In 1942 the Japanese had overrun the Philippines, but by mid 1944 the aircraft carriers of the American fleet under Admiral Chester Nimitz were within range of the islands and able to bomb the Japanese positions and airfields. For the Japanese, maintaining control of the Philippines was essential because their... More
This battle, fought between the Austrians at French, in Piedmont, Italy, was a victory for Napoleon, and the culmination of his Italian campaign in the summer of 1800. In June about 31,000 Austrian forces were gathered in the city of Alessandria. Napoleon, fed false information by a double agent, mistakenly... More
When Thutmose III marched on Megiddo against the Canaanite tribes led by the king of Kadesh, he was presented with a choice of three routes to his target. Against the advice of his generals, he took the road less travelled, through a ravine, and surprised his enemies. He emerged at... More
The Battle of Mons was a product of poor intelligence and coordination between the Allies in the wake of three defeats in rapid succession by the advancing Germans culminating in the Battle of Charleroi. General Lanrezac had ordered a general retreat of the French 5th Army but neglected to advise... More
Following the initial crusade against the heretical Cathars in southwest France, the northern baron Simon of Montfort had been awarded substantial territory as a reward for taking up arms against them. In 1213 Peter II of Aragon, who was a Catholic, intervened because he was alarmed by de Montfort’s growing... More
Occupying a strong defensive position before the city of Nashville, Union commander George H. Thomas enjoyed a near 2:1 numerical advantage over his opponent John Bell Hood’s Army of the Tennessee. To exploit this superiority, he launched a diversionary attack on the Confederate right flank while Generals Smith and Wilson... More
After wresting Milan from imperial control, the French army of King Francis I of France moved camp to Pavia, Italy, where a decisive battle on 24 February 1525, with the Imperial-Spanish army of the Holy Roman Empire, led to a French defeat. The Battle of Pavia was the final conflict... More
Between 23 July–3 September 1916 the Allies launched an offensive on the German defensive position on Pozières Ridge, as part of the Battle of the Somme. Of the five Allied divisions involved, three belonged to 1 Anzac Corps. On 23 July at 12.30 am the Australian 1st and 3rd Brigades... More
The Battle of Raymond was fought on 12 May 1863 in Raymond, Mississippi. It led to a Union victory and was between 12,000 Union soldiers, under Major General James B. McPherson, and 4,400 Confederates, under Brigadier General John Gregg. The Confederate commander at Vicksburg, Lieutenant General John Pemberton, wanted to... More
In late 1778, the British shifted the Revolutionary War south, where there was more loyalist support. Lt Colonel Campbell was sent to Savannah, Georgia, where, in December 1778, he routed the American rebel forces. Brigadier General Prevost joined him and was tasked with persuading loyalists to join the British cause.... More
The battle of Sekigahara exemplified the tortuousness of Japanese feudal politics rather than military prowess. The death of strongman Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1598) left the regents of his infant son in control of western Japan. Eastern Japan was the fiefdom of Tokugawa Ieyasu. On a foggy morning in October 1600, armies... More
After the successful battles at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in February, the Army of the West Tennessee, commanded by Ulysses S. Grant, continued their campaign into Confederate territory. The Union plan called for the army to concentrate its scattered units at Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. There they... More