In 1971 India and Pakistan were at war with each other once again. At that time, the main naval base of the Pakistani navy was Karachi, which was the main port and commercial center of the country. Consequently, the security of Karachi was an absolute priority for the Pakistanis. On 23 November 1
In late February 2000 Russian armed forces attempted to surround and destroy a strong force of Chechen rebels retreating from the Chechen capital of Grozny. The rebels had captured Grozny, humiliating Russia. In fact, the rebels managed to escape from the city unmolested. It was a matter of prestige
A major new book by Canadian historian Timothy Weingard of Colorados MESA University, Mosquito:A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator (Dutton Publications 2019), details the often hidden but profound impact that have had in human history the various diseases carried by mosquitoes. It is estimated
Aspindza is a small town in southwestern Georgia with about 2,800 inhabitants today. In 1769 the Russian and Ottoman Empires were at war with each other once again. Tsarina Catherine the (so-called) Great and her advisers thought of opening new fronts against the Turks. One front was Greece (Orl
Operation Python was the second and catalytic blow of the Indian navy against the Pakistani counterpart during the Second Indo-Pakistani War in 1971. It was the final blow both materially and especially morally against the Pakistanis who they did not dare to go out to sea again... On December 4,
A battle beyond the forces involved in it is primarily the conflict of wills of rival administrations. It is what is often overlooked by some who dream of peoples armies, the value of command imposing its will on the enemy, disorienting and overwhelming him even if he is outnumbered and outgunned.
The German armored cruiser SMS Scharnhorst was the flagship of the German East Asia Squadron, under the command of Vice-Admiral Maximilian Graf von Spee. It sank with more than 800 sailors, including the admiral himself. According to the head of the research mission, the moment of discovery of the w
Before the German invasion of the USSR, Odessa, built between the ancient Greek cities of Tyra and Olbia, was and is one of the largest and most important cities of the Black Sea. When, after the German invasion, the city was conquered by the Romanians, about 90,000 Jews remained in it. The Roma
Sometimes one feels that ones fate is decided. He knows when the moment has come, the peak of life or its end. In the bloody trenches of World War I, many soldiers had acquired what we call a sixth sense, anticipating the good or evil that was about to find them and preparing themselves and their lo
In April 1917 the French army launched the biggest attack on the Western Front up to that time. The attack, based on the plans of the general who initiated it, would completely split the German front and bring victory. Unfortunately for the general in question, the attack only succeeded in causing m
The Russian general Sukhomlinov was one of the key factors in the tragic preparation of the Russian army before the First World War. Ambitious and archomaniacal, servile and a man of intrigue, a slave to his passions and an enemy of every modernizing idea, he was responsible for the deaths of tens o
The Battle of Stalupenen, on August 17, 1914, was a foretaste of the devastating defeats the Russian army was to suffer from its German counterpart in World War I. At Stalupenen the far inferior Germans, under the all-worthy General von Francois, halted, with less than two divisions, an entire Russi
At the end of 1915 on the Eastern Front the Austrians, with German help, had pushed the Russians deep into Poland and Galicia (western Ukraine). The Russian army had suffered terrible losses. Tsar Nicholas II who had personally, in theory, assumed command of his army but this did not have any seriou
The infamous Grigory Rasputin was born in 1869 in Siberia. He was the son of a farming family. He probably did not receive any, not even elementary, education. On the contrary, from an early age he was involved in petty theft, drunkenness and other debauchery. At the age of just 18, he got married.
Hermann Bix served in the 4th Panzer Division (MPa). He was one of the successful tank crew chiefs of the German army. But his best moment was on March 22, 1945, when the war was effectively decided. Bix was born in Silesia in 1914. He enlisted in the army in 1935. In 1941 he found himself with the
In October 1973 Arab countries launched a surprise attack against Israel on the day of the Yom Kippur holiday. Israel was particularly pressured and tried to react by sea as well. The Israelis decided to cleanse the Mediterranean from the threat of the Syrian navy. Under the leadership of the la
The Yokosuka MXY7 Oka (cherry blossom) was the Japanese flying bomb. However, unlike the German V1 Oka, it was headed towards the target by a kamikaze pilot. The Oka first flew in November 1944. It entered service in early 1945 and a total of 852 were built. It developed a maximum speed of 648 k
The Thin Red Line is one of the legends of the history of wars. Although it predated the event that gave birth to the legend, yet it was on one particular occasion that the true legend blossomed. In 1854 the Crimean War was in full swing. On October 25, the British, French and Turks, on the one
After Czechoslovakia disappeared from the map, the Polish border was also threatened from the South by the Germans and their allies. So in April 1939 the Polish administration decided to create a fortified zone in the area. The plan provided for the construction of 20 small machine guns – patrols (f
There has always been a belief that women are more peaceful than men, and therefore less prone to start wars, in the event that they hold power. 400 years of European History, however, confirm the opposite. Specifically, according to recent research from the University of Chicago, which covered t
Aircraft:Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star.Manufacturer:Lockheed Aircraft Corp.Type:fighter-bomber.Year:1948.Engine:General Electric J33-A-23 turbojet engine with 2,086 kg of thrust.Wingspan:11, 85 m.Length:10.51 m.Height:3.45 m.Take-off weight:7,646 kg.Maximum speed:933 km/h at 2,133m altitude.Maximum o
Early History of Java Island In Indian Sanskrit literature, this island is mentioned as Yavadweepa where rice and gold were available in abundance. According to Chinese references, Indian people had reached Java in about 2nd century AD. These people came from the Kalinga state of India. According t
The Military Dictatorship is what we call the period in which the military governments were at the head of Brazil, between 1964 and 1985. The period of the Military Dictatorship was one of the most tense in Brazilian history and was marked by the lack of freedom, by the use of torture against oppone
Jânio Quadros assumed the presidency of Brazil in 1961, and his government was considered confused, disorganized and marked by a series of extremely unpopular measures. Jânio Quadros he was elected president of Brazil in 1960 and took office in January 1961. Jânios government was a turbulent period