SS Mont-Blanc 6th December 1917, Halifax, Canada, the burning SS Mont-Blanc drifts into Pier 6. Minutes earlier, a collision happened between the Mont-Blanc and a Norwegian steamship, SS Imo. Sparks from the impact ignited benzol that had leaked from barrels aboard Mont-Blanc, starting a fire that had forced her crew to abandon ship.
SS Imo's wreckage after the explosion.
At first, none of the inhabitants are aware of what's about to happen. People gather around to witness the unusual event with their own eyes. Moments later, a sailor runs to warn the populace about the impending disaster: the burning SS Mont-Blanc was loaded with around 2,925 metric tons of explosives, and it was just a matter of time before they would be set off.
Yet one of the persons warned, train dispatcher Vincent Coleman, does not evacuate. Instead, he runs back to his office, where he spends his final moments making sure that a train carrying around 300 passengers would receive what would be his final message:
“Hold up the train. Ammunition ship afire in harbor making for Pier 6 and will explode. Guess this will be my last message. Good-bye boys.”
Coleman would be one of nearly 2,000 deaths caused by the Halifax explosion, which was the largest man-made explosion at the time. It is still disputed whether or not Coleman's message was what stopped the train, but what is clear is that its hundreds of passengers narrowly avoided death by a couple of minutes. As it spread, it also alerted the rest of the country about what happened that day, with trains later carrying relief aid to the affected city.
an hour earlier, 34 years ago, soviet officials convened and decided to seal off pripyat after chernobyl's reactor four exploded, condemning fifty thousand people
an hour earlier, 34 years ago, soviet officials convened and decided to seal off pripyat after chernobyl's reactor four exploded, condemning fifty thousand people
The Anbar Awakening was the event between 2005-2011, Where former Iraqi Sheikhs and Old Saddam officers of the military and Republican guard, untied together against Al Qaeda. Originally, they were a band of tribal and old military insurgents, secular at heart and targeting the United States and British Militaries. But when Al Qaeda, their former ally, had begun to show their true terrorist nature with Suicide bombings, and a radical form of Sunni Islam, they decided to cooperate with the Occupation on a basis of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." These photos often show what were originally enemies, now working together.
Just a couple of pictures taken in the Red Square in May 9th
Alexander Ustinov was a war correspondent during the war, and on the evening of the 9th of May, wrote the following and took the pictures above of the celebration of the Great Victory, “On the night of 9 May 1945, the citizens of Moscow did not sleep. At 2:00 a.m. the radio announced that an important announcement will be made. At 2:10 a.m. Yuri Levitan read the German Instrument of Surrender and the Decree of the USSR Supreme Soviet Presidium on declaring May 9 the day of a national holiday - the Holiday of Victory.
Taking a camera I went out into the street. People ran out of their houses onto the streets... and congratulated each other on the long-awaited victory. Banners appeared. More and more people were gathering, they moved towards the Red Square. A spontaneous demonstration began. Joyful faces, songs, dances to the accompaniment of an accordion. In the evening a salute was fired: thirty salvos from thousands of guns in honour of the Great Victory.”
Happy V.E. Day to everyone! And in case of Americans like myself, happy late VE Day!
During the later years of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980's, Saddam's Iraq had begun to enhance their WMD program in order to ensure they could win the War with the Iranians. Or at the very least ensure that Saddam's Ba'athist regime did not collapse at the hands of the Newly formed Iranian Theocracy. Some of these WMD's, were in the form of Chemical and Biological weapons, such as the use of gasses such as Sarin and Mustard, and the lethal organisms such as Anthrax. Weapons that the Iranians did not have the capacity to produce in large quantities.
The weapons themselves, had gone under many trials in order to prove their effectiveness by some of the cruelest scientists I've personally ever read about.
Rihab Taha "Dr, Germ"
And
Huda Ammash "Mrs. Anthrax"
These two western educated women were heads of Saddam's WMD program that concerned Biological and Chemical weapons. Dr. Taha, was educated in Norwich's University at East Anglia. Getting her Certifications in Plant toxins and Bio-engineering. And Huda Ammash, being educated in the United States at the University of Texas and University of Missouri, getting her doctorate in Micro-biology.
