Krak des Chevaliers – The Impenetrable Castle, Captured With A Single Sheet of Paper
A hulking edifice of sun-bleached stone, Krak des Chevaliers loomed against a clear blue sky. How many men had died to hold those walls, and…
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 Tide Turns – One Battle Ended the Seemingly Unstoppable Mongol Invasion
There are few military forces more infamous and renowned in history than the Mongolian armies of the 13th Century. They swept through Asia and into…
12 Battles That Defined the Crusades – Brutal Times
The Crusades, Christian Europe’s attempt to drive back other nations and religions, were among the most ambitious and badly thought out campaigns in military history.…
Jack Hinson: A Civil War Sniper Hell Bent on Revenge
John W. “Jack” Hinson, better known as “Old Jack” to his family, was a prosperous farmer in Stewart County, Tennessee. A non-political man, he opposed…
The Meat Grinder Of War – Why The Napoleonic Wars Cost So Many Lives
The Napoleonic Wars involved staggering numbers of men injured and killed. From 6% casualties at Fleurus in 1792 to 15% at Austerlitz in 1806. There…
AD 732, Battle of Tours: Charles Martel the ‘Hammer’ Holds The Line Of Battle
Few Empires emerged as quickly as that of the Muslim Caliphates. Bursting out from what is now Saudi Arabia in the mid-7th century, the Islamic…
The Drafts – Building the armies of the American Civil War
In America, the draft is a controversial subject. Many people support it, as they feel it is necessary for a country at war, while many…
7 Reasons the Conquistadors Beat the Incas
Francisco Pizarro’s conquest of the Incan empire is one of the most extraordinary achievements in military history. In the space of a single day in…
Charles the Bold, Burgundy’s Flawed Reforming Warlord
Charles the Bold was a man who could have changed the face of Europe. Inheriting the Valois duchy of Burgundy in 1467, he was one…
The Mongol Invasions of Japan and the Origin of the Word “Kamikaze”
In the 1270s and 1280s, the menacing forces of the Mongols attacked Japan. Through courage, determination, and good luck, the Japanese drove them off. It…
The Equipment of the Samurai – Fearsome Warriors Armed to the Teeth
Samurai were the elite warriors of feudal Japan; as dominant as knights were in Europe. Their equipment was as much a display of their status…