Tactical Notebook

Inspired by a video that Rob Words (@robwordsYT) posted on YouTube two years ago, 'Extra Muros' has just published a piece about German words that ought to find a home in English.

Thank you, Branden Rapp, for the shout-out!

My Substack, The Command Post, examines war as a human endeavor shaped by uncertainty, friction, and choice. Rigorous military history and strategic analysis without pop history and platitudes. Written by a Marine veteran turned historian. Read and subscribe today.

There is a fascinating set of images available online at the IWM covering imagery from BRIXMIS. Worth looking up to see first hand how good their imagery was. This is particularly powerful - Soviet soldiers at rest in East Germany, monitored by British soldiers.

In 1916, an American psychologist described the sort of wargames that German officers liked to play.

Why did pirates like cul-de-sacs? @robwordsYT

Earlier today, I discovered a largely unexploited collection of photos taken in 1917 and 1918.

@VoicesofWW2 What's the civilian (wearing the straw hat) doing in the middle of this battlefield?

German infantry moving to take a higher position during the invasion of Belgium in August 1914.

@robwordsYT I loved this video. Bravo Zulu, Rob.

ALFA BRAVO CHARLIE DELTA The NATO Phonetic Alphabet is neither phonetic nor a product of NATO. But, OSCAR MIKE GOLF, is its true origin story fascinating. Check out my video here (2 million people already have!): youtu.be/UAT-eOzeY4M

Did you every wonder why 'provision' proved so popular among English speakers and 'prevision' failed to find regular work?

The Tactical Notebook has just begun a series of decision-forcing cases about the commander of a regimental weapons company on Iwo Jima.

In the past two weeks, the Tactical Notebook has published eight articles about the (greatly reduced) Marine Corps of 1947.

Two years after the end of World War II, the US Marine Corps adopted a radical approach to organization.

Why did the US Marine Corps hold on to its 37mm anti-tank guns after most other forces retired similar weapons?

Extra Muros describes ...

The best of what I read in the past week.

Nineteen designs for the field artillery of an infantry division ...

The best of what I read in the past week.

Everyone else does 81, Tovarisch, so let's do 82. tacticalnotebook.substack.com/p/mix-and-matc…

The Tactical Notebook has updated its catalog of articles about mortars. tacticalnotebook.substack.com/p/articles-abo…