Military History Archives

The Liverpool ferryboat Daffodil rides alongside the cruiser Vindictive as Royal Marines disembark the cruiser’s battered decks in this painting by Charles J. de Lacy.

Military History

Zeebrugge: A Gallant Raid on Saint George’s Day

By Robert Barr Smith

In the spring of 1918, World War I was well into its fourth year, and still the armies struggled and died in the glutinous mud of Flanders. Read more

A 17th-century cavalry- man charging into battle atop a white charger opens fire with his wheel lock pistol in this painting by Dutch artist Pieter Meulener.

Military History

The Wheel Lock: Birth of the Combat Pistol

By William J. McPeak

By the late 15th Century, early firearm designers were already looking at ideas for semi-automatic weapons. The matchlock had been the first mechanism to make a shoulder-aimed firearm, the arquebus, possible. Read more

Military History

Slaughter in the Park: The Battle of Pavia

By William E. Welsh

From the moment he was crowned King of France in 1514, Francis I shared the same obsession with the rich Italian territories of Milan and Naples that his predecessors, Charles VIII and Louis XII, had shown during their time on the throne. Read more

German-led Askaris (native troops) man a machine gun position in East Africa at the beginning of World War I.

Military History

The Hungry War: German East Africa in World War I

By Michael Vogel

World War I evokes dreary images of trench warfare, where both sides’ strategy was simply to feed more and more troops into the mincing machine. Read more

Marines use a flamethrower at the top of the Soloman Islands, a misery of jungles, snakes, and Japanese snipers.

Military History

Military Weapons: The Origin of the Combat Flamethrower

By Brandt Heatherington

Perhaps the most primal and profound fear of men and animals alike is the fear of fire. With that in mind, fire has been a mainstay of combat for thousands of years, from burning arrows to scalding cauldrons of oil. Read more

Colonial militiamen, firing from behind makeshift barriers , drive off French and Indian troops at the Battle of Lake George in September 1755.

Military History

Fort William Henry, 1757: a Massacre of Misunderstanding

By Eric Niderost

Lieutenant Colonel George Monro of the 35th Regiment of Foot was a tough Scotsman, a career soldier who had served in the British Army for many years. Read more

Gatling guns were the first operational automatic weapons used by Ameri- can forces in combat. They helped turn the tide of the Battle of San Juan Hill where they mercilessly hammered Spanish trenches.

Military History

“Gatling Gun Parker” At the Battle of San Juan Hill

By Jim Foral

Along with the news of the American battleship Maine’s suspicious sinking in Havana harbor in February 1898 came the unmistakable scent of war. Read more

British troops assault the heavily defended Boer laager in artist Richard Caton Woodville’s painting, “Paardeberg.”

Military History

Parrdeberg Drift: Colonials to the Rescue

By Bernd Horn

On October 11, 1899, Great Britain officially went to war with the Republic of Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Read more

A solemn Gonzalo de Cordoba looks down at the body of his French opponent, Louis d’Armagnac, Duc de Nemours, following the Battle of Cerignola. The young duke fell leading a doomed cavalry charge.

Military History

Gonzalo de Cordoba: Grand Captain of Renaissance Warfare

By Louis Ciotola

The Spanish Empire is best remembered for its great voyages of exploration, its conquest of the New World, and its mighty Armada. Read more

Military History

Famous Military Generals: Chabrias the Athenian

By Charles Hilbert

On a warm summer day in the year 378 BC, a large Spartan army stood baffled on the plain of Boeotia in central Greece. Read more

The British bombardment of Fort McHenry, center, opened on the morning of September 13, 1814. Lazaretto Point is shown at left, Fort Covington at right. Sunken ships were used to block the inner harbor.

Military History

The Rockets’ Red Glare: The Story of Fort McHenry

By Blaine Taylor

By the late summer of 1814, the invading British Army had routed the entire American Army—both federal and state troops—on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Read more

Under Van Deman, the Military Intelligence Section had wide powers of intelligence collection and investigation.

Military History

Famous Military Spies: Ralph Van Deman

By Peter Kross

In the long history of American military intelligence, the names that come to mind most often are those of Nathan Hale, Benedict Arnold, Herbert Yardley, and William Donovan. Read more

French Foreign Legion reinforcements parachute into Dien Bien Phu on March 16, 1954, two weeks before the massive Communist assault on the main camp.

Military History

Five Hills at Dien Bien Phu

By John Walker

It began with the now-familiar sound, like thunder, coming from the hills to the northeast of the entrenched camp, as hidden Viet Minh mortar and artillery sites began raining destruction down upon the French fortifications in the Dien Bien Phu valley. Read more

Military History

The distinctive white helmets worn by guards during the Nuremberg trials became symbols of ultimate justice.

By Mark Skrzynski

On October 16, 1946, between 1 and 3 AM, American military police escorted 10 condemned high-ranking Nazi prisoners to their execution by hanging. Read more

Military History

Roman General Flavius Aetius

By Mark S. Longo

In many ways, Flavius Aetius personified the tumultuous changes that rocked the Western Roman Empire during its final years. Read more

Military History

The History of the Sword

By William J. McPeak

Perhaps no other weapon in human history has lent itself so well to so many combat adaptations as the sword. Read more

English battleships erupt in flames as their big guns answer German bombardment in the opening moments of the Battle of Jutland.

Military History

Trafalgar in Reverse: The Battle of Jutland

By James Dunn

In the spring of 1916, as the result of intense international pressure, Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer called in all his submarines after Germany announced an end to unrestricted underwater attacks on transatlantic merchant ships. Read more

Surrounded by the inflamed Muslim warriors of the self-proclaimed Mahdi, British General William Hicks makes a hopeless stand in Shaykan forest outside El Obeid.

Military History

Famous Soldiers: Indian Army Veteran William Hicks

By Robert Barr Smith

The year 1883 was one of horror for the people of northern Africa. Grim tidings made their way down the Nile from the benighted wastes of the Sudan, ghastly tales of rebellion and massacre in the holy name of God. Read more

Like the battle-tested veteran he was, Napoleon calmly directs the fighting at Lutzen. No less an expert than General Marmont believed that the emperor faced the greatest personal danger of his career during the battle.

Military History

Napoleon Bonaparte’s Unlikely Comeback at Lutzen

By Frank James Rottman

After his disastrous invasion of Russia in 1812, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte desperately needed to reassert his military dominance over Europe. Read more

Military History

Why Kaiser Wilhelm II Almost Attacked America’s East Coast

By Frank Zedeck

In the latter part of the 19th century, Germany’s young Kaiser, Wilhelm II, was anxious to play Weltpolitik (global politics) and expand his country’s influence beyond the borders of Europe, where Germany was already an acknowledged power player. Read more

Military History

From Around the Network

Inkerman: The Soldiers’ Battle

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The Setting Sun

Red Ball Express: The Allies’ Unprecedented Lifeline to Victory