The FReeper Foxhole Revisits Captain Ken Pope - Liberation of Kuwait (2/27/91) - February 25th, 2005

Army History ^ | Kevin Hymel

[snippy_about_it]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


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The FReeper Foxhole Revisits

Battle on the Basra Road

When CPT Ken Pope led his troop of M1A1 Abrams tanks and M3A2 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicles over a ridge west of the Basra Road on 27 February 1991, he was surprised to find over a dozen Iraqi tanks, armored personnel carriers, and assorted wheeled vehicles with supporting infantry strung out less than 1,000 meters to his front. But the Iraqis were even more surprised. Pope recalled that several Iraqis “were standing outside their vehicles” and added that “it looked like they had stopped for a quick maintenance halt.” It was the fourth day of the U.S. Army’s ground attack against Iraq, and Pope was about to begin his last battle of the Persian Gulf War.

The war resulted from Saddam Hussein’s sudden invasion of its Arab neighbor Kuwait on 2 August 1990. In response to Saddam’s blatant act of aggression, President George Bush ordered U.S. troops, aircraft, and warships to Saudi Arabia to thwart a possible invasion of that country by Iraqi forces. Five days after the invasion, the first U.S. soldiers, a brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, flew out of Charleston AFB, SC, bound for Saudi Arabia. In time, the entire XVIII Airborne Corps, consisting of four divisions and other units, would be in Saudi Arabia, ready to defend that nation from attack.

By October, General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of the U.S. Central Command and all Allied forces in Saudi Arabia, had enough troops to maintain a solid defense of Saudi Arabia. Schwarzkopf, however, soon realized that he needed more forces if the Allied coalition decided to drive the Iraqis from Kuwait. By 15 October, Schwarzkopf and his staff began formulating plans for a two corps attack. Less than a month later, President Bush announced the deployment of the U.S. Army’s VII Corps to Saudi Arabia.

By the time Desert Shield became Desert Storm, the U.S. Army had seven divisions, two armored cavalry regiments, and hundreds of other combat and support units in Saudi Arabia. In addition to the Army forces sent to Saudi Arabia, the U.S. Navy deployed six carrier battle groups with several hundred aircraft. The U.S. Air Force sent over 1,000 fighter, bomber, tanker, and transport aircraft. In all, Schwarzkopf commanded fifteen divisions, including the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions and several Allied coalition divisions.

The powerful VII Corps was comprised of several heavy armor units, including the 1st and 3rd Armored Divisions, 1st Cavalry Division, 1st Infantry Division (the famed “Big Red One”), 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, and the British 1st Armored Division. VII Corps’ objective, once the ground war commenced, was to drive north 100 miles into Iraq and then wheel right and drive east, cutting off the Basra Road, the main route leading north from Kuwait City to Basra, Iraq, and the most likely escape route for fleeing Iraqi armor.

The XVIII Airborne Corps, on the left flank of VII Corps, would also drive north, pivot east farther north of VII Corps, and destroy what was left of the Iraqi ground forces.



As the build up of forces for Desert Shield steadily increased, MG Thomas G. Rhame prepared his 1st Infantry Division for war at Fort Riley, KS. During training, Rhame quickly realized that his cavalry squadrons were understrength and would be unable to effectively deal with Iraqi armored and mechanized forces. As a result, Rhame ordered that more armor be added to his cavalry squadrons. LTC Robert Wilson’s 1/4 Cavalry, of which CPT Pope’s Alpha Troop was a part, received M1A1 tanks while in Kansas and M3A2 Bradleys after the unit arrived in Saudi Arabia. Pope remembered the situation well: “We had formed the troop from scratch at Fort Riley six weeks prior. We were still putting personnel into the vehicles as we began the ground war.”

Alpha Troop was one of four that made up 1/4 Cavalry. Pope commanded two platoons of six Bradleys each and one platoon of two Bradleys and three M1A1s.

The U.S. Army’s doctrine for combat, better known as Air-Land Battle, called for speed and firepower coordinated with artillery and close air support. The weaponry of Pope’s Alpha Troop, along with most of the U.S. Army’s forces in Saudi Arabia, reflected this doctrine.



The M1 Abrams main battle tank and M2/3 Bradley fighting vehicles were the pride of the U.S. armored forces. First introduced to the Army in 1980, the Abrams received numerous upgrades to its weapons, armor, and electronics to ensure its superiority over Soviet armor. The A1 model included a 120mm smoothbore cannon, which replaced the original 105mm main gun, and additional armor added to the front. Another addition to the M1A1 was a new overpressure system that constantly blew air out of hatches and other openings in the tank to prevent contaminants from entering. This overpressure system was considered extremely important for the forces deployed to Saudi Arabia, since they faced an enemy that had employed chemical weapons in its war against Iran and against rebellious Kurds within its own borders. The Abrams had a crew of four: three men, the tank commander, gunner, and loader, in the turret, and one, the driver, in a compartment in the front of the tank.

The M2/3 Bradley was a companion to the Abrams. The M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) was a troop carrying version and was developed to replace the Vietnam War-era M113 APCs, which were considered too slow and too poorly armed and armored to accompany tanks directly into battle. The M3 Cavalry Fighting Vehicle (CFV) used the same chassis as the M2, but was designed as a scout/cavalry vehicle. Both carried a crew of three (commander, driver, gunner), but instead of carrying six dismounts like the M2, the M3 carried two scouts in the rear compartment, whose jobs were, explained Pope, “to dismount the Bradley in any action, check trenches or obstacles, and provide local security for the vehicles.” Both the M2 and M3 were armed with a twin tube TOW missile launcher, 25mm Bushmaster cannon that fired armor piercing and high explosive rounds, and a coaxial 7.62mm machine gun. In addition, the Bradley was also equipped with night vision sights that gave the Bradley a distinct advantage over similar Iraqi vehicles.



