August 9 (A 5'er)
480 B.C. - The Battle of Thermopylae ended (began August 7 - though some calendar systems list it as September 8-10).
The Persians won the battle and should have won the war, which would have drastically altered the history of the West...But the Persians had no way of knowing what waited for them at 'The Hot Gates' - Leonidas and the prowess of Sparta, 300 Lacedaemonians strong.
The Persian Empire was history's first great empire, by far the strongest nation in the Middle/Near East and Europe at the time, and invaded Greece with the intention of conquest through the weight of an estimated million man fighting force...Defending the Thermopylae Pass against this invading force the Spartans fought with an estimated strength of 3000 men (300 Spartans and 2700 allies).
Needless to say, the Persians didn't have a million troops but they had far more than the Spartans, and there was no way the Spartans could overcome such odds in this battle, but they did enough to help Greece win the war...At the Battle of Thermopylae, the Spartans put up one of the greatest defensive holding battles in history, which gave the Greeks enough time - and will - to mount a nationwide defensive force and also eliminated the best Persian troops: The Immortals.
This battle is one of the classics of all time, and I can't tell you how much I recommend you read 'Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae' and see the movie '300'.
48 B.C. - The Battle of Pharsalus: Julius Caesar defeated Pompey.
Caesar chased Pompey all over the Mediterranean world, and was on the verge of crushing his force...Pompey was lucky to escape to Egypt after this battle, but his days were numbered and it didn't take long for the Egyptians to murder him in order to win favor with Caesar.
378 - The Battle of Adrianople: Visigoth Calvary crushed a Roman Army.
The Roman Empire was in a steady state of decline, but at this battle the empire showed it was in it's death-throws.
The Visigoths annihilated the Roman force in the battle, which had the effect of forever opening the eastern portion of the Roman Empire to a tidal wave of Goths, Huns, Vandals, Franks, etc. - barbarian invaders.
1945 (11:02 am, local time) - The United States exploded a nuclear device over Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people: WWII.
The 'Fat Man' hit Nagasaki, forcing the Japanese Empire to finally consider capitulating to the overwhelming force of the U.S...A force which they brought on themselves. Please keep this in mind.
Also keep in mind the horrendous damage and loss of life which would have happened had the U.S. invaded Japan instead of ending the war with the atom bombs: MacArthur and Nimitz would have bombed the hell out of Japan Proper from the sea and air, and then sent in the artillery and infantry to finish the war...A reality which would have caused millions of Japanese deaths, and also completely destroyed the infrastructure and historical landmarks of Japan as well.
Oh, and the Ruskies would have swooped in from the north, looking for a little payback for the loss of their navy in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05)...Never minimize the importance of this in the mind of the Japanese decision to surrender.
1974 - President Richard Nixon formally resigned as President of the United States. Gerald R. Ford became the nation's 38th president.
Nixon is a disgrace, and it's too bad because he was on the verge of being one of America's better presidents...But he let his fears and emotions get the best of him, and vowed to never be cheated again as he was in 1960 by John F. Kennedy and the mob.
What's really sad is Nixon didn't need to pull 'tricks', because there was no way he was going to lose the election in 1972.
Luckily, Ford was a good man who was able to keep the pieces together for the shaken nation...Even though he was the lamest of lame duck presidents in history.
1378 - The election of Urban VI as Pope was declared null when the College of Cardinals declared him a lawless, anti-Christian, devil.
Papal politics has always been brutal, but never as bad as during the Middle Ages...Urban wasn't the first scoundrel-pope, and also wasn't the last.
1790 - The 'Columbia' returned to Boston Harbor after a three-year voyage, becoming the first ship to carry the American Flag around the world.
The new nation was trumpeting its existence, but hadn't yet proved it could last over time...Luckily, the success of the Columbia has been matched by the brilliance and greatness of the future United States of America.
1842 - The Webster-Ashburton Treaty between the U.S. and Britain was signed, establishing the boundary between the U.S. and Canada from Maine to the Great Lakes.
Prior to this time, the U.S. and British contested the divide between Canada and the U.S...I often wonder if Canadians secretly wish the line could have been further north, or if it had become part of the U.S. itself?
