Spanish Foreign Legion

Dear Editors:

I enjoyed John W. Osborn, Jr.’s fine article “Bridegrooms of Death” in the February 2005 issue of Military Heritage. Read more

The Truth Behind The Charge of the Light Brigade

By Lt. Col. Harold E. Raugh, Jr., Ph.D., U.S. Army (Ret.)

The “Charge of the Light Brigade,” a British cavalry action during the Battle of Balaklava in the Crimean War, 1854-1856, has been romanticized and immortalized, primarily through a ballad of the same name by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Read more

North Africa

Dear Editors,

During a recent visit to Tunisia, I saw this Wehrmacht fuel barrel dated 1942, stuck in the sand near Mareth. Read more

Defiant Russia, Road to Hill 30

By Eric T. Baker

At a cost of only $20, Avalanche Press’s new board game Defiant Russia: the War Against Nazi Aggression is a terrific value and an excellent introduction to the hobby of tabletop wargaming. Read more

Old Fuss and Feathers

The military career of General Winfield Scott—called “Old Fuss and Feathers” because of his keen attention to military discipline and appearance—spanned much of the first half of the 19th century, from before the War of 1812 to the Civil War. Read more

The Military Antiques Xtravaganza

By Peter Suciu

Collectors of militaria can find virtually anything these days with a few mouse clicks on the computer, but the one thing the Internet has been unable to truly recreate is the experience of holding and seeing such items up close. Read more

Cover to Cover

Dear Editors,

Like many of your readers, I get a lot of magazines. Some professional magazines are very boring and I barely look at the captions let alone read the articles. Read more

A crestfallen nobleman bearing a blood-soaked flag delivers news of the Scottish defeat at Flodden to a group of elders. The English victory eliminated Scotland as a military threat for years afterward, and solidified Henry VIII’s hold on England.

Turning the Flank at Flodden

By Robert Swain

Flanking movements were long known to English military commanders, but traditionally they were limited to maneuvers by one wing around an enemy’s line—not by the entire army itself, which would have been considered highly unorthodox and far too risky. Read more

The 761st Tank Battalion

By Lt. Col. Harold E. Raugh, Jr., Ph.d., U.S. Army (Ret.)

As a boy growing up in New York City in the 1950s, basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) idolized his father’s co-worker, Leonard “Smitty” Smith, and considered him a surrogate father. Read more

Patton’s Best Friend

Dear Editors,

I have received my November 2004 issue and read it. I shared it with a neighbor and he has also ordered a subscription after seeing it. Read more