The Italian army did not distinguish itself in the field of armored vehicles during World War II. Shortages of raw materials, inexperience, design inadequacy and the weaknesses of the regime are responsible for this. Nevertheless, the Italian army fielded many thousands of tanks and armored vehicles
The two military conflicts in Chechnya left their mark on recent Russian history. In 1994-95 Russian forces captured the Chechen capital of Grozny, driving out fanatical Islamist rebels and installing a strong garrison. In 1996, however, things were to turn upside down. This year the Russian lead
The Russian Army of the 16th century did not differ substantially, but only slightly, from its counterparts of the 14th and 15th centuries. Its bulk consisted of cavalry, native and mercenary divisions. The Cavalry was, in principle, divided into heavy and light. The heavy cavalry, in turn, was main
The infamous Moscow Trials organized by Stalin and his cabal from 1936 were not only the dictators successful attempt to consolidate his position in power by eliminating any real or imagined contenders, but also an attempt to vindicate of the tragic and fatal errors of his policy. In the Trial of
Wars are decided by one side or the other which recognizes that it is impossible to prevail, said Hitler. It was his new strategic doctrine, Lydia Lithos, that he thought up and began to implement in 1944 on the brink of defeat. On this dictum rested the entire edifice of German strategy in the w
The Panzer Division (Panzer Division) Clausewitz was one of the last formations of the German army in World War II. Began to form on 6 April 1945 under the responsibility of Army Group H from every available source. Its staff and some combat elements came from the also ad hoc Holstein Army which
Fighter Wing 200 (Kampfgeschwader 200 – KG 200) was a special unit of the German air force that undertook special, dangerous missions and at the end of the war it also undertook suicide missions. The unit was formed in 1934 shortly after the renaissance of the German air force began. It started as a
On June 24, 1812, the largest army the world had ever seen invaded the vast Russian Empire, led by Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon managed to reach Moscow, but was eventually forced to abandon it badly. On October 20, 1812, the retreat began. But the Russians attacked and defeated the French outposts i
The Spanish Civil War began as a movement of the military against the Popular Front government but evolved into a regular war between two states, with the participation of many others on one side or the other. By the end of December 1937 the tide had begun to tilt in favor of Francos Nationalist
Born in Löwicz, Pomerania, in 1684, Kurt Christopher Count von Schwerin came from the ducal house of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. At a young age he turned to the military and during the War of the Spanish Succession (1700-1715), he enlisted in the Dutch army. He fought in the Allies victorious battles o
On September 14, 1942, the Russian front at Stalingrad was shaking so dangerously that any reinforcements that arrived from the east bank of the Vogla were thrown, in small groups, directly into the battle. One of these subunits was the 3rd Company of the 42nd Rifle Regiment of the 13th Guards Rifle
On October 29, 1944 the Soviets launched their attack on Budapest. By December 24, the city was surrounded. The Germans and their Hungarian allies attempted to break the siege but failed. The most important efforts to lift the siege of Budapest are part of the operations codenamed Konrad, the most i
Bila Cherka is a city in central Ukraine. In August 1941, having decimated the Soviet forces in the region, the Germans sent SS Einsatzgruppen executioners into the Ukraine. Many Jews lived in Bila Cerka. The SS with the concurrence of the commander of the 6th Army, Field Marshal Walter von Reichena
Croatia was an Italian-German satellite state created after the breakup of Yugoslavia in April 1941. Its leader Ante Pavelic ordered the formation of Croatian armed forces to reinforce his Axis allies and overlords. Italy has always had territorial ambitions over Yugoslavia, since 1918, long befo
In September 1939 the Polish army had a number of tanks. Even fewer of them were able to fight with opposing tanks as they were armed only with machine guns. TK tanks made up the bulk of Polish armored vehicles. Shortly before World War II it was decided to upgrade numbers of these to be equippe
Lvov, todays Lviv in Ukraine, belonged to Poland in 1939. On September 1, Poland was attacked by Germany. The city was located close to the border with the then USSR and consequently had not been fortified by the Poles who did not foresee such a deep retreating maneuver. However, developments wer
It is often said that Hitlers most serious blunder was the declaration of war against the USA. This is not entirely accurate because due to President Roosevelts hostile policy against Germany the conflict was largely inevitable. However, he could buy time without pushing the situation to extremes.
Captain Richard Eugene Fleming was born in 1917. He graduated from the military academy and then studied Fine Arts. In 1939 he trained as a pilot joining the Marine Corps Reserve. He graduated with a pilots license in 1940. After Pearl Harbor he was sent to the Pacific. On June 4, 1942 he was at
During the Seven Years War, the Prussian Army fielded 49 line infantry regiments of each type (musketeers and fusiliers). Of the soldiers that made up the infantry regiments, at least 1/3 were foreign mercenaries, coming mainly from the small German states neighboring Prussia. But there were othe
As in every war, in World War I there were civilian deaths, murders, mass executions. The Germans were repeatedly accused by the ANTATE of executions of civilians - which existed on a small scale - in Belgium and France, they were accused as barbaric murderers for the sinking of the ocean liner Lusi
On August 29, 886 AD. A man died after contracting a fever as a result of a terrible accident during a hunt. His belt had caught on the antlers of a deer and the animal dragged him through the forest for several kilometers until help finally arrived, although the unpleasant experience led to his de
Although today many tend to argue the opposite, Italy in 1940 was a great European power. It wasnt Germany, it wasnt Britain, but it was a great power especially compared to little Greece. The dictator Mussolini had tried to strengthen the Italian army, without much success. The Italian army was far
Portrait of Ali Bey on a vintage engraving • WIKIMEDIA COMMONS In the month of dhou al-qi’da, in the year 1221 of the Hegira (January 1807), a pilgrim enters the city of Mecca, a place forbidden to all infidels on pain of death. This is Ali Bey, a descendant of the ancient Abbasid caliphs. Suffe
René Mouchotte, born August 21, 1914 in Saint-Mandé and died August 27, 1943 above the Channel, French aviator of the Second World War. One of the first airmen to join England in 1940 from Oran via Gibraltar, Mouchotte is one of the great pilots of the Free French Air Force. Assigned to No. 245 Sq