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MEDIEVAL MILITARY HISTORY: c.500-c.1500

Islamic military philosophy drew inspiration from numerous sources, first and foremost the Quran and the Hadith associated with the life and times of Muhammad (c.570-632 CE), but also on Arabic, Persian, North African and Central Asian martial practices as Islam spread across the Near East during the first centuries of conquest. Over time, numerous military manuals emerged, with a special emphasis on writing down best practices occurring during the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258 CE), an Islamic Golden Age when interest in scholarship was at its height. (Click image for the complete article)

18TH AND 19TH CENTURY WAR AND CONFLICT

The controversy surrounding Andrew Jackson's 1818 invasion of Florida has long intrigued historians, with debates centering on whether President James Monroe authorized the action or if Jackson acted independently. The discovery of a letter from Jackson to his wife in 2008 confirmed the existence of a communication from Congressman John Rhea, suggesting Monroe’s tacit approval. However, historian Daniel Feller argues the real issue lies in Monroe’s failure to correct Jackson’s belief that he had the authority to act. Jackson’s actions, which included capturing nearly all of Florida and executing two British nationals, exceeded expectations and placed Monroe in a difficult position, though public opinion was divided.  (Click image for the complete article)

OPEN FORUM

The Tanks of Market Garden

The failure of the Allied operation at Market Garden is often discussed. Many reasons are bandied about. The video below looks at some of the events and discusses if the operation could have ever succeeded to begin with. Interesting 22 minute video…

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Started by Randy Gann
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BATTLE FOR THE SEAS

The Naval Battle of Leyte Gulf was the largest naval battle in World War II and one of the largest in history and a decisive victory for the Allies, and it had far-reaching implications for the course of the War in the Pacific. The battle demonstrated the superiority of Allied naval power and marked the end of Japan's naval dominance. It took place in the waters near the island of Leyte in the Philippines from 23 to 26 October 1944. (Click on image for complete article.)

THE HOME FRONT

The Great Depression was a catastrophic economic event that had its origins in the United States in the aftermath of World War I but soon spread to the rest of the world. The roaring twenties, as they came to be known, brought prosperity and considerable wealth to the Americans. However, the good times were not to last, and a series of economic crises led to one of the most severe economic downturns in human history and ultimately to another World War. (Click image for complete article)

WORLD WAR II IN NORTH AFRICA

The Axis forces had been continuously advancing since the start of the North African campaign in February 1941. The capture of Tobruk by the German-Italian forces in June 1942 resulted in the Axis armies being at the doorstep of the strategically important Suez Canal. However, this advancement stalled in July 1942 at the first Battle of El-Alamein where the British forces successfully blocked the Axis forces. (Click image for complete article)

VIETNAM WAR: 1955-1975

Known in recent years before his death in 2018 as a 'maverick' politician, the late Arizona senator was a U.S. Navy pilot whose five-and-a-half year struggle as a POW in North Vietnam became legendary. John Sidney McCain III was born on 29 August 1936, in the Panama Canal Zone. Growing up in a military family, he was exposed to the navy life at an early age.  (Click image for complete article)

MEDIEVAL MILITARY HISTORY: c.500-c.1500

During Europe’s Age of Crusades in the Latin East (1099-1291 CE) urban fortifications, existing castle improvements and new castle construction became essential elements to the new Catholic occupiers’ strategy to first secure and then expand their foothold in the Levant during the First (1096-1099) and Second Crusades (1147-1149), and hold on to imperiled possessions after the successful Muslim counter crusade by Salah al-Din ibn Ayyub (Saladin in the West, r.1174-1193), and the contraction of Latin holdings from the Third Crusade (1189-1192) forward until the end of the crusading era in the Levant, usually dated with the fall of the Crusader stronghold at Acre in 1291. (Click image for the complete article.)

