Military History

A line of American troops crosses a bridge and marches through one of the many small villages that dot the Hürtgen region. The difficult hilly and forested terrain is very obvious in this photo, taken November 16, 1944.

Military History

Forest of Horrors

The woods were close-planted fir trees, and the shell-bursts tore and smashed them, and the splinters from the tree bursts were like javelins in the half-light of the forest,” wrote war correspondent Ernest Hemingway of the experience of Lt. Read more

Military History

Twilight of the Teutonic Order

In one of those ironies with which history abounds Polish Duke Conrad of Mazovia in 1226 invited the German Roman Catholic military order known as the Teutonic Knights to assist him in subjugating the unruly, pagan Prussians who were raiding his lands. Read more

In June 1757, ever-victorious Prussian monarch Frederick the Great advanced confident on Austrian forces at Kolin.

Military History

Frederick The Great’s First Defeat

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

Future U.S. President Harry S. Truman led a National Guard field artillery battery on the Western Front during the Great War.

Military History

Harry Truman on the Western Front

By Robert F. Dorr

In the darkness and driving rain on August 29, 1918, German artillery shells smashed down on American artillerymen fighting on a fir-clad slope in the Vosges Mountains in Alsace. Read more

Military History

Napoleon Bonaparte’s Failing Health at Dresden

By Eric Niderost

Napoleon had occasional health problems before 1810. He seems to have experienced seizures one or two times, episodes that resembled epilepsy, although most medical historians feel that he did not have the disease—at least not a classic version of it. Read more

Military History

Shifting Sands of Nieuwpoort

By Louis Ciotola

The Dutch revolt against Spain reached one of its many climaxes on July 10, 1584, when an assassin took the life William the Silent, stadtholder of the new Dutch Republic and the most prominent member of the House of Orange. Read more

Military History

U.S. Marines on Nicaragua

By Al Hemingway

Since the 19th century, Nicaragua has been of key strategic interest to the U.S. government. Revolution regularly rocked the Central American country. Read more

Military History

Miyamoto Mushashi: Samurai Legend

By O’Brien Brown

The samurai warrior sat in the middle of the dueling grounds in the village of Hirafuku, Japan, glaring at the spectators who had gathered around him. Read more

From Around the Network

  • Japanese infantry storm one of the many Russian defensive works high above Port Arthur as the town smolders in the distance. The stubborn head-on attacks were incredibly costly.

    Military History

    Baiting the Russian Bear: The Siege of Port Arthur
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    Defending the USS Lexington: Action Off Bougainville
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    Battle of Richmond, Kentucky: Cannae in the Bluegrass State
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  • Ball's Bluff

    Civil War

    Eppa Hunton at the Battle of Ball’s Bluff
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