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30 November 2012 · 5:15 pm
Napoleon's Crossing of the Berezina
Napoleon fought off the pursuing Russians under Prince Mikhail Kutuzov at Krasny on 17 November 1812. However, he was forced to continue to retreat to the River Berezina, leaving Orsha on 20 November.
Click here for a link to a map of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow on Wikimedia.
Kutuzov had missed a number of opportunities to cut off and destroy Napoleon's Grande Armée as it retreated from Moscow. This angered Tsar Alexander, who said that Kutuzov displayed 'inexplicable inactivity.'[1]
Three Russian armies were converging on Napoleon. As well as Kutuzov, Admiral Pavel Chichagov had captured Minsk, a major French supply base, and was approaching the Berezina from the south with 60,000 men. In the north, Prince Peter Wittgenstein, with 50,000 troops, had defeated Marshal Claude Victor at Smoliani.
Adam Zamoyski argues that Kutuzov realised that Napoleon and his generals and marshals were better commanders than himself and his subordinates. He consequently did not want to engage in a frontal battle with the Emperor, preferring to wait until Napoleon's line of retreat had been cut by Chichagov and Wittgenstein.[2]
On 22 November Napoleon learnt that Chichagov had taken Borisov and its wooden bridge across the Berezina. The next day Marshal Charles Oudinot defeated Chichagov and retook the town, but the retreating Russians burnt the bridge.
Normally the ice would have been thick enough in late November to allow the Berezina to be crossed without bridges. However, the Grande Armée, having suffered great privations from the cold, now suffered from an unexpected thaw, which caused the ice to break up.
Fortunately for Napoleon, the Russians were not pressing his army vigorously. They were also suffering from the winter, and his reputation continued to intimidate all their commanders, not just Kutuzov. He also thought that a crushing victory was not necessarily in Russia's interests, as it would benefit Britain more. General Sir Robert Wilson, a British observer, reported that Kutuzov had said that:
I am by no means sure that the total destruction of the Emperor Napoleon and his army would be such a benefit to the world; his succession would not fall to Russia or any other continental power, but to that which already commands the sea whose domination would then be intolerable.[3]
Napoleon considered attacking Wittgenstein, and then taking an alternative route, which would enable him to reach Vilna without crossing the Berezina. He rejected this because of the exhaustion of his troops, the poor roads and the muddy terrain, deciding to construct a pontoon bridge at Borisov.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_Berezina_map.jpg
Gregory Fremont-Barnes (main editor) – The Encyclopedia of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, page 137. Adapted from Chandler 1966, 840.
Napoleon had ordered General Jean Baptiste Eblé, the commander of his bridging train, to destroy his equipment in order to prevent it being captured. However, Eblé had destroyed only the actual pontoon bridge, retaining his tools, smithies and charcoal. Thus, his engineers, who were mostly Dutch, could build a pontoon bridge by tearing down local houses for their wood.The problem was that the river was wide at the site of the burnt bridge, and large blocks of ice, propelled by a strong current, were floating down it. This made construction of a replacement at the same site very difficult.
General Jean Baptiste Corbineau, one of Oudinot's cavalry brigade commanders, then reported that he had found a ford at Studienka, eight miles north of Borisov. Napoleon initially rejected Oudinot's suggestion of crossing there, but changed his mind after meeting Corbineau on 25 November.
Eblé was ordered to start building three bridges across the Berezina at Studienka at nightfall on 25 November. Various demonstrations were planned in order to distract Chichagov, whose army was to the west of the Berezina an south of Borisov.
A detailed plan was prepared to move the troops still under discipline across the river, starting as soon as the bridges were complete. However, it depended on the enemy being distracted by the diversionary operations and no specific plans were drawn up to allow stragglers to cross.
The first bridge, intended for infantry, was completed by 1pm on 26 November, and the crossing began immediately. The second one, capable of taking wagons, was ready by 4pm. The plan to build a third was abandoned because there were not enough materials to do so.
Lack of time and materials meant that the bridges were improvised and flimsy, and continual repairs were required. The heavier one had to be closed from 8pm until 11pm on 27 November, from 2am until 4am the next morning and from 4pm to 6pm later that day. The breakages caused hundreds of death.
However, most of the organised and armed troops were across by the end of 27 November, leaving just Victor's IX Corps as rearguard. The Gendarmes had so far prevented unarmed men and civilians from crossing, but they were now invited to cross. Many, having settled down beside camp fires and, seeing no immediate danger, decided to wait until morning.
The strength of the Grande Armée at this stage is uncertain, but David Chandler estimates that 25,000 men under arms, 110 guns and 40,000 stragglers left Orsha. Joining up with Oudinot and Victor's corps increased its strength to perhaps 49,000 combatants, 250-300 guns and 40,000 stragglers. About 75,000 Russians were close enough to interfere with the crossing.[4]
Chichagov was slow to realise what was happening, and did not engage Oudinot, who was covering the southern flank on the west bank of the Berezina, until the morning of 27 November. The French had to surrender ground, but maintained their line.
On the east bank of the Berezina, Victor also gave up some ground under pressure from Wittgenstein, but his corps remained intact and Napoleon left able to withdraw one of its brigades, comprised of Germans from Baden, across the river.
The action on both banks began again early on 28 November. Chichagov's advance guard, commanded by General Eufemiusz Czaplic, a Pole, attacked Oudinot. The position looked so bad for the French that Napoleon prepared to commit the Old Guard, but Oudinot rallied his men. He was wounded, for the 22nd time in his career, and Marshal Michel Ney took command.
Ney was outnumbered by over 30,000 to 12-14,000 men, and his troops were in a worse physical condition. Three quarters of his men, which included Poles, Italians, Wüttermbergers, Dutchmen, Croats, Swiss and Portuguese as well as Frenchmen, fought gallantly.[5]
Ney ordered General Jean-Pierre Doumerc's cuirassier division to charge the enemy. Czaplic was wounded and 2,000 of his men were captured. This charge, described as 'brilliant'[6] by Chandler, forced the Russians back. Fighting continued for the rest of the day, but the line had been stabilised.
On the east bank Victor's force of 8,000 men, mostly from Baden, Hesse, Saxony and Poland, was attacked at 9am by Wittgenstein, who had numerical advantage of four to one. However, the morale of Victor's men remained, according to Zamoyski, 'unaccountably high'[7] and they held out.
Victor faced a crisis on his left flank because he was short of troops. One of his divisions, commanded by General Louis Partouneaux, had been ordered to withdraw from Borisov to Studienka in the early hours of 28 November. It took the wrong road and was captured.
Napoleon therefore ordered the Baden brigade that had been withdrawn the day before to cross back over the Berezina. Doing so was very difficult because of the large number of stragglers coming the other way, but the infantry managed to force their way across.
The Russians were able to bring up guns on Victor's left, which bombarded the bridges, causing panic and great losses amongst the stragglers. Napoleon deployed guns on the west bank, and they inflicted heavy casualties on the Russians who were trying to envelop Victor's left.
Victor and his men were ordered to retire across the river at 9pm. The bridges had first to be cleared of the dead men and horses and the wreckages of wagons. By 1am, only a small screen was left on the east bank. Victor and Eblé urged the remaining stragglers to cross, but most again decided to wait.
Victor's last men withdrew at 6am, and the stragglers at last realised the urgency of the situation. Eblé had been ordered by Napoleon to burn the bridges at 7am, but waited until 8:30am because so many were still on the other side of the river. By then the Russians were close to the bridges, leaving him no choice to set them on fire, even though thousands had still to cross.
Chandler argues that 'Napoleon was undoubtedly in a position to claim a strategic victory' at the Berezina.'[8] He had extracted the survivors of the Grande Armée, albeit with heavy losses. Chandler attributes this to the inactivity of the Russian commanders and the efforts of Eblé, who he describes as 'the true hero of the Berezina'[9], Oudinot and Victor.
Chandler also suggests that Kutuzov's lack of urgency during this phase of the campaign is difficult to interpret as 'anything else than a deliberate desire to allow Napoleon to escape over the Berezina'[10]
The crossing of the Berezina marked the last major combat of Napoleon's 1812 Campaign. He had originally intended to fight Chichagov in order to clear the route to Minsk, but the losses incurred in the crossing meant that he had no choice but to retreat to Vilna.
The crossing of the Berezina did not, however, mean the end of the Grande Armée's ordeal. It continued to suffer casualties in rearguard actions, and to the weather; the temperature was still falling.
[1] Quoted in A. Zamoyski, 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow (London: HarperCollins, 2004), p. 432.
[2] Ibid., pp. 435-7.
[3] Quoted in D. Chandler, The Campaigns of Napoleon (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1966), p. 834.
[4] Ibid., pp. 841-42.
[5] Zamoyski, 1812, pp. 471-73.
[6] Chandler, Campaigns, p. 842.
[7] Zamoyski, 1812, p. 473.
[10] Ibid., p. 846.
Tagged as Berezina, bridges, Chichagov, Eble, France, French Army, Kutuzov, Napoleon, Napoleonic War, Ney, Oudinot, Russia, Russian Army, Sir Robert Wilson, Tsar Alexander, Victor, Wittgenstein
The Battle of Krasny, November 1812.
The previous post in this series described Napoleon's retreat from Moscow to Smolensk, which he reached on 9 November 1812. It took another four days until all his units had arrived. Only 41,500 of the 100,000 men who had started out from Moscow made it to Smolensk.[1]
There were fewer supplies in Smolensk than Napoleon had hoped, and looting meant that those that there were did not last as long as they would have done if carefully rationed. On the night of 12 November the temperature fell as low as -23.75°C (-10.75°F). Many of the troops were camped out of doors.[2]
Adam Zamoyski points out that Armand Caulaincourt, formerly Napoleon's Ambassador to Russia, and a member of his entourage, thought that the Emperor could have turned the losses to his advantage by creating a mobile force of around 40,000 men
The wounded could have been left in Smolensk with medical attendants and supplies. Horses, by now in short supply, could have been freed up by ditching loot and the wagons carrying it and part of the artillery. The remaining field force would have been mobile enough to fight its way out of Russia and small enough to be supplied. Instead, the retreat was poorly organised, with the Emperor postponing decisions until the last moment. [3]
Napoleon ordered his army to resume the retreat on 12 November. One corps left each day, ending with the rearguard, commanded by Marshal Michel Ney, on 17 November. The army was therefore strung out along the road. The Emperor himself departed on 14 November.
