History, though fun. · 8:33pm Feb 12th, 2020
Now, continuing the inspiration subject (apparently I am sticking with it for a while), do you draw your inspiration from history much?
I will not dare to assume, but I've been told on many occasions that history is boring. I agree. Most of history is indeed very boring. How can it not be? Life is boring! Our lives today are exceedingly boring. Imagine living without the Internet now, damn, I wouldn't have anything to do.
But the contrast is what makes things exciting and the further down the time we go, the more contrast we've got.
Now, most famous historical characters are either soldiers or politicians. Well, no surprises there, really. Doesn't mean they aren't fun to research though.
Winston Churchill, for one, is a real klondike of deep meaning quotes. Winston was about the only guy since forever who could afford to say something like this and keep his public face: “A lady came up to me one day and said 'Sir! You are drunk', to which I replied 'I am drunk today madam, and tomorrow I shall be sober but you will still be ugly.”
Ahh...dammit, I am gonna tear up.
Though, jokes aside, Churchill, basically, won the whole Second World War himself. He was the one who got everyone together and told them what to do. His legendary speeches are inspiring to hear even 80 years later. Not bad for 1 really grumpy old man, eh?
Germans had their own share of absolutely amazing people. Probably the most, even. From Franz Stigler, the Luftwaffe ace pilot who risked his life to save the wounded crew of an American B-17 bomber (the people who were bombing his home); to General Walther Wenck, who disregarded a direct order from Fuhrer, and instead opted to save the lives of civilians and the remaining men of the 9th Army.
But I personally love one single Major over everyone else: Josef Gangl. The Major died on the 5th of May 1945 in the Battle of Castle Itter. The only battle of the WWII where Wehrmacht and the US Army fought on the same side, fighting for the lives of the SS prisoners.
Gangl himself was shot by an SS sniper while moving the former Prime Minister of France from harm's way. The only human casualty on the allied side was German.
Even in such a place as Third Reich, there were still people who refused to trade away their honor and humanity.
But modern warfare has moved very far off from the ways of honor. Back in a day, people used to behave much differently. There is a very specific knight from France. The knight "without fear and without reproach". One of the very few historical personalities loved universally by both friends AND enemies. Born in 1473 Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard was for centuries regarded as the embodiment of the ideals of Chivalry.
He first entered military service as the man-at-arms to Louis de Luxembourg, one of the King's favourites, and proceeded to immediately win the highest honors at the local jousting tournament. Which he chose to distribute amongst his friends and rivals, instead of keeping the hard-fought prizes to himself.
His first real battles followed shortly as he accompanied the King Charles VIII to Italy in 1494. In the Battle of Fornovo on July 6, 1495, in a heavy thunderstorm, he lost two horses but continued fighting on foot. He even managed to capture a standard belonging to one of the opposing knights. He was knighted for his valour after the battle.
In 1498, while sieging Milan he and his 50 men were ambushed by a few hundred Italians, thanks to his leadership skills, Bayard chased them all the way to the city gate but ended up separated from his men, which didn't stop him from chasing the enemy all the way to the city's castle alone. Milan's lord was so impressed, he released him unconditionally.
One of his most impressive battles was his stand at the bridge across the river Garigliano in 1503, when he alone defended the pass against 200 Spanish knights.
The knight though wasn't famous for his martial prowess alone. He always was polite, never plundered captured cities, never refused a request if he could help it and always paid for everything he took. He was so highly regarded that the young King of France Francis I asked to be knighted by Bayard in 1515 after French defeated Swedes in the Battle of Marignano.
He died in 1524 in Italy, guarding the French army retreat. Mortally wounded by a bullet, he asked to be fitted against a tree facing the enemy. Fate has a morbid sense of humour. The ideal of Chivalry died from the very same thing that in a few centuries will kill out all honor left in battle. He died from a gun. Entire Europe was left to mourn the loss, though he still lives today in some. He exists as a shining example of what we all should be like, both in peace and war.
Your blog posts are always very fascinating to read.
5202025
Ah, and you are a very grateful reader.
I don't know what to say but I love history mostly about wars and the tactics each faction used and such
5202170
So who's your favourite commander?
5202278
I don't know
In the American Revolution, Patrick Ferguson, a regular army marksman who had a man in the sights of his breech-loading rifle in an ambush, but the man's back was turned to him, he felt that ambushing like this, shooting a man in the back who had not made any offense towards him was wrong. The man he refused to shoot was George Washington.
5203392
Just like that, a single man can change history. Inspiring.
5203452
One soul, one single soul, one choice made by a single soul, could have shaped the world dramatically different.