Mauser rifle

Captured Weapons of the Reich: A Photo Essay

Mauser rifle

Marines at the Battle of Guantanamo Bay

The capture of Guantànamo Bay, Cuba, by U.S. Marines in 1898 was a brief but violent phase of the Spanish-American War. Read more

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Waffen SS General Felix Steiner’s WWII Legacy

“Where is Steiner?” Adolf Hitler demanded as his Thousand Year Reich crumbled around him in April 1945. “Is he attacking yet?” Read more

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A Sunlit Picture of Hell: Battle of the Somme

Early in the morning of July 1, 1916, a mist blanketed the lolling hills of the Somme region of northwestern France. Read more

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The Krag Jorgensen Rifle: How it Defined the Future of American Warfare

During the era in which the Krag Jorgensen rifle came into its own, an arms race was in effect among the nations of Europe. Read more

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Killing Ground at Colenso

On the morning of December 15, 1899, the serene, windswept wilderness of northern Natal was punctuated by the sound of 18,000 British soldiers trudging north to relieve the besieged town of Ladysmith. Read more

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The 1903 Springfield Rifle’s Storied Military History

On November 17, 1915, Major Smedley Butler and a small force of U.S. Marines approached the old French bastion of Fort Riviere in Haiti. Read more

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Black Day at Magersfontein

During the third week in November 1899, British forces under the overall command of General Sir Redvers Buller were marching northward across South Africa’s Orange Free State in a campaign to relieve the strategically vital railroad center of Kimberley. Read more

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Was the 1917 Enfield a Good Rifle Compared to the Springfield?

In director Howard Hawks’s 1941 film classic, Sergeant York, then-Corporal Alvin York, portrayed by Gary Cooper, single-handedly knocks out more than 30 German machine-gun nests and, with little assistance, captures 132 enemy soldiers. Read more

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The Weapons at Sannahs Post

In the aftermath of the failed attempt by Dr. Leander Starr Jameson and his 600 horseman to overthrow the Traansvaal Republic’s government in January 1896, the Boers in both republics embarked on a spending spree to arm all able-bodied burghers with state-of-the-art rifles. Read more

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The Mauser 98: The Best Bolt-Action Rifle Ever Made?

According to The History Channel’s Tales of the Gun, the Mauser 98 was “the best bolt action rifle ever made.” Read more

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Italy’s Failed African Gambit

Under the cover of the dusty Ethiopian night, the 17,000-man Italian Royal Expeditionary force scrambled over ragged hills and inactive volcanoes in the early morning hours of March 1, 1896. Read more

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The Relief of Ladysmith

In the early hours of October 12, 1899, Commandant-General Piet Joubert and 15,000 Boers crossed the border between Transvaal and Natal near Laing’s Nek in southern Africa. Read more

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Hitler’s Iron Fist

Hitler’s Germany was known for its organization and efficiency, as well as its deprivations, terror, and cruelty. This was exemplified in its security forces. Read more

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An American Legend: The 1903 Springfield Rifle

In 1896, the .30-40 “Model 1896 Krag Rifle” became the standard United States Army’s first bolt-action, magazine, smokeless-powder service rifle. Read more