On 15 November Napoleon and his Imperial Guard reached Krasny. He decided to wait for the rest of his army to catch up. It was harassed by Cossacks and skirmished with the Russian advance guard under General Mikhail Miloradovitch.
The next day Prince Eugene's 4,000 Italians found the road from Smolensk to Krasny blocked by Miloradovitch's far larger Russian force. The Italians managed to hold out until nightfall, but seemed certain to be destroyed the next day.
Eugene, however, took them on a night march round the Russians to Krasny. Zamoyski says that a Russian speaking Polish Colonel persuaded Russian sentries that they were acting under orders from Prince Mikhail Kutuzov, the Russian C-in-C.[4]
Napoleon now faced a problem. If he withdrew, then his remaining troops, commanded by Marshals Louis Davout and Ney, might not be able to fight their way through. If he waited for them, then he might find his own retreat cut off by Kutuzov, who was a couple of miles to the south of Krasny. He therefore decided to attack Miloradovitch.
Napoleon led his Imperial Guard forward. They were outnumbered, but Zamoyski says that 'his bearing…seemed to have impressed not only his own men but the enemy as well.'[5]
Miloradovitch withdrew, allowing Davout's corps to pass. Kutuzov was urged by his subordinates to attack, since the Russians were strong enough to surround and destroy the enemy, but he did nothing.
Kutuzov did, however, threaten Napoleon's line of retreat. The Emperor withdrew with the Old Guard, leaving the Young Guard to cover Davout's retreat. The French suffered heavily from enfilading fire and the Young Guard was almost wiped out. Kutuzov, however, would not attack Napoleon. Zamoyski says that 'Many on the Russian side felt a deep-seated reluctance to take him on and preferred to stand by in awe.'[6]
David Chandler argues that Krasny 'reveals the degree of moral ascendancy retained by Napoleon'[7] over his opponents. He also says that it shows that he was correct not to commit the Imperial Guard at Borodino, since events showed that he needed it at Krasny.
Napoleon reached Orsha, a reasonably well stocked supply base on 19 November. He intended to wait there for the remainder of his army. His greatest concern was whether Ney and his 6,000 organised troops, plus double that number of camp followers and stragglers, could make it through Krasny.
Ney encountered Miloradovitch on 18 November, and declined an invitation to surrender. The French tried to break through, but were beaten back with heavy casualties. Miloradovitch and General Sir Robert Wilson, a British observer with the Russian army, both commented on the courage of the French.[8]
Unable to fight his way through, Ney decided to go round the Russians. A crossing point on the Dnieper, which ran north of and roughly parallel to the road, was identified.
After leaving enough camp fires burning to persuade the Russians that his corps was staying put, he led the 2,000 survivors north to the crossing point. The river was frozen, and the ice was just thick enough to take men, provided that they crossed in small groups, but not wagons, guns or horses. Some horsemen and light wagons managed to cross, but cracks appeared in the ice when more tried to follow. In the end, 300 men and all the guns had to be left on the south bank.
The French found food at a village on the north bank that had previously escaped the ravages of war. They were harassed by Cossacks all the way to Orsha, but Ney and 1,000 men made it back to the army.
Napoleon could not linger at Orsha. On 18 November he learnt that Minsk, a major supply base, had been captured by the Russians. Prince Karl Schwarzenberg's Austrian Corps had been supposed to protect it.
Napoleon accused the Austrians of betrayal. However, Schwarzenberg had moved south-west to support General Jean Reynier's VIII Corps, which had been attacked by General Fabian Sacken. This left the route to Minsk open to the Russian army commanded by Admiral Pavel Chichagov.
Napoleon's northern flank was also open. He had ordered Marshal Claude Victor to re-take Polotsk, but he was defeated at Smoliani by Prince Peter Wittgenstein on 13-14 November.
Kutuzov claimed victory at Krasny, but Chandler states that Napoleon had the better of the battle.[9] Zamoyski points out that a real Russian victory would have produced more trophies than Davout's Marshal's baton.[10]
However, Napoleon had no alternative but to continue to retreat towards the River Berezina.
[1] D. Chandler, The Campaigns of Napoleon (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1966), p. 828.
[2] A. Zamoyski, 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow (London: HarperCollins, 2004), pp. 415-16.
[10] Zamoyski, 1812, p. 431.
Tagged as 1812 Russian Campaign, Cossacks, France, French Army, Krasny, Kutuzov, Miloradovitch, Napoleon, Napoleonic War, Ney, Orsha, Russia, Russian Army, Smoliani
A Pause for Negotiations in the Israel-Hamas Conflict from Stratfor
The latest thoughts of George Friedman of Strafor on the situation in Gaza. Click here for a previous report.
"A Pause for Negotiations in the Israeli-Hamas Conflict is republished with permission of Stratfor."
The Israeli-Hamas conflict has entered into a negotiation phase. Both sides want talks. Hamas wants them because any outcome that prevents an Israeli ground assault gives it the opportunity to retain some of its arsenal of Fajr-5 rockets; the Israelis want them because the cost of an invasion could be high, and they recall the political fallout of Operation Cast Lead in 2008, which alienated many European and other governments.
No matter how much either side might want to avoid ground warfare, negotiations are unlikely to forestall an Israeli assault because Hamas' and Israel's goals leave little middle ground.
Visit our Israel page for related analysis, videos, situation reports and maps.
One of Hamas' main goals in this current round of fighting is to retain enough Fajr-5 rockets to allow it to threaten the Israeli heartland, the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem corridor. If they succeed, Hamas will have gained a significant lever in its relations with the Israelis. The Israeli goal is to deny Hamas these rockets. The problem for the Israelis is that this requires a ground assault in order to have any chance of success. The Israelis may think they know where the rockets are, but they cannot be certain. Airstrikes can target known facilities, at least those where rockets are not stored in hardened underground bunkers. But only by going in on the ground with substantial force will the Israelis have the opportunity to search for and destroy the rockets.
Finding middle ground will be difficult. The retention of the Fajr-5 both dramatically improves Hamas' strategic position and gives Hamas the chance to further weaken the Palestinian National Authority. Hamas cannot agree to any deal that takes the rockets away — or that does not at least leave open the possibility that it could have them. Meanwhile, Israel simply cannot live with the Fajr-5 in the hands of Hamas.
Lack of International Involvement
It is interesting to note the remarkable indifference of most countries that normally rush to mediate such disputes, the United States chief among them. Washington has essentially endorsed the Israeli position so strongly that it has no option to mediate. The Turks, who had been involved with the Gaza issue during the flotilla incident of May 2010, have taken no steps beyond rhetoric in spite of relations with both Hamas and Israel. The Saudis have also avoided getting involved.
The Egyptians have been the most active in trying to secure a cease fire: Beyond sending their prime minister into Gaza on Nov. 16, as well as their intelligence chief and a group of security officials, Cairo then hosted a delegation of senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad members to further this goal. But while the Egyptians have a great interest in preventing an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza and are crucial to the Israeli imperative to prevent weapons smuggling via Gaza, there is little more they can do at present to mediate between the two sides.
If no one seems to want to serve as mediator, it is because there is such little room for negotiation. It is not ideology but strategy that locks each side into place. Hamas has come this far and does not want to give up what it has maneuvered for. Israel cannot allow Hamas a weapon that threatens the Israeli heartland. This situation is too serious for the parties to reach an agreement that ends the hostilities for now but in reality simply pushes back the issues to be addressed later. No one is eager to mediate a failure. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has said he will go to Gaza in the coming week, but he will not be in a position to find middle ground.
Israel will not budge on this. Hamas could be compelled to relent under threat from its core financial supporters in the Arabian Peninsula, but these states, such as Qatar, are all far more concerned with the threat posed by Iran. The fact that these rockets likely originated with Iran ought to give them incentive to lean on Hamas.
Dubious Prospects for Negotiations
It is important to bear in mind that the war is already under way. Israeli airstrikes are intense and continuous. Hamas is firing rockets at Israel. What has not yet happened is a direct ground attack on Gaza by the Israelis, although they have been mobilizing forces and should now be in a position to attack if they so choose. But the Israelis would much rather not attack. They fear the consequences — measured both in human casualties and in political fallout — that would certainly follow.
Thus, both sides want a negotiated end on terms that would leave the other side in an impossible position. While Hamas might be able to live with the status quo, Israel cannot. A negotiated end is therefore unlikely. Still, both sides are signaling their willingness to talk, and however forlorn the possibilities, there is a chance that something could be arranged.
We remain of the opinion that this current pause will be followed by a ground assault. Only by expanding the discussion beyond the Fajr-5 to a broader settlement of Hamas-Israeli issues could these negotiations succeed, but that would require Hamas recognizing Israel's right to exist and Israel accepting the equivalent of a Palestinian state run by Hamas in Gaza — one that might spread its power to the West Bank. The more expansive the terms of these negotiations get, the more dubious their prospects for success — and these negotiations start off fairly dubious as it is.
Read more: A Pause for Negotiations in the Israeli-Hamas Conflict | Stratfor
Filed under Current affairs
Tagged as Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Middle East, Stratfor
Update on the Israel-Gaza Conflict from Stratfor
This report originally appeared on Stratfor, which describes itself as follow:
Stratfor is a subscription-based provider of geopolitical analysis. Individual and corporate subscribers gain a thorough understanding of international affairs, including what's happening, why it's happening, and what will happen next.
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The bulk of its reports are available only to paid subscribers, but a reasonable number, including this one, are free:
"Update on the Israel-Gaza Conflict is republished with permission of Stratfor."
Uriel Sinai/Getty Images
An Israeli rocket fired from the Iron Dome in Tel Aviv on Nov. 17
New intelligence indicates forces in Gaza may be manufacturing long-range rockets locally. If this is the case, a significant ground force offers the Israelis the best chance of finding and neutralizing the factories making these weapons. Meanwhile, Israel continues its airstrikes on Gaza, and Gaza continues its long-range rocket attacks on major Israeli population centers, though Israel claims its Iron Dome defense system has intercepted most of the rockets.
