Spying is a dangerous game.
Even the best spies sometimes get caught, as Confederate raider John Yates Beall, “the Mosby of the Chesapeake,” learned the hard way in 1865, and the consequences are never pretty to contemplate. Read more
The battle of sailor’s creek was a debacle for the confederacy and the death knell of the Army of Northern Virginia. Read more
Captain Odd Isaachsen Willoch knew what had to be done. The 55-year-old career Norwegian officer, commander of an aging coastal defense ship, was looking down the five-inch gun barrels and 21-inch torpedo tubes of the Wilhelm Heidkamp, a state-of-the-art German destroyer. Read more
Toy Soldiers: Cold War may have once been a part of Xbox’s “Summer of Arcade,” but the war being waged inside this toy box is a cold one. Read more
The Battle of Lewes was over, and with it the end of the actual power of the English king, Henry III. Read more
Paul Allen is one of the wealthiest men in the world. In fact, Forbes magazine ranks him 51st with a net worth of approximately $17.5 billion. Read more
When Mark Twain “lit out for the territory” in July 1861 from his erstwhile role as the world’s worst Confederate ranger, he joined a small but distinguished list of future American literary greats who similarly decided, as had Twain, that they were “not rightly equipped for this awful business.” Read more
The German invasion of Denmark and Norway, known as Operation Weseruebung, heralded a new stage in warfare in which cooperation of air, land, and sea forces was essential for successful offensive operations. Read more
Among the small battalion of war correspondents on hand to witness the charge up San Juan Hill on July 1, 1898, was a slender, sallow young writer named Stephen Crane. Read more
Ace Combat games aren’t exactly known for being precision flight sims, or sims of any kind, for that matter. Read more
The year 1939 was one of massive military parades across Europe. On April 20, the largest ever was held in Berlin to celebrate Adolf Hitler’s birthday, complete with the paratroopers, wheeled artillery, tanks, half-tracks for motorized infantry, and overhead Luftwaffe fly-bys that would mark the coming campaigns and revolutionize warfare forever. Read more
Fans of classic-style strategy games will be delighted to know that Slitherine Ltd. has another gem on their hands; if they’re not waist-deep into playing it already, that is. Read more
On June 15, 1930, a poised cadet from the Virginia Military Institute proudly drove his dilapidated old Ford through the gates of Fort Myer, Va., Read more
As spring turned to summer in 1941, America’s thoughts turned unwillingly toward war. While the nation was still reluctant to enter World War II, it now realized it needed to prepare its military, which had languished in the funding-starved 1930s. Read more
I love shooters as much as the next adrenaline-pumping gamer; it’s practically a requirement if you want some kind of interactive war experience outside of strategy titles. Read more
Few mortals commanded such intense devotion from their troops as did French Emperor Napoleon I, and fewer soldiers still can claim to have had a direct hand in helping to save the life of their commander. Read more
Whenever I look at names on a war memorial, I can’t help but wonder about who those people were, what they looked like, what kinds of lives they led, and the circumstances of their deaths. Read more
John Pope’s second campaign as an army commander went considerably better than his first. Not that it did his reputation—or Abraham Lincoln’s, for that matter—any particular good. Read more
One of the great things about being a military historian is that you get to go places and meet people you might not ordinarily get to see and meet. Read more
I have strangely fond memories of the original Top Gun game. I say “strangely” because, for all intents and purposes, it was practically impossible for myself and almost everyone else I knew at the time. Read more
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