Category: Military History

The Fabrique Nationale Fusil Automatique Leger (Light Automatic Rifle), or FN FAL as it is more commonly known, began life in 1946 when FN and Great Britain created a piston-operated prototype rifle that utilized the German intermediate 7.92x33mm cartridge. This new round was a first attempt at a cartridge that could do the job of […]

On the eve of the United States entering World War II, the U.S. was woefully unprepared—both militarily and in the realm of intelligence. The United States did not have a professional intelligence service, but that was about to change. President Franklin D. Roosevelt recognized the need for a professional global intelligence service. He was worried […]

Continued from Part 3 General Washington’s defense of New York City was almost more of a symbolic gesture. Much like America’s covert support of Angolan forces fighting the Communists in the 1980s, General Washington wasn’t fighting to secure a strategic victory, but rather to deny the British an easy victory of key terrain in the […]

Continued from Part 2 The Battle for Manhattan Now in Manhattan, General Washington’s army was faced with a truly unwinnable situation. Previously, he had been fighting a running battle, but now the words of General Lee, the commander he dispatched to do reconnaissance for the battle of New York, must have hit him sharply. The […]

Continued from Part 1 The Battle of Long Island Combat actions commenced on August 22nd, 1776, when General Howe ordered the invasion of Long Island. Some 15,000 British and Hessian troops successfully landed on the beaches of Long Island and came ashore before quickly moving to seize the village of Flatbush (Schecter, 128). General Washington […]

The battle of New York began in August of 1776 and it was a match of maneuvers and counter-maneuvers between British and Patriot forces under the commands of Gens. George Washington and William Howe. Including the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Long Island, the conflict was actually spread across a large area that […]

Convinced that an insurrection was brewing, British Brigadier General Reginald Dyer ordered that there were to be no public gatherings in Punjab, India. However, many citizens of India didn’t hear that announcement and on April 13, 1919, a peaceful protest congregated in the Jallianwala Bagh gardens. Dyer mobilized his men and marched them to the gardens, […]

German citizens in Ahlbach were unpleasantly surprised at 4 AM one day earlier this week as they were awakened by an explosion. Police were called to inspect the crater. Fox News reports: …It “almost certainly” was a 550-pound dud. “With the former railway depot, we were quite a bomb target at the end of the […]

The 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) was formed on June 24, 1957, and is 62 years old* this week. The 1st SFG (A) is the SF group tasked with an area of operations within the Asia-Pacific theater, although many of the group’s teams have served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The United States Army Special […]

Many remember the Fulton extraction system from the James Bond movie, “Thunderball,” starring Sean Connery, but the system was actually developed by the CIA for extracting personnel in austere parts of the world. Named after its creator, Robert Fulton, the system was tested by the CIA’s Special Activities Division in the 1950s. A few years back, […]

As U.S. Special Forces recently turned 67 years old, it is interesting to take a look back at this public service announcement from the 1960s about the legendary Green Berets. Check out the video to learn more, but you may also enjoy this interview I did with Sergeant Major (Ret.) William Bowles. Sergeant Bowles passed away in […]

One of the more bizarre and successful military deception operations took place on April 30, 1943, during World War II by the British. Operation Mincemeat took place off the Spanish coast and convinced the Germans that the upcoming Allied invasion of Sicily was headed instead for Greece and Sardinia. This caused the Germans to funnel […]