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

Why is Germany Allowed to have an Army While Japan Isn’t?

Introduction Whilst doing some research for something else, I came across the following question: Why is Germany allowed to have an army while Japan isn’t? I found the question amusing as both Germany (both as East and West, and then unified) and Japan have armies, and have done so for several decades. Background During World… Read More

An Overview of the Forced Labour of Germans after World War II

Introduction In the years following World War II, large numbers of German civilians and captured soldiers were forced into labour by the Allied forces. The topic of using Germans as forced labour for reparations was first broached at the Tehran conference in 1943, where Soviet premier Joseph Stalin demanded 4,000,000 German workers. Forced labour was… Read More

An Overview of Non-Germans in the German Armed Forces during World War II

Introduction Non-Germans in the German armed forces during World War II were volunteers, conscripts and those otherwise induced to join who served in Nazi Germany’s armed forces during World War II. In German war-time propaganda those who volunteered for service were referred to as Freiwillige (“volunteers”). At the same time, many non-Germans in the German… Read More

What was War Plan Black?

Introduction One of the United States colour-coded war plans, War Plan Black was the name of an American military plan to fight Germany in the early 20th century. Background The best-known version was conceived as a contingency plan during World War I in case France fell and the Germans attempted to seize French possessions in… Read More

Officer Quality & Military Cohesion…

“Certainly a main factor in the cohesion of the primary group in the German Army, namely the company, was the sense of responsibility, performance of duty, and willingness to take combat risks demonstrated by German officers. The data on the readiness of the officers and upper classes to die in battle support this assertion. The… Read More

Military Personnel: Is There a Difference in Vaccination Rates between Standard, Indication & Seasonal Vaccinations?

Research Paper Title Vaccination coverage rates of military personnel worldwide: a systematic review of the literature. Background Due to the professionally specific risk of infection in the armed forces, recommendations for vaccination are usually adapted for soldiers and are subject to special regulations. Little data is available on scientifically measured vaccination coverage of soldiers. Methods… Read More