World War II History: The Battle of Metz 1944

For those, like this writer, who esteem the arts of modern fortification, Metz is the Florence of military architecture. I greet the spring each year in Metz.

This imposing city combines the dazzling, art modern architecture of the France’s Maginot Line with the pre-World War I older forts of the great builder, Serré de Rivières.

A short drive to the west lies the famed fortress city of Verdun, site of one of the history’s bloodiest battle exactly one hundred years ago this month.

But few people know that America’s renowned general George S. Patton and his rampaging 3^rd Army met their worst reverse during WWII in the fall of 1944 before Metz. Media glory-makers have forgotten this one.

When the Allies invaded Normandy in June 1944, they faced a weak Germany army that had been shattered by the Soviets on the Eastern Front. The Germans had almost no air cover, and barely any gasoline. Total Allied air superiority meant their units and supplies could only move at night. Depots, trains, and road transport were bombed without relent.

After the Allies broke through at Normandy, Patton’s US 3^rd Army raced across France, headed for the Moselle River and the Rhine. The run-down German forces were swept aside by Patton’s tank superiority of 20 to 1 and the mighty US Army Air Force. Patton quickly gained the reputation of being invincible and unstoppable and America’s finest field commander.

Stunningly, Patton’s irresistible dash across France was stopped in its tracks at the ancient fortress city of Metz on the Moselle River.

The retreating Germans managed to cobble together a feeble, composite defense force, grandly titled the German First Army commanded by Gen. Otto von Knobelsdorff, to cover the 50-km wide front of the 3^rd Army. The German force was made up of skeleton units, supply troops, a training unit of non-commissioned officers, and the seriously understrength 17^th SS Panzergrenadier Division that was refitting after taking severe losses on the Eastern Front.

In September, three attempts by US forces to cross the Moselle and advance into Metz were defeated.  An unexpected role was played by an elderly German fort south of Metz that frustrated American river crossings. Making matters worse, General Eisenhower, the Allied supreme commander, diverted flows of gasoline to Patton’s nemesis, British Field Marshall Montgomery, infuriating the hotheaded American commander.

For the next three months, Patton sought to fight his way across the Moselle. ‘Old blood and guts’ ranted and raged. This was the first time he faced serious German forces in France. His myth of invincibility was in danger.

The battle came to focus on two very large, hilltop forts on the west bank of the Moselle: Driant and Jeanne d’Arc (using their French names). Built originally by the Germans in the 1890’s when they ruled Lorraine, these forts or “festen” were state of the art with thick reinforced concrete positions, artillery in steel turrets,  interconnecting underground tunnels, electricity, vast trenches and thick belts of barbed wire. These modern “cubist” forts would later deeply influence the French engineers who built the dispersed Maginot Line forts.

Patton ordered three major assaults on Forts Driant and Jeanne d’Arc. Heavy US artillery and air strikes blasted each of the large forts. Then US infantry and engineers, backed by tanks and flamethrowers, assaulted the works.  Ferocious fighting swirled through the underground galleries connecting the fort’s various combat blocs.

The Germans held, inflicting heavy casualties on the attacking US forces. Patton ordered yet more massive air strikes. But they had no effect on the massive forts designed to withstand 240mm artillery shells. This was the first time the all-powerful US Army Air Force was not able to crush enemy resistance.

As a result, Patton and his 3^rd Army remained immobilized while the war went on elsewhere. Patton’s plan to race across the Rhine and be the first Allied general to storm Berlin was frustrated by old forts and rugged German defenders. Finally, the Americans brought in French officers who had served on the Maginot Line to advise how to attack the forts.

In mid-November, 1944, the Americans finally were able to cross the Moselle both north and south of Metz and slowly encircle the stronghold city. The forts surrounding Metz finally fell to heavy assaults and from lack of ammunition. Ft. Jeanne d’Arc was the last, on 13 December 1944.

The gallant defense of Metz by far outnumbered and outgunned German forces delayed the US attack on Germany and covered the withdrawal from France of retreating German forces. Which reminds us of Churchill’s famous dictum, “you will never know war until you fight Germans.”

To Read an Outstanding Account Written from the German Perspective click HERE

Read the Original Article at LEW Rockwell

Texas News: Up Yours Fed!! Texas Plans to Build Gold Depository

Last year, we covered a story coming out of Texas in which the state government was planning to institute a state-controlled “gold depository” that would allow individuals to store their gold in a presumably safe place outside the United States banking system.

This proposition was met with emotionally-charged denunciations from Americans in far away northeastern American states where it was claimed this measure was contrary to the “supremacy clause” and just a terrible idea in general because it undermined faith in the US’s central government and the Federal Reserve System.

