direct support of South Vietnam. Well yeah, I know all of that. Not least because its in the program. I mean, I knew that background history anyway, but it's fresh in my mind because of this documentary. But it was the Gulf of Tonkin Incident what led directly to America openly committing ground troops to Vietnam in a non-advisory and non-protection of U.S. military installations role. It was the moment that America irrevocably got involved to the extent where they couldn't easily get out again. It was the moment when Lyndon B. Johnson publicly demonstrated that he would tolerate no more aggression from the NVA and Viet Cong by enacting the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (by way of a unanimous vote in Congress) and where people like Barry Goldwater could no longer accuse him of being soft on Communism. There's just no way you can say that the Gulf of Tonkin Incident wasn't the catalyst for America escalating its role in the fight against the North Vietnamese regime to a massive degree. It's the point where the "Vietnam War" begins in the popular usage of the term. So, I think saying it was "the point where America first got really drawn into Vietnam" is accurate. I liked the documentary, as it follows the World at War template of talking to all sides involved, and focusing on home fronts as well as the battlefield. The Anti-War Movement gets treated as even-handed as the government and the military, in terms of showing the pros and cons. It does a really good job of showing the fog that had developed in assessing the war and how the defense Department kept sinking deeper into it, even as all indications were that their strategy wasn't working. Yeah, this is exactly what I like about it (and I like The World at War documentary series too). It presents the most even-handed, thorough and balanced view of the war that I've ever encountered in a documentary. |
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Post by berkley on Mar 20, 2021 21:34:12 GMT -5
I remember watching a documentary series about the Vietnam War back in the very early 1980s called "The Ten Thousand Day War", which I thought was very good at the time, but I recall very little in the way of detail about it now, after all these years. One thing I do recall, though, is that it made the assertion that the South Vietnam military effort was in some respects unfairly disparaged by Western accounts. I have no opinion on the subject myself, not having explored that area of history much.
I'm interested in the Ken Burns one but at the same time a little mistrustful of it: I'm afraid that efforts to be even-handed in this kind of thing can sometimes lead to a de facto minimising of the most indefensible aspects of one or other (or both!) of the two sides involved. And Burns's style in the Civil War doc felt too heavy-handed and almost saccharine to me, at times. I haven't watched any other of his highly acclaimed series.
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So far, I've heard the likes of Bob Dylan, Miles Davis, the Rolling Stones, and Johnny Cash -- and none of their music is cheap to licence!