Member Article: The First Samnite War 343-341 BC
by Gordon Davis
The First Samnite War is an event of great importance to the history of Italy and of Rome. Although of short duration it was the significant opening act in a wider conflict which eventually drew in all of the contemporary powers of Italy and within seventy years decided who was to be the mistress of the peninsula.
Book Review: A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn
Review by Steven Christopher Ippolito
On 13 January 1879, a United States Army Court of Inquiry convened under a three-judge
panel in Room 14, the Palmer House, in Chicago, Illinois. Purpose: To determine the
truth of Major Marcus Reno's behavior under fire on 25 June 1876, at the Little Big Horn River.
Member Article: Phoenix Raven – A Brief History
by Anthony J. Sobieski
It is a cool summer afternoon at an airport somewhere in South America. In the distance, an onlooker can see a speck on the horizon. Approaching the airport it is apparent that it is a large four-engine military aircraft. Gray against the sky, it touches down softly. Slowing easily, the jet rolls just short of the end of the runway and departs to the opposite side of the field away from the terminal. Onlookers could see big black numbers on the side of the jet and on its T-shaped tail they could make out “Charleston” stenciled in black across a field of yellow.
Member Article: USS Charger CVE-30
by Bryan J. Dickerson
She never engaged in any battles. Her aircraft never sank or even damaged any enemy ships. Except for two brief forays, she never ventured far from the confines of the Chesapeake Bay. Yet, the escort carrier
USS Charger (CVE-30) contributed significantly to the defeat of the Axis Powers. US Navy and British Royal Navy pilots that trained upon her flight deck went on to defeat the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific and wrest control of the Atlantic Ocean from the German U-Boats.
Member Article: The English Way of War in the Conquest of the British Isles: 1066 – 1745
by Chris Dewart
Establishing English rule over the islands of Britain was a long and complex process whose origin can be traced to the Battle of Degsastan in 603, and culminated in the Act of Union of 1707. The Act of Union was last challenged in battle, during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, by a Scottish army under the banner of Charles Stuart. The issue of unification was settled for final with the crushing defeat of the Scottish Jacobites at Culloden Moor in the spring of 1746.
Book Review: History of the 4th Wisconsin Infantry and Cavalry in the Civil War
Review by Mark Hudziak
In the decades following the Civil War, veterans from both sides of the conflict compiled letters, personal reminiscences
from themselves and their fellow soldiers, and other information about their wartime experiences.
In an effort to establish their place in history, these soldiers used this information to write book length histories of the
regiments they served in. Though the quality of these regimental histories varied, the better ones served
as excellent primary sources as well as interesting stories in themselves as the participants described life in the army from enlistment to muster out.
Member Article: An Analysis of the Roman Army’s Punitive
Expeditions into Dacia, 86-88 CE
by D.R. Blanchard
The Roman Army’s punitive campaigns into Dacia in 86 CE and 88 CE were part of a frightful and grueling tutorial which bore few victories at the expenditure of tens of thousands of casualties while bringing instability to the entire northern frontier and the near collapse of the Moesian frontier. Both campaigns were the culmination of a grim and lengthy learning process that had begun in the late winter of 67/68 CE when the Rhoxolani crossed the Danube and annihilated two cohorts of
auxilia.
Member Article: Sir Winston Churchill: The Man Who Gave Britain Back its Roar
by Carl J. Ciovacco
Never before has there been a leader as determined as Sir Winston Churchill. His determination and perseverance helped to steer Britain through arguably its most difficult time in history. How could a sickly, pudgy, outcast child, transform into the “Savior of the Nation” by leading Britain against the epitome of evil?
Member Article: Chinese Support for North Vietnam during the Vietnam War
by Bob Seals
So why did the powerful modern nations of France and the United States lose two wars in Vietnam
to a third rate military power like North Vietnam? This is the logical question that many
historians have asked and attempted to answer since the Second Vietnam War ended in April
1975 with the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese tanks. Some historians have stressed the
support of the Communist party and its leadership, others point to the support of the
Vietnamese people.
Book Review: Never Surrender: A Soldier's Journey to the
Crossroads of Faith and Freedom
Review by Brian Grafton
Never Surrender is a “purpose-writ” book. The principal author,
Lieutenant General William G. (Jerry) Boykin (Ret.), came to public
attention in the US in late 2003, after he was linked with what was
deemed (by the press) to be inappropriate commentary from a serving
General officer in the US Army.
