knights Archives

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The Battle at Northallerton: Knights on Foot?

by Terry Gore

“To be a knight was to be potentially a Lord or Lordling … and a fate worse than death, was to set one’s hand to the plow.” Read more

In their first major battles of World War I, American Expeditionary Force troops helped blunt multiple offensives launched by the German Army in the spring of 1918.

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World War I Doughboys’ Bloody Baptism

As the fateful day drew to a close, the exhausted World War I soldiers of the German 25th and 82nd Reserve Divisions huddled in their trenches. Read more

The English Army was a formidable adversary for the Scots, so Robert the Bruce relied on tactics, not brute strength, when fighting English forces.

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Robert the Bruce: Tactics vs. Brute Strength

By T.L. Gore

Historically the Scots could not defeat the English in open battle. The exception was Stirling Bridge in 1297, but that victory had been more the result of English arrogance and mistakes. Read more

During World War II, Joachim Benz served on the Eastern Front in a Luftwaffe ground unit known as a field division.

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From the Luftwaffe: Joachim Benz on the Eastern Front

by Joachim Benz, as told to Peter D. Fyfe and Ward Carr

Following service as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery during the early 1970s, Ward Carr decided to remain in Germany, residing in Frankfurt. Read more

The Normans make their bid for Saxon England against King Harold in the Battle of Hastings.

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King Harold and the Battle of Hastings

by Frederick Grant

On December 25, 1065, King Edward the Confessor presided over a spectacular Christmas banquet at his palace on Thorney Island in the Thames River, just two miles upstream from London. Read more

Norway’s King Harald Hardradi, known as “the Land Waster,” came close to conquering England before William the Conqueror in 1066.

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Harald “Land Waster” Hardradi

by Kenneth Cline

For many history buffs, the date 1066 conjures up an image of Norman knights breaking through the shield wall of the ax-wielding Anglo-Saxons at Senlac Hill. Read more

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Lake Peipus: Battle on the Ice

by Terry Gore

In the early 13th century, the Baltic frontier in central Europe remained a hostile and uninviting place. Pagan Europeans far outnumbered Christians, and the area was a focal point for constant conflict between mutually exploitive neighbors slavering to carve out new territorial holdings at the expense of anyone who stood in their way. Read more

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Philip vs Edward at the Battle of Crécy

By Robert Suhr

Philip of Valois, for long have we made suit before you by embassies and all other ways which we knew to be reasonable, to the end that you should be willing to have restored unto us our right, our heritage of France, which you have long kept back and most wrongfully occupied.” Read more

The Scots rely on a crushing charge during The Battle of the Standard that pit the scots against the English.

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Battle of the Standard — August 22, 1138 AD

By Terry Gore

The English commander, William de Aumale, heard the roar of the Scots army even before it appeared out of the early morning mists. Read more

King Henry III rallies loyalists in 1265 in the attempt to wrest power from the English barons and Simon de Montfort.

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King Henry III Fights Back Against Simon de Montfort

by Terry Gore

The Battle of Lewes was over, and with it the end of the actual power of the English king, Henry III. Read more

In 1571, Don Juan set out to confront the Muslim fleet Lepanto. But what kind of soldiers did he battle with?

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Muslim Equipment at the Battle of Lepanto

William J. McPeak

The Muslims at the Battle of Lepanto still wore turbans and headdresses, along with the occasional steel cap with their usual kilij sabre and flowing robes. Read more

The armies that gathered on June 18, 1053 for the Battle of Civitate, or Civitella del Fortore, were not so disparate as the numbers might indicate.

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The Battle of Civitate (Civitella del Fortore)

by Terry Gore

It is true that the Normans were greatly outnumbered at the Battle of Civitate, likely by as much as two to one or more. Read more

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Death by Longbow at Crecy

By Tim Miller

At the age of 50, John of Bohemia was already old for a warrior and completely blind. He not only was the Count of Luxembourg and King of Bohemia, but also claimant to the thrones of Poland and Hungary. Read more

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Showdown at Grunwald

By Viktor Kamenir

From his position opposite the left wing of the Teutonic Knights, Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas watched closely as the Teutonic Order redressed its lines at mid-morning in the already sweltering summer sun. Read more

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The Last Banner Falls at the Siege of Acre

By William E. Welsh

The Latin Crusaders manning the battlements were armed with spears, axes, and crossbows. They shared with each other a desire to fight and die for the Cross. Read more

From Around the Network

Joseph Plumb Martin: Revolutionary War Soldier In The Continental Army

Border Dispute Sparks the Mexican-American War

Pancho Villa & General John J. Pershing’s Punitive Expedition

The Battle Of Midway: Turning the Tide in the South Pacific