Monday Music "Magnificent" by U2

I decided to roll with a U2 song, this was the first song by U2 that I liked since the Joshua Tree in 1987.  A friend of mine turned me onto the song while I was getting some parts to fix the airplane, I had walked into our "Parts Issue station" and the song was playing and I commented to him"Dang that is a good song...Who sings it?.  He replied "U2" and I snorted derisively "U2?, they have sucked since the 1990's.  I know I tried to like their later stuff after Joshua tree and it all bit."   He nodded and replied that I was correct, but this song was like more "old School U2", so I listened to it again and I agreed that this was a good song.

"Magnificent" is a song by U2. It is the second track on the band's 2009 album No Line on the Horizon and was released as the album's second single. The song was originally titled "French Disco", but was renamed later in the recording sessions. It is played before the start of every New York Rangers home game at Madison Square Garden.
The single was released on 4 May 2009 and reached #42 on the UK Singles Chart. While well received by critics, it was the first domestically-released U2 single not to make the UK Top 40 since "A Celebration" in 1982.

No Line on the Horizon is the 12th studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, and Steve Lillywhite, and was released on 27 February 2009. It was the band's first record since How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), marking the longest gap between studio albums of their career to that point. The band originally intended to release the songs as two EPs, but later combined the material into a single record. Photographer Anton Corbijn shot a companion film, Linear, which was released alongside the album and included with several special editions.

"Magnificent" originated from the band's improvised recording sessions with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois in Fez, Morocco in June 2007. The track was created out of a series of chord changes in the midst of a jam. The Edge noted that "The basic chord progression had a power that got everyone inspired. I think we all knew that it was inherently joyful, which is rare." A group of Moroccan percussionists played along with the band, and the result quickly became a band favourite during the sessions.
Bono noted that the lyrics were influenced by both Cole Porter and Bach, and that the song is about "two lovers holding on to each other and trying to turn their life into worship". Lanois described the song's origins: "We wanted to have something euphoric and Bono came up with that little melody. And he loved that melody, and stuck with it. Almost like a fanfare. And then I was involved in the lyrical process on that, because we wanted to talk about sacrifice that one makes for one's medium or one's art. I thought it had for a setting New York in the 1950s; looking out a small bedroom window. Maybe a Charlie Parker kind of figure."

The music video was filmed in Fez, Morocco. It was directed by Alex Courtes, who previously worked with the band on the video for "Get On Your Boots". The video premiered online via Yahoo! Music on May 6, 2009

The Bailey Bridge

I remembered watching a WWII movie in 1977 called "A Bridge Too Far"  I really liked the movie and the sound track was awesome.  I Still hum the soundtrack every once and a while.   I considered a very accurate telling of a battle told in a movie format.  It was neat seeing all these big name movie stars in the movie and I was living in Europe during the time this movie was filmed, I could relate to what I had seen on the screen.  To me this movie was underrated and next to the film "Midway" is one of my favorite WWII movies.

The film tells the story of the failure of Operation Market Garden during World War II. The operation was intended to allow the Allies to break through German lines and seize several bridges in the occupied Netherlands, including one at Arnhem, with the main objective of outflanking German defenses in order to end the war by Christmas of 1944.
The name for the film comes from an unconfirmed comment attributed to British Lieutenant-General Frederick Browning, deputy commander of the First Allied Airborne Army, who told Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, the operation's architect, before the operation: "I think we may be going a bridge too far", in reference to the intention of seizing the Arnhem bridgehead over the Rhine river.
The ensemble cast includes Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Elliott Gould, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Hardy Krüger, Laurence Olivier, Ryan O'Neal, Robert Redford, Maximilian Schell and Liv Ullmann. The music was scored by John Addison, who had served in the British XXX Corps during Market Garden.

    Well the movie made mention of a "Bailey Bridge", and I never knew what it really was..Here is a clip of the bridge mentioned from the Actors "Elliot Gould" and "Michael Caine"

"Bailey Bridge mentioned"

Building the Bailey Bridge over the River Son

 This actually showed one being build.

Picture an Allied tank commander in Europe, during Autumn, 1944. Advancing for days, destroying the German resistance. Nothing has been able to stop the invasion; except a blown bridge. Luckily, somewhere back in the supply columns which keep the army going, is a Bailey Bridge.
Donald Bailey, the designer of the Bailey Bridge, was born in Rotherham, in 1901. He received his BA in Engineering from the University of Sheffield in 1923. After graduating, he helped design railway bridges in the 1930s, but by 1940 he was working for the War Department.
In Christchurch, Southern England he and a group of other engineers, comprised MEXE (Military Experimental Establishment). They were designing and testing new engineering equipment for the British Army.

