The Son-a-bitch History Question Thread.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Did somebody carry a sword called sting?

I have no idea, but not what I'm looking for.

I'm clueless - Frodo was a pretty dull character. Did Patton have a batman called Samwise or some shit? Or did Alex the Great have a mithril vest?

Not that I know of.

[Don't Panic]

Did somebody carry a sword called sting?

I have no idea, but not what I'm looking for.

I'm clueless - Frodo was a pretty dull character. Did Patton have a batman called Samwise or some shit? Or did Alex the Great have a mithril vest?

Not that I know of.

Montgomery could speak Elvish?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Did somebody carry a sword called sting?

I have no idea, but not what I'm looking for.

I'm clueless - Frodo was a pretty dull character. Did Patton have a batman called Samwise or some shit? Or did Alex the Great have a mithril vest?

Not that I know of.

Montgomery could speak Elvish?

This person was the commander of his nation's (branch of service) at one point, then went to command the forces in the field. (Deliberately ambiguous.)

[Don't Panic]

I have no idea, but not what I'm looking for.

I'm clueless - Frodo was a pretty dull character. Did Patton have a batman called Samwise or some shit? Or did Alex the Great have a mithril vest?

Not that I know of.

Montgomery could speak Elvish?

This person was the commander of his nation's (branch of service) at one point, then went to command the forces in the field. (Deliberately ambiguous.)

Something to do with Julius Caesar?

Edit: They both died in March?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I have no idea, but not what I'm looking for.

I'm clueless - Frodo was a pretty dull character. Did Patton have a batman called Samwise or some shit? Or did Alex the Great have a mithril vest?

Not that I know of.

Montgomery could speak Elvish?

This person was the commander of his nation's (branch of service) at one point, then went to command the forces in the field. (Deliberately ambiguous.)

Something to do with Julius Caesar?

Edit: They both died in March?

Nope, this person served in the 20th Century.

[klr]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Keitel

born 22nd September, same day as Frodo (and Bilbo) Baggins.

But is it what we're looking for?

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Is it a barefoot thing?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Keitel

born 22nd September, same day as Frodo (and Bilbo) Baggins.

But is it what we're looking for?

Not as far as I know. (Just checked, not born in Sept.)

And not a barefoot kind of guy, that I'm aware of.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

Charlemagne had a son called Drogo - same name as Frodo's father. But he was a few months before the 20th C!

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Charlemagne had a son called Drogo - same name as Frodo's father. But he was a few months before the 20th C!

I'll give Kevin a shot at it before I give it up.

Hint. What was Frodo called in the lore of the shire after the fall of Sauron?

[ScholasticSpastic]

Charlemagne had a son called Drogo - same name as Frodo's father. But he was a few months before the 20th C!

I'll give Kevin a shot at it before I give it up.

Hint. What was Frodo called in the lore of the shire after the fall of Sauron?

Nine fingers.

[klr]

Charlemagne had a son called Drogo - same name as Frodo's father. But he was a few months before the 20th C!

I'll give Kevin a shot at it before I give it up.

Hint. What was Frodo called in the lore of the shire after the fall of Sauron?

Nine fingers.

Aha, now that's a giveaway:

Yamamoto ... who lost two fingers on his left hand during the battle of Tsushima. His nickname afterwards was (IIRC) 'Eighty Sen', because he got a discount from the usual 1 Yen rate when having his fingers manicured (manicures were all the rage amongst the Japanese officer class back then apparently).

I'll have another question in a while, but before then, there is the unseemly business of work.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Charlemagne had a son called Drogo - same name as Frodo's father. But he was a few months before the 20th C!

I'll give Kevin a shot at it before I give it up.

Hint. What was Frodo called in the lore of the shire after the fall of Sauron?

Nine fingers.

Aha, now that's a giveaway:

Yamamoto ... who lost two fingers on his left hand during the battle of Tsushima. His nickname afterwards was (IIRC) 'Eighty Sen', because he got a discount from the usual 1 Yen rate when having his fingers manicured (manicures were all the rage amongst the Japanese officer class back then apparently).

I'll have another question in a while, but before then, there is the unseemly business of work.

I thought you'd get that one, Kevin.

Yamamoto lost his finger in the Battle of Tsushima Strait. He stayed on the bridge of the Mikasa when all the other officers, except one, had taken cover. The other officer was a British observer whose name I don't recall. It was his observation on the battle that helped the RN realize that future naval battles would be fought at maximum range and "medium caliber" weapons were pointless. Thus the Dreadnought was born.

If you're not bored with this yet, I would mention that at least two other countries were building "all big gun" battleships before the Dreadnought was laid down. One such was the Michigan-class battleships. I think this way the Dreadnoughts had such a lousy gun layout. It took ten guns to match the broadside of the eight on the Michigans.

[klr]

...
I thought you'd get that one, Kevin.

Yamamoto lost his finger in the Battle of Tsushima Strait. He stayed on the bridge of the Mikasa when all the other officers, except one, had taken cover. The other officer was a British observer whose name I don't recall. It was his observation on the battle that helped the RN realize that future naval battles would be fought at maximum range and "medium caliber" weapons were pointless. Thus the Dreadnought was born.

If you're not bored with this yet, I would mention that at least two other countries were building "all big gun" battleships before the Dreadnought was laid down. One such was the Michigan-class battleships. I think this way the Dreadnoughts had such a lousy gun layout. It took ten guns to match the broadside of the eight on the Michigans.

Interesting ... most interesting.

I have two mammoth books by Robert K. Massie that cover from the naval race in the late 19th century right through to the end of WW I: Dreadnought and Castles of Steel. The bit about other countries being in at the start of the Dreadnought era rings a bell, but I might need to check some of my references - which are all at home.

As for gun layouts: Agreed on the deficiency of the Dreadnought layout. We could have an interesting discussion about the variety of gun layouts that have been used in the last century. Here's a starter: Know any capital ships that had two forward quadruple turrets?

Back to the grindstone for a while for me.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

The second Massie book is Castles of Steel. Very recommended set.