Military History Archives

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

The British fleet (right) and the French fleet are shown engaged at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on September 5, 1781, in a modern painting by Patrick O’Brien. British Rear Admiral Graves made a number of questionable decisions during the battle that put his fleet at a distinct disadvantage.

Military History

Grand Clash on the Chesapeake

By David A. Norris

Under sunny skies, favorable winds pushed Captain Mark Robinson and the 74-gun ship of the line Shrewsbury on September 5, 1781, toward a stormy encounter with an old enemy. Read more

General Jean Baptiste Kleber’s French infantry form squares to defend against superior numbers of mounted Mamelukes on April 16, 1799. Kleber’s night raid on Jazzar Pasha’s camp at the base of Mount Tabor backfired when he failed to estimate how long it would take to reach the camp, and his approach was discovered at dawn.

Military History

On March 18, 1799, a strange thing happened in the Near East backwater that today is Israel. In the years that followed the birth of Jesus, the rise of Christianity, and the fall of Byzantium, things in the region had quieted down considerably since the Mohammedan conquests (apart from the Crusades). Read more

Nixon at work in the Oval Office. Pentagon leaders made sure that if they received unusual military orders from the president they would be evaluated properly.

Military History

The Secret World of Richard Nixon

By Blaine Taylor

In the spring of 1974—at the height of the political Watergate crisis in Washington, D.C.—Joseph Laitin, a spokesman at the Office of Management and Budget whose office was in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next door to the White House, was on his way over to the west wing of the White House to meet with Treasury Secretary George Schultz. Read more

Ptolemy of Mauretania helped the Romans suppress the rebellious tribes. When he offended Caligula he was put to death.

Military History

Tacfarinas’ Berber Revolt Against Rome

By Ludwig Heinrich Dyck

Tacfarinas, a former soldier of Rome’s Numidian cavalry, reined in his steed at the edge of the cliff with the ease of one born in the saddle. Read more

An Israeli tank passes scorched enemy vehicles during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Egypt deployed large numbers of missile-armed infantry in the Sinai that inflicted substantial losses on Israeli armor in the opening stage of the conflict.

Military History

Tank Clash in the Sinai

By Arnold Blumberg

During the afternoon of October 9, 1973, Colonel Amnon Reshef, the commander of the Israeli Defense Force’s (IDF) 14th Armored Brigade, conducted probes along the water’s edge of the Great Bitter Lake, a wide part of the Suez Canal. Read more

The Crusader vanguard composed of French and Burgundian knights penetrates the forward position of Bayezid’s army defended by skirmishers armed with bows.

Military History

Crusader Disaster At Nicopolis

By Louis Ciotola

In the late 14th century, a new and seemingly irresistible force was emerging in the East, the likes of which Europe had not seen for centuries. Read more

Lt. Col. William Washington’s Continental dragoons charge their British counterparts at the Battle of Cowpens in a painting by Don Troiani. Washington’s charge was part of a large-scale counterattack that stunned the British.

Military History

“Give Them One Fire and I’ll Charge Them”

By Daniel Murphy

Lieutenant Colonel William Washington of the Continental 3rd Light Dragoons stood in his stirrups and looked out over the open drover’s field stretching before him. Read more

The climactic moment of the Battle of Courtrai occurred when Count Robert of Artois, commander of the French army, led a suicidal charge into the Flemish ranks after the battle already had been lost. He is portrayed in a 19th-century painting pinned under his horse and mortally wounded.

Military History

Revenge Of The Flemish Lion

By William E. Welsh

The Flemish infantry fidgeted under the sweltering sun as they stood shoulder to shoulder in a field east of the town of Courtrai on July 11, 1302. Read more

Military History

Samurai Kusunoki Masashige

By Charles Hilbert

Fourteenth-century Japan was ruled by an emperor who traced his descent back to the sun goddess Amateratsu. However, the emperor took his orders from the retired or cloistered emperor (usually the father of the emperor), who in turn took his orders from the Sei-I Tai Shogun, who took his orders from the kampaku, or regent. Read more

A bird’s eye view of the Battle of Kolin, painted shortly after the fighting, shows the perfect formations the well-trained Prussians maintained on the battlefield.

