“The advent of the helicopter made large-scale airborne operations largely obsolete. Yet, a number of armies still conducted parachute landings in the Post War era.” AIRBORNE WARFARE REACHED its zenith in 1945 with Operation Varsity — the largest one-day combat parachute drop in military history. The massive March 24 airlift saw 16,000 British and American paratroopers along…
Category: Historical Study
World War Two History: The Worst U.S. General of World War II
I was watching Patton with George C. Scott again the other day for about the 400th time and one of the scenes I remember the most was when Fredendall got Relieved by Patton after the disaster at Kasserine Pass in 1943…Even though the Americans were under the command of the British during Kasserine, Fredendall got…
History of Domestic Terrorism: Buda’s Wagon & The Birth of the Car Bomb
He was walking near the corner of Wall and William streets — the hub of New York’s financial district — when a violent roar made him turn around. Two walls of flames “seemed to envelop the whole width of Wall Street,” exporter Elwood M. Louer said, recalling how fire shot as high as the 10th…
Cold War and Espionage Files: The Last Casualty of the Cold War
Cold War Memories: The Last Casualty In March of ’85 I had a chance to go hang out in Copenhagen for a week with some friends. Buffoonery was the only thing on the agenda and my travel partner and I were masters of it. It had been months since either of us had been…
Why Have Domestic Assassinations Disappeared?
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines ‘assassinate’ as a transient verb meaning,“to murder (a usually prominent person) by sudden or secret attack often for political reasons.” The high-water mark of the 1960’s, demonstrated the frequency of domestic assassination attempts. However, not since theattempted assassination of President Regan in 1981 have we experienced an attempt on U.S. soil (that’s…
Military History: Meet The A-10 Warthog of WW2, The German Hs-129
Bad engines and poor management doomed the German ground-attacker At first glance, you might think the Henschel Hs 129 was the perfect ground-attack airplane. Twin engines. A heavily-armored cockpit that protected the pilot from small-arms fire. The aircraft even eventually had the heaviest and most powerful forward-firing cannon ever fitted to a production military aircraft…
World War I History: Germany’s Last Act of Defiance
“The commander of the 70 impounded ships had his men destroy the vessels rather than see them awarded to the victors.” ALTHOUGH THE GUNS of the First World War fell silent on Nov. 11, 1918, it was not until the signing of the Treaty of Versailles more than seven months later that conflictofficially ended. Yet mere days before the inking of…
Military History: Leaflet Propaganda Campaign Proved Inept
The United States and its allies dropped some 2.5 billion propaganda leaflets during the Korean War. But after the 1953 armistice which halted the fighting, the Pentagon discovered that few enemy troops ever read the messages, let alone understood them. One reason was that pilots rarely dropped the leaflets in the right places. There were also too many types of…
Military History: The Russo-Japanese War Brought Rapid Fire Weapons to the World
The 1904 conflict foreshadowed bloodier events The Russo-Japanese War commenced 112 years ago this February, lasting 18 months before a U.S.-brokered truce mercifully put it to rest. The war killed upwards of 125,000 people, and sharply limited Russian influence in Northeast Asia. Japan gained control of Korea and a long-term foothold for influencing events in Manchuria and…
Brush-Up on Your History: Failed Constitutional Amendments That Would Have Changed How America Wages War
The U.S. has mulled a few constitutional amendments, including some radical ideas about the government and warfare. What if war were unconstitutional? Yes, it sounds like something John Lennon would say, but it was actually an attempted amendment to the Constitution in 1927. Alternatively, what if the U.S. was unable to supply equipment, aid, or…