Israel appears to be positioning itself for a ground operation, perhaps as early as the night of Nov. 17. The Israeli Cabinet on Nov. 16 approved Defense Minister Ehud Barak's request to call up 75,000 reservists, significantly more than during Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009. The Israeli army meanwhile has also sought to strengthen its presence on the borders with Gaza. Primary roads leading to Gaza and running parallel to Sinai have been declared closed military zones. Tanks, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery and troops continue to stream to the border, and many units already appear to be in position.
During Operation Cast Lead, the Israelis transitioned to the ground phase around 8:00 p.m. on Jan. 3, 2009. Going in during dark hours allows the IDF to take advantage of its superior night-fighting equipment and training, including the use of night vision goggles and thermal optics.
The Israeli air force remained active throughout the night of Nov. 16-17, striking at targets across the Gaza Strip including key Hamas ministries, police stations and tunnels near the border crossing with Egypt. The IAF reportedly carried out strikes in Rafah's al-Sulan and al-Zahour neighborhoods, as well as east of the al-Maghazi refugee camp. According to IDF reports, the air force carried out a rapid and coordinated military strike, targeting approximately 70 underground medium-range rocket-launching sites in the less than an hour. The IDF claims direct hits were confirmed. The IAF will increasingly target Hamas militant defenses ahead of any ground invasion. Already the IAF has bombed militant defensive positions, particularly in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Hamas and other militant factions in Gaza have been actively striking back at Israel. More than 80 rockets have been launched from Gaza over the past 24 hours. Of the rockets launched Nov. 17, approximately 57 landed in Israel. According to the IDF, a total of 640 rockets have been launched since Nov. 14, with 410 landing in Israel. A long-range rocket was fired from Gaza toward Tel Aviv at approximately 4:45 p.m. local time Nov. 17 but was successfully intercepted by the recently deployed Iron Dome anti-rocket defense system in the area. Hamas continues to target areas around Ashkelon, Ashdod and Beersheva, with the Iron Dome system intercepting five rockets over Ashkelon at 5:15 p.m. The majority of rockets launched from Gaza appear to be of shorter range than the Fajr-5. The IDF has stated its Iron Dome interceptors have so far successfully intercepted 90 percent of the rockets, though this may be an exaggeration.
One of the long-range rockets was intercepted by the newly installed Iron Dome battery in the Tel Aviv area. A Stratfor source has indicated that the rocket was not a Fajr-5, but was a locally manufactured long-range rocket in Hamas' arsenal.
If militants in Gaza are now able to locally manufacture their own long-range rockets that can target Tel Aviv and other major Israeli cities, it would be a worrisome development for Israel. Thus far, Israel has been able to focus its efforts on limiting the supply of these rockets to Gaza through interdiction efforts, such as the alleged Oct. 23 strike on the Yarmouk arms factory in Sudan. But if Palestinian militants can manufacture long-range rockets in Gaza, it will be much more difficult for Israel to restrict Gaza's inventory of these rockets. Beyond rocket launch sites and caches, which Israel is currently targeting with its airstrikes, it would need to target production sites and those who would be responsible for manufacturing the rockets.
Furthermore, it will be significantly harder for Israeli intelligence to form an accurate picture of the number of these rockets locally constructed in Gaza. We have already seen that Israeli intelligence likely did not anticipate how many long-range rockets had escaped its first wave of strikes, and the fact that Hamas may have been producing these weapons could explain Israel's lack of complete information.
Hamas recognizes that these long-range rocket attacks have only increased the likelihood and intensity of an Israeli ground incursion. A significant ground force offers the Israelis the best chance of finding and neutralizing the factories making these long-range rockets as well as the shorter-range Qassams. Hamas and the other militants therefore are actively preparing their defenses for the anticipated incursion and are likely laying improvised explosive devices, setting up road blocks and defensive emplacements and sorting out their ranks and tasks.
Hamas has already announced that its Al Murabiteen units, consisting of five brigades spread across Gaza, will be concentrated in the border region to limit Israeli penetration into the Gaza Strip. Learning from Hezbollah's example in 2006, special units of Hamas are relying heavily on tunnels to maintain communications. Should Israel be drawn into more densely populated areas of Gaza in pursuit of weapons storage and manufacturing facilities, Hamas has also reportedly prepared its suicide bombers, known as Istishadiyeen, to raise the cost for Israel in an urban battle.
Read more: Update on the Israel-Gaza Conflict | Stratfor
Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow to Smolensk
The previous post in this series described how Napoleon decided to retreat from Moscow on 18 October 1812. His intention was to make for the supply depot at Smolensk by a southerly route. This might require a battle with Mikhail Kutuzov's Russian army, but would mean that the French were not moving through the territory that had been ravaged in their advance on Moscow.
The Grande Armée set off on 19 October, moving south west towards Kaluga. The main body took the older of the two roads to Kaluga, with Prince Eugene's IV Corps taking the newer road, which was further to the west. Napoleon ordered Marsahl Edouard Mortier, commander of the French rearguard, to destroy the Kremlin before withdrawing on 23 October. The French demolition charges did not work properly, damaging but not destroying the Kremlin.
According to David Chandler, Napoleon had told his men that he intended to attack Kutuzov's left flank, realising that this news would reach the Russians. He hoped that Kutuzov would consequently move to the east and allow the French to escape to Smolensk.[1]
Adam Zamoyski speculates that Napoleon may have intended to attack the Russians, with Eugene launching a flanking manoeuvre. If Napoleon did consider this, he changed his mind, since on 21 October the main French army moved to join Eugene on the new road.[2]
Kutuzov was quickly informed that the French had left Moscow, but was slow to move. General Dimitry Dokhturov learnt from prisoners that the Grande Armée corps was heading for the road junction at Maloyaroslavets. The French would threaten the flanks and supply lines of the Russian army if they took the junction, so Dokhturov moved his corps there. Control of Maloyaroslavets would give mean that Napoleon could proceed to Smolensk via either Medyn or Kaluga
General Alexis Delzons's 13th Division reached Maloyaroslavets ahead of Dokhturov, but Delzons left only two battalions in the town. Dokhturov's corps attacked at dawn on 24 October, taking the town and forcing Delzons to retreat back across the river.
Delzons launched a counter-attack and forced the Russians back. The Croatians of the 1st Illyrian Regiment did particularly well. Kutuzov's leading corps, under General Nikolai Raevsky, arrived and re-captured the town. General Domenico Pino's 15th (Italian) Division then took it back. The Russians fell back, but took up a position that covered the bridges over the river.
By 1pm most of the Grande Armée was drawn up on the north back, but Napoleon decided not to send it across the river because the well-positioned Russian artillery would have inflicted heavy casualties on it as it moved.
Fierce fighting continued in the town for the rest of the day and the Italians held it at nightfall. General Sir Robert Wilson, a British observer with the Russian army, wrote that:
The Italian army had displayed qualities which entitled it evermore to take rank amongst the bravest troops in Europe. [3]
The action had involved 27,000 soldiers and 72 guns of the Grande Armée against 32,000 Russians with 354 guns. Napoleon had lost 6,000 men, including Delzons. Russian casualties were higher, but they could be replaced. Napoleon now had only about 65,000 men with him, facing 90,000 Russians with 500 guns.
Early on the 25 October Napoleon carried out a reconnaissance of the battlefield. He was nearly captured by Cossacks, but his escort fought them off. Baron Agathon Fain, his secretary, said that the Emperor was badly affected by the sight of the corpses on the battlefield, many of whom had been burnt to death.[4]
Kutuzov had withdrawn two kilometres to a new position. Attacking it might result in a decisive French victory, but casualties would be heavy. The Russian withdrawal had opened up the route to Smolensk via Medyn, but taking this route would mean that the Grande Armée would be closely pursued by the Russians all the way to Smolensk.
Napoleon therefore decided to retire and head for Smolensk via the route that the Grande Armée had originally advanced along.
Zamoyski points out that Kutuzov, concerned about the inexperience of his troops, was reluctant to fight a pitched battle with the Grande Armée . He suggests that if Napoleon had moved boldly, he could have reached Medyn, where supplies were available, joined up with General Louis Baraguay d'Hilliers's division and reached Smolensk by 3 or 4 November.[5]
Chandler argues that Napoleon's plan to defeat Kutuzov before heading to Smolensk via Kaluga was the best option open to him. Changing his plan now meant that six days had been wasted. He could still have headed for Smolensk via Medyn, but reverting to the original line of advance 'was to court disaster.'[6] Charles Esdaile calls Maloyaroslavets a 'pointless battle'[7] for the French as it wasted a lot of time.
The Grande Armée marched along a single road, meaning that those further back had to march through ground churned up by those ahead of them. The horses were in poor condition, so it was hard for them to pull guns and wagons. Some generals wanted to speed up the column by abandoning part of the artillery, but Napoleon refused, as he argued that he was making a tactical withdrawal rather than retreating.
On 28 October the head of the column reached the battlefield of Borodino. The corpses had not been cleared away, and large numbers of French wounded had not been evacuated. Napoleon ordered that they should be taken along, against the advice of his Surgeon-General, Baron Dominique Jean Larrey and other doctors. Few survived the retreat.
Napoleon reached Vyazma on 1 November. He reached despatches that informed him that things were going badly on his flanks. In the south the Austrian Prince Karl Schwarzenberg was withdrawing towards the River Bug, exposing Napoleon's flank. In the North a Franco-Bavarian army under Marshal Laurent St Cyr had been forced to retreat from Polotsk
St Cyr had been promoted to Marshal after the First Battle of Polotsk on 18 August 1812, in which he took over from the wounded Marshal Charles Oudinot and defeated Prince Peter Wittgenstein's Russian army.
On 18 October Wittgenstein, who had been reinforced and now outnumbered St Cyr, launched a new attack on St Cyr at Polotsk. The Franco-Bavarians held off the attack on the first day; casualties on both sides were heavy. St Cyr realised late the next day that he was in danger of being encircled. A Bavarian counter-attack on 20 October enabled the Franco-Bavarian force to withdraw, but the road to the French supply base at Vitebsk was opened.
The retreat continued, with the column being pressured by both Cossacks and Kutuzov's advance guard, commanded by Count Mikhail Miloradovich. On 3 November Miloradovich attacked the Grande Armée's rearguard, Marshal Louis Davout's I Corps, to the east of Vyazma.
