Military History Archives

Ptolemy of Mauretania helped the Romans suppress the rebellious tribes. When he offended Caligula he was put to death.

Military History

Tacfarinas’ Berber Revolt Against Rome

By Ludwig Heinrich Dyck

Tacfarinas, a former soldier of Rome’s Numidian cavalry, reined in his steed at the edge of the cliff with the ease of one born in the saddle. Read more

Gatling guns were the first operational automatic weapons used by Ameri- can forces in combat. They helped turn the tide of the Battle of San Juan Hill where they mercilessly hammered Spanish trenches.

Military History

“Gatling Gun Parker” At the Battle of San Juan Hill

By Jim Foral

Along with the news of the American battleship Maine’s suspicious sinking in Havana harbor in February 1898 came the unmistakable scent of war. Read more

An Israeli pilot in an American-made F-16 fighter jet cruises at low altitude over the Tigris River en route to the al- Tuwaitha nuclear facility near Baghdad.

Military History

Operation Babylon: Israel’s Strike on al-Tuwaitha

By Kate Cooch

In the late 1970s, it became clear to the international community that Iraq, under the despotic leadership of Saddam Hussein, was attempting to acquire nuclear weapons through the guise of buying nuclear reactors for power generators. Read more

A 1942-vintage M5A1 Stuart tank was one of the first vehicles acquired for Jacques Littlefield’s private collection.

Military History

Private Military Collector Jacques Littlefield

By Albert Mroz

What may be the world’s largest collection of tanks and half-tracks, as well as other treaded vehicles and related artifacts, is not in the hands of any government branch or army office. Read more

Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and his men rode to their deaths at the Battle of Little Bighorn on June 15, 1876. Painting by C.M. Russell, 1903.

Military History

Could Custer have been saved at Little Bighorn?

By Adam Lynch

We can never know what frantic thoughts raced through George Armstrong Custer’s mind in the last hour of his life. Read more

General Louis Faidherbe leads a marche regiment at a review at Bapaume on January 3, 1871. Faidherbe’s marche battalions comprised roughly 40 percent of the French Army of the North at the Battle of St. Quentin.

Military History

St. Quentin Miniature

By Bruce Weigle

Miniature wargames have been played by hobbyists for decades, both for pure entertainment and as part of legitimate research. Read more

Military History

Medal of Honor Recipient: Henry Lawton

By Chuck Lyons

On August 3, 1864, near Atlanta, Georgia, Captain Henry Lawton of Indiana led a group of Union skirmishers in a charge against Confederate rifle pits. Read more

Military History

The Sam Browne Belt Assembly

By Robert H. Whiter

And here we have the Sam Browne belt assembly,” explained the sergeant who was showing us around the Police Academy. Read more

Military History

Desperate Fight on the Plains

By Eric Niderost

In June 24, 1867, W.W. Wright’s survey expedition reached Fort Wallace, Kans., one of the string of military posts that guarded the Smoky Hill Trail to Denver and the beckoning goldfields of Colorado. Read more

Western artist Frederick Remington’s romantic painting, Charge of the Rough Riders at San Juan Hill, did much to make Theodore Roosevelt famous. Courtesy Frederick Remington Art Museum, Ogdensburg, NY

Military History

Roosevelt’s Crowded Hour

By John Wukovits

By mid-June 1898, a potent American military conglomeration had assembled off the extreme southeastern coast of Cuba. Thirty-two troop transports brought 819 officers and 15,058 enlisted men to Cuba from Florida, along with 89 newspaper correspondents, 11 foreign military observers, and 10 million pounds of rations. Read more

Military History

British Aviation Militaria

By Kevin Mahoney

Aviation militaria has always been popular with collectors, representing a fascinating aspect of 20th-century warfare. Among the more interesting items in this realm are the medals and flight log books from the airmen of the British Royal Air Force and Commonwealth Air Forces of World War II. Read more

For landings to be successful, the attackers had to know a great deal. Only men on the spot could stealthily observe conditions, and they had to be highly trained.

Military History

SEALs: the Birth of the Navy’s ‘Special Warfare’ Force

By Bud Hyland

Today’s Navy SEALs (for Sea, Air, and Land special warfare experts) have a history shrouded in secrecy. Commissioned in 1962, they are the most elite shore-area Special Forces in the world, concentrating on very select and often-clandestine intelligence gathering and precision strike missions. Read more

Sir Colin Campbell’s 93rd Highland Regiment successfully repulsed a determined Russian cavalry charge early in the battle, thereby preventing the Russians from reaching the port of Balaclava. The expression “Thin Red Line” was a condensed version of the lyrical description of them by war correspondent James Russell.

Military History

Immortal Charge of the Light Brigade

By Christopher Miskimon

Six battalions of Russian infantry, 30 cannons, and a cavalry force deployed in the North Valley east of Sevastopol near the town of Balaclava. Read more

A samurai and his horse bound up the bank of a river to come to grips with the enemy. Precious sword in hand, the tsuba, or hand guard, is clearly visible. For hundreds of years great artistry was worked into the tsuba.

Military History

Katana Handguards

By Peter Suciu

The swords of the samurai have long been desirable to collectors. Now, even their parts have become prized. Read more

Union troops charge through D.R. Miller’s cornfield against the Confederate left flank at Antietam in a modern painting by Keith Rocco. The Union II Corps attack through William Roulette’s farm against the Confederate center held by Maj. Gen. Daniel Harvey Hill’s troops had the same intensity.

Military History

Lee’s Hard Fighter

By William E. Welsh

Two men rode forward from Sharpsburg, Maryland, on the morning of September 17, 1862. The one in front was of slight build with a scraggly beard, scrawny neck, sunken cheeks, and a high forehead. Read more

Highly disciplined Roman infantry, fighting under the imperial banner, battle German tribesmen in 81 ad.

Military History

Teutoburgerwald Avenged

By Michael D. Greaney

Arminius, war leader of the Cherusci, a powerful German tribe on the east bank of the Rhine, was livid. Read more

Military History

The P38 Can Opener: WWII’s “Other” P-38

By Richard A. Beranty

Far down on the list of important inventions essential to victory in World War II is a modest gadget built of stamped metal called the GI Pocket Can Opener—commonly known as the P-38 can opener—which was used by American troops in the field to sever the lids off combat rations. Read more

Military History

An Acre of Massacre: The Second Boer War’s Battle of Spion Kop

By Herman T. Voelkner

The century of conflict that would introduce the concept of total war to the world had its bloody roots on an obscure hilltop in the remote South African veldt. Read more

Military History

Undisputed King: The Battle of Tewkesbury

By David Alan Johnson

King Edward IV could not have asked for better news. On the evening of May 3, 1471, his scouts reported that the army of his Lancastrian archrival, Queen Margaret of Anjou, was camped a few miles south of the abbey town of Tewkesbury with its back to the River Severn. Read more