Military History

Military History

Last-Ditch Roadblock at Hanau

By Matthew R. Lamothe

Tired, hungry, and typhoid-ridden, the French veterans in the Grand Army of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte staggered through the Fulda Gap in central Germany on October 27, 1813. Read more

The heavily armed and highly maneuverable subsonic MiG-17 challenged U.S. strike aircraft in the skies over North Vietnam.

Military History

Weapons: The Soviet MiG-17 in Vietnam

By William F. Floyd, Jr.

The American pilots did not see the North Vietnamese Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 fighter jets approaching their strike aircraft as they zeroed in on Than Hoa Bridge on April 3, 1965. Read more

Military History

Bloody Repulse at Fontenoy

By Robert L. Durham

The French cavalry thundered ahead, straight for the British open square. The red-coated infantry made ready for them, the front-rank knelt with muskets planted in the ground and their fixed bayonets pointed outward. Read more

Military History

Fehrbellin: The Battle that Made Prussia

By Louis Ciotola

For nearly two and a half centuries, Prussia celebrated June 28 as a birthday of sorts. On that date in 1675, the Prussians achieved the start of their proud military tradition. Read more

“Push on, brave York volunteers,” urges the dying Major General Isaac Brock, in this 1896 painting by John David Kelly.

Military History

Disaster at Queenston Heights

By Chuck Lyons

In June 1812, the United States, provoked by arrogant British actions on the high seas and its support of hostile Indians in the Northwest Territories, declared war on Great Britain and immediately began planning an invasion of British-held Canada. Read more

World War II experiences led to more shoulder-fired anti-tank weapons such as the RPG and the M72 LAW, both widely used in the Vietnam War.

Military History

The M72 LAW & the RPG in the Vietnam War

By Michael Haskew

Among the most effective and feared weapons of the communist North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong insurgency during the Vietnam War was the rocket-propelled grenade, commonly known as the RPG. Read more

Military History

Conspiracy: The Death of Stephen Decatur

By Mark Carlson

To die for personal honor is a long-vanished custom of the pre-industrial age. But 200 years ago it still held great meaning for men, particularly in politics and the military. Read more

The statue of famed samurai warrior Kusunoki Masashige at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo pays homage to his legacy as the embodiment of samurai loyalty.

Military History

Samurai Kusunoki Masashige

By Charles Hilbert

Fourteenth-century Japan was ruled by an emperor who traced his descent back to the sun goddess Amateratsu. However, the emperor took his orders from the retired or cloistered emperor (usually the father of the emperor), who in turn took his orders from the Sei-I Tai Shogun, who took his orders from the kampaku, or regent. Read more

Perry Breaks the Line, by marine artist Peter Rindlisbacher, shows Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry maneuvering the brig USS Niagara to fire across the the bow of the HMS Detroit, which has just become befouled with the rigging of the HMS Charlotte, rendering both ships immobile.

Military History

Blood on the Lake

By Joshua Shepherd

As the first streaks of dawn painted the horizon, all was quiet in the American squadron anchored at Put-in-Bay. Read more

Military History

Battle of Omdurman: The Last British Cavalry Charge

By Eric Niderost

It was the morning of September 1, 1898, the day before the Battle of Omdurman. Lieutenant Winston Churchill of the Queen’s 4th Hussars rode out with four squadrons of the 21st Lancers to scout the approaches to Omdurman, a Sudanese village on the west bank of the Nile opposite Khartoum, epicenter of a revolt that had rocked the very foundations of the British Empire. Read more

Military History

Battle of the Thames

By Christopher Miskimon

A British squadron lay wrecked on the waters of Lake Erie. Six vessels of war floated in ruins and 135 English sailors lay dead or wounded. Read more

General Jean Baptiste Kleber’s French infantry form squares to defend against superior numbers of mounted Mamelukes on April 16, 1799. Kleber’s night raid on Jazzar Pasha’s camp at the base of Mount Tabor backfired when he failed to estimate how long it would take to reach the camp, and his approach was discovered at dawn.

Military History

Napoleon’s Dramatic Rescue

By Robert Heege

On March 18, 1799, a strange thing happened in the Near East backwater that today is Israel. In the years that followed the birth of Jesus, the rise of Christianity, and the fall of Byzantium, things in the region had quieted down considerably since the Mohammedan conquests (apart from the Crusades). Read more

Military History

The Seige of Przemyśl

By Eric Niderost

Four Russian soldiers, a lieutenant colonel and another officer, with an NCO and bugler, strode briskly down Jaroslaw Road just north of the defensive perimeter of Fortress Przemyśl. Read more

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