Shiro Ishii and the Dark Legacy of Japan’s Unit 731
Japanese physician Shiro Ishii presided over a series of abhorrent medical experiments that stand as some of the most egregious atrocities in modern history. Ranging…
Is ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’ Really the Greatest War Film Ever Made?
The 1957 historical epic The Bridge on the River Kwai has long been regarded as one of the greatest war films ever made. Based on…
Mayaguez Incident: The Post-Vietnam Rescue Operation That Left Over 40 Americans Dead
Just weeks after the Vietnam War was declared to be over, a new conflict erupted, threatening the peace many US and South Vietnamese soldiers had…
PTRS-41: The Powerful WWII-Era Anti-Tank Gun Destroying Modern Tanks In Ukraine
The minute tanks entered the battlefield, weapons specialists tried to develop ways to eliminate the threat. During World War I, the Germans introduced the 13.2…
The Incredible Discovery of Cold War-Era Avro Arrows At the Bottom of Lake Ontario
Avro Canada’s CF-105 Arrow was a sophisticated aircraft that put the Canadian air industry on the map. The Cold War-era jet interceptor was designed to…
Samurai Sword Master Kaito Suiju Rates Japanese Sword Movie Scenes
Movies about samurai who’ve mastered the elements of ancient Japanese sword fighting have captivated audiences since the early days of cinema; the adventure, honor, sacrifice…
100 Years After She Sank, The Mystery of USS San Diego’s (ACR-6) Tragic End Was Finally Solved
Shortly after 11:00 AM on July 19, 1918, the Pennsylvania-class armored cruiser USS San Diego (ACR-6) – formerly known as the USS California – was…
First Battle of Fallujah: America’s Hard-Learned Lesson On Urban Warfare
Located along the Euphrates is Fallujah, Iraq, a densely-populated industrial city with ties to the ancient Silk Road. In 2004, its over 250,000 residents became…
Ahmet Ali Çelikten: Why Have We Forgotten History’s First Black Aviator?
Exactly two years before World War I came to an end, Ahmet Ali Çelikten became one of the world’s first Black military aviators. Çelikten, who…
The Allies Crafted the Largest Non-Nuclear Explosion to Win the Battle of Messines
The origin of mine warfare dates back all the way to the mid-19th century, during the American Civil War. In December 1861, Confederate officer Maj.…
How the USS Yorktown’s (CV-5) Sacrifice Helped Lead the US to Victory at Midway
After suffering extensive damage in the Battle of the Coral Sea, the USS Yorktown (CV-5) limped her way back to Pearl Harbor as preparations for…
How the Soldier ‘Worth a Million Men’ Single-Handedly Saved His Comrades from a German Assault
On April 9, 1918, Aníbal Augusto Milhais and his comrades with the 2nd Infantry Division of the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps were embroiled in the intense…