Fighting Spirits — Three Centuries of Rum in the Royal Navy

Friday July 31, 1970 was a day of mourning for Britain’s sailors. Ceremonies featuring solemn memorials, drums and pipers, black armbands and flag-drapped coffins took place on every ship in the service. The mood was…

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Born to Fight – Earliest Civilizations were Established to Wage War, Research Suggests

Let’s hear it for the barbarians! It turns out that civilization as we know it might not have been possible without roving bands of bloodthirsty killers. At least that’s what recent research from the University…

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Acts of Defiance – A Short History of Mutiny in the U.S. Military

“In a number of cases, American soldiers, sailors and airmen have protested orders, defied their commanders and even risen in open rebellion. Consider these examples.” IN SEPTEMBER 2013, cyberspace was a-buzz with photos of what…

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The ‘Tsar Bomba’ – The Day the Soviets Set Off the Biggest Nuke In History

“Throughout the 1950s, both Cold War superpowers were engaged in an explosive game of one-upmanship to see which country could develop the largest nuclear weapon. This new Russian warhead ended that contest in a blinding…

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The Blue House Raid – North Korea’s Failed 1968 Commando Assault on Seoul

“The group’s objective was to storm the executive mansion, known as the Blue House, and assassinate President Park Chung-hee.” FOUR YOUNG SOUTH Korean brothers got more than they bargained for while out searching for firewood…

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Big Shots – Amusettes, Jingals and Other Super-Sized Firearms

“Pioneered as far back as the late Middle Ages, amusettes, wall guns and rampart guns eventually found their way into the arsenals of most 18th Century European armies.” LARGER THAN A musket, but not large enough to…

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