Written by 
Introduction In April 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory, triggering a military response from Great Britain. The British government, led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was under immense political pressure to reclaim the islands swiftly. The international community, particularly the United States, closely watched Britain’s military response. These international overseers added […]
The Titanic’s Final Voyage The RMS Titanic, deemed “unsinkable,” embarked on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City on April 10, 1912. Boasting opulence and advanced engineering, the Titanic was a marvel of its time. However, on the night of April 14, disaster struck. At 11:40 PM, the ship collided with an iceberg, […]
Prelude to the Raid In the early 1960s, Southeast Asia was a cauldron of political turmoil. The Indonesian-Malaysian Confrontation, also known as Konfrontasi, saw Indonesia opposing the creation of Malaysia, which it perceived as a neo-colonial project. Amidst this geopolitical struggle, the North Kalimantan National Army (Tentara Nasional Kalimantan Utara, TNKU), a group of Indonesian-backed […]
Prelude to Battle The roots of the Battle of the Falkland Islands can be traced to the earlier defeat of the British squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock at the Battle of Coronel on the 1st of November, 1914. The German East Asia Squadron, commanded by Vice-Admiral Graf Maximilian Von Spee, had inflicted a severe […]
When the word ‘Kindertransport’ is heard, one name often comes to the fore: Sir Nicholas Winton. Made famous by British TV’s ‘That’s Life’ programme in the late 1980s and the recent film ‘One Life’ starring Anthony Hopkins. Winton’s name has become synonymous with the rescue of unaccompanied Jewish children from Nazi-controlled Europe in the late […]
The relatively recent Kingsmen film (The King’s Man) had Ralph Fiennes and his co-star combatting an international conspiracy based around the First World War. A secret cabal, known as ‘the Shepherd’s Flock’, involving Grigorii Rasputin, Mata Hari and Gavrilo Princip (the killer of Franz Ferdinand), is the driving force of this story. The group is […]
By 1943, the tide of the Second World War was turning against the Axis powers. In Italy, internal dissent reached a crescendo with the overthrow of Benito Mussolini, (Duce). Several of his colleagues were close to revolt, and Mussolini was forced to summon the Grand Council on the July 24, 1943. This was the first […]
Who was Simon Fraser? Winston Churchill, in a letter to Stalin, referred to Lord Lovat aka Simon Fraser as “the handsomest man who ever cut a throat.” The Fifteenth Lord Lovat, Simon Fraser, was a professional soldier with a long running Scottish ancestry some of whom had also made their presence known in history. Those […]
Strategic Importance and Objectives Lake Comacchio, a large lagoon in northern Italy, presented a formidable natural barrier. The area was heavily fortified by the Germans, who used the wetlands to their advantage, creating a series of defensive positions that were difficult to assault. The primary objective of Operation Roast was to outflank these defenses, secure […]
On June 7, 1942, Japanese forces assaulted occupied the Alaskan territorial islands of Attu and Kiska, part of the Aleutian Islands chain. Its geographical placing puts it closer to Japan than to the Alaskan mainland or actual US mainland territory, but it was a violation of the US homeland none the less. It was the […]