“My plans are perfect” – The Victorian Generals Disastrously Promoted Beyond Their Abilities
“Brains! I don’t believe in brains.” – Prince George, Duke of Cambridge and Commander-in-Chief of the British army until 1895. The “Peter Principle”, where people…
How Hitler And Hirohito Lead Their People Off A Cliff During A Depression
For eight years of the 20th century, the Japanese were on a Crusade. Their progress was driven by an eidolon of the Japanese as a…
Winning Isn’t Always Worth It – Pyrrhic Victories Of Military History
The term Pyrrhic victory can be used where someone technically “wins”, or achieves their objective, but the cost makes the victory almost not worth the…
American dream – Conscripted by Germany during WWII, soldier later builds life in America
War History online proudly presents this Guest Piece from Jeremy P. Ämick, who is a military historian and writes on behalf of the Silver Star Families…
The Boat That Won The War – Review by Mark Barnes
I have a good number of books from the publisher of this little gem that tell the story of the great battleships of the Dreadnought…
The Polish Pilot Credited With The First Aerial Kills Of WWII
Wladyslaw Gnyś is not a well-known name from WWII, but it should be. The brave Polish pilot was the first person to shoot down two…
The Beginning Of The End For The Teutonic Knights, Grunwald 1410
For more than two hundred years the might of the Order of Teutonic Knights had been steadily growing. It was forged in 1190, in the…
Normandy Invasion Beaches From a Different Angle
Ten years or so ago I was lucky enough to fly along the invasion beaches at 800′ in a C-47. If you ever get the…
The Element of Surprise – Totally Effective Surprise Attacks in Military History
Surprise attacks and ambushes can turn the tide of war. More often than not, the side that has the larger base of industry or manpower…
Tackling a Suicide Bomber Captain Florent Groberg Saved Lives and Was Awarded the Medal of Honor
Soldiers in war are repeatedly faced with complex decision making under stressful and ambiguous circumstances – with life and death hanging in the balance. The…
The Commanders Whose Incompetence Nearly Lost Britain the Second Boer War
“The Boers are not like the Sudanese, who stood up to a fair fight. They are always running away on their little ponies.” – General…
Influential Generals Of Military History Who Were Actually Mad
A shocking number of military leaders have suffered from mental health issues, even as they held the lives of the men they led in their…