MSN | War History

The Sherman Tank – Beast or Bust?

View of a pair of M4 Sherman tanks as they manouver through smoke during a training exercise, July 1942.

The Sherman tank is one of the most well-known tanks involved in WWII, alongside the German Tiger and Soviet T-34. In the decades after the…

Konstanz: The German City That Tricked the Allies Into Thinking It Was Part of Switzerland

View of Konstanz from the water + Rubble strewn across a city

Air raids were a common occurrence during World War II. Cities across Europe were subjected to nighttime bombings aimed at throwing their military forces off…

The Only MoH Awarded For Actions During The Battle Of Midway

The Battle of Midway is regarded as one of the finest and most influential naval victories in history. The battle took place in June 1942…

Cordelia Cook Was The First Woman To Earn Both A Bronze Star And A Purple Heart

Cordelia E. Cook was a woman who was in the U.S. Army at a time when women could not serve in frontline duties and were…

The Douglas A-20 Havoc — One Of The US’ Most Versatile Medium Bombers

Converted A-20G and operated by 46th Bombardment Group from 8th April 1944 to August 1945.

During WWII, every aircraft in America’s roster of medium bombers was excellent. These were the B-26 Marauder, the B-25 Mitchell, and the A-20 Havoc. The…

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…