On 23 April 1918, an attempt was made by the British Navy to block the Belgian port of Zeebrugge by sinking ships weighted with concrete. The port, connected to the North Sea by Bruges canal, was an important U-boat base for the Germans. At the canal entrance was the Mole,... More
Following simultaneous attacks on territories across the western Pacific in December 1941, Japan began a campaign of colonial expansion for resources in the region, aiming to take advantage of the European colonial powers’ thinly spread military reserves. On 23 January the Japanese overran the Australian-held port of Rabaul, an important... More
The 51st Highland Division was renowned for its ability and bravery in combat, and played a significant role in World Wars I and II. The Division’s insignia was identified by its red ‘HD’, on a blue background and contained within a red circle, and they were nicknamed ‘Harper’s Duds’ after... More
The veteran 82nd Airborne Division, nicknamed ‘The All-Americans’, were tasked with defending the western approach to Utah beach, from where the heaviest German reinforcements were expected to arrive. Dropping half an hour after the 101st Airborne at 01:51 on 6 June, the 82nd Airborne experienced more variable accuracy with their... More
By 1860, cotton plantations dominated the South and relied on slave-labour for high yields. Eyewitness accounts of life on the cotton plantations paint a picture of a brutal environment. Former slave, James William, recorded that the cotton plantations were so feared, slaves would ‘commit suicide on account’ of being sold... More
The night of 29 December 1940 saw some 100,000 incendiary bombs dropped on London by the Luftwaffe, causing unprecedented destruction of the city. The extent of the destruction caused by the ensuing firestorm after just three and a half hours of bombing was larger than the area destroyed in the... More
On May 24 1917, as a response to the unrestricted targeting of Allied merchant ships by German U-boats, the convoy system was introduced. All merchant ships crossing the Atlantic Ocean were to travel in convoys, under the protection of the British Navy. The US’s entry to the war on 6... More
It was the role of the fighter sector airfield to receive relevant information regarding its sector from group headquarters and distribute information and commands to smaller airfields under its jurisdiction. At the beginning of the war, grass runways were sufficient for the current weight of bombers and fighters, but as... More
The Abbasids swept aside the Umayyad dynasty in a series of revolts in the middle of the 8th century, culminating in the decisive victory at the Battle of Zab in 750 CE. A key ingredient in their success was their ability to unite a disparate set of excluded groups including... More
In 1849, Abraham Lincoln decided to leave politics and return to Springfield, Illinois, to practise law. His journey lasted five to six days and began by train, the Great Western Mail, which departed Washington DC on 20/21 March 1849. After disembarking at Cumberland, he travelled by stagecoach over steep mountains... More
At the start of the War of Independence (1776–83), slavery was legal throughout the thirteen colonies. In its aftermath, however, the northern states introduced legislation for abolition: in some abolition was immediate, in others gradual. The 1787 North West Ordinance prohibited slavery in the territories that would become Ohio, Indiana,... More
The original human migration to Australia is believed to have occurred around 40,000 years ago when a land bridge linked the Australian continent to Asia in the north. Genetic evidence supports the probability of migration from the north, as the genetic profile of Australian Aborigines displays some similarities to the... More