war

Installment #56: On February 18, center-right politician Raymond Poincaré took office in an inauguration ceremony at the Hôtel de Ville. Poincaré’s presidency was an important factor in the lead-up to the First World War for a number of reasons. Although

No doubt you’ve heard that the Internet elected a new token to the Monopoly lineup—and it’s a cat. Though it’s been a big news item that—gasp!—the iron is no longer an option for passing Go and landing in jail, this is hardly the first time the Monopoly g

Installment #53: In January 1913 there was reason to hope the First Balkan War was winding down. After the Ottoman Empire suffered crushing defeats at the hands of the Balkan League—Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro—the two sides agreed to a ceasefi

Installment #52: On January 17, 1913, Raymond Poincaré, a leading conservative politician and the premier and foreign minister of France since January 1912, was elected President of France after a complicated, contentious five-way race, which at times pit

Installment #51: On January 4, 1913, Count Alfred von Schlieffen, the architect of Germany’s plan of attack on France, died in bed of natural causes at the age of 79—thus missing, by just 19 months, the flawed implementation of his flawed plan, and the en

Installment #50: In mid-December 1912, as Europe seemed to teeter on the edge of war, diplomats representing the Great Powers, the Balkan League and the Ottoman Empire hurried to an international conference in London organized by British foreign secretary

During the American Civil War, the Union Army quickly figured out how to play Confederates’ own prejudices against them. They found that many Confederate troops would speak openly about tactics and troop movements or leave maps and orders out in plain vie

Installment #40: Ten days after Montenegro declared war on the Ottoman Empire, the rest of the Balkan League piled on, with simultaneous declarations of war by Bulgaria, Serbia, and Greece, which ultimately sent some 750,000 troops across the borders to s

There are many examples of traditions that build camaraderie in the military, but few are as well-respected as the practice of carrying a challenge coin—a small medallion or token that signifies a person is a member of an organization. Even though challen

Franklin statue image via Shutterstock In the 1750s and 60s, Great Britain and France waged war in North America for colonial domination of the continent. Known as the French and Indian War, this American theater was just one part of the larger Seven Yea

The characteristic green tint is by design, for a few reasons. First, device makers have experimented with a few different colors and found that the different shades that make up the monochrome night vision image are most accurately perceived and distingu

In the final years of World War II, both the Allied and Axis Powers knew that there was no chance of defeating Hitler without cracking his grasp on Western Europe, and both sides knew that Northern France was the obvious target for an amphibious assault.

At 1:10 a.m. on May 9, 1945, night owls in the USSR heard a radio report that Nazi Germany had officially surrendered to the Soviet Union. Less than 24 hours later, they faced another crisis: a lack of vodka.

March is Women's History Month, so it's a good time for the overdue followup to the previous post 11 Women Warriors of World War II. Here are eight more women who bravely contributed to the Allied victory in World War II. 1. Lise Børsum: Refugee

On February 5, 1945, with World War II in its last desperate months, a German train made its way to the city of Linz. Suddenly, Allied planes swooped in, dropping bombs and derailing it. As the train’s cargo—mail bound for several northern Austrian towns—

After I posted 8 Heroic U.S. Military Chaplains last week, we heard from a Catholic writer, a chaplain who worked under Father Sampson (who was featured), and the pastor of the home church of one of the Four Chaplains, in comments and email. We appreciate

When we study war in history class, we learn about kings, presidents, and generals. It's a shame we don't get to learn about the many everyday people who step up and do extraordinary things, like the medical workers who perform heroically under terrible c