It was this mixed force of Bradleys and M1A1s that Pope eventually commanded in training and battle through three countries in the Middle East. On 17 January 1991, as the Allied air forces began their attacks on Iraq and enemy forces entrenched in Kuwait, Pope intensified his troop’s training. When the Allies launched the ground campaign on 24 February, he led his men through the Saddam line, Iraq’s initial defense line comprised of trenches, minefields, and other obstacles.

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[snippy_about_it]

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Once they had breached the line, the vehicles of Alpha Troop raced north. For the next three days, Pope’s men advanced rapidly, destroying Iraqi armor, capturing hundreds of prisoners, and crossing various mission phase lines with names such as Dixie, New Jersey, and Milford. On the fourth day of the ground war, MG Rhame radioed the VII Corps commander, LTG Fred Franks, and announced, “We’re facing a broken army. Contact is light.” Franks asked Rhame for his recommendation and Rhame replied, “I’d like to press east to objective Denver and cut the Basra-Kuwait City Highway.” Franks quickly approved Rhame’s request to press the attack. The mission went to CPT Pope and his troop. The units of the Big Red One were so strung out that Pope and his men would not receive artillery preparation, only advanced warning from helicopters scouting from above.



From his Bradley, Pope surveyed the positions of his troops. To his front were the six Bradleys of 1st Platoon. In the center was Pope, followed by the six Bradleys of 2nd Platoon. To the right were two Bradleys and three M1A1s of 3rd Platoon. At approximately 1630, Alpha Troop crested a ridge a spotted Iraqi armor. The lead Iraqi vehicle, a Soviet made BMP IFV, attempted to flee, but a Bradley, commanded by SSG Gerald Broennimann, opened fire and knocked it out of action. “I didn’t have to give the command to fire,” said Pope. The Americans opened up instinctively in an effort to eliminate the Iraqis before they could respond. Within seconds, the air was streaked with tracer rounds as Bradleys and M1s concentrated their fire on the Iraqis.

After the first Iraqi vehicle exploded, Pope’s gunner attempted to engage an Iraqi T-55 tank with a TOW missile. As Pope observed the tank, he caught the flash of a TOW fired by another Bradley in the corner of his commander’s sight. The missile struck the Iraqi tank, destroying it. The Iraqis appeared to have been taken by surprise, and according to Pope, “there were three Iraqis standing on the tank. I think they heard the missile connect because they all turned and looked in our direction.” The entire action was over within forty minutes. Dozens of Iraqi tanks and other vehicles were destroyed. Fiery explosions erupted as the ammunition within the wrecked enemy vehicles cooked off.

The Iraqi defeat was total. Miraculously, Alpha Troop had suffered no casualties. There was, however, little time to enjoy the victory. The original mission called for Alpha Troop to block enemy forces from advancing from the north. Pope’s small force now straddled the Iraqi line of retreat and had to prevent the Iraqis from retreating from the south. Pope immediately redeployed his units. He ordered 3rd Platoon to continue to block any Iraqi threat from the south and established a perimeter around the highway with 1st and 2nd Platoons. He also ordered 1st and 2nd Platoons to each deploy two Bradleys north to protect Alpha Troop from any Iraqis advancing south to support the general retreat. As the unit redeployed, Iraqi prisoners flooded the troop. By 1830, Alpha Troop had collected over 450 prisoners.

Back at the 4th Cavalry headquarters, LTC Wilson realized the danger to Alpha Troop, which was sticking out ahead of the rest of the 1st Infantry Division and virtually isolated from support. In order to reinforce Alpha’s position, Wilson ordered CPT Mike Bills’ Bravo Troop to deploy to the western side of the Basra Road while Alpha force secured the eastern side. Pope received orders to secure the highway and block the Iraqi escape route. Bravo Troop soon arrived, and the two units quickly established a strong defensive perimeter to answer threats from any direction. As darkness fell over the battlefield, Pope continued to inspect and improve the perimeter. He ordered his men not to go walking around outside it, and to be careful when moving within it. According to Pope, “everything to the sides, and for that matter inside the perimeter, had mines, cluster submunitions, or any kind of unexploded ordnance.” Pope knew what these hidden dangers could do.



During the course of the ground war, almost all of his tanks and Bradleys had hit mines and other unexploded ordnance. On one occasion, a tank even picked up an antitank mine and rolled it over its rear sprocket, where it exploded.

Throughout the night, as the sounds of war rumbled over the desert landscape, the two troops continued watch to collect prisoners. The lull in the fighting allowed Pope the time to assess the strengths and weaknesses of his Iraqi foes. He had clashed with Soviet-supplied T-55 and T-72 tanks in a couple of engagements, and to him “the vehicles looked impressive, but did not match up to our equipment in any way.” His professional assessment of the crews was even worse. With proper training, he thought the Iraqis could have done much better. But matched against well-trained and better equipped Americans, “they never really had a chance.”

At 0400 the next morning, Pope completed his rounds and went to his troop command post to try to catch an hour of sleep. Instead of sleep, he received some surprising news. Pope’s executive officer announced that a cease-fire was to go into effect at 0800. Pope felt more relieved than victorious. None of his men had been killed or wounded, and they had shown professionalism equal to the most difficult situations they had faced. “That was my greatest reward,” Pope conceded. He immediately got on the troop radio net and announced the good news. He then told his men how proud he was of them and how much he appreciated their efforts. The war, as it turned out, was not quite over yet.



