...A Line through the Desert. In times like these, folks could use a little retro-read.
Its got teenage sex and exploding tanks.
[I'm sorry, people. I really am-Ed]
You said you always had a crush on Jake.
[Motherly-Ed]
Please, you told me you wanted to...
[Ah, yes well...I...-Ed]
Uh-huh.
William Stroock (as in Stroock's Books)
Showing posts with label Desert Storm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Desert Storm. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 1, 2020
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Monday Metal
Tuesday Edition:
A line through the Desert, among other things, is about music.
Sgt. Jake Bloom is into hard rock, classic rock and metal. And he really, really loves Led Zeppelin. Favorite song: Over the Hills and Far Away. In fact OHFA is referenced in the opening paragraph.
Here are some other bands:
Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi (Blaze of Glory)
Cinderella (Yes I know, but that is some good hard rock)
Def Leppard (Pyromania and Hysteria)
Journey (puts it on the tape deck when in the car with Patricia. Heh, tape deck).
A line through the Desert, among other things, is about music.
Sgt. Jake Bloom is into hard rock, classic rock and metal. And he really, really loves Led Zeppelin. Favorite song: Over the Hills and Far Away. In fact OHFA is referenced in the opening paragraph.
Here are some other bands:
Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi (Blaze of Glory)
Cinderella (Yes I know, but that is some good hard rock)
Def Leppard (Pyromania and Hysteria)
Journey (puts it on the tape deck when in the car with Patricia. Heh, tape deck).
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
73 Easting
Twenty-eight years ago today, the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment fought the Battle of 73 Easting.
Two divisions of the Iraqi Republican Guard attacked the 2nd ACR, deployed on the east end of Wadi.
The America's technological edge was decisive. GPS put the 2nd ACR exactly where it wanted to be in the desert. Night vision enabled the Americans to see the Iraqis. Their SABOT shells ripped right through Iraqi armor.
The last great armored battle of the 20th century.
We chronicled the Battle of 73 Easting in A Line through the Desert.
Two divisions of the Iraqi Republican Guard attacked the 2nd ACR, deployed on the east end of Wadi.
The America's technological edge was decisive. GPS put the 2nd ACR exactly where it wanted to be in the desert. Night vision enabled the Americans to see the Iraqis. Their SABOT shells ripped right through Iraqi armor.
The last great armored battle of the 20th century.
We chronicled the Battle of 73 Easting in A Line through the Desert.
Thursday, January 17, 2019
Twenty-Eight and Ten Years on
Twenty-eight years ago yesterday Desert Storm began.
Also ten years ago this year we published A Line through the Desert.
The idea had been kicking around our head since 2002, and we began writing the book in March of 2003 moments after finishing Nick Hornby's High Fidelity. Let's just say we related. The John Cusack film is a faithful representation, aside from being American, not British.
There are traces of HF in ALTD, mostly music related.
At this time ten years ago we were going through Book Surge's (now CreateSpace's) agonizing formatting process. This meant a lot of waiting and money.
Now we do it all ourselves, for free.
Also ten years ago this year we published A Line through the Desert.
The idea had been kicking around our head since 2002, and we began writing the book in March of 2003 moments after finishing Nick Hornby's High Fidelity. Let's just say we related. The John Cusack film is a faithful representation, aside from being American, not British.
There are traces of HF in ALTD, mostly music related.
At this time ten years ago we were going through Book Surge's (now CreateSpace's) agonizing formatting process. This meant a lot of waiting and money.
Now we do it all ourselves, for free.
Monday, January 7, 2019
2 August 90: What If?
2 August 90 was the day Saddam invaded Kuwait.
It was obvious to us that war was a comin'. Becuase we played GDW's World War III we knew the US would win.
Of course not everyone has our insight and clairvoyance.
The arguments for war were solid:
Saddam was a dictator who fancied himself the regional hegemon in waiting.
Saddam was threatening the global oil supply.
Saddam's invasion was an act of pure aggression.
Saddam had been bragging about his nuclear program that spring.
Saddam's invasion was reminiscent of Hitler.
To the America of 1990, still marinating in the legacy of the Second World War, comparisons to Hitler, Munich, and the war were apt and impossible to avoid.
The cause was righteous.
But what if the United States had simply given a Gaelic shrug, sipped some wine, said C'est la vie, and adjusted to the new order with Saddam as regional hegemon?
The Wahabiest nutters running Saudi Arabia would have been under his thumb. Surely the Shia whackjobs in Iran would have been his next target.
Would a Middle East run by a secular Saddam who hates Islam been such a bad idea?
But what of Israel? Ahhhhh....
It was obvious to us that war was a comin'. Becuase we played GDW's World War III we knew the US would win.
Of course not everyone has our insight and clairvoyance.
The arguments for war were solid:
Saddam was a dictator who fancied himself the regional hegemon in waiting.
