Japanese Model 89 Knee Mortar For more than a century, American troops have given a wide variety of nicknames to their own weapons, and also those of their enemies. During World War II, American troops in the Pacific Theatre created a nickname for a highly effective Japanese weapon that was a bit misleading. The…
Category: World War II History
Anti-Tank 101: How Cumulative Projectiles Work
How Cumulative Projectiles Work Cumulative or HEAT warheads are the staple of infantry (man-portable) anti-tank weapons and are also used by artillery and various unarmoured and armoured vehicles for the purposes of anti-tank combat. Their main advantage over other types of anti-tank projectiles is that their effectiveness does not depend on the projectile’s velocity. As…
The Marine Corps Iwo Jima Stinger
The Marine Corps Iwo Jima Stinger Good God, do I love the United States Marine Corps. Not just because I served in the Marine Corps and because the cult brainwashing runs deep, but because of the Marine Corps attitude of improvising, overcoming, and adapting. Until recently, the Marine Corps has been famously known for…
Military History 101: How Siege Warfare Returned
How Siege Warfare Returned The history of war is never far removed from battles for cities. Many of us, of whatever creed, were brought up on the story of the walls of Jericho tumbling after the Israelites marched around the stronghold once a day for six days, seven times on the seventh day, and…
The Bad Ass Files: Lieutenant Colonel Ronald “Sparky” Spiers
Badass paratrooper or war criminal? It’s no secret this blog is a big fan of Ronald Spiers of Band of Brothers fame. I did a couple of pieces on him including When Men Were Men and All War Depends Upon It. This article is one of the most in-depth I have come across on…
Know Your WW2 History: William Slim – A Soldier’s General
Via: Fix Bayonets Here is, perhaps, World War II’s greatest general, and hardly anyone today knows his name. Field Marshal William Slim is best known for commanding Fourteenth Army in Burma during the Second World War (1939-45). In taking command, he inherited a disastrous situation in which, with practical skill and quiet charisma,…
Know Your WW2 Pacific War History: The Battle of Peleliu – A Meat Grinder of the Pacific War
Battle of Peleliu – Revisting a Meat Grinder of the Pacific War This is a long but worthwhile read. The author, Capt. Dale Dye, USMC, Ret. is an astute Marine Corp and Military Historian. He was the military advisor on several series and movies such as Band of Brothers, The Pacific and Platoon. I…
Know Your Military History: Jump Boots – the Airborne Trademark
Jump Boots – the Airborne Trademark {If you are a fan of WW2 Military History, Pacific Paratrooper is one of the BEST Blogs around! Subscribe Today!} Distinctive as Airborne itself, so are the dark, glistening jump boots of a paratrooper. Troopers glory in their significance and only they know the secret pride when they…
Know Your WW2 History: Kursk – The Battle that Changed Everything
Kursk: The Battle that Changed Everything It is 75 years since the Battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in history. More than 3,000,000 men and 8,000 tanks met, 400 miles south of Moscow. Yet today, once again, German tanks are facing Russian tanks, just a few hundred miles from the site of that…
Fast and Furious: The Philosophy and Mechanics of the Blitzkrieg Tactic
Fast and Furious: The Philosophy and Mechanics of the Blitzkrieg Tactic It’s the dawn of World War II, and the old ways of fighting aren’t cutting it anymore. Soldiers huddled in trenches, days turning into weeks with little progress—it’s a stalemate that no one wants to repeat. Enter the Blitzkrieg tactic, a plan that’s…