Recent content by Guttersnipe

The Hitchens article is interesting, but it seems to rely on another common misconception regarding interwar Soviet-German relations. Simon Sebag Montefiore's excellent biography Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar makes it clear that the Soviet leadership was ready and willing to go to war with...

The elderly author interviewed in this segment is often cited as the originator of the Sherman myth. However, there are several inaccurate assumptions. First, the cited ranges are misleading; realistically, given the limitations of 1940s optics, hitting another tank at 2,000 yards (1,828 meters...

Another demonstrably false misconception: the M4 Sherman was inferior to its German counterparts, generally a bad design, and a death trap. This myth stems from anecdotal incidents where American, British or Commonwealth medium tank formations suffered disproportionate losses at the hands of an...

From everything I've read, German intelligence suffered due to a highly decentralized structure that, when combined with inter-organizational rivalry and distrust, created gross inefficacy. The Abwehr was competent, but focused heavily on pure military intelligence at the expense of broader...

This touches on one of the other classic misconceptions about WWII: that Italian military defeats were due to cowardice. The genesis of this myth is large number of Italian prisoners captured in North Africa. However, this was a result of circumstances, not a failure of martial spirit...

Ha! De Gaulle was certainly a fly in the ointment for the Americans and British throughout the war, but there was a method to his madness. From the outside his actions often seemed like rampant egotism; however, de Gaulle's concern was always looking out for French interests, which was...

A challenge with studying French military history is that much of it is not published in English. Off the top of my head, take a look at the Wikipedia page for the Battle of Bir Hakeim (namesake to a Metro station in Paris). For an especially interesting read, check out the often-overlooked Free...

Context is key. Many of the politicians in Pétain's camp were ultra-right reactionaries; in the first place, they harbored an admiration of fascism for its anti-leftist ideology and were opposed France's entry into the war from the get go. From their perspective, they were just making the best...

Free French and Vichy involvement in WWII after the fall of France is complex. Broadly speaking, the dynamics between the Vichy government, Free French movement, and maquis irregulars mirror the schizophrenic nature of French partisan politics during the 1930's. Contrary to Anglo-American...

For me, one of this biggest misconceptions is the myth of the cowardly French soldier. This view is highly related to myth that the French General Staff's reliance on the Maginot Line was foolish and led to France's rapid defeat in 1940. In reality, the Maginot Line did exactly what it was...

Magnoli Clothiers' cloth selection could use work. He tends to use lighter weights that aren't particularity evocative of original vintage pieces.

Two interesting details: flap pockets on a tuxedo and bottom button buttoned; both of which are modernly thought to be incorrect or a faux pax.

I agree that some beers taste much better on tap than in bottles; and Sam Adams' Boston Lager definitely falls in that category. Interestingly, at least in my opinion, many American yellow fizzy water beers also fall within that category and become enjoyable, for what they are, on tap. But...

True. But firstly, those were, to a large extent, shoes for the everyman and there were higher-end brands that cost $20 to $30. Secondly, Americans were actually far less affluent then, as compared to today. For that reason, running numbers through a CPI inflation calculator is only half the...

It's the other way around; a tiny fraction of modern U.S. consumers are willing to pay for quality. Prices in old catalogs may seem low, but when adjusted for inflation they are not.