Seven Years War
Following the French Army’s brilliant victories at the twin battles of Jena and Auerstadt on October 14, 1806, the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte subsequently launched his Grande Armée in a devastating pursuit of the remnants of the Prussian Army. Read more
Seven Years War
Of all the generals who fought on the Patriot side during the American Revolution, none was more renowned than New York City native William Alexander, better known to his contemporaries as “Lord Stirling.” Read more
Seven Years War
George Washington looked down at the surrender documents. They were soaked from pouring rain and the ink was splotched. Read more
Seven Years War
The mortar is perhaps the oldest surviving ordnance piece developed during the Middle Ages. The earliest known forerunner to the mortar, introduced by Spanish Muslims about ad 1250, was essentially an iron-reinforced bucket that hurled stones with gunpowder. Read more
Seven Years War
On August 12, 1772, a wandering Don Cossack named Emelian Pugachev crossed the Polish frontier into Imperial Russia on an official passport that entitled him, after spending six weeks in quarantine, to resettle as a free citizen on the Irgiz River in southeast Russia. Read more
Seven Years War
Twenty-six year-old Napoleon Bonaparte took command of France’s 23,000-strong Army of Italy in Nice, France, in late March 1796. Read more
Seven Years War
The shafted ax has been around since 6000 bc, in both peaceful and warlike uses. The so-called battle-ax cultures (3200 to 1800 bc) extended over much of northern Europe from the late Stone Age through the early Bronze Age. Read more
Seven Years War
In 1242, Russian Prince Alexander Nevsky faced the armored might of the Teutonic knights. Generals Alexander Suvorov and Peter Kotlyarevski were Napoleon’s contemporaries, while General Mikhail Skobelev exemplified the panache of the Victorian Era. Read more
Seven Years War
Cannons roared and muskets crackled in the darkness below the hill of Rodewitz, but King Frederick the Great of Prussia was in no hurry to move. Read more
Seven Years War
It did not seem possible for them to hold on, yet six regiments of British infantry, standing with three battalions of Hanoverians, withstood a heavy artillery barrage on August 1, 1759, on a plain next to the fortress of Minden in the Electorate of Hanover. Read more
Seven Years War
By Eric Niderost
King Frederick II of Prussia was busy writing dispatches, his face a study of grim determination as he scribbled out the words by the light of a guttering candle. Read more
Seven Years War
“Soldiers, don’t fire!” In the half light of dawn on April 19, 1775, war was breaking out on a New England town common, and Major John Pitcairn of His Majesty’s Marine Forces was trying to stop it. Read more
Seven Years War
Frederick the Great’s prescription for warfare was simple. The Prussian monarch wanted “short and lively wars” that relied on swift, powerful, and decisive military operations. Read more
Seven Years War
On June 19, 1778, Continental soldiers marched out of Valley Forge, happy to leave the rough wooden cabins where they had spent a miserable winter; cold, hunger, and disease had been their constant companions. Read more
Seven Years War
On the snowy field of Mollwitz, Poland, on April 10, 1741, newly installed King Frederick II of Prussia faced a formidable army of Austria. Read more
Seven Years War
On the evening of September 13, 1759, Major Robert Rogers and 220 hand-picked rangers climbed into 17 whaleboats and rowed across the placid waters of Lake Champlain. Read more
Seven Years War
Few men in the 18th century lived a life as varied and unpredictable as that of Henry Lloyd. Read more
Seven Years War
Born at Calcar in the Duchy of Cleve in 1721, Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz was the son of a cavalry officer. Read more
Seven Years War
Frederick the Great put to use what he learned from his successes and failures. At age 28, new king Frederick Wilhelm II (the Great) burst out of Prussia in an attack on Silesia, which lay within the domain of Maria Theresa, Queen of Austria and Empress of the Holy Roman Empire. Read more
Seven Years War
From 1756 to 1763, the armies of Great Britain and France fought the French and Indian War for preeminence in North America. Read more
