UK

Featured in UK

BYJessica Evans

Apr 28, 2023

The tragic lesson of the Dieppe Raid

The Dieppe Raid was a failed amphibious assault by Allied forces on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in Northern France during World War II, resulting in heavy losses and valuable…

dieppe raid

BYJessica Evans

Apr 28, 2023

Mar 14, 2023

Australia is getting nuclear submarines from the US and UK

On March 13, 2023, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, US President Joe Biden announced a joint plan to equip Australia with conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs)….

nuclear submarines

Mar 14, 2023

BYBlake Stilwell

Sep 24, 2022

This Royal Marine threw himself on a grenade – and walked away with a nosebleed

Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher’s dad says his boy is a “lucky man.” The Royal Marine was attached to 40 Commando Group in Afghanistan in 2008. On a night raid on a bomb maker’s compound in Sangin, he brushed a tripwire. The grenade sprung, then…

Marine Corps photo

BYBlake Stilwell

Sep 24, 2022

BYJames Elphick

Aug 11, 2022

That time two countries’ Special Forces squared off in combat

The idea of having a force designed for a special purpose dates far back into history and has been used in many wars. However, it is rare, if ever, that these forces meet in combat. Their targets are usually those too difficult to tackle by conventi…

Air Force photo

BYJames Elphick

Aug 11, 2022

BYBlake Stilwell

Aug 9, 2022

These British troops claimed to be rescued by angels in WWI

In August, 1914, British troops were in full retreat from the World War I Battle of Mons in Northern France. The Germans chasing them were far greater in number, and the men were desperate. In a turn of good luck, they happened to pass a celebrated…

World War I photo

BYBlake Stilwell

Aug 9, 2022

BYBlake Stilwell

Jul 22, 2022

That time a British soldier held back 6,000 enemy troops with beer bottles

There’s probably no greater argument in favor of issuing bottled beer to troops in combat than the story of William Speakman. In 1951, the 24-year-old Speakman volunteered for service in the Korean War. He initially joined the Bla…

Korean War photo

BYBlake Stilwell

Jul 22, 2022

BYBlake Stilwell

Jul 16, 2022

‘The Suffering Bastard’ is the cocktail that beat the Nazis in Egypt

When considering the origins of legendary cocktails, it’s doubtful that Egypt is the first place to spring into anyone’s mind. Like many culinary innovations made during World War II, “The Suffering Bastard” is a concoction birthed from a worl…

World War II photo

BYBlake Stilwell

Jul 16, 2022

BYBlake Stilwell

Jul 9, 2022

This is why World War I-era British spies used semen as invisible ink

The first head of Britain’s secret service — which would one day be called MI6 — carried a swordstick, drove a personal tank, and would sometimes stab his wooden leg with a pen just to see how people reacted. If that wasn’t enough t…

World War I photo

BYBlake Stilwell

Jul 9, 2022

BYBlake Stilwell

Jun 18, 2022

The medieval weapon so frightening Scots surrendered at first sight

There’s not a lot about the 1995 movie Braveheart we can call “historically accurate.” William Wallace never knocked up Isabella, he wasn’t all that successful as a military leader, and the movie leaves out a lot of boring (but…

Weapons photo

BYBlake Stilwell

Jun 18, 2022

BYBlake Stilwell

Jun 15, 2022

The spectacular naval origin of the phrase, ‘son of a gun’

These days, Americans are less likely to exclaim “son of a gun” than the more-explicit “son of a b*tch,” but there was a time when “son of a gun” itself was not used in mixed company — and that time was more than 200 years …

Navy photo

BYBlake Stilwell

Jun 15, 2022

Mar 19, 2023

The story of ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ makes your officers look pretty smart

The “Charge of the Light Brigade” has become shorthand for a military disaster, especially one that is filled with heroics but is still a catastrophe. In the actual Charge of the Light Brigade, approximately 670 men rode into the teeth of Russian …

military brigade

Mar 19, 2023

BYBlake Stilwell

Feb 15, 2023

This is how British troops got the nickname ‘Tommies’

In the trenches of World War I, German and French troops would call out over the trenches looking for “Tommy” when they wanted to talk to a British soldier. You don’t hear the term quite so much anymore, but for centuries, the nickname reigned s…

This is how British troops got the nickname ‘Tommies’

BYBlake Stilwell

Feb 15, 2023

BYBlake Stilwell

Nov 28, 2021

The Royal Navy’s stealth sub can stay submerged for 25 years

The UK’s submarine fleet conducts some of the most secret missions in the Royal Navy. For that, it requires the quietest ships ever built – the Astute-class submarine. Capable of tracking enemy ships, listening in on foreign communicatio…

Navy photo

BYBlake Stilwell

Nov 28, 2021

BYBlake Stilwell

Nov 8, 2021

That time a British sniper blew the head off of an ISIS executioner during beheading training session

An ISIS militant teaching a class on how to behead captured prisoners was nailed in the head by a British sniper attached to the elite Special Air Service from 1,000 meters away.

