MSN Slideshow | War History

Tensions Between American and Australian Troops Led to the Battle of Brisbane

US soldiers marching through King George Square

During World War II, the American forces had their hands full with fighting the Germans in Europe and the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific.…

Phil Bucklew: The Father of US Naval Special Warfare

Navy SEALS training + Portrait of Phil Bucklew

Following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, individuals from all kinds of professions enlisted in the US military, including musicians, movie stars and athletes. Phil…

Special Operations Were Changed Forever After a Disastrous 1980 Hostage Rescue Mission

An American hostage is taken in Tehran, Iran in 1979

Today, America’s most serious and sensitive missions are carried out by special operations. The Navy’s Seal Team 6 famously led the raid which resulted in…

Friedrich von Steuben: The Openly Gay War Hero Who Whipped the Continental Army Into Shape

Portrait of Friedrich von Steuben

Throughout American history, homosexual soldiers have been discriminated against in the military. It was only in 2011 that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was…

Colditz Castle Was Turned Into a Prisoner of War Camp During the Second World War

Colditz Castle

Colditz Castle, located in the Saxony town of the same name, has a long history. Dating back to the Holy Roman Empire, it has been…

Classic Hollywood Actors Who Served During World War I

Humphrey Bogart dressed in his US Navy uniform + Military portrait of Spencer Tracy

While it was still a relatively new phenomenon, Hollywood studios were cranking out film after film during the 1920s and ’30s. As a result, many…

The Spencer Repeating Rifle Saved ‘A Thousand Lives’ During the Battle of Hoover’s Gap

Spencer Repeating Rifle + John T. Wilder

When the Spencer Repeating Rifle was first recommended to the US Department of War, it was turned away due to the notion it would be…

The Manhattan Project Resulted in the Creation of Another Bomb: Thin Man

Todd Neikirk
An atomic bomb explodes during the Trinity test in 1945

To hasten the end of the Second World War, the United States dropped atomic bombs on two Japanese cities; Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Warfare was changed…

Turning Personal Experiences Into Song: Six Musicians Who Served in the US Military

Tony Bennett + Elvis Presley

The very best songwriters in the world call on their life experiences to help inform their music – and serving in the US military is…

The History of Snake Island: From WWI to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Ukrainian flag flying on Snake Island

One of the most contentious places in Eastern Europe is Snake Island. Located 30 miles off the southern coast of Ukraine in the Black Sea,…

Operation Lam Son 719 Obliterated America’s Helicopter Force in Vietnam

Soldiers jumping off a helicopter

American warfare in the 20th century featured big technological advances during each respective conflict. The Vietnam War, for example, featured thousands of helicopters, which were…

The Success of George H. Thomas’ Union Soldiers During the American Civil War

Military portrait of George H. Thomas

The two most famous Union generals of the American Civil War are William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant. One other name that should be…