On the morning of January 13, Hawaiians were jolted by an alarming emergency alert warning of an imminent missile strike. The message, which appeared on phones, televisions, and radios, read: “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”…
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On January 12, 1962, the Vietnam War crossed a quiet but decisive threshold. In a rubber plantation northwest of Saigon, American helicopters ferried South Vietnamese troops into combat against communist guerrillas, marking Operation Chopper—the first American combat mission and first U.S.-backed helicopter assault of…
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In the early hours of December 24, 1914, amid the frozen mud and shattered landscapes of the Western Front, an extraordinary pause descended upon the bloodiest conflict Europe had ever known. World War I, only five months old, had already hardened into a war…
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The Battle of Verdun, one of the most grueling and catastrophic battles of World War I, came to an end on December 18, 1916. After ten months of relentless combat, the second French counteroffensive successfully pushed German forces back by two to three kilometers,…
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Sherman’s March to the Sea was a military campaign conducted by Union General William Tecumseh Sherman during the American Civil War. The campaign took place from November 15 to December 21, 1864, and it was a significant and controversial aspect of the Union’s strategy.…
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The signing of the Peace of Westphalia on October 24, 1648, marked one of the most transformative moments in European—and indeed world—history. Concluded in the German cities of Münster and Osnabrück after years of painstaking negotiation, the treaties ended two interconnected conflicts that had…
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On October 10, 1845, the United States Naval School opened in Annapolis, Maryland, with 50 midshipmen students and seven professors. The curriculum included mathematics and navigation, gunnery and steam, chemistry, English, natural philosophy, and French. “When the founders of the United States Naval Academy…
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On September 24, 1846, General Zachary Taylor successfully captured Monterrey during the Mexican-American War, marking a decisive victory for the United States in its campaign against Mexico. The capture of Monterrey was a turning point in the war, establishing Taylor’s military reputation and paving…
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On August 28, 1879, British troops finally closed in on the fugitive monarch who had so recently commanded the fearsome Zulu army. King Cetshwayo kaMpande, last sovereign of an independent Zulu nation, was captured in the aftermath of one of the most brutal colonial…
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The Geneva Convention is a series of international treaties and protocols that establish the standards for humanitarian treatment during war. The first of these conventions was adopted in 1864, and the most recent, the Fourth Geneva Convention, was adopted in 1949. These treaties play…
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