INSTANT ARTICLES | War History

Mayaguez Incident: The Post-Vietnam Rescue Operation That Left Over 40 Americans Dead

US Marines boarding the SS Mayaguez

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…

Eddie Slovik: The Only US Soldier to Be Executed for Desertion Since the Civil War

Still from 'The Execution of Private Slovik' + Military portrait of Eddie Slovik

Throughout the Second World War, Allied and Axis militaries struggled with desertion. Among the American forces alone, most occurred in the European Theater – an…

The German Flammenwerfer Forever Changed Warfare – And Not for the Better

Australian soldier kneeling with a captured Wechselapparat

For centuries, militaries tried to harness the ability to command fire. There were various methods used, but the flammenwerfer models developed by the German Army…

The Owen Gun Was Favored By Australian Troops for Its Reliability In the Pacific Theater

Leon Ravet and Bernard Kentwell carrying Owen guns through the jungle

If there’s one thing Australia isn’t known for, it’s weapons development. That’s not to say some ingenious firearms haven’t come out of the country. During…

Stanley Kubrick Was the Mastermind Behind These War Movie Classics

Clare Fitzgerald
Still from 'Spartacus' + Adam Baldwin as Sgt. "Animal Mother" in 'Full Metal Jacket' + Portrait of Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick was a talented, yet controversial, Hollywood figure. Best known for directing such classics as The Shining (1980), A Clockwork Orange (1971) and 2001:…

Friedrich Paulus: The German Field Marshal On the Soviet Payroll

Friedrich Paulus standing beside another man

The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the most deadly engagements of the Second World War. It’s also where soon-to-be German Generalfeldmarschall Friedrich Paulus earned…

The Ending of the Battle of Ia Drang Was Different Than How It’s Depicted In ‘We Were Soldiers’

Mel Gibson and Sam Elliott as Lt. Col. Hal Moore and Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley in 'We Were Soldiers'

We Were Soldiers (2002) is considered by many to be one of the best Vietnam War films ever made. This praise is largely due to…

Val Kilmer Accidentally Landed Matthew Modine the Starring Role in ‘Full Metal Jacket’

Samantha Franco
Matthew Modine as Pvt. J.T. "Joker" Davis in 'Full Metal Jacket' + Val Kilmer posing on a red carpet

Full Metal Jacket (1987) was one of director Stanley Kubrick’s masterpieces. It follows a young Marine during the Vietnam War who experiences the struggles of…

British Actors Who Served In the Military

Sean Connery and Michael Caine as Maj. Gen. Roy Urquhart and Lt. Col. J.O.E. Vandeleur in 'A Bridge Too Far'

Actors are best-known for their work on-screen, with their pre-fame lives being, generally, forgotten. That being said, there are many whose pre-acting experiences influenced the…

PTRS-41: The Powerful WWII-Era Anti-Tank Gun Destroying Modern Tanks In Ukraine

Red Army soldier aiming an anti-tank gun

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…

Despite Being Prone to Crashing, the Loach Helicopter Was Favored By Pilots In Vietnam

Hughes OH-6 Cayuse parked in a field

The Hughes OH-6 Cayuse was a revolutionary rotorcraft operated during the Vietnam War. Adopted after the company behind its design deceived the US Army, the…

Jewish Man Reunites With Family Who Hid Him and His Mother During WWII

Otto Frank opening a bookcase door in front of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands

David Rossler, 83, and his mother, Haja Sura Zoltak, were kept hidden by a Belgian family during the the Second World War, a defiant act…