The Army at the time was facing a dilemma. They knew they would be required to fight in Europe, with its various canals, rivers, streams, and lakes. Any one of these could stop an army advancing, and they needed a foolproof way to cross them.
Collapsible and portable bridges had been around for hundreds of years, in various forms. By 1940, however, British weapons were outstripping engineering equipment.
Their tanks weighed more than 40 tons, but the heaviest portable bridge could hold only 26 tons. The Allies would be bogged down and delayed as engineers worked to repair existing bridges or build more permanent ones.

A Bailey Bridge like this had to be contructed to cross rivers. This took precious time but was eventually able to allow XXX Corps to continue their advance.

Donald Bailey was being driven back to his headquarters building after a failed bridge test. The world seemed to be collapsing around England, and everything they tried seemed to fail. The War Department was desperate for a reliable bridge. Suddenly, Bailey had an idea. He began sketching it out on the back of an envelope.

Engineers slide a Bailey Bridge section into place, almost every part of the bridge construction was done by hand. The only time heavy equipment was used was to lift pieces into high places.

It was an amazingly simple design. Prefabricated panels each made up of internal trusses. These were joined by pegs, with large beams running across the bridge’s width. This gave them not only the rigidity needed to span a large area, but they could be assembled with simple tools: sledgehammers, rollers, and wrenches.

A destroyed Bailey Bridge and Sherman tank in Italy. While not indestructible, the bridges were easily replaced and cheap. They proved sturdy enough to stand up to almost any stress but quick and cheap enough to be disposable.

Equally important, they were straightforward and cheap to produce. Almost any industrial fabricator could make the panels and pieces necessary, and mass production was a definite possibility. The Bailey Bridge had been born.

An M10 tank destroyer crosses the Bailey Bridge.

In the battlefield these bridges proved indispensable. Field Marshal Montgomery said they were necessary to the speed of the Allied advance during the war. In Italy and Sicily, over 55 miles of bridges were built, spanning everything from stream beds, to the 1,126 ft. Bridge over the Sangro River. The longest, which spanned the Chindwin River in Burma, was 1,154 ft.
After D-day, in France, the low countries, and Germany, Bailey Bridges were consistently used to replace many of the bridges destroyed by the retreating Germans. Famously, the Son bridge was replaced with one during Operation Market Garden, in September 1944; eventually allowing Allied armor to press forward and help seize Nijmegen.

A Bailey section in a memorial in Christchurch. The local Stanpit Marshes saw the development of much of the engineering equipment of WW2.

Today Bailey style bridges are a fixture of almost any modern military. The materials have been upgraded, but the basic design, prefabricated, interlocking sections which can be put together a myriad of ways, has not changed.
Their use has expanded to the civilian life, where they are often used for disaster relief and are permanent fixtures in some areas. Bailey might not be the best-known hero from World War 2, but his contribution to the war effort was immense, and his memory, and legacy, can not be forgotten.

Many of the GOP retiring because they fear violence against them and their families.

Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., speaks to reporters at the Republican baseball team's first practice of the year at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks suggested in a radio interview that Republicans are retiring en masse because of assassination fears.
Brooks was speaking on “The Dale Jackson Show” about the first Republican practice the Congressional Baseball Game after last year’s shooting that left Majority Whip Steve Scalise severely injured.
“We have multiple rings of security, plainclothes, uniform, Capitol Police, other police,” he said. “There was a medical vehicle nearby just in case there was a copycat.”

But Brooks said while there were multiple factors that contributed to a slew of Republicans leaving the House, he suggested fears of violence was a major one.
“One of the things that’s concerning me is the assassination risk may become a factor,” he said.
Brooks referred to the fact many members of the Republican baseball team are retiring, including Sen. Jeff Flake and Reps. Ryan Costello, Pat Meehan, Dennis Ross and Tom Rooney.
“You have to wonder with that kind of disproportionate retirement number whether what happened in June played a factor,” he said.
Brooks also pointed to the fact that in the past month, a man pled guilty to threatening Arizona Rep. Martha McSally and three different people have been arrested for threatening Reps. Scott Taylor and Tom Garrett of Virginia and Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey.
“Notice a trend here?” he said. “I have a congressman who is a friend here who has a three-year old daughter whose daughter was threatened with murder.”

