arquebus Archives

Move and countermove led the leaders of opposing armies to come face to face in Shingen’s newly set up camp. Swords flew among the tents in one of the largest battles in Japanese history.

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The Battle of Kawanakajima

By Vince Hawkins

In 1490 Japan entered a crucial period of its history known as the sengoku-jidai, or the “Age of the Country at War.” Read more

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Oda Nobunaga: The Rise of One of Japan’s Earliest Unifiers

By Vince Hawkins

By the time of his death in 1582, he controlled 30 of Japan’s 68 provinces, was the commander of the greatest samurai army in his country’s history, and had earned the distinction of being the first of the three great unifiers of Japan. Read more

Brutal mercenary armies such as the one depicted in this seventeenth century painting criss-crossed Germany during the Thirty Years War, leaving death and destruction in their wake.

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King Gustavus Adolphus, Breitenfeld, and the Birthplace of Modern War

By Louis Ciotola

On a hot, dusty September morning in 1631, the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Emperor rested easily on the plains outside the village of Breitenfield, six miles north of Leipzig, Saxony. Read more

Wounded but triumphant, Grand Master Pierre D’Aubusson receives homage from his worshipful Knights Hospitallers after beating back the Turkish siege of Rhodes.

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Siege of Rhodes: The Will Of The Hospitallers

By William McPeak

Although the great Crusades were over by 1309 ad, one old crusading order continued to evolve, flourish, and make enemies—the Knights Hospitallers of St. Read more

A 17th-century cavalry- man charging into battle atop a white charger opens fire with his wheel lock pistol in this painting by Dutch artist Pieter Meulener.

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The Wheel Lock: Birth of the Combat Pistol

By William J. McPeak

By the late 15th Century, early firearm designers were already looking at ideas for semi-automatic weapons. The matchlock had been the first mechanism to make a shoulder-aimed firearm, the arquebus, possible. Read more

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Slaughter in the Park: The Battle of Pavia

By William E. Welsh

From the moment he was crowned King of France in 1514, Francis I shared the same obsession with the rich Italian territories of Milan and Naples that his predecessors, Charles VIII and Louis XII, had shown during their time on the throne. Read more

A solemn Gonzalo de Cordoba looks down at the body of his French opponent, Louis d’Armagnac, Duc de Nemours, following the Battle of Cerignola. The young duke fell leading a doomed cavalry charge.

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Gonzalo de Cordoba: Grand Captain of Renaissance Warfare

By Louis Ciotola

The Spanish Empire is best remembered for its great voyages of exploration, its conquest of the New World, and its mighty Armada. Read more

Cortés, wielding his sword beneath his red battle flag, leads an attack against Mexican coastal Indians at Tabasco. The Indians were horrified by their first sight of men on horseback.

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Hernándo Cortés on the plains of Cintla

By Charles Hilbert

In March 1519, a small square of 400 Spanish adventurers under the command of Hernándo Cortés stood at bay on the plain of Cintla in Tabasco, Mexico. Read more

By the late 15th century, knights’ suits of armor had reached their pinnacle. But the weapon that would make them obsolete turned out to be the cannon.

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How the Cannon Marked the End of the Knight’s Suit of Armor

By David Alan Johnson

By the latter part of the 15th century, armor worn by knights in the field had reached its pinnacle. Read more

The Japanese ashigaru, or foot soldier, was of a lower class than the samurai, but their status subtlety changed over the 16th century.

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Japanese Ashigaru: The “Samurai of the Land”

By Eric Niderost

In the 17th century samurai were elite warriors, members of Japan’s ruling class. They were born, not made; you had to come from a samurai family to be considered samurai. Read more

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Famous Military Commanders: Fernando de Avolos, Marquis of Pescara

by William Welch

Although Charles de Lannoy, the viceroy of Naples, was the nominal commander of the Imperial forces in the battle, Fernando de Avolos, Marquis of Pescara, controlled the army’s real muscle, its arquebusiers. Read more

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Pikes: A Versatile and Deadly Weapon

by William McPeak

Although formal training in the use of the pike—an ash-handled spear 18 to 20 feet long—did not begin until the 15th century, ancient Greeks and Romans used so-called “long spears” as standard infantry issue against cavalry. Read more

Admiral Yi Sun Shin Defends Against the Japanese Invasion of Korea During the Imjin War.

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The Imjin War: The Japanese Invasion of Korea

by Eric Niderost

It was May 1, 1592, mere weeks before the start of the Imjin War. Admiral Yi Sun Shin summoned a conference of high-ranking military officers and civil magistrates to his headquarters at Yosu, a port on the southern coast of Korea. Read more

In 1571, Don Juan set out to confront the Muslim fleet Lepanto. But what kind of soldiers did he battle with?

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Muslim Equipment at the Battle of Lepanto

William J. McPeak

The Muslims at the Battle of Lepanto still wore turbans and headdresses, along with the occasional steel cap with their usual kilij sabre and flowing robes. Read more

From Around the Network

Major General Braddock’s March on Fort Duquesne

Hard-Won Combat Laurels

Allied Royals & The War Effort

A Tale of Two Famiglie: Resistance and Atrocities During the Italian Resistance