Saddam was threatening the global oil supply.
Saddam's invasion was an act of pure aggression.
Saddam had been bragging about his nuclear program that spring.
Saddam's invasion was reminiscent of Hitler.
To the America of 1990, still marinating in the legacy of the Second World War, comparisons to Hitler, Munich, and the war were apt and impossible to avoid.
The cause was righteous.
But what if the United States had simply given a Gaelic shrug, sipped some wine, said C'est la vie, and adjusted to the new order with Saddam as regional hegemon?
The Wahabiest nutters running Saudi Arabia would have been under his thumb. Surely the Shia whackjobs in Iran would have been his next target.
Would a Middle East run by a secular Saddam who hates Islam been such a bad idea?
But what of Israel? Ahhhhh....
Not as crazy as it sounds
Sunday, September 23, 2018
World War 1990: Polish Storm Meet the Generals II
General John Tilelli, commander, 1st Cavalry Division:
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Tuesday Tally: Be All That You Can Be Edition
The top Armies in American History:
The Army of the Mexican War: In the north, this army marched into parched, desolate country and defeated Mexican forces on their home turf. Zachary Taylor was a fine, solid sort. On the coast, Winfield Scott marched his troops deep into hostile territory, lived off the land and took their capitol.
The Army of Northern Virginia: While it had suffered devastating losses at the brigade and regimental commander lever, the ANV was filled with tough, grizzled vets accustomed to hard living. Robert E. Lee was a master of maneuver, understood that he had to always hold the initiative, and did so being being almost impossibly aggressive.
The Army of the West: Sherman's mirror image veterans, tough, Midwestern used to hard living. They had come through some ferocious battles: Shiloh, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, etc...and could live off the land. They actually seemed to enjoy the March to the Sea. General Sherman was a brilliant tactician,out-maneuvering the CSA in the Atlanta campaign.
The Army of Desert Storm: General Schwarzkopf was the US Army's culmination of maneuver and air-land battle doctrine. He led the best trained, equipped and motivated troops in U.S. military history.
And the worst:
The Continental Army: Lost more than it won. Badly supplied, had a habit of melting away in the winter time and usually filled with the dregs of Colonial society.
The American Expeditionary Force: Faulty training, 'open warfare' doctrine got a lot of men killed, organized in massive, hard to maneuver, harder to supply 28,000 man divisions. Pershing was wrong about almost everything.
The army of the Korean War, 1950: under-trained and equipped and living the high life in Japan.
The 1970's Army: Suffering tremendous morale problems after Vietnam, wracked by drugs and racial issues, using equipment that dated back to the 1950s. Couldn't have stopped the Soviets. The army of Harold Ramis and Bill Murray.
Honorable Mention:
The National Army 1898-1902: 75,000 men recruited specifically to fight the Philippine Insurgency. Led by officers with vast experience fighting Indians and administering conquered territory, both Indian and Confederate. Armed with the highly accurate Krag Rifle.
The Army of the Mexican War: In the north, this army marched into parched, desolate country and defeated Mexican forces on their home turf. Zachary Taylor was a fine, solid sort. On the coast, Winfield Scott marched his troops deep into hostile territory, lived off the land and took their capitol.
The Army of Northern Virginia: While it had suffered devastating losses at the brigade and regimental commander lever, the ANV was filled with tough, grizzled vets accustomed to hard living. Robert E. Lee was a master of maneuver, understood that he had to always hold the initiative, and did so being being almost impossibly aggressive.
The Army of the West: Sherman's mirror image veterans, tough, Midwestern used to hard living. They had come through some ferocious battles: Shiloh, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, etc...and could live off the land. They actually seemed to enjoy the March to the Sea. General Sherman was a brilliant tactician,out-maneuvering the CSA in the Atlanta campaign.
The Army of Desert Storm: General Schwarzkopf was the US Army's culmination of maneuver and air-land battle doctrine. He led the best trained, equipped and motivated troops in U.S. military history.
And the worst:
The Continental Army: Lost more than it won. Badly supplied, had a habit of melting away in the winter time and usually filled with the dregs of Colonial society.
The American Expeditionary Force: Faulty training, 'open warfare' doctrine got a lot of men killed, organized in massive, hard to maneuver, harder to supply 28,000 man divisions. Pershing was wrong about almost everything.
The army of the Korean War, 1950: under-trained and equipped and living the high life in Japan.
The 1970's Army: Suffering tremendous morale problems after Vietnam, wracked by drugs and racial issues, using equipment that dated back to the 1950s. Couldn't have stopped the Soviets. The army of Harold Ramis and Bill Murray.
Honorable Mention:
The National Army 1898-1902: 75,000 men recruited specifically to fight the Philippine Insurgency. Led by officers with vast experience fighting Indians and administering conquered territory, both Indian and Confederate. Armed with the highly accurate Krag Rifle.
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