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Battlefield Chronicles

Civil War – The Battle of Shiloh

Civil War – The Battle of Shiloh

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The first year of the American Civil War wasn’t a great one for the Union Army. Losses at places like Bull Run and Ball’s Bluff overshadowed a string of smaller but equally important battles across the country. President Abraham Lincoln’s general-in-chief, George B. McClellan, was highly regarded by his men but was difficult to deal with, increasingly insubordinate, and failed to follow up on his victories.  However, a shining star was beginning to emerge in the Western Theater of the war. Ulysses S. Grant began the war in 1861 as a Colonel but was elevated to command a campaign along the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland Rivers by Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont. Grant, it would turn out, had the aggression necessary to take the fight to the rebels. He bloodied the Confederates at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, the two most significant Union victories at the time, forcing the rebels out of Kentucky.  The Battle of Shiloh: The Bloody Turning Point President Lincoln promoted Grant, now...

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Korean War – The Battle of Chipyong-Ni

Korean War – The Battle of Chipyong-Ni

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On June 25, 1950, the Korean War began when some 75,000 Soldiers from the North Korean People's Army (NPKA) poured across the 38th parallel and, within days, captured Seoul, the South Korean capital. For two months, the outnumbered South Korean army and the small American force fought numerous battles with NPKA as they withdrew down the Korean peninsula to the Pusan area at the southeast tip of Korea. It was here that they set up a final defensive perimeter where they were able to impede the enemy's advancement. To take the pressure off the continuous attacks by the NKPA, a counteroffensive began on Sept. 15th, when United Nations forces made a daring landing at Incheon on the west coast. The unexpected attack crushed the meager NPKA defenses within a few days, cutting off North Korean supply lines to the south.  U.N. casualties during the Incheon landing and subsequent battles resulted in 566 killed and 2,713 wounded. In the fighting, the NKPA lost more than 35,000 killed and...

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Civil War – The Civil War Within the Confederacy

Civil War – The Civil War Within the Confederacy

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The civil war within the Confederacy is often overshadowed by the actual Civil War. The American Civil War was a titanic struggle between the overwhelming numeric and material advantages of the Union, and the tactical and leadership advantages of the states that would form the  Confederate States of America. In such a large conflict many stories, unfortunately, go untold and it becomes easy to oversimplify each side. The war did not become inevitable simply because of the Republican Party and the election of Abraham Lincoln to the executive branch of the federal government.  Even describing the conflict as "North vs. South" is inaccurate to a degree, as support for the war was far from unanimous on either side. On occasions when dissent within each side is discussed today, the focus is almost always on the Union's Copperheads. However, it should be remembered that there was a vigorous pro-Union movement in the South, particularly in areas where not many people owned slaves....

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Vietnam War – The Battle of Hue

Vietnam War – The Battle of Hue

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Another Leatherneck, a black-bearded machine gunner, led a charge up a mountain of rubble that had once been a stately tower, shouting: "We're Marines, let's go!". These episodes illustrate the battle of the Hue Citadel - a grim, struggle through the courtyards and battlements of the old imperial fort. The fight pits U.S. and Vietnamese Marines, determined to take the Citadel, against North Vietnamese soldiers equally determined to hold it. John Olson, a photographer with the Pacific edition of "Stars and Stripes" spent three days with the 3rd Platoon of Delta Company, 1st Bn, 5th Marines. Attack of The Hue Tower Over the East Gate Thursday morning, Olson said, the platoon moved forward through the narrow alleys and tree-lined streets of a housing area to attack the tower over the east gate. They dashed at a half-crouch into a courtyard but didn't make it across. Three Communist rockets crashed into the yard. The radio operator was blown nearly in half. Several other Marines were...

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Civil War – Sherman’s March to The Sea (1861-1865)

Civil War – Sherman’s March to The Sea (1861-1865)

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The March to the Sea, the most destructive campaign against a civilian population during the Civil War (1861-65), began in Atlanta on November 15, 1864, and ended in Savannah on December 21, 1864. Union General William T. Sherman abandoned his supply line and marched across Georgia to the Atlantic Ocean to prove to the Confederate population that its government could not protect the people from invaders. He practiced psychological warfare; he believed that by marching an Army across the state he would demonstrate to the world that the Union had a power the Confederacy could not resist. "This may not be war," he said, “but rather statesmanship.”  General William T. Sherman Prepares For March to The Sea After Sherman's forces captured Atlanta on September 2, 1864, Sherman spent several weeks concerned with preparations for a change of base to the coast. He rejected the Union plan to move through Alabama to Mobile, pointing out that after Rear Admiral David G. Farragut closed...

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WW2 – Battle of Guadalcanal

WW2 – Battle of Guadalcanal

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Though it probably didn't feel like it at the time, the Allies in the Pacific Theater of World War II were able to respond to the Japanese advances relatively quickly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor wasn't the only surprise target that day. The Imperial Japanese Navy also struck targets held by the Dutch and British and the American-held Philippines.  The Naval Campaign at Guadalcanal By August of 1942, just nine months after its coordinated surprise attacks across the Pacific Ocean, a combined Allied force landed on Guadalcanal in the first land offensive against the Japanese since the start of the Pacific War.  Things looked pretty bleak for the Americans (and the Allies in general) after the Japanese surprise attacks. Soon after, Japan's Axis partner Nazi Germany also declared war on the U.S. With much of the Pacific fleet knocked out; no one would blame the Americans for being a little depressed about their chances. In fact, the Japanese were hoping they...