MEDIEVAL MILITARY HISTORY

The Crusades were a series of religiously motivated military expeditions that took place between 1095 and 1291. The primary goal of the Crusaders was to reclaim the Holy Land from the Muslim infidels who had taken control of Jerusalem. These expeditions marked one of the most significant moments of the medieval era, and their impact on Western civilization remains evident to this day.  (Click image for complete article)

WORLD WAR I: 1914-1918

The Russian Civil War of 1917 marked the beginning of a new era in Russian history. The overthrow of the social-democratic Provisional Government in the October Revolution led to a multi-party conflict, with different factions fighting for control over Russia's political future. The conflict gave rise to the formation of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, which later transformed into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, spanning most of its territory. (Click image for complete article)

PRELUDE TO WORLD WAR II

On the evening of November 8, 1923, the cavernous interior of the Bürgerbräukeller, a large beer hall in Munich, was filled with approximately 3,000 people. They had gathered to hear an address by the powerful triumvirate governing Bavaria: State Commissioner Gustav Ritter von Kahr, General Otto von Lossow, and Colonel Hans Ritter von Seisser. As Kahr spoke, the proceedings were violently interrupted. Adolf Hitler, leader of the nascent Nazi Party, flanked by armed stormtroopers, fired a pistol into the ceiling and declared that the national revolution had begun. This audacious, yet ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to seize power, known as the Beer Hall Putsch, would serve as a critical turning point for Hitler and the Nazi movement, transforming a tactical failure into a profound strategic victory. (Click image for the complete article)

WORLD WAR II: D-DAY AND THE WAR IN WESTERN EUROPE

In the autumn of 1944, with Paris liberated and Allied forces advancing across France and Belgium, a sense of optimism permeated the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). The rapid pursuit of a seemingly defeated German army, however, created a severe logistical crisis. Supply lines, stretching precariously from the beaches of Normandy, could not sustain the momentum. The solution lay in the Belgian port of Antwerp, one of Europe's largest deep-water ports, captured intact by the British 11th Armoured Division on 4 September 1944. Yet, possessing the port was not enough; it was unusable as long as German forces controlled the Scheldt Estuary, the 50-mile waterway connecting Antwerp to the North Sea. (Click image for the complete article)

WORLD WAR I

The Armistice of 11 November 1918 marked a historic moment in world history, as it brought an end to the First World War, or World War I, that had ravaged large parts of Europe and beyond. The signing of the armistice was a significant moment for the Entente, which had been engaged in a bitter struggle against the Central Powers, led by Germany. The truce was signed at Le Francport near Compiègne, following negotiations initiated by the German government with the American President Woodrow Wilson. The basis for the ceasefire was the earlier declared "Fourteen Points" by President Wilson, which later formed the basis of the German surrender at the Paris Peace Conference the following year. (Click the image to read the complete article)

VIETNAM WAR ERA: 1955-1975

The Battle of Ia Drang during the Vietnam War is a significant military engagement that is notable for being the first major battle between the United States Army and the People's Army of Vietnam. The battle was part of the Pleiku Campaign conducted early in the Vietnam War at the eastern foot of the Chu Pong Massif in the central highlands of Vietnam in 1965. The battle is significant because it set the blueprint for the Vietnam War, with the U.S. forces relying on air mobility, artillery fire, and close air support, while the PAVN neutralized that firepower by quickly engaging American forces at very close range. (Click image for the complete article)

WAR IN THE PACIFIC

The Battle of Tarawa, fought on 20-23 November 1943, was another turning point in the Allied campaign against Japan during World War II. Tarawa, an atoll in the Gilbert Islands, was the most fortified island that the Americans attempted to invade during the Pacific Campaign. The Japanese garrison at Betio, the main island of Tarawa, was heavily fortified with concrete bunkers, seawalls, trenches, and an airstrip, supported by a variety of artillery including heavy and light machine guns and light tanks. (Click image for the complete article)

WORLD WAR II: WAR IN THE PACIFIC

In the vast theater of the Pacific War, the island-hopping campaign executed by the United States was a methodical and often brutal strategy to advance toward the Japanese mainland. Each island, no matter how small, represented a critical objective, a potential airbase, or a fortified bastion to be overcome. Among these was Makin Atoll, part of the Gilbert Islands, which became the focus of two separate American operations. The first, a commando raid in 1942, served as a prelude to the second, a full-scale invasion in November 1943. While often overshadowed by the simultaneous and far bloodier battle on nearby Tarawa, the Battle of Makin was a significant engagement that offered hard-won lessons for the U.S. military. (Click image for the complete article)

KOREAN WAR: 1950-1953

The Battle of Chosin Reservoir took place in the harsh and freezing winter of 1950, when the People’s Volunteer Army (PVA) of China entered the war to counter the presence of United Nations Command (UNC) troops in North Korea. The Chinese force, numbering around 120,000, launched a surprise attack on the US X Corps, an element of the larger UNC contingent, that was stationed near the Chosin Reservoir. The battle had become one of the toughest and most infamous battles for the U.S. Marine Corps since World War II. Fought over brutal mountain terrain and extreme cold weather in North Korea, temperatures had reached -36 degrees Fahrenheit causing frostbite casualties. (Click image for the complete article)

