Doomsday vs. Lyric (YT). From Rhyme Spitters 2006, a documentary of an annual Chicago tournament of freestyle emcee battles – completely improvised verbal battles between two rappers where insults are brought to a lyrical form that's often hilarious, often very politically incorrect, and usually NSFW. It's usually not taken personal by either party – in fact, it's not unusual in these battles to see a rapper smiling in appreciation of a particularly well-crafted insult that just came from their opponent. See also Rhyme Spitters 1, 2, and 4, each hour-long documentaries online at Vimeo featuring tons more battles.
posted by WCityMike on Sep 27, 2009 - 36 comments

The Smallest Manned Navy in the World [more inside]
posted by bokeh on Mar 12, 2009 - 17 comments

Cartoon-Off. XKCD's Randall Munroe v. New Yorker's Farley Katz. FIGHT.
posted by spec80 on Oct 16, 2008 - 59 comments

Search Engine Battle.
posted by gman on Sep 22, 2008 - 42 comments

Gallipoli is one of the most famous battles of World War I. Fought in on a Turkish peninsula in 1915 it was, like most Great War battles, a huge waste of life and largely fruitless. Jul Snelder's site has a wealth of information, the causes, history and aftermath of Gallipoli, the slang of the ANZAC forces, placenames in both English and Turkish, interesting little factoids, how Allied troops used subterfuge to hide their evacuation, the Turkish perspective, pictures of the battlesite today juxtaposed with old photographs, a mini-travel guide to Gallipoli and much more. One of the most famous units at Gallipoli was the Australian 12th Light Horse Regiment. To learn more about this type of unit, responsible for the "last successful great cavalry charge" two years after Gallipoli, I direct you to the excellent website of the Australian Light Horse Association, where you can learn anything you might reasonably want to know about the subject.
posted by Kattullus on Sep 15, 2008 - 82 comments

The Battle of Gettysburg started on this day in 1863. Here are some essays on Gettysburg from MilitaryHistoryOnline. Here is a virtual tour with photos and maps.
posted by RussHy on Jul 1, 2008 - 22 comments

"Nothing in the history of the Rebellion has equaled in inhumanity and atrocity the horrid butchery at Fort Pillow, on the 13th of April, 1864. In no other school than slavery could human beings have been trained to such readiness for cruelties like these. Accustomed to brutality and bestiality all their lives, it was easy for them to perpetrate the atrocities which will startle the civilized foreign world, as they have awakened the indignation of our own people."
posted by Mayor Curley on Jul 1, 2008 - 38 comments

Multiplayer Jellybattle
posted by MetaMonkey on Aug 11, 2007 - 19 comments

On December 13, 1862, Sgt. Richard Rowland Kirkland of the 2nd Carolina stood in the Sunken Road at the bottom of Marye's Heights at the Battle of Fredericksburg. The 19-year-old Kirkland was part of Longstreet's First Corps; across from him was Hooker's Center Grand Division, part of the Army of the Potomac under Ambrose Burnside. (More boring history stuff inside.)
posted by forrest on Dec 13, 2006 - 26 comments

Johnny Red was a story appearing in Battle and Battle Action magazine back in the late 70's and early 80's. Telling the story of a young British fighter pilot serving with the Falcons; a Russian squadron in World War II; Johnny Red was remarkable for it's time (in the midst of the Cold War) giving a positive image of Soviet Russian heroism in the fight against Nazi Germany. Scans of almost every issue are contained within - enjoy!
posted by longbaugh on Sep 2, 2006 - 12 comments

A soldier in War. A letter home. Nobody will ever top Sullivan Ballou's. (Youtube Video) A week before the battle of Bull Run, Sullivan Ballou, a major in the 2nd Rhode Island Volunteers, wrote home to his wife in Smithfield. The actual letter begins @ 2:25 into the video. But it's far from a waste to watch the whole six minutes.
posted by thisisdrew on Aug 8, 2006 - 16 comments

90 years ago today, whistles blew around the river Somme in France as British troops prepared for an attack on German trenches. By the end of the day they had suffered 57,470 casualties. By the battle's end in November, there were over 600,000 Allied casualties, with perhaps the same number of German casualties. The Imperial War Museum has launched an online exhibition, where you can find out more about how the battle was planned, personal stories of those involved, and myths about the attack. Elsewhere you can find copies of Army reports on the first day, look at film of the attack, diaries and letters home from the troops, go on tours of the trenches, listen to contemporary songs and music inspired by the battle, and see some more modern responses.
posted by greycap on Jul 1, 2006 - 38 comments

At the end of this short film, you'll see a graphic illustration of Christopher Walken. If you can stomach zombie babies bursting forth from women's wombs. A short film by Paul Robertson. An artist who also made the music video for Architecture in Helsinki's Do the Whirlwind. [MPG : Alternate Link : Torrent]
posted by Colloquial Collision on Apr 22, 2006 - 25 comments

The Battle of Glorieta Pass is considered the turning point of the Civil War, in terms of the New Mexico Territory. It happened March 26-28th, 1862. Initially Charles L. Pyron and William Reed Scurry's Confederate force, based at Johnson's Ranch, thought that they had won the battle. They would soon learn that the Union troops, lead by John P. Slough, had circled and destroyed their supplies, leading to Scurry's retreat towards San Antonio. More detailed battle info: [1] [2]-Some site photos.
posted by rollbiz on Mar 27, 2006 - 27 comments

Ninjas vs. Pirates: The Movie You asked for it, now see the epic battle in four acts. {qt} [via linkfilter ]
posted by MiltonRandKalman on Jan 9, 2006 - 16 comments

Come into the Channel ... If you are only here for twenty-four hours, all will be over and six centuries of shame and insult will be avenged'. See you at Pompey tomorrow to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Trafalgar.
posted by TimothyMason on Jun 27, 2005 - 7 comments

Bob's Animal Fights • Hornet vs. Polar Bear! Army Ant vs. Panda! Ostrich vs. Gorilla! Bob Robertson, senior lecturer on the behaviour of African mammals, sets out to prove once and for all just what is the hardest animal on the planet.
posted by dhoyt on Jun 19, 2004 - 14 comments