The Persians won the battle and should have won the war, which would have drastically altered the history of the West...But the Persians had no way of knowing what waited for them at 'The Hot Gates' - Leonidas and the prowess of Sparta, 300 Lacedaemonians strong.
The Persian Empire was history's first great empire, by far the strongest nation in the Middle/Near East and Europe at the time, and invaded Greece with the intention of conquest through the weight of an estimated million man fighting force...Defending the Thermopylae Pass against this invading force the Spartans fought with an estimated strength of 3000 men (300 Spartans and 2700 allies).
Needless to say, the Persians didn't have a million troops but they had far more than the Spartans, and there was no way the Spartans could overcome such odds in this battle, but they did enough to help Greece win the war...At the Battle of Thermopylae, the Spartans put up one of the greatest defensive holding battles in history, which gave the Greeks enough time - and will - to mount a nationwide defensive force and also eliminated the best Persian troops: The Immortals.
This battle is one of the classics of all time, and I can't tell you how much I recommend you read 'Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae' and see the movie '300'.
48 B.C. - The Battle of Pharsalus: Julius Caesar defeated Pompey.
Caesar chased Pompey all over the Mediterranean world, and was on the verge of crushing his force...Pompey was lucky to escape to Egypt after this battle, but his days were numbered and it didn't take long for the Egyptians to murder him in order to win favor with Caesar.
378 - The Battle of Adrianople: Visigoth Calvary crushed a Roman Army.
The Roman Empire was in a steady state of decline, but at this battle the empire showed it was in it's death-throws.
The Visigoths annihilated the Roman force in the battle, which had the effect of forever opening the eastern portion of the Roman Empire to a tidal wave of Goths, Huns, Vandals, Franks, etc. - barbarian invaders.
1945 (11:02 am, local time) - The United States exploded a nuclear device over Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people: WWII.
The 'Fat Man' hit Nagasaki, forcing the Japanese Empire to finally consider capitulating to the overwhelming force of the U.S...A force which they brought on themselves. Please keep this in mind.
Also keep in mind the horrendous damage and loss of life which would have happened had the U.S. invaded Japan instead of ending the war with the atom bombs: MacArthur and Nimitz would have bombed the hell out of Japan Proper from the sea and air, and then sent in the artillery and infantry to finish the war...A reality which would have caused millions of Japanese deaths, and also completely destroyed the infrastructure and historical landmarks of Japan as well.
Oh, and the Ruskies would have swooped in from the north, looking for a little payback for the loss of their navy in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05)...Never minimize the importance of this in the mind of the Japanese decision to surrender.
1974 - President Richard Nixon formally resigned as President of the United States. Gerald R. Ford became the nation's 38th president.
Nixon is a disgrace, and it's too bad because he was on the verge of being one of America's better presidents...But he let his fears and emotions get the best of him, and vowed to never be cheated again as he was in 1960 by John F. Kennedy and the mob.
What's really sad is Nixon didn't need to pull 'tricks', because there was no way he was going to lose the election in 1972.
Luckily, Ford was a good man who was able to keep the pieces together for the shaken nation...Even though he was the lamest of lame duck presidents in history.
1378 - The election of Urban VI as Pope was declared null when the College of Cardinals declared him a lawless, anti-Christian, devil.
Papal politics has always been brutal, but never as bad as during the Middle Ages...Urban wasn't the first scoundrel-pope, and also wasn't the last.
1790 - The 'Columbia' returned to Boston Harbor after a three-year voyage, becoming the first ship to carry the American Flag around the world.
The new nation was trumpeting its existence, but hadn't yet proved it could last over time...Luckily, the success of the Columbia has been matched by the brilliance and greatness of the future United States of America.
1842 - The Webster-Ashburton Treaty between the U.S. and Britain was signed, establishing the boundary between the U.S. and Canada from Maine to the Great Lakes.
Prior to this time, the U.S. and British contested the divide between Canada and the U.S...I often wonder if Canadians secretly wish the line could have been further north, or if it had become part of the U.S. itself?
Labels: Caesar, Christianity, Goths, Greece, Japan, Persia, Rome, Science, UK, US, WWII
posted by Poison Pero @ Thursday, August 09, 2018
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