Military History

With the rising Shangani River behind them, Major Allan Wilson and his 32 hard-pressed troopers make a desperate last stand against King Lobengula’s 1,000 Matabele warriors in southeast Africa.

Military History

Death of the Shangani Patrol

By Robert Barr Smith

On the banks of the rain-swollen Shangani River, a small force of white militiamen closed ranks as hundreds of Matabele warriors swarmed around them. 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

Revolutionary War Weapons: The American Long Rifle

By David Alan Johnson

By the mid-1700’s, the American long rifle had acquired an almost supernatural reputation. To the British troops who were unfortunate enough to come up against it in combat during the Revolutionary War, the rifle was more an affliction than a weapon. Read more

Military History

The Battle-Ax

By William McPeak

The shafted ax has been around since 6000 bc, in both peaceful and warlike uses. The so-called battle-ax cultures (3200 to 1800 bc) extended over much of northern Europe from the late Stone Age through the early Bronze Age. Read more

American Marines advance cautiously up the outer walls of the Citadel at Hue on February 13, 1968, following the surprise attack by North Vietnamese and Vietcong forces.

Military History

The Battle of Hue City: In the Thick of the Tet Offensive

By John Walker

The city of Hue was the capital of a unified Vietnam from 1802 until 1945. With its stately, tree-lined boulevards, Buddhist temples, national university, and ornate imperial palace within a massive walled city known as the Citadel, Hue was the cradle of the country’s culture and heritage. 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

The FN FAL Rifle: NATO’s Right Arm

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

The War Chariots of the Celtic Elite

By Andrew M. Scott

To the Latins they were Gauls; to the Greeks they were the keatoi (Keltoi), or Celts. A warrior people who at one time roamed Europe from Britain to the Black Sea, Celts reached the height of their power and cultural influence around the 2nd century bc. Read more

In this painting by Alonzo Chappel, Connecticut Patriot militia have lost all military order against the Loyalists fighting alongside warriors from the Iroquois Confederacy—as the Battle of Wyoming Valley turns into a massacre.

Military History

Blood Along the Susquehanna

By Kelly Bell

Dread gripped the Connecticut settlers of the Wyoming Valley, as the alarm guns boomed from Wilkes-Barre Fort. The sound of those cannons meant trouble and local militiamen grabbed their muskets and rifles and began to gather at Wilkes-Barre and other forts that dotted the valley. Read more

The 9th-century Oseberg ship in the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo was excavated in the early 20th century from a burial mound in southern Norway. The karve-style, clinker-built ship with its broad hull is made almost entirely from oak.

Military History

The Viking Longship

By John Spindler

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

This scene depicting the Battle of Nineveh is part of the “Legend of the True Cross” fresco cycle by Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca. Chosroes II, near defeat, appears to be on his knees at the far right. The frescoes were painted in the 15th century in the Basilica of San Francesco (dedicated to St Francis of Assisi) in Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy.

Military History

The Last Epic Battle of Antiquity

By Michael D. Greaney

Though the Western Roman Empire had fallen with the deposition of Romulus Augustulus at Rome in 476, elements of the Empire remained, in fact and influence, for centuries to come. Read more

Marines maintain a M48A3 Patton tank parked in the rocky, red clay soil at Con Thien in a painting by Navy combat artist Verciell Tossey. The outpost was an anchor point in the defense of the northern border of South Vietnam.

Military History

Courageous Stand at Con Thien

By William E. Welsh

As the sun rose on May 8, 1967, it illuminated the 525-foot-high hill known as Con Thien where the Marine Corps had established a firebase two miles south of the Demilitarized Zone in South Vietnam. Read more

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    Military History

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