Well, in spite of the disapproval of New Yorkers, the Texas legislature passed the bill, and the governor signed it into law last June.

“With the passage of this bill, the Texas Bullion Depository will become the first state-level facility of its kind in the nation, increasing the security and stability of our gold reserves and keeping taxpayer funds from leaving Texas to pay for fees to store gold in facilities outside our state,” Abbott said when he signed the bill.

The depository won’t just store state gold and other precious metals. The law requires that individual customers, and even school districts, be allowed to open accounts. Capriglione has described it as a bank that doesn’t do any lending.

Originally, the bill appears to have envisioned Texas tax dollars being used to create the facility, but the bill only passed when it was modified to create what is seemingly a state-chartered gold depository that will be privately owned and paid for via fees for gold storage.

Thus, not surprisingly, several private firms are now trying to become the creators of one of these depositories. The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram yesterday reported:

Saab’s company, one of many interested in being involved with the state’s plan to create a depository, proposes building a potentially $20 million facility — with no Texas tax dollars — on 40 acres of land it has in Shiner, about 250 miles south of Fort Worth.

The original sponsor of the bill, State Representative Giovanni Capriglione appears pleased with the progress being made:

“I am optimistic that the depository will be up and running at the end of this year or the beginning of next year,” Capriglione said. “The most important factor is making sure that the process is completed with considerable thought and care.”

At the depository, Texans will be able to open accounts similar to checking or savings accounts at traditional banks — and monitor them online.

The physical construction of the facility is very humdrum compared to the implications of the creation of a depository of this sort.

Laying the Ground Work for Electronic Gold-Based “Money” 

For one, many state politicians hope that the State of Texas will be able to relocate its own gold holdings to Texas from New York where it currently sits. The state spends a million dollars per year on its storage.

Moreover, the existence of the depository opens up the possibilities for users creating a new type of currency in which purchases are made electronically with the backing of the gold in the depository. In other words, one could potentially use the depository’s infrastructure to make purchases using gold, and to have gold either directly deposited into another’s account, or converted to US dollars and deposited in a conventional bank. Arguably, this is just an electronic version of gold-backed money.

Ironically, Zero Interest Rate Policy Has Made Gold Depositories More Practical 

And now more than ever, the idea of paying fees on gold deposits has become relatively economical thanks to near-zero interest rates on ordinary bank accounts. In ages past when banks actually paid meaningful interest on deposits, one might wonder why anyone would pay a fee to store gold when one could collect interest on cash at a bank.

Thanks to the central banks’ commitment to near-zero or even negative interest rates, though, holding cash in a bank no longer brings any benefit in terms of investment earnings. That is, the opportunity cost of storing gold in a depository is getting lower and lower thanks to central bank policy.

Note: The views expressed on Mises.org are not necessarily those of the Mises Institute.

The Best of Ryan McMaken

Read the Original Article at LEW Rockwell

Prepping: Creating a Collapse Supply List

I don’t do a lot of prepping articles because to be honest, most of it is common sense type stuff. Blame it on me being raised in the south and having a really “hands on” child hood I guess, but alot of what most people consider “prepping” I did when I was 12 years old in the woods with my Dad and it kind of just “stuck”.

 This  article however is an exception. I don’t really peruse “prepper” websites, because as I said, most of  the information contained within them is redundant and most everyhting else you find on these sites could be labeled “fringe” at best, “tin foil hat/nut job” at worst. But I do peruse websites (LEW Rockwell) that re-print selected articles, and that is how I found this one. I think is a GREAT example of being AWARE of your surroundings and ACTING ACCORDINGLY.

Just to give a little bit of Background on the DIRE Situation down in Venezuela, Read THIS.-SF

Sometimes a cautionary tale is more motivating than any amount of positive reinforcement every could be, and the horrifying reports from Venezuela are a perfect example. If you’re paying attention to the things they’ve run out of, you can put together a collapse supply list to see you through the crisis in the event of a breakdown in our own country. The time to prepare is now, well before the situation devolves to one that is similar.

Every day, there is more dire news out of Venezuela.  It’s so bad there that even the mainstream news can no longer ignore that the country is in the midst of an economic collapse. Thousands have turned to looting in order to feed their families. Even their soldiers have been stealing food. Long lines, empty stores, and hospitals without electricity are the norm instead of an unusual occurrence.

It wasn’t always like that. Life before Venezuela devolved into socialism looked a whole lot like our lives do today. In fact, as recently as the 1970s, Venezuela was one of the top 20 richest countries in the world.

