IN 1914, machines guns were anything but portable. Weapons like the Maxim, Vickers or Hotchkiss were cumbersome and bulky. And with a weight of about 50 lbs. (not counting ammunition), the…
American Revolutions — Six Rebellions That Pre-Date the War of Independence
“In the 100 years leading up to the revolution, there were at least six separate armed uprisings in Britain’s New World provinces.” THE AMERICAN writer Ralph Waldo Emerson famously referred to the opening musket volley…
From Red Coats to Disruptive Camo – 250 years of British Army Uniforms
A READER FROM THE U.K forwarded us this infographic (SEE BELOW). It charts the evolution of the British soldier from the Seven Years War right up to the campaigns in Iraq and…
Operation Downfall — The Campaign to Conquer Japan Would Have Dwarfed the D-Day Landings
“The U.S. military, expecting the resistance of a ‘fanatically hostile population’, were making preparations for between 1.7 and 4 million casualties.” IT COULD BE called the world’s greatest battle… that never happened. Operation…
The Bob Semple Tank – Meet New Zealand’s Strange Home-Grown Armoured Vehicle
“Prototypes of this curious tank were slapped together in the early 1940s amid growing panic in New Zealand over the threat of a Japanese invasion.” THE GERMANS named some of the their most…
The Odd Couple – How Many Times Have England and France Joined Forces?
“Despite the centuries of bad blood between the French and English, there were a few rare moments between 1066 and 1815 when the two nations joined forces to defeat common enemies.” WAS…
Operation Wandering Soul – Ghost Tape Number 10 and the Haunted Jungles of Vietnam
“Vietnamese legends held that on the anniversary of a person’s death, a spiritual channel between our world and the afterlife can open making communication possible. Was this just such a phenomenon?” JUST AFTER dusk on…
‘Gun-Jumpers’ – Newspaper Showcases Yanks Who Fought for the British Empire in WW2
Readers of Canada’s Toronto Star learned this week about the late Richard Fuller Patterson – a young man who seemed to have everything to live for, but gave it all up to…