The Fight for Iwo Jima

11/26/05 • 11 min

The Battle for Iwo Jima, "sulfur island" of the Pacific, was a battle between the elite US marines and the stout-hearted Japanese defenders. The Japanese, after years of preparation, had created an extensive tunnel network that prevented them from being hurt by the naval bombardment. Consequently, when the Fifth Amphibious Corps (VAC) landed, they had to fight 22,000 well-entrenched Japanese, complete with banzai charges and other intimidating tactics. In the end, the US death toll was 10% and the Japanese death toll was 99% (with the other 1% being captured). For more information: Military History Magazine (February 2003): Marine Private's Iwo Jima Memories The Pacific War Companion by Daniel Marston

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Non-Lethal Technology

Non-lethal technology has always been a goal of military strategists. It provides the same effect of killing without all the horrible consequences (ethical, tactical, etc.). For example, Joshua's capture of Jericho in the bible is a prime example of non-lethal technology. Now, we have various methods of non-lethal warfare, both anti-personell and anti-material. * Lasers: Used to give the illusion of imminent death * Electromagnetic Pulse Weapons: Disables all electronic equipment in a given radius * A weapon that "turns off" all guns in its vicinity * Insect Sex Pheromones: Attracts all nearby insects to infest a certain enclosure * Netgun: Fires a strong net to disable people or vehicles, also serves as an obstacle * Acoustics: Vibrations caused from sound waves have many devastating effects Read Future War by John B. Alexander for more information

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Cyrus the Persian Conqueror

Cyrus the Great, though he did not found the First Persian Empire, did conduct four expeditions which made it the sole power in the Middle East and Anatolia. His empire would last for the next 200 years until the coming of Alexander the Great. The four campaigns were: 1. Conquering Media: With the help of Harpagus, Cyrus invaded Media currently ruled by Astyages. Astyages was his grandfather and his attempted-murderer. 2. Conquering Lydia: Cyrus conquers Sardis, the capital of the Lydian Empire (under the rule of Croesus). After the Lydian Empire fell, Croesus became an adviser to Cyrus. 3. Conquering Assyrians: Cyrus conquered Babylon, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. He entered the city via draining the Euphrates River. 4. Conquering the Massegatai: Cyrus attempted to conquer Queen Tomyris of the Massegatai (a Scythian Tribe), but was tragically killed by a volley of arrows For more information, read The Histories by Herodotus Military History Podcast is sponspored by Armchair General Magazine