Tolkien’s War: Mordor Was Born in WW1
After getting married in 1916, Tolkien was then sent to the Western front in France a few months later, just in time for the Battle…
Hail Mary: NFL Players and Coaches Sacrificed During WWII
In 1992 the movie A League of Their Own about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League opened in theaters around the United States. The film…
The Only VC Recipient of Battle of Britain His Plane in Flames Continued to Chase The Bf 110
His first experience of battle in the skies almost turned out to be his last. Britain’s Royal Air Force Fighter Command (the RAF Fighter Command),…
Gas Gas Gas! Its First Ever Use – Ypres 1915
On April 22, 1915, the Germans released 6,000 canisters – around 168 tons – of chlorine gas. Of all the weapons developed and deployed by…
Filtering War: Kleenex Fights the Horrors of Gas Warfare
Early British Hypo helmets offered limited but vital protection once the mask was dipped in chemicals to filter the gas. Kleenex is one of those…
Centurions and Cohorts: X Facts about the Roman Army
Ancient Rome was one of the greatest civilizations in history. From its birth in the 8th Century BC, it grew from a small settlement on…
Yes But Did British Spies REALLY use Semen as Invisible Ink?
It was said that the agents even gave the project the motto of “Every man his own stylo.” The art of spying includes trying to…
A Slippery Road: Mussolini’s Disastrous Invasion of Greece
Mussolini remained confident that the Greek army was “already exhausted or in the process of being exhausted.” The Italian invasion of Greece beginning on October…
Heroes of America: The Civil War Within the Confederacy
He was an enthusiastic supporter of Reconstruction, and made numerous efforts to suppress the Ku Klux Klan. The American Civil War was a titanic struggle…
Spy Once, Live Twice – A Legendary Double-Agent Faked His Death For 36 Years
He served in a Spanish Republican cavalry unit – an experience he couldn’t wait to get past. Juan Pujol Garcia’s remarkable life story reads like…
Web of Intrigue: How a Spider Helped With Scottish Independence
It is here, the tales tell us, that Robert came into contact with a spider, and the future of Scotland was shaped. Robert I, commonly…
Hell From Above : The Messerschmitt Bf 110 Night Fighter
Its only drawback was that early night fighter versions were barely faster than the bombers they were trying to intercept. In the mid-1930s, there was…