12 Little Known Turning Points of World War II

Because of the sheer size of the war, many significant battles have become nearly forgotten because they a) were relatively small in scale b) took place outside of the three most well known fronts (East, West and Pacific) c) achieved strategic goals instead of spectacular ones or d) were overshadowed by larger battles taking place at the same time. This is a selection of 12 of the lesser known, but significant, battles and operations from The Second World War.

12

Battle of The Hague

May 10, 1940

The Battle of The Hague was a paratroop attack on the Dutch capital, designed to make the government capitulate and avoid a longer land battle. The Dutch lost airfields on the outskirts but held the city itself, later counterattacking and recapturing the airfields. They inflicted heavy casualties on the paratroops and held on to these defensive positions until the situation around them deteriorated, and they were ordered to retreat.

In this one day battle, the Nazis lost 125 transport aircraft. This loss complicated the logistics of the planned invasion of England and was a part of the chronic lack of transport aircraft the Third Reich faced throughout the war. This deficiency would become most evident on the eastern front, especially at The Battle of Stalingrad, where Paulus’ 6th Army was promised but never received adequate supplies from airdrops. The lack of resupply lead to Paulus’ surrender, and one of the major turning points on the eastern front.

11

Operation Iskra

January 12–30, 1943

Operation Iskra was an attempt to breakthrough the Siege of Leningrad and open a supply route to the beleaguered city. Leningrad had been virtually cutoff from the rest of Russia for well over a year at this point, and relied on supplies sent over Lake Ladoga.

The assault succeeded in opening a road to Leningrad, later to be called the “Road of Life.” Although the German siege would not be lifted for over a year, this lifeline would sustain the city until the Red Army launched counter offensives to clear the German presence in the area and relieve the cities suffering.

10

Siege of Lille

28 May 1940 – 1 June 1940

During the height of the Dunkirk evacuation, the 40,000 remaining troops of the French 1st Army holed up in Lille, and fought off a German attack for five days. The Nazis attacked with over 100,000 men and 800 tanks, or more than an 1/8 of their infantry in Dunkirk and nearly one third of their entire tank force in France.

During these five days, over 250,000 (of a total of 338,226) troops were evacuated from Dunkirk to England. Though most of BEF’s equipment was lost, this was easily replaced by the Lend-Lease program with the United States. Without these soldiers, Britain would have been virtually defenceless until an entirely new recruit army could be trained, and a much more tempting target for Hitler.

9

Operation Dragoon

15 August 1944 – 14 September 1944

Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France. Despite being one of the largest amphibious operations in history, it was overshadowed by Operation Overlord and is virtually forgotten today. The landings were lightly opposed because of the Normandy Campaign and successful diversion tactics, and by the end of the first day advances of nearly thirty kilometers had been achieved.

During the late summer of 1944, the Allied advance from the Normandy beachheads had bogged down due to lack of supplies. Capturing port facilities became of the utmost importance because key ports in northern France were unusable. By mid September, Operation Dragoon linked up with units from the Normandy advance, and the port of Marseilles had begun receiving supplies. By the end of the war, southern France would supply nearly one third of Allied material in Europe.

8

Battle of The Scheldt

October 2, 1944–November 8, 1944

This was another operation aimed at opening a port city. Antwerp had been captured in early September, but the Scheldt Estuary, which allowed access from the North Sea to the city was still in German hands. The First Canadian Army (a mix of Canadian, Polish and British troops) was tasked with clearing the area and opening Antwerp to Allied shipping.

The month long battle was highlighted by nearly endless amphibious assaults and water crossings, extensive German mining of the river and heavily fortified defensive strong points. It was not until the capture of Walcheren Island, on November 5, that the estuary was secured, though Antwerp wasn’t opened to shipping until November 28, because of mining and damage to the port.

Hitler felt that Antwerp was such a strategically important city to the Allies, it’s capture was a main objective of The Battle of the Bulge.

7

Battle of Crete

20 May–1 June 1941

The Battle of Crete ended in a German victory, but one that helped seal it’s fate. Much like The Battle of The Hague, this was an airborne operation aimed at quickly capturing key airfields on Crete, then flying in reinforcements to finish the job. Hitler’s main focus at this time was the looming invasion of the Soviet Union, and, as a result, German commanders were given limited time and resources for the operation

The Allied force (made up of New Zealanders, Australians, Greek and British troops, along with armed civilians) surprised the Germans with their resistance, but the major airport of the island was lost due to miscommunication. This critical mistake allowed re-enforcement to be landed and superior numbers to be brought against the under-equipped Allied force, eventually leading to victory.

The Luftwaffe lost 370 planes, either destroyed or damaged during the battle, a high proportion of which were transport aircraft. It would be the last major Nazi airborne operation.

6

Yelnya Offensive

August 30 – September 8, 1941

This was a smaller part of the Battle of Smolensk (a Soviet loss), but was the first successful counter-attack by the Soviets against the Germans. It showed the Red Army that the blitzkrieg had a weakness against encirclement, and caused over 50,000 German casualties.

