Author Major Dan

Major Dan

Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

10 Presidential Firsts That Have Yet to Happen

By Major Dan on November 4, 2019 November 4, Politics

A Brief History On Tuesday, November 4, 2008, Barack Hussein Obama became the first American of African descent elected President of the United States. Or you could call him the first “bi-racial” President since his mother was of White European descent and his father was a Black sub-Saharan African. Now that the seeming racial barrier has been broken by the American voters, what other “firsts” remain to be achieved in regards to US Presidents? Today we look at 10 such “firsts” that have not yet happened. (See our previous article regarding “10 Presidential Firsts”) Digging Deeper First Woman. Oh, we…

Who Really Invented the Machine Gun?

By Major Dan on November 1, 2019 Inventions, Military, November 1

A Brief History On November 1, 1893, a small force of British soldiers defeated a much larger force of African warriors at the Battle of Bembezi in the South of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) during the First Matabele War. The British force carried the day mainly because of the addition of the Maxim machine gun to their arsenal, a weapon that was the brainchild of American inventor Hiram Maxim. Digging Deeper At Bembezi only 700 British soldiers faced 10,000 Matabele (various spellings) warriors, of which 2000 were armed with rifles and the other 8000 armed with spears and more primitive weapons. …

What Was the Last Successful Cavalry Charge in Modern Warfare?

By Major Dan on October 31, 2019 Animals/Pets, Military, October 31

A Brief History On October 31, 1917, during World War I, the war that brought the mass use of machine guns, armored vehicles, airplanes and poison gas into warfare, a singular battle stands out as an anachronism when the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force sent infantry and cavalry units against the Yildirim Army Group (Ottoman Turks and Germans) defending the town of Beersheba in the Negev region of what is now Israel. Incredibly, the largely Australian and Anzac mounted troops made the cavalry charge with their rifles slung over their backs, and their bayonets in their hands! Digging Deeper After some…

More Battles Won by Trickery

By Major Dan on October 30, 2019 Military, October 30

A Brief History On October 30, 1806, 5300 Prussian soldiers defending the city of Stettin surrendered to only 800 French soldiers commanded by General Lassalle, falling for the ruse that the French force was much larger. We previously used this example of wartime trickery as the start of our article, “Fooled You! Battles Won by Trickery.” Today we continue to explore the use of ruses, false information, decoys, fakes and general trickery in the conduct of warfare. Here are some more such incidents, and like our previous article, concerning World War II (with other tricky battles from other wars to…

Early KKK Leader Dies but Denounces Racism First!

By Major Dan on October 29, 2019 Military, October 29, Politics

A Brief History On October 29, 1877, former Confederate States of America Army General Nathan Bedford Forrest died, but despite being an early member of the infamous racist organization, the Ku Klux Klan and serving as the first Grand Wizard of the notorious hate group, he had changed his tune, denying involvement with the Klan and denouncing the racism and violence associated with the KKK! Digging Deeper If you believe Nathan Bedford Forrest is something of a folk hero to White Supremacists, and conversely a hated and despised person by those seeking racial equality, you would be right! Forrest’s contribution…