#military documentary

[disease]

“Head Measuring Device for Helmets” | Military Research at Natick Soldier Systems Center. [1973]

[dronescapesvideos]

Curtiss XP-55 Ascender, prototype canard fighter aircraft. Circa 1943.

➤VIDEO: https://youtu.be/ChtEyx09ZIY

[clove-pinks]

I finally finished this documentary-drama series from 2013, and I highly recommend it, if you have any interest in the War of 1812. Commentary from a diverse group of historians representing Canadian and US perspectives (including Indigenous historians) is interspliced with reenactments of events on the western frontier of Upper Canada. They didn't have the biggest budget, but it's as close as you can get to a War of 1812 movie.

The focus of the three-episode series is on the suffering of ordinary people in the region, who wanted nothing to do with the war but found themselves in a war zone. Clockwise from top left, three of the actors in the series are portraying Duncan McArthur, who was a commander of the U.S. Army of the Northwest and later governor of Ohio, Brother Denke of the Moravian religious community, who repeatedly relocated to escape the war, and Andrew Westbrook, "the traitor Westbrook" who supported the invading Americans despite being a descendant of Loyalists in Upper Canada.

I watched the first two episodes thinking that the title referred to growing cultural and ideological differences caused by the War of 1812 pitting neighbor against neighbor, but there was a significant Title Drop moment in the last episode when it was revealed to be a phrase used in a letter by Michigan territory governor Lewis Cass. Cass was advocating for the complete devastation of Upper Canada to create "a desert between us and them" that could not feed or support British troops and their Indigenous allies.

Look—I love my country, but there's just no getting around the fact that the USA is the villain in the War of 1812. We invaded Canada on flimsy pretences for a landgrab and caused incredible devastation to specifically civilian areas (e.g. the Burning of York); it was even worse on the frontier. It also does not reflect well on us that the British had planned for years to exploit the many discontents in the territories of the United States: enslaved people who would eagerly work against their enslavers, and Indigenous people who had been exploited and attacked after multiple violated treaties and military incursions.

Almost needless to say, both of these groups fought for the British in the War of 1812. (Black and Indigenous veterans on the US side were poorly treated, despite their loyalty). The War of 1812 ultimately expanded slavery in North America, and it's directly connected to imperialist ideas of Manifest Destiny that saw the US turn to western expansion and the forced removal of Indigenous residents. The more you examine the beliefs of the War Hawks the worse we look!

Even knowing all this, A Desert Between Us and Them made me reconsider some of the narratives I've read about the War of 1812 in Upper Canada (the part of modern-day Ontario between all of the Great Lakes). I have read several academic articles and books recently that were critical of the Kentucky Militia, but they didn't say anything about their terrorism of Upper Canada! They're a lot less sympathetic in this account.

(This YouTube channel has many excerpts from A Desert Between Us and Them)

McArthur's raids are part of a more brutal phase in the War of 1812. They really did use Napoleonic era total war strategy, and the towns of Upper Canada's western reaches were depopulated for years. I appreciated how A Desert Between Us and Them explored some of the political intrigue and personal rivalries between all of the militia and community leaders in the Old Northwest/Upper Canada region at the time.

The trailer is worth a watch! (link if embedded video doesn't work).

[tygerland]

Restrepo (2010; documentary by Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington.)

[enarien]

me, feasting on chernobyl videos for three days before watching 9 two hour documentaries about royal families, then jumping to bootcamp and military research in foreign countries just to hop on the 'how to make chocolate like belgian masters' train with a little sprinkle of masked men thirst traps

youtube algorithm:

[didthekingdieyet]

where is the netflix documentary about the 25 people harry says he killed during his military service

[eldoniousrex]

The gaze of Dr. Christmas compels you to come witness his madness.

More Christmas Bullet art from the Christmas Bullet episode.

[medievalistsnet]

Really enjoyed watching Dan Jones and Michael Livingston do a documentary on the Battle of Shrewsbury - You can watch it on History Hit - https://access.historyhit.com/what-s-new/videos/battle-of-shrewsbury - use the code WINTERSALE to get their service at £1/month for 3 months

[disease]

“Cooling Vest Test” | Military Research at Natick Soldier Systems Center. [1983]

[dronescapesvideos]

USAAF P-40 Warhawk of the 11th Fighter Squadron, 343rd Fighter Group in Alaska, 1943

➤➤ P-40 - The Flying Tigers Story VIDEO: https://dronescapes.video/FlyingTigers

[ivovynckier]

The trailer of the documentary "Lancaster" (David Fairhead).

[starlitsilver]

also - I was looking through Netflix's documentary section last night (not for anything in particular, actually, i just wanted to watch something informational) and i came across a doc called Children of Gaza - it's about the effects of the 2014 war, and it focuses on a few children talking about what happened to them, and what life is like in a warzone, and how you keep going despite everything. it's bleak, obviously, but if you need a more personal view into the situation, i think it's a good resource, and I would imagine that it mirrors what's happening right now pretty well

[trevlan]