It also restored the career of Marshal Georgy Zhukov. Stalin had dismissed him as The Chief of the General Staff because of an earlier defeat and given him command of the Reserve Front. After this offensive, he was given command of the Leningrad Front, and would move on to oversee the defense and counter-offensive at Stalingrad. He would become the most decorated general in Russian history.

5

Battle off Samar

October 25, 1944

The Battle off Safar was part of the decisive four day Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Pacific Theatre. The Japanese Navy had successfully pulled the main US force from the area and attacked the remaining units with the largest surface fleet assembled since the Battle of Midway. The opposing American force had only 13 ships in total, 10 of which were escorts (small, slow variants) and no heavy ships.

The American fleet did have six escort carriers, and their air power would be vital during the battle. Air attacks and nearly suicidal attacks by the remaining ships stopped and then broke up the Japanese attack, despite taking severe losses. The Japanese commander believed he was up against a much larger force because of the severity of the attacks and broke contact.

The battle showed the power of air supremacy at sea and virtually broke the Japanese Navy. Only one of the ten Japanese heavy ships involved in the battle would see subsequent action.

4

Battle of Suomussalmi

December 7, 1939 to January 8, 1940

The Battle of Suomussalmi was the decisive battle of the Winter War between Finland and the Soviet Union. Despite being heavily outnumbered in men and material, the Finns were able to stop the advance into their country by using their mobility and exploiting the Russians reliance on the few roads in the heavily forested terrain. The Finnish Army was also much better equipped to fight in the grueling winter conditions, while Russian equipment routinely froze in the cold, as did their under clothed soldiers.

The Soviet failure to successfully invade Finland heavily influenced Hitler’s decision to go ahead with Operation Barbarossa.

3

Evacuation of Sicily

August 11, 1944 to August 17, 1944

While the invasions of Sicily and Italy are quite well known, the importance of the Axis evacuation of Sicily has been terribly overlooked. During this week, the Axis Powers were able to evacuate 50,000 German and 75,000 Italian troops across the Straight of Messina to mainland Italy. The Allies were unable to prevent this because the invasion plan didn’t account for troop exhaustion, and lack of reserves. The Germans also conducted an expert rearguard action to slow down the Allied progress.

The Italian Campaign was the longest, and one of the bloodiest, on the western front, causing over 300,000 casualties on each side. Many of the units that had escaped Sicily would fight until the wars end, helping to make sure that progress up the Italian Peninsula would be agonizingly slow.

2

Operation Mars

November 25, 1942—December 20, 1942

This was a Soviet offensive operation that took place during the Battle of Stalingrad and is still largely undocumented. The Red Army sought to encircle a German salient west of Moscow, near Rzhev, and relieve pressure on Stalingrad. Later, propaganda would claim this was nothing but a diversionary attack, but the number and proportion of troops deployed and the ferocity of attack suggests otherwise.

The operation achieved little, but cost over 300,000 Russian and 40,000 German casualties. The series of battles that this was a part of, The Battles of Rzhev, is equally unknown, yet accounted for at least one million total casualties. This area gained the nickname “The Rzhev meat grinder”, for the terrible fighting and losses taken in the area. And to top off this hell on earth, the city of Rzhev had a concentration camp in it’s town square.

1

Battles of Khalkhin Gol

11 May – 16 September 1939

The Battles of Khalkhin Gol preceded the formal start of the Second World War, and were part of the Soviet-Japanese Border Wars. I have included it because it was not decided until the larger war had begun and for it’s indirect effect on how the war would unfold.

After initial border clashes escalated, a Japanese Army assaulted Mongolia from Manchuria. The Japanese progress was checked, turned into stalemate and eventually turned back by a Soviet counterattack designed by Marshal Zhukov. The brilliant use of combined arms and encircling tactics isolated and defeated elements of the Japanese army, while the remaining troops retreated to the pre-invasion border for safety.

This battle had two unforeseen outcomes that impacted the war. First, it checked Japanese intentions in Mongolia and central Asia and assured that the Japanese and Germans would never be linked overland through Russia. This would confirm Japanese plans to look towards the Pacific to expand, eventually leading to the attack on Pearl Harbour.

More importantly, Hitler offered the Soviet Union a nonaggression pact (Molotov -Ribbentrop Pact) which included terms for occupation and influence in Poland, the Baltic States, Romania and Finland within days of Japan’s defeat. This allowed Hitler to secure one possible flank in the upcoming war against Poland and subsequently, France.

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Top 10 Most Dangerous Terrorist Threats

Democratic societies offer freedoms and liberties that are sometimes taken for granted. Citizens are able to speak their minds without fears of repercussions, have relatively open access to information, and go about their daily businesses without an invasion of privacy. However these freedoms come at a price; namely that nefarious individuals acting within these democracies can prey on the system’s vulnerabilities. Democratic societies are becoming increasingly complex machines with many intricate moving parts. These same machines can be brought to a standstill if someone throws a monkey wrench into its exposed structure.

