THE SCENE: Cool and muggy
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
- Projectivator
- Tempo squats
- Tempo merkins
- Cherry pickers
- Run to the track
- Run 3/4 lap w/ high knees, butt kicks, and karaoke
THA-THANG:
Our theme is assaulting a fort.
- 100m + 50 merkins to assault the front gate.
- Mosey 100m
- The frontal assault failed. 200m sprint to retreat and 50 big boys to reinvigorate your manhood.
- Mosey 300m to find another assault position.
- Sprint 300m to assault the wall again. Circle back for the 6.
- Ouch! We got shot in the leg. 50m lunges
- Mosey 150m to the field hospital.
- We got patched up, but now we have to carry a dispatch to an allied commander. Sprint 400m
- We made it inside the fort now! Run up and down the steps of the grandstands.
- Mosey back to the flag. Small detour to see the tennis courts and do some dips.
MARY:
Ocho: LBCs – Papa Lock: Grady Corns
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
The year is 1565 and the Ottoman Empire dominates the middle east, attacks ships in the Mediterranean, and makes slaves of their captives. An ancient order of knights that dates back 500 years will break the back of this force of evil and save Europe from a Muslim invasion.
The Knights of the order of Saint John, also known as the Knights Hospitaller, were a group of Christian European knights who originally ran a hospital in Jerusalem. Their 2nd leader organized a militia and this began their military operations. During the Crusades, they along with the Knights Templar (who you may have heard about from Nicholas Cage), became the 2 most formidable military orders in the Holy Land.
After the Muslims retook Jerusalem, the Knights Hospitaller took to island living. Moving to Cyprus, Rhodes, and eventually Malta. While on Malta, a small island in the Mediterranean west of Sicily, they launched naval raids on the Ottoman Empire and their vasal Barbary Pirates.
The Ottoman Empire decided the Knights Hospitaller needed to go to the hospital themselves and launched a huge siege on the Isle of Malta bringing 40,000 men. This was one of the largest armies assembled since antiquity. The Knights of the Order of Saint John had only 6,100 men to defend their home and the good people of Malta.
The Ottomans arrived on May 18, 1565 and took the interior of the island quickly. There were three strategic forts on the east coast of the island that the Knights defended valiantly along with the capital city. Despite many cannon bombardments from land and sea, and many assaults on the forts, the defenders held the island until September 7th – 4 months later when a relief force of 8,000 Spanish and Italian troops arrived.
These fresh troops made quick work of the demoralized Ottomans forcing them to retreat from the island by September 13th having lost between 25-35,000 men. The Knights Hospitaller lost 2,000.
This example had a major impact, bringing together the kings of Europe in an alliance against the previously seemingly invincible Ottomans; the result was the vast union of forces against the Ottomans at the Battle of Lepanto six years later. Who will you inspire with your bravery and resolve?
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Hardship Hill is on Monday, May 29. Register or sign up to volunteer. Rampart Flag handoff on Saturday.