The cease-fire was in effect, but LTC Wilson, the 1/4 Cavalry commander, received orders to secure Safwan Airfield. GEN Schwarzkopf had decided to hold a formal cease-fire ceremony with the Iraqi generals. Schwarzkopf chose Safwan because he wanted a spot deep in Iraq so there would be no question as to who were the victors and who were the vanquished. There was only one problem: Safwan was still held by the Iraqis. Because of a miscommunication, GEN Schwarzkopf assumed that the airfield had been taken by American forces. As result, the 1st Infantry Division scrambled to secure Safwan with orders to avoid casualties.

All troops of the squadron were were alerted to move out at 0615 and head north. Above them, OH-58 Kiowa Warrior scout and AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters acted as guides. The lead units of the 1/4 Cavalry reached the airfield about an hour later. They were surprised when what they saw on maps as an uncompleted highway turned out to be the Safwan airfield. At first, the area seemed to be deserted, but overhead, helicopter crews reported the dug in tanks of an entire Iraqi brigade. Pope received the order not to fire unless fired upon and to continue forward. Without firing a shot, Alpha Troop occupied the airfield under the guns of the defending Iraqis. The enemy forces Pope found turned out to be a group of demoralized, starving, and ragged Iraqis. The Americans broke out their Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) and shared them with the Iraqi defenders. Soon after they started eating, an Iraqi colonel marched up, furious that his men accepted American food and demanding that the Americans depart. Pope informed him that it was the Iraqis who would have to leave the area. He exchanged maps with the colonel and the Iraqi retreated back to his own lines to inform his superiors.

All around the perimeter, the same type of exchange was going on with different troops and LTC Wilson himself. After a short period of time the Iraqi colonel returned to Pope’s position and told him the Iraqis were not going to leave. As the tension increased, a flight of AH-64 Apache attack helicopters flew over. Pope reiterated the order, shouting over the thumping of the copters’ blades that the Americans would attack if the Iraqis did not move. The Iraqi colonel went back to tell his superiors. The negotiations were not moving fast enough for MG Rhame. He ordered his 2nd Brigade, under COL Tony Moreno, to Safwan. Once there, Moreno conferred with two Iraqi generals and a civilian official. He was waiting for an Iraqi answer when Rhame radioed him with orders that were direct and to the point. He told Moreno, “Tell the Iraqis to move or die.” When Moreno met the Iraqis for a second time, he cut off their reading of a prepared statement. Spitting a wad of blood at their feet (he had recently cut his lip) he said, “If you don’t leave by 1600 hours, we will kill you.” That ended the negotiations. The Iraqis pulled out.



Within hours, CH-47 Chinook helicopters began ferrying in tents and tables. GEN Schwarzkopf arrived soon after to sign the official Iraqi surrender.

CPT Pope had survived four days of one of the shortest but most intense and lopsided wars of the twentieth century. He had helped the U.S. Army win the war by successfully performing a vital mission that cut off the enemy deep in its own territory. When that was completed, he and his men assisted with the bloodless capture of Safwan for the armistice negotiations. He had also achieved something rare to any soldier in war: he led his men into combat and brought them all home alive.

[snippy_about_it]

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DESERT STORM

The air phase of Desert Storm began on January 16. and continued until the cessation of hostilities. The allies shot down 42 Iraqi planes in aerial combat and damaged or destroyed 375 of Iraq's 594 hardened aircraft shelters. Total estimated Iraqi aircraft destruction ranges from 103 to 142 aircraft. Additionally, Iraq flew 122 aircraft to Iran for internment. Total Iraqi aircraft rendered combat ineffective during the air phase was 266 of their estimated 750 plane air force (approximately 35%). Allied losses were 90 planes (68 in combat, 22 to other causes). On 0100 24 February, the French Daguet Division, with the 2nd Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division attached, crossed the undefended Iraqi border north of the Saudi town of Rafha. This action marked the beginning of the ground phase of Desert Storm. In most cases the Allies rapidly broke through the Saddam line. Breaching operations went sowell that General Schwarzkopf moved H-Hour forward for the other coalition forces. All the good guys had launched theirattacks by the afternoon of the 24th.



February 25. On the western flank, the 101st Air assault division airlifted a brigade to cut the last major road into the Kuwaiti theater of operations (the As Samawah-An Nasiriyah road). While the French Dauget division continued to advance north, covering the allies left flank. Due to the speed of the Allied advance Iraqi forces were unable to maneuver. The 45th and 49th Iraqi Divisions were heavily engaged by the French (Al Salam scenario) and elements of the American 24th Mechanized Division. In the center, the coalition VII Corps advanced into, and through, the Iraqi 7th Corps. The Iraqi 12th Tank Division, functioning as a mobile reserve behind the 7th Corps infantry screen was defeated in a night engagement with the British 1st Armored Division (Rats scenario) which had passed through the breach previously created by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division.

The 1st Cavalry Division, ordered to conduct a diversionary attack up the Wadi Al-Batin, appeared to be having a significant impact on the Iraqi's reaction. J-Stars surveillance indicated the Iraqi's were beginning to move their armored reserves south. The Iraqi's seemed to have no knowledge of the strong armored formations advancing up their right flank.

In the east all coalition forces completed their breaching of the Saddam line. The Marines had encountered virtually no resistance from the first line of Iraqi defenders on G-Day. The Iraqi's threw battalion and brigade sized armored formations in their path. The Iraqis were probably the divisional tank battalions of the III Corps Infantry divisions with tank brigades of the corps tank and mechanized divisions thrown in piecemeal. Marine units closed to within ten miles of Kuwait City. February 26. Saddam Hussein announced his forces were withdrawing from Kuwait. Whether the statement was issued as a ploy to attempt to get the allies to ease up or an actual execute command for the Iraq military's retreat is unclear. In the west, the French overcame the last resistance from the 45th Infantry Division and continued to screen the coalition's left flank. The 24 Mechanized Division, attached to the XVIII Airborne Corps, advanced north to An Nasiriyah, destroying the remnants of the Iraqi 49th Infantry Division.



