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 […]
The Spanish Inquisition was not a medieval institution. Before 1300, Inquisitions were virtually nonexistent in Spain.[1]The Spanish kingdom of Castile never had an inquisition, and Aragón’s was effectively defunct by around 1450.[2] It might surprise many readers to discover that, while the last person executed by the Inquisition died in 1826 (by hanging, though the […]
Early Life and Career Halleck was born on a farm in Upstate New York and hated that life. He was raised by an uncle who set him up for a military career. He went to West Point where he excelled, graduating 3rd in his class. He was a favorite student of Dennis Hart Mahan. He […]
Early Life and Entry into the Royal Navy Born on the 14th of December, 1775, in Annsfield, Scotland, Thomas Cochrane was the son of Archibald Cochrane, the 9th Earl of Dundonald, a man of scientific curiosity and perpetual financial woes. This backdrop of intellectual vigor and economic struggle likely influenced Thomas’s character—imbuing him with a […]
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 […]
The Sailors Life Rations The diet of almost all sailing vessels was the same. The men subsisted on salted pork, fish, or beef, ships biscuits, and a limited supply of vegetables such as peas. Additionally, sailors received unwanted calories from the weevils and other insects that burrowed their way into the ship’s biscuits while the […]
Zeebrugge is located in Belgium on the north coast of Europe. The port provided quick access to the North Sea for the Imperial German Navy throughout the First World War for their U-boats and light shipping, which the German navy was trying to threaten the Allied-controlled English Channel and the North Sea with. As the […]
The way that society today consumes news and information is ever changing with the influx of social media and less direct channels of information through podcasts and a plethora of broadcasters all vying for attention in a saturated market. Many of these information sources have different validation processes or have multiple eyes on ensuring that […]
In modern secular societies, relativistic views prevail. Truth is often determined by one’s preferences and feelings. If believing something feels good or makes you happy, ipso facto the belief is true and valid. Thus, freedom of speech is an inalienable right given to all people and all opinions are correct; right or wrong and absolute […]
As the Nazi forces of fascist Germany ravaged Europe, Britain and the commonwealth stood alone upholding the ideas of freedom, until the USA entered the war on December 7, 1941, against Japanese imperialism and European fascist brutality, after the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor. Britain then curtailed Hitler’s plans to invade Britain (Operation Sea Lion), […]