Military History
For centuries, battalions of enthralled boys—and not a few grown men—have enjoyed playing with toy soldiers. By the end of the Victorian era, these toys included highly detailed three-dimensional soldiers made of lead and accurately painted in the colors of the various armies that would soon engage each other in a European War that engulfed the entire world. Read more
Military History
In the English-speaking world, most students of military history would be hard-pressed to identify the time, place, or antagonists of the Canakkale Campaign. Read more
Military History
Peering intently through a telescope, General Lemuel C. Shepherd, the commandant of the Marine Corps, scanned the shell-pocked Korean terrain in front of his position. Read more
Military History
Men have been reporting their wars almost as long as they have fighting them. The first prehistoric cave drawings depicted hunters bringing down wild animals, and spoken accounts of battles, large and small, formed the starting point for the oral tradition of history. Read more
Military History
When Texas entered the Union in 1845, after nine uneasy years as an independent republic, the mutual grievances between Mexico and the United States threatened to erupt into open hostilities. Read more
Military History
When the Treaty of Amiens was signed on April 1, 1802, bringing peace between France and Great Britain after nearly a decade of war, there was wild rejoicing in England. Read more
Military History
World War II saw great advancements in firearms technology. Many nations that entered the conflict with bolt-action rifles ended the war with a variety of complex submachine guns and assault rifles. Read more
Military History
“He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny,” Thomas Jefferson said of King George III in the Declaration of Independence. Read more
Military History
Six days after the Allies’ D-Day landings on the coast of Normandy in June 1944, Germany retaliated by launching its first Vergeltungswaffe, or Vengeance Weapon, at the city of London. Read more
Military History
Long columns of blue-clad French troops marched east though the sun-baked plains of northern Italy in late June 1859. Read more
Military History
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
Military History
Fresh from his capture of Fort Ticonderoga, Colonel Benedict Arnold in the summer of 1775 lobbied hard to the Continental Congress for authorization to lead an expedition to the lower St. Read more
Military History
The unique persona of Charles Russell Lowell, a gifted Union cavalry officer from Massachusetts, inspired a series of memorials in his honor, ranging from famous monuments to obscure frontier forts. Read more
Military History
It was the spring of 1846, roughly nine months before the Battle of Buena Vista. It had become apparent to everyone at this point that a Mexican-American War was inevitable, and diplomatic efforts between the two countries had failed. Read more
Military History
On Friday, July 29, 1588, a group of English gentlemen decided to play a friendly game of bowls after a hearty midday meal. Read more
Military History
By the middle of the 12th century, much of western Europe had settled into a tenuous, often interrupted peace, and many modern nation-states had begun to emerge. Read more
Military History
A hundred miles north of the mountainous region near the Pyrenees was the rolling land of the Garonne River, home of the Gascon noble families. Read more
Military History
The scene appears to be one of utter chaos, as several dozen soldiers react to an enemy attack on their troop train. Read more
Military History
In June 1961, Walter Ulbrecht, longtime Communist party leader of East Germany, denied that his government had any intention of building the Berlin Wall, which would separate East and West Berlin. Read more
Military History
In March 1519, a small square of 400 Spanish adventurers under the command of Hernándo Cortés stood at bay on the plain of Cintla in Tabasco, Mexico. Read more