He also said the “socialist Bernie Sanders wing of society” was pushing for a revolution that would lead to Maoist level of violence.
“There are a growing number of leftists who believe the way to resolve this is not at the ballot box but through threats and sometimes through violence and assassinations,” he said.
When pressed about his suggestion, Brooks said it was a “possible” factor.
“I don't think any of these people who are retiring would say that, but just looking at the numbers,” he said. “That’s out of whack.”
Some of the republicans are leaving due to issues with President Trump, Some are leaving because they fear midterm elections, but I wonder how many are leaving due to safety reasons.  I do know that the antifa wing of the democrat party have no compunction about pulling in someones family .  They justify the reason because well the GOP are NAZI's so they get whatever they deserve   and that is a bad thing because if you view your opponent as less than human, then you can justify attacking them or their families.   This is not a good thing and doesn't bode well for the discussion of the body politic. 

  

"Operation Vengence", the intercept of Admiral Yamamoto

Not only did the Pearl Harbor attack of December 7^th, 1941 deal a devastating blow to the United States’ Navy and draw the nation into World War II, but it also gave the Japanese Imperial Navy some six months to further their control of the Pacific without U.S. interference. This was, of course, the plan.
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was the architect of the Pearl Harbor pre-emptive assault. So when U.S. Naval Intelligence initiative code-named “Magic” intercepted communications that Yamamoto would be doing an inspection tour of his forces on the Solomon Islands, the U.S. seized the opportunity for vengeance.
“Get Yamamoto,” commanded President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Operation Vengeance was a go.

Magic had long since broken the cipher of the Japanese navy, JN-25D, which had reaped a lot of disaster upon their fight in the Pacific. This was through the efforts of Navy cryptographers and Japanese-Americans translating the complicated and very context-based language.
On April 14, 1943, messages detailing Yamamoto’s tour of the Solomon Islands were intercepted.

Admiral Yamamoto saluting troops shorty before being shot down in Operation Vengeance.

Eighteen P-38G Lightnings of the 339^th Fighter Squadron, 347^th Fighter group, were chosen as the aircraft for the mission. They would be flying out of Guadalcanal, South and West of the Solomon Islands and rounding back Northeast again to intercept Yamamoto flying from Rabaul to Bougainville.

A Lockheed P-38G Lighting.

The mission would be about 1,000 miles round trip with more fuel expended in the firefight with the two Mitsubishi G4M Betty bombers and six Mitsubishi A6M Zero Navy fighters. Only the P-38G’s, equipped with drop tanks with extra fuel could make the trip.
The mission would have to be flown in radio silence, to avoid detection. Major John W. Mitchell, therefore, requested that each plane was outfitted with a ship’s compass to navigate. At 7:25 in the morning on April 18, the Lightnings took off for two hours of silent flight, 50 feet above the waves to avoid radar detection.
Two of 18 did not go on the mission; on take-off, McLanahan caught a tire on runway matting and Moore had fuel transfer problems and another lightning turned back due to engine problems.

Odd as it may sound, the man they were going to shoot down was one of Japan’s most outspoken opponents of war with the U.S.

A Mitsubishi G4M Betty Bomber

In fact, Yamamoto had spent many years in the country he was now fighting, including for two years as a naval attache in Washington, from 1926-28. He was critical of Japan’s ongoing war with China and with the drive to engage in combat with the U.S., a stance that lead to powerful pro-war interests in Japan calling for his head. Admiral Yonai Mitsumasa, in an effort to save Yamamoto’s life, promoted him to commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet and sent him out to sea in 1939.
Yamamoto had also warned the Japanese government that war with the U.S. could only be successful for six months to a year before the tides turned, but he was given no choice, the Japanese Emperor had instructed him to plan the mission.
He planned the Pearl Harbor attack to bide time for Japan to wrest control of the Pacific before drawing the U.S. Navy into a decisive battle that would force them to negotiate for peace.

Lt. Rex Barber received a Navy Cross, along with Lt. Thomas G. Lanphier, Jr. (not pictured)

Yamamoto convinced the Naval General Staff to move for this great battle after the Doolittle Raid of April 1942 struck Tokyo. He sailed for Midway Island with four aircraft carriers. However, by this point, the U.S. had broken the Japanese cipher and, with a force of three aircraft carriers, counter-attacked and sunk all four of the Japanese ships. The tides in the Pacific had already taken a massive turn.

