Comments on: Rough Riders – Movie Review http://www.armchairgeneral.com/movie-review-rough-riders.htm All things military history! Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:09:46 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: Liam O' Brien http://www.armchairgeneral.com/movie-review-rough-riders.htm/comment-page-1#comment-29658 Liam O' Brien Thu, 20 Oct 2011 03:14:23 +0000 http://www.armchairgeneral.com/articles.php?page=1&p=2517#comment-29658 I have just watched this movie and as a piece of fiction it has a certain degree of entertainment. Though it does overlook the fact that Cuban rebels had virtually beaten the Spanish oppressors prior to the intervention of the U.S. The reasons for the U.S's intervention in Cuba at that period had nothing whatsoever to do with the liberation of Cuba but was essentially to secure it's borders and enhance it's sphere of influence in an area where they considered they had a divine right to interfere. This approach ha been has been the mainstay of U.S. policy to the present day as can be witnessed by the savage embargo enforced on the small nation of Cuba. However the heroism of the ordinary U.S. soldier must be applauded dispite the fact they were used as a tool of U.S. expansionism. I have just watched this movie and as a piece of fiction it has a certain degree of entertainment. Though it does overlook the fact that Cuban rebels had virtually beaten the Spanish oppressors prior to the intervention of the U.S.

The reasons for the U.S’s intervention in Cuba at that period had nothing whatsoever to do with the liberation of Cuba but was essentially to secure it’s borders and enhance it’s sphere of influence in an area where they considered they had a divine right to interfere.

This approach ha been has been the mainstay of U.S. policy to the present day as can be witnessed by the savage embargo enforced on the small nation of Cuba.

However the heroism of the ordinary U.S. soldier must be applauded
dispite the fact they were used as a tool of U.S. expansionism.

]]> By: Will Henricks http://www.armchairgeneral.com/movie-review-rough-riders.htm/comment-page-1#comment-7176 Will Henricks Sat, 20 Dec 2008 20:14:28 +0000 http://www.armchairgeneral.com/articles.php?page=1&p=2517#comment-7176 This is commentary on Rough Riders and while I agree on the general movie review the technical aspects of the movie are an abysmal failure. Point one the opening picture of the Maine is not the original ship that had the explosion in Havana harbor with echelon turrets with the forward(bow) turret being to the right, of the center line of the ship and the stern(rear) being(offset) to port(left) of the center line of the ship. This looked as strange as it is to explain. The Maine built in 1899 to replace the ship lost and later raised in 1912 and sunk with military honors out at sea. Second point is that the Germans did not sell any arms to the Spanish because Basil Zaharoff the merchant for Vickers and Schneider screwed them out of the contract and sold the Spanish only British Vickers machine guns and French 75 field guns. The Mauser rifles were limited production made by the Spanish and German companies. Their were no German military advisor's as much as they could have used them to improve their shooting accuracy. The third point is that the black infantry did not carry Craig Jorgenson rifles, but black powder Springfield carbines. They were second class soldiers and armed as such though they clearly performed as first line cavalry. A forth point is that the Internal Revenue Service acquired this title in 1952 and prior to that it was the Bureau of Internal Revenue. However income tax was declared unconstitutional in 1894 so there could not have been an Internal Revenue Service agent in the rough riders. In 1913 a constitutional amendment was passed which has given us the wonderful income tax. This is commentary on Rough Riders and while I agree on the general movie review the technical aspects of the movie are an abysmal failure.
Point one the opening picture of the Maine is not the original ship that had the explosion in Havana harbor with echelon turrets with the forward(bow) turret being to the right, of the center line of the ship and the stern(rear) being(offset) to port(left) of the center line of the ship. This looked as strange as it is to explain.
The Maine built in 1899 to replace the ship lost and later raised in 1912 and sunk with military honors out at sea.

Second point is that the Germans did not sell any arms to the Spanish because Basil Zaharoff the merchant for Vickers and Schneider screwed them out of the contract and sold the Spanish only British Vickers machine guns and French 75 field guns. The Mauser rifles were limited production made by the Spanish and German companies. Their were no German military advisor’s as much as they could have used them to improve their shooting accuracy.

The third point is that the black infantry did not carry Craig Jorgenson rifles, but black powder Springfield carbines. They were second class soldiers and armed as such though they clearly performed as first line cavalry.

A forth point is that the Internal Revenue Service acquired this title in 1952 and prior to that it was the Bureau of Internal Revenue. However income tax was declared unconstitutional in 1894 so there could not have been an Internal Revenue Service agent in the rough riders. In 1913 a constitutional amendment was passed which has given us the wonderful income tax.

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