Military History

The Austro-Prussian War - Austria's War with Prussia and Italy in 1866, by Geoffrey Wawro Bomber County, by Daniel Swift Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany and the Winning of the Great War at Sea, by Robert K. Massie Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut Cauldron, by Larry Bond Combat Days of Infamy Dragon Strike - A Novel of the Coming War with China, by Humphrey Hawksley and Simon Holberton Duel For The Golan: The 100-Hour Battle That Saved Israel, by Jerry Asher with Eric Hammel Eleanor of Aquitaine: By the Wrath of God, Queen of England, by Alison Weir Executive Intent, by Dale Brown First Battle of the Marne, by Robert B. Asprey …

Let's get something of an ongoing thread here about what happened 'today' in military history. First off ... Scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon, 27 November 1942 (DefenseNews, Intercepts blog) Feel free to add to the thread with links to events or your own thoughts and commentary.

USA Today March 28, 2007 Pg. 1 'One Of The Last': WWI Vet Recalls Great War 90 Years Later, Its Impact Endures In Iraq And Beyond By Andrea Stone, USA Today CHARLES TOWN, W.Va. — When the guns fell silent on Nov. 11, 1918, exactly 4,734,991 Americans had served in World War I. Four are known to be alive. "I am one of the last," says Frank Woodruff Buckles, who at 106 is among the few living links — and perhaps the healthiest — to what was known as the Great War. "I didn't know it would be down to one to a million." April 6 will mark the 90th anniversary of the United States' entry into World War I. The soldiers who went Over There thought they w…

An interesting glossary about the Mike Jenne's interesting "Blue Gemini" series of books (I did't read them, but probably will do). For me the more interesting are the MC-130E Combat Talon and ASAT/Project 437 paper links: http://mikejennebooks.com/glossary_bg.htm http://mikejennebooks.com/downloads/SHOOTING%20DOWN%20A%20STAR%20(PROJ%20437).pdf (97 pages). http://mikejennebooks.com/downloads/The%20Praetorian%20STARship%20-%20The%20Untold%20Story%20of%20the%20Combat%20Talon.pdf (508 pages! Page 28 narrative in covert artic operation in an abandoned Soviet ice station - Operation Coldfeet).

From Proceedings, May 2011 issue [excerpt]

What Is A Periscope And Why Do They Matter To The Military? (British Forces News)

1100 Declassified U.S. Nuclear Targets (Future of Life Institute)

Rest In Peace.

They're free to download too. :)

What was the naval aviation predecessor in the role of the EA-6B Prowler? A carrier launched EW aircraft that would accompany/support a strike over Vietnam? Thanks

From the Zahal.org site: http://www.zahal.org/groups/battle-of-latakia

1982: British sub sinks Argentine cruiser bbc.co.uk Argentina's only cruiser, the General Belgrano, has been sunk by a British nuclear submarine in the South Atlantic. It is the first serious attack on the Argentine navy by the British since the conflict over the disputed Falkland Islands began last month. The second largest ship in the Argentine navy was struck by two Tigerfish torpedoes from HMS Conqueror. It is thought there were about 1,000 men on board. British helicopters also sank a patrol boat and damaged another using Seaskua air-to-surface missiles. According to sources in Buenos Aires, at least five Argentine warships have been taking part…

OK, who hear remembers what happened 20 years ago yesterday? It of course had large impact on military history.

Today in Military History: July 29, 1967: Major fire strikes carrier USS Forrestal (DefenseNews, Intercepts blog)

30 Years Later: The Marines Barracks Bombing and the Birth of Hezbollah (Defense One)

It's the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War next year - which means that we're going to be getting a lot of declassified files from the British government. There's already a major new work on General Belgrano due out written by the Major who was tasked to investigate the sinking - with a revelation that the British intercepted key Argentine messages.

From BBC [excerpt]

31-Knot Burke Gets His Nickname: The Battle of Cape St. George (Defense Media Network)

From Defense Aerospace Harriers - 40 Years Old and Still Jumping (Source: UK Ministry of Defence; issued March 17, 2009) Few aircraft can be described as truly iconic, fewer still remain in service over long periods, but this year the British-designed Harrier celebrates its 40th birthday, having spent the past five years as a mainstay on operations in Afghanistan. And the Harrier really is unique - no other jet in service has its Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL) capability where pilots can land on shortened runways, carrier decks or on landing pads in the middle of a forest. Developed during the Cold War, the Harrier has continually been devel…

Just finished reading Steve Davies' Red Eagles: America's Secret MiGs (Osprey Publishing, 2008); an account of the CONSTANT PEG programme that used MiG-17s, 21s and 23s as Aggressor adversaries to help in the training of US aircrew. A highly interesting read, which illuminates an interesting aspect of the Cold War. Anyone else here read it?