Member Article: Colonel James Walker Fannin's Regiment at Goliad
by Garland Lively
The armed conflict of Texas Revolution began with the battle of
Gonzales in October 1835 and concluded with the battle of San
Jacinto on 21 April 1836. There were earlier clashes between t
he Mexicans and groups of Texas colonists beginning as early as
1826 during the Fredonian Rebellion. Additional conflicts occurred
in 1832 at the battle of Velasco, and at the Battle of Nacogdoches.
Member Article: The Battle of Poyang Lake
by Joshua Gilbert
In late August 1363 AD the two main contenders for control of China,
Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang, faced off on Poyang (also called Boyang)
Lake, the largest freshwater body of water in China.
In the end Zhu Yuanzhang would win the battle and go on to found one of
China’s greatest dynasties: the Ming.
Member Article:
The German Commerce Raiders
by Jamie Bisher
In late January 1915, the first American merchant vessel lost to hostile action was sunk by a German auxiliary cruiser in the South Atlantic.
The Indecisiveness of Battles and National Political Goals
by Lonny Grout
The Austrian military philosopher Carl Von Clausewitz stated that war was "the extension of policy by other means." If this is true, then battles were the way in which nations attempted to enforce their policies upon other nations within those wars. However, battles often do not have the results in which were intended. This will be shown in examining three separate famous battles of the 19th century.
Member Article: The Eighth New Hampshire Infantry
by Mark Hudziak
It was snowing in Manchester, New Hampshire on January 24th, 1862 as the men of
the Eighth New Hampshire Infantry boarded a southbound train and left the
Granite State. Organized in the fall of 1861, the regiment was mustered into
federal service on December 23rd with Colonel Hawkes Fearing, Jr. in command.
Fearing was a Manchester businessman who had served in a militia unit in his
native Massachusetts.
Member Article: American Stubbornness at Rimling
by Allyn Vannoy
As the US Seventh Army shifted units to cover the gap created by the departing
Third Army divisions that were being moved into the Ardennes during December
1944, the 44th and 100th Divisions, on the western flank of the Seventh Army,
were extended to cover the front lines. Each division was assigned 17 to 18
kilometers of front. The 44th (Cactus) Division, defending from Welferding to
just west of of the village of Rimling, covered ground that was mostly open,
rolling hills, although the center of its front provided shallow patches of
dense vegetation.
 Book Review: Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech That Made Abraham Lincoln President
Reviewed by Phillip Muskett
Harold Holzer has written over 22 articles and books pertaining to Abraham
Lincoln. A complete list is located on his web site www.haroldholzer.com. He
won the Lincoln Diploma of Honor from Lincoln Memorial University and in 2005 Lincoln
at Cooper Union finished second in the Lincoln Prize ballots given by
Gettysburg College. He is one of the preeminent speakers concerning Abraham
Lincoln and his speaking, schedule located on his website, is a testament to
his knowledge of the subject. Harold is an expert on Abraham Lincoln and his
study of the Cooper Union speech only adds to his honors.
Member Article: A Brief History of the Mexican-American War
by Phillip Muskett
The United States has fought many wars in its two centuries of existence. These
wars were fought for state’s rights or against fascism and communism. The
Mexican American War of 1846 was fought for land and sixteen years later this
war nearly destroyed the Union.
 Book Review: Cavalier Generals: King Charles I and his Commanders in the English Civil War 1642-46
Reviewed by Brian Grafton
The English Civil War took place more than 360 years ago. The issues which led
up to the war were many and complex, and the various factions who entered the
field for or against the King's authority did so for many reasons. With the
passage of time, the complexities have in general been lost to most amateur
historians; most of us place Cromwell, Roundheads and dour Puritans on one arm
of the scale, and Charles I and his courtiers on the other. In Cavalier
Generals: King Charles I and his Commanders in the English Civil War, John
Barratt sets out to "reflesh" the Civil War, focusing on a dozen field
commanders who fought in the name of the king. He does a remarkable job:
Cavalier Generals is, in a word, a gem.
Member Article: The Office of Strategic Services and Greece: The Missing Link of the Mediterranean Campaign
by Panagiotis Dimitrakis
Greece entered the Second World War in October 1940. Fascist Italy invaded the
Northwest frontier but the Greek Army counterattacked reaching Albania. In
April 1941 the Wehrmacht invaded from the Greek-Bulgarian borders. By late May,
Greek and Commonwealth units fought fiercely in mainland Greece and Crete but
eventually they withdrew to Egypt.
