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World War I, also known in its time as the "Great War" or the "War to End all Wars", was an unprecedented holocaust in terms of its sheer scale. Fought by men who hailed from all corners of the globe, it saw millions of soldiers do battle in brutal assaults of attrition which dragged on for months with little to no respite. Tens of millions of artillery shells and untold hundreds of millions of rifle and machine gun bullets were fired in a conflict...
2) North-West Rebellion: The History and Legacy of the Native American Uprising against Canada in the
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The Métis people, later one of the three recognized aboriginal groups in Canada, were an indigenous group that came from marriages between French traders and native women, but Scotch and English cultures were also heavy influencers among the Métis. The term comes from a Latin word for "to mix" and originally referred to the children of these relationships, but the Métis would grow to become a major intermediary between the white settlers moving...
3) Native American Games: The History and Legacy of the Different Sports Played by Indigenous Groups
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Athletics in Central and North American societies go much further back than most people realize. The native peoples took their sports just as seriously as any of today's most fervent soccer fans. One major difference between modern sports and these aboriginal games is that the native people's sports often had strong religious content, and games were sometimes seen as literal substitutes for war, played to resolve disputes between towns or tribes.
The...
4) Operation Balak: The History of the Weapons Smuggling Operation that Helped Israel Win the 1948 A
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Less than two weeks after the creation of Israel, the state's leader, David Ben-Gurion, announced the creation of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). This represented the combined military forces that would protect the new state, and while it might have sounded impressive on paper, the reality was very different. The new army was comprised mainly of ex-members of several paramilitary organizations that had fought for the establishment of the new state,...
5) Philippines Campaigns of World War II: The History of the Japanese Invasion in 1941-1942 and the Ja
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I came through and I shall return." - General Douglas MacArthur
Those who had decoded and seen the Japanese communications in early December 1941 would not be surprised when they heard about an attack on December 7, 1941. They would, however, be astonished when they heard where that attack took place. Posted on the other side of the world, it was early on the morning of December 8 in the Philippines when American general Douglas MacArthur received...
6) Railroad Robber Barons: The Lives of the Magnates Who Dominated America's Rail Industry in the 19
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The Gilded Age and the dawn of the 20th century are often remembered as an era full of monopolies, trusts, and economic giants in heavy industries like oil and steel. Men like Andrew Carnegie built empires like Carnegie Steel, and financiers like J.P. Morgan merged and consolidated them. The era also made names like Astor, Cooke, and Vanderbilt instantly recognizable across the globe. Over time, the unfathomable wealth generated by the businesses...
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Europe's attempts to appease Hitler, most notably at Munich in 1938, failed, as Nazi Germany swallowed up Austria and Czechoslovakia by 1939. Italy was on the march as well, invading Albania in April of 1939. The straw that broke the camel's back, however, was Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1 of that year. Two days later, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany, and World War II had begun in earnest.
Of course, as most people now...
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Hurricanes have been devastating communities for thousands of years, bringing about various combinations of rain and wind that can do everything from taking down some dead limbs to wiping out houses. They are also common enough that people who live for any length of time in a region prone to having hurricanes are inclined to accept them as something of a periodic nuisance rather than a serious danger. Modern construction styles allow houses to withstand...
9) Cathars and Huguenots: The History and Legacy of the Major French Christian Groups Who Were Perse
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Carcassonne today is the capital of the Aude department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France, about 58 miles from Toulouse. This land is also home to several legends and local traditions. When the earth is drenched by heavy storms, the crumbling red soil drifts into the River Aude, staining the water with crimson. This beautiful, yet haunting phenomenon, which the locals call the "blood of the Cathars," is a symbolic reminder of the blood...
10) End of World War II in the Pacific: The History of the Final Campaigns that Led to Imperial Japan
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By the spring of 1943, American military planners had begun to create a plan to dislodge Japan from east and southeast Asia. To do so, parts of the Philippines were considered main strategic points in the potential Allied attack in the Pacific. The end goal of the Allied plan was an invasion of the Japanese home islands, in which heavy aerial bombardment would precede a ground assault. In order for this to occur, Allied forces would have to occupy...
11) Forgotten Terrorist Bombings in America: The History of Some of the Earliest Attacks in the United S
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Bombs have been around for centuries. The military units called "Grenadiers" in European armies used throwable black powder bombs, early versions of what today are called grenades. They were heavy, so Grenadiers were tall, strong soldiers able to throw grenades for a distance. Terrorism has been around for many centuries, most infamously the period called The Terror (1793-94) in the French Revolution. However, the combination of bombs and terrorism...
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While the bow was used throughout ancient times and the Middle Ages, on mainland Europe it was mostly replaced by the crossbow in the early 13th century, but that would change with the introduction of the longbow, a more powerful weapon than the traditional hunting bows. The original longbowmen were Welshmen recruited by King Edward I of England after he conquered Wales, and the weapon got its name from the fact that it was almost as tall as the man...
13) The Dakota War of 1862: The History and Legacy of the Sioux Uprising during the American Civil War
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Despite being one of the most erstwhile foes the U.S. government faced during the Indian Wars, the Sioux and their most famous leaders were grudgingly admired and eventually immortalized by the very people they fought. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse remain household names due to their leadership of the Sioux at the fateful Battle of the Little Bighorn, where the native warriors wiped out much of George Custer's 7th Cavalry and inflicted the worst defeat...
14) Saint Nicholas and Krampus: The History of the Popular Companions Who Reward and Punish Children
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*Includes pictures
*Includes contemporary accounts
*Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading
Christmas is the most important holiday of the year. After the corresponding days that exalt the national pride of each country, such as Independence Day in the United States, Victory Day in Russia, or Bastille Day in France, it's December 25 that articulates the life, the work and the economy in much of the world, including many non-Christian...
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"It is nothing." – Archduke Franz Ferdinand after being shot on June 28, 1914
By the 20th century, warfare was nothing new to the European powers, especially when it came to fighting each other. Conflicts had been a mainstay on the European continent for over two millennia. Even after the Napoleonic wars had enveloped Europe in large scale war for nearly 20 years in the 19th century, the Europeans' imperialism continued unabated. It would take...