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

The experiences of U.S. infantrymen in Vietnam are told in many ways: through personal memoirs, media accounts, oral histories— and the government’s own reports. Historian Chris McNab mined those reports to produce The U.S. Army Infantryman Vietnam Pocket Manual, which reprints declassified primary documents such as field manuals, weapons manuals, intelligence analyses and after-action reports, … Lire la suite

‘OOPS’ WAR[Re. “The ‘Oops’ War,” by Daniel McEwen, March 2022] The article certainly does not downplay the enormous cost of World War I, but the title struck a nerve with me. From what I’ve read, the interlocking set of alliances German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck had set up made the war inevitable once the assassination … Lire la suite

One young woman, inspired by her father’s service in World War II, joined the Army to be a nurse. Another young man, motivated by stories of history and the Army’s place in it while in grade school set his sights on a career in the military. Both wound up in the Vietnam War and decades later shared their stories … Lire la suite

by Dmitry Degtev and Dmitry Zubov, Pen & Sword, 2021, $34.95. Innumerable books have been written about the 1940 Battle of Britain. Almost nothing has been published in the West concerning the equally pivotal World War II aerial campaign waged over Moscow between Germany and the Soviet Union during 1941 and early 1942.  Although the … Lire la suite