On 28 July 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The rest of Europe would soon choose a side, and within a month the guns of August were sounding. Although the world knew about the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June, everyone expected the reaction to be localized and within appropriate bounds. Everyone, that is, …
The Gambia is an interesting place. It was a part of both the Mali and Songhai Empires. Ibn Battuta visited in the 1300s and had lovely things to say about the justice-minded people who lived there. It’s nearly completely surrounded by Senegal. And it is littered with stone circles resembling versions of Stonehenge. Not much …
On 22 July 1994, a group of junior officers in the Gambian National Army, led by Yahya Jammeh, staged a disorganized and badly planned coup and somehow managed to end up in control of the nation of the Gambia. That is how the longest lasting democracy in West Africa came to an end; and even …
“We have no intention of hauling down our flag and we do not believe you would open fire on us.” – Khalid bin Barghash, one hour and thirty-eight minutes before losing the shortest war in history. The power and wealth of Zanzibar was much to be desired. This Eastern-African island was the focal point for …
War produces monuments and detritus; which is which often depends on which side of the line you are standing on after the end of the war. The Greek and Italians famously repurposed old monuments, treating them as detritus which went into building their homes. Many old villas are built from the remains of older monuments …
Again and again during the Anglo Boer Wars in South Africa, the British troops were able to quickly and effectively turn hard fought tactical victory into strategic defeat. A perfect example was the Battle of Elandslaagte, fought on 21 October 1899, during the Second Boer War. For context, an eland is a massive antelope, standing …
The oil portraits don’t really do him justice. Prince Eugene of Savoy was short, even for the seventeenth century. He had buck-teeth. His nose overpowered his face, he looked sickly, and people remarked on how ugly he was. Also, his mother was booted from France for poisoning people. Despite his appearance and rumors of participation …
“God I fear slightly, the Sultan not at all, and the Grand Vizier no more than my own horse.” A man who would say those words to the Ottoman Empire is not a man to be taken lightly, and Husein Gradaščević managed to prove that he deserved to say them before he died at the …
No one would have suspected that a humble German Mauser Rifle, carrying a breakthrough technology, would serve on many sides of the precursor conflicts to the Great War. The big small arms breakthroughs, the rifle cartridge, were quickly embraced by Germans arms manufacturers, and changed the range of infantry engagements from 50 meters, to a …
Modern history books don’t necessarily print bald-faced lies, but they create mistaken impressions with tricks, and by leaving out certain facts. For instance, the greatest trick the Austrians ever played is convincing the world that Mozart was Austrian and Hitler was German. Most were taught that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was an ancient country, established through …
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