Fighting Joe Hooker at the Battle of Fredericksburg: The Frustrated Commander
Few American Civil War commanders were as contentious, either in war or its aftermath, as Fighting Joe Hooker. After months of grumbling at the failures…
General Hyazinth von Strachwitz, The Panzer Count
General Hyazinth von Strachwitz, known as the Panzer Count, earned a reputation for boldness as a cavalry officer in WWI. Then, during WWII he obtained…
The Surface Raiding Ships of World War One
Plunging through the ocean waves with guns at the ready, the surface raiders were a motley assortment of ships. Assembled to intercept enemy supplies during…
From The Tank Museum: Joe Ekins – One of the Most Famous WWII British Tank Gunners
Joe Ekins remains one of the most famous WWII British tank gunners for taking down three Tiger tanks with five shots, including that of Nazi…
The MG42: the Most Important Machine-Gun of WWII
Machine-guns were essential during WWII. Not until the final year was anything approaching a modern assault rifle seen on the battlefields. As a result, specialist…
The Race to the Sea On Western Front In The First World War
The Western Front of WWI was fought mainly from defensive positions. They were not pre-built fortresses or border defenses. The boundary between the two sides…
This Gigantic Submarine Factory Couldn’t Even Be Destroyed By The 22,000 lb Grand Slam Bomb
Erich Friedrich Michael Lackner is considered to be one of the most influential engineers of the last century. He developed a revolutionary type of concrete…
French And British Tanks Changed The Face Of Warfare In WWI, But Germany Did Not Realise Their Value Until The End Of The War
During WWI, military designers created the first tanks which changed the face of warfare. Not every nation, however, embraced them with the same level of…
Big Guns – The Devastating Field Artillery Of WW1
Artillery was one of the most significant elements in WWI. The shattering bombardments that preceded infantry assaults led men to dig deeper and deeper into…
A Kiwi Victory: Minesweepers Moa & Kiwi sink a Japanese Sub By Repeatedly Ramming It
During WWII the Japanese Navy changed its communication codes on a regular basis, this was a mammoth task as new codebooks had to be transferred…
VC: A Gurkha Calmly Stood Up In Open Sight & Killed A Sniper Pinning Down His Company Before Going On To Clear 5 Enemy Bunkers, Single-Handedly, All Whilst Under Heavy Fire
Bhanbhagta Gurung was awarded the Victoria Cross or VC, Britain’s highest military award although he had been demoted due to the incompetence of a senior…
Hitler’s Fortified Siegfried Line Was Massive And Included 22,000 Bunkers And Pillboxes
During the build-up to WWII, the German government commissioned a line of defenses all along its border with France. The enormous undertaking seemed a waste…