Davout received support from Eugene's IV Corps and Marshal Josef Poniatowski's IV Corps. The French suffered heavy casualties, but were able to fall back on Marshal Michel Ney's III Corps. It had been left at Vyazma with orders to replace the I Corps as the rearguard once it was clear of the town.
French casualties were about 6,000 dead and wounded and 2,000 prisoners. Poniatowski, crushed beneath his horse, was amongst the wounded. Russian losses were at most 1,845. As well as human casualties, the Grande Armée suffered a loss of cohesion. Zamoyski argues that the Russians could have destroyed four French corps if Kutuzov had attacked with his full army.[8]
Until 3 November the retreat had taken place in reasonable weather. The temperature fell sharply on the night of 4-5 November, and the snow began on 6 November. Armies did not then normally campaign in the winter, so the French uniforms were completely inadequate for the Russian winter. Zamoyski describes how men out on fur coats and even women's dresses that they had plundered from Moscow to take home to their womenfolk.[9]
Troops in units that retained their discipline and cohesion coped best. Stragglers, without comrades to help and support them, fared worse. The animals fared worse; deaths amongst horses meant that wagons and thus supplies had to be abandoned. Saul David's recent BBC TV series on logistics and war, Bullets, Bombs and Bandages, explained that the French horses had the wrong type of shoes, which made it hard for them to walk on the snow and ice.
Napoleon continued to receive bad news as he retreated. On 6 November he was told that General Claude Malet, a patient at a sanatorium, had escaped and tried to launch a republican coup in Paris on 23 October, claiming that the Emperor was dead. It was quickly suppressed, but Malet had easily fooled some local commanders and Napoleon's infant son and heir had received little support. The Emperor therefore decided that he needed to return to Paris as soon as possible.
The next day Napoleon learnt that Marshal Louis Victor had been forced to retreat after a battle with Wittgenstein at Czasniki on 31 October. The seriousness of the situation was shown by the phrasing of the order that Napoleon sent to Victor to attack Wittgenstein and re-capture Polotsk. Victor was told to:
Take the offensive – the safety of the whole army depends on you; every day's delay can mean a calamity. The army's cavalry is on foot because the cold has killed all the horses.[10]
Napoleon reached Smolensk on 9 November. It was four days before the whole of the retreating column arrived. The food stocks were lower than expected and this was compounded by looting. Chandler says that in three days the army ate supplies that could have been eked out to last a fortnight; it now comprised only 41,500 men.[11]
The Grande Armée did not stay long in Smolensk. Napoleon wanted to link up with Victor and Oudinot's 25,000 men and considered wintering at his Vitebsk supply base. He did not know that the Russians had captured it on 7 November.
[2] A. Zamoyski, 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March on Moscow (London: HarperCollins, 2004), p. 369.
[3] Quoted in Ibid., p. 373.
[7] C. J. Esdaile, Napoleon's Wars: An International History, 1803-1815 (London: Allen Lane, 2007), p. 478.
[10] Quoted in Chandler, Campaigns, p. 827.
[11] Ibid., pp. 827-28.
Tagged as 1812 Russian Campaign, France, French Army, Kutuzov, Maloyaroslavets, Napoleon, Napoleonic War, Polotsk, Russia, Russian Army, Vyazma
1 November 2012 · 2:13 pm
The USS United States Captures HMS Macedonian, 25 October 1812
On 8 October 1812 Commodore John Rodgers's squadron of the frigates USS President, United States and Congress and the brig USS Argus set sail from Boston. Four days later the United States and the Argus separated from the other ships.
The USS President and Congress returned to Boston on 31 December, having captured nine British merchantmen. They encountered the frigates HMS Nymphe on 10 October and HMS Galatea on 31 October, but were unable to bring either to action. The USS Argus stayed at sea until 3 January 1813, capturing six British merchantmen.
On 25 October 1812 the USS United States, captained by Commodore Stephen Decatur, encountered HMS Macedonian, under the command of Captain John Carden. Their broadsides were:
USS United States: 16 long 24 pounders and 12 42 pound carronades for a total broadside of 888 pounds, reduced to 826 pounds if Theodore Roosevelt's argument that US shot was 7 per cent lighter than its nominal weight is accepted. Roosevelt claims that the United States had a broadside of 11, not 12, 42 pound carronades, reducing her weight of fire to a nominal 846 pounds and an actual 787 pounds).[1]
HMS Macedonian: 14 long 18 pounders, one long 12 pounder, one long 9 pounder and eight 32 pound carronades. She also had a single moveable 18 pound carronade, giving a total broadside of 547 pounds, assuming that this gun could bear on the target.
Carden decided not to close the range quickly, although larger guns of the American ship meant that her advantage was greater at longer ranges. Macedonian suffered heavy damage as she cautiously approached her opponent.
Realising that his plan was not working, Carden then tried to close the range more quickly. By the time that the ships were within close range Macedonian had lost much of her rigging and most of her carronades. At 11:15, 90 minutes after the action had begun, she was forced to strike her colours.
British casualties were 41 killed and 63 wounded; six men were killed and five wounded on the American ship. Macedonian's crew included eight Americans, three of whom were killed. The five survivors joined the USN.
The relative strengths of the two ships meant that the United States ought to have won, but she might have suffered heavier casualties in doing so under a less skilful captain than Decatur.
Alfred Mahan describes Decatur's performances during the battle as being 'thoroughly skilful.'[2] Decatur's duty was to defeat his opponent whilst suffering as little damage as possible to his own ship. Roosevelt is critical of Carden, saying that he 'was first too timid, and then too rash, and showed bad judgement at all times.'[3]
Carden was court-martialled after his return to Britain, a normal procedure for RN captains who had lost their ship. He was acquitted, but was criticised for his handling of his ship. He was never given another command, although the RN's system of promotion by seniority above the rank of Captain meant that he eventually became an Admiral on the retired list.
The two ships returned to the USA after Macedonian had been repaired at sea. On 4 December the United States out into New London and Macedonian into Newport. Both subsequently moved to New York. The USS Macedonian was commissioned into the USN after being repaired and remained in US service until 1828.
Mahan notes that it is rather surprising that the two ships were not spotted by the British, who had sent a large number of reinforcements to North America. However, he points out that Admiral Sir John Warren, the British C-in-C, preferred to use his ships to patrol the trade routes rather than stopping US ships from putting to sea.[4]
The RN had three stations in North America and the Caribbean; Halifax, the Leeward Islands and Jamaica. Each had its own commander, meaning that the British naval effort against the USA was unco-ordinated until Warren was appointed to overall command on 3 August 1812. He arrived at Halifax on 26 September.
Mahan notes that the USA had reported 190 prizes and probably taken over 200 before Warren arrived. The British took only 70 prizes in first three months of war. Mahan suggests that this was due to the effect of Rodgers's first cruise, a lack of British warships on station and the fact that the USA declared war.[5]
One of Warren's first actions was to propose peace on 30 September. Britain had by then repealed the Orders-in-Council that were one of the causes of the war. On 27 October US Secretary of State James Monroe replied, saying that the USA wanted peace, but that the British must first stop pressing [conscripting] US sailors into the RN. Warren had no powers to negotiate this issue.
The capture of HMS Macedonian by the USS United States followed the taking of HMS Guerrière by the USS Constitution on 19 August 1812 and would be followed by the capture of HMS Java by the Constitution on 29 December 1812.
In each case the US ship was superior to the British one. Roosevelt accepts this but disagrees with British historians who said 'that this superiority was so great as to preclude any hopes of a successful resistance.'[6]
N. A. M. Rodger notes that the best tactic for the weaker ship was to fire high and from long range, hoping to slow the enemy ship by damaging her enemy's rigging.[7] This was not the tactic normally adopted by the British, who preferred to close the range and then fire at the enemy's hull. This normally worked against opponents other than the USN.
Roosevelt argues that British frigates had won actions against European opponents that were as superior to them as were the American frigates to their opponents. He gives a number of examples taken from the French historian Onésime-Joachim Troude's four-volume Batailles navales de la France .
On 1 March 1799, the 38 gun HMS Sybille captured the larger French frigate Forte. The French ship's main guns were 24 pounders; the British ones were 18 pounders. On 10 August 1805 HMS Phoenix took the French frigate Didon. On 8 March 1808 HMS San Florenzo captured the Piedmontaise.
Phoenix and San Florenzo were rated at 36 guns, but Roosevelt says that they had actual broadsides of 13 18 pounders, two nine pounders and six 32 pound carronades, a total of 21 guns with a broadside of 444 Ib.
The Didon and Piedmontaise were rated at 40 guns, but had actual broadsides of 14 18 pounders, two 8 pounders and seven 36 pound carronades, a total of 23 guns with a broadside of 522 pounds. Roosevelt believes that French shot was heavier than its nominal value, giving the two French frigates an actual broadside of around 600 pound. The armaments given for these ships are from Roosevelt; some of the linked websites differ.[8]
Roosevelt argues that the Didon and Piedmontaise's superiority to HMS Phoenix and San Florenzo was greater than that of the USS Constitution to HMS Guerrière or HMS Java. He also claims that against European opponents during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars the British lost only five out of around 200 actions between two 'ships of approximately equal force (that is, where the difference was less than one half).'[9]
This seems to be a rather wide definition of 'approximately equal force', but the point is that British were used to defeating more powerful European opponents at sea. Anglo-American sea actions were normally won by the more powerful ship. The RN had a long tradition of victory, but the USN was a young force.
Thus, victories by the USN over the RN had a much greater impact on morale in both countries than was apparently justified by a dispassionate analysis of the relative strengths of the ships involved.
[1] T. Roosevelt, The Naval War of 1812, 2 vols. (New York, NY: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1900-2). vol. i. pp. 82-88
[2] A. T. Mahan, Sea Power in Its Relations to the War of 1812, 2 vols. (London,: Samson Low, Marston, 1905). vol. i, p. 421.
[3] Roosevelt, Naval War. vol. i, p. 139.
[4] Mahan, Sea Power 1812. vol. i, pp. 422-23.
[5] Ibid. vol. i, pp. 391-92.
[7] N. A. M. Rodger, The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815 (London: Allen Lane, 2004), p. 568.
[8] Roosevelt, Naval War, pp. 120-21.
Tagged as Britain, HMS Macedonian, John Carden, John Rodgers, John Warren, Royal Navy, Stephen Decatur, USA, USN, USS United States, War of 1812
Johnson 'glad' to see Trump go, says ex-Civil Service head Lord Sedwill


