The taking of Monte la Difensa

Story by Sharon Adams

Lumberjacks, mountaineers, construction skywalkers, hard-rock miners, wilderness prospectors—only the hardiest men were sought for the First Special Service Force, a Canada-U.S. joint venture to deploy troops against the highest odds in the toughest terrain of the Second World War.

After a year, 1,400 hard-bitten commandos emerged from this rigorous training, 697 of them Canadian—the Devil’s Brigade. In early December 1943, they were tasked with capturing Monte la Difensa in Italy.
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Nelson expert exposes pro-slavery letter as fake

Story by Stephen J. Thorne

An 1805 letter purportedly exposing Britain’s most celebrated naval hero as a racist slavery advocate appears to have been proven a fake by a celebrated expert.

Martyn Downer says he has incontrovertible evidence the original letter written by Admiral Horatio Nelson aboard HMS Victory four months before he died at the pivotal Battle of Trafalgar was doctored by supporters of the slave trade to counter moves in the British Parliament to outlaw the practice.

“The letter is a forgery,” wrote Downer, a former director at Sotheby’s and leading specialist in the identification of Nelson- and Royal Navy-related artifacts.

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December 1, 1959

Twelve countries sign the Antarctic Treaty, declaring the continent a scientific preserve and banning military activity.

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