In WWII, the Allies used an elaborate system of spies, double agents, and information leaks to keep the Abwehr, the German spy organization, from anticipating the invasion of Normandy. One of their key strategies was the First U.S. Army Group (FUSAG), the largest army that never existed.
The Imposter General: Bernard Montgomery’s D-Day Body Double
It was the role of a life time. Portray one of history’s most famous generals – Field Marshal Bernard “Monty” Montgomery – on a stage that spanned two continents. The casting, however, had one small drawback. A bad review could cost thousands of lives. A good one could cost your own.
Yellow Fever: Warfare’s Ancient Enemy
Yellow fever was an ancient scourge of 18th and 19th century battlefields, causing more fatalities than bullets, cannon, or swords. The dreadful disease, which was brought from Africa to the tropical Americas by the slave trade, struck military camps without warning, decimating entire armies.
Child Soldiers Past and Present
Historians have referred to children in the Middle Ages as “little adults” and children at the time were routinely involved in conflict. The “rights of the child” are relatively contemporary, however, children continue to be recruited and trained at very young ages in a practice woven deep in the history of many cultures.
The Continuing War on Yellow Fever
Mosquito abatement programs pioneered by William Gorgas in Cuba and Panama led to immediate relief from yellow fever. Later, his discoveries played a major role in WWII, and still help with control of the disease today. We have a vaccine, developed by Max Theiler, but there is still no cure and outbreaks occur.
