World War II

A well established predictor of military victory in great power warfare is GDP. This analysis shows that while by 1942 there was a substantial Allied economic advantage, measured in GDP, this did not exist at the beginning of the war in 1939.

It is perhaps important to remember that the way we got here was through a vicious bloodletting known as World War II. Perhaps that was necessary and inevitable because we have found no better way of altering established power relationships to reflect reality.

Combat experience on the Eastern Front during 1941-42 caused the German Army to reconsider the basic armament of an infantry soldier. What the German engineers eventually produced was the MP-44.

Most intelligence gathering takes place at a very low level, listening to newscasts, reading newspapers and listening to the man in the street. The stranger to whom you speak at the bus stop may not be as glamorous as James Bond, but he may be reporting to a hostile government. Hence ...

It was Elizabeth's continuing efforts to foster the British will to fight that awarded her Hitler's description as "The most dangerous woman in Europe", perhaps the highest accolade she has ever received.

Madame Chiang, media darling and the power behind the Nationalist leader, Chiang Kai-shek, was so prominent in the Chinese war effort against Japan that General Stilwell recommended, only half jokingly, that she be appointed Minister of Defense.

At the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Nationalist Chinese led by Chiang Kai-Shek were in desparate need. Help was at hand through the Allies but it arrived with American General Joseph Warren "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell.

The popular image of spies is very glamorous. Indeed, life for the few agents working undercover can be very exciting. It can also be very short and undercover work is not where the main area of intelligence gathering takes place.

One of the things that keeps an army fighting is morale. Thrown into bewildering and often horrible circumstances soldiers can become depressed and lose the will to live, much less fight.

The long Lance torpedo was remarkably effective, until it was transformed into a one man submarine