Military History

Frederick The Great’s First Defeat: The Battle of Kolin

By Arnold Blumberg

Frederick the Great’s prescription for warfare was simple. The Prussian monarch wanted “short and lively wars” that relied on swift, powerful, and decisive military operations. Read more

August Willich was one of the premier brigadier generals in the Union Army of the Cumberland. His performance leading the 32nd Indiana at Shiloh merited a promotion to brigade command.

Military History

Union General August Willich

By Frank Jastrzembski

“A soldier in every phrase of the term, able and skillful, on many a bloody field he demonstrated his ability and courage,” Brig. Read more

U.S. Marines unload a wounded fellow Marine from an Army UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter at Al Qaim, Iraq, in 2005.

Military History

American Medics and Military Doctors

By Richard A. Gabriel

The American military has been engaged almost continually in combat operations for the last 22 years. During this period, the United States has conducted combat operations in Iraq (1990-1991), Somalia (1992-1993), Iraq (2003-2012), and Afghanistan (2001-2021). Read more

Military History

Hammer of the Normans

By William E. Welsh

Bright sunshine flooded the sedge-covered, damp ground in Sussex on the morning of October 14, 1066. Having attended mass at sunrise, Duke William of Normandy shouted commands to his senior officers outlining their positions for the coming battle with English King Harold II Godwinson’s army. Read more

Military History

The Frigate USS Confederacy

By William B. Allmon

The British frigates HMS Orpheus and Roebuck, on April 20, 1781, escorted their prize—the Continental Navy frigate USS Confederacy—with the Union Jack flying above the Stars and Stripes, to New York harbor, thus ending Confederacy’s two-year service to the American rebels. Read more

Military History

Jacobite Victory at Prestonpans

By David A. Norris

Before dawn on September 21, 1745, the dragoons and infantry of King George II stood in line of battle in a freshly harvested wheat field. Read more

Military History

Albrecht von Wallenstein

By Don Hollway

After September 17, 1631, half of Germany feared that God was a Protestant. The other half was sure of it. Read more

Military History

Napoleon’s Stunning Debut: The Italian Campaign

By Dana Lombardy

Barthélemy Schérer, commander of the French Army, gazed at the new military orders from Paris in disbelief. The grandoise strategy, detailing an advance on three fronts with the armies uniting in Tyrol for a concentrated thrust at Vienna, were far beyond the capabilities of the starving southern army he commanded along the French Riveria against the combined forces of Austria and Sardinia. Read more

A modern illustration shows Roman legionnaires on the march. The front ranks typically charged into battle, stopping to hurl their pilum before closing with the enemy using their gladius. In the melee, they used their scutum to knock their opponents off balance.

Military History

Roman Armageddon at Pharsalus

By William E. Welsh

The snow-capped peaks of the Ceraunian Mountains stared down on the sturdy barks hunting for a suitable place to land on the coast of Epirus on January 5, 48 bc. Read more

A Canadian soldier fires his country’s version of the FN-FAL rifle. In 1956, Canada became the first country to adopt the versatile light automatic rifle made by FN Herstal of Belgium.

Military History

Military Weapons: NATO’s FN FAL Rifle

By Christopher Miskimon

British Corporal Steven Newland crept through the inky darkness toward an Argentine sniper who had pinned his troop of Royal Marines on the slopes of Mount Harriet on East Falkland Island. Read more

Military History

From Around the Network

Marshal Ney and His Biggest Mistake at the Battle of Waterloo

Greek War Machines

The Battle of Buena Vista: Old Rough and Ready in Mexico

“Mad” Mike Calvert: A British Legend in Burma