Military History Facts

Donkeys are commonly used by the Iraqi Rebels to launch rockets!

When the ancient Egyptians defeated Libya around 1208 BC, Pharaoh Merneptah's soldiers collected 6,359 penises from slain Libyan warriors as battle trophies, meticulously recorded on the Great Karnak Inscription.

Just before the US started bombing Baghdad, nearly $1 billion dollars was stolen from the Central Bank of Iraq and is now the largest bank robbery in history.

It is illegal to hunt camels in the state of Arizona.

German soldiers, both heterosexual and homosexual, are allowed to have sex with each other!

Medieval English longbows had an effective range of over 200 yards, with skilled archers able to launch arrows more than 350 yards.

High heels were originally designed for Persian cavalry in the 10th century and worn by European men starting in the late 16th century.

Only eight men were killed in the battle of lexington!

Before escaping prison, Winston Churchill left a letter of apology on his bed. The letter began: "I have the honour to inform you that as I do not consider that your Government have any right to detain me as a military prisoner, I have decided to escape from your custody."

During World War 1, starving wolves amassed in such great numbers that Germans and Russians had a temporary cease fire to fight off the wolf attacks.

In 1943, Polish soldiers in Iran bought a bear cub from a young boy, bottle-fed him on condensed milk, named him Wojtek, and enrolled him in the army. At Monte Cassino in 1944, he carried 100-lb artillery shells to the guns without dropping one. The 22nd Artillery Supply Company still uses a bear carrying a shell as its official emblem.

Contrary to popular belief, the first ironclad warships were built by Korea in the 16th century.

In 1958, a nuclear bomb was lost somewhere along the swampy coast of Georgia. Its whereabouts remain a mystery to this day.

Napoleon Bonaparte thought torture should be abolished because the information obtained from it is worthless.

Samsung is also a full time weapons manufacturer.

In 1932, the Australian military deployed soldiers armed with machine guns to combat an invasion of 20,000 emus destroying farmland in Western Australia. After six days of failed attacks, the emus outsmarted the soldiers, and the military withdrew in defeat.

Sergeant Reckless was a Mongolian mare bought for $250 by US Marines in 1952. During one day of battle in 1953, she made 51 solo trips hauling ammunition to the front lines, covering over 35 miles under fire. She was formally promoted to Staff Sergeant by the Commandant of the Marine Corps - with a 1,700-Marine parade in her honor.

For centuries, the Gordian Knot defeated every scholar and king who tried to untie it. An oracle declared whoever solved it would rule all of Asia. Alexander the Great studied it for a moment — then drew his sword and cut straight through it.

Operation Magic Carpet turned Navy warships into giant floating dorms. The mission: bring 8 million WWII troops home. Nearly 370 Navy ships took part in the Pacific, with bunks stacked up to five tiers high on hangar decks. USS Saratoga alone carried more troops than any other ship in the fleet: 29,204 men. Flight decks built for fighter planes were packed wall to wall with veterans, finally sailing home.

Old Abe was a real bald eagle who fought in the Civil War. He rode into more than 30 battles with the 8th Wisconsin Infantry. He perched on a custom shield and screamed over the gunfire. Confederate soldiers were ordered to shoot him down. He made it through every battle and went home to Wisconsin. Today his profile rides on the shoulder of every 101st Airborne soldier.

USS Constitution just led more than 50 tall ships into Boston Harbor. She's 228 years old, and still an active-duty US Navy warship crewed by real sailors. In July 2026, she fired a 21-gun salute off Castle Island. Then she led ships from 21 countries past more than a million spectators. Old Ironsides is still on duty.

American cavalry soldiers teamed up with German troops who had just surrendered to them. Together they fought off the SS to save more than 1,200 horses in Czechoslovakia. The herd included Lipizzaner mares and foals that stock Vienna's Spanish Riding School. Colonel Charles Reed organized the raid days before Soviet tanks reached the farm. The Lipizzaner bloodline survived the war.

George Washington's army was pinned against the East River on the night of August 29, 1776, two days after losing the Battle of Long Island. Washington ordered a silent evacuation. Colonel John Glover's Marblehead fishermen rowed 9,000 soldiers across, boat after boat. Near dawn, a thick fog hid the last crossings. Washington left on the final boat. The British woke up to empty trenches.