Military History Guild

The First Night Watch: Of the Honor of the Soldier In our ranks fought old field soldiers, who performed their military handiwork with a self-evident calm...Their manner of expression was of terrifying roughness. Their songs were no way of high moral content. They smiled contemptuously at any patriotic manner of speaking. But they were everywhere there, where it was dangerous. They lived in a loud, wild joy, but they let even the most intoxicating drink get stale, if the thunder of guns announced battle.

The B-50 is one of those aircraft that almost nobody talks about anymore, despite being incredibly important. Most people assume it was just a B-29 with a different name. It really wasn't. While it shared the same basic appearance, Boeing redesigned much of the aircraft. More powerful R-4360 engines, a stronger airframe, a taller vertical stabilizer, and countless internal improvements gave it significantly better performance than the bomber it evolved from. Its timing was unfortunate. The B-36 and, shortly afterward, the B-52 would go on to dominate the public imagination,…

The following an excerpt from a French Lieutenant's diary of his experiences at the Fort de Vaux in June 1916: "We had scarcely arrived at the right of Fort de Vaux, on the slope of the ravine, when there came an unprecedented bombardment of twelve hours. Alone, in a sort of dugout without walls, I pass twelve hours of agony, believing that it is the end. In front of us are not less than 1,200 guns of 240, 305, 380, and 420 calibre, which spit ceaselessly and all together, in…

"He must stride through the zone of death. There is no escape. No detour, no exception. The relentlessness of this reality compels him to enter danger with open eyes. His path would be meaningless, if it did not mean the fulfilment of his goal: his folk's freedom, which simultaneously encompasses his troop's honour and his own honour. He wields the weapon, which is supposed to bring the enemy destruction, and knows that the enemy also aims to destroy him: a clear, manly decision, you or I!" - Kurt Eggers Few…

Of the roughly 120 Union and Confederate generals present during the three-day Battle of Gettysburg, nine were either killed outright or mortally wounded. More general officers lost their lives at Gettysburg than in any other battle in American history. This thread will cover these nine men, their previous military careers, and how each met his death during those three terrible days in Pennsylvania. The nine generals were as follows: **Confederacy:** Brig. Gen. Paul Semmes Brig. Gen. William Barksdale Brig. Gen. Lewis Armistead Brig. Gen. Richard Garnett Maj. Gen. William Dorsey…

After the successful invasion of Panama, known as Operation Just Cause, by the US Military, Panama's former Dictator found himself fleeing from US special forces operators. After a time, he would find himself seeking shelter in the Apostolic Nunciature, the Holy See's embassy in Panama. As a result, Delta force found themselves in a particular situation, unable to invade the embassy by force, due to treaties with the Vatican, the Special forces soldiers were forced to get creative. Dubbed Operation Nifty Package, the National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft would later…

Joshua Milton Blahyi, who is better known as General Butt Naked, is a former warlord of the First Liberian Civil War. Blahyi claims that he became a high priest in a secret society at a young age. He said that during his priesthood, he would receive visions of children meant to be sacrificed. He would regularly conduct abductions of the children sent to him in his visions, and practice human sacrifice. This claim, however, is disputed by his half-brother, who instead says that Blahyi spent his early years selling "Kool-Aid…