FEATURES
"The Gulf War as History" — So far, time had hardly dimmed the luster of the military operation. But it has not treated our political and strategic accomplishments quite so kindly.
"The Soldier's Artist" — The great Édouard Detaille's love of military themes, and his sympathy for the troops, were forged in the lines. A portfolio of works by perhaps the most important was artist of the nineteenth century.
"Dirty Tricks in Ancient Warfare" — The warriors of antiquity couldn't wage biochemical warfare like we can today—with nerve gas and anthrax-bearing warheads—but they made do with what they had.
"Gassing Japan" — To bring an end to World War II in the Pacific, U.S. planners contemplated the massive use of chemical weapons. Their coverup of the scheme might still be working—but for a clerical error.
"The Andersonvilles of the North" — To be a Southern prisoner in "Yankee captivity" was often to be hungry, sick, cold, and brutalized. Tens of thousands of Confederates died in the camps of the North—yet they may be the least remembered casualties of the Civil War.
"Present at the Creation" — In 1919, the German army sent Corporal Adolf Hitler to check out a tiny Munich political group—soon to be known as the Nazi party. He would learn from the disaster he inspired; the military would bot.
"The Mystery of Khe Sanh" — In early 1968, a remote U.S. Marine base near the DMZ survived a ferocious siege by the North Vietnamese—and passed into legend. But why was this backwater even contested? And who really won?
"Khe Sanh Eyewitness" — A Spread of Khe Sahn photos by David Douglas Duncan.
"The Admiral from Hell" — Captain Pierre-André de Suffren possessed a quality rare in French naval commanders of his day—fighting spirit. In a series of bold actions in the Bay of Bengal, he almost sent the British packing and made India a French colony.
"Bennington" — Burgoyne's invasion from Canada was supposed to end the American Revolution. But a frontier brawl in southern Vermont may have doomed his grand design.
DEPARTMENTS
"Experience of War: A Bad Afternoon at Aubers Ridge" — In a letter from the trenches, a British officer tells how he survived a failed attack by playing dead.
"Artists on War: Artemisia Gentileschi: Judith and Holofernes" — A bloody tale from the Apocrypha fascinated a seventeenth=century woman artist.
"Fighting Words: Terms from Military History" — Our lexicographer examines words and phrases inspired by infantry.