Military History Archives

First Lieutenant Israel Greene leads his Marines into the engine house, as depicted in this diorama at the National Museum of the Marine Corps Heritage Center in Virginia.

Military History

John Brown’s Bloody Abolitionist Crusade

By Eric Niderost

Agroup of insurgents, probably abolitionists fiercely dedicated to ending slavery, had seized the Federal Arsenal at Harper’s Ferry—that was the news Charles W. Read more

Military History

“There was In Her Something Divine”

By Don Hollway

In November 1455 a most extraordinary ecclesiastical court convened in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris at the behest of the French Inquisition. Read more

Military History

Collecting Vintage Grenades

By Peter Suciu

Even now, six decades after the end of World War II, the words “potato masher” just as easily conjure images of the legendary German hand grenade as they do kitchen utensils. Read more

A crestfallen nobleman bearing a blood-soaked flag delivers news of the Scottish defeat at Flodden to a group of elders. The English victory eliminated Scotland as a military threat for years afterward, and solidified Henry VIII’s hold on England.

Military History

Flanking movements were long known to English military commanders, but traditionally they were limited to maneuvers by one wing around an enemy’s line—not by the entire army itself, which would have been considered highly unorthodox and far too risky. Read more

Trapped in a pocket at Sedan, Emperor Napoleon III and his officers surrender their swords to the Prussians after the emperor agreed to the unconditional surrender.

Military History

Snared in a Prussian Trap

By Victor Kamenir

Driven and energetic in his youth, by the late 1860s French Emperor Napoleon III was a shadow of his former self. Read more

Military History

The Taylor-Smith feud derailed the Red River Campaign

The feud between Confederate generals Richard Taylor and Kirby Smith remains one of the most contentious examples of in-fighting in the Confederate high command during the American Civil War. Read more

This Italian illustration depicts Zeppelin LZ 6 (Z.III) and other aircraft bombing the Royal Navy Fleet as it waits for the seaplanes to return from their (unsuccessful) raid on the Zeppelin hangars near Cuxhaven, Germany, on Christmas Day 1914. One of the earliest air-to-ship encounters, the attack was unsuccessful as all bombs missed their targets. The LZ 6 was hit by some 600 machine-gun rounds, but managed to return to base.

Military History

Christmas Day Air Raid on the Zeppelins at Cuxhaven

By Mark Carlson

A quarter of a century before the epic Battle of Britain during World War II, England’s capital city was threatened from the air for the first time. Read more

Flying wingtip-to-wingtip, a formation of RAF Hawker Hurricanes from No. 111 Squadron glides above the English countryside. While the Spitfire is more famous today, the Hurricane was the first monoplane fighter to exceed 300 miles per hour and accounted for many “kills" against the Luftwaffe.

Military History

The Battle for Britain… and much more.

Writers and soldiers. The two don’t go together.

Soldiers are men of action. They are out in the elements. They command men. Read more

Military History

Imperial Landsknecht Halberdier 1486-1600

By Giuseppe Rava

The Landsknecht were German mercenaries originally recruited by Maximilian I, the Holy Roman Emperor from 1486-1519. Influenced by the success of Swiss pikemen, Landsknecht mercenaries were formed into a Landsknecht army, defeating the Hungarians during the Austro-Hungarian War of 1490. Read more

Military History

9 Military History Book Reviews for Summer 2026

By Kevin Seabrooke Full Story

The Impossible Factory: The Remarkable True Story of Kelly Johnson and the Lockheed Skunk Works, America’s Innovation Machine (Josh Dean, Dutton, New York, NY, 496 pp., Read more

U.S. helicopters not only transported South Vietnamese troops to firebases inside Laos, but also carried them to Tchepone when the armored column stalled on Route 9. The March 6 air assault by elements of the South Vietnamese 1st Infantry Division was the largest helicopter assault of the war.

Military History

Mauled in Laos

By John Walker

The South Vietnamese rangers huddled in their trenches and bunkers at landing zone Ranger North throughout the day of February 19, 1971, as mortar shells crashed inside the perimeter. Read more

A Japanese POW commander (Sessue Hayakawa) and a British colonel (Alec Guinness) conduct a battle of wills in The Bridge On the River Kwai.

Military History

Military Films

By Blaine Taylor

From earliest recorded history to yesterday, it is now possible to trace virtually all major human conflicts on videotapes and DVDs through both rental and purchase. Read more

Military History

Noble Celtic Warrior, 1st Century, B.C.

The Gauls were Celtic people who lived in much of Europe from the 5th century BC. They were described by Greek and Roman historians as tall, muscular, fair-skinned, with long blonde, or reddish hair. Read more

Military History

Uniform: Private in the 4th New York Regiment

By Don Troiani & William E. Welsh

Headgear: Since leather caps were unavailable, the regiment was outfitted with felt hats trimmed with hair crests. Read more

Bare-headed, French King John II leads a swirling melee at the climax of the Battle of Poitiers in this 1830 painting by Eugene Delacroix.

Military History

Death at the Hawthorn Hedge: Poitiers, 1356

By William E. Welsh

The Black Death that ravaged England and France for a half-dozen years in the mid-14th century served merely as a brief intermission between the first and second acts of the painfully protracted struggle known as the Hundred Years’ War. Read more