During the Civil War western Virginia was crucial to the Union. The region that lay west of the Shenandoah Valley and north of the Kanawha River held nearly a quarter of Virginia’s nonslave population when the war began in 1861. Read more
When German panzer and infantry columns rumbled across the frontier into Russia on June 22, 1941, the Soviet Air Force was woefully unready for war. Read more
In an article in the Pittsburgh Courier on April 15, 1944, correspondent Billy Rowe, who was covering the activities of the 93d U.S. Read more
Anna Comnena, daughter of the Byzantium Emperor Alexius Comnenus, writing at about the time of the First Crusade (1096-1099), said of the medieval crossbow, a military tool new to her part of the world, “The crossbow is a weapon of the barbarians [western Europeans], absolutely unknown to the Greeks [Byzantines].” Read more
The United States Navy investigation into the February 15, 1898, sinking of the battleship Maine was a difficult undertaking. Read more
In the spring of 1940, as the German armed forces were sweeping across Western Europe, famed automobile designer Dr. Read more
“Bombs Away” rang out over the intercom static of the 29 aircraft of the 91st Bomb Group (Heavy). Read more
The election of the Protestant Frederick V, Elector of the Palatine, to the throne of Bohemia instead of the Catholic Hapsburg, Ferdinand of Austria, sparked what was to become the Thirty Years War. Read more
In the spring of ad 60 Gaius Suetonius Paulinus could look back on the last three or four years with a mixture of pride and satisfaction. Read more
It was the worst of times for the Allies. It was the time of opportunity for senior U.S. Read more
Operation Anvil, the invasion of southern France, was originally planned for June 1944, the same time as the Normandy invasion. Read more
Just before six o’clock on the morning of October 15, 1917, a caravan of five rickety automobiles departed the prison at Saint-Lazare and proceeded to make its way post-haste through the gaslit streets of Paris. Read more
By Christopher Miskimon
English King Aethelred wanted London back. He lost it in February 1014 to Svein Forkbeard, the Danish ruler. Read more
The battle for Antonov Airport near Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, began at 8 a.m. on February 24, 2022. Read more
It took the Marines of 3rd Battalion 5th Marine Regiment 22 days to get to Baghdad. The author was a journalist embedded with them. Read more
Thermopylae is famous as the location of the battle between a force of 300 Spartans (albeit with thousands of other Greek troops present) and the invading Persian army in 480 BCE. Read more
By the early 1890s, John D. Hart was one of the largest importers of bananas on the East Coast. Read more
Father Emil Kapaun served as a U.S. Army chaplain during the Korean War. His acts of bravery sound almost like legends. Read more
Lieutenant James Lechner, a member of the 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, went to Somalia in 1993 as part of a U.S. Read more
In 1861, only the lower southern states seceded at first. Once it became apparent President Lincoln intended to use force to prevent secession, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia joined the Confederacy. Read more