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Tech mega-campus getting underway in downtown…
Tech mega-campus getting underway in downtown San Jose
Platform 16 office complex site being cleared for construction start this year
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, TMG Partners, Boston Properties, Valley Oak Partners, CBRE
Platform 16 tech campus entry at West Julian and North Autumn streets in downtown San Jose, concept. A tech mega-campus has entered its early stages of construction, now that equipment has begun to bulldoze some old buildings and clear the site for a development start by no later than this fall.
George Avalos / Bay Area News Group
Construction equipment and debris at the future site of Platform 16, a tech campus planned for downtown San Jose near the corner of Autumn Parkway and West Julian Street. A tech mega-campus has entered its early stages of construction, now that equipment has begun to bulldoze some old buildings and clear the site for a development start by no later than this fall.
A gathering area of a downtown San Jose office complex called Platform 16 near the corner of West Julian Street and Autumn Parkway, concept. A tech mega-campus has entered its early stages of construction, now that equipment has begun to bulldoze some old buildings and clear the site for a development start by no later than this fall.
Construction equipment is located at the the site of the Platform 16 office development in downtown San Jose. A tech mega-campus has entered its early stages of construction, now that equipment has begun to bulldoze some old buildings and clear the site for a development start by no later than this fall.
A downtown San Jose office campus totaling 1.1 million square feet, concept. A tech mega-campus has entered its early stages of construction, now that equipment has begun to bulldoze some old buildings and clear the site for a development start by no later than this fall.
Rubble and debris are visible at the site of the Platform 16 office development in downtown San Jose. A tech mega-campus has entered its early stages of construction, now that equipment has begun to bulldoze some old buildings and clear the site for a development start by no later than this fall.
A gathering area in a 1.1-million-square-foot downtown San Jose tech campus at 440 W. Julian St., concept. A tech mega-campus has entered its early stages of construction, now that equipment has begun to bulldoze some old buildings and clear the site for a development start by no later than this fall.
Construction machinery is visible at the site of the Platform 16 office development in downtown San Jose. A tech mega-campus has entered its early stages of construction, now that equipment has begun to bulldoze some old buildings and clear the site for a development start by no later than this fall.
Platform 16 office complex in downtown San Jose at 440 W. Julian St. that would total 1.1 million square feet, concept. A tech mega-campus has entered its early stages of construction, now that equipment has begun to bulldoze some old buildings and clear the site for a development start by no later than this fall.
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, Boston Properties, TMG Partners, Valley Oak Partners, CBRE
Office building interiors at Platform 16 tech campus in downtown San Jose, concept. A tech mega-campus has entered its early stages of construction, now that equipment has begun to bulldoze some old buildings and clear the site for a development start by no later than this fall.
PUBLISHED: June 26, 2019 at 11:26 am | UPDATED: June 27, 2019 at 8:42 am
SAN JOSE — A tech mega-campus has entered its early stages of construction, now that equipment has begun to bulldoze some old buildings and clear the site for a development start no later than this fall.
Known as Platform 16, the tech campus that's planned near the corner of Autumn Parkway and West Julian Street in downtown San Jose near the banks of the Guadalupe River would total 1.1 million square feet of offices and represent a striking new addition to the Diridon Station and SAP Center area.
Construction equipment and piles of debris and rubble have been visible at the site, which is bounded by Autumn Parkway, West Julian Street, North Autumn Street, and a railroad line.
Among the potential amenities: Platform 16 is just south of a Target store that's part of the bustling San Jose Market Center, and is within walking distance of San Pedro Square and Little Italy.
The property also is on the edge of neighborhoods where Google has collected numerous properties for a future transit-oriented development near the Diridon train station and SAP Center.
The developers of the site are a veteran group of realty firms: Boston Properties, TMG Partners, and Valley Oak Partners. CBRE brokers Sherman Chan, Mark Schmidt, Mike Charters, and Will Schmidt are seeking tenants for the site.
As many as 7,000 people could work at the new tech campus, once all three buildings in the development are complete, according to CBRE.
"We've begun demolition of the old obsolete buildings and are prepping the site for construction in late summer or early fall," said Chan, a senior vice president with CBRE.
In what appears to be an effort to make the development pedestrian friendly and to integrate the complex with the nearby neighborhoods, two interior courtyards will be connected by walkways to adjacent streets. Potentially, that could give the campus a less isolated feel.
The project developers and CBRE brokers also noted the buildings themselves will feature a series of terraces as a way to make the complex more attractive to potential tenants.
"The 16 outdoor terraces, integrated with every level of the buildings, provide unobstructed views out and allow daylight into the building courtyards and interiors of the large open floor plates," according to a CBRE web site for the Platform 16 complex.
The site preparation at Platform 16 has emerged at the same time that Adobe has launched a far-reaching expansion of its three-building downtown headquarters campus by constructing a fourth office tower that's expected to become a gateway for San Jose's urban core.
Plus, Jay Paul Co. has indicated it plans to develop a new office tower near the corner of South Almaden Boulevard and Park Avenue, with the construction of that high rise due to begin sometime in the fall.
"If you look at what is breaking ground during this economic cycle, you are looking at doubling the size of downtown San Jose," said Nick Goddard, a senior vice president with Colliers International, a commercial real estate firm.
Roughly 40,000 people are working in downtown San Jose, which now has an estimated 10 million square feet of office space. Another 10 million square feet of offices, based on today's standard ratios for employees per square foot of modern offices, could enable 50,000 more workers to be based downtown.
Adobe's new fourth office tower, slated to be complete in 2022, would be large enough to accommodate 4,000 workers of the cloud services company. Adobe now has 3,500 workers in downtown San Jose, the tech titan estimated this week.
The prospect of the new office towers and campuses has also banished a decade-long office development drought in downtown San Jose, a stretch during which no new office towers were built in the urban core of the Bay Area's largest city.
"Doubling the size of the downtown is transformational, it changes the whole fabric of what is going on," Goddard said. "Downtown also may add another 8,000 residents, and that creates demand for just about everything you could possibly think of. This can change downtown San Jose from a sleepy market to a vibrant, energetic place."
Google San Jose
Photos: Ex-Facebook COO Owen Van Natta drops $10 Million on Santa Monica's Gold Coast
The all-cash buyer is Palo Alto-based tech tycoon Owen Van Natta, a Silicon Valley veteran who previously served as both CEO of MySpace and an executive Vice President at Zynga.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Ahhh, the Guitar picks… From reading some of my other articles, you may get the impression that I don't much like these pieces of plastic.
My design. Guitar pick, guitar, sound hole, tattoo.
A faux tortoise pick made from celluloid. True tortoise shell is banned.
Look, your own personal light show. These glowing guitar picks would really be fun on stage.
Celluloid was perhaps the first tortoise pick imitator.
Click and Collect; Valentine's Day Gift For Music Lovers; Forsyth and Yamaha Pianos; What Are You Wishing For?
Just as your playing evolves, so too might your plectrum needs, so remember: it always pays to be picky when it comes to choosing flatpicks.
Tortex, which Dunlop claims is the closest thing to real turtle. Hence the logo.
Red Bear: Tortoise Tone, without the poaching, and photogenic, too.
In their high-end offerings, Red Bear Trading Co. (redbeartrading.com) and BlueChip (bluechippick.net) both use special materials that mimic tortoise.
The Dunlop Teckpick has rounded edges that go easy on the strings.
Picks made from plastics are the most common.


