"Unholy Rifles" - by TPO

Unholy Rifles -- 

The Sepoy Rebellion *

- by TPO -

Tensions between the British East India Company and their Indian soldiers, the Sepoys, came to a head when the British introduced the Enfield Rifle.  This new gun required soldiers to use their  teeth to tear out expended gunpowder cartridges.  Unfortunately for the Sepoys, the Enfield also required that the cartridges be lubricated with pork or beef fat.  In India, a land of Hindus and Muslims and endless religious tensions, this proved problematic.  Every Sepoy soldier faced a sacrilegious situation whenever it was time to reload.  

By the time the British realized their mistake, it was too late.  Word had already spread from the Sepoy soldiers to the Indian people, and the nation had erupted in widespread rebellion. 
__________________________

* Source - Michael Hirshon (www.tumblr.com)

Kublai Khan and The Kamikaze ~ by TPO

Kublai Khan and The Kamikaze *

~ by TPO~

The Japanese damaged Kublai Khan's pride when they repeatedly refused to pay him tribute.  Full of wrath, the mighty conqueror amassed an enormous fleet of hundreds of ships and thousands of soldiers to sail across the sea and teach them a lesson.  He watched as colossal storms -- what the Japanese called the Kamikaze, or Divine Wind -- devastated his ships and saved Japan from his fury.  His soulution?  Build an even larger fleet.

The relatively puny Japanese army breathed a sigh of relief as the Divine Wind returned to finish off the second fleet !
 --------------------------------------------------------------------
 * Source -- Michael Hirshon (www.tumblr.com)