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…
Victory For The Scottish Rebels At Bannockburn – Mud, Blood, And Sabotage
Fought on 23-24 June 1314, the Battle of Bannockburn is one of the most celebrated incidents in Scottish history. Having been conquered by the English…
Laid Low By Their Illnesses – French Commanders Who Became Liabilities Because of Ill Health
Even the best of commanders are prone to poor performance when ill health strikes. Several of note have affected the French army during its history.…
A Valiant Fight To The Death – 62 Against 3000
“These are not men; they are demons!” This was Mexican Colonel Francisco De Paulo Milan’s response when presented with the only French survivors of the…
Totally Outgunned, This Revenue Cutter Took Down One Of The Largest French Privateers In The Carribean
There are few moments in Naval History which better demonstrate how tenacity and skill can outweigh size and strength than the story of the Pickering…
How the Cruiser Olympia Led the Asiatic Squadron to Victory in Manila Bay
In the evening of April 30th, 1898, a message was sent out to the Spanish Admiral Patricio Montojo, commander of the Pacific Squadron at Manila.…
5 Generals Who Went on to Lead Nations
In the modern world, it is unusual for a general to become the leader of an important nation. Political and military leadership have become two…
Seven Reasons Why Napoleon Should Have Lost in Italy
From 1792 to 1797, France fought a multi-fronted war against the First Coalition, the first of many attempts to bring the revolutionary nation to heel.…
Room Discovered Which May Have Belonged to Thomas Jefferson’s Alleged Lover, Sally Hemings
Thomas Jefferson is rumored to have had six children with one of his slaves, Sally Hemings. Recently, archaeologists studying a description of Hemings’ room determined…
“My plans are perfect” – 5 Victorian Generals Disastrously Promoted Beyond Their Abilities
“Brains! I don’t believe in brains.” – Prince George, Duke of Cambridge and Commander-in-Chief of the British army until 1895. The “Peter Principle”, where people…
12 Key Moments in the History of Artillery
In creating gunpowder weapons, European engineers took a Chinese innovation and made a deadly weapon of war. From the start, this was as much about…
10 Key Developments in the History of Cavalry
Devastating in their impact, terrifying for both their enemies and their steeds, cavalry units have been a key component of war for most of military…