military-history

  • Gallipoli, 20 December 1915

    On 20 December 1915, the Gallipoli Campaign effectively ended not with a final charge or a decisive victory, but with silence. In the early hours of that winter morning, the last Allied troops slipped away from the beaches of Anzac Cove and Suvla Bay, leaving behind empty trenches, abandoned positions, and a battlefield that had

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  • The Last Man Standing

    A few days before Christmas, Dennis Donovan, the last surviving member of the wartime 48 Royal Marine Commando, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by his family, at the remarkable age of 100. In recent years, he has made several pilgrimages back to Normandy, with his final visit in June 2024 to commemorate the 80th

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  • The USS Mount Hood Disaster

    The freighter Marco Polo was laid down on September 28, 1943, at Wilmington, North Carolina, by the North Carolina Shipbuilding Company under a Maritime Commission contract (M.C. Hull 1356). It was renamed Mount Hood (AE-11) on November 10, 1943, launched on November 28, 1943, and sponsored by Mrs. A. J. Reynolds. The Navy acquired Mount

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