In the center, the armored spearhead of the coalition'sVII corps encountered it's first serious opposition. The U. S. 1st Armored Division would destroy the Iraqi 26thInfantry Division, while the U.S. 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR) became heavily engaged with the Republican Guard Tawakalna Mechanized Division, and two brigades of the Iraqi 12th Armored Division which were attempting to withdraw to the north. The 2nd ACR fought off numerous uncoordinated Iraqi attacks for nearly six hours until relieved by the 1st Armored, 3rd Armored and 1st Infantry Division.

Further south the British 1st Armored division engaged numerous Iraqi units attempting to retreat from the border. In the east, the 1st Marine Division fought a victorious pitched tank battle against the Iraqi 3rd Armored Division for Kuwaiti International Airport and entered the outskirts of Kuwait City. The 2nd Marine Division cut the road north of Kuwait City, and with the help of Tacair, destroyed over 2000 Iraqi vehicles.



By now, Baghdad was aware of the approximate position of VII Corps. The Republican Guard maneuvered to prevent the complete encirclement of the units remaining in Kuwait. Designated units, such as remnants of the 3rd Armored Division, were functioning as the Iraqi's rear guard. February 27th. The Iraqi's had fled Kuwait City, there would be no significant fighting as the Kuwaitis liberated their capital. In the center the climatic battle of the war occurred as elements of the U.S. VII Corps engaged and decisively defeated the remaining Iraqi Tank reserves (Madinah scenario). The Iraqi reserves consisted of the Republican Guard Madinah, Hammurabi Armored Divisions, remnants of the Tawakalna, and Adan Infantry Divisions supported by elements of the regular armies 52nd, 17th, and 12th Armored Divisions(the 12th had a long war). These reserves were tasked with blocking the final withdraw route out of Kuwait and despite losing the battle, did, in fact, enable the several Iraqi mechanized units to escape Kuwait.

At 0800 on 28 February, with the U.S. VII Armored and XVIII Airborne Corps posed to crush the remaining Iraqi forces, the cease fire went into effect.

Additional Sources:

www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Den/7664
www.globalsecurity.org
www.backwoodsweb.com
www.sohoblues.com
www.army.mil
www.wildgoosecreekstudio.com
cseserv.engr.scu.edu
www.3ad.org
www.jodyharmon.com
www.vipersinthestorm.com
The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Captain Ken Pope - Liberation of Kuwait (2/27/91) - May 14th, 2003

[snippy_about_it]

'First, we’re going to cut it off, and then we’re going to kill it.'

-- General Colin Powell
referring to the Iraqi Army in Kuwait.

[snippy_about_it]

"FALL IN" to the FReeper Foxhole!



It's Friday. Good Morning Everyone.

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If you'd like to drop us a note you can write to:

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[snippy_about_it]

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization.

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Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.

Thanks to quietolong for providing this link.

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We here at Blue Stars For A Safe Return are working hard to honor all of our military, past and present, and their families. Inlcuding the veterans, and POW/MIA's. I feel that not enough is done to recognize the past efforts of the veterans, and remember those who have never been found.

I realized that our Veterans have no "official" seal, so we created one as part of that recognition. To see what it looks like and the Star that we have dedicated to you, the Veteran, please check out our site.

Veterans Wall of Honor

Blue Stars for a Safe Return

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NOW UPDATED THROUGH JULY 31st, 2004




The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

Click on Hagar for
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LINK TO FOXHOLE THREADS INDEXED by PAR35

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[Iris7]

"When Moreno met the Iraqis for a second time, he cut off their reading of a prepared statement. Spitting a wad of blood at their feet (he had recently cut his lip) he said, “If you don’t leave by 1600 hours, we will kill you.” That ended the negotiations. The Iraqis pulled out."

Colonel Moreno is a true negotiator. I admire clear talk.

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Remember a few days ago there was a question about whether it was possible for a Bataan Death March fellow to also fight at Iwo? I found one. Where there is one, there are others.

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"One close friend in particular, Reid Chamberlain, his foxhole buddy on Iwo Jima, had eluded death once before on the island of Corregidor in the Philippines by escaping to a nearby island and leading a Filipino guerrilla band behind Japanese lines. The Marines notified his mother that he had died, though she refused to believe them, Josephy said.

Chamberlain eventually returned to the United States, but finding that he couldn’t fit into civilian life while the war was still on, he re-enlisted in the Marines and found himself on Iwo Jima. He was walking across what he thought was a secure part of the island when he was shot and killed by an enemy sniper hidden among the rocks."

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7012940/page/2/

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Finally, flamethrowers squirted their lethal liquid into the caves, which became boiling infernos. A number of the Japanese who had reoccupied the ridge were incinerated. Others, their clothing and bodies aflame, tried to escape, only to fall prey to accurate Marine bullets. In desperation, some of the enemy trapped inside the ridge blew themselves up with hand grenades. Before long the scene became wild and terrible. More Japs rushed screaming from the caves. They tumbled over the rocks, their clothes and bodies burning fiercely. Soon the flamethrowers paused. A Marine lifted himself cautiously into view. There were no shots from the caves. A Jap with his clothes in rags hunched himself out of one hole, his arms upraised. The Marines stood up behind the rocks and waved to him to come out. The Jap indicated that there were more who would like to surrender. The Marines motioned him to tell them to come out.

In all, 40 men emerged from the ridge, many of them Koreans. Marines shouldered their weapons as the prisoners were marched to the rear. The tanks left the erstwhile battlefield and quiet descended over the area. Yet this peaceful interlude was soon to be shattered again a few hours later when the Japanese, moving through underground tunnels, reoccupied the ridge. One of the first victims proved to be Sergeant Reid (Carlos) Chamberlain, a Marine with an unusual background. As a member of the U.S. Army, he had witnessed the fall of Bataan and Corregidor, but instead of surrendering to the enemy, he had turned his activities towards the organization and training of Filipino guerrillas. He received a commission in the U.S, Army and returned to the United States, where he promptly resigned his commission and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps.

