Articles Archive

A 19th-century painting by Charles de Lariviere shows the fatal wounding of white-haired Lord Talbot, the Earl of Shrewsbury, at the climax of the Battle of Castillon.

Castillon: Last Battle of the Hundred Years’ War

By William E. Welsh

England’s long downward slide to defeat in the Hundred Years’ War began with the failed siege of Orleans in 1428. Read more

Garand’s Wonder Weapon

By Michael D. Hull

A variety of outstanding weapons and pieces of equipment affected the course of World War II for both the Allies and the Axis powers. Read more

M-4 Sherman tanks of the 11th Armored Division await the call to advance near Eterville on June 30, 1944. Three weeks after Operation Overlord had begun, the fighting near Caen was bitter.

Operation Jupiter: The Fight for the Key to Normandy

By Jon Latimer

The Allied landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944, produced a bitter struggle for control of the invasion beachhead. Read more

Day One of the Battle of Stones River

By Mike Phifer

For weeks, Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans had been hearing increased grumblings from Washington about how he should move his army out of Nashville and strike General Braxton Bragg’s Confederate forces 30 miles away in Murfreesboro. Read more

Any Bonds Today?

By Herb Kugel

One of the most unusual baseball games ever played was a three- way game in New York City between the New York Yankees, the New York Giants, and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Read more

Fanciful engraving of Jackson’s death shows him inside a tent, rather than a small house, near Guiney Station.

How Did Stonewall Jackson Actually Die?

By J.D. Haines

Following his greatest victory, at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863, Confederate Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Read more

Dressed in traditional garb, a lone Chinese man seeks the protection of a sandbag barricade in the International Settlement of Shanghai on August 12, 1937. Adjacent to the civilian are a British soldier and two American Marines who have donned their helmets. (© Bettmann/CORBIS)

A Memorable Marine Mascot

By Eric Niderost

Soochow was a mongrel dog with a remarkable gift for self-preservation. A homeless stray, he attached himself to some U.S. Read more

American forces assault the Mexican army at Cerro Gordo in this lithograph by Carl Nebel of the New Orleans Picayune, who accompanied Winfield Scott during the campaign.

Santa Anna at Cerro Gordo: Battle for Devil’s Jaws

By Frank A. O’Reilly

American Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott captured the port city of Vera Cruz on March 27, 1847, and immediately prepared to leave it behind. Read more

Were P-47 Thunderbolt Aircraft Really Formidable Fighter-Bombers?

By Sam McGowan

Since the end of World War II, the aviation press has made the North American P-51 Mustang into the superstar Allied fighter of the war. Read more

A soldier from the 172nd Stryker Brigade fires an illumination flare over Mosul, Iraq, from the vehicle’s 120mm mortar. Flares are used to spot terrorists emplacing roadside bombs.

Famous Military Weapons: Mortars

By William McPeak

The mortar is perhaps the oldest surviving ordnance piece developed during the Middle Ages. The earliest known forerunner to the mortar, introduced by Spanish Muslims about ad 1250, was essentially an iron-reinforced bucket that hurled stones with gunpowder. Read more

Matt Urban: Infantry Legend

By Michael D. Hull

At a Washington, D.C., reunion of the 9th Infantry “Octofoil” Division, on Saturday, July 19, 1980, President Jimmy Carter presented the nation’s highest decoration for valor to Lt. Read more

Wary Roman forces enter the Apennine Mountain pass at Caudine Forks in 321 bc. Samnite forces under Gaius Pontius were waiting for them.

Swords and Citizens: Romans & the Samnites

By Jeffrey A. Easton

Centuries before the Romans came to dominate the Mediterranean basin, they fought a series of wars against neighboring peoples to establish their hegemony over the Italian peninsula. Read more

The Bristol Beaufighter was a large aircraft that was capable of carrying heavy armament and an early version of airborne interception radar without affecting the aircraft’s performance in action.

Caught in the Micrometer Beam

By Mark Carlson

There is no disputing that radar played a major role in the Allied victory in World War II. Read more

A view of an E-3 aircraft with AWACS radome mounted on top.

The E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System

By Ken LaFayette

The year 2007 marked the 30th anniversary of the E-3 Sentry’s Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) service to the United States Air Force. Read more

American paratroopers come to earth as Douglas C-47 transport aircraft drone in the skies above. Cows are grazing peacefully in this photo, undisturbed by the early events of Operation Market-Garden.

Tough Fight at Mook

By Patrick J. Chaisson

In the midst of the ambitious Operation Market-Garden, Brigadier General James M. Gavin, 82nd Airborne Division Commander, first heard about the crisis at Mook, along the Maas River, from his chief of staff, Lt. Read more

Vizier Mustafa Pasha commanded the Turkish ground forces at Malta, seen here breasting the Knights Hospitallers in one of numerous headlong assaults.

Clash of Religions at Malta

By Tony Rothman

At dawn on May 18, 1565, one of the largest armadas ever assembled appeared off the Mediterranean island of Malta. Read more

King Boris of Bulgaria visits Adolf Hitler at Obersalzberg in Berchtesgaden on June 7, 1941. Boris would die on August 28, 1943, two weeks after a meeting with Hitler in Berlin and four days after a sudden illness.

Bulgaria Betwixt and Between

By John W. Osborn, Jr.

Though neutral for most of it, few countries had such a Passage through World War II as did Bulgaria. Read more

Collecting Military Tobacco Cards

By Peter Suciu

Smoking may not be the same in-vogue habit it was during bygone days, when politicians, starlets, athletes, and even the average Joe could be seen lighting up on a regular basis. Read more

In this photo montage, General Arthur Percival is pictured around the time that the Japanese invaded the Malay Peninsula, leading to his surrender of the bastion of Singapore.

Percival’s Surrender: Britain’s Greatest Failure

By David H. Lippman

To those that met him, Lieutenant General Arthur Percival was uninspiring and gloomy, seeing difficulties rather than opportunities; one who was weak and hesitant when a decision was needed. Read more

On December 30, 1460, the heirs to the Lancastrian nobles killed at St. Albans five years earlier at last had their revenge, trapping the Duke of York and the Earl of Salisbury near Wakefield. Painting by Graham Turner.

The War of the Roses: A Red Storm Rising

By William E. Welsh

Indolent, weak-willed, and prone to periodic fits of madness, King Henry VI had let England slide downhill since coming of age in 1437. Read more

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The U.S. Army M1910 Pattern Combat Equipment Web Belt

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