Both were accused of war crimes including allegations such as human experimentation, torture tactics, etc. Rihab Taha, was most notably accused of experimenting with Anthrax on Iranian Prisoners of war, one instance of which was reported by the United Nations, was the act of tying said prisoners to stakes, and detonating Anthrax explosives near them, and recording the findings. Though after the war was over by the late 1980's, these experiments were then taken from prisoners of war, onto Prisoners at Abu Ghariab Prison. And later onto the Kurdish people in the north as a form of ethnic cleansing.
Kurdish Mass Grave after Gas attack
Huda Ammash, was accused but later found not guilty of using Serin gas on prisoners of war by launching artillery shells at said prisoners tied to stakes to test the affects on the human body and the ballistics of said artillery in action.
Iranian Child soldier that had been killed by the use of Serin gas shells.
Both women were later released by 2005 by Coalition forces. Huda Ammash was last heard to be in critical health due to Breast Cancer possibly due to exposure to uranium and radiation in Abu Dhabi. Before her release, she admitted to suggesting the use of Chemical weapons on the coalition during the Gulf War in 1991.
Meanwhile Rihab Taha has not been seen since her release, but is rumored to be working with the Syrian Ba'athist regime in their own chemical weapons program as of 2016. At the recommendation of former Iraqi Ba'ath loyalists.
have read literally 2 posts from this thread but i can say with certainty that 95% of these posts are just about relatively recent wars and/or militaries
have read literally 2 posts from this thread but i can say with certainty that 95% of these posts are just about relatively recent wars and/or militaries
“”History”” enthusiast, or wanking over military history while wallowing in misconceptions conveyed through the school curricula and “””””history””””” youtube
In school, I always loved learning about the Vietnam War, especially since there always seems to be more to learn, whether it be actual combat related, or just the United States during the war.
In school, I always loved learning about the Vietnam War, especially since there always seems to be more to learn, whether it be actual combat related, or just the United States during the war.
The direct cause(s) behind the events of August 29th 1943 can be found both within and outside of the Danish borders. The foreign policy based reasoning can be found on the battlefields of the Eastern Front and the Mediterranean Front, where German forces through the summer of 1943, suffered a row of decisive defeats. Political defeats spurred from this when Hitler's ally, the Italian dictator Mussolini, was removed from government July 24th 1943.
The geopolitical events affected the general view in Denmark. Throughout the country thoughts -which turned out to be faulty- spread, saying that the war was going to end with German defeat soon. These thoughts made the vast majority of the population want to meet the occupational power in defiance.
Sabotages intensified heavily in the month of July, the targets being businesses that aided the occupation through either production but most importantly the railways, as they shipped supplies to and from Germany. Sabotages in the larger provincial cities such as Odense and Esbjerg were the most affected. They defied local German demands regarding curfews, which led to protests and general unrest, with fighting taking place between civilians and German Wehrmacht soldiers.
On the sidelines the resistance movements intensified further sabotage with the intention of increasing protests and unrest. In many cities conditions reached that of a general uprising against the occupation. The Danish government was pushed by the occupational force to do everything in their power, in order to put an end to the unrest.
Even with the assistance of union leaders and employers, they were unable to bring peace and order to the most affected cities in a noticeable way.
THE GERMAN ULTIMATUM IS REJECTED
Towards the end of August, it grew to be a thorn in Hitler's side, who ordered the withdrawal of his embassy in-country Werner Best, for a serious reprimand. Best was sent back to Copenhagen with an ultimatum dictated directly by Hitler, which among other things demanded that the Danish government declared martial law, forbade protests, public gatherings, nighttime curfews, speical courtrooms for expediency in cases of resistance and death penalty for sabotage.
The parties in-government declined the German demands. The government, Rigsdag and King all ceased their respective function as a result.
On the right the artillery ship Peder Skram, Heatboat Vb. 2, and the motortorpedo boat Hvalrossen (only the masts are seen). In the background the frigate Fyn
MILITARY ENFORCED MARTIAL LAW
The German reaction to the Danish rejection of aforementioned ultimatum, was the implementation of a militarily enforced martial law. It's terms being those which the Danes otherwise had rejected. In the morning of the 29th of August 1943 the Danish military was disarmed by the German Wehrmacht, in skirmishes that cost the lives of 23 Danish and 5 German soldiers. Parts of the navy were scuttled by the crew, or had tried to get transferred to prevent German capture. The vast majority was, however, captured by the German navy.