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Caratteristiche tecniche
È un trequartista.

Carriera

Club
Cresciuto nel settore giovanile del , ha esordito il 5 marzo 2015 in occasione del match di Coppa del Brasile perso 3-0 contro il .

Alla fine della stagione 2015-2016 vola in Brasile alla  dove rimane fino al 2018; da allora iniziano vari prestiti in Brasile, in Portogallo e addirittura in Giappone.

Il 24 giugno 2021 diventa a titolo definitivo un giocatore del  il quale sborsa circa un milione e mezzo di euro alla .

Note

Collegamenti esterni

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Who Is Sammie Okposo Wife Ozioma Sammie Okposo? Family And Net Worth At Death
ByManim Bhandari November 25, 2022
Sammie Okposo wife, Ozioma Sammie Okposo, got married more than a decade after dating several years before. The duo was together after they met at Kingsway International Christian Centre in London.
Likewise, Sammie was an international Nigerian gospel artist and also a music producer, psalmist, and CEO of Zamar Entertainment. As a multi-talented personality, his whereabouts are searched widely.
Sadly, the tragic death of this famous personality has just surfaced in the media, and his well-wishers are highly mourning the situation. Relating to this, they are eager to know more about the family members and personal details.
You Can Also Read: Meet Vikram Gokhale's Daughters Neha Gokhale Sundriyal And Nisha Kekar Adav, Family And Net Worth
Who Is Sammie Okposo Wife Ozioma Sammie Okposo?
Sammie Okposo was married to his wife, Ozioma Sammie Okposo, on July 1, 2010, after dating her for around three years. He had mentioned his wife as a very understanding and patient person.
Gospel singer Sammie Okposo cheating on wife in the U.S., which had been the headlines (Source- D N B Stories Africa)
Likewise, she is the younger sister of Kene Mkparu, hailing from Okpuno, Otolo. She is the CEO of Film House and Film One, Nigeria's top cinema.
The duo had been subjected to public attention as Sammie had been blamed for infidelity. In the same matter, he apologized for his actions on Instagram. A girl known as African Doll accused him of impregnating her and abandoning her.
Moreover, their relationship seemed to have weakened after the issue, but several months later, he passed away on November 25, 2022, after slumping.
Who Are The Family Members Of Sammie Okposo?
Sammie Okposo has been associated with different females in the past before marrying Ozioma Sammie Okposo. They had not planned to give birth to children to expand their family.
Similarly, he is said to have a young daughter with Gloria Ibru, namely Alula Okposo. Aside from this, he does not seem to have any children.
Even though he was accused of impregnating and abandoning African Doll, the child's whereabouts have not been mentioned. As he is no longer alive, the close one related to him may be in his final rites mourning the loss.
However, his parent's information has not been highlighted publically. Also, his family members have remained silent and have not shared any kind of statement regarding his demise.
BREAKING: Gospel singer Sammie Okposo is dead (Source- Entertainment)
Shortly under his well-wishers and fan base request, they may talk about his untimely loss in the media.
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Sammie Okposo Net Worth At Death
According to Mayor's Tune, Sammie Okposo had an estimated net of 1.5 million dollars at his death. He accumulated his wealth through his music around all streaming platforms and brand endorsement deals.
He is also the founder, president, and chief Executive officer of Zamar Entertainment and a psalmist, music producer, and gospel singer.
In 1992, he entered the Nigerian Movie Industry as a Sound Track Producer and decided to establish his career as a producer officially and boosted into music production.
Manim Bhandari
Manim is an enthusiast for reading novels, and her every day starts with writing an article for Geniuscelebs. She has always been fascinated by the latest fashion trends and loves to keep up with them. She provides quality articles on various trending topics about multiple celebrities.
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Was Jerry Blavat Gay? Partner, Family And Net Worth
ByBibisha Neupane January 23, 2023
Was Jerry Blavat Gay? Jerry Blavat, the legend known as "The Geator with the Heater," died on January 20, 2023. Since Blavat left this world, many questions have been raised by concerned fans and followers; he died following complications from myasthenia gravis at Methodist Hospital. His family shares a statement confirming the death, "Jerry proudly…
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Is Lamor Whitehead In Jail? Net Worth Before Arrest
ByManim Bhandari December 20, 2022
Lamor Whitehead jail detainment news is accurate as he is currently facing federal charges over an evil scheme that allegedly included defrauding one of his parishioners was claimed widely. Similarly, he is a religious and community leader from Brooklyn, New York. He often faces controversies, and various whereabouts relating to him are widely acknowledged by…
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Eli Erlick Gender And Sexuality: Is She A Transgender?
ByDeepti Bhatta January 5, 2023 January 5, 2023
People are curious about Eli Erlick gender. Be with us till the end to learn about Eli Erlick gender, sexuality and other personal details. Eli Erlick is making a statement while over 20 states work to make hormone therapy for trans youth illegal. The 27-year-old activist, who self-identifies as gay, is openly working on getting…
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Nick Chavez Kids With His Wife Alima: Family Tree And Net Worth Before Death
BySantosh Budha Chhetri December 27, 2022 December 27, 2022
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When you (plural) do church right, there are all sorts of things that naturally result. One of those things is that it becomes like family.
But any of us who have truly been a part of a local church, for an extended amount of time, will tell you that this is true experientially as well.
But listen though... I am not purporting any lovey-dovey-feel-warm-and-fuzzy sentiment here! Family can be tough. We all have that crazy aunt and the funny uncle and the favorite grandpa and the annoying brother and ... well... you get it. But it is FAMILY. You keep getting together. You keep calling each other. You continue to eat together and hang out together and take family trips when you can... and when these things aren't happening, it feels broken. When a rift comes in and separates family, it just isn't right.
And in the Bible, the Gospel Family is supposed to be together. We are not supposed to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25). We are supposed to love one another (John 13:34) and care for one another and bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2). In fact, Jesus warns that the gospel will break apart many earthly families (Matthew 10:21, Luke 12:53), but as we are adopted into the family of God, we essentially have a new family... an eternal family. And this is why, when church is done right, there is a certain family experience that cannot be fully understood until you are truly committed to that church family.
There are so many Christians that are missing out on these most beneficial and eternal experiences, simply because they won't commit. They don't know the joy of years of shared experience. They don't understand the deep feelings of love that can only come through the depths and the shallows of ministering together. Many don't even know what it is like to minster together, they have enjoyed being ministered to, but have missed the greatest joys and heartaches that can only come through the mutual burden sharing of the Christian community. They don't know the sadness of when a brother or sister leaves the family because they found another family that they like better. And they will never know the deep communal compassion of one who has not only shared a few Sundays, but has shared a life.
If you are in a church, become a part of that church. Unless the church goes into an area of blasphemy or absolutely false teaching, commit yourself to them... adopt them as your family.


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SHOW REVIEW & FAN PHOTOS: Twenty One Pilots, Seattle, WA
Album Reviews Live Reviews News Pop Punk Rock
November 8, 2013 November 8, 2013 Amanda Tran	"Car Radio" "Holding Onto You" "Truce" "Fall Away, ", Andrea Bocelli, beastie boys, brown eyed girl, concert, cover song, crowdsurfing, dance, infectious magazine, Josh Dun, music, piano pop, piano pop-rock-rap, pop, pop rock, Rap, review, rock, seattle, the neptune, Time to Say Goodbye, travis barker, twenty | one | pilots |, Tyler Joseph, ukulele, van morrison
Experiencing a band for the first time live can sometimes make or break your opinion of them. Some bands are clearly overproduced in the studio to the point where they cannot reproduce their sound live, and others will shine and sound even better than any recording could ever capture. The latter could not be truer of Twenty One Pilots, the super dynamic piano pop-rock-rap duo of Columbus, Ohio.
To say these two were energetic on stage would be an understatement. Their electrifying set consisted of backflips off of pianos, playing the drum set whilst crowdsurfing (proof in the pictures!), and countless wardrobe changes that ranged from floral print kimonos to skeleton onesies. With Tyler Joseph on the vocals and keyboards, he commanded the stage with his huge presence and delivered the lyrics with such conviction that made it difficult for anyone to not want to sing and dance along. The other half of Twenty One Pilots, Josh Dun, keeps the party going and holds down solid beats with an intense Travis Barker meets Beastie Boys vibe. There was never a point in the show where the quality of sound was compromised due to the hyperactive nature of their performance, and that is quite the statement considering there are only two band members.
Along with fan favorites such as "Car Radio," "Holding Onto You," "Truce," and "Fall Away," the duo graced the crowd with Twenty One Pilots-infused covers. Now when it comes to covers, I believe you should be able to perform it better than the original or bring a whole new perspective to the song. This was exactly the case for their ukulele-dance-rock version of "Brown Eyed Girl" (Van Morrison) and EDM-inspired version of "Time to Say Goodbye" (Andrea Bocelli – yeah, the opera singer… and they totally pulled it off!).
As the duo closed the show with a crowdsurfing drum break (yes, it really happened), I couldn't help but notice the joy and excitement spread throughout the crowd. As a frequent concert goer, I take a lot of pride in the Seattle crowd's ability to perform incredibly in-tune crowd vocals and show appreciation to the artists after (and during) every song. You could definitely tell that the band was receptive to it, and this magical moment shared through music is truly something you can only get from a great live show.
You can check out music, purchase a CD, or buy concert tickets for Twenty One Pilots here. Check out photos from the show below. All photos by Amanda Tran.
Angela Mastrogiacomo
Founder at Infectious Mag/Muddy Paw PR
Founder of Infectious Magazine & Muddy Paw Public Relations. Lover of passion, ice cream, and books.
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PHOTOS OF THE WEEK #7


