Early Modern | War History

Massive Towers, Unbreakable Walls, Terrifying Siege Engines – This Was The Hundred Years War

Andrew Knighton

As the sun rises over the battlefield, a column of knights gallops towards the assembled infantry. Banners flutter and arrows hurtle through the air as…

Land Forces of the Hundred Years War – A War That Seemed To Have No End

Andrew Knighton

Fought from 1337 to 1453, the Hundred Years War was one of the most significant conflicts of the late Middle Ages. As the Plantagenet kings of…

The Brutal Reality of Naval Warfare in the Hundred Years War

Andrew Knighton

War at sea in the Middle Ages could be a terrible business. Rather than a firefight between ships, it consisted of fierce boarding actions with…

Some Of The Deadliest Battles Of The American Civil War

The American Civil War is a devastating mark on the history of America. The number of lives lost was substantial, and the social and economic…

War Wagons: One of the Strangest Military Formations Ever Seen in Europe

Andrew Knighton

One of the strangest military formations ever seen in Europe, Hussite war wagons struck fear into their opponents during the early 15th century. Fighting under…

The Battle of Williamsburg – A Massive Withdrawal Over Difficult Ground

On the night of May 3, 1862, Confederate forces began a withdrawal from the defenses around Yorktown. For a month, they had been waiting for…

Three Medieval Wars in North Africa

Andrew Knighton

The word “crusade” normally evokes images of war in the Middle East, with European crusaders fighting Muslim Arabs. But crusades took place all over Europe…

Raiders and Traders: The Vikings Conquer England

Andrew Knighton

The end of the first millennium AD saw a turning point for England. After decades of security, the independent kingdom once again came under attack…

Krak des Chevaliers – The Impenetrable Castle, Captured With A Single Sheet of Paper

Malcolm Higgins

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…

The Military Campaigns of Frederick Barbarossa

Andrew Knighton

Frederick Hohenstaufen, also known as Frederick Barbarossa, became Emperor Frederick I of the Holy Roman Empire in 1152, succeeding his uncle Conrad III. With a…

Making Magna Carta: King John’s Civil War

Andrew Knighton

The very foundation of the English constitution is based in conflict. Magna Carta, the basis of much English law, was written in a failed attempt…

True Innovations of the Civil War

You often hear about how the Civil War brought submarines, iron-clad ships, or the telegraph into play, but that’s not exactly true. While they are…