Obscured by the snow, Yorkist archers fire their last deadly volley into the advancing Lancastrian army at Towton. On their left, Edward and his dismounted knights stand ready to fight. Painting by Graham Turner.

December 2012

Volume 14, No. 4

COVER: French hussars attack a Prussian position at the Battle of Gravelotte, August 16, 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War.
Painting by Edouard Detaille. Photo: bpk/RMN/ Art Resource

Military Heritage

The Redoubts At Yorktown

By Jessica J. Sheets

At nightfall on October 14, 1781, 150 British and Hessian soldiers sheltered in two small earthen fortifications at Yorktown, Virginia. Read more

Military Heritage

In the months after the U.S. Navy was taken by surprise at Pearl Harbor, fleet commanders vowed that their sly Imperial Japanese enemy would never again sneak up on them, and at first this promise held true. Read more

Yorkist troops led by the Earl of Warwick and the Duke of York storm through the streets of St. Albans on May 22, 1455. The rebels captured King Henry VI, killed the Duke of Somerset, and ignited the 30-year-long War of the Roses. Painting by Graham Turner.

Military Heritage

Roses In The Snow

By Mike Phifer

On March 1, 1461, English Chancellor George Neville faced a large crowd of Londoners in St. John’s Field outside the city. Read more

A seemingly endless procession of trucks brings American soldiers and supplies to the front at Chateau-Thierry in May 1918. Painting by William James Aylward.

Military Heritage

American Stand At Chateau-Thierry

By George T. Raach

For the hard-pressed German Empire, New Year’s Day 1918 brought a compendium of evils. The Allied naval blockade, increasingly effective, depressed industrial production and stoked a war weariness made manifest in strikes and bread riots. Read more

South Vietnamese troops advance through waist-high grass toward North Vietnamese invaders in May 1972 following the NVA’s all-out Easter offensive of 1972.

Military Heritage

The Easter Offensive of 1972

By John Walker

At noon on Good Friday, March 30, 1972, more than 25,000 North Vietnamese Army (NVA) soldiers, backed by state-of-the-art Soviet tanks, artillery, and mobile antiaircraft missile platforms, poured across the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Vietnams. Read more

Edward, Earl of March, kneels before King Henry VI following the Yorkist victory at Northampton in 1460. In the foreground is one of the Lancastrian cannons rendered useless by the rain. Henry retained his crown, but the Duke of York would govern in his place. Painting by Graham Turner.

Military Heritage, Editorial

Shakespeare was not overly concerned about facts…

One of history’s—or at least literature’s— greatest villains is King Richard III, the second and last English monarch to wear the white rose of York. Read more

Luckner survived hazardous duty as a turret officer at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916.

Military Heritage, Soldiers

Count Felix von Luckner, Captain of SMS Seeadler

By Blaine L. Pardoe

Count Felix von Luckner was known by many titles in his life: runaway, sailor, hero, braggart, fool—even spy. Read more

Timothy O’Sullivan photographed the massive Union pontoon bridge over the James River at Weyanoke Point. Anchoring schooners can be seen in the background.

Military Heritage, Weapons

Union Army Engineers

By Gustav Person

The Union Army’s ambitious Overland Campaign began on May 4, 1864. It was the fourth year of the Civil War, and Lt. Read more

French Emperor Napoleon III, left, surrenders to Prussian King Wilhelm I after the Battle of Sedan in September 1870. Prussian chancellor Otto von Bismarck, in white, looks on.

Military Heritage, Intelligence

How Otto von Bismarck Started The Franco-Prussian War

By Blaine Taylor

In May 1867, French ruler Napoleon III hosted a gala Great Universal Exposition that proved to be the high-water mark of his ornate but tissue-thin Second Empire. Read more

Fez-wearing King Otto I of Greece is seen with his military entourage, 1840.

Military Heritage, Militaria

The Military Fez

By Peter Suciu

Thanks to movies and tV, the fez is usually associated with the Middle East, notably Turkey. It has also become a form of ceremonial headgear for lodges and fraternal organizations in the United States. Read more

Military Heritage, Books

The Life of John Quincy Adams

By Al Hemingway

John Quincy Adams, son of the second president of the United States, John Adams, sat across from his counterpart, British Admiral Lord James Gambier, at Ghent, Belgium, desperately attempting to hammer out a peace treaty that would end the War of 1812. Read more

Military Heritage, Games

Dogfight 1942

By Joseph Luster

World War II aerial combat games are surprisingly not that few and far between, at least relative to what one would expect from such a niche genre. Read more

December 2012

From Around the Network

Hanna Reitsch, the Reichenberg Project & Germany’s Kamikazes

The Lost Children of 1940

Female Revolutionary War Heroes: Deborah Sampson

The B-25 Mitchell medium bomber played a significant role in World War II.