Fire as a weapon has a very long tradition. Notably, in the 7th century AD, Greeks created Greek fire. The flamethrower truly rose to prominence during World War I, and the Germans were the first reported widespread users of flame weapons. By the time World War II came around, everyone was shooting fire at each […]
World War II
The MG34 and MG42 – How The General Purpose Machine Gun Was Born
World War II changed the world of small arms. The great display of infantry and armored power reformed warfighting doctrine and still affects modern warfighting. I’m not a tactics expert, but I appreciate machine guns, and World War II changed how machine guns would be used. During World War II, the Germans built their infantry […]
Worst War Movies Ever | Don’t Waste Your Time on These Stinkers
Back in May around Memorial Day, we listed some of our favorite War Films that are guaranteed to entertain and keep your interest. We could have easily added a couple of more as the genre always has some worthy additions by Hollywood’s filmmakers. This year’s blockbuster “Dunkirk” could easily make its way into that list. But today’s […]
Watch: 97-year-old D-Day veteran recreates jump into France 75 years later
For Tom Rice, jumping out of an airplane is nothing new. Seventy-five years ago, a 22-year-old Rice fell through the skies over Normandy to the rocking beat of anti-aircraft fire, as one of thousands to participate in the Allied invasion of occupied France. Today, a 97-year-old Rice returned to France to recreate that fateful jump, […]
“The Catcher Was a Spy” Moe Berg, OSS, A Swing, and a Miss
Like most Special Forces guys, especially of my generation, I can’t get enough of OSS (Office of Strategic Services) from World War II. OSS was the “Greatest Generation” version of both CIA and the U.S. Army Special Forces (Green Berets) as both sprang forth from the extraordinary organization that General William “Wild Bill” Donovan built […]
Life In Special Operations Is in the Shadows, Not the Limelight
For the current crop of aspiring Special Operations Forces candidates that want to be part of the legacy of the different units under the SOCOM umbrella, being part of the command comes with not only great sacrifice but a great responsibility as well. The special operators have to sacrifice much of themselves in training to […]
Robin Sage Begins June 9th, Time For the SF Students to Step Up
The Special Forces rite of passage is about to begin for the next class of SF candidates. The final training in Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) for prospective SF soldiers is the Unconventional Warfare (UW) exercise “Robin Sage”, which we went over in detail in an earlier post, that you can read here: The prospective Green […]
Inland’s Advisor M1 Pistol Is a Solid Piece of WWII History
Courtesy of Tactical Life Among the arms of World War II, few are as distinct as the M1 Carbine. Compared to the M1 Garand, the M1 Carbine was a featherweight at just over 5 pounds unloaded. Even by modern AR standards, that is incredibly light. This in turn made the little rifle incredibly popular with troops […]
Marine Raiders and Gear of WWII
The Marine Raiders are said to be the first United States Special Operations Forces to see combat in World War II. They struck fear into the hearts of their enemies around the Pacific.
Ten of the Best War Films to Watch on Memorial Day
With Memorial Day weekend in full swing, many people have taken to the cemetery of their hometown to place flags on the graves of the soldiers who are no longer with us. Our little down did it last week with the cooperation of the local Veterans Council, VFW, American Legion, the Boy Scouts and Cub […]