Category: Odd Facts
Signs From Above – Omens in Ancient Warfare
“Greek, Hittite, Mongol, Norman and even Anglo Saxon military leaders pondered all manner of omens, signs or portents when deciding how and when to make war. Here are some examples.” IT WAS A BRAVE ROMAN who…
Disputed Islands — The Many Battles for the Falklands
“After years of laying empty, the British military re-occupied the islands in 1840, establishing a port facility for trans-oceanic shipping. It would become a vital waypoint for the Royal Navy for the next several decades.”…
Big Bangs — Some of the Largest Wartime Explosions in History
At precisely 11:11 a.m. on Nov. 27, 1944, the relative quiet of RAF Fauld near Staffordshire, England was shattered in a split second when a 4,000-lb. bomb in the base’s 1,700 sq. ft. underground munitions…
Soldiering On – Famous Battles Fought After the War Ended
One hundred and ninety eight years ago this week, the battle of the War of 1812 was fought on the Chalmette Plantation about two miles east of the city of New Orleans. In the pre-dawn darkness of…
Get Out of Jail Free — How Allied Flyers Used Monopoly to Escape From German POW Camps
“The games containing these secret escape kits were unwittingly distributed to POWs as part of care packages right under the nose of German prison guards.” FOR CAPTURED flyers in World War Two, Monopoly was more…
Bismarck, Berlin & Swastika – Towns That Changed Their Name in Wartime (and Others That Didn’t)
“Swastika was just one of several towns that were called upon to change their names in wartime.” SIX HOURS NORTH OF TORONTO, Canada lies a remote community with a most unfortunate name: Swastika. The municipality,…
