“Originally, the drink of choice aboard navy vessels was beer or ale and sometimes wine. All that changed when England captured Jamaica in 1655.” IN THE age of Lord Nelson, the ships…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Global Conflicts — The First ‘World Wars’ Came Long Before 1914
“World War One was not history’s only recorded ‘Great War.’” THIS coming summer, the world marks a grim milestone – the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. The…
Companies Behaving Badly – The Wartime Histories Some Corporations Wish We’d Just Forget
“Holocaust survivors and their families charged that Hugo Boss used forced labour during the war. Eventually, the company paid more than 700,000 Euros to a victims memorial fund.” THEY SAY THAT there is…