Winter 2021

Volume 22, No. 4

Cover: A U.S. Sherman tank races to the front in Tunisia during combat in 1943. Erwin Rommel “outfoxed” Allied troops during the fight for Kasserine Pass, which led to sweeping changes for American troops when George Patton took over command of the U.S. II Corps. Photo: Getty Images

French General Jean Rapp races towards a calm and self-assured Emperor Napoleon with a captured enemy standard during the height of the Battle of Austerlitz.

Military Heritage

Clash of Empires

By David A. Norris

The Battle of Trafalgar, fought off the southwest coast of Spain on October 21, 1805, was a disaster for French Emperor Napoleon I. Read more

Military Heritage

Turco-Mongol Emir Timur: Scourge of the East

By Victor Kamenir

Egyptian medieval chronicler Ibn Taghribirdi relates an incident that occurred following Turco-Mongol Emir Timur’s conquest of Aleppo in 1400. Read more

Short-barreled Panzer IVs advance through the mountains of northern Tunisia. At Kasserine Pass, German panzer columns blasted American tanks and then encircled isolated U.S. infantry units.

Military Heritage

Panzer Strike at Kasserine Pass

By Mike Phifer

Ignoring the swirling sands stirred up by the fierce winds of the Sahara Desert in the early morning hours of February 14, 1943, Generalleutnant Heinz Ziegler ordered his panzer columns forward to attack the American forces deployed in central Tunisia. Read more

Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans at far left directs reinforcements to strengthen the Federal line in the face of a strong Confederate assault on the morning of December 31, 1862.

Military Heritage

Winter Storm on Stones River

By Robert L. Durham

One of the most hard-fighting divisions in the Army of the Cumberland, the one led by Maj. Read more

Miami warriors advance confidently into battle against U.S. Army forces in a modern painting by Todd Price. The army suffered two of its worst defeats in the Ohio Territory in 1790 and 1791.

Military Heritage

The Battle of the Wabash: Slaughter in the Snow

By John E. Spindler

The warriors of the Western Confederacy crept silently along the snow-covered ground towards the U.S. Army camp on the banks of the upper Wabash River just before dawn on November 4, 1791. Read more

Scottish King James IV attacked across unfavorable ground at Flodden that put his pikemen at a disadvantage. Once engaged, the more nimble English billmen carved up the Scottish pike blocks.

Military Heritage

Butchered at the Battle of Flodden

By William E. Welsh

Highlander bowmen fired arrows that hissed through the air as they led the advance against the English as skirmisher sat the battle of Flodden. Read more

Indian lancers overrun an Ottoman position in the Valley of Armageddon on the second day of the Battle of Megiddo.

Military Heritage

Fatal Blow at the Battle of Megiddo

By Richard Willis

The six-day Battle of Megiddo fought in September 1918 was a decisive climax to the struggle in Palestine between the Ottoman Empire, backed by the Germans, and Great Britain and her allies. Read more

Military Heritage, Editorial

Eisenhower’s Reforms in the Wake of Kasserine Pass

Even in retreat, the German army was formidable. The Allies learned this time and time again on the long road to victory that began in North Africa in late 1942. Read more

Military Heritage, Soldiers

Soldiers: General Peter Bagration

By Victor Kamenir

Russian General Peter Ivanovich Bagration was one of those rare commanders who received near-universal praise from his contemporaries outside of Russia. Read more

Military Heritage, Uniform

Uniform: The 8th Texas Cavalry

By Don Troiani & William Welsh

Colonel Benjamin F. Terry, a sugar planter from Fort Bend County on the coastal plains of Texas, raised the 8th Texas Cavalry Regiment. Read more

Military Heritage, Valor

U.S. Marine Hero John J. Kelly in World War I

By William E. Welsh

Chicago native Private John J. Kelly of the 78th Company of the 6th Marine Regiment and another soldier requested permission from First Lieutenant James M. Read more

F6F Hellcats, F4U Corsairs, SB2C Helldivers, and TBF Avenger torpedo bombers from carriers of Task Force 58 swarm the Yamato as it steams on its forlorn mission to assist Japanese ground forces on Okinawa. With no air cover, the Yamato and its escort ships were at the mercy of nearly 400 attack aircraft.

Military Heritage, Weapons

The Superbattleship Yamato in Operation Ten-ichi-go

By John E. Spindler

Allied victory in both the European and Pacific theaters seemed inevitable by spring 1945. The German Army was fighting on its own soil, and Japanese forces were defending Okinawa, the principal island of the Ryukyu archipelago. Read more

Japanese sailors fighting in their home waters employed high-explosive, incendiary ammunition that caused extensive damage to the Russian ships at Tsushima.

Military Heritage, Books

A herculean effort by the Russian Baltic Fleet to reach the Pacific Ocean ended in agonizing defeat at the Battle of Tsushima.

By Christopher Miskimon

On May 27, 1905, the Russian fleet went into battle against the Japanese navy. For months, this fleet sailed around the world, beginning its long journey in the Baltic Sea. Read more

Military Heritage, Games

Squad Finally Takes The Fight Out Of Early Access

By Joseph Luster

Some games spend a brief portion of their lives in early access, while others take an extended period of time to hone what they have to offer and improve. Read more

Military Heritage, Games

Call Of Duty Gets Its First Next-gen Entry

By Joseph Luster

Whether you love them or merely tolerate them, the Call of Duty games are a staple of the wargaming landscape for a reason. Read more

Winter 2021

From Around the Network

Visions Of War

George A. Custer’s “Last Stand” at the Battle of Little Bighorn

Stalingrad: Apocalypse on the Volga

WWII Spies: Double Agent Dusko Popov, a.k.a. ‘Tricycle’