Warfare History
9 Ways Forensic Archaeology Is Finding and Identifying Missing American Soldiers
More than 72,000 Americans remain unaccounted for from World War II alone. These are the scientists, soldiers, and technologies closing that gap — one bone fragment at a time.
A Stray Dog Crossed a Border in 1925 and Triggered a Greek Invasion
When a Greek soldier chased a stray dog across the Bulgarian border in 1925 and was killed, it ignited a…
The Austrian Army That Panicked, Fired on Itself, and Routed 100,000 Men
On the night of September 21, 1788, a dispute over schnapps between Habsburg hussars and infantry spiraled into a catastrophic…
What Battlefield Archaeology Reveals Contradicts Written History
In 'Pasts Otherwise: An Archaeology of War,' archaeologists Bjørnar Olsen and Christopher Witmore argue that the physical evidence buried on…
Alamo Cannonballs Buried 187 Years Finally Map the Siege’s True Firing Lines
Archaeologists excavating the exterior grounds of the Alamo Church have recovered cannonballs from both Mexican and Texian forces, giving researchers…
WWII Torpedo Sank SS Cornwallis in Minutes — Lost 80 Years in Gulf of Maine
A German U-boat torpedo sank the merchant vessel SS Cornwallis near Mount Desert Rock in 1944, killing 43 of 48…
The Viking Warrior Grave Misread for 139 Years Belonged to a Woman
For 139 years, the richly furnished Viking grave Bj 581 at Birka was recorded as a high-ranking male warrior. Ancient…
Simo Häyhä Killed 500 Soviets in 100 Days Using Iron Sights Alone
Simo Häyhä accumulated at least 505 confirmed kills in roughly 100 days during Finland's 1939 Winter War — refusing a…
Boudica Burned Roman London to Ash — and the Proof Is Still There
When the Iceni queen Boudica led her uprising against Rome, she burned Londinium so completely that a chemically distinct destruction…
How Imperial Japan Enslaved Up to 200,000 Women — Then Burned the Evidence
Beginning in Shanghai in 1932 and expanding across Asia, Imperial Japan's military ran a vast comfort women system that enslaved…