A Brief History On September 13, 1862, the Army of Northern Virginia and their commander, Robert E. Lee, suffered a catastrophic blunder when Lee’s battle plans for the upcoming Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg to the Rebels) were found near Frederick, Maryland by Union soldiers. Digging Deeper The orders, known as “Special Order 191” were found wrapped around 3 cigars where they had been lost by a Confederate officer, gave the Union forces under George McClellan a tremendous advantage. As it was, Lee had half the forces that the Union had available, and the battle was fought to a stalemate, something…
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A Brief History On September 11, 2007, the Russian military tested the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in history, a weapon they called “The Father of All Bombs.” Actually designated “Aviation Thermobaric Bomb of Increased Power,” or ATBIP, this 15,650 lb bomb has the explosive equivalence of around 44 tons of TNT. Digging Deeper Trumping the US “Massive Ordnance Air Blast” also known as “The Mother of All Bombs,” the FOAB was designed to take the place of smaller nuclear weapons, thus giving the Russian military an alternative to nuclear escalation. Consisting of a mixture of high explosives and powdered aluminum…
A Brief History Despite being known for their formidable military, Sparta has actually suffered as many if not more famous defeats as they have won victories in battle. Therefore, we ask, “Is Sparta’s much celebrated military actually overrated?” Please examine the list of their battle record below and let us know your thoughts in the comments using Disqus! Digging Deeper: 22 Spartan Defeats In 669/8 BC, the Argives defeated Sparta in the First Battle of Hysiae. In c. 550 BC, the Arcadians defeated Sparta in the Battle of the Fetters. On either August 20 or September 8-10, 480 BC, the Persians…
A Brief History On September 9, 2015, a new record was broken! On this historic date, Queen Elizabeth II (r. 1952-present) became Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. She has now reigned for 63 years and seven months, surpassing the record set by her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria (r. 1837-1901). Digging Deeper Queen Elizabeth II (born 1926) became Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms on February 6, 1952. You may be asking, “Dr. Zar, just how many other Commonwealth realms is she queen of?” Well, let me tell you: the 89-year-old monarch is actually queen of sixteen member states…
A Brief History On September 7, 1776, American patriot Ezra Lee made the first attack by a submarine against a surface warship in history against the HMS Eagle in New York Harbor. The attack failed when the screw designed to attach an explosive mine to the side of the Eagle failed to penetrate the ship’s hull, allowing the bomb to float away and explode harmlessly. Last year on this date we list 10 Underperforming Weapons, weapons and weapon systems that did not live up to expectations though they may have had some level of limited success. Also see our articles…