WORLD WAR II

29 November 1941, at Sea in the Pacific Aboard the USS Arizona
The nationally-ranked Navy Midshipmen football team was down 6-0 at halftime to the United States Military Academy at West Point. The 1941 inter-service rivalry was being played in front of 98,924 fans at Municipal Stadium on a sunny Saturday in Philadelphia. Lieutenant Commander Samuel Fuqua, Damage Control Officer for the USS Arizona, a ’23 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, listened intently to the football game in the Wardroom Officer’s Stateroom along with his friend Major Alan Shapley, USMC. (Click image for the complete article)

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

The winter of 1864 marked a pivotal moment in the American Civil War. As General William T. Sherman carved his destructive path through Georgia toward the sea, another drama unfolded in Tennessee that would effectively end Confederate hopes in the Western Theater. The Franklin–Nashville Campaign, led by Confederate General John Bell Hood, represents one of the war's most tragic and consequential military disasters—a desperate gamble that would shatter the Army of Tennessee and seal the Confederacy's fate. (Click image for the complete article)

WORLD WAR II: WAR IN THE PACIFIC

In the immediate aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, as Japanese forces launched a sweeping offensive across the Pacific, a small, isolated American outpost became the scene of a dramatic and determined defense. The Battle of Wake Island, fought from 8 December to 23 December 1941, pitted a vastly outnumbered contingent of U.S. Marines, sailors, and civilian contractors against a formidable Japanese invasion force. While the battle ultimately ended in an American surrender, the tenacity of Wake's defenders captured the imagination of the American public and became a powerful symbol of resolve in the early, dark days of the war. (Click image for the complete article)

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR: 1861-1865

The Battle of Fredericksburg was one of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War, fought from 11 December to 15 December 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Union army, led by General Ambrose Burnside, suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's forces. The battle was fought in the Eastern Theater of the Civil War, and the two armies represented the largest number of armed men that had ever confronted each other. The battle was fought between the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Major General Ambrose Burnside, and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee.(Click image for the complete article)

WORLD WAR II: CHINA-BURMA-INDIA THEATER

The Rape of Nanking in 1937 is often described as one of the most appalling events in human history. The mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing, orchestrated by the Imperial Japanese Army, saw an unprecedented level of brutality and inhumanity that shook the world. The atrocities, which included mass rape, looting, and arson, began on 13 December 1937, and lasted for six weeks, leaving a death toll ranging from 40,000 to over 300,000, with rape cases ranging from 20,000 to over 80,000 cases. (Click image for the complete article)

WORLD WAR II: WAR IN WESTERN EUROPE

The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was a crucial moment in World War II’s Western Front. Occurring from December 1944 to January 1945, it was Hitler’s last-ditch attempt to turn the tide of the war around. The Allied forces had already achieved significant victories on the Western Front, and the Germans were on the retreat. The Allied forces' resilience during the battle, despite the losses incurred, signified important psychological victories. The German forces never regained their footing after the campaign, and it signaled the beginning of the end of the Second World War in Europe. (Click image for the complete article)

WORLD WAR I

The Christmas Truce of 1914, an event that took place during World War I, is one of the most poignant and memorable moments of the war. In the midst of the fighting, soldiers on both sides of the Western Front, exhausted and cold from months of conflict, paused for a moment of peace and goodwill. Despite the efforts of the military authorities to prevent such a truce, the men on the front lines, driven by a shared humanity, broke ranks and came together in a unique display of fraternity. (Click image for the complete article)

WORLD WAR II: WAR IN THE PACIFIC

On the second day after D-day, the action report of 27 December read "'Rains continued for the next five days. Water backed up in the swamps in rear of the shoreline, making them impassable for wheeled and tracked vehicles. The many streams which emptied into the sea in the beachhead area became raging torrents. Some even changed course. Troops were soaked to the skin and their clothes never dried out during the entire operation.' These are comments from the action report." Such was the setting for the Battle of Cape Gloucester between the Japanese and Allied forces on the island of New Britain, Territory of New Guinea, from 26 December 1943 to 16 January 1944. For the U.S. Marines who fought and suffered at Cape Gloucester, the men "remember the place more for the jungle than for the Japanese." (Click image for the complete article)

