Arthur Wermuth, the One-Man Army of Bataan, with one of his Philippine Scouts. (Library of Congress)
In 1942, Maj. Arthur Wermuth was crawling through mud to avoid a Japanese patrol marching through the jungle. The invaders had no idea he was there. When they passed, he continued crawling on the jungle floor.
His destination was a ridgeline that overlooked the nearby enemy camp. He climbed to the top of the ridge and drew out his Thompson submachine gun. He then let loose on the encampment. The Japanese, now confused and panicking, thought the Americans had slipped into their rear.
But it was only Wermuth, the “One-Man Army of Bataan.”
The National Interest (США): Россия мечтала о строительстве мощных линкоров inosmi.ru - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from inosmi.ru Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Russia Had Dreams of Building a Massive Battleship Fleet
The Soviet Union failed to build much of a navy before World War II, but Josef Stalin had dreams not all that different from Hitler s of building a fleet of powerful battleships.
A reoccurring theme among dictators, despots and totalitarian regimes is to build a massive fleet of powerful warships. China s People s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is currently engaged in an effort to build aircraft carriers as part of its world-class navy, while the Islamic Republic of Iran has been rumored to harbor plans to develop its own aircraft carriers.
However, before the Second World War, it was the battleship that was the envy of the world. It was Germany s Kaiser Wilhelm II s building of the High Seas Fleet that pushed the UK closer to France and Russia, while Nazi Germany attempted to rebuild a High Seas Fleet that was to be made up of massive battleships. Imperial Japan also sought to build such large battle wagons, before refoc
The Seversky P-35 Was the F-35 Of World War II nationalinterest.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nationalinterest.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Last Battleship Battle Was a Slaughter (And Other Navy Lasts )
The final battleship battle in history has long been considered a one-sided slaughter. The Battle of Surigao Strait, which was part of the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf, took place from October 24-25, 1944, and was one of only two battleship-versus-battleship naval battles of the entire campaign in the Pacific during the Second War II. Both were fought between the United States Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN).
History records the famous firsts, and yet, not all are moments are to be cherished or revered.
For every major achievement that brought mankind forward, there are infamous events that highlighted its very worst. This is especially true in military history, where the first use of tanks is celebrated while the first use of poison gas is marked as a dark moment.