Shapur I — Meet the Third Century Persian King Who Crushed Three Roman Emperors
“The humiliation Shapur had inflicted on Rome must have conjured memories of Hannibal, and later emperors would seek to restore Roman dignity.” By Byron Waldron IN THE third century AD, monumental sculptures were erected across…
Air Corps vs. Navy — How Decades of Inter-Service Rivalry Left the U.S. Ill-Prepared for the Battle of the Atlantic
“In January 1942, the U-boat war reached the U.S. East Coast and 20 years of American Army-Navy rivalry made the German attack much more deadly.” By Col. Joseph T. Molyson, Jr. USAFR (Ret) ON A…
Operation Title — Inside the Daring Mission By Allied Frogman to Sink a German Battleship
“The Royal Navy retrofitted torpedoes with steering wheels and dubbed them Chariots.” By Rachel Lance IN THE winter of 1942, six British commandos and four Norwegian resistance fighters, armed with little more than a fishing…
The ‘Iron Elephant’ — How a 17th Century German Inventor Devised a Primitive Battle Tank
“Leibniz vividly described a mobile fortress, a weapon of unimaginable power and destruction that could single-handedly sow havoc among enemy forces.” By Lloyd Strickland WITH WARFARE in the 17th century dominated by sieges, cannons, artillery…
Darius the Great — How Persia’s ‘King of Kings’ Took the Achaemenid Empire to New Heights
“As a military leader, Darius should be considered in the company of Cyrus, Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar.” By Joseph Stiles UNDER KING DARIUS the Great (r. 522-496 BCE) the ancient Persian Empire reached its…
William Milbourne James — Meet the Largely Unknown Hero Behind Some of Britain’s Greatest Wartime Intelligence Triumphs
“Far removed from the stereotypical image of the crimson-faced military authority figure of the day, he was emollient, cultivated and charming, with a lifelong passion for sailing in small boats — and a penchant for…