This list by no means is an attempt to support acts of terror, or to give a knock against democracy. Its purpose is to explore the most pressing terrorists threats democracies face, and perhaps engage in a discussion on where the line stands between freedom and security.

Here are the top 10 most dangerous terrorist threats in no particular order.

10

Apartment Bombs

Police are not allowed to search a residence unless they have been granted a search warrant, or have a reasonable suspicion. These laws protect our privacy and limit police corruption. However, terrorists living in a free society can exploit these protections.

Picture a network of one hundred or more terrorists who reside in a bottom floor apartment in various large building complexes across a country. Over the course of a year, each terrorist would gradually stockpile his apartment with explosives. They would not even need high powered material – propane or gasoline tanks would be enough to cause sufficient damage. After a year, each terrorist would have several hundred tanks stacked in his home. On a particular night, when all the other residences in the complex are sleeping, the terrorist would remotely detonate the explosives from afar, and bring the building down. This could of course be done as a series of coordinated attacks.

In September 1999, four Russian apartment buildings were hit during a series of bomb attacks. 293 people were killed and 651 were injured. These bombs however were planted in the apartment basement the night before.

9

Water Terrorism

Water terrorism has had a long history, dating back to ancient times. Armies would sabotage an approaching enemy’s water supplies with poisons or dead animals, essentially disabling or killing anyone who would take a drink from the source. Since water is necessary for life, destroying water supplies would also kill off many people as no other safe sources would be available. Today, approximately 1.8 million deaths occur around the world every year due to water contaminants.

The good news is that any attempt to simply dump contaminants into a nearby water source (such as a lake or river) would be futile. The toxins would become overly diluted and harmless, or would be filtered through a water station. In 1974, this attack was attempted by a neo-Nazi terrorist group called the Order of the Rising Sun. The were apprehended before being able to dump typhoid bacterial cultures into large US cities water supplies.

However, if a terrorist organization accessed a water distribution center, either forcibly or from the ‘inside’, they could pump deadly contaminants throughout a city. One disgruntled city employee with access…

8

Sniper Attack

In October of 2002, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo killed ten people and injured three others using a Bushmaster semiautomatic .223 sniper rifle, during a three week shooting spree. The two men were arrested and sentenced (Muhammad to death) when they were caught on the 24th of October sleeping in their car.

Not only were the events tragic, but the two men evoked a nation-wide panic during their attacks. People were fearful to wander in open areas and service their cars at gas stations.

An organized terrorist network could potentially reap more havoc and destruction. Sniper rifles have a range from 350 meters to up to 2,500 meters and, if strategically placed, could be virtually undetectable if targeting a busy downtown core.

Imagine a series of snipers, positioned in different highrise apartment buildings, taking a few shots every day during rush hour traffic. It would take the police and forensic officers weeks to verify where the shots originated from – and, of course, the snipers would change locations every day.

7

Biological Warfare

Biological warfare is the use of dangerous organic materials such as viruses, diseases and bacterium to cause widespread damage. Several historians have suggested that the smallpox virus was purposely spread by the British soldiers who distributed infected blankets during the French / Indian wars, in the mid-1700s.

An outbreak of an infectious and deadly pathogen could kill millions worldwide, as seen with the continued fatalities caused by HIV and malaria. If a terrorist was able to successfully access a pathogen, or even ‘weaponize’ one, and release it into a crowded public area, the impact would be devastating.

In 1984, 750 people in The Dalles, Oregon, were infected with salmonella when a terrorist group purposely contaminated eleven salad bars with the bacteria. Although no one was killed, the attack demonstrated the potential of bio-terrorism.

6

Suicide Attacks

A suicide attack is when an individual sacrifices his or her own life in an effort to cause as much damage and devastation as possible. Many suicide attacks are conducted with bombs, guns, fire or vehicles.

One of the most notable suicide attacks was the 9/11 highjacking of four American flights.

In September 2004, over 334 people were killed (which included 186 children) when Chechen terrorists self-detonated in a Russian school in Belsan, after a failed three-day hostage takeover.

Suicide attacks are probably one of the most difficult attacks to prevent because, by the time the threat is detected, it is often too late – the terrorist is already near innocent civilians.

5

Misinformation

Misinformation is the spreading of false news or threats to authorities or the public. This type of terrorist threat causes indirect damage to a population.

A low-scale example would be if someone pulled a fire alarm in a crowded area and yelled fire. The panic would cause a rush to the exits and people could, potentially, be injured.

A more severe example would be if an organized terrorist network used the internet and phone lines to continuously spread false threats, (such as fire, domestic violence, robberies, etc.) to emergency services over a night. Not only would this tie up lines of communication, but each false threat would need to be investigated, leaving people in real danger and peril. If done with a large group and a solid understanding of emergency service procedures, a terrorist network could essentially shut down police, fire and ambulance services. Emergency services would not be able to establish what was a real threat and what was false. Thousands of people would be stranded without support.

4

Mail Attacks

Mail bombs have dated back as early as the 18th century and have continued throughout the modern era. Parcels would be sent filled with explosive material, such as bullets or gunpowder, and triggered upon opening the package.

