Military Heritage June 2005 Archives

Military Heritage June 2005

Charlemagne: Warlord of the Franks

By Ludwig Dyck

On Christmas morning, 800 ad, a tall, powerfully built man walked up the steps of Saint Peter’s basilica in Rome. Read more

Brutal mercenary armies such as the one depicted in this seventeenth century painting criss-crossed Germany during the Thirty Years War, leaving death and destruction in their wake.

Military Heritage June 2005

King Gustavus Adolphus, Breitenfeld, and the Birthplace of Modern War

By Louis Ciotola

On a hot, dusty September morning in 1631, the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Emperor rested easily on the plains outside the village of Breitenfield, six miles north of Leipzig, Saxony. Read more

Soldiers construct log huts from nearby trees. One soldier takes a drink (center) while others split timbers (left) as a mounted officer looks on.

Military Heritage June 2005

Union Soldiers in the Civil War: Camping Along the Potomac

Written by: Kevin M. Hymel

Photo Essay By Kevin M. Hymel

Before the fighting even began, before the first impassioned chorus of “On to Richmond!” was raised by the men in blue, the soldiers comprising the Union Army of the Potomac during the Civil War had to create their own precarious living quarters in the forested wilderness of the eastern seaboard. Read more

After suffering defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon prepares to flee the battle- field. His brother, Prince Jerome, stayed behind to cover his retreat.

Military Heritage June 2005

“The Other Napoleon Bonaparte” at the Battle of Waterloo

By Blaine Taylor

On April 23, 1809, Prince Jerome Bonaparte, king of Westphalia, a German satellite state given to him by his elder brother Emperor Napoleon I, sat astride a large white horse at the Holland Gate leading into the capital city of Cassel. Read more

Military Heritage June 2005

The Marines and North Vietnamese at Khe Sanh

By John Walker

In early 1967, the thinly populated, rugged, and mountainous Khe Sanh plateau lay in the northwest corner of South Vietnam, bordered by Laos to the west and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and North Vietnam to the north. Read more

Military Heritage June 2005

Manhattan’s First Terror Attack: Decades Before 9/11

By Cowan Brew

In the summer of 1916, America was an island of peace in an ocean of war. The guns of August 1914 had been blazing away in Europe for nearly two years now, primed by a booming American munitions industry that found itself growing rich on the long-distance suffering of others. Read more

In this painting by Colonel Charles Waterhouse, Marine Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon leads his men in the final assault against the pirate stronghold at Derna, Tripoli.

Military Heritage June 2005

‘General’ William Eaton: To The Shores of Tripoli…

By Mark S. Longo

Most Americans can recite the second line of the immortal “Marine Hymn” by memory, but few actually know what it means. Read more

Military Heritage June 2005

Civil War Generals: Stonewall Jackson and A.P. Hill

By Roy Morris Jr.

The men who wore Confederate gray were notoriously high-strung and quick to anger—none more so than Stonewall Jackson and Ambrose Powell Hill. Read more

Fire from the guns of the Australian cruiser HMAS Perth splits the darkness in the opening moments of the Battle of Sunda Strait on February 25, 1942. The Australian vessel and the American cruiser Houston were lost in action against the Japanese.

Military Heritage June 2005

USS Houston And HMAS Perth Stood Tall At the Battle Of Sunda Strait

By John Wukovits

The haggard American sailors aboard the limping cruiser hoped that the journey upon which they had just embarked was the long-expected voyage back to the United States. Read more

From Around the Network

Mick Ryan’s ‘The War for Ukraine’

Rising Storm 2: Vietnam recognizes its community

Gavin’s Sky Soldiers

Tragedy at Hong Kong: The Ordeal of C Force