Veterans at Risk of Deportation despite Serving their Country
When Manuel Jesus Valenzuela was eighteen, he knew he wanted to serve his country, so he enlisted in the US Marines. In 1971, many young…
The Man Who Saved Paris: Roger West’s Ride 1914 – Review by Mark Barnes
The first months of the Great War are hardly ignored by historians, but the period is wholly overshadowed by the years of trench warfare that…
VC: Despite Being Shot And With His Plane On Fire, This Pilot Refused To Bail Out Without Taking Down A German Fighter
On a bright sunny morning in August 1940, No. 249 Squadron, Royal Air Force, was patrolling near Southampton, in southern England. There was hardly any…
These Germans Stationed Near The North Pole Were The Last To Surrender, In September 1945
Operation Zitronella took place on 8th September 1943. Though the name might conjure up images of a campaign fought across the hot Mediterranean shores, nothing could be…
The Longbow: Its Rise and Dominance – It Totally Changed Medieval Warfare
The growing effectiveness of metal armor created a challenge for medieval soldiers. While the elite of knights and men-at-arms were now well protected, the majority…
SOE Group Created Convincing Forgeries in WWII
During WWII Britain set up a team of forgers in an Essex country house. That team cranked out perfect counterfeit identification documents for spies in…
How An Explosion In Northern New Jersey Put 62,000 People Onto The Front Lines Of WW1
By October 1918, the 1st World War was winding down. It was clear to most observers that the Western Allies would be victorious. Life in…
Heinze And Reinhard Heydrich – A Tale Of Two Brothers Who Went Different Ways In WW2
In 1918 two teenage brothers posed for a photograph. The older brother has his arm protectively around the younger one. They are Heinze and Reinhard…
The German Officer Who Sacrificed His Life In A Minefield To Save An American Soldier
October 7, 1994, saw a strange sight over the Hürtgen War Cemetery in Hürtgen, Germany. The cemetery is the final home of 3001 bodies –…
The Death Match – Legendary Game of Death of Kiev vs Germany
Let’s dive into the past when playing football could’ve got you killed. In 1942, in occupied Ukraine, a football match was organized by the Nazi…
A Selection Of Armor Related Books To Consider – Review by Mark Barnes
Every so often I am presented with books I can enthuse about but not to any great length and my masters in the WHO version…
Seven Types of Medieval Armor – From Quilted Cloth to Full Steel Plate
More than any other artifact of war, armor dominates visual images of medieval Europe. From the chainmail carefully stitched onto each warrior in the Bayeux…