That time a British sniper blew the head off of an ISIS executioner during beheading training session

BYBlake Stilwell

Nov 8, 2021

Oct 24, 2022

The British soldier who used German air raids to become a serial killer

The bravery and resilience of most who survived the Luftwaffe attacks during Germany’s World War II Blitz over London is beyond reproach. But let’s face it, some people are a–holes.

Air Force photo

Oct 24, 2022

BYBlake Stilwell

Oct 23, 2021

America’s 9 most deadly wartime enemies, ranked

The United States wasn’t the most dominant country on Earth from the get-go. For most of our nearly 243-year history, in fact, we lived by the skin of our teeth. It’s a relatively recent development where some other country can call out for the bl…

America’s 9 most deadly wartime enemies, ranked

BYBlake Stilwell

Oct 23, 2021

BYBlake Stilwell

Aug 18, 2022

George Washington was voted Britain’s ‘Greatest Enemy Commander’

In 2012, Britain’s National Army Museum organized a contest asking its patrons which of Britain’s historical enemies was their greatest foe? The answer turned out to be the man who, almost through sheer force of will, and despite a lack of trained…

Revolutionary War photo

BYBlake Stilwell

Aug 18, 2022

BYBlake Stilwell

Jul 23, 2021

The UK’s MI6 intelligence agency really issues licenses to kill

Or…licences. With a C. Because they’re British. In any case, it’s probably the coolest thing any movie spy was ever issued. James Bond, with his “00” designation has one, and maybe a whole handful of real-world MI6 agents do too —…

The UK’s MI6 intelligence agency really issues licenses to kill

BYBlake Stilwell

Jul 23, 2021

BYBlake Stilwell

Jun 2, 2022

These British troops launched a ‘proper angry’ bayonet charge during the Iraq War

In May 2004, about 20 British troops were on the move 15 miles south of al-Amara, near the major city of Basra in Iraq. They were on the way to assist another unit that was under fire when their convoy was hit by a surprise of its own.

These British troops launched a ‘proper angry’ bayonet charge during the Iraq War

BYBlake Stilwell

Jun 2, 2022

BYBlake Stilwell

May 11, 2021

The gentleman’s rules for how to play golf in war-torn WWII Britain

Surrey, England, is home to The Richmond Golf Club. The club has been at this location in the southwestern area of London since 1898. As you can imagine, the place has a lot of history, including that time a Nazi bomb was dropped onto one of the hol…

World War II photo

BYBlake Stilwell

May 11, 2021

BYBlake Stilwell

May 1, 2021

Why the Queen of England took a member of Parliament hostage

They do things a little differently over in Britain. They say the U.S. and the UK are two nations separated by a common language — but we’re also separated by food quality and bizarre traditions. Just as the English might be a little concerned wh…

Why the Queen of England took a member of Parliament hostage

BYBlake Stilwell

May 1, 2021

BYBlake Stilwell

Mar 31, 2022

This was Canada’s WWII plan to build an aircraft carrier made of ice

When we think of crazy military schemes, we probably think of the United States and Soviet Union during the Cold War. From nuclear-tipped kamikaze pilots to a base on the moon to secret listening cats, the two superpowers came up with a lot of uncon…

Air Force photo

BYBlake Stilwell

Mar 31, 2022

BYJames Elphick

Mar 23, 2021

These quirky tanks helped the British crack Hitler’s Atlantic Wall

The Allied invasion of Normandy was a challenge on a grand scale. Every single aspect of the plan drew new challenges for commanders. Luckily, the greatest military minds of the day were leading the Allied forces. They came up with some ingenious so…

These quirky tanks helped the British crack Hitler’s Atlantic Wall

BYJames Elphick

Mar 23, 2021

BYBlake Stilwell

Mar 9, 2021

This British crew sang a hilarious song as their ship burned

People who serve in the military tend to develop a pretty dark sense of humor. It comes with the territory. When a very large part of your life involves risking it for your country and for the guy next to you, the idea that your last moments could b…

This British crew sang a hilarious song as their ship burned

BYBlake Stilwell

Mar 9, 2021

BYEric Milzarski

Feb 26, 2021

Watch Gordon Ramsey live a day in the life of a Royal Marine

Between his colorful comments on Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares, and his savage

Watch Gordon Ramsey live a day in the life of a Royal Marine

BYEric Milzarski

Feb 26, 2021