How the US Navy Trained its Pilots in WWII – the Bar for Entry was High
With a thud and a screech, a damaged fighter plane hits the deck of an aircraft carrier. The ocean heaves in a high wind, making the…
Napoleon – The Great Conqueror Should Have Lost in Italy
From 1792 to 1797, France fought a multi-fronted war against the First Coalition, the first of many attempts to bring the revolutionary nation to heel.…
Godfrey Place: World War Two Submariner, Future Admiral, And Victoria Cross Recipient
A daring submarine exploit of the Second World War was an attempt to sink the battleship Tirpitz using midget submarines. One man who came close…
The Rise Of The Night-Fighters – Devastating Aircraft in Two World Wars
Fighting between planes began in daylight which allowed pilots and gunners to see what was going on so they could target their prey and see…
The Rapid Rise of Naval Air Power Over Two World Wars
An aircraft carrier and its complement of planes is perhaps the most powerful military formation in the modern world. With it, a nation can reach…
The Doolittle Raid – American Planes Take Revenge For Pearl Harbor
The Doolittle raid is one of the most famous air attacks of WWII. The first American attack on the Japanese Home Islands, it was achieved…
The Desperate Measures Hitler Took to Avoid Losing WWII
In the summer of 1944, Adolf Hitler’s monstrous dream of an eternal empire began to collapse. Five years after his invasion of Poland had plunged…
Two Invasions of Belgium By Germany in Two World Wars: 1914 and 1940
In both World Wars, the fighting in the West began with a German invasion of Belgium. 1914: Why German strategy in the late 19th and…
“My plans are perfect” – The Victorian Generals Disastrously Promoted Beyond Their Abilities
“Brains! I don’t believe in brains.” – Prince George, Duke of Cambridge and Commander-in-Chief of the British army until 1895. The “Peter Principle”, where people…
Saving Sara Matuson: How 10 POWs Risked Their Lives to Save One Woman
Life in a prisoner of war camp could be hard and dangerous during the Second World War. It was even more so for ten British…
British Intelligence – Transforming Aerial Reconnaissance in World War Two
Like other European nations, the British discovered the value of photo-reconnaissance (PR) during the First World War. Seeing a new way to learn about the…
These WW2 Railwaymen Gave Their Lives to Prevent a Munitions Disaster
Close your eyes and imagine an act of wartime courage. What do you picture? A soldier carrying a comrade to safety? A captain buying his…