Dale Dye: Why Marines Are Called “Devil Dogs”

It’s one of the most memorable monikers for a fighting force around, and its legend stems from a brutal battle fought more than a century ago. The term was reportedly adapted from the German Teufel Hunden, and applied to American Marines following the Battle of Belleau Wood during World Wa...

By Capt. Dale Dye, USMC (Ret) •

Ayoob: The 1911 at War

I recently heard someone say that handguns have no place in military combat. History shows us otherwise. For the tanker, artilleryman, radio operator or medic whose hands are too busy at designated tasks to hold a rifle, the pistol makes enormous sense. Behind the lines when unpleasant surprises ...

By Massad Ayoob •

POTD: Gallager Saddle Ring Carbine – Cavalry’s Forgotten Breechloader

Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have a Richardson & Overman Gallager breech-loading percussion saddle ring carbine from the early 1860s. Union cavalry was desperate for breechloading carbines during the Civil War. Loading a muzzleloader from horseback in a fight is a miserabl...

By Sam.S •

Triumph and Tragedy: The USS Indianapolis

No one on board the USS Indianapolis (CA-35) knew anything about the cargo they were carrying. What they did know was that the veteran cruiser (launched in 1931) made the trip from San Francisco to the island of Tinian in the Marianas in just ten days. The crew was proud of the “Indy”, and fo...

By Tom Laemlein •

Arado Ar 234 Blitz: Germany’s Jet-Powered Bomber

Despite around-the-clock bombing by British and American heavy bombers, the Germans during World War II produced an ever-increasing volume of advanced military materiel right up until the end of the war. Even though they had terribly limited resources and were being squeezed on all sides, they st...

By Will Dabbs, MD •

The Lost Art? How to Read a Map

It was Thanksgiving weekend. James Kim and wife, Kati, with their young daughters Sabine and Penelope, were motoring on their trip home to San Francisco on I-5, then turned toward Gold Beach on Oregon’s southern coast. The road James took began to climb. There was no traffic, and soon no cell s...

By Wayne van Zwoll •
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