Category: Odd Facts
Getting There Was Half the Battle – Inside the Incredible Maiden Voyage of the USS Monitor
“By evening of the second day, a full-force gale engulfed the little convoy. Monitor, with just two feet of freeboard, was singularly ill-designed to weather an ocean storm.” By Walter Topp ON MARCH 9, 1862,…
Turning Point 1066 – Six Essential Facts about the Norman Conquest of England
“William and his barons had ousted the Anglo-Saxon upper crust, supplanting it with men who built castles and parish churches, who spoke French and supped wine. Yet slowly but surely the country in which they…
The Battle of Dobro Polje – The Forgotten Balkan Skirmish That Triggered the End of WW1
“Although the clash generated fewer than 5,000 casualties, it broke the deadlock precipitating a ‘chain reaction’ of events that forced Berlin to seek terms within weeks.” Dr. James Lyon WHEN GERMANY signed the Armistice on Nov. 11,…
Cruel Intentions – Seven Invasions That Were Planned But Never Carried Out
“Today, the East Bloc war plan stands as just one of history’s many hypothetical military campaigns that were mapped out but never brought to fruition. Here are some others.” THE SOVIET UNION’S LARGEST AND MOST IMPORTANT OIL…
Target Berlin – Inside the Forgotten Soviet Bomber Raids on Hitler’s Capital
“The Soviet Union’s burgeoning strategic bomber arm carried out attacks on Berlin too.” AT THE START of the Second World War, Hitler’s air force chief Hermann Göring made a brazen pronouncement: If enemy planes drop a single…
“These Aren’t Men, They’re Demons!” — The French Foreign Legion’s Desperate Defence of Camarón
“As the Mexicans charged, the legionnaires fired volleys into the onrushing horde.” By Frederick J. Chiaventone IN 1861, MEXICO was in a state of turmoil. Newly elected President Benito Juarez had, in defeating the rebels…
