The Brutal Reality of the Flamethrower and the Men Who Carried It
The flamethrower could kill in more ways besides immolation. An extremely effective way of clearing defensive positions its use as a weapon is now banned.
WW1
The 5 Worst and Most Unforgiving Battlefields in Military History
Men have fought in combat under every possible condition but the conditions listed under the five worst battlefields would give any casual reader pause.
Battle of Belleau Wood: “Retreat Hell! We Just Got Here!”
Their heroic actions in the Battle of Belleau Wood laid the foundation for the Marines to be known as one of the most feared fighting forces on the planet.
The M1911 Pistol in the Hands of Heroes | 5 Times It Kicked Ass
The M1911 served the U.S. military from 1911 to 1985. In that time, it saw action in the hands of badasses who accomplished tremendous feats.
Five battlefields to visit in 2019 if you love US military history
Everyone has their own idea of the perfect vacation. Some people like the mountains, others the beaches; some people prefer a big city, and some would rather be out in the country, far away from everyone. At first glance, a vacation to a historic battlefield might sound a little dull — if not insensitive. However, […]
Reading (and writing) about war in the information age
The way the details of war have been communicated has changed quite a bit in the last few hundred years, then again in the last hundred years, and finally again since the dawn of the internet. What was once a void of information has been filled, and sometimes oversaturated with reports, books and firsthand accounts […]
In pictures: WWI on the sea
When many think of the first World War, they think of infantrymen charging no-man’s land, trench warfare and chemical gas attacks. There were some pivotal naval battles, but they aren’t discussed as often as some of the naval battles from WWII. For example, the Battle of Jutland was a significant naval engagement involving 250 ships. […]
Peter Conover Hains: The only known veteran of the Civil War and WWI
It is a notable thing to survive a major war. Veterans of these wars held in the highest esteem among other veterans — they have experienced things most could not imagine. Every once in a while, you will hear of veterans who served in two major conflicts. For example, due to their relatively close proximity […]
Anzac Day: Remembering Gallipoli
April 25, 1915 — Allied forces in WWI land on six beaches on the Gallipoli peninsula of the Ottoman Empire, including troops from France, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. There, Turkish forces lay in wait and set up a fierce resistance to the landing parties. The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) were located […]
Chlorine gas: A weapon of WWI
Chemical weapons have dominated the headlines recently — two Russians were exposed to the Novichok nerve agent in the UK, sparking an international incident; the airstrikes in Syria were spawned from reports of a chemical attack on civilians. In Douma, Syria, the specifics aren’t exactly known about the agents used, but most sources say it […]
Early March in WWI: Influenza begins to rip through troops worldwide
When people think of the loss of life in a war, they generally think of soldiers sustaining traumatic injuries. However, conditions on the battlefield are anything but healthy, and disease has often inflicted serious casualties on forces that scramble through months of jungle mountains, or scrape through muddy trenches for weeks on end, and sometimes […]
On this day in history: The first shot in the battle of Verdun is fired
21 February, 1916 — German and French armies go head to head, starting in the early morning. Lead erupted from the barrel of a Langer Max siege and coastal-defense weapon, firing 15 inch (38 cm) rounds into French positions. The first building to take a hit would be a French cathedral, and the firing of […]
