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Front Page Features
Posted on Oct 30, 2005 in Front Page Features, Stuff We Like
In part one of a series of articles, Armchair General takes a look at the 19th century fortress defences of Portsmouth, England, one of the most heavily defended places in the world at that time.
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Posted on Oct 28, 2005 in Front Page Features, Stuff We Like
"Keren is proving itself to be a tough nut to crack. The enemy is ferociously and repeatedly counterattacking us and, even if its losses have been exceedingly heavy, there's no immediate sign of yielding".
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Posted on Oct 22, 2005 in Armchair Reading, Front Page Features
Prepare for WebOps! This month's column ties in with Armchair General's Douglas MacArthur: Soldier of the Century! issue (November 2005, Volume II, No. 5).
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Posted on Oct 15, 2005 in Front Page Features, War College
Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great or Hannibal - who was the greatest of them all? One reader gives his views, join the debate here!
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Posted on Oct 14, 2005 in Books and Movies, Front Page Features
Some people are born to greatness. Others have greatness shoved upon them. Still others reinvent their self into greatness. John A. “Black Jack†Logan reinvented himself not once, but twice into greatness, and nearly within a cat's whiskers distance from the White House when he died prematurely from what was described as cerebral rheumatism.
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Posted on Oct 12, 2005 in Carlo D'Este, Front Page Features
[Note: This is Part 3 of a scheduled three-part analysis of Montgomery’s leadership and battlefield performance in World War II. The first part of this series can be found here. Part 2 can be found here.] An Armchair General Exclusive by Carlo D’Este. This final installment about Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery examines his generalship during the most crucial battle fought by the Allies since the D-Day landings in France on June 6, 1944, the desperate Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 that is perhaps the least understood of his colorful military career. The ensuing battle of Normandy and the breakout from the so-called Falaise Gap were also controversial and will be the subject of a future article on Patton and Monty. At the end of August 1944 the Normandy campaign came to a sudden and dramatic end with an overwhelming allied victory that left the German army in the West in full retreat toward Germany. So crushing was the allied victory that some began to perceive that...
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Posted on Oct 9, 2005 in Armchair Reading, Front Page Features, TIAOW
In which we find that sorting out Doctor Sinister's paperwork is not an easy task.
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Posted on Sep 29, 2005 in Front Page Features, Stuff We Like
Armchair General goes medieval and pays a visit to an ancient and massive castle in southern France.
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Posted on Sep 29, 2005 in Front Page Features, War College
Since the end of the Cold War, the change in the international scene has shown French headquarters the necessity of changing the French army structure and goals. The need to maintain a large force of troops facing a potential threat coming from the Warsaw Pact is no longer necessary in the modern era. The technical evolution of weapon systems show that a smaller force using professional troops is more useful than a larger force relying on conscripts. The first Gulf War, along with the Kosovo conflict, clearly displayed to the French HQ its limits in projecting French troops around the world.
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Posted on Sep 19, 2005 in Front Page Features, Stuff We Like
The wilds of Kent, England, played host to Hoplites, Romans, tanks and fighter planes in this year's massive multi-period show.
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Posted on Sep 12, 2005 in Books and Movies, Front Page Features
His Skyraider was hit by fifty-caliber machine gun bullets fired by communist gunners and crashed, to be rescued by an American Marine flying with the Marine Helicopter Squadron 364 (HMM-364) who had airlifted the South Vietnamese Army troops into the battle.
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Posted on Sep 8, 2005 in Armchair Reading, Front Page Features
This month we introduce a diverse mix of time periods and commanders. From a group of Romans in the Teutoburger Wald who would never return, to General Douglas MacArthur who definitely DID return, plus a whole lot of other goodies. Click here to learn more, and look for this issue on newsstands after October 1st!
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Posted on Sep 4, 2005 in Armchair Reading, Front Page Features, TIAOW
Just why has Doctor Sinister taken delivery of twelve thousand shovels? Join him in this month's installment to find out.
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Posted on Sep 4, 2005 in Electronic Games, Front Page Features
An engrossing and fun turn-based strategy game that fits in your pocket. What more could you ask for?
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Posted on Aug 28, 2005 in Front Page Features, Stuff We Like
Armchair General sent a team to this year's show, billed as the world's largest military vehicles and collector's fair.
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Posted on Aug 26, 2005 in Books and Movies, Front Page Features
Interpreting signs is more science than art. The book gives you details on how to determine speed, direction, a solid guestimate on the number of people in the party, and how to determine the generalized health of and equipment in the chase.
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Posted on Aug 25, 2005 in Carlo D'Este, Front Page Features
[Note: This is Part 2 of a scheduled three-part analysis of Montgomery’s leadership and battlefield performance in World War II. Look for Part 3 in September or October 2005. The first part of this series can be found here.] Last month’s article on the generalship of Field-Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery during World War II was aimed at presenting a brief glimpse into a complex character that was nothing like the cardboard stereotype that has been the typical portrayal of the man they called Monty. This essay is part 2 of a three-part examination of Monty’s leadership during the war and his relationship with senior Allied commanders. This essay is a look at his campaigns in the Mediterranean after El Alamein. * * * With Bernard Montgomery what you saw was what you got; there was not the slightest pretense to the man. He spoke his mind, always forcefully and with little thought of whether or not it was, in modern terminology, politically correct. Monty spoke as a soldier whose...
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Posted on Aug 17, 2005 in Front Page Features, Stuff We Like
Armchair General discovers why even the birds don't sing in the deserted French village of Oradour sur Glane.
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Posted on Aug 16, 2005 in Books and Movies, Front Page Features
This tremendous fabric gave a deep roll with the swell to leeward, then back to windward; and on her return every mast went by the board, leaving her an unmanageable hulk on the water. Her immense topsails had every reef out, her royals were sheeted home but lowered, and the falling mass of spars, sails and rigging, plunging into the water at the muzzles of our guns, was one of the most magnificent sights I ever beheld.
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Posted on Aug 13, 2005 in Front Page Features
March along with Karl Zinsmeister in his downright dusty & dirty report of the 82nd's early assault into Iraq.
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