When Abraham Lincoln signed into law the first conscription act in American history in March 1863, one of the most unpopular parts of the widely unpopular act was the provision allowing draft-eligible males to hire substitutes to take their place in the army. Read more
When armed hostilities flared up between the Russian and Ottoman Empires in 1853 over control of holy places in Turkish-ruled Jerusalem, Great Britain was quick to throw its weight behind the Ottomans. Read more
Of the thousands of Russian soldiers and civilians pinned down by Allied forces during the 11-month-long siege of Sevastopol, one in particular chafed at the monotonous, mind-numbing routine. Read more
On March 12, 1689, James II, recently deposed king of England, landed in Ireland in a last-ditch attempt to regain his throne. Read more
Every time a new version of World of Tanks is released I get the opportunity to remind myself that I’m really bad at World of Tanks. Read more
With the fall of Vicksburg in the first week of July 1863, the strongest remaining Confederate presence in Mississippi was a recently thrown together force of 26,000 soldiers under General Joseph E. Read more
Never was Theodore Roosevelt’s famous dictum, “Speak softly and carry a big stick,” used to greater effect than in the high-stakes standoff between the American president and prickly, pugnacious Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany over the debt crisis in Venezuela in December 1902. Read more
With a quarter of a million German troops pouring through the Ardennes Forest, three Americans fleeing in a jeep should have raised no alarm. Read more
Wednesday, August 23, 1944, was a day of triumph for the Allies in their struggle against the Axis powers. Read more
Nothing in Ambrose Burnside’s pre-Civil War career indicated that he would be anything but a successful and energetic general. Read more
The Grand Ages series of city-building strategy games can be traced back to 2006’s Glory of the Roman Empire, which was developed by Haemimont Games. Read more
For the last eight centuries, the Chateau de Castelnaud has stood sentinel on a great limestone outcropping 525 feet above the Dordogne River in southwestern France. Read more
Teams of horses from four Confederate batteries churned the ground with their hooves as they pulled artillery onto the southern crest of Benner’s Hill just east of Gettysburg at 4 pm, July 2, 1863. Read more
If Air Conflicts: Pacific Carriers sounds familiar, that’s because it was originally released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC back in December 2012. Read more
On April 12, 1942, thunder sounded across the waters surrounding the island of Corregidor. It was not a natural storm, however, but a conflagration of steel. Read more
Lieutenant Commander Kakuishi Takahashi looked down on his targets from 14,000 feet. They were long, narrow forms with flat decks and large funnel stacks, the American aircraft carriers USS Lexington and Yorktown. Read more
As a writer and editor, it’s been my privilege to spend a great deal of time in the company of my betters: ordinary men and women engaged in the often heartbreaking act of making history. Read more
Befitting his grandiose nickname, Frederick the Great was a living embodiment of the old axiom that some people are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. Read more
World War II gave us many stories of aerial warfare, men and their machines fighting their way to victory and glory in the name of humanity. Read more
Three Months after the United States was plunged into World War II with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the nation was on edge. Read more
