Terry's other side: Well, it seems that the other side of Terry's family has a storied military history:
First off, we have Terry's distant relative serving as a Red Coat against the Americans during the American Revolutionary War. We can forgive Terry's ancestor for fighting on the wrong side. It seems that there was some incident involving poaching, and it seemed the best course of action to "take the King's bounty" and serve:
A subsequent ancestor served on the right side of justice as a general during the American Civil War:
Another relative served during WWII at the breakout from Normandy. It seems that his comrades liked him so much that they pushed him around in a wheel barrow:
At the close of the war, a distant uncle served as an adviser to Churchill. He sat in for photos while Churchill was at the loo:
Then came Viet Nam where a cousin served as a special detachment to the Green Berets. Careful observers will note that he served alongside George Takei of Star Trek fame:
I guess I got tired of the Terry TV, and I don't mean television, photos, although I fully admit culpability, especially with regard to the poodle picture.
I wanted to photoshop other photos from other military actions by Australia (and other Comonwealth nations); however, I could only find real pictures, and it didn't seem right to photoshop them. Here they are:
Rorke's Drift. One of the most lopsided victories in military history. 39 Brits (Welsh) defended a small, unfortified compound against over 5,000 Zulu attackers. It occurred in 1879, and the Brits did not have fully automatic weapons. I do not believe that they even had repeating weapons. And yes, the attackers had rifles. All the survivors received Victoria Crosses:
Absolutely
watch the movie: Zulu. It is superb, accurate, and has a great performance by Michael Caine.
There's the forgotten (at least among non-Aussies), of
the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915 when the Brits sent the expendable Aussies on a horrible fool's errand:
There's
a good movie by the same name starring Mel Gibson. It's a bit sentimental in a 1970's kind of way, but otherwise good.
Mostly forgotten, at least by Americans and Brits, was the horrific slogging in the Pacific against the Japanese during WWII. The jungles of New Guinea were especially bad, and as I recall, Aussie and American troops marched the width of New Guinea, over mountains and through jungles, in order to defend what would have been a jumping off point for a Japanese invasion of Australia:
[rant]The Brits may have forgotten the Pacific theater because of there less than stellar record there after they surrendered the vastly strategic Singapore pretty much without a shot while vastly outnumbering their Japanese aggressors. But then again, it was the Americans whom they criticized as unprepared after our defeat at Kasserine.[/rant]
During the Korean War, Aussies fought with no less valor than the Americans. Here's a bunch chasing North Korean forces back to the Yalu:
The same is true for the War in Southeast Asia, although there the Aussies displayed better field discipline and tactics than the Americans.
We could have learned from the Aussies, but Gen. "Westy" Westmoreland was a jackass determined to send good soldiers to their graves.
O.K., I'll get off my soapbox.
Ooops, I'm back on it.