At the time Operation Vengeance was set in motion, Yamamoto had been trying, and slowly failing to control the Solomon Islands. After landing troops on Guadalcanal, he was met by US forces landing in August 1942 in what would be a long and very costly battle, ending in a U.S. victory in February the next year. Thus, in April 1943, the inspection tour of forces on the Solomon Islands was planned to invoke a very much needed morale boost.
At 9:34 a.m. on April 18^th, after two hours of navigating by flight plan and, as Mitchell puts it, “dead reckoning,” the 18 P-38Gs spotted Yamamoto’s transport and escorts. The planes jettisoned their extra fuel tanks and tore into a power climb to engage the enemy.

The wreckage of Yamamoto’s Mitsubishi G4M Betty Bomber on Bougainville Island

The “killer flight” group, Lt. Thomas G. Lanphier, Jr., Lt. Rex T. Barber, Lt. Besby F. Holmes, and Lt. Raymond K. Hine headed for the bombers.
Holmes’ auxiliary fuel tanks didn’t detach, and he had to draw back. Lanphier turned to engage the escort Zero fighters diving to defend Yamamoto and his staff while Barber chased down the bombers. As Barber came around, he fired his .50-caliber machine guns into the right engine, fuselage, and tail assembly of the bomber Yamamoto was flying in, which crashed into the jungle. Barber also hit the second bomber, which crash-landed in the water. Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Matome Ugaki and two others in the second bomber survived.
According to the search and rescue party who found Yamamoto, his body had been thrown from the plane, still in his seat, his hand on his katana and two bullet holes in his shoulder and head.

Yamamoto’s ashes return to Japan at Kisarazu aboard battleship Musashi on May 23, 1943.

Operation Vengeance was the longest fighter-intercept mission of the war. Lt. Hine lost his life when his plane was shot down by a Japanese Zero. It is well agreed, now, that Lt. Barber is credited with shooting down Yamamoto, but Lanphier claimed it was he until the day he died. This discrepancy was fought over between the two for many years.
Forensic evidence of bullet trajectory in the wreckage of Yamamoto’s downed bomber concur with Barber’s account.

New Blogger!!!

 A good friend of mine, Yes I actually have a couple of those, he started his own blog.  You can find it
Here!!!   I have known Mac for many years,  He and I have survived Summer camp, and many Boy Scout activities,

 Here Mac is being "friendly" with the ladies from "Frozen",  If this happened in the corporate world, this might be a "HR" event, This pic was taken a couple of years ago at one of the Klondikes that the camp has hosted for the council

Yes he is the frequent commenter and I blame him for things that I put on my blog..Angry Staff Officer, yep it is Mac that tuned me into this guy,Yes it is his fault.   Mac seriously is a good guy and he has a slightly warped sense of humor....Again   go HERE..I Double dog dare you....

  Yeah go for it.

     Go over to Mac's new blog and say "Hi".   I will be adding him to my blogroll

    

Monday Music "A matter of Trust" by Billy Joel

 I started my new schedule at work and it was long and I had stuff going on in "MeatSpace" and was unable to load the scheduler thingie like I wanted, My apologies to all.

    

I have started "dayshift 12 hour crew" and being on days after being on nightshift for many years is a change for me...I kept expecting my skin to catch on fire or something.

Kinda like that......

Well anyway I had decided to roll with this song, even though I had featured "Billy Joel Last week, I remembered this song and I really liked it and it showed his family in the video and I thought that was a nice tough.   Also Billy with a Guitar was unusual.

     Matter of Trust" is a song by Billy Joel released as the second single from his album The Bridge.

The song was the second top 10 single from the album, after the previous single "Modern Woman." The song's music video, directed by Russell Mulcahy and produced and conceived by Paul Flattery, features Joel and his band performing in the basement of a building on St. Mark's Place in New York City's East Village and also features shots of various people in the city who eventually gather round the building's windows to see Joel perform. Most appear to be enjoying the concert except one woman on a fire escape who yells at them to "Shut Up!", however she is ignored and even members of the NYPD don't mind. His then-wife Christie Brinkley appears in the video holding their baby daughter, Alexa. The song differs from most Joel songs in that it is based on electric guitar rather than piano, which gives it a hard rock edge compared to his usual soft rock balladry. It is the only Billy Joel music video that features him on guitar - a factor he cited for saying it was his favorite of all his videos. The song gained major traction in the Soviet Union as part of a state-sponsored television promotion of Joel's songs in preparation for his 1987 USSR concerts, recorded on Kontsert.

