Military History Archives

British Lt. Gen. George Augustus Eliott points to the rescue of defeated Spanish sailors on when the British destroyed the Franco-Spanish fleet's floating batteries late in the siege in a painting by John Singleton Copley.

Military History

Grand Assault On Gibraltar

By David A. Norris

Great Britain’s war with her rebellious American colonies was about to conclude as diplomats crafted a peace treaty. Read more

Caliph Harun al-Rashid receives an emissary from Frankish Emperor Charle- magne in Baghdad in this 19th-century illustration by Ambrose Dudley.

Military History

The Fourth Fitna: A Family Feud that Crippled a Caliphate

By Jefferson M. Grey

To his contemporaries, Harun al-Rashid, fifth caliph of the Abbasid dynasty, seemed the most fortunate of men. Read more

General Hubert Lyautey, the French Resident-General of Morocco, arrives in Marrakesh. Lyautey faced the daunting task of pacifying the country and winning over the hearts and minds of the population, and he succeeded at both.

Military History

Massacre In Morocco

By Simon Rees

In his father’s time, leopards had freely padded across the reception areas of the royal palace at Fez, inspiring awe and trepidation among visitors. Read more

Military History

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

Saint Louis, King Louis IX of France receives Robert of Nantes, Patriarch of Jerusalem, in Damietta, Egypt, in June of 1249. Robert is lending his knights to the battle ahead, the Seventh Crusade. Nineteenth century painting by French artist Oscar Gué.

Military History

The Battle of Al Mansourah and the Seventh Crusade, 1251

By Douglas Sterling

After a century and a half of efforts—with mixed success—by Western Europe to seize control of the Holy Land, the Seventh Crusade of 1250 led by Louis IX of France was the last best chance to change the political and military situation in the Eastern world before the Reformation. Read more

Military History

Soldiers: General Peter Bagration

By Victor Kamenir

Russian General Peter Ivanovich Bagration was one of those rare commanders who received near-universal praise from his contemporaries outside of Russia. Read more

Military History

Military Postcards

By Peter Suciu

Many famous photos of military uniforms and personalities are actually taken from vintage postcards. And while today many vintage baseball or football cards can fetch thousands of dollars, military postcards essentially have been forgotten. Read more

Lieutenant Colonel John Edgar Howard slashes his way into the British line, which reels under the pressure. The British were hasty in their attacks and came to regret it.

Military History

Duel in the Backwoods

By James K. Swisher

Richard Hovenden of His Majesty’s British Legion Dragoons cautiously urged his tired horse through a parklike expanse of tall trees that marked the entrance to a South Carolina country crossroads junction called locally “Hannah’s Cowpens.” Read more

A Polish Vistula lancer wearing the familiar four-sided lancer cap, or shako, crosses blades with an Austrian cuirassier during the Napoleonic Wars.

Military History

The Four-Sided Peak Lancer Cap

By Peter Suciu

While lightly armed cavalry already seemed anachronistic by the time of the Napoleonic Wars, the success of the Polish lancers in that conflict convinced many nations to adopt a similar fighting force. Read more

Carthaginian general Hannibal Barca enters an Italian village following a victory over the Romans in a contemporary painting by Peter Connolly. Hannibal invaded the Italian peninsula in 218 bc to keep the war away from Carthage and put the burden of sustaining the fight on his enemy’s lands.

Military History

Hannibal’s Cunning Ambush

By Chuck Lyons

When still a young boy, Hannibal once came upon his father, the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca, who at the time was preparing to go to Iberia where Carthage was campaigning to expand its power. Read more

Nixon at work in the Oval Office. Pentagon leaders made sure that if they received unusual military orders from the president they would be evaluated properly.

Military History

The Secret World of Richard Nixon

By Blaine Taylor

In the spring of 1974—at the height of the political Watergate crisis in Washington, D.C.—Joseph Laitin, a spokesman at the Office of Management and Budget whose office was in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next door to the White House, was on his way over to the west wing of the White House to meet with Treasury Secretary George Schultz. Read more

The climactic moment of the Battle of Courtrai occurred when Count Robert of Artois, commander of the French army, led a suicidal charge into the Flemish ranks after the battle already had been lost. He is portrayed in a 19th-century painting pinned under his horse and mortally wounded.

Military History

Revenge Of The Flemish Lion

By William E. Welsh

The Flemish infantry fidgeted under the sweltering sun as they stood shoulder to shoulder in a field east of the town of Courtrai on July 11, 1302. Read more

A newly decorated group of French soldiers poses for a photo while wearing the 1915 “Adrian” helmets.

Military History

Militaria: WWI Helmets from French Troops

By Peter Suciu

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

Military History

Hell on Hill 1338

By Edward F. Murphy

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

Military History

Byzantine Cataphract, 10th-13th Century CE

By Giuseppe Rava

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

Polish troops from the Vistula Legion, part of Napoleon’s army besieging the Spanish city of Saragossa in 1809, attack the Santa Engracia convent during the building-to-building fighting. Artist Baron Louis Lejeune, who saw service during the campaign as aide-de-camp to Marshal Lannes, depicted himself wounded at the base of the monument.

Military History

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

Military History

When the Gods Die: the Battle of Otumba

By Brian Geeslin

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

French Revolutionary troops campaigning in Italy benefitted from the high morale that comes from believing in a cause; however, they suffered greatly in the 1799 campaign from Napoleon Bonaparte's absence. Painting © 2022 Keith Rocco; www.keithrocco.com

Military History

Death in the Italian Vineyards

By William E. Welsh

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