Military History

In an ambush led by Arminius (later known as Hermann), three Roman legions were destroyed in Germania in 9 CE. The event, one of Rome’s worst defeats, was seized upon by nationalists in the 19th-century, and later by the Nazi Third Reich, as the mythological origin of the German state. Paintings such as “The battle of Hermann in the Teutoburg Forest,” (1840) by Wilhelm Lindenschmit the Elder, helped popularize Hermann as the father of the German nation.

Military History

Havoc in the Teutoburger Forest

By Michael D. Greaney

One of the most devastating events to shake the early Roman Empire was the defeat of Legate Publius Quinctilius Varus and his army at the hands of Arminius in the Battle of Teutoburgerwald in 9 ad. Read more

Military History

Zenobia’s Bloody War of Independence

By Glenn Barnett

The pages of history tend to dwell on the men who created empires. No matter how ephemeral may be the famed exploits of an Alexander, Caesar or Napoleon, historians have written volumes on their behalf. 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

Military History

Rosebud Creek

By Eric Niderost

Around 8 o’clock on the morning of June 17, 1876, Brig. Gen. George Crook ordered his troops to halt along the banks of Rosebud Creek. Read more

Military History

Napoleon’s Egyptian Adventure

By Jeremy E. Green

By the year 1798, the First Coalition was collapsing. Only Britain remained as France’s implacable foe. With the advent of relative peace, the governing body of France, the Directory, ever in need of cash, now sought new means of employment for the army and its general, Napoleon Bonaparte. Read more

President Kennedy with Premier Khrushchev at the height of the Cold War.

Military History

Cold War Intelligence

By John D. Gresham

Everyone who has ever read a spy novel knows the basic plot line. A scientist has developed a formula, or intelligence operative has obtained secret plans or a roll or film. Read more

The Burgundian army under Charles the Bold storms the Swiss garrison at Grandson in February 1476. Only two defenders survived the fight and the slaughter of prisoners that followed.

Military History

Charles the Bold

By Jonathan North

On Monday, February 19, 1476 Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (much of what is now eastern France), joined his army beneath the gray ramparts of Grandson. Read more

‘Old Ironsides’ fires off a signal gun during the War of 1812. She never lost an engage- ment during her long ser- vice to the United States.

Military History

The USS Constitution

By John D. Gresham

Today restored to museum quality and lovingly cared for by a U.S. Navy crew, the USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides,” is the living symbol of America’s first generation of warships, built in response to external threats that a young United States would have preferred to ignore. Read more

Military History

Andrews Raiders

By Kevin Seabrooke

A little more than 162 years after they were executed as spies in Georgia, privates Philip G. Shadrach and George D, Wilson of the 2nd Ohio Infantry were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Biden in a ceremony at the White House on July 4, 2024. Read more

From Around the Network

  • Admiral Wilhelm Canaris pictured with Colonel Franz Eccard von Bentivegni, an Abwehr counterespionage expert, in Smolensk in Octo- ber 1941. Canaris alienated his superiors when visiting the Eastern Front, warning them not to expose German troops needlessly to the hard- ships of the Russian winter.

    Military History

    German Chief Spy Admiral Wilhelm Canaris
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  • WWII

    WWII Spies: the Soviet Cambridge Network
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  • Civil War

    “Aim Low, Men, and at Every Shot Let a Traitor Fall”
    Read More

  • European Theater

    The relationship between Mussolini and Hitler was not always one of mutual admiration.
    Read More