20th Century
Lands At Stake
A conversation that stuck An old conversation sticks in my mind. A decade or so later, through the synergy of passing time and the illumination provided by events, one plus one becomes three. On the [more…]
War
Politics
The Falklands War – 40 years on
It’s difficult for me to believe the Falklands War took place over forty years ago In April 1981 I was a 30 year old captain in Specialist Forces reserve, at the training school in Grantham [more…]
20th Century
Desert Mystery: “Letters from a Feldgrau”, Part Three
In Part 2, I recounted how Hans Coutandin, in his letters to his girlfriend Eva Möller, wrote that he had been to Verdun in France for training, before travelling to Insterburg in East Prussia and [more…]
America
Mr Zelenskyy goes to Washington
On October 17, 1939, Frank Capra’s film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington premiered, becoming a landmark in American cinema. Starring James Stewart as the sincere and unassuming Jefferson Smith, this political drama explores the conflict between [more…]
20th Century
Desert Mystery: “Letters from a Feldgrau” Part Two
In Part 1, I recounted what Hans Coutandin had written to his girlfriend Eva Möller in his letters of early 1941 as he transitioned from being an “Arbeitsmann” in the “RAD-Abteilung 3/250” to be in [more…]
America
A View (Some Miles Away) From The Greenhouse; The Art Of Diplomacy….Innit?
I’m sure that by now we’ve all seen at least the ten minute clip of the White House “spat” and I know I’m far from alone, at least in the august company of Going Postal [more…]
21st Century
20th Century
Desert Mystery: “Letters from a Feldgrau”, Part One
My previous series of articles (“Letters from Afrika”) was based on the “FeldPost” letters from Hans Walden, a driver in the Afrika Korps, to his pen-friend Hildegard Bronnold back in Germany. This new series of [more…]
21st Century
Army Procurement’s ‘Strike’ Cul-de-Sac
General Sir Nick Carter, former Chief of the Defence Staff of the United Kingdom between 2018 and 2021, championed a strategic concept known as ‘Strike’ as part of his vision for modernising the British Army. [more…]