In the Age of Reason, even wars were fought reasonably. Well-ordered marches, carefully dressed ranks of impeccably turned-out soldiers, and elaborately sketched battle plans were the order of the day in the so-called “lace wars” of the mid-18th century. Read more
Two men were seated on either side of a paper-strewn table inside an office of MI5, the British intelligence service, in the Royal Victoria Patriotic School at Clapham, London, shortly after the fall of France in the spring of 1940. Read more
By the spring of 1645, the open warfare between King Charles I and his rebellious Parliament had dragged on for nearly three years, with no apparent end in sight. Read more
On a gloomy Friday morning, September 26, 1777, an advance party of the British Army marched into Philadelphia to take possession of the city. Read more
When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, the nation’s Navy was shockingly short of combat ships—particularly the submarine chasers that would be vital to combating the German U-boat menace. Read more
The British Army of soldiers, Royal Marines and naval infantry—actually sailors from His Majesty’s Navy fighting on dry land with musket, pike and cutlass—were marching full-tilt for the capital of the United States this hot, sweltering August 24, 1814. Read more
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
By mid-afternoon on September 17, 1862, the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia were locked in mortal combat on the rolling hills overlooking the sluggish waters of Antietam Creek in northwestern Maryland. Read more
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
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
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
The author enlisted in the U.S. Army at 18 in 1975. He later went to West Point and gained a commission. Read more
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
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
Taiwan has been a potential flashpoint for conflict between the United States and communist China since the 1950s. Read more
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
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
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
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
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
