Question of the Hour

[Rhibwolf]

Eylau, fought in mid winter, in 1807, was the most important and bloody one that had yet occurred. France and Russia had never before opposed such strength to each other, and a complete victory on either side would have settled the fate of Europe. Bonaparte remained in possession of the field, and that was all—no victory was ever so like a defeat.

 

[redleafjumper]

Yes indeed, Rhibwolf, that was Eylau, often compared with Hohenlinden and in this case by noted historian Philip Haythornthwaite.  See
Haythornthwaite, Philip J. Die Hard! Famous Napoleonic Battles (London: Cassell Military Classics, 1999), p. 56.


So, another question, who was the officer that captured the last German commander of Gross Paris?  Where did the capture take place and who was that last German commander of Gross Paris?



(modified to correct bibliographic entry)

 

[Rhibwolf]

General von Choltitz, commander of Gross Paris, in his Hotel Meurice headquarters, by Lieutenant Henri Karcher of the army of General de Gaulle.
Kind of sounds like Clue, Col Mustard, in the billiard room, with the lead pipe.

My turn, with no apologies for the nautical turn:
According to Bernard Brodie, there were only five great revolutions in naval development since the days of the Spanish Armada, all of which occurred within fifty years, what were they?

 

[redleafjumper]

Yes, Rhibwolf has it right.  Choltitz's capture and the fall of Paris are detailed in the thorough and interesting book, Is Paris Burning?
It was very like the response to a Clue mystery!

I will try a guess on Brodie's thoughts on the five great revolutions  to sea power:

a.  Effective submarines (torpedoes) and sonar
b.  Armoured ships
c.  Improved long range gunnery
d. Improved propulsion systems that allow increased speed without reliance on wind
e. Aircraft carriers

Howe's that for a guess?  (The 'Howe' is actually an intended nautical pun.)

 

[Rhibwolf]

Really good guess, actually.
They were steam propulsion, the iron hull, armour and great ordinance, submarine vessels, and naval aircraft.
Bravo Zulu

 

[redleafjumper]

Thanks Rhibwolf.  I figured that it would be pretty close.

Who said "...the Canadian Corps paid the price of victory in shells and not in life."  And, of what battle was this person speaking?

 

[vonGarvin]

Thanks Rhibwolf.  I figured that it would be pretty close.

Who said "...the Canadian Corps paid the price of victory in shells and not in life."  And, of what battle was this person speaking?

Currie?  About Vimy?

 

[redleafjumper]

Von Garvin, it is a reasonable guess, but it was neither Currie nor Vimy.  It is the right war, and you are warm.

 

[Old Sweat]

I think the source of the quotation was BGen AGL McNaughton and he was referring either to the Canal du Nord or Valenciennes.

 

[scoutfinch]

I believe it was said by BGen McNaughton about Gen Currie at Passchendaele?  Maybe??

 

[vonGarvin]

Von Garvin, it is a reasonable guess, but it was neither Currie nor Vimy.  It is the right war, and you are warm.

Someone else about pashendale?  (I know, I know, passchendaele or some other gosh awful way to spell it)

 

[redleafjumper]

Some great guesses, the answer is that it was Andy McNaughton and he was speaking of Valciennes, so we'll give old sweat the credit for this one.

This one should be relatively easy...

What did Napoleon Bonaparte have for dinner on the night of the battle on 14 June 1800?

 

[monika]

Chicken Marengo?

 

[vonGarvin]

What did Napoleon Bonaparte have for dinner on the night of the battle on 14 June 1800?

Chicken Pot Pie?

I actually cheated and googled: Chicken Marengo
"Chicken Marengo is named after the battle of Marengo, 14 June 1800, at which Napoleon defeated Austria; it was created on the battlefield by itself by Dunand, Napoleon’s master chef... Bonaparte, who on battle days ate nothing until the fight was over, had gone forward with his general duties and was a long way from his supply wagons. Seeing his enemies defeated, he asked Dunand to prepare dinner for him. Chef at once sent men of the quartermaster’s staff and ordnance corps in search of provisions. All they could find were three eggs, four tomatoes, six crayfish, a small hen, a little garlic, some oil and a saucepan. Using his bread ration, Dunand first made a panada with oil and water, and then, having drawn and jointed the chicken, browned it in oil and fried eggs in the same oil with a few cloves of garlic and the tomatoes. He poured over this mixture some water laced with brandy (borrowed from general flask) and put the crayfish on top to cook in the steam. The dish was served on a tin plate, the chicken surrounded by the fried eggs and crayfish, with the sauce poured over it. Bonaparte, having feasted upon it, said to Dunand: “You must feed me like this after every battle!” "
Source:http://heritage.dolce.com/property/prop_fnb_recipies_search.php

 

[redleafjumper]

Oui TMM, c'est ca!  (and thanks to VonGarvin for the details)  Napoleon had 'chicken a la Marengo' on the night of the Battle of Marengo.


At Badajoz the defenders used devices called "chevaux de frise".  What was the purpose of this device and what was it?