Member Article: China Marines: The Lost Leathernecks
by Eric Niderost
The United States Marine Corps had served with distinction in many parts of the
world, but those serving in China in the 1930s faced a unique set of
challenges. From 1937 to 1941, as relations between the United States and Japan
steadily deteriorated, the "China Marines" became the subject of heated debate
between the State Department, the diplomatic corps and the military. The
disagreements were in part a reflection of the deep divisions that plagued the
U.S. government and the nation at large.
Member Article: Pompey and Ancient Piracy
by Caleb Klingler
In the year 67 BCE, the Roman people were struggling to control a Cilician
pirate menace who threatened their daily lives. In a miracles turn of events
the Roman cause found their answer in Pompey, who eliminated the pirate threat
in a campaign that lasted three short months. However, what is a common
misconception were that the Cilicians were not a simple pirate group, but
realistically a fearsome enemy, an enemy that required a strong leader and a
swift campaign in order to pacify them.
Member Article: Russian counter-revolutionary Northwest Army
by Mike Kihntopf
The Russian counter-revolutionary Northwest Army had accomplished the
impossible in just seven days. In a lightning campaign that had started near
the Estonian and Russian frontier, the army had pushed aside the Seventh Red
Army covering 133 kilometers to reach Pulkovo Heights and look down into the
suburbs of the Bolshevik bastion of Petrograd. Its leaders felt sure that the
capture of that city would sound a death knell for Vladimir Lenin's radical
socialist government that was also being threatened on the approaches to Moscow
by another counter revolutionary or White army under the direction of Anton
Denikin.
Member Article: In Defense of Honor: General Douglas MacArthur and the Horse Cavalry of 1934
by Bob Seals
General Douglas MacArthur is not a figure from American military history that
one normally associates with horse cavalry. He would literally go from the
cradle, at Fort Dodge, Arkansas, to the grave, at Walter Reed Army Hospital, in
the United States Army.
Member Article: Sea Soldiers: Naval Infantry in United States Military History
by Stephen Ippolito
In the history of warfare, the deployment of naval infantry was a
regular feature of battle at sea. For students of military history, any
reference to the soldiers of the sea will likely evoke images of marine
warriors. This assumption would not be incorrect, but it would be incomplete.
Unlike the sailor, the marine was never a regular member of a ship's company,
though he generally found his duty-station aboard the decks of ships.
Member Article: The True Strategy of Blitzkrieg
by Florian Waitl
The birth of Blitzkrieg is often explained as a direct result of the horrors of
static warfare experienced during World War I. The word Blitzkrieg, meaning
lightning war, is most of the time simply described as the doctrine employed by
the German Army in World War II. But this simple description does not do
justice to the concept.
Member Article: Giuseppe Garibaldi, A Blue Shirt?
by Matt Duffy
Were it not for a bit of bad timing and a government bureaucrat overstepping
his authority, we just might be thanking an Italian rather than General Grant
for defeating the Confederacy and saving the Union. After Fort Sumter was fired
upon in April, 1861, President Lincoln was facing the greatest crisis of his
career, civil war.
Member Article: Breaking the Seelow Heights: the Zenith of Combined Arms
Warfare
by Major James T. McGhee
Nearly four years after the commencement of Operation Barbarossa, the German
Army stood on the verge of annihilation. What Adolph Hitler expected in 1941 to
be a quick victory for National Socialism over its archenemy, "Jewish
Bolshevism", had become a brutal war of attrition. By April 1945, the remnants
of the German war machine had been pushed back into the Fatherland where they
would fight a final battle for survival against the endless masses of the Red
Army.
Member Article: The Soviet Experience in Afghanistan: Lessons
Learned
by Major James T. McGhee
On 24 September 1979, lead elements of the Soviet 40th Army were ordered to
cross the border into Afghanistan. Three days later, Soviet Airborne forces had
seized the airfields in Kabul and Bagram, and the Afghan President H. Amin had
been executed. This was the beginning of a political and military disaster for
the Soviet Union that lasted for nine years with a cost of almost 15,000 troops
reported killed or missing in action.[1]
Member Article: Apocalypse Then: The Battle of the Three Kings
by Comer Plummer
Don Sebastian, the twenty-four-year-old King of Portugal, rose early on the
morning of August 4, 1578. He was restless as they dressed him under the silken
tent in new armor, over which was applied a leather tunic to guard against the
heat of the Sun. Outside, the din of the camp was building as the army too
girded for battle. On the hills facing them, the Moroccan army was also
stirring.
Member Article: Who was the American soldier during American
Revolution
by Caleb Klingler
The American Revolutionary War has been well documented by historians,
especially the narration of battles and the generals who commanded them.
