Quote:
Originally Posted by Amnorix
September 1.
1715. After 72 years of reign, the longest of any monarch in European history, King Louis XIV of France, the Sun King, dies.
1870. The Battle of Sedan, between the forces of Prussia and France. The Prussian forces won a decisive victory, including the capture of Emperor Napoleon III. The result effectively decided the war, though fighting would continue for some time yet. The fighting would continue under a provisional government, however, as the Second French Empire collapsed immediately upon Napoleon III's capture, in a bloodless revolution. As a result of the Prussian victory in the war, the territory of Alsace-Lorraine was taken from France and made part of Germany, where it would remain as a bone of contention until it was given back to France following the end of WWI.
1897. The Boston subway opens, becoming the first underground rapid transit system in North America.
1939. After the staged attack on a German radio station (described yesterday), the German Wehrmacht invades Poland. With overwhelming numerical and equipment advantages, and the impact of its "new" blitzkrieg assault -- Polish defenses quickly crumble.
1939. George Catlett Marshall becomes Chief of Staff of the United States Army. He brings to the job with him a list of young, promising soldiers whom he intends to elevate as quickly as possible through the ranks, notwithstanding their technically junior status in the hide-bound US Army which has traditionally valued length of service above all other qualifications. Within three years, he will grow the US Army by a factor of 40.
1969. A revolution in Libya brings Muammar al-Gaddafi to power.
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Any idea who these young promising soldiers could be? any names? should i already know?
Found this regarding forty-fold on wikipedia... but it doesn't really describe who was on this list...
"
Grows military force forty fold
Faced with the necessity of turning an army of former civilians into a force of over eight million soldiers by 1942 (a fortyfold increase within three years), Marshall directed General Leslie McNair to focus efforts on rapidly producing large numbers of soldiers. With the exception of airborne forces, Marshall approved McNair's concept of an abbreviated training schedule for men entering Army land forces training, particularly in regards to basic infantry skills, weapons proficiency, and combat tactics.[9][10] At the time, most U.S. commanders at lower levels had little or no combat experience of any kind; without the input of experienced British or Allied combat officers on the nature of modern warfare and enemy tactics, many of them resorted to formulaic training methods emphasizing static defense and orderly large-scale advances by motorized convoys over improved roads.[11] In consequence, Army forces deploying to Africa suffered serious initial reverses when encountering German armored combat units in Africa at Kasserine Pass and other major battles.[12] Even as late as 1944, U.S. soldiers undergoing stateside training in preparation for deployment against German forces in Europe were not being trained in combat procedures and tactics currently being employed there.[13]"