Task Force Smith – America’s Entry into Korean War
Task Force Smith was composed mostly of men under 21 years of age, and before war broke out in Korea on June 25, 1950, its…
The Remarkable History of the Original Assassins
The first group of assassins to be found in the historical record is that of the Hashshashin who operated in Persia, Syria, and Turkey, eventually spreading…
Conflicting Alliances – The Liberation of Prague, 1945
During the dying days of the Second World War, German forces clung desperately to their last few territories. One of these was a swathe of…
The Stubborn 3 Year Siege of Smolensk
The Time of Troubles is one of the most difficult periods in the history of Russia. It was an era marked by a grave state…
Luftwaffe Eagle: A WWII German Airman’s Story – Review by Mark Barnes
This intriguing book is the autobiography of the Luftwaffe airman Erich Sommer who flew as a navigator on bombing missions and photo-reconnaissance flights before becoming…
The Bureaucratic Goof that Brought Down the Berlin Wall
At 6 o’clock in the evening of November 9, 1989, a befuddled low-level member of the Soviet East German Politburo gave a press conference to…
American Tanks and AFVs of World War II
I keep occasional tabs on a number of Facebook pages dedicated to military vehicles and in particular the US built armor that have become icons…
The Largest Chariot Battle Ever: Kadesh – Hittites vs. Egyptians
For most of recorded history, The Hittite Empire was thought to be more of a myth than an actual fact. This state of affairs lasted…
6 Soviet Cold War Tanks
The Soviets emerged from the Second World War with one of the best tank designs in the world. This set them up for a long…
Pizarro’s Incan Gambit: Audacity, Religion, and the Written Word
Although history is full of tales of how the European conquerors’ sharp wits and quick thinking paved the way for unlikely victories against seemingly insurmountable…
Reshuffling in the US Navy Ruffles Feathers
The United States Navy is heading for a major organizational change that could eliminate the ability of the U.S. Pacific Fleet to train, man, and…
Igniting the Mexican-American War: The Thornton/Torrejon Skirmish
During the 19th Century, the most vocal American citizens were quite proud of themselves; it only made sense to them that they should spread their…