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A USAF EC-130B ABCNP "Looking Glass" aircraft. (Airliners.net) On this day in 1961, the US Air Force launched Looking Glass, a command centre tasked with coordinating the deployment of America's nuclear weapons. The command centre was located on a number of heavily-modified KC-130 aircraft; the ABNCPs (Airborne Command Post), armed with powerful communications systems, rotated…
F.W. de Klerk (L) shakes hands with ANC leader Nelson Mandela (R) in 1992. (World Economic Forum) On this day in 1990, South African president Frederik Willem de Klerk addressed the parliament on its opening day. In his landmark speech, de Klerk announced plans to un-ban the African National Congress (ANC) - the primary opposition…
Mujahideen fighters in the Afghan mountains. (Al jazeera) As the 1970s came to a close, Soviet power seemed to be on the ascent. New military technology contributed to a rising fear of nuclear war, regime change in Iran marked a rebalancing of power in the Middle East and the aggressive foreign policy of Russian leadership…
The American invasion of York in 1813. (Toronto Public Library) On this day in 1796, the capital of Upper Canada (or, modern-day Ontario) was moved from Old Newark to York. Formerly occupied by the Iroquoian Seneca, York was a small spot at the mouth of the Don River and a waypoint on the Humber Portage…
Imperial Russian troops care for wounded German prisoners after a battle on the Eastern Front. (Flickr) On this day in 1915 - well into WWI - the German 9th Army launched an attack against Imperial Russian positions located near Bolimów, a small Polish town 50 km (31 miles) from Warsaw. The town was not of…
Ōishi Yoshio, leader of the 47 rōnin, leads his men on their raid of Kira's mansion. (Public Domain) On this day in 1701, 47 rōnin (leaderless samurai) killed Kira Yoshinaka, an Edo government official, in revenge for the death of their leader Asano Naganori. Asano had met with Kira at Edo castle in 1700 and…
One of the few images of the Bolshevik participants in the Kiev Arsenal Uprising. (Lord of the Craft) On this day in 1918, Ukrainian Bolshevik workers picked up weapons and revolted at the Kiev Arsenal. Ukraine had finally declared its independence from Imperial Russia just four days earlier in the wake of Russia's October Revolution,…
French regular troops at a defensive position in Paris. (Wikimedia Commons) On this day in 1871, the Prussian Siege of Paris came to an end after 4 months. Beginning in the summer of 1870, French forces had been at war with the North German Confederation; the conflict, known as the Franco-Prussian War, was a result…
This article is a revised version of an essay submitted for academic credit at the University of Toronto. A French child greets British Indian soldiers during a break from the front lines. (Reddit) At the outset of WWII, Britain had one of the best armies in the world. Years of small but tough engagements such…
The battle at the Fushimi Bridge. The Imperial forces, at right, absolutely ruined the shogunate troops (at left) with cannon and rifle fire. (Wikimedia Commons) On this day in 1868, 5,000 Imperial Japanese soldiers engaged over 15,000 Tokugawa Shogunate men during the Battle of Toba-Fushimi. Taking place near modern-day Kyoto, the battle - which lasted…
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