One of the most notable examples of a terrorist who utilized the mail was American Ted Kaczynski who was known as the ‘Unabomber’. Kaczynski, a former Berkeley professor, killed three people and injured 27, over an almost twenty year period, until his arrest in 1996.

Not only can bombs be sent through the mail, but other hazardous deadly materials. In 2001, anthrax was sent to several individuals in the US and the perpetrator was never uncovered.

The threat of mail attacks is that the sender is virtually impossible to trace. Also, the sheer number of parcels delivered every day through the hundreds of delivery services makes the detection of dangerous material difficult to spot.

If a network of terrorists perfected and mass produced mail bombs, the impact would be devastating. Thousands could be killed, fear would prevail and the delivery of essential products would be stalled.

3

Nuclear and ‘Dirty’ Bombs

An obvious terrorist attack would be the use of either a nuclear or ‘dirty’ bomb. A dirty bomb is a bomb that contains radioactive material that is mixed with explosives. When detonated, the bomb not only delivers a crushing blast, but seeps nuclear radiation into the atmosphere and poisons a larger radius. If the bomb was released in a large populated area, the impact would be greater.

It is predicted that the effects of a dirty bomb would be similar to those seen during the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. Those not killed by the blast would later die of radiation poisoning, or develop cancer.

Fortunately, it is unlikely that any terrorist would be able to obtain radioactive material to make a nuclear or dirty bomb, let alone have the knowledge, equipment and skills to build one. There is a fear however that with the fall of the former Soviet Union, many nuclear weapons that were once secured by that state, have now gone missing and are currently being traded on the black market.

2

Improvised Explosive Device

Car bombs and IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) are used against military and civilian targets. Unfortunately, they are effective ways of causing mass destruction and are relatively cheap and easy to create.

The benefit of a car bomb (a car loaded with an IED) is that a larger bomb can be delivered (sometimes 4000 pounds or more), it is easier to transport and appears inconspicuous.

One of the most horrific car bombing attacks was in 1995, when American Timothy McVeigh detonated a 4,800 pound IED from his truck, parked next to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. The explosion killed 168 people including 19 children, as there was a daycare in the building. The most deadly car bombing attack was in 2007, when four cars exploded in a Qahtaniya and Jazeera compound in Iraq, killing 796 people and injuring over 1,500.

1

Train Attacks

Trains are easier targets to strike than airplanes or boats because of the vast and unsecured tracks they run on. The terrorists could attack the train from the outside, instead of having to be on the train itself. A land mine could be placed virtually anywhere alongside a track and detonate it when the train passes by.

In 2001, a passenger train was attacked in Angola, when terrorists placed an anti-tank mine on the track . When the train derailed the terrorists shot and killed 250 people before escaping.

Terrorists could also use land mines to derail trains transporting dangerous or explosive materials as they pass through residential neighborhoods.

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Top 10 Most Polluted Places

Here is another list to help you with your travel plans – at all costs avoid the ten places on this list! This list was originally compiled by the Blacksmith Institute.

10. Dzerzhinsk, Russia

A center of Cold War chemical manufacturing, the city’s 300,000 residents have one of the lowest life expectancies in the world thanks to waste injected directly into the ground. “Average life expectancy is roughly 45 years,” Robinson (of the Blacksmith Institute) says. “Fifteen to 20 years less than the Russian average and about half a Westerner’s.”

9. Kabwe, Zambia

The second largest city in this southern African country was home to one of the world’s largest lead smelters until 1987. As a result, the entire city is contaminated with the heavy metal, which can cause brain and nerve damage in children and fetuses. “Measurements of children’s blood levels of lead average over 50 micrograms per deciliter and some were over 100,” Fuller (from the Blacksmith Institute) says. “For every 10 points above 10 micrograms per deciliter [(the U.S. Centers for Disease Control standard for treatment)] that your blood level goes up, your IQ drops.”

8. La Oroya, Peru

Although this is one of the smallest communities on the list (population 35,000) it is also one of the most heavily polluted due to lead, copper and zinc mining by U.S.-based Doe Run mining company.

7. Linfen, China

A city in the heart of China’s coal region in Shanxi Province, its three million inhabitants choke on dust and drink arsenic that leaches from the fossil fuel. In addition, extreme pollution makes visibility difficult.

6. Norilsk, Russia

This city above the Arctic Circle contains the world’s largest metal smelting complex and, therefore, some of the world’s worst smog. “There is so much pollution going into the air from this place that there is no living piece of grass or shrub within 30 kilometers of the city,” Fuller says. “Contamination [with heavy metals] has been found as much as 60 kilometers away.”

5. Sukinda, India

Home to one of the world’s largest chromite mines—used to make steel stainless, among other things—and 2.6 million people, the waters of this valley contain carcinogenic hexavalent chromium compounds courtesy of 30 million tons of waste rock lining the Brahmani River. “Hexavalent chromium is very toxic and very mobile,” notes David Hanrahan, Blacksmith’s London-based director of global programs.

