MSN | War History

Persian Immortals: The Elite Army Of The Achaemenid Empire

Colorful brick artwork of five Persian Immortals

The Achaemenid Empire, also known as the First Persian Empire, was founded by Cyrus II in 550 B.C. It controlled a large swath of western…

Impressive Facts About The ‘Losers’ Of The Space Race

Yuri Gagarin, Russian cosmonaut, 1961.

The Space Race was a battle between the U.S. and Soviet Union that was fought with brains, science, and technology in the cold expanse of…

This Unstoppable Tank Fought Without Interruption From D-Day To VE Day

Picture of Bomb, a Canadian Army Sherman Tank. It is preserved in Sherbrooke, QC. Seen here in april 2015.

Not many tanks from the 1940s were known for exceptional reliability, especially heavy tanks like the German Tiger and King Tigers. However, if there was…

General Eisenhower Once Lost A Bet To Montgomery And Had To Pony Up A B-17

War is not normally a time for playing games and making bets, but that’s exactly what happened in 1943 between General Dwight D. Eisenhower and…

MoH Recipient Singlehandedly Destroyed A Tiger Tank And Captured 17 Germans

Van T. Barfoot was a true war hero, whose exploits saved many of his comrades’ lives and even those of the enemies he captured. He…

A Look Back At The Army’s Portable Reactors — Is It Time To Try Again?

In 1954 the U.S. Army initiated the Army Nuclear Power Program, which sought to research and design relatively small portable nuclear reactors that would provide…

Cold War Fun: A 1950s Science Kit That Contained Real Uranium

Gilbert u-238 atomic energy lab

When the U.S. successfully harnessed the virtually limitless power of the atom with the Trinity atomic bomb test in 1945, it seemed that there wasn’t…

Green Beret Awarded Soldier’s Medal After Saving Drowning Woman

Clare Fitzgerald
Maj. Gen. Brennan pinning the Soldier's Medal to Staff Sgt. Tyrrel's chest

Staff Sergeant Ian Tyrrel of the 5th Special Forces Group’s B Company, 1st Battalion (Airborne) was recently awarded the Soldier’s Medal at Fort Campbell in…

Britain’s New Normandy Memorial Pays Tribute To Fallen Troops

Aerial view of Britain's Normandy Memorial in France

The Normandy invasion was the largest naval operation in history. Involving thousands of Allied soldiers, it was the beginning of the end for the German…

When The Air Force Needed A Supercomputer, They Built It Out Of PS3 Consoles

The Condor Cluster, a PS3 supercomputer

In late 2010, the U.S. Air Force built their own supercomputer that would drastically reduce the time needed for pattern recognition, image analysis, and artificial…

Messerschmitt Built Tiny, Ridiculous Cars When Planes Weren’t An Option

Messerschmitt was Germany’s leading aircraft manufacturer during WWII, producing a number of excellent and well-known aircraft like the Bf 110 and the Bf 109, the…

Gamer Leaked Classified Information To Prove Developer Got Tank Wrong

Clare Fitzgerald
Soldier on top of a Challenger 2 tank in the desert

Military game enthusiasts place a lot of stock in the authenticity of their online play, especially when it features real-life events and equipment. That was…