May 2014 Archives

The stripped body of King Manfred of Sicily, who fell during the final phase of the Battle of Benevento, was not discovered until three days after the fight. Knights weep in the foreground as the city, which was sacked by the French, burns in the background of Giuseppe Bezzuoli’s Neoclassic painting.

Military Heritage

For Gold And Blood

By William E. Welsh

The rain poured in sheets as the long column of French troops snaked its way through the Apennine Mountains of southern Italy along roads washed out by heavy rains. Read more

British soldiers advance through the rubble of a captured town on the road to Mandalay in 1945. Maj. Gen. T.W. Rees's 19th Division captured the old royal capital on March 21 after protracted street fighting and stubborn Japanese resistance from inside the city's ancient citadel known as Fort Dufferin.

Military Heritage

While the soldiers and officers of the Japanese 15th Army fought fiercely to defend Mandalay in central Burma, they were alarmed to discover that British and Indian troops were dangerously close to capturing their supply depot at Meiktila, 90 miles to their rear. Read more

General Hubert Lyautey, the French Resident-General of Morocco, arrives in Marrakesh. Lyautey faced the daunting task of pacifying the country and winning over the hearts and minds of the population, and he succeeded at both.

Military Heritage

Massacre In Morocco

By Simon Rees

In his father’s time, leopards had freely padded across the reception areas of the royal palace at Fez, inspiring awe and trepidation among visitors. Read more

A 19th-century print offers a fanciful depiction of the desperate fighting along the Orange Plank on the second day of the Battle of the Wilderness. Although the battle ended in a draw with both sides suffering heavy casualties, the Army of the Potomac under the watchful eye of Commander-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant chose not to retreat, but continue south.

Military Heritage

James Longstreet’s Daring Advance

By Arnold Blumberg

The column of Confederates marched east as quietly as possible along the bed of an unfinished railroad that knifed through the Wilderness south of the Rapidan River shortly before midday on May 6, 1864. Read more

Military Heritage

Incomparable Bravery

By Alexander Zakrzewski

In the early evening of September 12, 1683, the citizens of Vienna watched from the ramparts of their beleaguered city as 3,500 winged horsemen poured down the slopes of the Kahlenberg Heights and into the heart of the besieging Turkish army. Read more

Charles of Anjou sails to Rome in 1265 and is crowned the new king of Sicily in a 14th-century manuscript illumination.

Military Heritage, Editorial

Dreams of Empire

The story of Charles of Anjou is one of the lesser known episodes of Mediterranean history but a significant one. The youngest of several sons of Louis VIII, Charles received a unique opportunity available to few princes so far removed from succession. Read more

Lettow-Vorbeck’s colonial troops in East Africa man a position on high ground. Rough terrain was the norm for operations in that region of Africa.

Military Heritage, Soldiers

Lt. Col. Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck

By Don Holloway

Just a few days after Britain and Germany declared war in August 1914, their territories in East Africa declared peace. Read more

A German panzer crew works on its Tiger I during the long Russian winter as German infantry marches past with a horse-drawn vehicle. By the war's end more than one million horses were still hauling German personnel, artillery, and ammunition.

Military Heritage, Weapons

Horses & The Mechanized Myth of the Eastern Front

By John Perry

Advances in military technology, including tanks, jets, and rockets, are among the popular images of Nazi Germany during World War II. Read more

Admiral Wilhelm Canaris pictured with Colonel Franz Eccard von Bentivegni, an Abwehr counterespionage expert, in Smolensk in Octo- ber 1941. Canaris alienated his superiors when visiting the Eastern Front, warning them not to expose German troops needlessly to the hard- ships of the Russian winter.

Military Heritage, Intelligence

German Chief Spy Admiral Wilhelm Canaris

By Peter Kross

Admiral Wilhelm Canaris was an enigma. During World War II, he headed the Abwehr, the German intelligence service. Read more

The author prefers artist oil paints over acrylic paints, and uses the finest quality red sable brushes because they are ideal for painting the fine details that transform the figures into works of art. He is shown painting Dominique Jean Larrey, surgeon of Napoleon’s Imperial Guard.

Military Heritage, Militaria

Painting Military Miniatures

By Michael Cobb

Military miniatures are an extension of the toy soldiers many of us had when we were children. But they are distinguished from the ones we grew up with in that they are painted and detailed to an incredibly high degree. Read more

Military Heritage, Books

Captain David Porter in the War of 1812

By Christopher Miskimon

The U.S. Navy in the age of fighting sail was an institution eager to prove itself to the world. Read more

Military Heritage, Games

Spring 2014 Military Games

By Joseph Luster

Things have been moving along nicely for Wargaming.net’s hugely successful massively-multiplayer online game World of Tanks. It was already doing plenty well on PC, but its recent arrival on Xbox 360 finally brought it to a hungry console audience. Read more

May 2014

From Around the Network

Erwin Rommel & Heinz Schmidt at Sidi Rezegh

U.S. Soldiers Missing In Action: Then and Now

Battle of Cape Ecnomus & the First Punic War

Operation Long Jump: The Nazi Assassination Attempt on the “Big Three”