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WW2 – The Battle of the Bismarck Sea

WW2 – The Battle of the Bismarck Sea

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As 1942 turned to 1943, a victorious end to World War II in the Pacific Theater was still far from assured for either side of the conflict. The Allies were celebrating a string of strategic victories over the course of the previous year. After the devastation of Pearl Harbor, the Americans scored a major victory against the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Midway in June 1942. A few months later, U.S. forces launched the Solomon Islands campaign, invading Guadalcanal and its strategic airfield.  The Crucial Moments of the Battle of the Bismarck Sea The Japanese, of course, suffered a string of setbacks. A joint Australian and American force pushed back Japan’s offensive on the Kokoda Trail on New Guinea, the losses it suffered at Midway were not replaceable and by February 1943, the Japanese Army would be forced to abandon Guadalcanal. The Japanese Imperial Staff knew it needed to reinforce its positions in New Guinea, which was fighting in some of the most grueling swamp,...

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The Battle of Buena Vista

The Battle of Buena Vista

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The Mexican War was one of the United States' shortest wars, and it's a conflict that often goes overlooked in American history books. But it was one that literally shaped the country and its future in so many ways. It added more than half a million square miles to the United States, from the Rio Grande to the Pacific Ocean, establishing a southern border and creating a territory that truly spread from sea to shining sea.  It was also where many future commanders of the American Civil War would cut their teeth in the art of war, applying what they learned from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. These notables included Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, George G. Meade, George McClellan, George Pickett, Joseph E. Johnston, Braxton Bragg, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant.  The Battle of Buena Vista: General Taylor's Stand At the start of the war, the Mexican claimed its border with Texas was the Nueces River, while the U.S. upheld the Texas claim that the border was the...

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WW1 – The First Battle of the Somme (1916)

WW1 – The First Battle of the Somme (1916)

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In the annals of military history, few battles evoke the same sense of sacrifice, tragedy, and valor as the First Battle of the Somme. Fought during the First World War, this monumental clash took place between July 1st and November 18th, 1916, primarily along the banks of the River Somme in France. It remains one of the most significant engagements of the Great War, characterized by its staggering casualties and strategic significance. The First Battle of the Somme is famous chiefly on account of the loss of 58,000 British troops (one third of them killed) on the first day of the battle, July 1, 1916, which to this day remains a one-day record The First Battle of the Somme: The Ill-Fated Bombardment The attack was preceded by an eight-day preliminary bombardment of the German lines, with expectations that the ferocity of the bombardment would entirely destroy all forward German defenses, enabling the attacking British troops to practically walk across No Man's Land and take...

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Korean War – the Battle Of Heartbreak Ridge

Korean War – the Battle Of Heartbreak Ridge

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By the summer of 1951, the Korean War had reached a stalemate as peace negotiations began at Kaesong. The opposing armies faced each other across a line which ran with many twists and turns along the way from east to west, through the middle of the Korean peninsula, a few miles north of the 38th parallel. UN and communist forces jockeyed for position along this line, clashing in several relatively small but intense and bloody battles.  The First Bloody Ground Battle One bloody ground battle took place from August 18 to September 5, 1951. It began as an attempt by UN forces to seize a ridge of hills which they believed were being used as observation posts to call in artillery fire on a UN supply road. It was a joint operation conducted by South Korean and the U.S. Army's 2nd Division. Their mission was to seize a ridge of hills used by the North Koreans as observation posts to call in artillery fire on a UN supply road. Leading the initial attacks was the 36th ROK Regiment. It...

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War in Afghanistan – The Battle of Kunduz

War in Afghanistan – The Battle of Kunduz

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The Battle of Kunduz took place from April to October 2015 for control of the city of Kunduz, located in northern Afghanistan, with Taliban fighters attempting to displace Afghan security forces. On September 28, 2015, the Taliban forces suddenly overran the city, with government forces retreating outside the city. The capture marked the first time since 2001 that the Taliban had taken control of a major city in Afghanistan. The Afghan government claimed to have largely recaptured Kunduz by October 1, 2015, in a counterattack, although local sources in the city disputed the claim made by government officials. Twelve hospital staff of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) and ten patients, including three children, were killed on October 3rd by a prolonged series of U.S. airstrikes on Kunduz Trauma Centre, an emergency trauma hospital run by the agency. Thirty-seven people were injured including nineteen staff members The Initial Attack of the Battle of Kunduz The Taliban...

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Ending the Battle of the Bulge

Ending the Battle of the Bulge

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In December 1944, the German Wehrmacht launched what would be its last offensive of World War II, a last-ditch, all-out effort to throw the Western Allies back from Germany's borders. It would take the Allies almost six weeks to blunt the effort and force the German Army back, but for a time, it looked like the Nazi offensive might actually succeed in splintering the Allied invasion of Europe.  Germany threw everything it could into the effort, including an estimated 410,000 men, 1,500 armored vehicles, a thousand combat aircraft, and thousands of artillery guns. The response to such an assault would turn the Battle of the Bulge into the largest and one of the deadliest battles in U.S. military history.  The Ardennes Offensive: The Battle Unleashed Only in January 1945 did it become apparent the offensive had failed and that Germans would spend the rest of World War II in retreat.  On the morning of Dec. 16, 1944, the German Army achieved total surprise against an Allied force...

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