WORLD WAR II: WAR IN THE PACIFIC

In the early months of 1942, the Empire of Japan executed a swift and successful invasion, conquering the entirety of the Philippines and dealing a significant blow to Allied morale in the Pacific. For over two years, the archipelago remained under Japanese occupation. The strategic tide began to shift dramatically on October 20, 1944, when Allied forces, under the command of General Douglas MacArthur, launched a daring amphibious assault on the island of Leyte. This operation marked the beginning of a concerted campaign to liberate the Philippines, involving immense strategic planning and the coordination of multinational troops, ships, and aircraft. The resulting Allied victory at Leyte set the stage for the next, and arguably most crucial, phase of the campaign: the battle for Luzon (Click image for the complete article)

THE VIETNAM WAR

In the rugged, mist-shrouded highlands of South Vietnam's Quảng Trị Province, just a few miles from the Laotian border and the demilitarized zone (DMZ), lies a plateau known as Khe Sanh. In 1968, this remote outpost became the epicenter of one of the longest, deadliest, and most controversial battles of the Vietnam War. The 77-day siege of the Khe Sanh Combat Base pitted elite U.S. Marine and Army units against a numerically superior force of the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), creating a brutal crucible of attrition, airpower, and infantry resolve. The battle would become a symbol of the American war effort, highlighting both the immense destructive power of its military and the perplexing strategic questions that defined the conflict. (Click image for the complete article)

WORLD WAR II: THE HOLOCAUST

On 27 January 1945, the Soviet army entered Auschwitz concentration camp and liberated around 7,000 prisoners still alive in the Main Camp, Birkenau, and Monowitz. For years, this complex had served as a killing center for Nazi Germany, where over 1.1 million people had been murdered, mostly Jews. The prisoners who were mostly ill and dying greeted them as true liberators. This historic moment marked the end of the deadliest phase of the Holocaust, which saw millions of Jews and others brutally killed by Nazi Germany between 1940 and 1945 (Click image for the complete article)

THE VIETNAM WAR

The Battle of Hue, also known as the Siege of Hue, was one of the most significant and bloody events of the Vietnam War. The intense fighting between the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces, and U.S. Marines and Army soldiers and ARVN (South Vietnamese troops) lasted from 31 January to 2 March 1968, resulting in the death of thousands of soldiers and civilians. This battle challenged the confidence of the American public, who increasingly questioned the U.S. military involvement in the conflict. The battle for the city of Hue was a significant moment in the larger military operations that were being conducted across Vietnam. The city was a vital transportation hub on the vital coastal Highway 1, which was essential to the supply routes used by both the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and the United States military. Subsequently, controlling Hue was a high priority for the North Vietnamese. Strategically, control over the city would have been a significant blow to the Allied efforts in the region.(Click image for the complete article)

UPCOMING EVENTS

LEYDEKKERS PHOTOGRAPHY

American Cemetery Normandy · Auschwitz Birkenau · The Bedford Boys · Belgium · Berchtesgaden and The Eagle's Nest · Buchenwald · Dieppe, France · Equipment · Finland · Germany · The Great War · Holland · The Holocaust · Hong Kong · Italy · Juno Beach · La Cambe German War Cemetery · Landsberg Prison · Militracks 2023 · Monte Cassino, Italy · Museums · Netherlands · Normandy 2023 · Normandy 2024 · Normandy 2025 · Normandy, France · Omaha Beach · Operation Market Garden · Overlord Museum · Pointe du Hoc · Resistance Museum (Verzetsmuseum Amsterdam) · The Somme · Spottinger Cemetery · Treblinka · Vimy Ridge · War Museum Medemblik · Waterloo · World War II Veterans

ARTICLES & SEMINARS

THE EDGE OF HISTORY
Ancient, Classical and Medieval Military History: Popular History

PROF. BRIAN TODD CAREY'S SEMINARS 
Ancient Military History: c.3100-c.1000 BCE
Classical Military History: c.1000 BCE-500 CE
Medieval Military History: c.500-c.1500

EARLY MODERN PERIOD
Early Modern and Napoleonic Wars

18TH & 19TH CENTURY WAR
Mexican-American War
American Revolutionary War
War of 1812

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR
War Between the States: 1861-1865

