Everyone makes mistakes … militaries included. The internet is packed with YouTube videos, news stories, and Facebook pages dedicated to bizarre military blunders. Just a few months ago, Task & Purpose even reported about a British helicopter that created a literal shit storm by blowing down a row of porta-potties. In most cases, if a…
Tag: Military History
War Documentaries Worth A Damn: “My Fighting Season”
“My Fighting Season” captures the chaos and brutality of life on the frontline of the Afghan War. Last year, actor-turned-filmmaker Ricky Schroder, released the first installment of his six-episode documentary series called “The Fighting Season,” which chronicles the U.S. military’s efforts to bring the war in Afghanistan to a close after 13 years of grueling…
Military History: 10 Amazing Military Deception Operations
Deception operations have been employed in warfare throughout history, with the earliest mentions being in works like Virgil’s Aeneid describing the Trojan Horse during the Trojan War. The Greeks invented smokescreens for use during the Peloponnesian War, and there are countless other examples of deception tactics that have both worked and failed. This list comprises…
World War II History: Faces From The Beach – 06 June 1944
My father’s generation accomplished some cool stuff, but were they really the Greatest Generation? – I hope not. I hope that Millennials and each succeeding generation of Americans far exceed the accomplishments of the last but it is hard to argue with the humble patriotism, intestinal fortitude and tenacity of the WW2 generation. On 6…
Military History: 5 Soviet “Super Weapons” That Were Disastorous
For nearly seven decades, the defense-industrial complex of the Soviet Union went toe-to-toe with the best firms that the West had to offer. In some cases, it surprised the West with cheap, innovative, effective systems. In others, it could barely manage to put together aircraft that could remain in the air, and ships that could…
Military History: World War I Vintage Photo, “Fix Bayonets!!”
French Poilu attacking in an uphill Bayonet Charge in the Argonne in 1915 Read the Original Article at Forgotten Weapons
Guerilla Warfare History: The Ties That Bind… Chairman Mao, Che Guevera and Al-Qaeda
Mao Tse-tung borrowed the revolutionary vanguard from Vladimir Lenin, Ernesto “Che” Guevara liked Mao’s ideas about sanctuaries, and Al Qaeda valued Guevara’s focoist approach to global insurgency. At first glance, the revolutionary strategies of Mao, Guevara, and the intellectuals who devised Al Qaeda’s doctrine for jihad have much in common. They integrated violence into the…
Obscure Military History: Tank Warfare in the Dominican Republic, 1965
Tanks have rarely been used in battle in the Western Hemisphere — and fights between tanks are even rarer. But the Dominican Republic in 1965 was one of the exceptions, when Constitutionalist rebels fought the armored vehicles of invading U.S. Marines in the streets of the capital city, Santo Domingo. Stranger yet, the Dominicans were using Swedish tanks….
Military History: 10 World Changing Invasions That Never Happened
Strategists say the first casualty of war is the plan. In a few cases, the plan never reached the war stage. And if these 10 invasions had happened, the world would be a dramatically different place. 1. War Plan Red: The U.S. Invasion of Canada In the post-WWI era, fresh from battlefield victory in Europe,…
Ancient Military History: The Romans Secret “Terror Weapon”
Archeologists have unearthed a set of Roman lead sling bullets which were used against the barbarian foes in Scotland. The bullets were found to make a piercing whistle noise when hurled through the air, a sound thought to have been used to strike terror in their enemies 1,800 years ago. According to an article…