History Fiend

    Photo story (Clockwise from top le f t): (1) British site after un-reckoned German phosgene (probably) gas attack at Fromelles, France during WWI (2) A British gas bomb in 1915 (3) A Canadian soldier with burns caused by mustard gas during 1917-18 (4) British infantry advancing through chemical weapons attacks and gas clouds at Loos, France on 25 th September 1915 The Great War or World War I that lasted from 28 th  July 1914 to 11 th  November 1918 (though it’s Armistice, the last treaty, Treaty of Sevres, was signed on 10 th  August 1920) was one of the largest wars in the history with 70 million soldiers including 60 million European military personnel were mobilized. The resurgence of Neocolonialism or imperialism was the root cause of WWI. The conflict began between Austro-Hungaria and Serbia while the former fired the first shots in preparation for the invasion of Serbia. Soon Russia mobilized and Germany invaded neutral Luxembourg and Be...

St George's Day is upon us once again, and interest surrounding the festival of England's primary patron saint shows no sign of abating. It's common knowledge that, according to legend, St George killed a dragon, but what else do you know about him? Here, writing for   History Extra , Jonathan Good, associate professor of history at Reinhardt University in Georgia, brings you 10 lesser-known facts about England’s patron saint… 1 St George is not English If he ever existed (and there’s no proof he did), George would likely have been a soldier somewhere in the eastern Roman Empire, probably in what is now Turkey. According to legend, he was martyred for his faith under Emperor Diocletian in the early fourth century, and his major shrine is located in Lod, Israel. 2 His earliest legends were so outlandish that the Pope condemned them Early Christians were known to exaggerate the tortures endured by their martyrs, but St George is in a league all of...