What was Operation Barbarossa (1941)?

Introduction Operation Barbarossa (German: Unternehmen Barbarossa; Russian: Операция Барбаросса, romanised: Operatsiya Barbarossa) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday 22 June 1941, during World War II. It was the largest and costliest land offensive in human history, with around 10 million combatants taking… Read More

Who was Frederick Barbarossa (1122-1190)?

Introduction Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 to 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (German: Friedrich I; Italian: Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on o4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 1152.… Read More

Who was Charlemagne?

Introduction Charlemagne (02 April 748 to 28 January 814) was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian Empire from 800, holding these titles until his death in 814. He united most of Western and Central Europe and was the first… Read More

What was the Contestado War (1912-1916)?

Introduction The Contestado War (Portuguese: Guerra do Contestado), broadly speaking, was a guerrilla war for land between settlers and landowners, the latter supported by the Brazilian state’s police and military forces, that lasted from October 1912 to August 1916. It was fought in an inland southern region of the country, rich in wood and yerba… Read More

What is a Joint Base?

Introduction A joint base (JB) is a base of the armed forces of the United States utilised by multiple military services; one service hosts one or more other services as tenants on the base. In most cases, joint bases have interservice support agreements (ISSAs) to govern how the host provides services to the tenants. The… Read More

What is Interservice Rivalry?

Introduction Interservice rivalry is rivalry between different branches of a country’s armed forces. This may include competition between land, marine, naval, coastal, air, or space forces. Interservice rivalry can occur over such topics as the appropriation of the military budget, prestige, or the possession of certain types of equipment or units. The latter case can… Read More

What is Military Parlance?

Introduction Military parlance is the vernacular used within the military and embraces all aspects of service life; it can be described as both a “code” and a “classification” of something. Like many close and closed communities, the language used can often be full of jargon and not readily intelligible to outsiders – sometimes this is… Read More