En route to the forward positions of the 21st Marines, Sergeant (Reid Carlos) Chamberlain was walking past the long, rocky ridge, unaware that there were any enemy in the vicinity. Suddenly, there were several shots, one of which hit the sergeant in the head. This incident took place in front of several Marine news correspondents, some of whom also drew enemy fire. When help arrived for the sergeant, it was too late. As one of the correspondents present was to put it later, speaking of the enemy:

In an instant they had claimed one of our best men. Chamberlain's wonderful war record had ended abruptly. After so many heroic deeds, it seemed an added tragedy that he was killed while doing nothing but walking. There was nothing anybody could do about it.

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/IV/USMC-IV-VI-11.html

Page 690.

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While this report deals exclusively with the records of Commander McCoy, Colonel Melhlik, and Colonel Dyess, other Americans known to have escaped from Japanese prison camps in the Philippines include Maj. Michiel Dabervitch of Ironton, Minn., Maj. Austin C. Shofner of Shelbyville, Term., Maj, Jack Hawkins of Roxton, Tex., and Corp. Reid Carlos Chamberlain of El Cajone, Calif., all of the U. S. Marine Corps. (From official United States Navy report.)

http://www.battlingbastardsbataan.com/deathmarch.htm

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What a man. What a shame to lose him.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Foxhole.

[alfa6]

Off to work bump for the Freeper Foxhole

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[GailA]

Good morning

[The Mayor]

February 25, 2005

Anger Management

Read:
James 4:1-6

Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure? -James 4:1

Bible In One Year: Numbers 28-30

In James 4, the writer swung his axe at the root of one of our deepest problems: a smothering absorption with our own desires-getting our own way and having our own needs met. When that passion is frustrated, it can quickly become blind rage that demeans others and debases us. Though we may get what we want, we're left feeling unsatisfied.

It's better to ask God to meet our needs with His hands, in His time, in His way; to yield our will to His control, and pray as Jesus did, "Not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42).

It does no good to brood over injustices, to try to set things right on our own, or to let our lustful desires determine our decisions. Submitting to our own desire for pleasure will lead to "wars and fights" inside us and with those around us (James 4:1).

Before our anger peaks, we can call for a "time out" and take a walk with the One who understands us better than we understand ourselves-who cares for us more than we can ever know. We can tell Him about our anger and mull things over with Him.

We can ask God to meet our needs His way, for as James said, He gives "more grace" (v.6)-a gift far greater than anything we can manage on our own. -David Roper

When anger lingers in our hearts,
It poisons all we think and do;
But faith seeks ways to show God's love
And keeps our spirit strong and true. -D. De Haan

For every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
When Anger Burns
Moses: His Anger And What It Cost Him

[Valin]

On this Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on February 25:
1643 Ahmed II 21st sultan of Turkey (1691-95)
1725 Armand-Louis Couperin Paris France, composer/organist (Notre Dame)
1735 Ernst William Wolf composer
1778 José Francisco de San Martín liberated Argentina, Chile & Perú
1807 George Alfred Trenholm Secretary Treasurer (Confederacy), died in 1876
1808 James Bowen Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1886
1809 George Washington Cullom Brevet Major General (Union Army), died in 1892
1814 Taras Shevchenko Ukrainian national poet/painter
1815 Robert Hall Chilton Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1879
1833 Clement Anselm Evans Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1911
1841 Pierre Auguste Renoir Limoges France, Impressionist painter/sculptor
1873 Enrico Caruso Naples Italy, operatic tenor (Faust)
1881 William Foster Massachusetts, Communist Presidential candidate (1924,28,32)
1888 John Foster Dulles US Secretary of State (1953-59)
1896 John J McClellan (Senator-D-AR)
1901 [Herbert] Zeppo Marx New York NY, comedian/actor (Marx Brothers)
1906 Howard Zahniser Father of the Wilderness Act
1909 Edgar Pangborn US, sci-fi author (Judgment of Eve, Davy)
1910 Millicent Fenwick New York NY, (Representative-R-NJ 1975-82) (Doonesbury)
1913 Jim Backus Cleveland OH, actor (Mr Magoo, Thurston Howell III-Gilligan's Island)
1917 Anthony Burgess essayist/novelist (A Clockwork Orange)
1918 Robert Lorimer "Bobby" Riggs US tennis star (US Open 1939, 41)
1927 Dick Jones Snyder TX, actor (Buffalo Bill Jr)
1927 Ralph Stanley country singer
1929 Christopher George Royal Oak MN, actor (Rat Patrol)
1929 Tommy Newsom Virginia, musician/bandleader/saxophonist (Tonight Show)
1932 Faron Young country singer/actor (Hidden Guns, Daniel Boone)
1937 Bob Schieffer Austin TX, newscaster (deFace The Nation)
1940 Ron Santo Chicago Cub shortstop (1st baseball player to veto his trade)
1943 George Harrison Liverpool England, rocker (My Sweet Lord, Beatles-Something, Traveling Wilburys-End of the Line)
1950 Rick Flair [Richard Fliehr], wrestling champion (NWA/WWF/WCW/AWA)