4. Tianying, China

The center of Chinese lead production, this town of 160,000 qualifies as one of the eight most polluted areas in the country, according to the Chinese government. Lead concentrations in the air and soil are 8.5 to 10 times above national health standards and lead dusts local crops at levels 24 times higher than such health standards.

3. Vapi, India

This town at the end of India’s industrial belt in the state of Gujarat houses the dumped remnant waste of more than 1,000 manufacturers, including petrochemicals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals. “The companies treat wastewater and get most of the muck out,” Hanrahan says. “But there’s nowhere to put the muck, so it ends up getting dumped.”

2. Sumqayit, Azerbaijan

Yet another heir to the toxic legacy of Soviet industry, the city of 275,000 souls bears heavy metal, oil and chemical contamination from its days as a center of chemical production. As a result, local Azeris suffer cancer rates 22 to 51 percent higher than their countrymen and their children suffer from a host of genetic defects ranging from mental retardation to bone diseases.

1. Chernobyl, Ukraine

The fallout from the world’s worst nuclear power accident continues to accumulate, affecting as many as 5.5 million people and leading to a sharp rise in thyroid cancer. The incident has also blighted the economic prospects of surrounding areas and nations due to their agricultural heritage.

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Top 10 Worst Best Picture Winners

Let’s face it, the Oscar for “Best Picture” rarely goes to the actual best picture of any given year. Since the inception of the Academy Awards in 1928, there have been a number of doozies that walked away with the industry’s most prestigious award – some sub-par films, some average, some just not very good at all. In light of this thinking, I have compiled my own list – “The Top 10 Worst Best Picture Winners of All-Time”

Take a look at this past year, for instance. “The Hurt Locker” won the highest honor and I wouldn’t even put that in my Top 15 films of the year. However, it was sort of a weak year for great films and because of that, I excluded it from this list. I know everyone says “Ordinary People” (1980) and “Dances with Wolves” (1990) were undeserving of winning “Best Picture” – that “Raging Bull” (1980) and “Goodfellas” (two phenomenal films by Martin Scorsese) were the better films. This is probably true and I would agree with this sentiment. However, I could not include the films of Robert Redford and Kevin Costner on this particular Top 10 List because, quite frankly, I think they are both 4-star films in their own right. Is “Kramer vs. Kramer” (1979) a better film than Coppola’s masterpiece that is “Apocalypse Now”? I certainly don’t think so. However, “Kramer vs. Kramer” won and I love the movie, so this too is also omitted.

I desperately wanted to include “Titanic” (1997) on this list. It’s not a very good film and has not aged well at all (even though it’s only been 13 years). I find the film manipulative on many levels and the script is downright hokey and poor. However, I understand why it won and it was, at the time, a great cinematic achievement on a technical level. On top of this, there were not many other films that stood out in 1997, so sadly, I could not include the over-hyped “Titanic” on this prestigious list. I don’t think “A Beautiful Mind” (2001) is a very good movie at all. The guy-with-a-disease does make for great Oscar bait, but there wasn’t much to admire in this histrionic film. And really – there wasn’t much to pick from during that anemic year for films, so I couldn’t even include this either!

A “Best Picture” Oscar winner should be an instant classic. It should stand the test of time. It should be a film that, years and decades from its release, will be remembered and looked at as a testament to its time. Some “Best Picture” winners that encapsulate this tenet are: “Gone with the Wind” (1939), “The Godfather” films (1972, 1974), “Schindler’s List” (1993), “Unforgiven” (1991), “From Here to Eternity” (1953) and “On the Waterfront” (1954). In any case, look it over, tell me what you think – and enjoy!

10

The English Patient

1996

I actually like this film, but given the other notable films of that year, I had to put this on the list. I mean, come on…who actually fell in love with this movie and can watch it over and over? It certainly has the looks of a “Best Picture” winner. It’s grand and epic in scope – Oscar loves that, I know. But with films like “Fargo,” “Secrets and Lies,” “Breaking the Waves,” “The People vs. Larry Flynt,” “Sling Blade,” (my personal #1 film for 1996) and “Big Night,” I sadly had to include this. Elaine Benes from “Seinfeld” had this film pegged – she was at least honest enough to admit her displeasure of this film – and was alienated by everyone (including her current boyfriend) for her candor.

9

Gigi

1958

There have been a number of musicals to win for “Best Picture” (“Oliver!,” “The Sound of Music,” “My Fair Lady”), but this is an average-at-best MGM musical that no one really remembers today. It’s overlong and there is hardly any dancing in the film, if any. The passage of time also shows “Touch of Evil,” “Vertigo,” “Mon Oncle,” “The Defiant Ones” and “A Night to Remember” as being much stronger films. I mean, really…what film class is breaking down and analyzing “Gigi” over classics by Orson Welles and Jacques Tati from that same year?

8

Chariots of Fire

1981

Another example of a good film that, for some reason, got away with the grand prize. I would think most people look at this movie and think how slow and boring this is. How engaging can a movie about running be to begin with? I know it’s considered by many to be a classic “sports” film, but, like golf and billiards, running is not a sport. I think Warren Beatty’s “Reds” was a masterpiece of a film. Also, released in 1981 and remembered with much greater fondness than the scintillating “Chariots of Fire” are “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “On Golden Pond,” and the extraordinary “Das Boot.”

