Spring 2024 Archives

Military Heritage

The Battle of Loos: Mired in the Trenches

By Victor Kamenir

Ajubilant British populace joyfully greeted the declaration of war on Germany on August 4, 1914. “I remember when war was declared, going outside Buckingham Palace and cheering with all the crowds as the king and queen came out on the balcony and being frightfully excited and thinking it was splendid that we were going into the war and all the rest of it,” recalled Londoner Angela Limerick. Read more

Military Heritage

Cavalry Clash at the Hook

By Joshua Shepherd

Early on the morning of October 3, 1781, a detachment of French hussars trotted down a sandy road in Gloucester County, Virginia. Read more

Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel in his staff car in North Africa in 1941. Arriving in Tripoli in February 1941, he was quickly on the advance, forcing British troops to retreat back into Eqypt.

Military Heritage

Rommel in the Desert

By David H. Lippman

Lieutenant General Erwin Rommel, a rising star in Germany’s equally rising war effort, was tasked with saving Italy, Germany’s key ally, from a grave disaster in North Africa. Read more

First Lieutenant Israel Greene leads his Marines into the engine house, as depicted in this diorama at the National Museum of the Marine Corps Heritage Center in Virginia.

Military Heritage

John Brown’s Bloody Abolitionist Crusade

By Eric Niderost

Agroup of insurgents, probably abolitionists fiercely dedicated to ending slavery, had seized the Federal Arsenal at Harper’s Ferry—that was the news Charles W. Read more

In January 1953, tracked armored vehicles support infantry movements during Operation Lorraine, the largest French offensive in Vietnam.

Military Heritage

Operation Lorraine: French Launch Offensive to Regain Territory in Vietnam

By John E. Spindler

On the evening of October 29, 1952, a group of French combat engineers worked feverishly to repair a ferry ramp on the Red River across from the village of Trung Ha in French Indochina. Read more

“The Catapult,” by Edward John Poynter (British, 1836-1919) depicts a siege engine manned by Roman soldiers at the walls of Carthage during the Third Punic War. “Carthage must be destroyed” (Delenda est Carthago), the words of Cato the Elder as quoted in Pultarch's “Life of Cato,” are carved on one of its massive beams.

Military Heritage

The Siege of Carthage: Death of an Empire

By David A. Norris

According to legend, Carthage was founded by Dido, daughter of the king of the Phoenician city of Tyre. Read more

Military Heritage

If Lessons are Learned, ‘Fighting the Last War’ can Yield a Positive Result

An astounding range of human capacities can be found throughout military heritage—bravery, fortitude and sacrifice of ordinary men and women engaged in the often heartbreaking act of making history. Read more

A panoramic painting of the Battle of Stalingrad depicts Soviet soldiers and T-34 tanks advancing against the invading Germans. The five-month siege ended in February, 1943, with a German defeat and two million deaths. Mariya Oktyabrskaya would see her first combat that October in Smolensk.

Military Heritage, Valor

Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya and the T-34 medium tank ‘Fighting Girlfriend.’

By Kevin Seabrooke

Mariya Oktyabrskaya was a Soviet Ukrainian tank driver and mechanic who fought on the Eastern Front against Nazi Germany during World War II. Read more

Military Heritage, Soldiers

Confederate Major John Pelham’s flying battery made him a hero when he was only 23.

By Nat R. Louis

During the Battle of Williamsburg, Virginia, in May 1862, General Joseph Hooker’s Union forces were in pursuit of the withdrawing Confederates. Read more

Military Heritage, Uniform

Retained English Longbowman, 1350-1425

The English longbow, originally adopted from the Welsh, was made from a single piece of Yew wood, and required skill to make and use. Read more

Military Heritage, Weapons

Machine Guns In The Sky

By Mark Carlson

Since the early days of the Great War, when pilots and observers brought rifles and pistols into the skies to shoot at enemy observation planes, the world of air combat has been a rapidly changing arena of technology and innovation. Read more

Military Heritage

Nine Military History Book Reviews for Spring 2024

By Christopher Miskimon Full Reviews

Battle for the Island Kingdom: England’s Destiny 1000–1066 (Don Holloway, Osprey Publishing, Oxford UK, 2023, 432 pp., Read more

Military Heritage, Games

World of Warships

By Joseph Luster

We’ve got a little something for everyone in this issue of Military Heritage, including more from Wargaming and a trip way back in time for some medieval warfare. Read more

Military Heritage, Games

Broadsword: Warlord Edition

By Joseph Luster

Those looking to go deeper back into history would do well to check out Broadsword: Warlord Edition, a turn-based strategy game developed by Hoplite Research and published by GS2 Games. Read more

Spring 2024

From Around the Network

The Nazi ‘Gold Train Incident’

Rommel’s Ghost Division

Working on the Railway of Death: A POW’s Story

Tropico 4: For the Would-Be Dictator