Come take a look at this charming city home located on a corner lot located in the French Quarter of Plattsburgh. This quaint home offers 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathroom, one car attached garage, and plenty of space for a growing family. Conveniently located only minutes to schools, convenience stores, and other amenities. This is a great starter or investment home.


The rooms are modern and well appointed. They vary in size from small to apartment size. The quality is good and the decor is tasteful and equates well to good hotels in Western Europe. The restaurant is bright and modern and is located to the rear of the lobby area and shares the same space as the bar. There is also a Bulgarian wine restaurant in the basement, which is small and decorated in a rustic style. This is a modern complex forming part of a retail-office centre.
This property is located in the very centre of Sofia within easy walking distance of all the main amenities.


Let's take a quiz. Are you an adult over the age of 50? If so, have you had a colonoscopy in the last 10 years? If the answer is no, it's time to schedule one. Although Colon Cancer Awareness Month is coming to an end, preventive screenings should be top of mind all year long.
Colon cancer is the fourth most common cancer for adults in the United States, affecting both men and women equally according to the National Cancer Institute. The good news is that when it's found early, colon cancer is highly treatable.
At Greensboro Imaging, we go a step above traditional screenings to offer virtual colonoscopies. But what exactly is a virtual colonoscopy? Virtual colonoscopy is a non-invasive way to detect colon issues such as polyps and cancer. This American Cancer Society-recommended screening exam was recently given an "A" rating by the US Preventive Services Task Force—recognizing the procedure as an alternative to traditional colonoscopies in detection of colon abnormalities.
During the virtual screening, the patient lies comfortably on their back while several CT images of the abdomen are taken and translated into a 3D image of the colon. Unlike traditional colonoscopies, virtual colonoscopies require no sedation or recovery time. The procedure only takes about 15–30 minutes, and patients can get right back to their normal activities. Because sedation is necessary for traditional colonoscopies, recovery often takes patients the rest of the day.
The American Institute for Cancer Research suggests that there are some simple ways to help prevent colon cancer. These easy steps include staying active, understanding portion control, maintaining a high fiber diet and cutting down on processed food, red meat and alcohol.
For questions regarding Greensboro Imaging's virtual colonoscopies or other services, please contact our office at 336.433.5000 or fill out a contact form.


text:
Author : Ron Fry
Classification Study Guides
Pub Date 20 July 2017
Imprint Pentagon Press
Page Extent 258 pages
Binding Ppaperback
The Program that has helped millions of students study smarter, not harder
The best-selling How To Study has helped millions of students study smarter, not harder. This 25th anniversary edition has undergone the most extensive revision in a decade.
How to study reveals the study skills that all students need to know to be successful, whether the goal is getting a top scholarship, excelling in school, or preparing to return to school. This edition includes information on how to create an effective work environment, stand out in class, conduct research online, and much more. Fry also covers all the traditional elements of a winning study strategy, such as reading, writing, time management, memory, and test-taking skills. 'How to study' introduces a revolutionary study system, along with examples, that gives students the edge in any learning environment.
'How to Study' also :
•	Prepare students of all ages
•	Highlights essential skills that can be applied outside the classroom and later in life.
•	Includes study tips for studying with young children, fighting mid-study fatigue and boredom; in-class learning, and more.
Ron Fry is an ardent supporter of the improvement of public education and an advocate for parents and students, playing an active role in strengthening personal education programs. In addition to being the author of the best-selling 'How to Study' series, which has sold more than 3,000,000 copies to date, Fry, has written more than 30 other books in the areas of education and careers. He is the founder and president of Career Press, an internationally known independent publisher of trade nonfiction books.


CALABAR—The task force put in place by Cross River State government to address climate change has attracted the attention of the World Bank and United States government.
Mr. John Mason of Nature Conservation and Resource Centre, NCRC, Ghana, who commended Cross River State for initiating a pragmatic forestry conservation programme to check forest deforestation, disclosed this in Calabar.
He spoke when he paid a courtesy call on Governor Liyel Imoke at Government Lodge, Calabar.
According to him, Cross River delegates' attendance at the Katoomba meeting in Ghana last year had succeeded in placing the state on the world map.
He added that the task force put in place by the state has attracted the attention of the World Bank and United States government.
During the visit, Mason also submitted two draft reports of an eleven day study on the carbon stock of some forest projects in the state, saying the state had achieved some progress within a short period.
He said the meeting in Ghana on 11 September 2009 culminated in the team from Katoomba REDD Plus Group Project visiting the state.
Mason explained further that they had developed a work plan with the Forestry Commission to conduct a pilot project in the state and had come up with two draft reports they believed were viable and attractive to foreign financiers.
He disclosed that the Afi area was arable land of 2000 hectares with 11.3 million carbon emission in the forest, Ekuri 11.9 carbon emission with the capacity of generating 3 million yearly.
He, however, advised that the documents be studied and comments made for clarification while promising to assist the state in that direction.
Also speaking, a member of the team, Professor Yabinder Malhi of University of Oxford, an expert in tropical forest, described the forest in Cross River as magnificent and the richest in Africa.
Responding, Governor Liyel Imoke, said the state was happy with the enthusiasm and commitment displayed by NCRC in the forestry programme by spending 11 days in the deepest forest of the state.
He explained that government had put a team that shared the sentiment of the administration in the interest of the forest.
According to Imoke, government's interest is to ensure that forest communities remain the beneficiaries of its programme.


I've now finished my initial read-through of the Fearsome Foes rules, and there were a few things that weren't clear to me.
1) The player board says that the Ghoul must "gain enough Fury to reach [his] goal, then escape the Cave". However, under "Fury" in the rules, it says that "You win if you have fury equal to [your goal] and then you escape the Cave".
Does this work like the Dragon's wakefulness, where the ghoul becomes eligible to leave once he "hits" his goal (even if subsequent effects, such as soporific spores, reduce his Fury back below the target number)? Or does the Ghoul have to be at or above his target number at the moment he tries to leave?
2) Can the cave target the ghoul with bats? There's nothing saying that it can, but I figured I'd check.
I'm not at all clear on how spending boost dice works. Specifically, what bonus do you gain when you "spend" a boost die?
-Do you gain a single point of either movement or attack per die spent?
Possessed knight: If, during a possession turn, the ghost causes the knight to do something that would fulfill one of the knight's sidequests, may the knight choose to reveal and complete that sidequest?
Possessed goblins: I want to check if I'm understanding the rules here correctly. It seems like the intent is that when possessed, a goblin tribe has a "virtual" population equal to the ghost's Influence. When moving out of lit squares, the tribe would lose population from this "virtual" number, but doesn't actually remove any population discs. (So e.g. if the ghost had an influence of 3 and the tribe moved out of 2 lit spaces before attacking, it would be attacking with a "virtual" population of 2.) What about if the ghost does something with the tribe that causes it to scatter? Does it then lose actual population discs, or only "virtual" population?
It's similar to the Dragon - once you've hit the amount that allows you to escape, losing Fury (or Wakefulness) will not prevent you from leaving.
No, bats don't affect the Ghoul.
Each boost die is a single extra point that you can spend to increase Movement or Attack (the value on the die and the stats in the chart don't matter). You can "spend" each point only once per turn, but the die remains there until you reset all three.
In the rare case you rolled the same on all three dice, on the second turn you'll have 1 boost to add, and on the third turn you get to add that plus the second die for a total of 2 extra points.
If the conditions for a side quest are met during a possession turn, the Knight player may choose to reveal the card and gain the bonus.
If the Tribe scatters it loses population like normal, with the exception that it doesn't lose any monster it might have.
The "virtual population" rule only applies to movement, so the Ghost can't burn off population just by running them around in circles on lit tiles.
The second (b) is correct. It follows all of the standard Cave rules for removing those tiles, with the added rule that the Cave Ghost must be nearby.
Yes, the rules regarding the Vile Ghoul were not very clear. There is no mention in the rulebook about what qualifies a die to be used as a boost die (i.e. it must be in the same row as the die you chose for the turn), which seems like a HUGE oversight for the rulebook.
Second, the fact that the die chart has a space to the right of every spot suggests to me that the position of the die before you move it "to the right of the chart" matters, but nowhere does the rulebook explain how much a bonus die provides as a bonus. There is the VERY subtle "a movement or attack bonus", where "a" could mean one, but in context it may only mean singular as far as the die is concerned, not the bonus itself.
I haven't looked through the rest of them, yet. I'm glad someone else asked the question I never would have thought of concerning the Ghoul's victory condition. Why wasn't that listed on their rules like it is for the Dragon?
Move and Act phase of this turn.
In the section prior it says to slide the dice already in the chart over to the right of the same row, so the position does matter.
..., but nowhere does the rulebook explain how much a bonus die provides as a bonus. There is the VERY subtle "a movement or attack bonus", where "a" could mean one, but in context it may only mean singular as far as the die is concerned, not the bonus itself.
This I agree with, and know exactly when the issue occurred.
Through the majority of development we were using a generic "Action Points" label for what the chart does, and originally instead of just saying "Boost Dice" on the player board it showed "+1 AP". When the AP term was dropped and changed to be called Boost Dice, that full definition of how much they provided didn't get carried back into the rulebook along with it.
-Each Boost Die on the right side of a row adds one (1) extra point to the stats when a new die is placed on the left side of the same row.
-The Boost Die can be spent to increase total Movement by 1 or to increase a single Attack by 1.
-Multiple Boost Dice in the same row stack, so if the third die is placed on the left side of a row with two Boost Dice already on the right, you get a total of two (2) extra points to spend on Movement or Attack.
I'll make sure to note it in the FAQ, but honestly can't recall it ever being relevant for the Ghoul at any point during development. With the Dragon there's a discrete gap of at least one full round (often more) between when he wakes up and when he can actually reach the exit, so there are a lot more opportunities for other players to go after him, but with the Ghoul's ability to Skitter after an attack and to burn Terror cards for large bonuses, you can often escape on the same turn you reach your goal, or at most on your very next turn.
Looks like I missed the "row" part, but thanks for the clarification.
I'm glad you'll be fixing this for the next printing. Usually I'm a lot more careful in my rule-reading. Anyway, thanks for the help.


