history
The history of warfare; stories of combat and conflict across land, seas and skies, from ancient times to the present.
Alsace: Episode Two
A German World War two pilot sprints across a field headed towards a low stone French farm house. It’s evening and the sun has set under the horizon but still casts a blue and purple light, which disperses through the thick blanket of grey overcast sky and illuminates the world with an even cool glow. The pilot is muddied and his uniform is ripped and hanging in multiple places. Small twigs and leaves from the tree that his parachute caught in are wedged in his belt and boots. The tails of his jacket are blackened from the smoke of his burning plane that crashed below him. He’s unhurt but exhausted and bruised from cutting himself out of the tree, immediately in need of rest and soon to be in need of food and shelter—somewhere safe that he can regroup. He slows to a jog as he passes the low stone wall that makes the tiny courtyard in front of the one story home he spotted from the forest.
By Jimmy O’Brian7 years ago in Serve
Should the US Remove Confederate Memorials?
Should the US take down Confederate Memorials or not? It was once said that those who forget or try to eradicate history, will end up repeating it. History has always had a light and dark side to it. As Newton stated, “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” It is by looking back upon both sides of history that one succeeds. By taking down Confederate memorials and/or monuments, the US is trying to erase history, and by doing so, will most likely repeat it again.
By Flying Ace7 years ago in Serve
10 Wild Things People Ate During World War II
After Pearl Harbor was bombed, American soldiers found themselves fighting one of the bloodiest wars in human history. Their harrowing stories are the subject of hundreds of military history books every veteran should read, and more than a few fair shares of World War II memoirs.
By Iggy Paulsen7 years ago in Serve
10 Surprising Facts About Life in the British Military
The British military is one of the oldest organized group of soldiers out there. They have fought in countless wars and protected their nation valiantly against any harm or threat. Most of these soldiers are known for being stoic and fierce, but life in the British military wasn’t always as easy as it might be considered today. There are crazy historical facts about what the military used to have to do that will surprise nearly anyone, but maybe none more so than those who live in the United Kingdom.
By Bill Shaffir7 years ago in Serve
The History of the Rebel Yell
I don't know whether to thank or admonish Billy Idol for his hit, new wave album Rebel Yell. Sure, he ensured that the term "rebel yell" exists at the forefront of the American lexicon for a few more years, but now we run the risk of people thinking of "rebel yell" as merely an artifact of the 80s. The original rebel yell is actually an important—but often overlooked—piece of cultural history from the Civil War. Learning the history of the rebel yell is important if you want to gain a fuller understanding of the Civil War and the cultural history of the American south.
By Joseph D. N. Kendrick7 years ago in Serve
The Burning of Bedford and the Local Collector who Holds Two Brown Bess Rifles that Were Present
236 years have passed since the war for American independence ended. Far from the foregone conclusion that history implies, the collective remembrance we accept plays more like a quaint little 18th Century affair than the win at all cost reality. On one end, the perception lines up gentlemanly British troops in coats of bright red who fail to understand the guerrilla tactics of modern warfare. And on the other stand rugged backwoods boy scout types who were taking their first turn at playing soldier.
By Rich Monetti7 years ago in Serve
Christmas Truce
The mention of the First World War usually conjures up the image of desolate battlefields, dead and dying soldiers, and a grinding war of attrition in the trenches. Yet one event in the months of the war summed up the feeling amongst the average soldier, sent away to fight mostly by men in a much higher social class. They were pawns for their military leaders and royal families, but the Christmas Truce of 1914 gave a glimpse of what people power can do and it shows how a very early end to the war could have been possible.
By Patrick Hollis7 years ago in Serve
Crimes of the German Soldiers
Today, despite a rise in the popularity and publicity of neo-Nazis, most reasonable people disagree with the basic premise of Nazi ideology, if not all of its tenets. Despite this, there is a large number of reasonable people who have been tricked into believing and parroting the lies of German soldiers and officers, many of which were propagated into popular memory by Nazis and neo-Nazis outside of Germany after the war. One of the most insidious of these lies is the myth of the “Clean Wehrmacht,” spread particularly by Wehrmacht members put on trial in Nuremberg.
By History Roundtable7 years ago in Serve
Armistice 100: Why War Is a Seemingly Irreplaceable Part of Our Species
Today marks exactly a century since the end of the First World War. In Ferdinand Foch's railway carriage in the Forest of Compiègne, about 37 miles (60 km) north of Paris, the bloodiest conflict in human history was signed away into the history books. An estimated 40 million people, military and civilians, were killed or wounded in the conflict which was said to be the "war to end all wars." The damage to human life and the European landscape should surely have justified this, yet a century on and humans are still as destructive as it was in 1914.
By Patrick Hollis7 years ago in Serve
1968: The Height of the Vietnam War
It’s pretty much impossible to talk about 1968 without mentioning the Vietnam War. An issue that plagued Lyndon Johnson’s presidency, the Vietnam War, reached its peak at the start of the year. It’s difficult to explain how we got here without knowing the history behind this disastrous war most Americans would rather forget.
By Shandi Pace7 years ago in Serve
The Media in the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War is often referred to as the first televised war. Never had so many journalists been on the ground in a hostile nation. Before Vietnam journalists were viewed as propaganda weapons for military powers to feed through selective updates of a conflict; however, by the time it was over the use of the media in war had changed almost completely.
By Patrick Hollis7 years ago in Serve
