Organisation
Supremacy at sea: finance, aggression and national commitment.
Trafalgar -The Penultimate Naval Victory. In the last analysis Britannia came to rule the waves because the British navy was better financed than any of its rivals. Once disagreements with the Crown were overcome and a productive taxation and borrowing system established, Parliament never stinted on the navy because the whole country was convinced that national survival depended on it.…
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ARMORED CAVALRY INÂ VIETNAM
A wire screen protects this M113. The crew can take cover in their bunker. (111-CC-64235) Each infantry division had an Armored Cavalry Squadron responsible for reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and security missions. (Note: The cavalry squadron was the equivalent of an infantry battalion, while the cavalry troop equated to an infantry…
From Beggars and landsknechts to professional standing army
William of Orange, Adriaen Thomasz Key, c. 1570–84. Upon his appointment as stadholder of Holland in 1572, one of the first tasks of William of Orange was to incorporate the unruly `Beggar’ forces into the regular army. Officers of the Beggars who refused to comply were removed. Orange even discharged…
WWII US Army Heavy and Medium Field Artillery
The 240 mm Howitzer M1, popularly nicknamed the “Black Dragon”, was a towed howitzer used by the United States Army. The 240 mm M1 was designed to replace the World War I era 240 mm Howitzer M1918 which was based on a 1911 French design and was outdated by World…
The Third Service II
On 3 January 1917 a new committee, the Second Air Board, was set up under the presidency of Lord Cowdray, a Yorkshireman who had built his fortune constructing railways, docks, dams and harbours around the world. The board took on responsibility for designing aircraft and engines (actually making them was…
Military Strength and Weakness of the Imperial Roman Army
The gradual changes in the nature of the Roman army between the time of Tiberius and 235 certainly affected both Roman society and the empire’s internal power-struggles. Did they also affect Rome’s strength at the periphery? The really big changes were three, though they had all started well before Tiberius’…
US Army Independent Tank Battalion Combat Operations I
Organizational change and doctrinal definition did not adequately prepare independent tank battalions for actual combat conditions. The first encounter with German forces occurred in December 1942 during combat in Tunisia. A company of the 70th Tank Battalion was roughly handled and suffered extensive losses. The effectiveness of independent tank battalions…