A Brief History On July 5, 1809, the forces of the French Empire (and her allies) fought the forces of the Austrian Empire (and her allies) at Wagram, Austria, an enormous battle that cost both sides a combined 80,000 casualties and was fought between over 300,000 soldiers fielding over 1,000 pieces of artillery, making it perhaps the largest battle in European history up to its time and also the bloodiest military engagement of the entire Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars thus far. Digging Deeper The Battle of Wagram was a French victory, but a costly one. Napoleon had been distracted by…
Author: Major Dan
Major Dan
Major Daniel Zar 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.
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A Brief History On July 3, 1969, Mark Sosin was fishing off Bermuda when he hooked, fought, and landed the heaviest Yellowfin Tuna ever captured by sporting methods with fly fishing tackle. His record catch of 53 pounds 6 ounces took 40 minutes of line ripping fight to finally land, put Mark and his fish in the record books for nearly 50 years now, an impressive amount of time to hold a World Record. Considering that Yellowfin Tuna can grow to weights in excess of 300 pounds, this record for fly tackle is quite possibly within reach of some lucky…
A Brief History On June 29, 1974, we mark the first time in World History that a woman became President of any country in the world. Sure, there have been Queens and Prime Ministers, but Isabel Peron, the third wife of former President of Argentina Juan Peron, is the first lady to have the title “President” of any country, in this case, Argentina. On top of the distinction of achieving a “first” for women, Isabel was only 33 years old when she was sworn in as president, too young to even run for president in the United States. Digging Deeper…
A Brief History On June 28, 2018, we review the second Sicario movie starring Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, which premiers across the United States on June 29, 2018. The first thing we want to say is that it is not necessary to see the first film, Sicario (2015) with the same stars (plus Emily Blunt) to completely enjoy Soldado. The new movie easily stands on its own, although we did love the first one and recommend it highly. The films cover the violent and depressing situation of brutal Mexican drug cartels and the…
A Brief History On June 27, 1985, US Route 66, known as “The Main Street of America,” was officially taken off the list of US highways. Established in 1926, it was the main road from Chicago to Los Angeles (Santa Monica). Spawning a hit song (by Nat “King” Cole) and a hit television series, this route was the American highway, at least until superseded by the Interstate Highway System. It survives (barely) today in pieces as “State Route 66” in some states and as stretches of a “National Scenic Byway.” We previously discussed “10 Iconic American Things You Do Not…