A Condom, Aniseed Ball, and a Bowl of Porridge – The Creation of the Highly Effective Limpet Mine
Built using an aniseed ball, a condom, and a bowl of porridge, the limpet mine quickly became a vital part of the Allied arsenal in…
USS England Destroyed an Entire Squadron of Japanese Submarines
In May 1944, the USS England achieved a remarkable victory when it single-handedly destroyed an entire squadron of Japanese submarines. This victory was made possible…
How Allied POWs Survived German Camps in WWII
During the Second World War, hundreds of thousands of Allied combatants spent time as captives of the Germans. From Polish soldiers captured on the first…
Search Continues for Warships Lost for 500 Years
On August 10, 1512, French and English fleets clashed off the coast of Brittany. It was a battle that destroyed the most powerful ships on…
Britain’s WW2 Guides to Guerrilla Warfare, Techniques of Chicago Gangsters were Included
From sabotaging factories to ambushing patrols, guerrilla warfare played a vital part in the Second World War. From early on, the British sent covert operatives…
The Development of Early Handguns
When gunpowder weapons first appeared on the battlefields of Europe, they took the form of cannons and other artillery, huge weapons designed to cause mass…
Scissorforce: Britain’s WWII Commando Experiment in Norway. Did it Work?
On the 9th of April 1940, Germany invaded Norway. British attempts to protect the country proved futile against Germany’s military might. But for the man…
13 Allied Countries That Took Part in D-Day
The D-Day landings and the subsequent campaign to capture Normandy might have been master-minded by British and American commanders, but they included soldiers from far…
8 Men Who Led Britain’s Crazy & Amazing Covert Operations of WW2
During the Second World War, the British broke from their famous gentlemanly conduct. Sabotage, prison break, assassination – no dirty trick was beyond the remit…
“Like hell!” the MPs Replied: GIs Mistakenly Arrested One of Their Generals
December 20, 1944 was a miserable day for American soldiers in the Ardennes. The weather was bitterly cold, with ice and snow biting at men…
How Japanese Messages Told the Allies Fuhrer’s Plans
Throughout the Second World War, the Allies tried to spy on Hitler and his generals. They went to extraordinary lengths to understand what the Führer…
The British War Hero Who Kept an Unusual Human ‘Souvenir’ on His Desk & Hung His Cooks
The British occupation of India was a time of dark deeds and extraordinary characters. Few left a more unusual legacy than John Nicholson. Irish Origins…