Blaise de Monluc
By William McPeakA hundred miles north of the mountainous region near the Pyrenees was the rolling land of the Garonne River, home of the Gascon noble families. Read more
Military Dioramas
By Peter SuciuThe scene appears to be one of utter chaos, as several dozen soldiers react to an enemy attack on their troop train. Read more
The Symbolism of the Berlin Wall During the Cold War
By Bruce L. BragerIn June 1961, Walter Ulbrecht, longtime Communist party leader of East Germany, denied that his government had any intention of building the Berlin Wall, which would separate East and West Berlin. Read more
When the Earth Moved
Photo Essay by Kevin M. HymelThe crater that punched a hole in the Confederate lines and threw a 200-foot umbrella of dirt, men, and guns into the air on July 30, 1864, could today be mistaken for a gentle dip in the rolling, slight hills of the Petersburg countryside. Read more
The Mysterious Disappearance of the Bizarre Surcouf
By William H. LangenbergThe legendary Flying Dutchman of maritime lore was a spectral ship of disastrous portent that haunted the high seas and endangered anyone who came into contact with it. Read more
Hernándo Cortés on the plains of Cintla
By Charles HilbertIn March 1519, a small square of 400 Spanish adventurers under the command of Hernándo Cortés stood at bay on the plain of Cintla in Tabasco, Mexico. Read more
The Battle of Edgehill: Halting the Royalist March on London
By William E. WelshRobert Devereux, the third Earl of Essex, was on his way to church in the small village of Kineton in Warwickshire on the morning of October 23, 1642, when he received word that the enemy was at hand. Read more
Fleming, Ian Fleming
By Hervie HauflerSome accounts of Ian Fleming’s life make it seem that only at the age of 44, as an antidote to the shock of finally agreeing to get married, did he suddenly commit himself to the unplanned task of creating his James Bond novels. Read more
The UH-1 Iroquois “Huey” Helicopter
By Ignacio PullumAs an icon of the Vietnam War and an angel of mercy for American troops who fought there, the Bell UH-1 Iroquois, affectionately known as the “Huey,” has gone on to become the most recognizable helicopter in the world. Read more
King Arthur Saves Britain
By Robert Barr SmithBritain was a battleground in the last years of the fifth century. The occupying, and in some sense stabilizing, Roman legions long since had gone, never to return, and the native Britons found themselves locked in a long, heartbreaking struggle against waves of brutal North German invaders—Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—who delighted in bloodshed, rape, and murder. Read more
Bairnsfather’s “Fragments from France”
By Robert WhiterYou should send that into one of the illustrated papers or magazines,” said a young subaltern, looking over the shoulder of an officer who was sitting in front of a makeshift table finishing a pen-and-ink drawing. Read more
David Chrisinger’s ‘The Soldier’s Truth’
By Christopher MiskimonOn December 16, 1943, journalist Ernie Pyle climbed Mount Sammucro, near the Italian town of San Pietro Infine. Read more
C.J. Skamarakas’ ‘The Devil Boats’
By Christopher Miskimon“Devil Boat” was a nickname given by the Japanese to American Patrol Torpedo (PT) boats during World War II. Read more
Bil Paul’s ‘Awaiting the Sun’
By Christopher MiskimonThe Aleutian Islands were the only North American territory to be invaded and occupied by an Axis power during World War II. Read more
Chris McNab’s ‘Waffen SS Soldier versus Soviet Rifleman’
By Christopher MiskimonWaffen SS units made up only a small part of the German Wehrmacht, but they found frequent use as “fire brigades” across the Eastern Front. Read more
Ian Baxter’s ‘The Soviet Destruction of Army Group South’
By Christopher MiskimonAfter the destruction of the German Sixth Army at Stalingrad in February 1943, the German Army Group South began a slow westward withdrawal, inexorably pressed by advancing Soviet forces of what would eventually be named the First through Fourth Ukrainian Fronts. Read more
Peter Harmsen ‘Darkest Christmas’
By Christopher MiskimonThe darkest, deadliest Christmas in human history occurred in December 1942. Around the globe, as Christians celebrated their holiday of peace and goodwill, peoples of many different faiths and beliefs continued to slaughter one another. Read more
Tim Moreman’s ‘Conquest of Burma 1942’
By Christopher MiskimonThe Japanese invasion of Burma in January 1942 pitted its well-trained, mobile, and hard-hitting Fifteenth Army against a conglomerate Allied force composed of British, Commonwealth, Indian and Burmese troops in various states of training, equipment and experience. Read more
Otto Henning’s ‘Panzer Leader’
By Christopher MiskimonOtto Henning, born in 1924, joined the German Army in the summer of 1941. Volunteering allowed him to avoid the compulsory labor service and choose his branch of service. Read more
Working on the Railway of Death: A POW’s Story
By Eric NiderostWhen Howard Brooks joined the United States Navy in 1939, the 20-year-old farm boy from Tennessee had no idea that he was going to experience one of the most harrowing adventures of World War II. Read more
