Military History

Military History

Uniform: Hussite Peasant of the 15th Century

The 15-year-long Hussite War erupted in Bohemia in 1419 between the followers of martyred Czech theologian Jan Hus and the Roman Catholic Church. Read more

Military History

The M60 Machine Gun in the Vietnam War

The time was early 1967, the place a crowded square over a body of water on a narrow bridge in downtown Saigon. Read more

Military History

The Athenian Soldier Versus the Spartan Hoplite

The wars fought by Sparta and Athens in the fifth century bc pitted one city-state with ancient Greece’s greatest army against one boasting her most powerful fleet. Read more

Military History

Historical Autographs

Collecting handwritten documents and letters on military subjects is as long-standing as military history itself. By general definition, when a letter is written and signed by a person, it is considered a holograph (or autograph letter), but a document is something written by an official or servant and then signed by an important person. Read more

Military History

Zenobia’s Bloody War of Independence

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

Uniform: Prussian Grenadier of the 12th Regiment, 1755-1756

Miter Helmet: The tall miter design dated from the 17th century, when grenadiers threw grenades and needed a hat that would not impede their throwing arm. Read more

Military History

“There was In Her Something Divine”

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

Seaplane Striking Force

The first few years after World War II were challenging ones for the U.S. Navy. Massive demobilization of personnel and rapid scrapping or retirement of ships created internal disruptions. Read more

Military History

The British Empire Strikes Back

The crew of the HMS Alexandria waited anxiously for battle in the minutes before 7:00 am on July 11, 1882. Read more

Military History

Masterstroke at the Battle of Salamanca

Marshal Auguste Marmont watched intently as the left wing of his French army maneuvered against the Anglo-Portuguese army during the Battle of Salamanca at mid-afternoon on July 22, 1812. Read more

Military History

The Viking Longship

In the first week of October 844, Emir Abd ar-Rahman II of Cordoba learned disturbing news: Vikings had captured Seville. Read more

Military History

Savage Action at Newbury

By Robert L. Durham

Prince Rupert eyed the Parliamentarian position atop the low ridge south of the village of Newbury on the morning of September 20, 1643, with deep concern. Read more

Military History

Collecting Vintage Grenades

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

Military History

Disaster at Nicopolis

Thick black smoke rose skyward from burning villages on the southern frontier of the Hungarian Kingdom in the spring of 1395. Read more

Military History

WWII Polish Cavalryman: Lance-Wielding Anachronism?

In the late afternoon of September 1, 1939, the 18th Uhlan Regiment of the Pomorska Cavalry Brigade was holding its position along Poland’s heavily forested northwest frontier when orders arrived to attack the flank of the advancing German 20th Motorized Infantry Division. Read more

Military History

Covered in Glory at Leuthen

In the early afternoon of December 5, 1757, the men of Prussia’s 26th Infantry Regiment were drawn up in assault formation just south of the Silesian village of Leuthen. Read more

Military History

A Bloody Sport Indeed

One of the most enduring images of the Middle Ages is the tournament, with its knights in shining armor, heraldic devices on shields, fair damsels watching from the stands, and brightly colored banners flying in the breeze. Read more

Military History

Sweden’s Desperate Stand at Lesnaya

Colonel Axel Gyllenkrok had had a lot on his mind in recent weeks. It was the autumn of 1708, and as the Swedish Army’s general quartermaster he was not only responsible for supplying its needs on campaign, but he also functioned as an operational manager. Read more

Military History

Teutonic Fury

As part of tribal obligations to appease Rome, Segimer, the powerful Cherusci chief, surrendered his sons Arminius and Flavus to the Roman emperor Augustus. Read more

Military History

Pollepel Island: Private Fortress on the Hudson

In central New York, 50 miles north of New York City on the Hudson River, is a small spit of land known as Bannerman Island. Read more