Of all the celebrated generals commanding corps in the Grande Armée, none was more highly esteemed by Napoleon for his friendship, generalship, and personal bravery than Marshal Jean Lannes. Read more
It was supposed to be a routine delivery of soldiers to the battlefields of Guadalcanal—but nothing in war is ever routine. Read more
Over 100,000 visitors annually trace with pride the footsteps of infantrymen from the 1607 wilderness of Virginia to the 1991 sands of the Persian Gulf and view weapons from the French Charleville flintlock musket to the atomic Davy Crockett mortar,” says the director of the National Infantry Museum, Z. Read more
At the beginning of the battle for Imphal and Kohima, a Japanese Order of the Day instructed the troops: “You will fight to the death. Read more
Whirlybird and eggbeater were everyday lingo in 1943 when a few young men went to the Sikorsky factory in Stratford, Conn., Read more
They were all annoyed. The directive from Jagdkorps (JK) 2 made no sense, but it was clear: all New Year’s Eve parties were cancelled. Read more
By the winter of 1776, the struggle for American independence had reached its lowest point. In June of that year General George Washington’s Continental Army had stood at nearly 20,000 strong. Read more
John William O’Sullivan watched the Duke of Cumberland’s army as it stretched out in front of him, lined up in battle order on the northeastern side of Drummossie Moor, a mile or so from Culloden House. Read more
Kurt Meyer was without doubt one of the most outstanding and highly decorated Waffen SS officers of World War II. Read more
In the latter half of 1943, the German Wehrmacht had seen disaster follow disaster on the Eastern Front. Read more
Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, the nephew and namesake of the great Napoleon, once said, “March at the head of the ideas of your century, and these ideas follow you and support you. Read more
Within his reinforced concrete bunker, 50 feet below the garden of the New Reichs Chancellery on Berlin’s Wilhelmstrasse, German dictator Adolf Hitler, his soon-to-be bride Eva Braun, and several hundred friends, SS guards, and staff members could feel the concussion and hear the unending drumroll of thousands of Soviet artillery shells reducing the already-battered capital city of the Third Reich to unrecognizable rubble. Read more
The epic battle between the Virginia (Merrimack) and Monitor might never have taken place because, as strange as it may seem, the Confederates did not have enough experienced men to man their ship. Read more
Editor’s Note: The following is excerpted from Omaha Beach: D-Day June 6, 1944 by Joseph Balkoski (Stackpole Books, 2004; www.stackpolebooks.com). Read more
In the early 1970s, a former British Royal Air Force policeman–turned-hairdresser, Ken Small, visited South Devon on England’s Channel coast. Read more
A t 4:15 a.m. on February 24, 2022, a pre-recorded television segment played in which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “Special Military Operation” against neighboring Ukraine. Read more
On the evening of June 30, 1863, Union General John Buford’s 1st Division of cavalry prepared to meet advancing Confederate troops, the next day. Read more
As Amir Bega prepared to go on leave for the Yom Kippur holiday, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel, plunging him into war before his training was finished. Read more
The MiG-21 served as the primary fighter of the Soviet Bloc during the 1960s. During the Vietnam War the Soviet Union distributed this inexpensive, durable interceptor to North Vietnam and trained hundreds of its pilots. Read more
Michael Vickers served his country during the Cold War in a variety of roles. He began as a non-commissioned officer in the US Army’s Special Forces, enlisting in June 1973. Read more
