The “George Medal” and Guadalcanal

In the long and distinguished history of the U.S. Marine Corps, thousands of marines have been awarded medals for meritorious service on the battlefield. Read more

King Gustavus Adolphus, Breitenfeld, and the Birthplace of Modern War

On a hot, dusty September morning in 1631, the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Emperor rested easily on the plains outside the village of Breitenfield, six miles north of Leipzig, Saxony. Read more

Union Soldiers in the Civil War: Camping Along the Potomac

Before the fighting even began, before the first impassioned chorus of “On to Richmond!” was raised by the men in blue, the soldiers comprising the Union Army of the Potomac during the Civil War had to create their own precarious living quarters in the forested wilderness of the eastern seaboard. Read more

“The Other Napoleon Bonaparte” at the Battle of Waterloo

On April 23, 1809, Prince Jerome Bonaparte, king of Westphalia, a German satellite state given to him by his elder brother Emperor Napoleon I, sat astride a large white horse at the Holland Gate leading into the capital city of Cassel. Read more

R.D. Hooker Jr’s ‘Conquer We Must’

The author enlisted in the U.S. Army at 18 in 1975. He later went to West Point and gained a commission. Read more

Ian Gardner’s Sign Here for Sacrifice

By Christopher Miskimon

Climbing a ridge, Phil Vernon spotted wisps of smoke coming from somewhere below. The paratrooper from Company A of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was in Vietnam in December 1967 and the unit was participating in “Operation Klamath Falls.” Read more

Phillip Thomas Tucker’s ‘Brothers in Liberty’

When British fortunes waned in the north during the American Revolution, they turned their attention south. They formed an expeditionary force which sailed from New York to Savannah, Georgia, which they captured in 1778. Read more

Mick Ryan’s ‘White Sun Star’

Taiwan has been a potential flashpoint for conflict between the United States and communist China since the 1950s. Read more

Michael Livingston’s ‘Never Greater Slaughter’

England was born in AD 937 at the Battle of Brunanburh. An army led by Viking and Celtic kings from Ireland, Scotland and Strathclyde gathered to destroy the rising power of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. Read more

William Nester’s ‘Land of War’

As long as human beings have lived on the European continent there have been wars on it. They began with stones and flint axes and progressed through bronze, iron and eventually steel weapons, but the advent of gunpowder changed the nature of combat from a largely face to face struggle to one of ever-increasing distances. Read more

Michael McNally’s ‘Tannenberg 1914’

A month after World War I began, as the French, British and German armies vied for a quick victory in France and the Low Countries, a fast-moving campaign evolved in the East, where the German and Russians maneuvered for advantage. Read more

Stephen Turnbull’s ‘ Mongol Warrior Versus European Knight’

The Mongols had conquered most of Central Asia by 1237, overwhelming the Rus before advancing west. In eastern Europe the invading Mongols encountered Christian mounted knights, both sides determined in their goals of conquest or defense. Read more

Edward G. Longacre’s ‘Unsung Hero of Gettysburg’

General David McMurtrie Gregg, born in Pennsylvania and educated at West Point, became one of the most capable and successful cavalry officers on either side during the American Civil War. Read more

The Marines and North Vietnamese at Khe Sanh

In early 1967, the thinly populated, rugged, and mountainous Khe Sanh plateau lay in the northwest corner of South Vietnam, bordered by Laos to the west and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and North Vietnam to the north. Read more

Manhattan’s First Terror Attack: Decades Before 9/11

In the summer of 1916, America was an island of peace in an ocean of war. The guns of August 1914 had been blazing away in Europe for nearly two years now, primed by a booming American munitions industry that found itself growing rich on the long-distance suffering of others. Read more

The Duke of Wellington in Assaye in India

Years after he had saved the world from the ambitions of Napoleon, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, was asked by his friend, George William Chad, to recall the “best thing” he had ever done as a soldier. Read more

Sleep in the Military: Not Dead, Just Dead Tired

One of the most precious resources in war, and the one most often in short supply, is sleep. Read more

Union General John Pope: Cracking Island No. 10

With its whistle blaring, the Confederate gunboat Grampus steamed into Madrid Bend, where Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas come together on the Mississippi River. Read more

Mark Antony’s Roman Navy: Clash at Actium & the Ionian Sea

Julius Caesar’s assassination on the ides of March, 44 bc left Rome without a clear and decisive leader. Read more

Mary, Queen of Scots and Cryptoanalysis

Mention Elizabethan England to most people, and they usually think of William Shakespeare, the Globe Theatre and Sir Francis Drake. Read more