Conflicts that demonstrated the Value of Ground Attack Aircraft.

I was a GI in the U.S Army in the 1980's, we had rolled out AirLand Battle in the late 1970's to counter the huge numbers of Soviet Tanks that were threatening to roll down the Fulda Gap.  Airland battle was designed to use American air power especially the A-10 and the Apache helicopters to strike the 2nd and 3rd echelons of Soviet forces and disrupt them and prevent them from supporting the first echelon that was attacking the NATO forces and prevent them from getting overrun by superior numbers.

For a century, ground attacks by armed aircraft have added an extra dimension of devastation to the battlefield. In some wars, ground attack aircraft have been less than effective. In Vietnam in particular, the Americans were unable to turn aerial bombardments into a strategic advantage. But some wars have shown beyond a shadow of a doubt what aerial attacks can do.
Italo-Turkish War (1911-1912)
The first ever attack on ground troops by an airplane took place on 1 November 1911, during a war between Italy and the Ottoman Empire. Giulio Gavotti, an Italian lieutenant, flew an Etrich Taube monoplane above Ottoman forces in Libya, taking with him a bag of grenades. With these he attacked two targets – the oasis at Tagiura, and the Ottoman military camp at Ain Zara.
Gavotti’s flight was a challenging one – he had to screw the detonators into the grenades and drop them by hand while still piloting the plane. It was also ineffective – no-one was injured by his attacks.

Yet Gavotti had proven that aircraft could reach behind lines to attack enemy troops unawares. His innovation startled the Ottoman troops, leading to a political protest, and set an example that others would follow with far more destructive effect.

Etrich Taube monoplane.

First World War (1914-1918)
The First World War saw the first real developments in aerial warfare, led by innovators such as Oswald Boelcke. Planes started out as reconnaissance craft, and this shaped aerial combat for most of the war, with an emphasis on fighting between pilots.
By the late stages of the war, the potential for aircraft to attack the ground was appreciated. Increasing specialization in design led to aircraft such as the German Junkers J-1. Equipped with extra armor, the J-1 was able to safely descend for low-level attacks on infantry, the pilot protected from their bullets by his plane’s armored belly. J-1s supported the great German offensives of spring 1918, offensives which almost turned the tide of war.

Junkers J 1 all metal “technology demonstrator” pioneer aircraft, at FEA 1, Döberitz, Germany in late 1915, undergoing flight preparations.

The J-1 showed that ground attack aircraft could be as devastating to morale as to the bodies of the men they attacked. Norman Gladden described seeing the approach of a German attack plane in 1917: “Never before, despite my capacity for fear, had I felt myself so long in the grip of a terror so absolute.”
Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)

He-111E of the Condor Legion, 1939. By Bundesarchiv – CC BY-SA 3.0 de

In the lead up to the Second World War, Germany and Italy threw their backing behind right-wing Nationalists forces in the Spanish Civil War. This was partly an opportunity to fight their enemies by proxy, as America would later do in Vietnam. For the Germans, in particular, it was also an opportunity to test new equipment.
German air support, including the mixed ground and air troops of the Condor Legion, proved useful for the Nationalists in battles such as the Battle of Toledo. Technological and industrial superiority allowed them to rain down death upon improvised Republican forces. They bombarded strategic civilian targets, as in the infamous bombing of Guernica, but the war also created an appreciation of the tactical use of air attacks against troops. Ground attack aircraft were refined and combined with forward observers to create the flying artillery that would prove vital in 1939.
Second World War (1939-1945)

Ju 87 G-1 “Kanonenvogel” with its twin Bordkanone BK 3,7, 37 mm underwing gun pods. By Bundesarchiv – CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Unsophisticated, ungainly and yet utterly terrifying, the Junkers 87 Stuka was the leading air element in the German Blitzkrieg. Its noise and ferocity shattered enemy morale and savaged Polish ground forces during the invasion of 1939.
Air superiority also brought the Germans their initial victories in the west. On 13 May 1940, in an unprecedented display of aerial power, nearly 1,500 German aircraft attacked fortified French forces defending the west back of the River Meuse. By the end of the day the Germans were across the river and the French heading into full retreat. Ground attack aircraft such as the Stuka and the Henschel Hs 123s supported the German forces as they raced across Frances, attacking Allied units before they could even reach the front.
It was only when they gained superiority in the air that the Allies were able to beat the Germans on the ground. Field-Marshal Rommel, one of the greatest German commanders of the war, was injured on 17 July 1944 by a strafing attack.
Six-Day War (1967)

