Military History Archives

Military History

Prisoner of the Gestapo: Freed by Words

By Susan Zimmerman

With war comes untold stories of unbroken spirits. These are universal stories without bounds and sides, some of which remain buried deep in psyches. Read more

Military History

Frederick the Great at Torgau: “A Picture of Hell”

By Eric Niderost

King Frederick II of Prussia was busy writing dispatches, his face a study of grim determination as he scribbled out the words by the light of a guttering candle. Read more

Military History

Celebrating U.S. Army History

By Mason B. Webb

In the heart of Pennsylvania, not far from the Civil War battlefields of Gettysburg, stands the U.S. Read more

Military History

The Fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE: A Story of Roman Revenge

By Tim Miller

After a summer of starvation and siege had been imposed on the city’s people during the fall of Jerusalem, the great Second Temple was finally on fire. Read more

Military History

Broadside Off San Domingo

By David A. Norris

Smoke from hundreds of cannon muzzles fueled an ever thickening fog hovering over the Caribbean Sea south of the French-occupied colony of San Domingo on February 6, 1806. Read more

Military History

Soldiers: Casimir Pulaski

By Joshua Shepherd

A major fight was in the offing when the first streaks of dawn appeared over Savannah, Georgia, on the morning of October 9, 1779. Read more

Military History

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

Military History

The Duke of Monmouth vs. King James II

By William Welsh

The Duke of Monmouth’s rebel army marched briskly out of Bridgwater into the dark of night on July 6, 1685. Read more

Military History

Prince Eugene of Savoy & the Turks at the Battle of Peterwardein

By Ludwig Heinrich Dyck

Thousands of dead Turkish soldiers choked the river and littered its bank. It was the fall of 1697 and the young Imperial Field Marshall, Prince Eugene of Savoy, had just vanquished the Ottoman army at Zenta (or Senta), on Hungary’s River Tiza. Read more

Daniel Morgan's efforts at the Battle of Cowpens displayed a remarkable performance of military leadership that must rank among America’s finest.

Military History

Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens

By James K. Swisher

At last, students of American military history have recently been accorded some measure of respect to the tactical genius of Daniel Morgan. Read more

Many of the men serving in the Canadian Volunteers during the Battle of Lundy's Lane and the War of 1812 were American-born.

Military History

The War of 1812: Joseph Willocks and the Canadian Volunteers

by Mike Phifer

During the last two years of the War of 1812, the Americans had a unit serving with them that knew well the people and country they were invading. Read more

Vastly overshadowed by the Alamo, the outcome for Santa Anna's men at the Battle of San Jacinto made the Texas revolt as good as sealed.

Military History

Santa Anna at the Alamo & the Battle of San Jacinto

By Brooke Stoddard

One of the most decisive battles in American history is also one little discussed, the April 21, 1836 Battle of San Jacinto. Read more

At Northallerton, the descendents of the Norman knights who fought at the Battle of Hastings opted to dismount and fight on foot. Find out why inside.

Military History

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

The result of the battle became one of the most well-known stories of the century

Military History

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

by Mike Haskew

During the Battle of the Little Bighorn, June 25-26, 1876, troopers of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George A. Read more

Recent excavations in Egypt have for the first time provided evidence for a gruesome practice previously known only from texts and temple reliefs.

Military History

Severed Hands: Trophies of War in New Kingdom Egypt

by Robin Ngo

Excavations conducted in a Hyksos palace at Tell el-Daba (ancient Avaris) in Egypt have for the first time provided archaeological evidence for a gruesome practice previously known only from texts and temple reliefs, according to an article by the Biblical Archaeology Review. Read more

Because of his ties to Europe (particularly France), few other Founding Fathers were able to muster up international support as effectively as Benjamin Franklin in the American Revolution.

Military History

Benjamin Franklin in the American Revolution

by Mike Haskew

By the time the American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776, Benjamin Franklin was 70 years old. Read more

On the night before the battle, Frederick called together his principal commanders and gave them a talk most of them remembered for the rest of their lives.

Military History

The Parchwitz Address: Frederick the Great’s Famous Speech at Leuthen

by Vince Hawkins

On the morning of December 3, 1757, Frederick the Great ordered all his generals and regimental and battalion commanders to his headquarters at Parchwitz. 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.

Military History

WWI Timeline: Sowing the Seeds of the Conflict

by Arnold Blumberg

This WWI Timeline covers the first decade of the 20th century, in which the so-called “Great Powers” of Europe attempted to advance their economic and technological prowess to out-do—or at worst, at least keep pace—with their neighbors and rivals. Read more

By 1135, there were probably five thousand medieval knights in England, but they differed little from their great-grandfathers who fought with William the Conqueror at Hastings.

Military History

Medieval Knights: Arms and Armor at Northallerton

by Terry Gore

Numerous pictorial representations show us the arms and armor of the 12th-century Anglo-Norman knight, the most famous being the Bayeux Tapestry. Read more

Military History

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

Military History

From Around the Network

WWII Fighter Aces: Ralph K. ‘Kid’ Hofer

The Thompson Gun’s Curious History, from World War I to World War II

Bunker Hill: “Lick Them Once More Boys!”

Military Heritage: New Books