Militaria: WWI Helmets from French Troops

Thick metal helmets were used since ancient times to offer protection to their wearers in combat and are among the earliest forms of armor. Read more

Hell on Hill 1338

The morning calm was shattered by the sharp crack of rifle fire. Though the nearly impenetrable jungle vegetation and a dense layer of fog dampened the noise, the paratroopers of Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade tensed immediately. Read more

After Me, The Flood

A full moon in a cloudless sky shone over Germany’s Ruhr Valley on the night of May 16, 1943, meaning that all Royal Air Force (RAF) bombing missions over Nazi Germany had been canceled. Read more

Byzantine Cataphract, 10th-13th Century CE

The Byzantine Empire extended from the 4th century through the fifteenth century, with one of the most effective militaries in the world. Read more

The Siege of Saragossa

From the Memoirs of Heinrich von Brandt Translated and with commentary by Jonathan North

Napoleon’s invasion of Spain and Portugal sparked a cataclysmic conflict that shook Napoleonic Europe to its very core. Read more

When the Gods Die: the Battle of Otumba

In the morning hours of July 8, 1520 Hernando Cortés, with the remnants of his army of Spanish adventurers and Indian allies, neared the crest of mountains overlooking the plain of Otumba (the Spanish corruption of the Nahuatl name of Otompan), an Indian city dominating the valley along Cortés’s line of march. Read more

Rogue Point

While not directly tied to any specific historical military campaigns, Rogue Point recently appeared as a promising cooperative shooter that mixes in a handful of military-inspired classes for action that is heavily dependent on solid teamwork. Read more

The SS Elite In The Battle for Bastogne

The story of Hitler’s Bodyguard, the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte (LAH), in the battle for Bastogne does not begin until after the siege of that city had been raised by the U.S. Read more

Fire Over Texas: Galveston in the Civil War

When Texas seceded from the Union on February 1, 1861, it did not take long for the new Confederate government to realize that the state’s 385-mile coastline was extremely vulnerable to enemy assaults. Read more

The Fateful War Patrols of I-58

The night of July 29, 1945, was dark and clear over the Philippine Sea. A gibbous moon hung almost directly overhead, just a few days past full, casting its pale gray light over the dark waves. Read more

Death in the Italian Vineyards

As the sun dipped low in the west on August 13, 1799, Russian Field Marshal Count Alexander Suvorov rode slowly south towards the heights on which was perched the walled town of Novi, in Italy’s Piedmont region. Read more

M3 Grant/Lee Tank: The Armored Stopgap

Standing 10 feet tall, equipped with both a 75mm and 37mm, an impressive mass of steel and rivets, the Grant and Lee M3 tank seemed like the definitive answer to Hitler’s raging panzer tanks. Read more

Collecting Field Manuals

It has long been said that there is a right way to do things, a wrong way to do things—and the military way to do things. Read more

Rebel Fury at Port Republic

Confederate infantry on the northeastern outskirts of Port Republic in the Shenandoah Valley charged up the slopes of a ravine on June 9, 1862, against Union artillery that had been ravaging their ranks all morning. Read more

To Die in the Marianas

The tranquility of early dawn on June 15, 1944, was interrupted by the sounds of powerful naval guns and the roar of amtraks churning the water. Read more

The War of the Roses: A Red Storm Rising

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

Glider Pilots: No Engines, No Parachutes, No Second Chances

During the decade of the U.S. Army’s experiment with gliders in war, nearly as many glider pilots died in training as they did in combat. Read more

Ambrogio di Spinola

The crown of Spain and the wealthy banking families of Genoa had a symbiotic relationship during the Renaissance. Read more

Third Reich Police Helmets

A challenging but rewarding pursuit for collectors of World War II headgear is the acquisition of authentic helmets worn by military and civilian organizations of the Third Reich. Read more

D-Day Disaster at the Merville Battery

The small French village of Merville (1940 population: 470), located just south of the coastal town of Franceville-Plage, had as its neighbor on its southern fringe an unwelcome German battery consisting of four concrete bunkers housing artillery pieces that pointed northwest toward Ouistreham and the mouth of the Orne River. Read more