For centuries wounded soldiers of every nation were responsible for much of their own care. Medical attention was primitive and often not a high priority for military planners beyond the officer corps. Read more
To his contemporaries, Harun al-Rashid, fifth caliph of the Abbasid dynasty, seemed the most fortunate of men. Read more
On the morning of Friday, April 13, 1945, three men gathered at a table in L’Espadon of the Ritz Paris over a breakfast of coffee and croissants. Read more
As long afternoon shadows rolled across the prairie near the confluence of the Buffalo Bayou and the San Jacinto River in eastern Texas on April 21, 1836, two armed camps—one a small Texan force, the other a 1,400-man-strong Mexican army—lay within a scant 1,000 yards of each another. Read more
The special packaging of the printed word between compact durable covers and a stitched spine—the book—is one of humanity’s greatest and most enduring achievements. Read more
Major General John K. Singlaub was a young airborne lieutenant when he took up an offer from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) to become engaged in “hazardous duty behind enemy lines.” Read more
They have been called “the other Navy,” the “Navy’s stepchildren,” and perhaps most fittingly, “the forgotten Navy.” Officially, however, they were the Naval Armed Guard or more simply the Armed Guard (AG). Read more
At 2:43 pm on October 24, 1944, one day before the Battle of Surigao Strait, Rear Admiral Jesse B. Read more
For three weeks in February 1862, Union Brig. Gen. Samuel Curtis led his Army of the Southwest on a 200-mile advance southward across the Ozark plateau in Missouri and into northern Arkansas. Read more
On Christmas Eve, 1944, Colonel William Holden, commander of the prisoner of war camp at Phoenix, Arizona, suddenly lost all hope for a happy holiday. Read more
By the autumn of 1944, German resistance in the West was quickly crumbling as the British and Americans approached the German border 233 days ahead of schedule. Read more
In June 1812, the United States, provoked by arrogant British actions on the high seas and its support of hostile Indians in the Northwest Territories, declared war on Great Britain and immediately began planning an invasion of British-held Canada. Read more
One day shortly after the Battle of El Guettar in central Tunisia in March 1943, Colonel William O. Read more
Near Marseilles, at Aubagne, stands the modern home of the French Foreign Legion. Its spotless grounds include a massive stone pile, the Monument aux Morts, which commemorates the Legion dead of the past 175 years. Read more
Manila was the first large city the U.S. Army had to take in the Pacific War. Covering 110 square miles, it had many stone and concrete buildings, perfect defensive positions for the Japanese. Read more
The Battle of Stalingrad consumed human beings and military supplies at a horrifying rate. Once Soviet forces managed to encircle the German Sixth Army, its fate was ensured unless it could be sustained. Read more
The first significant guerrilla action against the invading Japanese troops took place in January 1942, while fighting against the combined Filipino and American army was still ongoing. Read more
“Iron Mike” O’Daniel was already an experienced soldier when he took command of the 3rd Infantry Division in World War II. Read more
The 381st Bombardment Group formed up at an airfield in Texas, trained, and then crossed the Atlantic to England in May 1943. Read more
When the Luftwaffe first flew the Me 262 jet fighter against the Allied air forces in the summer of 1944, it made a fearful impression. Read more
