In the summer of 1863, General Robert E. Lee was in command of the Northern Virginia Army. A brilliant strategist, Lee determined that if he invaded the north and succeeded in battle he would achieve several objectives. He would give war torn Virginia a chance to recover by moving the front line northward and he would diminish the Northern resolve, putting pressure on Lincoln to seek a peaceful settlement. Lee gathered his army, 75,000 strong, and began to march toward central Pennsylvania, with the hopes of reaching Harrisburg.
While moving from Northern Virginia to Pennsylvania, Lee learned that Union General George G. Meade, was pursuing him with his army numbering 95,000, from Maryland. Lee sent a number of brigades to check on Meade’s location and to secure supplies for the remainder of the army. The two armies met by chance northwest of the town of Gettysburg. Fighting began almost immediately. Both armies sent for reinforcements. Lee’s army came from the north and west and Meade’s army came from the south and southeast. A battle that was never planned continued for three days.
On July 1, 1863, the Confederate troops fought fiercely, driving Union troops through the streets of Gettysburg to a point south of the city. At the end of the first days battle both sides had suffered heavy losses but the Confederate army had the upper hand.
During the second day of battle, the Confederate Army continued to dominate the Union Army. Confederate troops forced the Union army back in the areas of Devil’s Den, Valley of Death, Wheatfield and Peach Orchard. However the Confederates were unsuccessful in taking Culp’s Hill and Little Round Top.
July 3, 1863, General Lee planned an attack that later became known as Pickett’s charge. After two days dominating the Union, he was overconfident. 12,000 Confederate soldiers charged in parade dress formation from Seminary Ridge believing that the cannon fire that preceded them had cleared the way to take the area. When the smoke from the cannons cleared they found that the cannon fire had missed its mark. Union soldier were able to fire artillery weapons and kill all but a few men. Devastated the Confederate Army retreated back to Virginia. Ironically, fighting ceased for the United States independence day.
More than 50,000 men were lost in the Battle of Gettysburg. Of the 75,000 that fought for the Confederacy 18,735 were wounded, 3,903 were killed, and 5,425 were declared missing. Of the Union soldiers involved in the battle, 14,329 were wounded, 3,155 were killed, and 5,365 were missing.
The Battle of Gettysburg is often considered the beginning of the end of the War Between the States. Unfortunately, the war continued for another two years.
The build-up of war in Vietnam was peculiar, for a while, politicians seemed to want nothing to do with Vietnam before pouncing on it as a chance to stop communism. Under JFK, the Americans were helping the South Vietnamese by training them but not fighting outright. After JFK’s assassination and the somewhat questionable “attacks” on USS Turner Joy and Maddox, the US turned its collective eye to-wards Vietnam.
On March 2, 1965, bombing campaign “Rolling Thunder” commenced. It was designed to cripple military infrastructure in North Vietnam. The campaign eventually lasted for a grand total of three years. Millions of tons of weaponry were unleashed upon Vietnam by thousands of aircraft, some of them the gargantuan B-52.
The first Americans to fight were the Air Force, as operation Rolling Thunder was well under way by January 1965. Over forty American F-105 were scrambled into Danang AFB and operated for several months, remarkably without ground protection. In March of 1965, the Marines landed to help protect Danang AFB. In contrary to later public opinion, early public opinion was in overwhelming support of the move. This marked the beginning of the ground war in Vietnam for the Americans.
The deployment of Marines was increased to 200,000 as attacks upon South Vietnam increased in severity. While the policies implemented were strictly defensive, the frustration felt by the South was strange as a losing trend was obviously developing. A three point plan was conjured to help combat the North. First was the commitment to win. Second was major offensives to halt the losing trend. Third was basically a clean phase. President Johnson approved the three point plan in late 1965, and the Vietnam war began in earnest.
The most iconic images of the Vietnam War almost always contain a UH-1, or Huey, helicopter. As the primary helicopter for transport, medic, and offensive roles, the Huey is perhaps the most well known, and adored, helicopter to ever have flown.
The Huey was put into service for the first time in Vietnam in the year 1962. The first revision were pressed into service and flown by the 57th Medical Division, flying Americans, sometimes on stretchers, out of battles. Later, as the potential for the Huey was realized, it was put into other positions where it performed gracefully.
Several revisions were made to the Huey, most notably revision UH-1D. This version was larger, held more fuel, and had a more powerful engine. This enabled the Americans to enter and exit drop zones faster, thereby improving the pilot’s and crew’s odds of survival. The earlier versions excelled at gunship roles, but lacked the cabin space to make them an effective troop transport. The UH-1D corrected that oversight.
The revision “C” was an early attempt at a gunship platform on the Huey. It proved to be rather effective and earned the nickname “Huey Hog”. This aircraft was often retrofitted with an even larger engine (standard in the “H” revision) for compatibility across the board.
The final major revision to the Huey line in the Vietnam era was the “H” revision. This beast had a much improved and much larger engine than the earlier Huey’s. This revision was by far the most produced version yet. Over 4,500 were delivered to the Army alone.
Many smaller revisions graced the Huey after the famous “H” edition, but none had the substantial improvements from the earlier lines. It would only polish this diamond in the rough.