The phenomenon of North Vietnamese laughing soldiers
Imagine approaching an enemy soldier on the battlefield. They are likely wielding a weapon, perhaps in a stance ready to attack. Even yelling or saying something threatening. In this scenario,…
Russia only started issuing socks to its soldiers in 2013
Russian soldiers can be seen in photographs and paintings dating as far back at the 17th century wearing “Portyanki,” distinctive footwraps that the Russian military has issued its soldiers since…
These WWII soldiers were stationed at Disney
It’s the happiest place on earth, and at one point in time, you could be stationed there as an American soldier. During World War II, one of the most coveted…
The Battle of Stony Point shows just how good Baron von Steuben was at training soldiers
Before Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben arrived to train the Continental Army, they were a largely unorganized, untrained group of men who lacked skill, but not the spirit, of professional…
An Army officer disobeyed orders and stole four tanks to save 65 soldiers in Korea
In April 1951, Lt. Dave Teich heard a call from about 65 U.S. Army soldiers from the 8th Ranger Company. They were completely cut off from the rest of the…
The United Kingdom had special battalions for short soldiers in World War I
At the outbreak of the 20th century’s first global conflict, when you might think they’d take anyone who wanted to fight, the British Army was actually turning able-bodied men away. …
This WWII soldier went rogue and fought until 1974
Some legends are strange enough to be true, like this Japanese soldier who fought for nearly three decades after the war had ended. Hiroo Onada was a commando class “Futamata”…
Poland enlisted a bear as one of their top soldiers
One of the most famous soldiers in military history wasn’t even a human at all. No, we’re not talking about a science experiment gone right. We’re talking about Poland’s move…
Mighty Women: The disguised female soldiers of the Civil War
When we think of defining women’s rights movements, many cite women’s suffrage of the 20s or the explosion of female empowerment during the 60s and 70s. But in America, it started…
5 times soldiers won against the odds
One of the better-known assumptions about combat is that the side with the greater numbers usually wins. Seems pretty self-explanatory, right? Being outnumbered puts you at an automatic disadvantage. Still,…