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Deaths which occurred on February 25:
0779 Walburgis Anglo-Saxon abbess/saint (Walpurgis Night), dies
1495 Djem Sultan son of Turkish sultan Mehmed II, dies at 35
1601 Earl of Essex executed for treason in revolt against Queen Elizabeth
1601 Robert Devereux Earl of Essex, executed for treason against Elizabeth
1713 Frederik I King of Prussia (1701-13), dies at 55
1723 Sir Christopher Wren England, astronomer/architect, dies at 90
1922 Henri-Désiré Landru French sex murderer, guillotined at 52
1962 Wilhelm Pessler German sociologist, dies at 81
1975 Elijah Muhammad leader of the Nation of Islam, dies in Chicago at 77
1978 Daniel "Chappie" James Jr retired Air Force General, dies at 58
1987 James Coco actor (Joe-Dumplings), dies at 58
1994 Baruch Goldstein physician/murderer (53 in mosque), lynched at 42
1994 Jersey Joe Walcott boxer, dies at 80
1994 Wladyslaw Sila Lawyer Adviser to Solidarity-Nowicki dies at 80
1996 Haing S Ngor doctor/actor (Killing Fields), dies at 45
1997 Tony Williams jazz drummer (Miles Davis), dies at 51

---

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 CAUSEY JOHN BERNARD---GRANITE CITY IL.
1967 HART JOSEPH L.---AFTON WY
1968 BRELLENTHIN MICHAEL---DUNEDIN FL.
[NOT ON OFFICIAL DIA LIST]
1968 RIDGEWAY RONALD L.---HOUSTON TX.
[03/16/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1972 MORGAN WILLIAM J.---BATON ROUGE LA.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

---

On this day...
1095 Council of Rockingham bishop Anselmus vs King William II Rufus
1336 The Knights of the Cross lay siege to Pilenai Castle in Samogitia. The defenders burned all their goods and committed suicide (Lithuanian Massada)
1540 Francisco Vásquez de Coronado searches for 7 lost cities of gold (finds dirt, sand, rock, a little water, and a bunch of really ticked of indians)
1570 Pius V excommunicates Elizabeth, absolves her subjects from allegiance (Elizabeth responded by hanging and burning Jesuits)
1746 Cumberlands troops occupy Aberdeen
1751 1st performing monkey exhibited in America, NYC (admission 1¢)
1791 1st Bank of US chartered
1793 1st cabinet meeting (At George Washington's home)
1799 1st federal forestry legislation authorizes purchase of timber land
1799 Congress passes 1st federal quarantine legislation
1803 1,800 sovereign German states unite into 60 states
1804 Jefferson nominated for President at Democratic-Republican caucus
1815 Napoleon left his exile on the Island of Elba, intending to return to France
1831 Polish army halted the Russian advance into their country at the Battle of Grochow
1836 Samuel Colt patents 1st revolving barrel multishot firearm
1837 1st US electric printing press patented by Thomas Davenport
1838 London pedestrian walks 20 miles backward then forward in 8 hours (talk about your good times!)
1839 Seminoles & black allies shipped from Tampa Bay FL, to the West
1847 State University of Iowa is approved
1859 First use of "insanity plea" to prove innocence
1862 Congress establishes the US Bureau of Engraving & Printing
1862 Paper currency (greenbacks) introduced in US by President Abraham Lincoln
1862 Confederate troops abandon Nashville, Tenn., in the face of Grant's advance.
1862 The ironclad Monitor was commissioned at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
1863 Congress creates national banking system, comptroller of currency
1868 Andrew Johnson impeached for violation of the Tenure of Office act
1870 Hiram Revels, Mississippi, is sworn in as 1st black member of Congress (Senator)
1875 Kiowa Indians under Lone Wolf (Guipago) surrender at Ft Sill
1879 Congress passed 1st Timberland Protection Act
1885 US Congress condemns barbed wire around government grounds
1896 Italian government decides to attack governor Baratieri of Eritrea
1901 US Steel Corp organizes under directorship of J P Morgan
1904 J M Synge's "Riders to the Sea" opens at Irish National Theatre Society
1907 US proclaims protectorate over Dominican Republic
1908 1st tunnel under the Hudson River (railway tunnel) opens

1913 16th Amendment ratified, authorizing income tax(rant rant rant rant!)

