The Ni'ihau Incident
Kaushik Patowary
May 28, 2021
Ni'ihau is the smallest of the inhabited islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, privately owned since the 19th century and which would hav...
Showing posts with the label War
Hunley: The Submarine That Wouldn’t Come Up
Kaushik Patowary
Mar 30, 2021
On 17 February 1864, the Confederate submarine CSS Hunley attacked and sank a 1,240-ton United States Navy ship, the USS Housatonic , and e...
The Mercy Dogs of World War 1
Kaushik Patowary
Mar 26, 2021
Dogs have accompanied men to war since ancient times, as scouts, sentries, trackers and messengers. But the most unique role they ever playe...
Heroic War Pigeons
Kaushik Patowary
Mar 16, 2021
World War One, and to some extent, the Second World War, was a strange blend of archaic and modern technology. The First World War, in parti...
Citizens! During Shelling This Side of The Street is The Most Dangerous
Kaushik Patowary
Feb 15, 2021
The city of Saint Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in Russia and in eastern Europe, with a great ensemble of historic building...
Anderson Shelters: The Backyard Bunkers That Saved Britons From Luftwaffe Bombings
Kaushik Patowary
Jan 7, 2021
In 1938, before the Second World War had even begun, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain placed Sir John Anderson in charge of air ra...
How Alexander Turned The Island of Tyre Into a Peninsula
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 17, 2020
The city of Tyre in southern Lebanon is one of the oldest cities in the world. Originally founded by settlers from the nearby city of Sidon ...
The Dambusters Raid of 1943
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 11, 2020
On the night of 16–17 May 1943, a squadron of the Royal Air Force conducted a daring mission deep into German territory to destroy two dams ...
The German-Japanese Village Where The Most Fearful Weapon Was Tested
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 2, 2020
One of the most devastating weapons ever invented was not the atomic bomb but napalm, the incendiary agent that was used extensively against...
Fokker’s Synchronizing Gear And The Birth of Fighter Planes
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 16, 2020
The first airplanes to join the First World War were not made for combat. They merely played the role of an observer, scouting enemy positio...
The Failed British Plan to Destroy Nazi Factories With Exploding Rats
Kaushik Patowary
Sep 29, 2020
During the Second World War, the British Special Operations Executive (SOE)—a secret organization whose job was to conduct espionage and sab...
The B-17 That Flew With Its Tail Sliced Off
Kaushik Patowary
Aug 26, 2020
This famous photograph of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, with its tail section severed but still flying was taken during Word War 2, towar...
Schuttberg: Germany’s Rubble Mountains
Kaushik Patowary
Aug 7, 2020
Scores of hills dot the edges of many German cities, but these are not natural. They are known as Schuttberg, or “debris hill”. Schuttberg...
Monte Stella: Milan’s Rubble Mountain
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 12, 2020
The city of Milan is as flat as a pancake, save for a little bump in the northwest called Monte Stella. In the vast expanse of Po valley, ...
The War Rubble of Crosby Beach
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 2, 2020
Photo: pshab/Flickr Just beyond the coastguard station at the end of the promenade at Crosby Beach, in Liverpool, is a flat stretch of s...
Rettungsbojen: The Floating Rescue Buoys of The Luftwaffe
Kaushik Patowary
Apr 13, 2020
During World War 2, both the RAF and the Luftwaffe lost a large number of pilots at sea. The British used a couple of high speed boats that ...
The Historic Meeting on Elbe River
Kaushik Patowary
Apr 10, 2020
April 25, 1945, is a date few remember. But it was a significant day in the history of the world. On this day, American troops sweeping in...
The Mulberry Harbours of Normandy
Kaushik Patowary
Mar 22, 2020
When the sea goes out in Arromanches-les-Bains, a small village on the coast of Normandy in northwestern France, the large concrete pontoons...
The Kettle War
Kaushik Patowary
Mar 17, 2020
Photo: B toy Anucha/Shutterstock.com The Kettle War of 1784 was a quintessential David versus Goliath story. A formidable naval fleet of...
Scuttling at Scapa Flow: When The German Navy Sank its Own Ships
Kaushik Patowary
Jan 27, 2020
The Armistice of 11 November 1918, that ended hostiles between the Allied and the Allies, left little for negotiation. The Germans were give...