So, today, our financial situation certainly looks far brighter than that of Venezuela, but according to a lot of experts, that is a glossy veneer over a crumbling foundation.  Obama calls it “peddling fiction” but the outlook here is not good. Financial statistics are massaged and many of them hidden to keep us in the dark. Jobs are nearly impossible to find, and heaven helps you if you lose one.  The price of living is going up, but financial solvency is going down as personal debt outstrips the ability to pay it. Pension funds that people rely on are going bankrupt, one after another.

It really isn’t a question of if, but when.

Economic collapse starts out as “going through hard times.” It isn’t mobbed on the streets or regression to Third World status initially. Before it ever gets to that, you have time to prepare. So let’s get started.

Pay Attention to What They’re Out of in Venezuela

The best way to make your supply list is to figure out what they’ve run out of in Venezuela.  Below, you can find a list of the things they do not have, along with suggestions for stocking up or educating yourself.

If we never have a problem in the United States, you can rest assured that none of these supplies are crazy things you’ll never use. Most are the most basic of necessities and you’ll find it’s very convenient to be able to “shop in your pantry” whenever you need something. As well, learning to be more self-reliant is a great way to save money, live simpler, and often be healthier than those who depend on the store to meet all their needs.

Read the Remainder at The Organic Prepper

Future Warfare: Three Articles You Need to Read on Russia and China

I have felt a strong need as of late to stay abreast of all developments regarding Russia and China.

I would urge all my readers to not be distracted by all the Political theater and “filler” the state run media seems intent on running on continuous loop as of late. It is mindless garbage fit for the “Useful Idiots”, which I dare say my readers ARE NOT!!

The Civilian Operator must always remember that the KEY to both keeping themselves and their family safe and being able to adequately PREPARE for any serious threat is GOOD INTELLIGENCE.

I would normally re-post these articles separately, but because of their length, I thought it more pertinent to just link them.

 

CHINA RESTRUCTURING FOR WAR

CHINA CLOSING THE INNOVATION GAP

A NEW BIG THREE?

 

Stay Alert, Stay Informed, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!

Crusader Corner: Surrendering To Death

This is one of the best interviews I have read thus far about the Paris Attacks and the State of the World when it comes to Terrorism in general. -SF

Eagles of Death Metal recently finished a Canadian tour and I got to sit down with vocalist Jesse Hughes and discuss the Bataclan attack in Paris that killed 89 of his fans. You’d think he’d want to avoid the topic, but he was actually eager to get into it. He sees it as a catharsis.

Hughes is not happy with the way the media has treated the story. Details are randomly pulled from his interviews and entire angles are edited in later that are diametrically opposed to his beliefs. Jesse Hughes is an ordained Catholic minister. He’s pro-gun, pro-Trump, and pro-life. He recognizes that Islam is the problem and political correctness is literally killing us.

Takimag: It’s hard to talk about the attack without sounding like you’re blaming the victims, but it’s impossible to deny fear of Islamophobia and fear of guns led to a lot of deaths that night.

Jesse Hughes: I saw fear fall like a blanket on the whole crowd and they fell like wheat in the wind—the way you would before a god. I was totally alert from the very beginning. The first thing I needed to do was find my girl. Fear took a backseat and “where’s my girl?” took over. I could smell gunpowder in the backstage area and I knew someone fired a round back there. I saw a guy with an FALand when he turned to face me his eyes looked like marbles. He was stoned out of his mind, and we now know they were on Xanax and cocaine. I recognized him. I’d seen him earlier in the day and noticed him staring at us.

They were in the venue early. That implies some staff were in on it.

I got in a lot of trouble for saying that. I know for sure that they were in there early. I remember them staring at my buddy. I just chalked it up to Arab envy. You know what I mean? When a Muslim sees a cocky American dude with tattoos, he stares at him. I realized later it was Abdeslam and he was staring at my buddy because they thought he was a threat. There’s no denying the terrorists were already inside, and they had to get in somehow. During the shooting I went outside and the backstage door was propped open. How did that happen?

Do you think political correctness is killing our natural instincts and making us vulnerable?

Definitely. There were two girls who were involved. They were at the venue and vanished before the shooting, and these women were in traditional Muslim garb. They knew people wouldn’t check them because of the way they were dressed. They got caught a few days later.

The fear of offending Muslims is a terrorist’s greatest weapon.

Look at the guys who bombed Brussels. They were wearing black gloves on one hand. Their luggage was too heavy to lift, but they didn’t want anyone helping them with it. Nobody brought any of this up until after the bombs went off.

Read the Remainder at Takimag