1919 Oregon is 1st state to tax gasoline (1¢ per gallon)
1919 League of Nations set up by Paris Treaty
1921 Georgian SSR proclaimed
1923 Bread in Berlin rises to 2,000 mark
1926 Francisco Franco becomes General of Spain
1927 Gdansk & Polish accord concerning traffic through Polish corridor
1930 Check photographing device patented
1932 Immigrant Adolf Hitler gets German citizenship
1933 Major NFL rule changes (hash mark 10 yards in, posts on goal line)
1933 1st genuine aircraft carrier christened, USS Ranger
1940 1st televised (W2XBS, NYC) hockey game (Rangers vs Canadiens)
1941 February strike against persecution of Jews, in Amsterdam
1943 Vietminh forms Indo Chinese Democratic Front
1945 US aircraft carriers attack Tokyo
1948 Communists seize Czechoslovakia/C Gottwald becomes premier
1949 WAC Corporal rocket achieves height of 400k (record)
1950 "Your Show of Shows" with Sid Caesar & Imogene Coca premieres on NBC Writers include Mel Brooks, Neil Simon & Woody Allen
1954 Abdul Nasser appointed Egyptian premier
1956 Khrushchev denounces Stalin at 20th Soviet Party Conference
1957 Buddy Holly & the Crickets record "That'll Be the Day"
1957 Supreme Court decides 6-3, baseball is only antitrust exempt pro sport
1961 Paul Bikle in glider climbs from 1208 meter at release to record 14,100
1963 Beatles release their 1st single in US "Please Please Me"
1964 Cassius Clay, a 7-1 underdog, TKOs champion Sonny Liston in the 7th round to win the world heavyweight championship(I AM the greatest)
1966 Syrian military coup under Hafiz al-Assad
1968 430 Unification Church couples wed in Korea
1968 Makarios re-elected President of Cyprus
1969 Beatles begin recording for the Abbey Road album
1971 "Oh! Calcutta!" opens at Belasco Theater NYC for 1,316 performances
1972 Lopsided trade, Cards trade Steve Carlton to Phillies for Rick Wise
1973 Juan Corona sentenced to 25 life sentences for 25 murders
1974 Veronica & Colin Scargill (England) begin tandem bicycle ride a record 18,020 miles around the world, completed on August 27, 1975
1976 U.S. Supreme Court rules that states may ban the hiring of illegal aliens. (Gosh! That was nice of them)
1981 NHL most penalized game; Bruins vs Northstars, 84 penalties (392 minutes)
1981 Executive Board of Baseball Players' Association votes unanimously to strike on May 29 if the issue of free-agent compensation remains unresolved
1982 Final episode of "The Lawrence Welk Show" airs
1982 Record speed for a snowmobile (239 kph)
1986 Corazon Aquino becomes President of Philippines; Former Philippines President Ferdinand E Marcos flees in defeat
1986 Thousands of Egyptian military police riot, destroy 2 luxury hotel
1987 US Supreme Court upholds (5-4) affirmative action
1987 LaMarr Hoyt is banned from baseball for 1987, due to drug abuse
1989 1st independent blue-collar labor union in Communist Hungary forms
1989 Dallas Cowboys fire coach Tom Landry after a 29-year career
1991 US, barracks in Dhahran Saudi Arabia, hit by SCUD missile, kills 28
1994 Israeli extremist Baruch Goldstein massacres 30 Palestinians in Hebron
1994 Phil Rizzuto elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1995 Bomb attack on train in Assam India (27 soldiers killed)
1997 In China in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang province, Muslim Uigher separatists set bombs that killed as many as 5 and wounded 27
2003 Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said Iraq was showing new signs of real cooperation
2004 The Mel Gibson film "The Passion of Christ" premieres.

---

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Kuwait : National Day
México : Coronado Day (1540)
Suriname : Revolution day
US : I Am the Greatest Day
US : Wine Appreciation Week (Day 4)
US : Engineers Week (Day 6)

National Meat Month

---

Religious Observances
Christian : Feast of St Avertanus & Bl Romeo
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Matthias the Apostle (leap years)
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Walburga, abbess
Orthodox : Commemoration of St Tarasius, patriarch of Constantinople
Lutheran : Commemoration of Elizabeth Fedde, deaconess,
Christian : Ash Wednesday
Jewish : Fast of Esther (Adar 13, 5762 AM)

---

Religious History
1570 Elizabeth I of England was excommunicated by Pope Pius V for her severe persecution of Roman Catholics in England. (It was the last such judgment made against a reigning monarch by any pope.)
1738 English revivalist George Whitefield wrote in a letter: 'God, I find, has a people everywhere; Christ has a flock, though but a little flock, in all places.'
1824 The Baptist General Tract Society was organized in Washington, D.C. In 1826 the society was moved to Philadelphia, and by 1840, the organization had issued over 3.5 million copies of 162 different tracts.
1902 Birth of Oscar Cullmann, German New Testament scholar. Best known for pioneering a "salvation history" view of the NT, Cullmann's two best-known publications were "Christ and Time" (1946) and "Christology of the New Testament" (1959).
1913 Pioneer missionary Eduard L. Arndt first arrived in Shanghai, China, 10 months after having founded the Evangelical Lutheran Missions for China. He afterward established missions and schools in the Hankow territory, and translated hymns and sermons into Chinese. (In 1917 the Missouri Synod took over the ELMS mission.)

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

---

Thought for the day :
"If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried."

[Valin]

Good morning


Are you sure?

[SAMWolf]

Morning Snippy.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Aeronaut.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Iris7

Where there is one, there are others.

Good job!

[SAMWolf]

Morning E.G.C.

What a beautiful day yesterday! More of the same today. :-)

[SAMWolf]

Don't work too hard, It's Friday. ;-)

[SAMWolf]

Hi GailA

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. It's Friday!

[SAMWolf]

Morning Mayor.

I always hated the "time out" method of discipline. IMHO, it doesn't work.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, folks.

It went down into the 30's last night. Took a few minutes to get the car warmed up.

How's it going, Snippy?

[tomball]

Excellent message today, Mayor.

[SAMWolf]

1831 Polish army halted the Russian advance into their country at the Battle of Grochow

The first months after the outbreak of the November Uprising saw no hostilities between Poland and Russia. Both the Polish commander Jozef Chlopicki and Russian tsar Nicholas I were hoping for a peaceful solution to the conflict. However, none of the sides could propose a satisfactory compromise and in on January 25, 1831, Nicholas was deposed of the Polish throne.

This was seen as a de facto declaration of war and the Russian Army under Ivan Dybich was ordered to enter Poland and crush the rebellion. The Russian army entered Poland on February 4 and started a fast advance towards Warsaw. Despite several minor battles and skirmishes, in which the Russian army suffered significant losses, the advance could not be stopped by the Polish forces, both numerically and technically inferior.

On February 24 the Russian Army reached the outskirts of Warsaw in two columns. Initially Dybich was planning an all-out assault on Warsaw on February 26. However, the successful Polish counter-attack in the Battle of Bialoleka, in which the 13 500 men strong Corps of General Ivan Shakhovskiy was defeated and forced to retreat, made Dybich change his plans and attack earlier than planned.

Opposing forces

The Polish forces dislocated to the east of Warsaw constituted the majority of Polish Army. Apart from the II Infantry Brigade under General Kazimierz Malachowski, dispatched to the north to take part in the Battle of Bialoleka, the forces of General Jozef Chlopicki included some 36 000 soldiers and 115 cannons of various calibres. Large part of the Polish forces was composed of fresh, poorly trained and ill-equipped volunteers. However, the core of the Polish Army was composed of Napoleonic Wars veterans.

