Not a Battle But a Slaughter Secured The Ottoman Expansion On the Balkan Peninsula
It was in the beginning of a cold Autumn. The year was 1371. Near the village of Chernomen, two despots led their army against the…
How Artillery Evolved in the 100 Years War
The Hundred Years War (1337-1453) saw the first appearances of gunpowder artillery in English and French warfare. These fearsome weapons, which had been largely unused…
The Bloodiest Medieval War Was Fought Because Of A Bucket
In 1325, two armies clashed near what is today the Italian town of Castello di Serravalle in the region of Emilia-Romagna. It was the largest…
Arab Women Shame Their Fleeing Men Back Towards the Fight At The Battle of Yarmouk
Most people are familiar with the general history of the Arab expansion after the death of Mohammad. The Arabs didn’t sit idly in Saudi Arabia,…
10 Knightly Orders and What Made Each One Distinct
Combining knightly warfare and a monastic lifestyle, the knightly crusading orders were one of the strongest institutions of medieval Europe. Through them, men sought a…
How Muslims Responded to the Crusades
For Muslims living in the Holy Land, the arrival of Christian crusaders from the late 11th century onwards was hugely disruptive. It brought misery to…
The Rise of The Tokugawa Shogunate – The Beginning Of A Remarkable Period Of Japanese Peace and Prosperity
On October 21st, in the year 1600, the battle whose outcome would establish the hegemony of the Tokugawa Shogunate for the next 268 years was…
Was Napoleon Really a Military Innovator?
The success of Napoleon Bonaparte stands as a testament to his extraordinary talent as a general. For twenty years, his armies dominated the battlefields of…
Siege of Vienna: Led by a Mercenary, This Desperate Army Turned the Tide on the Ottoman Empire
For four hundred years, the Crusades had seen European powers take war deep into lands far from home, under the banner of Christianity. The clash…
How Napoleon Managed His Vast Armies
The wars fought by Napoleon Bonaparte were like nothing that had ever come before. His armies were vast in scale and constant in their activity,…
The Slave Who Stole A Confederate ship, Met President Lincoln & Bought His Master’s House
In 1862, Robert Smalls stole a Confederate ship, gave it to the Union Army, freed slaves, and met President Abraham Lincoln. After the war, he…
7 Types of Medieval Armor – From Quilted Cloth to Full Steel Plate
More than any other artifact of war, armor dominates visual images of medieval Europe. From the chainmail carefully stitched onto each warrior in the Bayeux…