The martial law was considered as an intense increase of the occupation situation in Denmark, and seemed to show that Denmark was to be put under even worse terms like in other occupied countries in Europe. The occupational power however, decided to blow off the martial law six weeks after. The Danish government, Rigsdag and King stayed away from their respective jobs anyways. On the behalf of the state, the departmental chiefs of the ministries continued the state administration, but now without formal political leadership.
THE VIEW OF THE UPRISING
At the same time the resistance movement considered the uprising a sizable victory. The politicians on the other hand, saw the events that led to the dethronement of government, as a dangerous adventure policy driven forth by antidemocratic and system breaking powers. Powers that they believed would lead to grave losses for both country and people
It was in the period of 1942-1943 that Germany (informally) declared Danish territory to be hostile to the occupational powers. This also led to the Germans introducing a counter-terror doctrine (informally recognized as "The German Terror" in-country)
The direct cause(s) behind the events of August 29th 1943 can be found both within and outside of the Danish borders. The foreign policy based reasoning can be found on the battlefields of the Eastern Front and the Mediterranean Front, where German forces through the summer of 1943, suffered a row of decisive defeats. Political defeats spurred from this when Hitler's ally, the Italian dictator Mussolini, was removed from government July 24th 1943.
The geopolitical events affected the general view in Denmark. Throughout the country thoughts -which turned out to be faulty- spread, saying that the war was going to end with German defeat soon. These thoughts made the vast majority of the population want to meet the occupational power in defiance.
Sabotages intensified heavily in the month of July, the targets being businesses that aided the occupation through either production but most importantly the railways, as they shipped supplies to and from Germany. Sabotages in the larger provincial cities such as Odense and Esbjerg were the most affected. They defied local German demands regarding curfews, which led to protests and general unrest, with fighting taking place between civilians and German Wehrmacht soldiers.
On the sidelines the resistance movements intensified further sabotage with the intention of increasing protests and unrest. In many cities conditions reached that of a general uprising against the occupation. The Danish government was pushed by the occupational force to do everything in their power, in order to put an end to the unrest.
Even with the assistance of union leaders and employers, they were unable to bring peace and order to the most affected cities in a noticeable way.
THE GERMAN ULTIMATUM IS REJECTED
Towards the end of August, it grew to be a thorn in Hitler's side, who ordered the withdrawal of his embassy in-country Werner Best, for a serious reprimand. Best was sent back to Copenhagen with an ultimatum dictated directly by Hitler, which among other things demanded that the Danish government declared martial law, forbade protests, public gatherings, nighttime curfews, speical courtrooms for expediency in cases of resistance and death penalty for sabotage.
The parties in-government declined the German demands. The government, Rigsdag and King all ceased their respective function as a result.
On the right the artillery ship Peder Skram, Heatboat Vb. 2, and the motortorpedo boat Hvalrossen (only the masts are seen). In the background the frigate Fyn
MILITARY ENFORCED MARTIAL LAW
The German reaction to the Danish rejection of aforementioned ultimatum, was the implementation of a militarily enforced martial law. It's terms being those which the Danes otherwise had rejected. In the morning of the 29th of August 1943 the Danish military was disarmed by the German Wehrmacht, in skirmishes that cost the lives of 23 Danish and 5 German soldiers. Parts of the navy were scuttled by the crew, or had tried to get transferred to prevent German capture. The vast majority was, however, captured by the German navy.
The martial law was considered as an intense increase of the occupation situation in Denmark, and seemed to show that Denmark was to be put under even worse terms like in other occupied countries in Europe. The occupational power however, decided to blow off the martial law six weeks after. The Danish government, Rigsdag and King stayed away from their respective jobs anyways. On the behalf of the state, the departmental chiefs of the ministries continued the state administration, but now without formal political leadership.
THE VIEW OF THE UPRISING
At the same time the resistance movement considered the uprising a sizable victory. The politicians on the other hand, saw the events that led to the dethronement of government, as a dangerous adventure policy driven forth by antidemocratic and system breaking powers. Powers that they believed would lead to grave losses for both country and people
It was in the period of 1942-1943 that Germany (informally) declared Danish territory to be hostile to the occupational powers. This also led to the Germans introducing a counter-terror doctrine (informally recognized as "The German Terror" in-country)
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