IT WAS 3:30 p.m. last December 23, and residents of the Ivano-Frankivsk region of Western Ukraine were preparing to end their workday and head home through the cold winter streets. Inside the Prykarpattyaoblenergo control center, which distributes power to the region’s residents, operators too were nearing the end of their shift. But just as one…
Category: Warfare
How NATO Can Disrupt Russia’s New Way of War
Here are a few things the West can do against Moscow’s potent combo of special forces and electronic warfare. The Ukrainian soldiers peered over the cold dirt edge of their trench. The artillery had abated, but the whine of a nearby spotter UAV promised its imminent return. In the distance, they could see camouflaged spetsnaz…
World War Two History: Landing at Scarlet Beach
This sketch by Roy Cecil Hodgkinson depicts the situation at the south end of Scarlet Beach in New Guinea on 22nd September 1943 – half an hour after the first wave of Operation Diminish had landed. ‘Diminish’ was the name given to the initial phase of the Huon Peninsula campaign of the Second World War,…
Literary Corner: Great Interview with Tom Ricks on Writing, Reading and Military Innovation
Tom Ricks is without a doubt one of my favorite Military writers and historians. If you don’t already I seriously recommend subscribing to his Best Defense Blog on Foreign Policy.com. I also recommend his book Fiasco for a “blinders-off”, no bull look at the War in Iraq. -SF So you’ve been covering the US military…
World War I History: Verdun 100 Years Later, “The Slaughterhouse of the World”
The Battle of Verdun started 100 years ago this February, and lasted through the year, finishing in December 1916. At 7:15 a.m. on February 21, the 1,200 guns of the German Fifth Army began a bombardment to signal the beginning of the Battle of Verdun. “Every new explosion is a new attack, a new fatigue,…
Crusader Corner: How ISIS Gets it’s Bombs
Nearby farming and mining mean easy access to explosive components Islamic State builds its improvised explosive devices using components from 51 different companies in 20 countries. That’s the startling conclusion of a new report from Conflict Armament Research. “These findings support growing international awareness that [Islamic State] forces in Iraq and Syria are very…
Military History: The Most ‘Interesting’ War Tactics of All Time According to Ask Reddit
A recent Ask Reddit thread sought to explore the greatest war tactic ever performed. The history books are full of examples of unconventional and surprise military tactics. A recent Reddit thread entitled “What was the most interesting war tactic ever performed in history?” was full of unbelievable stories, so naturally, we wanted to share a…
Military History: Key Moments in Army Airborne History
In August the Army celebrated 75 years of airborne operations. Some highlights: August 1940: A test platoon from Fort Benning’s 29th Infantry Regiment executes the Army’s first airborne training jump less than 45 days after airborne was formed. The U.S. joined several world powers who had also developed the capability after World War I, including Italy, the Soviet…
Military History: 7 New War Machines America Planned to Unleash on Japan in 1946
The arsenal included larger tanks, more powerful artillery, faster fighter planes and new bombers.” AMERICA’S ANTICIPATED INVASION of Japan ultimately proved unnecessary – the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki made sure of that. Yet all throughout 1944 and 1945, Allied commanders were drawing up plans for the final assault on the enemy home islands. The campaign,…
Military History: “Removal of a Tenth”, a Bloody History of Decimation
“The practice of decimation didn’t die with the Roman Empire. Military commanders throughout history have revived the tradition from time to time as a means of punishment.” BY ALL ACCOUNTS, Luigi Cadorna was an artless and pig-headed military commander. Of all the traditions from ancient Rome field marshal Luigi Cadorna could have chosen to revive…