Military History
Historical campaigns, operations, battles, and military turning points.
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The Firebombing of Tokyo: The Deadliest Air Raid in History
How Operation Meetinghouse killed more than the atomic bombs combined, and why the firestorm that flattened a quarter of Tokyo was nearly forgotten.
Operation Nimrod: How the SAS Ended the Iranian Embassy Siege
How the SAS stormed the Iranian Embassy in 1980, ending a six-day siege in 17 minutes and turning a near-massacre into a defining rescue.
The Rise and Fall of the German War Machine: Doctrine, Speed, and Fatal Blunders
Why Germany's WWII fortunes reversed: superior doctrine and speed won early victories, but a string of strategic blunders raised the hurdles too high.
Henry Kissinger: American Statesman or Unconvicted War Criminal?
A deep look at Henry Kissinger's life, from refugee to Secretary of State, weighing his diplomatic triumphs against the bombing campaigns and coups that branded him a war criminal.
Israel and Palestine: A Comprehensive History of the World's Most Intractable Conflict
From Ottoman Syria and the Balfour Declaration to the Nakba, the intifadas, and October 2023 — the century-long history of Israel and Palestine.
The Battle of Hong Kong: The British Empire's Humiliation
How Imperial Japan overran British Hong Kong in just 17 days in December 1941, and why historians still debate whether the colony's fall was inevitable.
More in Military History
Inmate 4859: The Spy Who Volunteered to Be Imprisoned in Auschwitz
How Polish officer Witold Pilecki got himself arrested, infiltrated Auschwitz, built a resistance network inside the death camp, escaped, and was later executed by communist Poland.
The Korean War: The Proxy War That Nearly Sparked World War III
How the 1950 invasion of South Korea became the Cold War's first proxy war and how close General MacArthur came to triggering a nuclear conflict.
The Battle of Okinawa: The Pacific's Bloodiest Battle
How the 1945 Battle of Okinawa became the Pacific War's deadliest fight, sealed the fate of the battleship Yamato, and shaped the decision to use the atomic bomb.
The Battle of Crete: Nazi Germany's Costliest Airborne Victory
How a routine airborne invasion of Crete in 1941 became a near-catastrophe that cracked the myth of German invincibility before Stalingrad.
Hiroshima and Nagasaki: War Crime or Necessary Evil?
An objective look at both sides of the debate over the only wartime use of nuclear weapons, from the destruction of two cities to the invasion that never came.
Operation Opera: Israel's Daring 1981 Raid on Iraq's Osirak Reactor
How Israel destroyed Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981, the assassinations that preceded the strike, the F-16 raid itself, and its disputed legacy.