Military History Archives

With some sleeping soldiers and a Union officer listlessly watching the fire, Winslow Homer’s painting, “In Front of Yorktown,” seems to capture the atmosphere of inaction surrounding Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac during the 1862 Peninsula Campaign. Homer covered the war as an artist for Harper’s Weekly magazine.

Military History

Army of the Potomac Flounders in Drive for Richmond

By David A. Norris

On April 5, 1862, the Fourth Corps under Brig. Gen. Erasmus Keyes pushed forward along the road by the James River. Read more

Military History

Captain Lewis L. Millett and the ferocious ‘Battle of Bayonet Hill’ in South Korea.

By Kevin Seabrooke

In the dead of winter at the base of a hill just 20 kilometers south of Seoul, Korea, Easy Company’s 1st platoon found themselves pinned down by a continuous stream of small arms, automatic, and antitank fire coming from above. Read more

“Battle of the Boyne between James II and William III, 11 June 1690,” by Dutch artist Jan van Huchtenburgh (1647 - 1733). The battle, which took place along the Boyne River some 30 miles north of Dublin, was a major setback in James's attempt to regain the thrones of England and Scotland.

Military History

Blunder at the Boyne

By Robert L. Durham

Deposed Catholic King James II had come to Ireland with hopes of regaining the throne of England, and after a year of minor successes and setbacks, the time had come for him to make a stand. Read more

German soldiers rush through the streets of Brest at the start of the Axis invasion of Russia (Operation Barbarossa). In the early morning hours of June 22, 1941, the German army attacked the 19th century Fortress Brest, expecting little resistance to their Blitzkrieg tactics. But the Red Army held out until June 29, in spite of the devastating firepower wielded against them.

Military History

‘Hero-Fortress’ of Brest Takes First Blow of Nazis’ Operation Barbarossa

By Victor Kamenir

On the evening of June 21, 1941, foreboding hung like a heavy blanket over the Soviet Union’s western border as indicators of the imminent German invasion increased every day. Read more

“Crossing the Imjin,” a watercolor by Gordon Nicoll, depicts Gloucestershire Regiment POWs crossing back north over the Imjin River under watch of Communist guards in Korea in 1951.

Military History

The neverending search for the missing.

From the earliest recorded conflict in Mesopotamia around 2,700 BCE until the headlines of today, the world has seen fighting and killing—between families, tribes, cities, nations and religions. Read more

“Rescue and Retreat at Romani,” by Jennifer Marshall depicts Major Michael Shanahan of the 2nd Light Horse Brigade astride “Bill the Bastard” rescuing several soldiers at the Battle of Romani in Egypt. Shanahan was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his actions on August 5,1916.

Military History

Death Among The Dunes

By Kevin Morrow

On May 28th, 1915, Ion Idriess, a trooper of the 5th Australian Light Horse Regiment, sat writing in his diary in a dugout at Gallipoli. Read more

Military History

Ara: History Untold

By Joseph Luster

If grand strategy is your speed, you might want to keep an eye out for Ara: History Untold, which is currently in the works for PC and will also be available through PC Game Pass. Read more

Military History

Qing Dynasty And British Empire Clash In The Second Opium War

By Eric Niderost

On June 26, 1858, crowds packed the narrow streets of Tianjin to witness an awesome spectacle: A British diplomat was about to sign a treaty between his country and China. Read more

Military History

British Aviation Militaria

By Kevin Mahoney

Aviation militaria has always been popular with collectors, representing a fascinating aspect of 20th-century warfare. Among the more interesting items in this realm are the medals and flight log books from the airmen of the British Royal Air Force and Commonwealth Air Forces of World War II. Read more

Military History

Battle of Kings Mountain: an American Patriot Victory in the Carolinas

By James K. Swisher

The brightly uniformed soldiers that George III of England dispatched to subjugate the rebellious citizens of his North American colonies were at that time possibly the world’s best. Read more

Ships of the new U.S. Navy strut their stuff in the late 1890s. The gunboat on the left is the Marietta; the battleship at center the Iowa.

Military History

The Epic Journey Of USS Oregon During The Spanish American War

by A.B. Feuer

Following the Civil War, the United States saw enormous industrial progress. A sense of nationalism also developed, and public opinion was continually enlisted behind an aggressive foreign policy. Read more

Turkish troops dug into their trenches and awaiting attack near Gaza.

Military History

The Haversack Ruse In Gaza Impressed Even Lawrence Of Arabia

By Harold E. Raugh, Jr.

Since the days of the Trojan Horse, military deception and ruse have been effective instruments when used by an innovative commander to deceive and defeat an enemy, minimizing friendly casualties and expenditure of valuable resources in the process. Read more

French General Jean Rapp races towards a calm and self-assured Emperor Napoleon with a captured enemy standard during the height of the Battle of Austerlitz.

Military History

Courageous Count Jean Rapp & The Napoleonic Wars

by Blaine Taylor

Had he—and not Emmanuel, the Marquis of Grouchy—been named a Marshal of France on April 1, 1815, General Count Jean Rapp might have helped the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte win the Battle of Waterloo. Read more

Mounted Goths on the edge of the Roman Empire eye some of the fruits of the civilization beyond.

Military History

The Gothic Wars Battle of Adrianople

By Ludwig Heinrich Dyck

In 376 AD the Goths appeared on the lower Danube frontier of the Roman Empire. They came as a whole tribe, with warriors, women and children. Read more

Military History

Bayonets

By Robert Whiter

Recent years have seen a growing interest in the collecting of bayonets. What was once disdainfully described as the mighty sword’s poor relation now has its own niche in the family of edged weapons. Read more

Military History

Sergeant Alvin York: Personal Accounts That Reveal His True Story

By Lt. Col. Taylor V. Beattie

They had spent a cold, wet, miserable evening in October 1918 in a drainage ditch along the Varennes-Fleville road. Read more

Admiral Yi Sun Shin was not only a highly skilled militarist; he was also a writer. He wrote a war diary and composed poems. Here he is seen writing in a quiet and secluded moment.

Military History

The Imjin War: The Japanese Invasion of Korea

by Eric Niderost

It was May 1, 1592, mere weeks before the start of the Imjin War. Admiral Yi Sun Shin summoned a conference of high-ranking military officers and civil magistrates to his headquarters at Yosu, a port on the southern coast of Korea. Read more

Military History

General Frederick Funston

By Shippen Swift

Looking at a 1917 newspaper photo of Frederick Funston, barely 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing just a biscuit over a hundred pounds, today’s reader would wonder whatever made U.S. Read more

Military History

Military Miniatures

By Joseph Bles

In the 1950s a small group of French artists in Paris took toy soldiers and began converting them into what we now know as military miniatures. Read more

Military History

Battle of Amiens: Putting the Allies on the Road to Victory

By Eric Niderost

At the start of the Battle of Amiens, Sergeant Paul Maze was in a forward observation post not a thousand yards from the front, peering into the darkness for any signs of enemy activity. Read more

Military History

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