BIG FIGURES: The 1945 Fall of Germany – 1,696 Transport Planes & 1,348 Gliders – 1,147 Fighter Planes
1,696 Transport Planes and 1,348 Gliders They were the aircraft used to transport American and British paratroopers in Operation Varsity on March 24, 1945. Combined…
8 Heavy Machine-guns of WWI
The heavy machine-gun was the defining weapon of WWI. It’s devastating firepower wiped out entire units of infantry in moments, halting the offensives that the…
Famous Firearms from History
The Dreyse Needle Gun The great needle gun was the first bolt-action breech-loading rifle in history. It gave the Prussian army a huge advantage during…
The History and Development of Fighter Plane Weapons
In the space of just over a century, fighter planes developed from being non-existent to being a vital part of warfare. Along the way, their…
An Age Of Brutal Conflicts – The Vikings and The Franks
Two great military forces dominated Europe in the 9th century. On the mainland was the Frankish Empire, a kingdom covering modern France and much of…
Bad Leadership, Old Tactics, & Modern Hardware Cause Carnage on the Eastern Front in WWI
The Brusilov offensive was Russia’s greatest military triumph of World War One, but also the scene of one of that nation’s most misguided and disastrous…
Military Innovations From WW1 Which Changed the Face Of War Forever
The First World War saw incredible technological leaps forward. Though the fighting on the Western Front ground down into a terrible, soul-destroying mess, leaps forward…
Fighting For Favor, Fighting For Fame – Recruiting Armies In The Unforgiving World Of Medieval England
Recruiting an army could be a difficult business in the Middle Ages. Most people’s lives consisted of farming small patches of land. When people didn’t…
Blood and Discipline: What it Was Like to Fight in a Roman Battle
It’s the first century AD and the Roman army is at the height of its power and professionalism. You’re part of that army – a…
4 Civilian Jobs Done by Roman Legionaries
Though it originally began purely as a war machine, the Roman army evolved to fill other roles. This was an inevitable outcome of the growth…
Things We Didn’t Know About Hadrian’s Wall
Though long since reduced to ruins, the line of Hadrian’s Wall is still visible through the countryside of northern England, from Bowness on the west…
A Bridge Too Far: The Battle for Arnhem – At A Glance
Operation Market Garden was one of the boldest moves by Allied forces in WWII. The ambition shown in the plan proved greater than the Allied…