Famous Last Words – The Dying Utterances of 11 Well-Known Military Commanders

“Whether they’re fact or fiction, last words such as these are the stuff of legend in the annals of military history.” ALFRED GRAF VON SCHLIEFFEN WAS 79 YEARS OLD when he died in 1913. The Prussian-born career soldier, who…

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Explaining War Crimes – Why Have So Many Modern Armies Committed Mass Murder?

By Jonathan Harrison Few people in 1900 would have predicted that many of the world’s most advanced military forces would commit horrific crimes against civilians in the forthcoming century. However, the genesis of those crimes…

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Hard to Swallow – A Brief History of Hardtack and Ship’s Biscuit

“Made using salt, water and wheat flour (which is rich in protein, vitamins and calories), hardtack could provide modest nutrition for a crew at sea or an army in the field for weeks, even months.”…

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Fresh Water Fights – Six Naval Battles That Took Place Miles From the Nearest Ocean

“Lake Erie isn’t the only famous ‘sea battle’ not to be fought at sea. Here are some others.” THE MOST DECISIVE NAVAL BATTLE of the War of 1812 took place on Sept. 10, 1813. That’s…

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America’s First Soldiers — 12 Remarkable Facts About the Continental Army

“Although the Continental Army began the American Revolution as a mob of amateurs, by 1780 it had evolved into a European-style fighting force capable of standing up to the best King George could throw at it.” ONE OF THE…

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Big Bangs – Some of the Largest Wartime Explosions in History

AT PRECISELY 11:11 a.m. on Nov. 27, 1944, the relative quiet of RAF Fauld near Staffordshire, England was shattered when a 4,000-lb. bomb in the base’s 1,700 sq. ft. underground munitions bunker accidentally detonated. The resulting…

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