9 Feb 1945: Victory at the Colmar Pocket, Germans Eviction From The West Bank of The Rhine
On 9 February 1945, the last German forces on the west bank of the River Rhine were defeated by the French and Americans. The defeat…
5 Rules of Chivalry and How They Were Broken
In the Middle Ages, chivalry was more than just a name for polite behaviour. It was a set of rules meant to limit the actions…
Starving Their Own Men: Britain’s Epic Supply Failure in the Crimea
The very least a soldier expects when sent on a campaign is to be fed, clothed and given the necessary equipment to carry out their…
7 Famous Knights of the Middle Ages
Medieval knights were among the celebrities of their day – warriors, leaders, and scholars. They became figures of romance and inspiration, giving them a special…
How Napoleon’s Empire Empowered European Jews
The beating of war drums has seldom been a good sign for Europe’s Jewish communities. Dispersed by the endless conquests of their homeland, they were…
2 February 1943 – The End of the Battle For Stalingrad
The largest and bloodiest battle in the history of warfare, the Siege of Stalingrad lasted over five months and resulted in somewhere between 1.7 and…
11 Ancient Roman Military Decorations
Like most professional armies, the Roman legions used military decorations to acknowledge superior behaviour. Though few looked like medals as we picture them today, these…
Auschwitz Concentration Camp: 71 Years Since Liberation
Auschwitz concentration camp, the most notorious of the Nazi death camps, was liberated 71 years ago, on 27 January 1945. For five years it had…
Drunkenness, Disorder and the Plague: The Cadiz Fiasco of 1625
The English navy has a reputation as a force to be reckoned with from the 16th century onwards. But in the early 17th century it…
An Italian Civil War in Spain: Guadalajara, 1937
Proxy wars have been an ugly feature of military history since ancient times, powerful nations turning others into battlegrounds without risking themselves in full-scale warfare.…
Battle of Omdurman – When The British With 11,000 Soldiers Took On 60,000 Natives in Sudan, Losing 47 Killed
All through the darkness of the night, a British infantryman waits nervously by the banks of the Nile. The Mahdists, infamously bloodthirsty savages, are just…
6 Great Women Who Inspired Napoleon
Despite sharing the gender biases common to his time, Napoleon Bonaparte’s admiration for great men extended to a few women. Though he once said that…