WORLD WAR I 
World War I: 1914-1918
The Gathering Storm: 1919-1939

WORLD WAR II
North Africa and Italy
Battle for the Seas
China-Burma-India Theatre
D-Day and the European Theatre
Eastern Front
Holocaust, Shoah
Pacific Theatre

KOREA
Korean War: 1950-1953

VIETNAM, LAOS & CAMBODIA 
Vietnam War Era: 1955-1975

MODERN WAR & CONFLICT
Modern War and Conflict: 1976-Present

SEE ALSO
Aerial and Naval Warfare
Book Forum and Reviews
The Home Front
War in Film and Propaganda

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The Tanks of Market Garden
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Light Horse Harry: A Biography of Washington's great cavalryman, General Henry Lee by Noel Garson
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Oct 11, 2025 from 7:00pm to 8:00pm

The National Museum of Transportation, St. Louis, Missouri

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BOOK REVIEWS

Light Horse Harry: A Biography of Washington's great cavalryman, General Henry Lee

by Noel Garson, author

Posted by Jim Gallen on October 5, 2025 at 12:09am

I started “Light Horse Harry” in hopes of learning about a Revolutionary figure of whom I had only a superficial familiarity.  I knew he was the failed father of Robert E. Lee to whom left little other than an historic name.  I found a much more significant figure. Read the full review · All Book Reviews

BOOKSHELF: NEW FALL TITLES

War Without Mercy: Liberty or Death in the American Revolution

by Mark Edward Lender (Author), James Kirby Martin (Author)

Publisher: Osprey Publishing. Publication date: October 7, 2025. Hardcover, 288 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1472872678

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From the publisher: "A number of historians have previously concluded that United States' founding struggle reached a level of ferocity few Americans now associate with the movement for independence. However, these studies have described what happened, without looking in detail at why the conflict took such a violent a turn. Written by two esteemed Revolutionary War historians, War Without Mercy does exactly that."

Three Roads to Gettysburg: Meade, Lee, Lincoln, and the Battle That Changed the War, the Speech That Changed the Nation

by Tim McGrath (Author)

Publisher: Dutton Caliber. Publication date: November 18, 2025. Hardcover, 528 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0593184394

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From the publisher: "These men came from different parts of the country and very different upbringings: Robert E. Lee, son of the aristocratic and slaveholding South; George Gordon Meade, raised in the industrious, straitlaced North; and Abraham Lincoln, from the rowdy, untamed West. Lincoln’s election to the presidency in 1860 split the country in two and triggered the Civil War"

A Short History of Ancient Rome

by Pascal Hughes (Author)

Publisher: Hanover Square Press. Publication date: November 11, 2025. Hardcover, 352 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1335001320

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From the publisher: "Combining impeccable research with riveting and action-packed storytelling, we follow the inception, expansion and ultimate fall of the Roman Empire, inviting readers to walk Rome’s bustling streets, witness the fearsome exploits of its all-conquering army, and step into the opulent corridors of its palaces and pioneering building projects."

After the Fire: Richmond in Defeat (A Nation Divided: Studies in the Civil War Era)

by Nelson D. Lankford (Author)

Publisher: University of Virginia Press. Publication date: September 9, 2025. Hardcover, 368 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0813953366

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From the publisher: "In April 1865, the Civil War, which had consumed the lives of the residents of Richmond, Virginia, for four years, ended in a vast conflagration that nearly destroyed their city. As Confederate troops fled and Union forces streamed in, the world they had known literally went up in flames. None could predict what would replace it when the smoke cleared."

Framing the First World War: How Divergent Views Shaped a Global Conflict

by Michael P.M. Fox (Editor), Aimée Fox (Editor), David G. Morgan-Owen (Editor)

Publisher: University Press of Kansas. Publication date: November 18, 2025. Hardcover, 328 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0700640560

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From the publisher: "This innovative approach to the history of World War I looks at ways in which military actors saw and perceived war, and how that exerted a significant influence over the decisions they made and the actions they took. The character of the conflict that erupted in 1914 defied the expectations of many political leaders and military analysts."

McNamara at War: A New History

by William Taubman (Author), Philip Taubman (Author)

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company. Publication date: September 23, 2025. Hardcover, 512 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1324007166

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From the publisher: "Robert S. McNamara was widely considered to be one of the most brilliant men of his generation. He was an invaluable ally of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson as U.S. secretary of defense, and he had a deeply moving relationship with Jackie Kennedy. But to the country, McNamara was the leading advocate for American escalation in Vietnam."

