January 2018

Volume 19, No. 4

Cover: Lord Cardigan leads the Light Brigade during their legendary charge at Balaclava during the Crimean War. Image: Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection.

Major General Edward Braddock is mortally wounded by a hail of fire from well-concealed enemy forces in a painting by American artist Edwin Willard Deming. Great Britain realized in the aftermath of the defeat that French forces in North America could not be quickly defeated.

Military Heritage

Disaster in the Wilderness

By David A. Norris

Captain Daniel Lienard de Beaujeu rushed to save the remote French outpost of Fort Duquesne in early July 1755. Read more

The best place to be in an urban battle was next to the buildings where it was possible to find a degree of cover from enemy fire. An American machine-gun team belonging to the 26th Infantry Regiment engages the enemy in mid-October.

Military Heritage

Bloodbath in Aachen

By William F. Floyd Jr.

With weapons at the ready, the American squad advanced cautiously on both sides of the tree-lined boulevard toward the German strongpoint in Aachen. Read more

Military Heritage

Caesar’s Grand Siege at Alesia

By Coley Cowan

As Julius Caesar’s Roman army began its march on a late summer day in 52 BC in eastern France it discovered Gallic cavalry barring the way of its vanguard. 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 Heritage

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

Military Heritage

Ambush at Morgarten

By Victor Kamenir

The logs and boulders came tumbling downhill, gaining speed before they reached the bottom of the hillsides in the mountain pass. Read more

The Battle of Sempach was the event that transformed the Old Swiss Confederacy into a serious military power. The Austrians, who had learned little from their previous defeats, once again suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Swiss.

Military Heritage, Editorial

Heavy infantry comes of age in the Swiss Confederacy.

The ambush of Duke King Leopold I’s army by Swiss foot soldiers on the mountain road at Morgarten in 1315 ushered in a roughly 200-year period where the hard-hitting Swiss maintained a reputation as elite foot soldiers. Read more

Military Heritage, Soldiers

Italian Military Adventurer

By William E. Welsh

An assault on an Alan woman by an Almogavar of the Catalan Company exploded into a skirmish between the two groups of allies in the pay of the Byzantine Empire on April 9, 1303. Read more

The Tirpitz fires her 15-inch main guns in the Baltic Sea in 1941. The British Royal Navy saw the huge battle-ship as a threat to merchant vessels and troop convoys bound for the British Isles.

Military Heritage, Weapons

Saga of the Tirpitz

By Blaine Taylor

April 1, 1939, was a red-letter day in the history of the reborn German Kriegsmarine for two key reasons. Read more

Military Heritage, Intelligence

The Death of Prince William of Orange

By William E. Welch

On Sunday, March 18, 1582, 37-year-old Dutch Stadholder Prince William of Orange attended a festive luncheon in his palace in Antwerp to celebrate the birthday of major ally French Duke Francis of Anjou, who had arrived in the Low Countries the previous month to support the Dutch in their rebellion against the Spanish crown. Read more

Military Heritage, Books

The Great War’s Eastern Front

By Chris Miskimon

Russia was imploding in October 1917. The war combined with the numerous internal stresses of the nation, culminating in a civil war and Russia’s withdrawal from the greater war. Read more

Military Heritage, Games

Military Games to Ring in the New Year

By Joseph Luster

It’s been 12 years since the original version of Stronghold 2 followed up the first game, so it’s time to pay it a return visit in the form of Stronghold 2: Steam Edition. Read more

January 2018

From Around the Network

Clash at Bald Hill: Atlanta’s Bloodiest Day

Bloody Collision at Cedar Mountain

War Through an Artist’s Eyes

Wartime Industrial Colossus