William Mclaughlin

William Mclaughlin is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE

Articles by William Mclaughlin:

Evidence Shows A Greek Stand against the Goths in the 3rd Century CE – In The Pass Of Thermopylae

Ancient history covers an incredibly vast span of time. We know the specific details of only a small percentage of the battles fought during this…

The Battle of Leuctra: Crushing the Spartans and the Birth of the Echelon Formation

The echelon formation is a solid staple in the modern military and police world. Fighter jets use this diagonal formation to maintain visibility while maximizing…

Formidable Melee Weapons of Ancient Warfare

In modern warfare, hand to hand combat is a last resort, with combat knives coming out either in stealth missions or in extremely close quarters…

Top 4 Underrated Battles of Roman History

There is a long list of influential battles throughout Roman history: Zama, Pharsalus, Actium, Teutoburg, Adrianople and plenty more. These tend to get a major…

When Spartacus and His Renegade Gladiators Gave the Romans All They Could Handle

The War of Spartacus was violent and disturbing. Gladiators and other slaves were fighting for what modern society views as the inalienable right to freedom.…

Heroic Last Stands of Military History

The Battle of Thermopylae is the ultimate example of a heroic last stand. The few mighty warriors stood against hundreds of thousands of Persian troops,…

Mithridates the Poisoner King: Hallucinogenic Honey, Venom Arrows, and More

Poison had a steady but often quiet or controversial place in the history of warfare. On one hand, it was incredibly useful. Poisoned wells could…

Alternative History: The Roman Civil War

Crassus is an interesting character in Roman history. He was incredibly wealthy, one of the richest men before the emperors, but craved some military glory.…

Hannibal Barca: Rome’s Most Dangerous Enemy

Hannibal Barca – he crossed the Alps with elephants, supposedly took a sworn oath to forever hate the Romans, and inflicted some of the worst…

From Marcellus to Caesar – The Greatest Generals of Ancient Rome

The Roman Legion was a fearsome military unit. A heavy infantry advance was almost unstoppable, able to take on most enemies. The best aspect of…

Some of the Scariest Nuclear Bomb Accidents in History

Nuclear bombs, the ultimate weapons of mass destruction. It would stand to reason that a ridiculous amount of safety protocols would exist to prevent an…

This Hellish Campaign Has Been Largely Forgotten: The Aleutian Islands During World War II

WWII had some very distinct theaters of war. When people think of the war in the Pacific thoughts, go to the sprawling jungles of Guadalcanal…