“The fatal air battle at Nis is just one of many examples of allies killing allies that, all told, cost thousands of lives during the Second World War. Here are a few more examples.”…
Unchained — The Bloody History of Slave Rebellions
“Just about every major slave-owning society from ancient times to the 19th Century has faced slave revolts.” THE EARLIEST written record of slavery, the Code of Hammurabi (1760 BCE), describes the punishment for…
The First Air Forces – A Century of Balloons at War
The great, great grand nephew of a U.S. Civil War-era military ballooning pioneer was on hand this week in Buffalo, New York to view a local museum’s working replica of his famous…
‘The Wipers Times’ — The Satirical Trench Newspaper That Lampooned the Absurdity of War
“Ironic humour was a by-product of the disillusionment, cynicism and a mistrust of authority developed by soldiers during the war. These feelings went on to influence much of pop culture in the decades…
Disabled, Hell! — Don’t Call These Commanders “Handicapped”
“Armless, legless and even sightless commanders went on to make history despite their considerable physical impairments.” A debilitating injury is usually something that renders a soldier un-fit for combat, while a pre-existing…
The Pig War — The Outrageous 1859 Crisis That Nearly Led to Conflict Between the U.S. and Britain
“Many who know the story have wondered how an 1859 war between Great Britain and the United States would have affected the outcome of the Civil War.” FEW TODAY COULD TELL YOU…
Big Bang Theory – 11 of History’s Heaviest Conventional Bombs
(Originally published Feb 13, 2015) FOR 14-YEAR-OLD Luis Iriondo Aurtenetxea and the other inhabitants of the Basque capital of Guernica, April 27, 1937 should have been just another Monday market day. At 4:30 p.m.,…
The Hidden Face of the U.S. Pacific Fleet — Nimitz’s Newsman and a Lost Portrait
“The portrait’s austere aesthetic mirrors Drake’s wartime persona—a man caught between truth and deception, public duty, and personal loyalty.” By Hamilton Bean THE cover of Nimitz’s Newsman: Waldo Drake and the Navy’s…