The Dutch Historian

US Marines with surrendered Japanese (samurai) swords delivered in Honshu, Okinawa, Japan. September 1945.
Colorized by: FGF Colourised

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The results of the Battle of Verdun.
The sad reality of war: photos of the remains of soldiers at the Verdun battlefield, of many unidentified soldiers at Douaumont Ossuary, and the Douaumont Cemetery itself.
The Douaumont Ossuary is a memorial containing the skeletal remains of soldiers who died on the battlefield during the Battle of Verdun in World War I. It is located in Douaumont-Vaux, France, within the Verdun battlefield, and immediately next to the Fleury-devant-Douaumont National Necropolis. It was built on the initiative of Charles Ginisty, Bishop of Verdun, and inaugurated on 7 August 1932, by French President Albert Lebrun.
The ossuary is for both French and German soldiers. The skeletal remains of at least 130,000 unidentified combatants of both nations can be seen filling up alcoves at the lower edge of the building.
During the 303 days of the Battle of Verdun (21 February 1916 - 19 December 1916) approximately 230,000 men died out of a total of 700,000 casualties (dead, wounded, and missing). The battle became known in German as "Die Hölle von Verdun" (English: The Hell of Verdun), or in French as "L'Enfer de Verdun," and was conducted on a battlefield covering less than 20 square kilometers.

T-34/85 and Tiger 1 tank in an old style dueling contest.
Which one is your favourite tank?

On this day in World War Two history, July 30th, 1945, after having delivered the atomic bomb to Tinian, cruiser USS Indianapolis is sunk by Japanese submarine l-58 off Leyte and not missed for days. Only 316 of 1196 men would survive the shark-infested waters.
The United States Navy had become lazy in the last days of the war, because of the lack of action by Japanese submarines, thus limited security measures were taken. After the materials were delivered, the USS Indianapolis went back to Leyte without an es**rt. However, she was intercepted by I-58, which launched six torpedoes. Two hit and within 12 minutes the ship tipped over and sank to the bottom, killing 300 men. The vast majority ended up in the sea; many succumbed to dehydration and shark attacks before they could be rescued. The rescue started late because action was only taken after the missing persons were noticed after four days. In total, 879 people out of 1196 crew died. This was the largest loss to the United States Navy at sea.
Captain Charles McVay was court-martialed for neglecting security measures, including not having sailed a zigzag course in enemy waters. The commander of I-58 stated this would have made no difference because his torpedoes never miss. McVay was nevertheless found guilty and demoted. Later, McVay was rehabilitated by Admiral Nimitz and continued his naval career. When he retired, he had reached the rank of Rear Admiral. Despite his rehabilitation, McVay faced continuous threats by telephone and mail, and after his wife died of cancer, McVay committed su***de in 1968. In October 2000, Congress passed a resolution stating Captain McVay was not responsible for the loss of the Indianapolis. President Bill Clinton signed the resolution.
On August 19, 2017, the USS Indianapolis was recovered, 72 years after it sank. The wreck lies at the bottom of the Philippine Sea, at a depth of 5.5 kilometers. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen led the 13-person team looking for the warship.
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