Military History Monthly Routinely publishes a “Book Guide” of recently released or soon-to-be released Historical Non-Fiction and Fiction Titles; here is their latest for all you hopeless book worms like me…. KITCHENER’S MOB: THE NEW ARMY TO THE SOMME Peter Doyle and Chris Foster Kitchener’s Mob tells the story of the raising of Kitchener’s Army, from the earliest days…
Category: Military History
U.S Naval Military History: The First Submarine Ever Built
The Connecticut River Museum in Essex holds a fully-functional replica of the “Turtle,” the first American submarine ever built. Little-known fact: the first submarine and underwater time bomb were created during the American Revolution–before electricity, and before Jules Verne. It was 100% human-operated (no engines just hand cranks and foot pedals) and used phosphorescent moss as…
War Books Worth a Damn: Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk
Although I obviously have not seen the movie yet, I can vouch for this book as being one of the best stories I have ever read of a soldier trying to make sense of life after War. You should definitely put this one on your reading list and make plans to see the movie, as…
World War Two History: The Amazing Story of Wojtek, The Polish Soldier Bear
After being released from a Siberian labor camp during the Nazi invasion of Russia in 1942, the 22nd Polish Supply Brigade began a long trek south toward Persia. Along the way, they bought an orphaned bear. In the spring of 1942 following the release of Polish prisoners and deportees in the labour camps in Siberia,…
Military Naval History: The Last Battle of CPO 1st Class George Palmer Saunders
Offshore where sea and skyline blend In rain, the daylight dies; The sullen, shouldering swells attend Night and our sacrifice — The Destroyers, by Rudyard Kipling In 1988 I was invited to give a lecture on AIDS and surgery in the city of Örebro, Sweden. I knew that my grandfather, Chief Petty Officer 1st…
World War Two History: The Nazi’s Plan To Grab Gibraltar
“Even before France had fallen, Hitler’s generals lobbied the German leader for permission to roll on into Spain and wrest control of Gibraltar from the British.” SHORTLY AFTER THE defeat of France in 1940, Adolf Hitler directed his generals to begin preparations for Nazi Germany’s next bold plan — the seizure of Gibraltar. Few in…
Military Weapons From The Past: The Thompson SMG T2
Introducing the “Cheap and Ugly as Hell” Version of one of the Baddest Ass SMG’s in History The U.S. Army had initially been uninterested in submachine guns, and it was only in the late 1930s that the Ordnance Department placed Auto-Ordnance’s Thompson SMG on its “limited procurement list.” In September 1938, officials green-lit procurement of…
World War II History: The Hunt for Poland’s Buried Nazi Gold Trains
Last summer, explorers in Poland claimed to have discovered tunnels built for trains carrying plundered Nazi gold, only to be debunked a few months later. But for the true believers who’ve been hunting for this treasure for decades, this merely proved what they’ve thought all along: Inside these mountains are secrets and stories that some…
World War I History: The Battles That Remade Europe
From the Balkans to Britain, these battles 100 years ago transformed a continent The centenary commemorations of World War I will undoubtedly concentrate on a trio of well-known battles; Verdun, the Somme and Jutland. All three ended inconclusively, and all witnessed tremendous bloodshed. Verdun and the Somme etched themselves into the national consciousness of France…
Military History: 10 Shameful Civil Wars
Since 2011, one topic has consistently dominated headlines in the news: The war in Syria has now been going for over half a decade and is widely recognized as one of the most shameful and bloody civil conflicts in recent history. Yet, as horrible as it is, Syria is not unique. Since humans first devised…