An Israeli airstrike near the Augusta-Victoria Hospital

The Six-Day War vastly increased Israel’s territory and ensured its reputation as a military power. This incredible victory over Egypt, Jordan and Syria was in large part down to air power.
By destroying enemy planes while they were on the ground, the Israelis swiftly ensured dominance in the air. Safe from aerial attack, their air force set to supporting the ground offensive. A training plane altered to make it suitable for ground attacks, the Potez Magister proved a particularly potent weapon. The Mitla Pass was left jammed full of the burnt wrecks of Egyptian fighting vehicles.
Arab nations would learn from the Six-Day War and prepare anti-aircraft measures. But the absolute devastation left by air power would remain an icon of Israeli strength.

Gulf War (1990-1991)  This was my war, I saw the devastation of the Iraqi armor and trucks after the A-10's and B52's got done with them, in many cases  the Iraqi's were at 50% strength due to losses by coalition air forces.

An A-10 Thunderbolt II, fires the 30 mm gun at a low angle strafe.

The Gulf War brought aerial bombardment onto TV screens. The world watched live as the American-led coalition leveled Iraqi defenses before a single boot set foot on Iraqi soil. By the time ground fighting started, the Iraqi forces have been severely weakened,

The center of this was Operation Desert Storm, a three-stage bombing campaign targeting Iraqi air defenses, command and communication facilities, and then military targets. With Iraq’s armed forces defanged, coalition aircraft were able to move into a support role. Armored columns were smashed on their way to the battle zone. Iraqi ground forces stood no chance against the vast aerial advantage of their enemies.  The Republican Guard forces fought long and well against the Americans, but their T-72s were outclassed by the American M1A1 tanks and Bradleys followed by the Apache's and A-10's that supported the American advance.  The tank battles rivaled Kursk in the number of armor used by both sides.

Some humor and flight safety videos

I will be heading out of town for a boy scout event, and I have something loaded on the scheduler thingie for Tomorrow.  I will be returning tomorrow night. 
    By now y'all have seen the pics from SWA 1380 with people and the oxygen mask.....

Here is a safety video from United...

Well we saw these pics from the SWA 1380 flight...First off total kudo's to the crew of Southwest for how they handled the emergency,  they are rockstars. 
     Again we saw the videos of the passengers on the flight and how they were wearing the mask..

Well apparently people don't pay attention to the safety video's. I saw this pic and immediately thought of this short video I had seen a while back....

yeah...that is what I thought.....

The First Recorded Battle in History.

The first battle for which we have a clear historical record took place in the Levant in the 15th century BC. Though we know that war had existed for centuries beforehand, and some details of earlier battles are recorded in folklore and religious scripture, the details remain cloudy.
That changed with the Battle of Megiddo.
Dating Difficulties
Ancient Egyptian records, on which we rely for accounts of the Battle of Megiddo, place it in Year 23 of the reign of Pharaoh Thutmose III, on the 21st day of the first month of the third season. Exactly how this relates to our own dating system is uncertain, and historians have variously dated the battle to 1457, 1479 or 1482 BC. All we can say with certainty is that it took place in the first half of the 15th century BC.

War in the Levant
Thutmose III came to the throne at a time when Egypt controlled large swathes of the Levant – the lands of the eastern Mediterranean and the northern Middle East. Early in his reign, he found himself faced with a revolt in this region, based around modern Syria.
Leading the revolt was the King of Kadesh, a city whose strong fortress gave him a secure base. The Canaanites, Mitanni, and Amurru joined his rebel alliance, as did the King of Megiddo, another ruler with a strong fortress base.
Megiddo was strategically vital, controlling the main trade route between Egypt and Mesopotamia, now known as the Via Maris. The rebel forces gathered there.
Pharaoh on the March

Statue of Thutmose III in Luxor Museum.

