A Brief History On September 12, 1942, one of the saddest and most regrettable incidents of World War II took place following the sinking of the British ocean liner the RMS Laconia by torpedoes from a German U-boat. Digging Deeper The Laconia was the second British liner to bear that name. The first, in an ominous preview of history repeating itself, was sunk by a U-boat during World War I. Fitted with 8 x 6 inch guns and 2 x 3 inch guns, the passenger liner was as heavily armed as a light cruiser and thus a legitimate target for U-boats. On September 12, 1942,…
Author: Major Dan
Major Dan
Major Daniel Zar is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.
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A Brief History On September 11, 1297, Scottish forces led by William “Braveheart” Wallace defeated the English at Stirling Bridge. Amazingly, in the 1995 Mel Gibson movie, the battle of Stirling Bridge is depicted without a bridge! Hollywood movies regularly get history wrong, and here 10 such movies containing inaccuracies are listed. Digging Deeper 10. One million Years B.C., 1967. A remake of a 1940 film, this one stars Raquel Welch (the leading sex symbol of the time) as a member of remarkably modern-looking cave people who interact with dinosaurs, although these died out at least 60 million years before cavemen actually…
A Brief History On September 11, 1792, in the midst of the confusion of the French Revolution, the crown jewels, which included the fabulous Hope Diamond (Le Bleu de France), were stolen. Digging Deeper Mined in India in the 17th century, it came to the attention of a Frenchman by the name of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier who brought it back to France with him where he sold it to the Sun King, Louis XIV. Known first as the “Tavernier Blue” and then “Le Bijou du Roi” (the King’s jewel), the Hope Diamond was originally a blue, 112-carat diamond. For the next 124 years, it remained the property of the French royal family…
A Brief History On September 10, 1898, Empress Elisabeth of Austria was stabbed in the chest by assassin Luigi Lucheni. Just as men have been targeted over the years, women have also found themselves at the receiving end of an assassin’s bullet, sword or poison. Here 10 women are listed who were famous or powerful enough that someone wanted to get rid of them for political reasons or personal convictions. Digging Deeper 10. Diana, Princess of Wales, 1997. Killed in a car wreck while supposedly trying to shake off paparazzi, rumors and conspiracy theories that Diana and her boyfriend (Dodi…
A Brief History On September 10, 1939, with its torpedoing of its own submarine, the HMS Oxley, the British Royal Navy proved quite early in World War II that there is such as thing as “friendly fire.” Digging Deeper In the military they play around with the words and say that “there is no such thing as friendly fire,” meaning that no fire is friendly, however, the true definition of “friendly fire” is the unintentional harming of one’s own troops or allied troops, basically one’s “friends.” Bullets, rockets, bombs and torpedoes will kill your own people just as fast as they will kill the enemy, and sometimes…