However much combat troops dominated the news during the Vietnam War, the grunts knew they owed much to the vast armada of support troops who backed them up. The battlefield heroism performed in the rainforests and the highlands would have been impossible without the weapons and ammunition to fight, or the food to sustain those … Lire la suite

Recreational divers aren’t allowed to explore the Japanese submarine I-124, resting on the seafloor 150 feet below the Indian Ocean’s surface in waters northwest of Darwin, Australia. Designated a war grave, the wreck is off-limits. Recommended for you Now maritime enthusiasts, history buffs, and the just plain curious can get a good look anyway — … Lire la suite

The Il-2 Sturmovik was designed to support Soviet ground forces and packed a solid punch. A big, broad wing gave the airplane the lift it needed to carry enough rockets and bombs to hunt German panzers across the broad plains around Kursk in July and August 1943. The ground-attack plane’s heavy armor and solid construction helped … Lire la suite

If it hadn’t been for guns and ammunition purchased through clandestine channels in Europe and the West Indies, the American Revolution would have failed. As early as October 1774, in reaction to the Boston Tea Party, Britain banned the importation of weapons to the American colonies. A brisk contraband trade immediately sprang up, centered on … Lire la suite

Workers at a chip factory in Auckland, New Zealand, had to call in reinforcements when what they thought was a “muddy potato” turned out to be a World War II-era grenade. Upon discovering the grenade, the East Tamaki Mr. Chips factory, which produces french fries, called in the local bomb squad, the New Zealand Herald reported. … Lire la suite

1883, Paramount Network, 10 episodes, 60 minutes each While fans of the modern ranching drama Yellowstone eagerly anticipate a fifth season for the popular Paramount Network series, which revolves around fictional Montana cattle rancher John Dutton (played by Kevin Costner) and family, they don’t have to limit themselves to reruns. This prequel series, from Yellowstone … Lire la suite

Close to enemy sanctuaries north of the Demilitarized Zone and in neighboring Laos, Quang Tri province was a constant battleground. North Vietnam’s Communist Party Politburo members called it the “blazing front.” Today the old citadel fortress in Quang Tri city, the capital of South Vietnam’s northernmost province, is a memorial park dedicated to the North … Lire la suite

by Arthur La Vove, Schiffer, 2021, $24.99. Many firsthand accounts have been written by pilots who flew during World War II. Hump Drivers, however, stands out by having been written by a pilot who was also a journalist. Born in 1909, Arthur La Vove was an experienced airline pilot well before WWII began. He had … Lire la suite

THROUGHOUT NAZI GERMANY, the exploits of U-boat commanders and their crewmen were glorified during the early years of the Battle of the Atlantic. U-boatmen were hailed as heroes; U-boat commanders became legendary figures draped with Iron Crosses. And the successes of this “Happy Time”—as the Germans called the period from January to July 1942, when … Lire la suite

Fox Conner (1874–1951) was among the most influential American generals of World War II, despite having retired from active duty in 1938, three years before the United States entered the war. One of the Army’s most senior officers during World War I and the interwar years, Conner mentored several leading generals of World War II. … Lire la suite