spear

Hannibal and the Second Punic War

By Jonas L. Goldstein, LCDR, USN (Ret.)

The Carthaginian hero Hannibal Barca has long been considered to have possessed one of history’s greatest military minds. Read more

spear

Waffen SS General Felix Steiner’s WWII Legacy

By Pat McTaggart

“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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Deus le Veult! The Siege of Antioch

By John Murphy, Jr.

Shortly before dawn on June 3, 1098, Bohemund of Taranto, one of the leaders of the First Crusade and the survivor of many campaigns, stood in the shadow of the Tower of the Two Sisters, one of the strongest points in the defenses of the ancient city of Antioch. Read more

spear

The Wars of the Roses: The Weapons That Defined the English Civil Wars

By William F. Floyd, Jr.

The men of Bridport on the coast of southwestern England kept extra weapons on hand to deal with the raids endemic during the Hundred Years War that preceded the Wars of the Roses. Read more

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Rampage on the Riviera: Operation Dragoon

By Glenn Barnette and André Bernole

Early in 1944, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the defeated hero of North Africa and now head of Army Group B in France, was tasked with strengthening the Atlantic Wall defenses against Allied invasion. Read more

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Battle of Chickamauga: Death in the Deep Woods

By Cowan Brew

It was nearly 11 on the morning of September 20, 1863, and the woods around slow-moving Chickamauga Creek in northwest Georgia were ominously quiet. Read more

spear

Halberds and Spontoons

By David A. Norris

Pikes and most similar pole weapons disappeared from European armies by the early 1700s. After all, bayonets let each man convert his flintlock into a pike that fired bullets. Read more

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Norse Viking Warriors vs. Anglo-Saxon Thegns

By Eric Niderost

It can indeed be rather difficult to understand the differences between Anglo-Saxon thegns and the Norse Viking warriors. Read more

spear

Pikes: A Versatile and Deadly Weapon

by William McPeak

Although formal training in the use of the pike—an ash-handled spear 18 to 20 feet long—did not begin until the 15th century, ancient Greeks and Romans used so-called “long spears” as standard infantry issue against cavalry. Read more

spear

Hoplites vs. Persians: Who Won the Battle of Cunaxa?

by Eric Niderost

The Greek hoplite of 401 bc was the most formidable fighting soldier of his day. Every soldier was protected by his panoply, which consisted of his shield, helmet, sword, spear, and greaves (leg guards). Read more

spear

The Spear, Axe & Sword: Viking Weapons

by Michael Haskew

The fearsome Vikings who pillaged and colonized throughout Western Europe and much of the known world from the Eighth to the 11th centuries were armed with weaponry that served them well in combat. Read more

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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

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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