7

Forrest Gump

1994

Run, Forrest, run! For 15 minutes of film, just run! I know, I know, it’s a modern, American classic, right? You laughed, you cried, it had great music and Tom Hanks was amazing. Whatever. I did like it though. It was hard not to like. The visual effects of putting Forrest next to a whole slew of notable 20th century figures was cool (but really, how many times could you do it?) and the love story at the core of the movie is sweet and touching. But 1994 was actually a great year for film. I couldn’t even put this movie in my Top 15 with other great achievements like: “The Shawshank Redemption,” “Quiz Show,” “Il Postino,” “Hoop Dreams,” the masterful “Natural Born Killers,” Krzysztof’s “Red” and yes, even “Pulp Fiction” which is over-rated in its own right, but still, a better choice than this schmaltzy, calculating, and poorly edited film. For Academy voters, this was the easy, safe pick for that year. Yeah, Forrest…keep running!

6

The Departed

2006

The year of the “Long Overdue” award masking as “Best Picture” and “Best Director” respectively. I love Martin Scorsese and am a huge fan of so many of his films, but this had no business winning the top two awards of the night, let alone have the honor of being nominated. If any film actually stood out that year, Scorsese would have gone home empty-handed once again. But alas, no such film existed. Here, the thinking was, “Well, he’s made some brilliant films in the past, but because there was stiff competition those years, he just never won the big one. Let’s give him his Oscar now.” Nicholson is over-the-top (shocker), Wahlberg (who I actually like) was a disaster and really, it doesn’t even measure up to the original 2002 film “Infernal Affairs.” The Departed was up again Babel, Little Miss Sunshine (which should have won in JFrater’s opinion), The Queen, and Letters from Iwo Jima.

5

Cavalcade

1933

The movie is downright dull and overlong. There’s no way around it. It made for a boring play and here it is a boring and stilted British movie. The film follows a pair of British aristocrats over the span of three decades and the turbulent times in which they live (1899-1933). There have been some terrific British films over the years. This is not one of them. If I wanted to see how World War I, the death of Queen Victoria, & the sinking of the Titanic affected society, I could watch a special on the History channel and be more entertained. Some excellent films that were snubbed in lieu of this snoozefest were: “King Kong,” “I am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang,” “Little Women” and “She Done Him Wrong” (yes, even at 66 minutes…it leaves much more of an impact than the siesta that is “Cavalcade”).

4

How Green Was My Valley

1941

I am not sure how this film beat out a film that changed the face of motion pictures as we know it (“Citizen Kane”), but it did. I’m not one of those people who think that “Citizen Kane” is the end-all-and-be-all, but come on…it changed the way we view and create cinema. John Ford was a terrific filmmaker, but this is another lackluster, tedious film whose only claim to fame is that it bested Orson Welles’ magnum opus. The movie centers on the sorrowful lives of coal miners and is better suited for viewing in a college class on sociology or labor relations than as a piece of entertainment. Other worthy films that were released this year besides “Citizen Kane”: “Suspicion,” “The Maltese Falcon,” “Little Foxes,” and yes, even Disney’s “Dumbo” is the greater work.

3

Driving Miss Daisy

1989

This is a sweet film with some very touching moments. Morgan Freeman is outstanding here as is Jessica Tandy (who won a “Best Actress” Oscar here). But “Best Picture”? Do you really look back to 1989 and think back on this as being the year’s Best Picture?! If you are saying, “Yes” as you read this now, I’m calling you a liar. The film’s director wasn’t even recognized as a “Best Director” nominee. This was a year where voters wanted to feel good about themselves by selecting a movie that (haphazardly) shows the evils of racism. On that level, I felt the film to be a bit insulting, to be honest. It treats its viewers like idiots, thinking we had no idea how poorly blacks were treated in the South in 1948 and that yes, racism is bad. Thank you. It ranks so high on the list for these reasons and because it indefensibly beat out such grand triumphs of film such as: “Cinema Paradiso,” “Dead Poet’s Society,” “Born on the 4th of July,” “Crimes and Misdemeanors” and “Sex, Lies and Videotape.”

2

Around the World in 80 Days

1956

On any list like this one, this film you will most surely find. For all of its impressive locations and cast of actors, this is another long (3+ hours), tedious, uninteresting film. It is outdated, to be sure, with no sense of adventure or wonder to it at all (unlike the Jules Verne story that it is based on). Watch it now – tell me it doesn’t feel like you’re watching some homemade travel videos – or even those archaic educational videos you used to watch in the 6th grade. How this won “Best Picture,” I have no idea – but with cameos by more than 40 of Hollywood’s stars at the time, my thinking is that there were so many people associated with this film in one way or another, that enough votes went its way. “The Searchers,” “The Ten Commandments, “Giant” and “Anastasia” would have been much more admirable picks – all films that when we watch them today, over 50 years later, still entertain and engage us.

