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Read MoreForgotten Battle in the Kingdom of Georgia during the Age of the Crusades We will rather die on the battlefield than run. Contemplating the Age of Crusades, images of the sacked Jerusalem, exploits of Saladin and Richard the Lion Heart and the great victories at Hattin (see “Jihadi Victories” by Ralph Peters, July 2008 ACG) or Arsuf come to mind at once. The epic struggle between the West and East is well studied and its triumphs and defeats popularized. However, one important actor of this conflict is conspicuously absent in the histories of the Crusades, although the Georgian victory at Didgori in August of 1121 was no less dramatic than those of the Crusaders and had significant consequences for the regional geopolitics, establishing Georgia as the leading Christian power in the region for the next hundred years. Georgia is located in southern Caucasia between the Black and the Caspian Seas. The country’s geopolitical location proved to be both a great advantage and a disadvantage. Located between Europe and Asia,...
Read MoreHMS Dreadnought underway in 1906. Courtesy U.S. Naval Historical Center. One of the great tipping points in world history occurred around 1500 when the “full-rigged” sailing ship—armed with cannons, propelled by banks of sails, and capable of surmounting oceanic storms—arose along the Atlantic coast of Europe. This vessel superseded the oar-pulled galley, developed in the ancient Mediterranean. The galley was dangerously inadequate in the turbulent waters of the Atlantic. The sailing ship reached its culmination in two wooden men o’ war perfected in the first half of the eighteenth century: the “ship of the line,” carrying from 64 to 100 guns on two or three decks, and the lighter, faster frigate, carrying 26 guns on a single deck. The HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar by J. M. W. Turner. Courtesy Library of Congress. These ships possessed a fine balance between the weight of the guns relative to the size of the hull. Wooden sailing ships ruled the seas for three-and-a-half centuries. Some vessels were larger...
Read MoreIn recognition of the 40th anniversary of the 1968 Tet Offensive, publisher ABC-CLIO is featuring essays on this watershed event during the Vietnam War.
Read MoreTo accompany the latest issue of ACG, we provide some additional information on three Panzers found in Norway - that fought at the battle of Kursk!
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