“Iron Hand” – Meet Götz von Berlichingen, the Middle Ages’ Toughest Knight

“In an astonishing 47-year military career, Götz did battle in a series of bloody civil wars throughout Central Europe and fought campaigns against the French and the Ottomans.” FEW OUTSIDE OF Germany have probably ever heard of Götz…

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Funny Money — The Amazing History of Wartime Counterfeiting

“For more than 200 years, counterfeiting has been a part of the wartime strategies of a number of countries.”  DURING THE 1990s, U.S. national security experts began tracking a new and rather unusual threat. Some individual…

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Il Duce’s Blitz — Italy’s Forgotten Role in the Battle of Britain

“Although not a major contributor to the 1940 air campaign against Britain, Italy did volunteer as many as 170 planes to the effort. In fact, more than five per cent of the 2,500 Axis aircraft…

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Surprise Attacks – Nine Armies From History That Famously Struck Without Warning

“To this day, Pearl Harbor stands as one of history’s most famous surprise attacks. Here are some others.” ON NOV. 26, 1941, six Japanese aircraft carriers supported by 42 other warships steamed from ports the Kuril…

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Storm Warnings – Five Writers Who Predicted WW1 With Uncanny Accuracy

“Five grim visionaries and their remarkable predictions about the coming war.” FEW COULD HAVE ANTICIPATED the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the subsequent crisis that triggered the First World War. Yet for years leading…

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War Scares – Seven Conflicts That Nearly Happened (But Didn’t)

“Here are a few of history’s various military standoffs, diplomatic showdowns and international emergencies that might have led to war but didn’t.” REMEMBER THE 1907 war between Japan and the United States? How about the Franco-German Conflict…

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