Malta – the greatest siege in history Part III- Defending St Elmo from the Ottomans
The garrison of St Elmo consisted a hundred knights and some seven hundred soldiers. Amongst the latter were four hundred Italian mercenaries. Into the ranks…
Rome’s Worst Defeat: The Battle of Cannae 216 B.C.E.
The battle of Cannae was an almost perfect tactical victory for Hannibal Barca. Facing a Roman army almost twice the size on a level field,…
Malta – the greatest siege in history Part II
At the head of the Knights of Saint John who stood ready to repel the invading Muslim army was the renowned Grand Master Jean Parisot…
Series: Malta – the greatest siege in history Part 1
In the annals of warfare one reads of the clash of arms, the pitting of warrior against warrior, of tales of heroism, of endurance and…
Great Sieges of the Ancient World: Tarentum
The siege and battles of Tarentum were an underappreciated and often forgotten aspect of the second Punic War.The second Punic war between Carthage and Rome…
Marathon – Greek ‘David’ crushes Persian ‘Goliath’
When you are a small city-state enjoying a precarious existence and surrounded by potentially hostile other city states, and especially the military state of indomitable…
The Time English Soldiers went to Battle without Pants, and Won
The Hundred Years War fought between France and England through the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries saw a number of important and impressive battles as…
The Trireme in Ancient Warfare
Ancient warfare relied on steel weapons, but continually evolved with differences in equipment and tactics. Naval warfare was a simpler affair, find the enemy ship…
Great Sieges of the Ancient World: Tyre
By William McLaughlin As far as great sieges go, the Siege of Tyre is one of the more unique ones. It featured a previously unassailable…
Great Sieges of the Ancient World Series Introduction and Overview
‘Great battles’ is a popular theme for military historians and an important one to discuss; as war is often a driving factor for historical change,…
Gladiator Myths and Misconceptions
Gladiators have garnered quite a lot of popular interest in the last few decades, thanks to films such as Gladiator and Pompeii and series like…
The Pros and Cons of Ancient War Elephants
Elephants are generally peaceful and majestic creatures but throughout history, their size and power were used with devastating results on the battlefield. With the adoption…