20th Century
WW II
20th Century
The Violent End of Mussolini – Operation Oak, Part Two
The gliders wallowed behind their Heinkel 111 tug aircraft in the thin, turbulent air above the mountains. The lead aircraft sighted the long mountain ridge and the Gran Sasso Mountain behind it, gave the order [more…]
20th Century
The Fall of Mussolini – Operation Oak, Part One
In the summer of 1943, the terrible reality of total war was the closest wolf to the Italian population’s sledge. Mussolini’s grandiose plans for a new Roman Empire that would stretch across Southern Europe and [more…]
20th Century
The USA’s gradual slide into WW2
Conventional wisdom has it that prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour the USA was sitting pretty and ignoring what was going on in the world. To an isolationist American public this was exactly [more…]
20th Century
The Desert War – Some Impressions
Having spent a while researching the Desert War series, it is only fair to leave you my impressions based on the many thing that have passed before my eyes. It takes a while to weed [more…]
20th Century
The Desert War – May 1943
With the Axis occupying a smaller and smaller piece of real estate in Tunisia this was the month they would have to surrender, 291,000 of them. There was no way to supply them and no [more…]
Eating
Elementary, my dear Watson – Na Sodium
Here we go once again, embarking on our explorations of the elements. Up to now, we’ve considered Hydrogen, Carbon, Mercury, Bromine, Oxygen, and Iron. We’ve also had a quick trot around a little basic chemistry, [more…]
History
Postcard From Manipur
In seach of a hidden gem “Lucky bugger,” muttered Swiss Bob as he sat beside the log fire at the staff end of the Explorer’s Room in the exclusive Going Post Gentleman’s (Ladies welcome) Club [more…]
History
Elementary, my dear Watson – O2 Oxygen
By now, you should be getting quite used to meandering through the mesmerising memoirs of the elements. So far, we’ve covered Hydrogen, Carbon, Mercury, and Bromine. In doing so, we’ve also covered a good chunk [more…]