Browsing: Military

A Brief History On April 26, 1942, the Benxihu Colliery an iron and coal mine in Liaoning, China, was the scene of a horrific accident resulting in the deaths of 1,549 miners, the highest death toll of any mining disaster ever. Digging Deeper Japan had invaded Manchuria in 1931 and began to exploit the natural resources and the people of the region.  Using Chinese as slave labor, the Japanese military did not provide adequate food, clothing, medical care, and sanitation for the workers. In miserable conditions, a huge coal dust explosion took place on April 26, 1942, triggering a massive…

A Brief History On April 22, 1944, an Allied “sledge patrol” attacked a German Bassgeiger weather station in Greenland, as part of the ongoing and important, although often overlooked, North Atlantic Weather War during World War II. Digging Deeper The battles and weapons of World War II get most of the popular attention, but another highly important part of waging war is accurate weather prediction.  Many operations are dependent on compliant weather, such as air operations including bombing and paratroop drops, naval movements, and even land battles.  Amphibious operations such as the D-Day landings at Normandy in 1944 were dependent…

A Brief History On April 21, 2021, the Indonesian Navy suffered a tragic “Oops moment” when their German built submarine, KRI Nanggala, sank with all 53 people aboard during a torpedo firing test in the Bali Sea. Digging Deeper About 195 feet long and 20 feet wide, the Nanggala was a diesel/electric type of sub, capable of 11 knots on the surface and 25 knots submerged.  Commissioned in 1981, the sub carried a punch of eight torpedo tubes in the bow with 14 torpedoes aboard. Submarines are of course designed to intentionally sink, although they are supposed to then resurface…

A Brief History On April 8, 1945, in the waning weeks of World War II, a German train transporting about 4,000 concentration camp inmates, including Ukrainians, Poles, Russians, Dutch, and French nationals, was accidentally bombed by an Allied air raid targeting German military rail traffic. Digging Deeper By April of 1945, Allied air forces ruled the skies over Germany and a favorite target was railroad trains.  On the fateful day cited here, the prison train was next to an ammunition train in a rail yard at Celle, in Prussian Hanover.  The ammo train was hit, and the explosions killed many…

A Brief History On April 7, 1141, the daughter of King Henry I of England, Matilda, became the first female to rule England when she had already been known as “Empress Matilda.”  Why the title “Empress?”  Because she was the “Holy Roman Empress, Queen consort of the Romans.” Digging Deeper Born in England around 1102, she was sent to Germany to become the child bride of Holy Roman Emperor Henry V.  Widowed at the age of 23, her father married her to Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou, known as “The Handsome.” The “Game of Thrones” that was the English monarchy…