baiting the russian bear
By Eric Niderost
Japanese naval forces opened the Russo-Japanese War with a sneak attack on Russian ships at Port Arthur in February 1904. A brutal five-month-long siege followed, with both sides suffering greatly in the terrible conditions.

crusader disaster at nicopolis
By Louis Ciotola
After Turkish Sultan Bayezid I overran Bulgaria in 1396, Pope Boniface IX proclaimed a holy crusade against the infidels. European forces rallied under King Sigismund of Hungary. The stage was set for a major battle at Nicopolis.

Òput the boys inÓ
By Pedro Garcia
After Union General Franz Sigel moved into the Shenandoah Valley in the spring of 1864, Confederate forces fell back to New Market. On May 15, Confederate General John C. Breckinridge ordered an attack.

alvan gillem and the dawn of the new army
alvan gillem and the dawn of the new army By Chris J. Hartley
General Alvan C. Gillem, one of the U.S. ArmyÕs most important and innovative thinkers, led the hard-charging XIII Corps across the Rhine in 1945, spearheading the final Allied advance into the heart of Nazi Germany.

Indian Waterloo
By Mike Phifer
Outnumbered nearly 2-to-1, British and Indian troops led by General Sir Hugh Gough attacked the rebellious Sikh Army on the Sutlej River near Sobraon on February 10, 1846. It was the final battle of the First Sikh War.

EDITORIAL
Most soldiers on either side in the Civil War were under the age of 23. Some were as young as 10, and only one-fourth were over 30.

WEAPONS
American infantrymen carried the Model 1903 Springfield rifle into battle with them for the first seven decades of the 20th century.

SOLDIERS
Albrecht von Wallenstein went from soldier of fortune to generalissimo to hunted fugitive in no time.

INTELLIGENCE
The CIA mounted an ambitious tunnel-digging operation in 1954 to tap into Russian communications lines beneath Berlin.

MILITARIA
The National Museum of the Marine Corps attracts half a million visitors per year to view the CorpsÕ proud 238-year history.

BOOKS
The seizure of 15 American sailors during the Philippine insurrection sparked a manhunt that would impact the nationÕs empire-building in Asia.

GAMES
What if George Washington had declared himself King of America and further oppressed the Native population?