Clik here to view.
Spank the Tank
In late November 1942 , twenty sappers of the 1st Parachute Squadron, Royal Engineers were picking their way across the Tunisian landscape. Overhead a bright moon bore down, and the peaceful night sky...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Giant ME
At the start of the war the Mediterranean was an Italian lake, however as the war progressed the Allied forces began to claw control back. This became an increasing problem for the German Afrika corps,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Native Knight
On the 7th of August 1942, the US Marine Corps stormed ashore in the opening of the Guadalcanal campaign. Overhead USMC planes fought with Japanese. One Japanese plane piloted by the ace Pilot Officer...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tet's Failed Propaganda
The Tet Offensive of 30th of January 1968 is an interesting example of utterly losing the battle, but in the process winning the war. The attacking Viet Cong were a group of rural peasants thrown into...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Problems Never Change
The St Nazaire raid of the Second World War is well known, what's less well known is that a very similar problem to the St Nazaire one faced the British in the final year of the First World War....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Zeebrugge raid (part two)
Last week we left the Zeebrugge raid in mid battle, as HMS Vindictive slammed into the mole and her troops got ready to charge.Part One.HMS C3, the submarine with the explosives in it was aimed...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Grind Stonne
There's a small village near Sedan in France that was the location of two days of intense combat in May 1940. The fighting was tank on tank combat. Called the "Verdun of 1940" by some, we generally...
View ArticleClik here to view.
With United Forces
If in early 1918, you had been in Venice one evening you might have seen an odd sight. A lone man swimming around in the lagoons, towing a barrel filled with water, this gentleman would only be seen at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Longest Three Hours
Part one.We left the two Italian naval officers as they lowered their modified human torpedo into the water off the port of Pola, to begin their attack. The first obstacle they encountered, at about...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cold Condor
South America has one claim to fame, which I'm sure it'd rather not have. Before the Second World War it seems to have been the source of most aircraft hijackings. The first aircraft hijacking in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Clouds of Scuds
Note: Next weeks article will be out a day early, on the Saturday, as I have to go into work on Sunday, and so won't be able to post on the normal day. Whilst hunting for a story this week a friend...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Steam Tank
 As I warned last week, this article is a day early due to me having to go to work tomorrow, and thus won't be able to post.One of the great things in this pastime is finding an answer to a riddle, and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Confession Time
Last week's article about the Steam Tank, well yes, as some of you guessed, it was an April Fools joke. I hope it caught a few of you out though. Despite me never having done one before, I won't do one...
View ArticleClik here to view.
No Certain Future
The Royal Navy carrier HMS Illustrious had started the Second World War in the Mediterranean and in November 1940 she launched the Swordfish that attacked Taranto, which had no small strategic effect...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Easter Sunday
As I write this it's Easter Sunday, and I've just got back from a morning out, and as I'm stumped as to what to write about I figured my trip would do.I went shooting. Now to some of you this might not...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Darts at Sea
I decided to do a tricky one this week, the Falklands War. Why is it so tricky? Well on one hand you have a lot of misinformation kicking around the net as some individuals seem to have a vested...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bomba Away!
Late in August 1940 a Royal Marine officer stepped through the gates of the airfield at Ma'aten Bagush in Egypt. The Royal Marine was Captain Oliver Patch, and he was a pilot with the Royal Navy Air...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Battleship Sherman
Disclaimer: the accounts from which I draw this are all a bit blurred. So this article might be wrong. The web indicates two books that hold details on the subject are 'Mailed Fist: 6th Armoured...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Terminal Reservist
As is well known one of the main problems during the Second World War was logistics, especially the securing of ports after a landing on a hostile coast. At first there was some thought of capturing a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Aachen's Call
At 1615 on the 15th of October 1944 two US combat patrols met in a muddy area of countryside. The soldiers were from the 1st and 30th Divisions, and their linking up late on that Sunday afternoon meant...
View Article