General James “Jumpin Jim” Gavin – WWII Airborne Division
James Maurice “Jumpin’ Jim” Gavin was the youngest lieutenant-general in the US Army ever, and the only general to make four combat airborne jumps in…
The Early Days Of Drones – Unmanned Aircraft From World War One And World War Two
Unmanned aerial vehicles, popularly known as drones, are most often associated with airstrikes in modern warfare, but their history goes much further back than that.…
The Last Of The Defeated Germans To Surrender In World War Two
Germany finally capitulated on May 8th, 1945, leaving Europe in ruins, but at peace once again. First, Alfred Jodl prepared the ground by signing the…
Action T4 – Nazi ‘Euthanasia’ Programme That Murdered The Disabled and The Mentally Ill
In October 1939, Adolf Hitler signed a decree that enabled Nazi Germany to forcefully euthanize patients who they deemed were “unworthy of life”. After the…
A Doctor Created A Fake Typhus Epidemic and Saved 8,000 Jews During WWII
At the outbreak of WWII, a young Polish doctor was finishing his medical studies and looking forward to using his skills for the well-being of…
When a Chinese Submarine Appeared In The Middle Of A Carrier Battle Group
On 11th November 2006, the Commander of the US Navy’s Pacific Fleet at the time, Gary Roughead, made a historic visit to China in a…
Ed “Good Entertainer, but a Great Marine” McMahon Flew 85 Combat Missions in Korea
“Here’s Johnny!” That’s a quote probably best remembered from the Stanley Kubrick’s classic, The Shining, pronounced by Jack Nicolson’s character gone mad. But the phrase…
Saddam’s Secret Super Gun – Project Babylon
Project Babylon was an Iraqi code name for the construction of a supergun, commissioned by Sadam Hussein in 1988. The engineer in charge of the…
The Japanese Diplomat Who Saved Thousands of Jews During WWII
Chiune Sugihara, better known as Sempo, was a Japanese diplomat who came to prominence during WWII. Sugihara was responsible for saving the lives of thousands…
When The Allies Attacked Oran And Were Annihilated By Vichy French Soldiers
After the fall of France during WWII, a puppet regime was established, with its administrative center in the town of Vichy, declaring itself The Vichy…
The Long Shadow Of Hitler’s Reich – Surviving Buildings From The Nazi Era
The Nazi government under Adolf Hitler saw architecture as a means of imposing fear and respect. Hitler, like many Germans, had an admiration of the…
The Schneider CA1 Was The First Operational Tank Ever – A First In Military History
The beginning of armored weaponry dates back to the days of the First World War when a stalemate occurred on the Western Front due to…