West European Studies

In the history of the Achaeans, the Shield of Achilles played an important role in the Iliad. The Shield of Achilles tells about a story of the Achaeans who fought against the Trojans. However, the fight against the Trojans is a microcosm of the whole story of the Achaeans. The story, as forged by Hephaestus, the crippled smith god, depicts the happenings within the two cities and also the kingly estate of Agamemnon. In order to understand what the Shield of Achilles depicts, it is important to...

The political fortune of France in the 1840s laid amid great struggle to political stability. This was the period when revolutionary movements were taking over the monarchial rule in Europe. Many eye witnesses exhibits the testimony to this struggle. Some involved bloodshed while others did not. At this time, France was under King Louis Philippes rule where M. Guizot who was an anti liberal was the Prime Minister. The revolutionists, mainly the young from the elite class, were advocating for the...

History always reminds us of figures and events that either positively impacted their societies or they were a let down to their people. Looking into Western Europe, one would have exhausted its history without looking into prominent figures like Roman Emperor Augustus. His reign was marked with exemplary leadership that led to stability in the region for many years not to mention his military ability. This paper looks into the life of the man who changed the Roman republic to the Roman Empire...

The conflict between the Soviet Union and Japan was not very much known to the outside world as most of the attention was focused on what was going on in Europe. Hitlers forces were on the move again, resulting in the annexation of Austria, and as they poised to occupy Czechoslovakia, the likelihood of another world war was very strong. Following the conquest and occupation of most of China, Japan attempted to test the mettle of the Russians to the north of Manchuria and Mongolia in 1938. The...

United States Army Rangers refer to the elite American military members who are capable of undertaking short-term strikes and small-scale offensive operations in sensitive and hostile political environments.  They started their service in the 17th century during wars between the Native American Indian and colonist tribes.   They were employed by the colonial governments as full-time soldiers to make patrols in their fortifications and to give early warnings incase of raids.  They...

Napoleon Bonaparte was an emperor of France and he commanded the French army. Adolf Hitler led the Nazi group. Both Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte attempted to conquer Russia but they both failed in 1812 and 1941 in their conquest. Despite his failures Napoleon had some achievements. French army under Napoleon was reorganized artillery role was reorganized and independent units were formed, instead of attaching artillery pieces in support of troops. Cannonballs were standardized by Napoleon...

The social structure of the Jewish people in Europe was made up of small organized group that were well acculturated and proto- emancipated. These groups stayed both in Britain and German where they started to gain economic prowess and success. They even started to get richer by the day. They acquired high level education and even good positions and good white collar jobs.  The wealthy Jews and their families were able to gain some favors that included exemption from the anti-Jews laws until...