Military History Archives

Military History

Bastogne Must Fall

By Mike Phifer

In the early morning of December 16, 1944, 80-man German shock companies from the 5th Panzer Army slipped toward the American lines in the Ardennes region under the cover of heavy fog. Read more

During the French and Indian War, George Washington's blunder at Fort Necessity would serve him well in the years to come.

Military History

The French and Indian War: George Washington at Fort Necessity

by Brooke C. Stoddard

Throughout the wide range of human capacities to be found in military heritage, one that often sticks out is ineptitude. Read more

Military History

The First Gulf War: Timeline of Events

By William E. Welsh

On August 2, 1990, the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait with the aim of annexing the country. Within a week, U.S. Read more

Every October, the pre-colonial mansion of Cliveden commemorates the Battle of Germantown by hosting a series of reenactments in the house and grounds.

Military History

The Cliveden Reenactment of the Battle of Germantown

By Eric Niderost

There’s a special poignancy in viewing a recreation of the fighting at Cliveden and the Battle of Germantown where it actually took place. Read more

The men who served under Edward Preble, veteran of the 1st Barbary War, the War of 1812 and the fight at Tripoli helped form the Navy's long-standing traditions.

Military History

Edward Preble & “Preble’s Boys”

by Steven Ossad

Known as “Preble’s Boys,” the generation of young American naval leaders who served under Commodore Edward Preble (1761-1807) established the foundation and traditions that shaped and continue to inspire the U.S. Read more

For the past few decades, the Israeli Defense Force has used British Centurions, M-47 Pattons and Super Sherman tanks for its military operations.

Military History

WWII Tanks Used by the Israeli Defense Force

By Eric Hammel

Over the years, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) acquired hundreds of U.S.-manufactured M4A1 and M4A3 medium Sherman tanks. Read more

Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess speaks at a Nazi Party rally in 1937.

Military History

Rudolf Hess’s Secret Scotland Visit in May 1941

By Peter Kross

To the people of the Scottish Highlands the Battles of the previous year had seemed a distant concern. Read more

The "Russian Campaign"—Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Russia during the Patriotic War of 1812—had truly staggering human costs.

Military History

Napoleon Bonaparte’s Russian Campaign: The Patriotic War of 1812

by F. Quinn

The human cost of Napoleon Bonaparte’s “Russian Campaign”—the Patriotic War of 1812—was staggering. Napoleon lost over 500,000 men, the core of his army. Read more

Was it Fort Carillon's superior construction that saved the day for Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, or the incompetence of James Abercromby?

Military History

New France’s Fort Carillon

New France’s Fort Carillon was one of the strongest fortified places in North America, on par with the New France’s Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island and Spain’s Castillo de San Marcos at St. Read more

In 1571, Don Juan set out to confront the Muslim fleet Lepanto. But what kind of soldiers did he battle with?

Military History

Muslim Equipment at the Battle of Lepanto

William J. McPeak

The Muslims at the Battle of Lepanto still wore turbans and headdresses, along with the occasional steel cap with their usual kilij sabre and flowing robes. Read more

Military History

The Myth of Charles Edward Stuart (‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’)

By David Alan Johnson

In 1948, a film called Bonnie Prince Charlie was made by Samuel Goldwyn Studios, starring David Niven as Charles Edward Stuart. Read more

The armies that gathered on June 18, 1053 for the Battle of Civitate, or Civitella del Fortore, were not so disparate as the numbers might indicate.

Military History

The Battle of Civitate (Civitella del Fortore)

by Terry Gore

It is true that the Normans were greatly outnumbered at the Battle of Civitate, likely by as much as two to one or more. Read more

Military History

Howard W. Gilmore and the USS Growler: Making the Ultimate Sacrifice

By Chuck Lyons

On February 7, 1943, while on patrol in the Southwest Pacific Ocean, U.S. Navy Commander Howard W. Gilmore, commander of the USS Growler (SS-215), and his crew carved out a place for themselves in Navy legend and set a standard of duty that is remembered in the submarine service today. Read more

For even so far back as the Iliad, soldiers have felt honor-bound not to abandon comrades either missing in action or captured.

Military History

U.S. Soldiers Missing In Action: Then and Now

By Brooke C. Stoddard

To its credit, the United States has been going to extraordinary lengths to reclaim its soldiers missing in action or killed. Read more

The 15th century was the golden age for medieval knight armor. Warriors would often cover themselves in a suit of arms made of iron plate, enveloping their bodies in a metal coating.

Military History

Medieval Knight Armor: The Iron Plate Suit of Arms

Brooke C. Stoddard

The golden age of armor lasted from about 1400 to 1550. And what an age it was. Who can look at a fine suit of armor from this period and not feel a mixture of pity and awe? Read more

Military History

Who is Julius Caesar? Facts vs Myth

By Brooke C. Stoddard

Few men’s names resonate after two thousand years, for it is a very long stretch of time. Read more

Although a brave and gallant soldier (and personal friend to King Louis XIV), François de Neufville knew all to well his command shortcomings.

Military History

François de Neufville: King Louis XIV’s Man At Flanders

by Vince Hawkins

François de Neufville was born in 1644 in France, the son of Nicolas de Neufville, the Marquis of Villeroi. Read more

English King Harold Godwinson triumphed over Norwegian King Harald Hardrada in the close-fought Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066. The battle marked the last time the Vikings tried to conquer England.

Military History

Vikings had the Tools and Traits to Succeed

“The woeful inroads of heathen men made lamentable havoc in the Church of God in Holy-island, by rapine and slaughter,” reads the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, referring to the savage sacking of the island monastery off the coast of Northumbria in ad 793. Read more

Had Attila the Hun prevailed at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, both Eastern and Western Roman Empires might have fallen to a man who disdained nearly any form of civilization.

Military History

Attila the Hun & The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains

by Brooke C. Stoddard

History is as solid as bricks. Things happened and they can’t be changed.

But they can be seen with a fresh eye, or they can be noted for effects not apparent at the time. Read more

Military History

Life in the Navy: From the First Spanish Armada to Pearl Harbor

By Keith Milton

The age of the sailing warships lasted less than three hundred years, beginning roughly with the battle of the Spanish armada against the English fleet under Howard and Drake in 1588, and ending at the Battle of Navarrino in 1827, the last major naval engagement fought completely under canvas. Read more

Military History

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