Military History

Military History

Military Intelligence in the Roman Republic

By Douglas Sterling

Much of Julius Caesar’s military successes in the late Roman Republic stemmed not only from his ability as a leader of men and from tactical prowess on the battlefield, but also from his understanding of the importance of military intelligence. Read more

The Yong-do-Dondae, or Dragon’s Head Fort, rose from a promontory at a turn in the river. Cannon were hidden behind the portals.

Military History

Fighting the Tiger

By Eric Niderost

On August 16, 1866 a mysterious ship appeared off the western Korean coast and began to steam up the Taedong River. Read more

This high-relief sculpture carved on a sarcophagus of the 2nd century ably depicts the confusion and havoc of battle between Romans and Celtic warriors.

Military History

The Gallic Wars: To Northern Gaul

By Ludwig Heinrich Dyck

The gray skies of winter still shrouded the town of Vesontio on the Dubis River. To the south, when not obscured by mist and rain, rose the Jura Mountains, and beyond that the lofty peaks of the Alps and the nearest Roman Province, Gallia Cisalpina. Read more

Israeli jets swoop in to catch the Egyptian Air Force on the ground where it was resting after standing down from dawn patrols.

Military History

The Sinai Air Strike: June 5, 1967

By Eric Hammel

It was 7 o’clock Israeli time, three hours after dawn on Monday, June 5, 1967. The summer season’s daily thick morning mist was just lifting from the coastal areas, across the breadth of the humid Nile Delta, and along the Suez Canal. Read more

A Roman soldier dictates a letter to a scribe outside a permanent Roman camp in Germany.

Military History

Roman Generals: Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo

By Harold E. Raugh, Jr.

Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo was probably born between 4 bc and ad 1. His younger half-sister was first the mistress and then the consort of Gaius Caesar Germanicus, better known as the Emperor Caligula. Read more

Military History

Islam at Vienna’s Gates

By Ludwig Heinrich Dyck

For nearly two long months, from July 14 to early September 1683, Vienna endured the siege from the Ottoman Empire. Read more

U-2 flights over the Soviet Union began in the mid-1950s. U-2s had extraordinary range and could fly 14 miles high while photographing in astonishing detail. A major objective: the extent of Soviet nuclear weaponry.

Military History

The U-2 Spy Plane’s Cold War Missions

By John D. Gresham

Movies and novels about spies and espionage usually portray brave and sexy secret agents going deep behind enemy lines to grab some invaluable and potentially destabilizing piece of information. Read more

Military History

The History of Mobile Artillery

By Arnold Blumberg

“It is with artillery that one makes war.” So declared Napoleon Bonaparte, one of the Great Captains of military history and a born gunner himself. Read more

A gold quiver from the tomb of King Philip II of Macedon shows lines of warriors in battle. Philip fell upon the Greeks with a fury.

Military History

The Rise of Macedon

By Jonas Goldstein

The city-states of ancient Greece were rich in culture and history. But following the Peloponnesian War, which lasted 27 years, they were exhausted, their best young men dead, Attica’s farms ruined. Read more

Lieutenant Colonel John Edgar Howard slashes his way into the British line, which reels under the pressure. The British were hasty in their attacks and came to regret it.

Military History

Duel in the Backwoods

By James K. Swisher

Richard Hovenden of His Majesty’s British Legion Dragoons cautiously urged his tired horse through a parklike expanse of tall trees that marked the entrance to a South Carolina country crossroads junction called locally “Hannah’s Cowpens.” Read more

Move and countermove led the leaders of opposing armies to come face to face in Shingen’s newly set up camp. Swords flew among the tents in one of the largest battles in Japanese history.

Military History

The Battle of Kawanakajima

By Vince Hawkins

In 1490 Japan entered a crucial period of its history known as the sengoku-jidai, or the “Age of the Country at War.” Read more

Reenactors heft medieval bills in anticipation of an attack by men on horse. Bills were favored by the English but were more effective on mail than on plate armor.

Military History

Polearms

By Michael Kluever

The medieval polearm was the Colt Pistol equalizer of the Middle Ages. it placed the common infantry soldier on par with the heavily armored horseman. Read more

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