War & Military History | Warblogging.com

The War in Iraq: The True Costs

The Iraq War began with the initial invasion spear-headed by the United States in the year 2003. A long, bloody conflict the war dragged on for years, but was officially declared over in December 2011. The eight years spent in Iraq exacted a huge toll though, and it’s one that is only now beginning to truly see the light of day.

The Financial Costs of The Iraq War

The Iraq War was fraught with problems that led to a massive bill. The expenditures on changing equipment for the army, the huge sums paid out to civilian contractors (many of which over-charged the government egregiously for their services), and the general costs of soldiers, gear, and upkeep was also adding up on top of everything else. President Bush originally predicted the war would cost between $100 billion and $200 billion dollars when he pitched the idea to Congress, and that cost was ridiculed as being overblown by some in the government at the time.

The final bill for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has been added up to over $6 trillion, $2 trillion of which was borrowed in large part from foreign lenders. This was responsible for 20 percent of the increase in the U.S.’s debt between 2001 and 2012, and since that time the U.S. has paid over $260 billion in interest on those loans. This is a far cry from the president’s statements at the time that oil revenues would pay for the war effort, and then some. [Read more…]

World War I–How It Started

The beginning of the First World War marked a drastic change from the way people perceived battle, glory and the meaning of heroism. Until this point in history, men had headed into the battlefield with high-minded notions of making a name for themselves through battle, even if it meant death. “The Great War” changed all that. The nationalism and mechanized units of war made people question the underlying meaning of conflict and duty.

A History of Conflict

file3291282401419 Over the previous centuries, Europe had been in a relatively constant state of warfare. Regional divisions and alliances stretched back hundreds, even thousands, of years. One such schism had built up in the Austro-Hungarian Empire holding of Serbia. Serbian nationalists had long antagonized the empire and sought a separate Slavic state. Serb nationalists assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand on the 28th of June, 1914. This assassination would set off a chain of events throughout Europe and, eventually, the world.

Falling Dominoes

The initial Austro-Hungarian reaction was to deal directly with the Serbs, which brought Serbia’s Slavic brothers, the Russians, into the mix. Arguably, the first domino to fall was Germany, which sided with the Austro-Hungarians. The French declined to remain neutral in a conflict between Russia and Germany. [Read more…]

World War II – Why America Won

file000990625508 The suggestion that America won World War 2 has several flaws, though from an American perspective this is the reality. While it is true that American forces played a key role in the victories, what has to first be acknowledged is that America won two wars. The war against the Germans in Europe was the result of the participation of a number of other countries: Britain, France and Russia. However, in the war against the Japanese, America fought alone.

On the European theatre, Germany was a juggernaut, particularly in the air. The coordination of air and ground forces left opposing militaries virtually helpless. The United States, uninvolved in the War until its later stages, had established centralized government planning and strategic offices that would play a key role in the primary reason for its success. The establishment of the Industrial War College in the 1920’s laid the foundation for the development of military technology that would prove decisive in winning the war. [Read more…]

Historical Guns Used In Vietnam

Vietnam When it comes to collectors guns, most collectors generally look for weapons which were primarily used throughout world war one and world war two. There are certain collectors however that look for armaments that come more specifically from the Vietnam war. While a good number of the weapons that were used in WW2 were also used in the Vietnam war, there were many modifications made on the traditional weapons designs, and many of the designs that persist and are still made to this day. Here is a rundown of some of the top historical guns which were used in Vietnam:

The M16: The 16 rifle would become one of the most widely used Vietnam war infantry rifles. It was the replacement for the M14 rifle and considered to be much more accurate than the typical AK47. The only problem that the M16 was best known for was its jamming action. In many cases this jamming was caused by spent cartridges getting lodged in the chamber, which was mostly caused by changes in gunpowder throughout testing. This is a gun that has been used since 1962 to the present day and still continues to be produced in a much more refined format.

M40 Rifle: This was a bolt action sniper rifle widely used by the US marine corps. This rifle had several different variants including the M40A1, M40A2 and M40A5. The first version of the rifle was introduced in 1966 and this sniper rifle was widely used as a support and sniper rifle throughout the Vietnam war. This same rifle is still used by the United States today to provide sniper fire support. It was one of the first officially designated US standard issue sniper rifles and since then the design has changed to include features like suppressed fire, a light weight construction and the ability to fire effectively over 800 meters or 2600+ ft. [Read more…]

The Types of Modern Combat Knives Used in Historical Warfare

War has been around since the dawn of man it seems. Weapons and combat tactics have evolved from sticks and rocks to laser guided missiles and nuclear warheads. One type of weapon that’s always been around since the early days of warfare is the knife.

Almost every civilized military on the planet requires their troops to be equipped with standard issue military knives.

We are going to dive in head first and look at several of the different types of modern combat knives that have been used in the past and present day that have helped protect millions of people during warfare. There are many modern combat knives that were made specifically for the art of modern combat.

Fixed blade knives, survival machetes, tactical knives and some of the newer models of survival knives that have been made in recent years are hands down the best options for a survival knife in today’s knife market in almost any era – and these are all just variations of classic types of knives that have been used for centuries.

You could argue that certain types of pocket knives could be the best in this category as well but most combat knives have traditionally been fixed blade knives due to the need for having them in direct combat. Let’s look at some of the more classic types of knives that we can credit in use during modern warfare over the last two centuries. [Read more…]