The Warfare Underground — A Brief History of Siege Tunnels
BY THE END OF 1914, the trench warfare on the Western Front had bogged down into a bloody stalemate. But the German army thought it had come up with a scheme to break the impasse. On…
The First Dogfighters — How History’s Earliest Combat Pilots Improvised Aerial Warfare
“Many of the principles of air to air combat still in use today were improvised on the fly (literally) by pilots who were making it up as they went along.” THE WORLD’S MILITARIES were among…
Bartholomew Sharp — Meet the Unlucky Pirate Who Threw Away a Fortune in Silver
“With the men of the expedition once more on the verge of mutiny, a lookout finally spotted a large galleon flying Spanish colours. Could it be the treasure fleet? Sharp’s vessels closed for battle.” HISTORY…
Final Notes — ‘Taps,’ ‘The Last Post’ and Other Songs for the Fallen
“Both the Last Post and Taps share a common lineage. Each are derivatives of a Dutch tune from the 1600s called the Taptoe.” (Originally published on July 11, 2012) TAPS, THE SONG THAT’S BEEN PLAYED AT…
The Chinchas War – Inside the Little-Known Conflict Between Peru and Spain Over Animal Turds
“The resulting two-year naval conflict would see ships captured, cities bombarded, ports blockaded, economies destroyed, and governments toppled.” WHEN IN 1864, a hotheaded Spanish admiral wanted to punish Peru for a perceived diplomatic insult, he…
The Forgotten Role of Indigenous Americans in the U.S. Civil War
“Some Indian factions taking up arms for both the Union and the Confederacy.” THE U.S. CIVIL WAR wasn’t just an internecine struggle between white Americans from the north and south. Native tribes throughout the United States…