 

[AJFitzpatrick]

It "chevaux de frise" is basically a obstacle  made of a central spar (or log) with spikes radiating out from it. It was effective primarily against cavalry. It also has a usage dating to mediaeval times. Interestingly, it also refers to the Czech Hedgehog anti-tank obstacles used in the Atlantic Wall. Nothing new under the sun.

 

[redleafjumper]

A good answer by AJFitzpatrick.  The ones at Badajoz were used to block the breaches in the walls.  The wooden beams were chained at each end and the "spikes" on these prickly obstacles were sword blades.

This one might be more difficult:

At Southhampton in January 1919, there were some troubles with demobilisation.  Who was the officer who solved the situation at Southhampton in 1919, quickly, fairly and effectively with full regard for the needs of the troops?  How did he do it?

 

[Rhibwolf]

Trenchard, but I dont think he did anything fairly or for the needs of the troops.  He surrounded them with armed soldiers and MPs, threatened them, and threw some 200 ringleaders in jail and hosed another 100 down with cold water until they broke.

From the trenches and trenchard, to the trenchers.

Who is Jack Dusty,  what is Duff, and why is it spelled that way.

 

[redleafjumper]

Hmmm, yet another nautical question.  Let's see "Duff" is any sticky pudding, the reason for the spelling is unknown to me, and a Jack Dusty is the term for a navy supply tech.

As for Trenchard, according to Trenchard Man of Vision by Andrew Boyle, the General was instructed by Sir William Robertson, through his staff to head to Southampton and stop the rioting of an estimated 20,000 soldiers who were refusing to obey orders.  He attended personally and was jostled and then returned with 250 armed soldiers, including several MPs.  On interviewing a L/Cpl who gave himself up, Trenchard discovered that the men seemed to have some grievances that bore listening to and were not likely hard-core mutineers.  His impression was that the mere sight of armed soldiers would put a stop to the matter.  He put out the lights in the area and when his troops arrived moved them to the Customs shed.  He formed them up and had them load in full view of the mutineers.  He invited the mutineers to surrender and quickly arrested one sergeant who tried to start things up.  The others promptly surrendered and he spent the rest of the day  listening to their statements and recording their grievances.  "The majority," Trenchard noted, "were quite ready to return to France but naturally objected to being sent back as prisoners for having overstayed their leave by perhaps a couple of days."

Trenchard was more concerned that the men had been informed that they would be discharged and then were told that they would not be and would be sent to France.

Some were discharged conditionally, most were exonerated as veterans who deserved better after serving their country in France.  107 were placed under open arrest for instigating a rebellion among 5,000 good men.  Trenchard had the docks under control, but had to use firehoses to winkle out those still defying authority behind barricaded doors of the "inaptly named rest camp."  Trenchard stayed on to keep the peace, brought in more NCOs and officers and gradually introduced "...a regime of parades, inspections, fatigues and games."  Thus ended the Southampton dock riots.  No loss of life and a return to duty for most. 


Who urged Archduke Ferdinand Maximillian of Austria into the foolish Mexican venture that ended in his death?

 

[redleafjumper]

I did a google search on this "duff" term and the results as to its origin and spelling were most interesting.  This information is taken from the Phrase Finder: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/397300.html

Up the duff

Meaning

Euphemism for pregnant. Used most commonly, although not exclusively, to describe unplanned pregnancy.

Origin

The phrase doesn't appear in print until 1941 Sydney John Baker's 'Dictionary of Australian Slang':

    " Duff, up the (of a woman), pregnant."

Duff isn't a common word and seems an odd choice for a colloquial phrase. It took a rather roundabout route...

As the phrase means pregnant it shouldn't come as a major surprise that for the origin we need look no further than the penis. As with many English phrases that refer to sexual activity we dive straight into a world of euphemism and there are several obscuring layers here between penis and pregnancy.

One of the numerous slang terms for the sexual organs, or more commonly specifically the penis, is pudding. This has a long history, going back to at least the 18th century, as here from 1719:

    Thomas D'Urfey, 'Wit and mirth: or pills to purge melancholy, being a collection of ballads and songs 1719':

    "I made a request to prepare again, That I might continue in Love with the strain Of his Pudding".

A slang term for male masturbation, which leaves little to the imagination - 'pull one's pudding', has been known since at least the 19th century.

There is a related phrase for pregnancy - 'in the pudding club', and it turns out that this and 'up the duff' are essentially the same phrase. By 1890 Barrère & Leland, in their Dictionary of Slang, defined the term pudding club:

    "A woman in the family way is said to be in the pudding club."

Note that in Victorian times a definition of a euphemistic term for pregnancy relied on another euphemism.

Dough is another word for pudding and duff is an alternative form and pronunciation of dough. That was in use by 1840, as here from R. H. Dana in Before the Mast:

    "To enhance the value of the Sabbath to the crew, they are allowed on that day a pudding, or, as it is called, a ‘duff’."

So, we travel this route - (up the) duff -> dough -> pudding -> penis -> pregnant.

The more recent 'bun in the oven', another slang phrase for pregnant, may originate this way too.