The Roman Naval War with Antiochos Part I
https://www.naval-encyclopedia.com/antique-ships The Campaign of 191 BC (Map J (i)) Livy (34.1.1) represents Antiochos, back in Ephesos, as ‘unconcerned about the Roman war’, in the belief that the Romans would not cross to Asia, but advised by Hannibal to expect them. ‘The fact was that the Romans were not less powerful at sea than on land’. He had heard that their…
Muslim Reaction to the Crusaders
No Muslim could have known, of the original seed or why it had fallen on such rich soil. It had been tossed by the Pope in 1095. Urban II was supposedly head of a super-state, Christendom, which in theory included most of Europe and also Rome’s so-called eastern empire in Constantinople, made into Rome’s successor by its founder Constantine. But…
Sigismund of Luxembourg (1368–1437)
Sigismund, aged approximately 50, in a painting traditionally attributed to Pisanello King Sigismund of Hungary during the battle of Nicopolis…
The Boxer Catastrophe for China
The greatest concentration of white settlers lived around the city of Peking, where they could interact more freely with the…
The Ikhwan: Medieval Warriors in Twentieth-Century Arabia
Once in power and with a growing list of international customers, including the United States, the Saudi leadership sought to…
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76-mm Sherman
Standard M4A2(76mm) Sherman M4A3(76mm) Sherman The US Army made a conscious decision in 1943: to ignore calls for rapid development of the heavy, 90mm-gun T26 (Pershing) to take on the Panthers and Tigers, and instead to mass produce the M4 – a medium tank that would do the job well…
WWII USN Torpedoes
“Damn those exploders…damn them all to hell!” exclaimed the skipper of submarine Jack, Lieutenant Commander Thomas Michael Dykers, on June 20, 1943, as he watched through the periscope and saw a torpedo, fired from an excellent position and at the optimal range of 1,000 yards, “premature” (explode before reaching its…
Ia Drang Valley
The 1st Cavalry Division deploys the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, at Ia Drang two miles to the northeast of Landing Zone X-Ray. There they are ambushed by Communist forces and nearly overrun until rescued by the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry. American losses are 276 men to an estimated 400 Viet…
HERBSTNEBEL – Special Forces
Above is one of the rare pictures of this operation. Von Der Heydte is on the right, his arm injury clearly visible. In the center is Von Kayser and to the left is one of the jäger involved in the operation. The stress of the operation clearly shows on Von…
Battle of Reports – Gettysburg I
In the orders, issued less than a month before the Battle of Gettysburg, Adjultant General and Inspector General CS Army Samuel Cooper required all officers to “confine their statements to the facts and events connected with the matter on which they report.” This included “sieges, campaigns or battles.” He emphasized…
Battle of Reports – Gettysburg II
Map of the third and final day during the Battle of Gettysburg. There are, however, other trails to follow. Several Confederate officers who fought at Gettysburg, who knew Pickett well, and who were likely to be familiar with his report later talked about its contents. These included E. P. Alexander,…
Fernando VI (1746–59), King of Spain
Portrait by Louis Michel Van Loo The Franco-Spanish fleet commanded by Don Juan José Navarro drove off the British fleet under Thomas Mathews near Toulon in 1744. Fernando VI (1746–59) ascended to the throne at the age of thirty-three, mature and well trained in the business of government. As the…
Carlos III’s Reign
Portrait by Anton Raphael Mengs, c. 1761 Though Fernando VI’s reign saw the end of French tutelage, the latest intellectual currents from France and elsewhere circulated among the Spanish elite and characterized Spain’s version of the Enlightenment. Spain adopted the enlightened passion for scientific investigation, governmental reform, and social justice…
Sertorian War (80-72 B. C. E.)
Sertorius was a disaffected Roman who fought successfully against Sulla and Pompey. He was a masterly tactician specialising in surprise and ambushes exploiting wooded hills and according to Plutarch introduced Roman weapons, formations and signals. The 53 cohorts of Roman exiles under the treacherous Paperna that joined him maintained a…
Waffen-SS “Wiking” Division at Korsun
Wiking Waffen SS Division breaks out Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket. Following Soviet attacks in the middle of December out of their bridgeheads south of Krementschug and at Tscherkassy, whereby the city of Tscherkassy also fell, they launched a large-scale offensive from out of the Kiev area during the last few days…