William Mclaughlin

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

Articles by William Mclaughlin:

Siege of Sparta: When The Spartan Women Pitched in to Defend Their City

Most historians should know the term “Pyrrhic Victory,” right? Pyrrhus of Epirus (located in the modern day region of western Greece and Albania) won victories…

Commanding Thousands – Approaches to Generalship on Ancient Battlefields

Modern generals are granted access to a multitude of communication and information gathering technologies from satellite imaging to UAVs and infantry equipped with cameras. Ancient…

Medal of Honor – John R. Fox Sacrificed Himself by Deliberately Calling an Artillery Strike on his Own Position

John Robert Fox was an American soldier who was killed in action when he deliberately called artillery fire on his own position after his position…

Great Sieges: The Roman Siege of Jerusalem – One Million Lives Lost In 8 Months Of Combat

The Romans generally tolerated other religions, allowing and even welcoming Egyptian gods into their pantheon. Though they viewed the monotheistic Jews as being odd, they…

Teddy Roosevelt Jr: Awarded the Medal of Honor For Heroism During D-Day: He Was 56 and Walked with a Cane

Former President Teddy Roosevelt was quite the amazing man. Sure, he was our nation’s youngest president and founder of the Bull Moose party, but he…

The Worst American General Ever: “A General Who Never Won a Battle or Lost a Court-Martial”

The Title of “worst general in U.S. History” is certainly not one to aspire to, but where there have been the greats like Patton and…

Alexander’s First Great Cavalry Charge and the Last Stand of the 300 Sacred Band

Alexander is well known as one of the best commanders of all time. His accomplishments are even more remarkable given his youth. Alexander had two great…

WW2 German Ace Stumbled Across a Crippled B-17 and Escorted It Home

Truly touching moments of humanity, ethics and morals are rather rare in warfare. The Christmas Truce of WWI was an excellent example of such humanity,…

Valiant Stands Of War History

Sometimes men are faced with impossible odds, hopelessly outnumbered or facing a merciless enemy with better weapons or other overwhelming advantages. Occasionally these terrible odds…

Tiny and Mighty – Deadly Pre-Gunpowder Weapons

Massive two-handed Zweihänder- type swords are pretty cool, and were certainly effective on the battlefield, but sometimes a small, twisted pair of nails can fell…

Battle of the 300 Champions – When Sparta And Argos’ Best Hoplites Fight to the Death, Last Man Standing Wins

The Greeks sure seem to like the number 300. The 300 Spartans (and their 7,000 allies) at Thermopylae, the 300 Theban Sacred Band, and the…

Never Too Old To Fight – 78-year old Samuel Whittemore Became A Hero In The Revolutionary War

The Revolutionary War, or the War of American Independence if you’re not American, was full of awe-inspiring stories of bravery and daring. Ardent patriots stood…