Till We Meet Again: A Canadian in the First World War

by Brandon Marriott (Author)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster. Publication date: September 30, 2025. Hardcover, 320 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1668208236

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From the publisher: "Not since Timothy Findley’s The Wars, Tim Cook’s magisterial works about the First World War, or Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front has a book about a soldier’s life at the sharp end been told with such humour, gravitas, and in a heart-pounding narrative that drops you behind enemy lines. For at one point, Lester was trapped in a shell hole, a heartbeat away from the Germans setting up their machine gun to mow down his comrades."

Pearl Harbor: Japan's Greatest Disaster

by Mark Stille (Author)

Publisher: Osprey Publishing. Publication date: November 4, 2025. Hardcover, 448 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1472865311

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From the publisher: "In this the first comprehensive treatment of Pearl Harbor since the early 1990s. respected Pacific War naval historian Mark E. Stille traces the road to war and the Japanese attack itself. He examines the role of the man behind the operation, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the plan."

Nation in Arms: Five Armies That Made Europe

by Tyler Alexander (Author)

Publisher: Osprey Publishing. Publication date: September 30, 2025. Hardcover, 352 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1472872982

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From the publisher: "History gives us several examples of states who have reconstructed their armies successfully, both on the field of battle but also in terms of how they relate to the state which it is their duty to protect. This book is about five armies who have adapted successfully: the 4th-century Roman army of Constantine the Great; the 15th-century Ottoman army of Sultan Mehmet II; Cromwell's New Model Army of the English Civil War; the Prussian Army of the Napoleonic Wars; and the US Army of the Second World War."

38 Londres Street: On Impunity, Pinochet in England, and a Nazi in Patagonia

by Philippe Sands (Author)

Publisher: Knopf. Publication date: October 7, 2025. Hardcover, 480 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0593319758

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From the publisher: "In this intimate legal and historical detective story, the world-renowned lawyer and acclaimed author of East West Street traces the footsteps of two of the twentieth century’s most merciless criminals—accused of genocide and crimes against humanity—testing the limits of immunity and impunity after Nuremberg."

The Devil’s Own Purgatory: The United States Mississippi River Squadron in the Civil War

by Peter Fritzsche (Author)

Publisher: LSU Press. Publication date: November 11, 2025. Hardcover, 312 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0807184912

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From the publisher: "The Devil’s Own Purgatory is the first complete history of the Union navy’s Mississippi Squadron, a fleet that prowled the Mississippi River and its tributaries during the American Civil War. The squadron battered Confederate forts, participated in combined operations with the army, obliterated the Confederate fleet, protected Union supply lines, fought a river-based counterinsurgency war, raided plantations, and facilitated the freedom of thousands of enslaved people."

Opening Manassas: The Iron Brigade, Stonewall Jackson, and the Battle on Brawner’s Farm, August 28, 1862

by Peter Fritzsche (Author)

Publisher: Savas Beatie. Publication date: October 17, 2025. Hardcover, 288 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1611217612

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From the publisher: "In the fading light of August 28, 1862, an untested Union brigade of Wisconsin and Indiana men fought an unexpected 90-minute stand-up clash with the Confederate veterans of Stonewall Jackson on the Virginia farm fields of John Brawner. The Rebels recalled a Wisconsin man that day “yelling like demons [in] a roaring hell of fire.” None of them knew the immediate prelude to the far bloodier battle of Second Manassas (Bull Run) had begun."

1942: When World War II Engulfed the Globe

by Peter Fritzsche (Author)

Publisher: Basic Books. Publication date: September 23, 2025. Hardcover, 576 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1541603219

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From the publisher: "n 1942, historian Peter Fritzsche offers a gripping, ground-level portrait of the decisive year when World War II escalated to global catastrophe. With the United States joining the fight following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, all the world’s great powers were at war. The debris of ships sunk by Nazi submarines littered US beaches, Germans marauded in North Africa, and the Japanese swept through the Pacific."

Republic and Empire: Crisis, Revolution, and America’s Early Independence

by Trevor Burnard (Author), Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy (Author)

Publisher: Yale University Press. Publication date: September 16, 2025. Hardcover, 320 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0300280180

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From the publisher: "At the time of the American Revolution (1765–83), the British Empire had colonies in India, Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific, Canada, Ireland, and Gibraltar. The thirteen rebellious American colonies accounted for half of the total number of provinces in the British world in 1776. What of the loyal half? Why did some of Britain’s subjects feel so aggrieved that they wanted to establish a new system of government, while others did not rebel?"