However, an under researched topic is the study of the soldiers who fought the
battles. During the 1970's and 1980's social trends focused on explaining the
makeup of these individual soldiers, and how the American Revolution affected
them.
Member Article: The Rise of the Staff in the Western Way of War
by Nathan Wells
Controversy abounds on the topic of whether or not a so-called 'Western Way of
War" exists. There is much to be said for both sides of the debate, but it does
appear that the West has given more than it has got in military operations over
the last few centuries. Everything from an innate cultural propensity to
violence to technological superiority has been used as an explanation for its
existence.
Member Article: Searching for the Real American Way of War
by Bruce Brager
"The American Way of War," the almost clichéd term from military and defense
analysis, is not likely to go away. One solution to this seemingly lack of
imagination in the use of the English language is to find another term, to
undertake a modicum of stylistic effort for the sake of readers. This essay
looks for another solution. It seeks to redefine the American Way of War, to
come up with its own new term, the Real American Way of War, to find a new way
of looking at the American military experience.
Member Article: The Battle of Tannenberg, 1914
by Birrion Sondahl
The Battle of Tannenberg was the first major battle in World War I on the
eastern front. It pitted the forces of Russia against those of Germany. The
major battle was preceded by a much more minor affair at Gumbinnen which had a
great influence upon the course of the campaign. The Gumbinnen encounter led
into the actual Battle of Tannenberg where the German Eighth Army encircled the
Russian Second Army.
Member Article: The Rape of Nanking: Reasons and Recrimination
by Walter Zapotoczny
The Japanese generals who took time out to toast the early success of their
China campaign in 1937 drew their jubilation not only from the quick rout of
the numerically superior enemy, but from deep cultural roots. By the very act
of fighting they were fulfilling the ancient role of the samurai – the medieval
warrior whose fate was conquest or death.[1] The Japanese warriors in China
found plenty of both.
Member Article: The Kitona Operation: Rwanda's African Odyssey
by Comer Plummer
While the African Continent has seen no shortage of war in our time, few of
these conflicts produced campaigns or battles worthy of study. One exception
emerged from the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire,
which lasted from 1998 to 2001. This conflict, which has been called Africa's
World War, came to directly involve nine African countries. This war was
remarkable in many respects, not the least of which was its opening phase that
featured a long range aerial insertion of ground troops behind enemy lines,
with the aim of achieving a quick knockout victory.
Member Article: Solferino: Slaughter and Rebirth
by Eric Niderost
In June 1859 long columns of blue-clad French troops marched east though the
sun-baked plains of Northern Italy. Normally Lombardy was blessed by the most
fertile soil in the peninsula, nourished by the mighty Po River and its many
tributaries, but this summer was unseasonably hot, scorching man and beast
alike and desiccating the normally bountiful fields.
Member Article: Winter of Discontent: The Siege of Osaka Castle
by Eric Niderost
In 1611 Tokugawa Ieyasu had every reason to be pleased with himself. His son
Hidetada was Shogun, supreme warlord of Japan, but in truth it was Ieyasu who
ruled the country behind the scenes. Tokugawa Ieyasu was the last in a series
of powerful figures who had finally ended decades of internecine strife still
know as the Sengoku Jidai, or "Age of the Country at War." [1]
Member Article: Confederate Railroad and the Prolonging of the
Inevitable
by Phillip Muskett
The American Civil War was the first war to include the use of railroads to
move troops to a threatened point effectively. The Confederates used railroads
frequently throughout the war, taking advantage of their interior lines, to
move troops quickly from point to point; specifically the Battle of Chickamauga
was decided by the railroads. The Confederacy defeated several Union armies in
this fashion throughout the war.
Member Article: Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862: Maneuver
Warfare at its Finest
by Richard Podruchny
The purpose of this article is to present to the audience an outstanding
example of the implementation of maneuver warfare. In order to do so, this
campaign will be analyzed using the elements derived from Robert Leonhard's
work, "The Art of Maneuver." This analysis will focus on how well Lt. Gen.
Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson utilized the elements of time, identifying the
enemy's center of gravity, space, and the forces used in his hugely successful
campaign.[1]
Member Article: Fredericksburg Campaign of 1862: Maneuver Warfare
at its Worst
by Richard Podruchny
The aim of this article is to present to the reader an example of an
unsuccessful maneuver campaign. For this example, we will scrutinize the
Fredericksburg Campaign of 1862. The audience will see this campaign from the
Union perspective where concentration will be placed on how Maj. Gen. Ambrose
Burnside developed his campaign strategy, how he executed the campaign as well
as the maneuvers that followed the Battle of Fredericksburg which resulted in
the "Mud March."
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