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African Senegalese soldiers marching down a street in a town in France during World War I.

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The Tirailleurs Sénégalais

By Kevin Seabrooke

The German capture of Fort Douaumont overlooking Verdun was a major blow to French morale in February of 1916. Read more

In the close quarters of a rubble-strewn street in Aachen, American soldiers fire a 57mm antitank weapon against a distant German target. Urban warfare became a new concept for Allied armies, and they adapted during the advance into Germany. (National Archives)

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The Battle of Aachen: Breaking Down the Door to Europe in WWII

By Flint Whitlock

By the autumn of 1944, German resistance in the West was quickly crumbling as the British and Americans approached the German border 233 days ahead of schedule. Read more

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WWII Warplanes: The Superb Supermarine Spitfire

By Sam McGowan

In the annals of World War II, one of the most famous airplanes is the British-developed Supermarine Spitfire, an agile, elliptical-wing fighter that has become synonymous with the Royal Air Force victory in the Battle of Britain. Read more

The Confederate high tide at Gettysburg broke at the low stone wall known as “the Angle,” where Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York regiments beat back the heroic but doomed assault depicted in this epic painting by Peter F. Rothermel.

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Pickett’s Charge: “We Gained Nothing But Glory”

By Eric Niderost

July 3, 1863, dawned clear and bright, the warm sun promising even greater heat to come. By noon, temperatures were already in the low 90s, a typically hot and humid summer day in southern Pennsylvania. Read more

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Cornelius Ryan

Anyone interested in reading military history sooner or later comes around to Cornelius Ryan, known to his friends as Connie. He wrote stunning books on World War II: The Last Battle, about the struggle for Berlin; A Bridge Too Far, about the ill-fated race to cross the Rhine bridge at Arnhem in 1944; and, of course, the book with which his fame will always be linked, The Longest Day. Read more

During the action at Surigao Strait, U.S. Navy PT boats engage Japanese warships intent on reaching the invasion beaches on the Philippine island of Leyte. This painting is by American combat artist Dwight Shepler. (Naval Historical Art)

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How the Battle of Surigao Strait Brought Revenge for Pearl Harbor

By David Alan Johnson

At 2:43 pm on October 24, 1944, one day before the Battle of Surigao Strait, Rear Admiral Jesse B. Read more

In this classic photograph, Brigadier General Orde Wingate is next to Brigadier Derek Tulloch at the far right. Majors Philip Cochran (back facing camera) and John Allison are on the left. Major Alison is holding a map with Brigadier Scott, who wrote an account of this informal gathering. Air Marshal Baldwin and Brigadier Michael Calvert stand between Scott and Wingate. (Imperial War Museum)

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British General Orde Wingate’s Blurred Legacy

By Jon Diamond

British General Orde Wingate is one of the more enigmatic World War II commanders encountered in a number of biographical and military historical accounts. Read more

American General Israel Putnum leads Maryland riflemen toward the fighting near Harlem Heights, north of present day Central Park. His aide, 20-year-old Capt. Aaron Burr, follows behind, relaying the command to advance.

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‘A Pretty Sharp Skirmish’ – Turning Point at Harlem Heights

By Joshua Shepherd

A detachment of 230 rangers and riflemen scrambled up a rocky escarpment on New York’s Manhattan Island on the morning of September 16, 1776. Read more

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Six Days in Fallujah

By Joseph Luster

Developer Highwire Games and publisher Victura have prided the shooter Six Days in Fallujah as the world’s first “documentary game” since it first hit Early Access back in June 2023. Read more

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Conflict of Nations: World War III

By Joseph Luster

Conflict of Nations: World War III is a grand long term strategy game that pits your military skills against up to 140 other players in expansive online multiplayer matches. Read more

German war artist Bruno Muller-Linow painted this image of an Allied coastal convoy under fire from German forces somewhere in the European Theater. The Soviet ships evacuating Tallinn were ravaged by German aircraft, heavy guns, and mines. (U.S. Army Art)

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The Soviet Dunkirk: The Tallinn Offensive

By Victor J. Kamenir

Early in World War II, a bitter joke circulated within the Soviet military. It ran, “What is the first thing Russia does when war is declared? Read more

German POWs march to their barracks at a prison camp in the United States.

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Escape into Arizona’s Desert: German Prisoners in World War II

By Adam Lynch

On Christmas Eve, 1944, Colonel William Holden, commander of the prisoner of war camp at Phoenix, Arizona, suddenly lost all hope for a happy holiday. Read more

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A Great Soldier’s Last Victory

By Eric Niderost

Maurice Hermann, Count of Saxony and Marshal of France, swept the horizon with his telescope, his gaze occasionally pausing on the villages of Vlijtingen and Lauffeld in the distance. Read more

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7 Military History Book Reviews for Spring 2025

Full Reviews

The Farthest Valley: Escaping the Chinese Trap at the Chosin Reservoir (Joseph Wheelan, Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2024, 384pp., Read more

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Screaming Eagles of Mercy

By Paul Woodadge and Kevin Hymel

Around noon on June 6, 1944, a German soldier wielding a machine gun burst into a small church six miles from Utah Beach in Normandy, France, ignoring the Red Cross flag hanging from the door. Read more

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The Rangers’ British Padre: Father Albert Basil

By Michael D. Hull

One day shortly after the Battle of El Guettar in central Tunisia in March 1943, Colonel William O. Read more

In support of the advancing U.S. Third Army, the 863rd Fumigation and Bath Company provided essential services that were welcomed by frontline GIs. In this photo, Private John Puller, Jr., and Corporal Russell Robinson check salvageable materials being placed in fumigation chambers near Longueville, France, July 19, 1944.

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A Supporting Role in Patton’s Third Army

By Kevin M. Hymel

If there was one thing frontline soldiers looked forward to after weeks of fighting in Europe’s mud and ice, it was a shower and a change of clothes. Read more

A 1949 photo of the Norse Hydroelectric plant near Vemork, Norway. During the war, it produced “heavy water” for the German nuclear program and was a target of sabotage by the Allies.

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The Norwegian Heavy Water Sabotage

By Chuck Lyons

On an overcast February night in 1943, nine British-trained commandos worked their way down the icy slope of a ravine in southern Norway. Read more

Turkish troops dug into their trenches and awaiting attack near Gaza.

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The Haversack Ruse In Gaza Impressed Even Lawrence Of Arabia

By Harold E. Raugh, Jr.

Since the days of the Trojan Horse, military deception and ruse have been effective instruments when used by an innovative commander to deceive and defeat an enemy, minimizing friendly casualties and expenditure of valuable resources in the process. Read more

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Gallant Defense of Guam

By John J. Domagalski

As the ruins of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet were still burning at Pearl Harbor, Japanese planes appeared over the island of Guam some 4,000 miles to the west where, across the International Date Line, it was already December 8, 1941. Read more

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The state of Chinese armies in the 19th century.

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