The Russian forces had some 59 000 men at arms and 178 cannons. In addition, at 15.00 the weakened corps of General Shakhovskiy arrived to the battlefield and took part in the assault. The forces of Field Marshal Ivan Dybich were organised into 5 Infantry Corps, with some cavalry units attached to them. However, the main part of the Russian cavalry was defeated in the Battle of Stoczek and did not enter the combat.

Battle

The Polish counter-attack in the area of Bia³o³êka on February 24 surprised the Russians. In the early morning of February 25, after both units taking part in the Battle of Bialolêka were on the verge of breaking after a night-long city fight, the Poles threw in the reserve 1st Infantry Division under General Jan Krukowiecki. The Russians started a retreat and the Poles started a pursuit, but the Polish advance was halted after an hour.

The sound of the nearby battle made Field Marshal Dybich change his plans and order an assault on Polish positions 24 hours earlier than planned. At noon the I Corps and the Corps of General Grigoriy Vladimirovich Rosen were ordered to assault the Polish 2nd and 3rd Infantry Divisions (Generals Skrzynecki and Zymirski, respectively) in the woods east of Pahlen was ordered to outflank the Poles from the south and strike through the lines of the Polish 4th Infantry Division of General Szembek.

Although the Russians had numerical superiority and better equipment on their side, the Polish lines were well-hidden in the woods and the Russian artillery had difficulties helping the advancing infantry. Despite numerous assaults, both the woods and the Goclawek road was still in Polish hands by dusk. After suffering heavy casualties, the Russians withdrew from the battlefield. However, the Poles also lost large part of their forces and were unable to organise a successful pursuit.

After the battle

The battle was not concluded. However, the Poles finally managed to stop the Russian advance and prevented Dybich's forces from capturing Warsaw. This however was a pyrrhic victory. The Russian army lost at least 9 500 killed and wounded. Polish losses were slightly smaller, but also significant: between 6 900 and 7 300 dead and wounded.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning PE.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Tomball.

[tomball]

Good Morning, Foxhole. Another excellent thread for another great day. I remember when the war broke out, CNN was actually reporting the news. My boss had CNN Headline News hooked up to our telephone line so when customers called in and had to be put on hold, they would hear the latest on what was going on with the War. There were times when he would connect with the customer only to have them tell him to put them back on hold for "just another minute" to hear what was going on.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone!

[snippy_about_it]

Thanks for finding this story Iris7.

[Wneighbor]

Morning P.E. & msdrby!

Say, does anybody here know any FReepers from the Huntsville Alabama area? :-)

Since I'm looking at maybe moving there, I might like to talk to some folks from there. :-)

[Aeronaut]

Hi Sam.

[SAMWolf]

Hi Feather.

[GailA]

It wasn't raining, there was only light frost, and the temps are going to be mid-50s today so yes, its a good moring for Memphis.

[Professional Engineer]

Say, does anybody here know any FReepers from the Huntsville Alabama area? :-)

I think CholeraJoe hails from Alabama originally, but I'm not sure where.

[CholeraJoe]

I'm from Selma originally, but haven't been there since the 1970's.

[Grzegorz 246]

[Grzegorz 246]

[Grzegorz 246]

Look at Putin.

[colorado tanker]

LOL! Pooty-poot looks like he was taken out to the woodshed and had his bottom spanked.

[colorado tanker]

"Time out" works for us. The trick is you have to spank them the first couple of times when they try to break the rules so they know you mean business about sitting in the room alone and quiet.

[colorado tanker]

Nice post. I can just imagine the pucker factor at Safwan wondering if the Iraqis would be dumb enough to shoot at us.

Darn shame we didn't just swing into Baghdad back then and finish the job.

Been a long week. Whew! Sure glad it's over, even if I got some more to do this weekend.

[SAMWolf]

Afternoon Grzegorz 246

[SAMWolf]

He just looks so thrilled < /sarcasm>

[SAMWolf]

The trick is you have to spank them the first couple of times

That's the part most people leave out.

[Iris7]

"The Polish counter-attack in the area of Bialolêka on February 24 surprised the Russians. In the early morning of February 25, after both units taking part in the Battle of Bialolêka were on the verge of breaking after a night-long city fight, the Poles threw in the reserve 1st Infantry Division under General Jan Krukowiecki. The Russians started a retreat and the Poles started a pursuit.."

Well timed counter attack. To bad there were not the reserves to exploit it properly.

The Russians assaulted "the Polish 2nd and 3rd Infantry Divisions (Generals Skrzynecki and Zymirski, respectively) in the woods east of Pahlen". Those Divisions were likely very small by todays' standards, maybe three, three battalion regiments. Sounds rough, bayonets and buttstocks. Fighting in the woods was smart of the Poles, takes away the Russian fire advantage. Hope they had time and willingness to dig in properly.

The Leftist French Revolution and that SOB Napoleon started this "total war" business. A return to barbarousness. I do not like that sort of thing.

Iraq is much more my kind of war. Go after the enemy, for heaven's sake.

Like in the Phoenix program. Find. Fix. Destroy.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Howdy all.

[Wneighbor]

I'm from Selma originally, but haven't been there since the 1970's.

Howdy, it looks like I may be trying to look up some freepers to meet in Alabama soon - so if you know any.....

[Samwise]

That's the Colin Powell I admire so much.

[Samwise]

Moving? But we haven't had that Texas barbecue yet. On the other hand, you could host us for a visit to Space Camp.

Howya doing, W?

[Valin]

We had this strange ball of fire in the sky for a short while. Fortunatly the clouds came and covered it back up. Very frightening.