Alternate Wikipedia Infoboxes VI (Do Not Post Current Politics or Political Figures Here)
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Apollo SL76B was the fourth crewed flight to the American space station, Skylab II. The mission began on April 9, 1976; with the launch of three astronauts in the Apollo command and service module on the Saturn I+ rocket, and lasted 126 days. The crew performed scientific experiments in the fields of space plasma physics, astronomy and Earth observation. At launch, Mission Commander Deke Slayton was the longest serving astronaut in the world, having been selected as one of the Mercury Seven in 1959.
The flight also saw the first recovery of a rocket stage after a crewed launch. Following main engine cut off (MECO), the S-I+ stage descended to Earth before landing under parachutes off the Florida coast. It was recovered and towed back to Cape Canaveral. While it was not reused, 4 of the H-1A engines and components from the thrust structure were flown again.
Find out more
The Skylab Programme here and here
The Saturn I+
Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 37
Apollo SL82A Launch Abort
Mars Exploration Module Test Programme and the Super Joe booster
KS-IVB Orbitanker Wikibox and Shipbucket
The flight also saw the first recovery of a rocket stage after a crewed launch. Following main engine cut off (MECO), the S-I+ stage descended to Earth before landing under parachutes off the Florida coast. It was recovered and towed back to Cape Canaveral. While it was not reused, 4 of the H-1A engines and components from the thrust structure were flown again.
Find out more
The Skylab Programme here and here
The Saturn I+
Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 37
Apollo SL82A Launch Abort
Mars Exploration Module Test Programme and the Super Joe booster
KS-IVB Orbitanker Wikibox and Shipbucket
Last edited:
The Battle of France, also known as Le Grand Déménagement was the invasion of the Low Countries and France by Nazi Germany (and later Italy).
After the failed operation in the Saar to assist Poland, the Allied forces were successively defeated over the course of six weeks. After the fall of Paris that was occupied without resistance on June 14, the French government met in Tours 2 days later to decide the next course of action.
The faction led by Paul Reynaud, Leon Blum, Charles de Gaulle, Georges Mandel among others managed to prevail over the
defeatist faction led by Philippe Pétain, Pierre Laval and Maxime Weygand (who would commit suicide by being removed from his post as Supreme Commander).
The decision made in Tours on June 16, 1940 consisted in realising that the battle for metropolitan France was lost and the fighting from North Africa should be continued in order to eventually reconquer the european mainland. This decision would lead to a retreat known as the Éxode or the Grand Déménagement in which the French forces assisted by the British would begin a retreat to the Mediterranean allowing the maximum number of equipment and personnel to be evacuated.
This resulted in a severe setback for the Germans who eagerly awaited an armistice from the French government, with their supply lines beginning to narrow, they were forced to conquer all of French territory to the Pyrenees.
For the next 50 days the French army heroically fought the Germans, leading to fierce battles over cities such as Tulle, Valence and Lyon (which joined Warsaw and Rotterdam as victims of indiscriminate bombardment).
By the time an armistice for the cessation of hostilities in the metropolis was agreed, the evacuation had been practically completed, the Germans reached the border on August 7, 1940, thus ending the First Battle of France.
Although a terrible setback for the Allies and for France in particular after the worst military defeat in its history, the fight continued. 800,000 troops as well as a considerable amount of equipment and civilians and most of the government had managed to escape from the control of the axis and now they had to recover to begin the preparations for the defeat of the Axis and the eventual liberation of France, which would begin a few weeks later with the Operation Scipio against Italian Libya. Although the French had to rebuild their army, they had the advantage of the navy, the fourth most powerful in the world, able to face and overpower the Italian Regia Marina.
In occupied France the Germans established a collaborationist government led by Pierre Laval and Philippe Pétain as a merely symbolic figure. But the cost of conquering France had become evident, they had lost almost twice as many men as in all their previous military campaigns combined, the Luftwaffe had lost a considerable number of aircraft that would be required for the impending offensive against Great Britain.
In Algeria and the rest of the Empire, the French forces prepared to continue a fight that, as General Leclerc's Oath of Sirte would say, would not end "until the tricolor flew victoriously over the cathedral of Strasbourg".
The Second Battle of France in 1944 was still far away, but it was a goal for which Algiers would not rest until it was victorious.
Ask not what the Communist Party can do for you, ask what you can do for the Communist Party.
Ivan Iosifovich Kennedy (Russian: Иван Иосифович Кеннеди, 29 May 1917 – 10 April 1997) was a Soviet politician who led the Soviet Union as General Secretary of the governing Communist Party (1964–1997) and as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet (1982–1997). Kennedy was the longest-serving general secretary, serving for over 32 years. Kennedy's rule was characterised by political stability and notable foreign policy successes.
Kennedy was born into a worker's family of Irish origin in Petrograd. He joined the Communist party's youth league in 1934. Kennedy became an official party member in 1940. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, he joined the Soviet Navy and rose rapidly through the ranks to become an admiral. Kennedy served as Minister of the Navy from 1953 to 1957. He was promoted to the Central Committee in 1956 and became a full member of the Politburo in 1957. Kennedy was considered one of Nikita Khrushchev's closest allies, and Khrushchev appointed Kennedy Minister of Foreign Affairs in reward for his support of Khrushchev during the defeat of the Anti-Party Group. However, in 1964 he ousted Khrushchev and took over as First Secretary of the CPSU, the most powerful position in the Kremlin.
