Category: Odd Facts
Battles in Miniature — A Brief History of War Gaming
BY THE END of the Cold War, American military planners had contingencies and plans for just about every conceivable crisis – Latin American counterinsurgencies, confrontations on the Korean Peninsula, a full out Warsaw Pact…
Black in Grey — Did Some African Americans Really Fight For the Confederacy? Historians Say No
“Some say it was a statistically insignificant handful, others maintain that it must have been ‘thousands.’“ BY THE END of the U.S. Civil War, there were approximately 180,000 African Americans fighting for the Union. This…
Allied Headhunters — Research Explains Origins of Wartime Trophy Taking
“The civilian public was shocked to learn that GIs, sailors and marines fighting the Japanese were collecting and trading the ears, teeth and heads of enemy dead.” IN THE spring of 1944, Life magazine ran…
“Avast, Y’all!” — Confederate Pirates of the Civil War
“The Southern leadership dusted off a tried and tested strategy Americans had used to in both the Revolution and the War of 1812 to stand up to the Royal Navy. They turned to privateers.” WHEN…
To Stop a Coup — How Three SAS Commandos Defeated 400 African Rebels
When an army of Marxist guerrillas toppled the government of a small banana republic, they never expected to have their plans thwarted by a force of just three British commandos. But that’s exactly what happened…
The British Grenadiers — Redcoat Marching Music
It’s a tune instantly recognizable by anglophiles the world over, and one that when played on the fife and drum likely would have sent shivers down the spine of colonial minutemen. It’s “The British Grenadiers” and…
