MSN | War History

How the American Civil War helped shape the modern candy industry

Necco wafers and a group of airmen by an aircraft.

The American Civil War brought about the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and was one of the first indicators of what modern advances…

Louis Curdes was One of the Only Pilots to Shoot Down German, Japanese and Italian Planes During WWII

Captain Curdes Flying Ace

An American pilot from Indiana, Louis Curdes was not only a fighter ace but one of the few pilots with the rare distinction of shooting…

The Soviets Launched an Assault on the German Army so an Orchestra could Perform

Leningrad Orchestra

During one of the Soviet Union’s worst points of WWII, the Siege of Leningrad, people were reduced to the lowest of lows to survive. The…

Where Did The Term ‘G.I.’ Come From For US Troops?

Where did we get the GI name for American Soldiers

Depending on who you ask, the meaning of “G.I.” can vary. From government issue to general issue, no one can seem to agree on one…

Sillamae was Removed from Soviet Maps during the Cold War and now it’s a Popular Tourist Destination

Sillamae

A town in Estonia was removed from all Soviet maps during the Cold War but is now a popular resort destination on the Baltic coast.…

PT Boats Were Feared During WWII And Their One-Man Turrets Were Particularly Deadly

PT Boat Turret Operator

During WWII the US realized their PT boats had more potential than just simple torpedo dispensers. These rapid machines proved deadly as highly mobile machine…

The CIA Lost Nine Cores of Plutonium in the Himalayas

CIA

Of all the things you don’t want to lose, radioactive plutonium cores are near the top of the list. But this is exactly what the…

The USS Enterprise’s ‘Bad Luck’ Saved It From Pearl Harbor And Turned It Into A ‘Ghost’

The USS Enterprise in 1941

On December 7 1941 Japan carried out a vicious attack on the United States’ major naval base at Pearl Harbor. The attack was a preemptive…

The Movie ‘The Day After’ Put Ronald Reagan In Damage Control Over Nuclear Weapons

The 1983 television movie The Day After depicts a dark scenario where tensions between the US and the Soviet Union escalate to the point of…

Here’s how the Most Successful Submarine in US Navy History Accidentally Sunk Itself

USS Tang Colorized

The USS Tang is the US’ most successful submarine, sinking over 100,000 tons of enemy shipping over five combat patrols during WWII. Her experienced and…

The Bat Bomb Proves The US Military Will Try Anything Once

Of all the weird experimental weapons conceived and tested during WWII, bat bombs were one of the strangest. The project attempted to attach small bombs…

Robert Smalls: The Slave Who Stole A Warship, Escaped The Confederates, And Became A U.S. Congressman

The life of Robert Smalls is an epic underdog story of an illiterate slave from South Carolina who managed to free himself by escaping from…