The reformed tradition began in 1519 in Zürich under Huldrych Zwingli. He led a group of Swiss theologians who joined Luther in teaching salvation by faith and the exclusive authority of Scripture, advocating purification of the Church and Christian life, and rejecting Christ’s bodily presence in the Eucharist, which led... More
Forced out of Belgrade by the Austro-Hungarians on 2 December 1914, the Serbian army retreated to their front line. From there, having received fresh supplies of badly needed artillery ammunition, the Serbians launched a counteroffensive on December 3. The Serbians seized the opportunity to counterattack the isolated 6th Army. The... More
Madagascar’s earliest inhabitants are thought to have been the Malayo-Indonesian people who crossed the Indian Ocean from Southeast Asia, c. 1,300 years ago. They brought subsistence crops such as spices, rice, bananas, coconuts and mung beans, some of which they also introduced to coastal eastern Africa. Arab traders arrived on... More
The pugnacious Frederick the Great of Prussia seized Silesia from the Austrian-led Holy Roman Empire in the War of Austrian Succession (1740–48). The determination of Austria to regain Silesia, coupled with Britain’s determination to safeguard the Hanoverian homeland of their monarchy, led to the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756, and the... More
The ‘Liberate Jerusalem by first conquering Egypt’ strategy had been tried first, and failed disastrously, in the 5th Crusade. With a confidence not matched by military competence, Louis IX of France decided to replicate the strategy in 1248. Once more, Damiette, at the mouth of the Nile, was taken. Again,... More
Union General Philip H. Sheridan’s preliminary advance into the Shenandoah Valley was marked by caution. The Confederate General in the area, Jubal Early, interpreted this to mean Sheridan was performing a holding operation, and rashly allowed his forces to become dispersed along the Valley. Learning of this opportunity through reconnaissance,... More
After the rousing capture of Forts Donelson and Henry, General Ulysses S. Grant’s Union Army of the West Tennessee marched down the Tennessee River. Five divisions camped at Pittsburgh Landing, one slightly downriver at Crump’s Landing, while Grant, recuperating from a riding accident, set up his headquarters several miles further... More
The crusaders reached Jerusalem on 7 June in the punishing midsummer heat with only 15,000 men remaining. Initial attacks, without siege towers to breach the walls, were unsuccessful. Luckily, European ships had just arrived at Jaffa, two of which were beached and broken up for timber, and the leader of... More
By the summer of 52 BCE, Julius Caesar’s conquest of Gaul was threatened by the rebellion of a confederacy of Celtic tribes, led by Vercingetorix, king of the Averni. Caesar’s punitive expedition eventually cornered Vercingetorix in the hill-town of Alesia, in modern Burgundy. Alesia was well-fortified and garrisoned, and set... More
As Titus, the Roman general, neared Jerusalem with four legions, the city’s defence was riven by factional warfare. John of Giscala had emerged as head of the Zealots after murdering his rival Eleazar ben Simon, but his erstwhile allies, the Idumaeans, had defected to another group, the Sicarii, led by... More
Retreating after the Battle of Ctesiphon, the British 6th Indian Division was closely pursued by Ottoman forces. Their commander, Major-General Townshend, decided to break their flight at Küt and wait for British relief forces to arrive. The town was easily defensible, being fortified and surrounded on three sides by a... More
The German assault on the Belgium city of Liege was one of first battles of World War I. Germany wanted to smash Liege’s ring of twelve fortifications, to accelerate their advance across Belgium into France. Confident that an assault would last only two days, it took eleven days before Belgian... More