The Romans: A 2,000-Year History

by Edward J. Watts (Author)

Publisher: Basic Books. Publication date: October 7, 2025. Hardcover, 736 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1541619814

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From the publisher: "Prize-winning historian Edward J. Watts recounts the full sweep of Rome’s epic past: the Punic Wars, the fall of the republic, the coming of Christianity, Alaric’s sack of Rome, the rise of Islam, the Battle of Manzikert, and the onslaught of the Crusaders who would bring about the empire’s end."

Into the Reich: The Red Army’s advance to the Oder in 1945

by Prit Buttar (Author)

Publisher: Gallery Books. Publication date: September 8, 2025. Hardcover, 448 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1472866998

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From the publisher: "In January 1945, the Red Army launched a powerful offensive across the Vistula River to drive the Wehrmacht out of Poland, with the intention of securing a start line for an operation that would ultimately result in the capture of Berlin and the end of the war. But, as Prit Buttar expertly reveals, there were other issues at play."

Midnight Flyboys: The American Bomber Crews and Allied Secret Agents Who Aided the French Resistance in World War II

by Bruce Henderson (Author)

Publisher: Gallery Books. Publication date: November 11, 2025. Hardcover, 336 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1668051412

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From the publisher: "In 1943, the OSS—precursor to the CIA—came up with a plan to increase its support to the French resistance forces that were fighting the Nazis. To start, the OSS recruited some of the best American bomber pilots and crews to a secret airfield twenty miles west of London and briefed them on the intended mission. Given a choice to stay or leave, every airman volunteered for what became known as Operation Carpetbagger."

The History of the Peloponnesian War

by Thucydides (Author), Professor Polly Low Robin Waterfield (Translator)

Publisher: Basic Books. Publication date: September 30, 2025. Hardcover, 752 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1541603387

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From the publisher: "Robin Waterfield’s translation of Thucydides’s sweeping narrative vividly depicts the events of the war between Athens and Sparta that began in 431 BCE and would continue until 404, a conflict that embroiled not only mainland Greece but Greek states from the eastern Mediterranean and as far west as Italy and Sicily. The only extant contemporary narrative of this conflict, Thucydides’s History brims with military, moral, and political reflections, offering critical commentary on challenges that still dominate our world today, from the strife of civil war to the devastation of widespread plague to the nature of political power."

Facing Washington's Crossing: The Hessians and the Battle of Trenton

by Steven Bier (Author)

Publisher: Westholme Publishing. Publication date: September 30, 2025. Hardcover, 296 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1594164439

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From the publisher: "In Emanuel Leutze’s iconic painting of Washington’s Crossing, the American commander gazes confidently through the dawn, envisioning Hessian soldiers asleep that December 25, 1776, in the snow-covered village of Trenton. These Hessians, soldiers from the Germanic principality of Hesse-Kassel hired to the British army by their Landgrave, Frederick II, were in winter quarters, having fought the American rebels from Long Island, through New York City, across New Jersey, to the banks of the Delaware River."

The American Revolution: An Intimate History

by Geoffrey C. Ward (Author), Ken Burns (Author)

Publisher: Knopf. Publication date: November 11, 2025. Hardcover, 608 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0525658672

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From the publisher: "Enriched by guest essays from lauded historians such as Vincent Brown, Maya Jasanoff, Jane Kamensky, and Alan Taylor, and by an astonishing array of prints, drawings, paintings, texts, and pamphlets from the time period, as well as newly commissioned art and maps—and woven together with the words of Thomas Paine— The American Revolution reveals a nation still grappling with the questions that fueled its remarkable founding."

The Memoirs of General William Tecumseh Sherman: The Complete Annotated Edition

by William T. Sherman (Author), Louie P. Gallo David S. Nolen John F. Marszalek (Editor)

Publisher: Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press. Publication date: September 23, 2025. Hardcover, 1152 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0674988354

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From the publisher: "William Tecumseh Sherman’s memoirs were a sensation when first published in 1875, as Americans grappled with the aftermath of the Civil War and its emerging place in collective memory. Today, Sherman’s account remains arguably the most significant work of Civil War military history after that of his friend and commanding general Ulysses S. Grant."