1

Chicago

2002

This one was a travesty. I’ll start by saying that I did see it on Broadway years ago and loved it. It was great, sexy entertainment filled with wonderful choreography. And unlike some Broadway musicals that made successful transitions to the world of film, this just plays as silly entertainment geared to the “Glee” demographic. It plays more like the failed musical adaptations such as “Rent” and “Phantom of the Opera” than it does the ones which actually encapsulate the essence of what made the musicals great in the first place (like “West Side Story” or “An American in Paris”). The songs are great, sure – it’s a great musical. But when you leave it to a Hollywood cast who are there for box-office power and not their singing chops (John C. Reilly, Renee Zellweger, Richard Gere), the songs fall flat. It was a weak year for good movies, but no one is ever going to look back at 2002 and think, “Oh, ‘Chicago’ was the best movie that year!” “Chicago” isn’t a good movie that beat out the more deserving…it is a poor, glitz-over-substance film that beat out the more deserving. Those films would be: “Adaptation,” “Talk to Her,” “Gangs of New York,” “Frida” and “The Pianist.”

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Top 10 Comedy Teams of All Time

Comedy seems to work best when done in groups. This is not just true of older comedy routines – most modern television comedy hits are such due to the supporting actors. For example, Will and Grace would never have survived were it not for the character of Karen Walker. This list looks at ten of the most prolific and most well known comedy teams. It is perhaps a little light on the British comedy duos such as the Goons – but do feel free to name them all in the comments.

10

Amos and Andy

Voiced by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, performing on the radio from 1928 all the way 1960. This sketch comedy act was based on turn of the century black minstrel acts, and the two voice artists depicted black people as poor, lower class menial workers, who eventually move from Georgia to Chicago and become taxi drivers.
At least once, in 1931, when the Pittsburgh Courier took up the article of a black preacher who considered the show racially offensive (since the two voice artists were white). They tried to get a million names on a petition, in order to get the show canceled, but few people would sign it, not out of racial fear as much as out of enjoyment of the show. The black leads are always shown to be very simple-minded, but very polite and good-natured, and smarter than the average white man. They also thrived on malaprops, which are incorrect uses of a language. One of George “Kingfish” Stevens’s (played by Gosden) best such lines is, “Heck, naw, I ain’t gawn let my kids use no ‘cyclopedia! They kin walk to school like I did!”
This was subsequently blamed on Yogi Berra, who, never to be outdone, said, “I didn’t say half the stuff I said.”

9

Frick and Frack

Werner Groebli and Hans Mauch, respectively. They were comedic figure skaters, both from Basel, Switzerland, and performed all over the world in lederhosen and traditional German “Oktoberfest” garb.
They performed in a few films, beginning with Lady, Let’s Dance, in 1944. They never performed in the Olympics, but a lot of Olympic figure skaters think they would have been shoe-ins for gold medals.
“Frick and Frack” has become a household phrase in English, due to their popularity from the 1930s to the 1950s. Some of the stunts they performed defy belief, most notably Frack’s rubber legs, which were twisting, collapsing legs while skating in a spread-eagle.
Frick’s signature move was a cantilever spread-eagle, which he invented.

8

The Smothers Brothers

Tommy Smothers always plays the slower buffoon to Dick Smothers’s straight man. Tommy’s signature line was “Mom always liked you best!” after which they would argue over whether that were true or not. When their mother died, they never performed this routine again.
They are accomplished guitar players, and Tommy is a master of the yo-yo. They have the distinction of being the longest-lived comedy team in American history, having performed for about 52 years.
During the late 1960s, they had their own show, “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” which was extremely controversial (and funny) because of their peace advocacy. They regularly poked fun at the Vietnam War, President Nixon, and racism. The show lasted an amazing 2 years, 1967 to 1969, before being canceled for what CBS was forced to call “Anti-American Peace Propaganda.” Ah, the ’60s.

7

Cheech and Chong

The hippies and counter-culturalists found their idols in the weed-smoking surrealists Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. They broke up in 1985, but reunited in 2008 much to everyone’s delight.
They made a number of films from 1978 through the 1980s, all having heavily to do with drug use, the free love of hippies, etc. Arguably their best work is the 1983 film Still Smokin’, in which they travel to Amsterdam, Netherlands, for a film festival about Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton. When the latter two stars don’t show up, Cheech and Chong save the day with their own live stage performance. One of the best bits is Chong as “the old man in the park,” and the duo as “Ralph and Herbie the dogs.”

6

Abbott and Costello

Bud Abbott played the straight man to Lou Costello, and even if they had only done one routine during their entire career, “Who’s on First?” would net them the #6 spot. They had already rehearsed it to perfection, but had not had a chance to perform it on stage.
The first televised performance of it was at the Steel Pier, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. They had a few sheets of material written by someone else, and they didn’t think much of it, so Abbot asked Costello, “You wanna do Baseball?” “Yeah, let’s do it.” And they walked out and made history.
It had been many times since before the radio days of burlesque vaudeville, with the simple gag of Who and What being proper nouns. Abbott and Costello were the first to hone it into its modern form of a baseball team’s names. They copyrighted it, and performed it several times in different films. None of this mentions the host of other outstanding performances to their credit.

