The German Zeppelins were long cylindrical rigid airship with a fabric-covered frame. They were large, unwieldy and powered by highly combustible hydrogen gas. They often missed their targets, but inspired intense fear in the civilian population. Reaching altitudes of up to 10,000 feet they were silent before they dropped their... More
By the late Cretaceous, the continents were beginning to assume their broad modern alignment. The Americas were drifting westwards, causing the Atlantic Ocean to widen. India was still in the early stages of its northward migration, berthed alongside Madagascar. Australia was still attached to the Antarctic residue of the ancient... More
A survey conducted in 2018 amongst young people in 12 European countries showed very large proportions who denied having any faith at all: the Czech Republic was the least religious country with 91% of 16–29-year-olds claiming no religious affiliation. Only in Poland, Portugal and Ireland did more than 10% of... More
Following the envelopment of the Falaise pocket, the Germans were rapidly pushed east across France as they tried to regroup. General Eisenhower was not prepared to tie up his precious resources in a battle for Paris when Hitler had made it clear that the Germans would employ a scorched earth... More
General William T. Sherman rarely purveyed the milk of human kindness. He was infamous for ‘scorched earth’ tactics against the Confederate South in the Civil War. Graduating to Indian warfare, he advocated pursuit of the Sioux with ‘vindictive eagerness…even to their extermination, men, women and children’. But this flinty-hearted warrior... More
In the Lower Carboniferous, high sea levels meant that the northern hemisphere was almost devoid of land. The island of Angaraland was the only significant landmass north of the equatorial zone. Laurentia, comprising what would become North America and northern Europe, was still separated by straits from the main landmass... More
In the Lower Devonian, a secondary supercontinent to Gondwanaland was formed by the collision of Laurentia and Baltica; amongst its repercussions were the raising of the Appalachian and Caledonian Mountains. The two early supercontinents were encircled by subduction zones that would lead, eventually, to the creation of the supercontinent of... More
Between 1880 and 1924, some 2.5 million Ashkenazi Jews arrived in America from eastern Europe, with New York’s Lower East Side their foremost destination. The Jewish migrants were the primary single component (rivalled only by the Italians) in a flood of incomers from south and eastern Europe over this period,... More
The Ludlow Amendment proposed ‘Except in the event of an invasion of the United States…authority of Congress to declare war shall not become effective until confirmed in a Nationwide Referendum’. President Roosevelt was adamantly opposed, maintaining it would ‘cripple any president in his conduct of foreign affairs’. In 1930s America,... More
The Reformation emerged against a background of growing criticism of the temporal power and wealth of the Roman Catholic Church. This perceived corruption was epitomized by practices such as the selling of indulgences by the clergy, which absolved penitents and promised remission of their sins. In 1517 Martin Luther (1483–1546),... More
Under King Philip II’s 25-year rule, the kingdom of Macedonia (359–336 BCE) moved from the periphery of the Greek world to centre stage. Philip used diplomatic and marriage alliances, as well as his formidable army, to consolidate his political position. On ascending the throne of Macedonia, Philip’s first priority was... More
In an attempt to protect itself from sudden German attack, France built a great line of fortifications along its border with Switzerland, Germany and Luxembourg, known as the Maginot Line. The Line’s defences ranged from simple, sparsely armed blockhouses and armed bunkers with machine-gun turrets (casemates), to powerful state-of-the-art fortresses... More