As the years of our lives pass, it gets easier and easier to become a little over-weight, obese, or even morbidly obese. It may seem that just a few short years ago you were the high school star athlete or cheer leader. You were in top physical condition and a fine specimen to look at.
Then came the responsibilities of life, where you are raising a family and sometimes, no matter how hard you work, keeping the bills paid becomes a stressful focus. Sally has dance lessons, Johnny has his trumpet lessons, while the baby has colic and her constant crying is allowing no peace for anyone in the house.
Yesterday you were the picture of perfect health and fitness, today you look and feel like a busted can of biscuits. Your gut is hanging over your belt, unless you wear those stretchy pants where a belt is not required. You quit tucking in your shirts to hide said gut and you have also begun coordinating your clothing in order to not appear as fat as you have become. And yes, guys can be just as bad about this as the ladies. Well, guess what? You are not fooling anyone. If you are fat, you look fat no matter how you dress. But more importantly than your physical appearance, your health is what matters. Face it, if you continue your path to obesity with poor nutritional habits, your ability to care for your family and even yourself is going to become more difficult over time. You may find yourself making a choice between paying a utility bill this month or a co-pay at the doctors office in order for you to be seen for a condition that is 100% related to your poor dietary choices.
In short, you are fat, out of shape and no longer a healthy individual.
The term Metabolic Syndrome is a medical diagnosis. What you do about this diagnosis is going to be a matter of personal choice. You can choose to continue with your poor nutritional habits of convenience foods that are packed full of simple sugars, high in fat, sodium and preservatives. This weak choice is going to lead to taking out the time for more doctor visits with blood labs possible each time, along with having to take medications to control the issues you suffer from. Unnecessary money and time being expended away from the larger responsibility of your family and home.
Your other choice is to take personal responsibility for your health and to be proactive in doing something about it. If you are smart, you will clean up your diet and replace processed foods with healthy whole foods. You will eliminate simple sugar from your diet, and you will begin some form of exercise with your doctors approval. By cleaning up your dietary habits, your blood labs will normalize. By quitting refined sugar and other simple carbohydrates, your cravings for foods that contain them will subside. If you think eating healthy foods is too expensive, consider the reduction of monthly expenses when you no longer need to see your doctor regular and all of those monthly prescription refills you may have for blood pressure drug, statins, acid reflux etc… With the cost of medcal care today, you could likely pay for at least a weeks worth of groceries with the medical expense savings alone.
Is exercise necessary to become healthy? What if I am in a condition where my ability to do so has become impaired?
Walk briskly. Or, briskly for you.
Put on some music and move your body with dance, Move your body around, shift your weight from one leg to another, lift your arms to the beat of the music. Look like a young child again, have fun with it.
If you cannot jump rope, make believe you are by skipping in place.
Get up and down from your chair 50 to 100 times.
If you have stairs in your home, then walk up and down them several times per day.
Hop in a circle around a room in your home. Get your kids involved, the young ones will have a blast. Try hopping on one foot at a time for 30 second intervals.
Rise up and down on your toes to work your calves.
Stand on one leg and hold onto a chair or a wall for balance. Extend your free leg in front of you so the heel stretches out about 12 inches in front of your standing leg. Now bend your standing leg knee so you lower your body about 6 inches, and then come back up. Do this 25 times and then switch legs.
Jog in place, picking your knees up higher each time and also extending the time you do this.
You can pick and choose any of these simple exercises and do them as you watch television and your program is interupted by a commercial.
Now of course if you are overweight and in poor condition, fatigue and soreness are going to be a limiting factor. But, these factors are only short term in nature. The objective is for you to work your way up with increased exercise. You may not be capable of running in a marathon next month, but you may find yourself at least able to walk in a 5k event. You can walk, do a few flights of stairs until you are fatigued. Take a rest and go at it again after a few hours. Build on the amount of time you can do this until you can go for a solid hour. The more out of shape you are, the more important it will be for you to exercise in short periods on a frequent basis. If you can only go at it for 5 minutes at a time, then plan your day to dedicate six five minute time frames to do your exercise. No excuses, just choose to plan and then commit. If you make regular exercise a habit, before you know it, you will find yourself far exceeding your original capabilities.
You can burn calories and fat with a variety of cardiovascular exercises, but if you want more bang for the buck, you must consider some form of strength training in order to increase your lean muscle mass. Some people will complain that they can not lose weight even when they have cut back on their food intake. Usually the problem is they are still consuming too many calories for their basal metabolic rate, still eating sugar and have very little lean muscle mass. The more lean muscle mass you have, the easier it is going to be for you to burn body fat. The way to address this is to go to our Calorie Calculator in our menu to find out your caloric needs and then consume a sugar free diet that is high in protein and low in carbohydrates, along with performing strength building exercises. Your body needs the protein to not only maintain your lean muscle mass, but more importantly to increase it. As your body fat percentage comes down, you also need for your lean muscle mass percentage to rise. At David's Way, we actually support working towards a healthy body fat percentage over a random number you might want to see on your bathroom scale.
Invariably, people who complain that their metabolic rate is slow and they have trouble losing weight no matter what they consume week to week have weak muscles and are poorly conditioned. When you perform strength building exercises, you are going to increase the density of your lean muscle mass which is going to raise your metabolism. Increasing your lean muscle mass can be done by anyone who makes the choice to do so. If you want to be healthy, this is imperative. This is why we encourage achieving a healthy body fat percentage over a number on the scale. You might lose 50 to 100 pounds, be thin and yet be what is referred to as "Skinny fat". Your weight means little if your body fat percentage is still at an unhealthy level. If you are thin and also soft to the touch, then you are no healthier than you were when you were much heavier. You are only thinner, do not fool yourself that being able to wear smaller clothing now means you are in decent shape. Skinny fat is still bad for you.
Many, if not most who go about losing weight, lose lean muscle along with body fat. If you do not maintain what you have or build upon it, you can regain all of the weight you have lost and now have a higher body fat percentage than you had before losing weight. This is going to be detrimental to your metabolism. If you are a yo-yo dieter who does not build muscle too, then your metabolism is going to slow more and more with each weight gain. Exercise is going to facilitate your weight loss and make you healthier. Vigorous exercise is even better. Build up to it gradually, You have the rest of your life if you have made a decision to be healthy for the remainder of your life. Start slow and build yourself up, do not injure yourself. If you have the fortitude to begin living a healthy life, you will find the will to eat healthy and exercise.
Metabolic Syndrome may be a medical diagnosis, or maybe it is actually a politically correct and polite way of saying you are fat and out of shape. Either way, you can do something about it. And what you do, does not have to require expensive doctors visits and medications. If you make an intelligent choice, you will clean up your diet and begin an exercise regimen right away. This truly is a matter of personal choices and then sticking with it. You are likely to have a few saboteurs along the way who will try to derail you by getting you to "just eat a little cake" or what ever. People who will tell you how good you have done and then pester you to join them in poor food choices. When you stick to your decision to only eat healthy and remain committed to making time for exercise, some of the people close to you may get angry when you do not join them in unhealthy habits. Bear in mind, if these kind hearted folks really care about your health and well being, they will not try to sabotage you. Misery loves company and unhealthy people will try to drag you down to their level. Sometimes, being around a crowd that eats a lot of unhealthy foods and do not exercise is like finding yourself in a bucket full of crabs. Where the harder you try to climb out, the harder they are going to try to pull you back in. Do yourself a favor and avoid the crabs.
Life and how we live it is truly a matter of personal choices. Choose wisely, you only have one body and one life.
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Interesting how people who profess to love us will work against our health initiative. The bucket full of crabs is an excellent description of these people. We can reverse Metabolic Syndrome. It's a choice…good article, David.
Thank you. Better to give hard truths than soft lies when our health is concerned.