The Maginot Line: A New History

by Kevin Passmore (Author)

Publisher: Yale University Press. Publication date: October 14, 2025. Hardcover, 512 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0300277043

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From the publisher: "The Maginot Line was a marvel of 1930s engineering. The huge forts, up to eighty meters underground, contained hospitals, modern kitchens, telephone exchanges, and even electric trains. Kilometres of underground galleries led to casements hidden in the terrain, and turrets that rose from the ground to fire upon the enemy. The fortifications were invulnerable to the heaviest artillery and to chemical warfare."

Sword Beach: D-Day Baptism by Fire

by Max Hastings (Author)

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company. Publication date: November 11, 2025. Hardcover, 352 pages. ISBN-13: 978-1324117575

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From the publisher: "Between 1941 and 1944, the British army contributed relatively little to World War II. On the unremittingly bloody Eastern Front, no Russian or German soldier had experienced the luxury of having four years to prepare and train for a resumption of the European continental campaign. But on D-Day―June 6, 1944―the lives of British soldiers changed. Thiry-five thousand infantrymen, airmen, and special service operatives were sent headfirst into the whitest heat of war, almost overnight."

The Road to Cisterna: Darby’s Rangers and Their Most Consequential Battle in World War II

by David Lyle Williams (Author)

Publisher: LSU Press. Publication date: September 26, 2025. Hardcover, 400 pages. ISBN13: 978-0807185032

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From the publisher: "The Road to Cisterna is the story of Darby’s Rangers, an elite American army unit in World War II, selected for toughness and specially trained in beach landings and lightning raids deep behind enemy lines. Commanded by Colonel William Orlando Darby, the 1st Ranger Battalion spearheaded landings in North Africa and helped defeat German general Erwin Rommel―the Desert Fox―in Tunisia. Its success inspired the creation of two more battalions led by Darby in the invasions of Sicily and the Italian mainland."

The Wounded Generation: Coming Home After World War II

by David Nasaw (Author)

Publisher: Penguin Press. Publication date: October 14, 2025. Hardcover, 496 pages. ISBN-10 0593298691

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From the publisher: "In its duration, geographical reach, and ferocity, World War II was unprecedented, and the effects on those who fought it and their loved ones at home, immeasurable. The heroism of the men and women who won the war may be well documented, but we know too little about the pain and hardships the veterans endured upon their return home."

Running Deep: Bravery, Survival, and the True Story of the Deadliest Submarine in World War II

by Tom Clavin (Author)

Publisher: St. Martin's Press. Publication date: October 21, 2025. Hardcover, 352 pages. ISBN-10 1250374472

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From the publisher: "There was one submarine that outfought all other boats in the Silent Service in World War II: the USS Tang. Captain Richard Hetherington O’Kane commanded the attack submarine that sunk more tonnage, rescued more downed aviators, and successfully completed more surface attacks than any other American submarine."

The Coming of the Saxons: Adventus Saxonum

by Tony Sullivan (Author)

Publisher: Pen and Sword History. Publication date: October 30, 2025. Hardcover, 224 pages. ISBN-10 1036103099

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From the publisher: "Around the mid-fifth century three Saxon keels cut through the waves towards the southern coast of Britain. They were not the first Germanic warriors or migrants to arrive since direct Roman authority had ended in the early fifth century and would not be the last."

The Atlanta Campaign: Volume 2: From the Etowah River to Kennesaw Mountain, May 20 to June 27, 1864

by David A. Powell (Author)

Publisher: Savas Beatie. Publication date: October 15, 2025. Hardcover, 608 pages. ISBN-10 1611217571

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From the publisher: "The scope, drama, and importance of the 1864 Atlanta Campaign was on a par with Ulysses S. Grant’s Overland Campaign in Virginia. Despite its criticality and massive array of primary source material, the operations in North Georgia have lingered in the shadows."

America and the Mexican War of Independence: Insurgents, Patriots, and Brethren in Arms, 1810-1821

by Benjamin J. Swenson (Author)

Publisher: McFarland. Publication date: October 1, 2025. Softcover, 190 pages. ISBN 1476696802

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From the publisher, "In 1810, the Atlantic World was in turmoil. Revolution, pirates, proxy wars and clandestine operations ran rampant. Napoleon had invaded Spain, Louisiana Territory was in crisis, and Americans were preparing to declare war against the British."