Like many ancient rulers, Thutmose III took personal command of his forces. He gathered an army of between ten and twenty thousand men, consisting of infantry and charioteers, at the border fortress of Tjaru.
This was the heyday of chariot warfare. Horses had not yet been bred strong enough to carry an armed rider, making chariots the only way to move quickly around the battlefield and deliver sudden shock attacks. The recently developed composite bow gave chariot riders a powerful weapon with which to attack infantry before galloping away. Iron weapons, which would eventually lead to the downfall of the chariot aristocracies, had not yet been developed.

At the heart of Pharaoh’s army were the deadliest weapons of their day.
Choosing the most direct but also most dangerous of three available routes, Thutmose took Aruna – the area now called Wadi Ara – with almost no resistance. The Kadeshi army had been sent far to the north and south to block his other routes of advance, and he could now march on Megiddo.
The King of Kadesh, surprised by the Egyptians’ appearance in the center of his defensive line, scrambled to gather his troops on the high ground outside the fortress of Megiddo. Pharaoh gave him little time to prepare.
Opportunity Seized

Model of Megiddo, 1457 BC.

Having set up camp at the end of the day, Thutmose then advanced his forces under cover of night. While the Kadeshi concentrated their troops around the fortress, Pharaoh spread his out. Two wings menaced the enemy flanks, while the core of the army advanced in the center. In the morning, he attacked.

The two sides were evenly matched in numbers, with around 10,000 infantry and 1,000 chariots each. But having spread out his forces, Pharaoh was better able to make use of his numbers. While he led the attack in the center, his left wing made a fast, aggressive strike against the rebel flank.
The will of the rebel flank was quickly broken by the speed and skill of the Egyptian attack. The right wing crumbled, and the rest of the army swiftly followed, morale collapsing as warriors saw their comrades flee. Some ran into the city, closing the gates behind them to keep the Egyptians out.
The Egyptians now wasted the opportunity swift victory had given them. Like so many victors throughout history, they set about plundering the enemy camp, capturing 200 suits of armor and 924 chariots. But while they did this the scattered rebels found their way back into Megiddo, climbing up improvised ropes of clothing lowered by people inside the walls. Those who made it to safety included the kings of Megiddo and Kadesh.
Siege and Aftermath
The Battle of Megiddo was immediately followed by a siege. Pharaoh had his men dug a moat and built their own defensive wall around the city. After seven months of slow starvation, the city eventually surrendered. The King of Kadesh escaped, but the rest of those within the city were captured, and spared by a merciful Pharaoh.
As well as armor and chariots, the victors took home over 2,000 horses, 340 prisoners, nearly 25,000 cattle and sheep, and the royal war gear of the King of Megiddo.
More importantly, the victory at Megiddo enabled them to conquer other cities in the region, securing it once more for the Egyptian Empire.
How We Know About Megiddo
How has this single battle become our first clear image of the history of war?
The answer lies with Thutmose III’s personal scribe, Tjaneni. Accompanying his ruler on the campaign, Tjaneni kept a daily record of the war. Years later, Thutmose wanted to have his military exploits carved into the walls of the Temple to Amun-Re at Karnak. Tjaneni’s journal allowed the events of Megiddo to be inscribed in glorious detail, which has lasted to us down the years.
The Egyptian army, therefore, takes a vital place in the early history of warfare for two reasons. Firstly because they had the might to reach so far, including a successful leader and the latest military developments. And secondly, because they recorded their exploits in a form that would last –
 The Ancient Stones of Egypt.

Even more goings on at Casa De Garabaldi

A few things have happened here, remember the Post I did a couple of weeks ago...about the tree,
   Well today they finally came from the tree,

They started cutting the tree up...

Dragging the tree off...in sections...

Really big chipper...

The Root on chunks...

Gone....Finally...

I was messing around at work, I had bought some  1/4 extensions off the MAC truck, 

they are the extensions that have a locking ring to hold the sockets securely so they don't fall into places like engines and other areas and you have to go digging them out and that can mean more disassembly and that ain't a good thing...

    Well I was looking into one of my toolbox drawers....

 Yeah...Kinda messy....Well I organized some stuff and threw some stuff away..

Put the long extension in that drawers, split the display case between 2 other drawers,

One of the drawers....

It was a small thing, but to me it was a thing that needed to be done.

And finally I decided to finish my old AR, I found the original stock and pistol grip and installed it on my old AR, and finished something that I needed to do.

The original stock and Pistol grip

You can really see the height difference between the original and the new rifle as far as height.  It really feels different now.