Kennedy's pragmatic approach to leadership significantly stabilised the position of the Soviet Union and its ruling party. Whereas Khrushchev regularly enacted policies without consulting the rest of the Politburo, Kennedy was careful to minimize dissent among the Party membership by reaching decisions through consensus. Additionally, while pushing for détente between the two Cold War superpowers, he achieved Soviet nuclear parity with the United States and legitimized his country's hegemony over Eastern Europe. Furthermore, the massive arms buildup and widespread military interventionism significantly expanded the Soviet Union's global influence (particularly in the Middle East and Africa).
Kennedy died on 10 April 1997 and was succeeded by Nikolai Ryzhkov.
Ivan Iosifovich Kennedy (Russian: Иван Иосифович Кеннеди, 29 May 1917 – 10 April 1997) was a Soviet politician who led the Soviet Union as General Secretary of the governing Communist Party (1964–1997) and as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet (1982–1997). Kennedy was the longest-serving general secretary, serving for over 32 years. Kennedy's rule was characterised by political stability and notable foreign policy successes.
Kennedy was born into a worker's family of Irish origin in Petrograd. He joined the Communist party's youth league in 1934. Kennedy became an official party member in 1940. When Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, he joined the Soviet Navy and rose rapidly through the ranks to become an admiral. Kennedy served as Minister of the Navy from 1953 to 1957. He was promoted to the Central Committee in 1956 and became a full member of the Politburo in 1957. Kennedy was considered one of Nikita Khrushchev's closest allies, and Khrushchev appointed Kennedy Minister of Foreign Affairs in reward for his support of Khrushchev during the defeat of the Anti-Party Group. However, in 1964 he ousted Khrushchev and took over as First Secretary of the CPSU, the most powerful position in the Kremlin.
Kennedy's pragmatic approach to leadership significantly stabilised the position of the Soviet Union and its ruling party. Whereas Khrushchev regularly enacted policies without consulting the rest of the Politburo, Kennedy was careful to minimize dissent among the Party membership by reaching decisions through consensus. Additionally, while pushing for détente between the two Cold War superpowers, he achieved Soviet nuclear parity with the United States and legitimized his country's hegemony over Eastern Europe. Furthermore, the massive arms buildup and widespread military interventionism significantly expanded the Soviet Union's global influence (particularly in the Middle East and Africa).
Kennedy died on 10 April 1997 and was succeeded by Nikolai Ryzhkov.
- Blood and Pride -
"Kimberley was the greatest gamble we took throughout the war. It was our defining moment, our finest hour. If the Germans made it to Bloemfontein, our forces to the north would be completely cut off. They would be lost, and with them the entire war. We couldn't have that; making a stand at Kimberley was our only choice. The night of the 16th, as we readied our rifles... it slowly dawned on us that we were headed for our own little Thermopylae. It was our Reckoning, our Day of Judgement. Some men cried, others sat quietly. Some others huddled around the fire and told stories of camaraderie and friendship. That was the first time I saw the other soldiers as countrymen, as fellow patriots. We were all here, willing to perish, just hours away from the greatest battle in the history of our country. We were all South Africans."
-Testimony from Sgt. Stephen S. Krupp (Ret.), Living Memory of South Africa (1976)
"The most crucial factor to understanding the Second Battle of Kimberley was the difference in perspective between Germany and the Anglo-South Africans. The Germans saw Kimberley as a very limited, very insignificant formality on the road to Bloemfontein. For the Anglo-South Africans, it was the most important moment of the war, the deciding factor between victory and death. Germany couldn't possibly believe that these battered gangs of farmers and country-folk could even hope to defeat the proud and invincible German Army.
"This complete underrating of the enemy, quite ironically, would offer the Anglo-South Africans a secret advantage: the element of surprise. When the Germans marched onwards, they were absolutely taken aback by the fiery blizzard of the South African troops. The South Africans never yielded, never stopped. They ground against the enemy with such a fury that the Germans were never able to recover from the initial shock. This last fact is crucial: the disorganization of the German soldiers prevented them from mustering their full strength, which made the Second Battle of Kimberley a collection of piecemeal actions and skirmishes which amounted to a complete German defeat. Had the Germans resolved their organization troubles, they would've easily steamrolled over their enemy with ease. However, since they were caught off guard, each unit was left to fend for itself. By 20 July, the Germans had recovered sufficiently to reestablish the line of command. However, as the casualty count reached the officers in charge, the conclusion was reached that a withdrawal was the only logical choice. By the 23rd, the Germans had fully retreated, leaving South Africa entirely. And so, the miracle in the battlefield came to be."
-Charles W. Agnew, The Making of South Africa (1950)
"Us? Losing against them? I cannot think of a graver insult."
Quote attributed to Paul von Hindenburg, when asked about the possibility of defeat in southern Africa, 1922
Let's not post about the Assassination of current international political leaders. 'kay?
Would such content be allowed in the chat thread? Just curious because I could see how that might not be allowed.
Usually not allowed anywhere. For legal reasons if nothing else.
Ooooh, now there's something you don't see every day. Antebellum Virginia, that's been done, but Trans-Appalachian Virginia is not oft-glimpsed.
"But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress or to any person holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the period of ratification, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term."
Bold is my addition to make the specific interpretation clearer
EDIT: Forgot to remove Barkley as Truman's VP. Oh well.
Bold is my addition to make the specific interpretation clearer
EDIT: Forgot to remove Barkley as Truman's VP. Oh well.
Pour me something tall and strong, make it a hurricane before I go insane...
Either the party system just underwent an insanely dramatic realignment, or you've got holds and gains switched.
And an openly feudalist political party is even rarer.
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