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Top 10 Greatest Historical Warriors

In this list we see a combination of two of my favorite things – ancient (well mostly) history and warriors. While most of these warrior groups come from ancient history – one or two come close to modern history. They all, undoubtedly, belong on this list. Please mention other groups who might be considered for a future list in the comments.

10

Aztecs

The Aztecs were famous soldiers and ruthless in battle. They were usually dressed like animals like the eagle or the jaguar. They used pretty primitive weapons like clubs and bows but used them with great effectiveness. The “Shorn Ones” (Cuachicqueh) were the greatest warriors and as soon as the enemy came they swore they would not take another step back. They were eventually defeated by the Spaniards with much more modern weapons but they were a great empire in large part due to their great warriors.

9

Mongol Warriors

The Mongols were considered barbarians and savages. They dominated Europe and Asia and were most famous for riding on horseback lead by one of the greatest military commanders in history, Genghis Kahn. They were highly disciplined and masters with using the bow and arrow on horse back. They used a composite bow that could rip through armor and were also pretty good with lances and scimitars. They were masters of psychological warfare and intimidation, and built one of the largest empires the world has ever seen.

8

Mamluks

A mamluk was a slave soldier who converted to Islam and served the Muslim caliphs and the Ayyubid sultans during the Middle Ages. Over time, they became a powerful military caste often defeating the Crusaders. On more than one occasion, they seized power for themselves; for example, ruling Egypt in the Mamluk Sultanate from 1250–1517. After mamluks had converted to Islam, many were trained as cavalry soldiers. Mamluks had to follow the dictates of furusiyya, a code that included values such as courage and generosity, and also cavalry tactics, horsemanship, archery and treatment of wounds, etc.

7

Roman Legion

The backbone of the Roman army that led to an empire that was unrivaled in terms of size and power. They were usually heavy infantry with armor and a shield modeled after the ancient Greeks. They were masters of the sword and spear combination going along with a shield. They were made up of the wealthiest soldiers that could afford to make the best weapons and armor. They were disciplined, well-armed, and had great strategy which lasted beyond their empire.

6

Apache

The apaches were like the ninjas of America. They would sneak up behind you and slit your throat without you even knowing. They used primitive weapons made mostly of wood and bone. They were also the greatest knife fighters the world has ever seen and were pretty good with the tomahawk and throwing ax. They terrorized the southwest United States and even the military had trouble beating them. They were great hit and run fighters and their descendants teach modern day special fighters how to fight in hand to hand combat.

5

Samurai

The samurai were the knights of Japan and the masters of the katana. They were heavily armed soldiers covered in armor and willing to die for their masters. They wielded the sharpest sword the world has ever seen and it could easily slice a man in two. They were also masters of the yumi (bow) and were some of the best shots of the ancient world. They were like professional soldiers and were harshly trained and fought knowing their honor was on the line. Due to their violent habits, peasants soon rose up against them and the ninja was born.

4

Ninja

The ninja were the masters of stealth and sabotage. They were originally peasants trained to defeat marauding samurai, but the eventually became the legendary assassins that most people think of today. They are known for using a Kanata like sword, blowgun, ninja stars, and kusarigama which would be my weapon of choice. They are known for being stealthy shadow warriors of the night. They greatly feared for their ability to kill and just disappear. They were also great martial artists and underwent rigorous training.

3

Vikings

Vikings – the terror of Europe. The most feared warrior of the ancient world. They terrorized Europe with their raids and pillaging. They were ferocious in battle and used weapons that suited their stature. They were big and mean and used their axes, swords, and spears expertly in the conquering of cities. Even their religion was about war and they believed when you died in battle you fought once again in a never ending battle. They were all you would want in a soldier and proved it on the battlefield by destroying all in their paths. On the flip-side, they were also incredibly good traders so they also brought much good to Europe.

2

Spartans

You thought they would be number one didn’t you? The Spartan culture was all about war and training men for war their entire lives. They had a saying: “come back with the shield or on top of it” which means don’t come back unless you are victorious. They were some of the toughest soldiers the world had ever seen and have become infamous for their last stand at the battle of Thermopylae. They were masters of the shield and spear combination that was later copied by many other armies.

1

Knight

Knights were great warriors clad in full body armor on horseback. The warrior of feudal Europe, the protector of kings. They were the richest, most trained warriors, and had the armor, weapons, and horses to get the job done. They were among the toughest soldiers in history to kill because of their armor. They were highly effective soldiers that had trained almost their entire lives (due to boys of the day wanting to grow up to be one) and became the tank of the ancient world. The reason they are listed as item 1 – instead of Spartans (which most people would have expected) is that knights were also expected to behave in a moral manner and from the fact that most did, we have the term chivalrous which comes from old French chevalier meaning “knight”. The knight was the perfect example of a warrior and a gentleman.

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