Military History

Photo Credit: Indiana Military Museum

The Macedonian fleet ferries soldiers to the foot of the Tyrian battlements during the battle’s climax in this 15th century painting .

Military History

Why Study Military History?

By Roy Morris Jr.

As a writer and editor, it’s been my privilege to spend a great deal of time in the company of my betters: ordinary men and women engaged in the often heartbreaking act of making history. Read more

Military History

Frederick the Great: Early Years

By Roy Morris Jr.

Befitting his grandiose nickname, Frederick the Great was a living embodiment of the old axiom that some people are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. Read more

Military History

Axis Leaders: Paul von Hindenburg

by Blaine Taylor

At 3 am, on August 23, 1914, a solitary figure stood on a darkened railway platform at Hanover, Germany, awaiting a special train’s arrival from Berlin. Read more

Military History

Justus Sherwood: Loyalist Frontiersman

by Mike Phifer

Born in Connecticut in 1747, Justus Sherwood moved west into the rugged New Hampshire Grants (later to become the state of Vermont) in 1766 where he took up trading, surveying and making potash. Read more

Romans under Prefect Lucius Eggius storm a German rampart consisting of a waist-high palisade of stakes interlaced with twigs and branches that ran along the top of an embankment.

Military History

How Arminius Deceived the Holy Roman Empire

By William E. Welsh

With their proclivity for feats of engineering, the Romans methodically advanced their frontiers. The glory-seeking Roman generals saw a wide river, mountain chain, or expansive swath of desert as a challenge. Read more

Military History

Oliver Cromwell’s Folly

By Roy Morris Jr.

After successfully concluding the First Anglo-Dutch War, English strongman Oliver Cromwell turned his severe Puritan attentions to Spain or, more accurately, to Spain’s far-flung possessions in the New World. Read more

Military History

Pikes: A Versatile and Deadly Weapon

by William McPeak

Although formal training in the use of the pike—an ash-handled spear 18 to 20 feet long—did not begin until the 15th century, ancient Greeks and Romans used so-called “long spears” as standard infantry issue against cavalry. Read more

Military History

Lake Peipus: Battle on the Ice

By Terry Gore

In the early 13th century, the Baltic frontier in central Europe remained a hostile and uninviting place. Pagan Europeans far outnumbered Christians, and the area was a focal point for constant conflict between mutually exploitive neighbors slavering to carve out new territorial holdings at the expense of anyone who stood in their way. Read more

Military History

The Politics of Military Heroes

by Roy Morris Jr.

Defeat has a funny way of producing heroes.

The British lost an embarrassing battle to Zulu tribesmen at Isandhlwana, but the improbable defense of an insignificant river crossing 10 miles away by a handful of rear-echelon soldiers, overage officers, and civilians created a new crop of heroes for the public to idolize. Read more

Military History

Siege of Osaka Castle

By Eric Niderost

In 1611 Tokugawa Ieyasu had every reason to be pleased with himself. His son Hidetada was Shogun, supreme warlord of Japan, but in truth it was Ieyasu who ruled the country behind the scenes. Read more

Military History

The Four Days’ Battle: A Dutch Triumph

by Eric Niderost

Admiral General George Monck, first Duke of Albemarle, walked into the great cabin of his flagship Royal Charles with a calm and determined air, tersely greeting his assembled captains before they all sat down at a large table. Read more

Military History

Joachim Murat: Napoleon Bonaparte’s ‘Premier Chevalier’

By Jeremy Green

Dashing hussars in beautifully braided dolmans and fur-lined pelisses; chasseurs in their brilliant green uniforms; the heavy cavalry of cuirassiers in their glistening breastplates, mounted on magnificent chargers; and the dragoons, wearing brass Grecian helmets with long, flowing manes of black horsehair—all magnificent in their martial and fashionable airs. Read more