The Italian Wars (1494–1509) saw the first large-scale demonstrations of the potency of field artillery and firearms on the battlefield. At Cerignola (1503), the Spanish fought from shelter behind a trench and earth parapet, subjecting the French cavalry to withering fire. At the battle of Ravenna (1512), the combat opened with a two-hour artillery duel, [...]

As with the German territorial victories in Europe, the Japanese conquests during World War II were massive. The first half of 1942 was marked by a series of major victories for Japan in the Pacific. The world was astonished at the speed of the Japanese military advance after the attack on Pearl Harbor on December [...]

The War of Israeli Independence was an armed conflict pitting Israel against the neighboring Arab countries of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq, from May 1948 to March 1949, in the Middle East. The newly created State of Israel achieved a remarkable military victory by defeating simultaneously five arab countries, using limited military resources and [...]

The Six Day War was a military confrontation between Israel and the Arab nations of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq from June 5 to June 10, 1967. After months of accusations and recriminations between the governments of Israel and Egypt over the massive Egyptian military build-up in the Sinai Peninsula on the Israeli border and [...]

Life in China during World War II was perhaps even harder than in Korea, as the Japanese army made war on the civilian population, conducting "three all" punishment operations – kill all, bum all, loot all. In 1937 China had an estimated population of 480 million, 85 percent living in rural areas. In response to [...]

The Yom Kippur War was an armed conflict that took place in the Middle East, between Israel and the neighboring Arab nations, from October 6 to October 25, 1973. On October 6, 1973, Egypt and Syria, with the aid from Jordan, conducted a treacherous and sudden attack on Israel, which was caught by surprise since [...]