When we talk about a phalanx in a military context, we automatically think of Alexander the Great’s Macedonian army, with its compact formation of armored infantrymen armed with long sarissas. These were arranged in 64 squares or syntagmas, 16 men across (each in a one-square-meter space) by as many in depth, forming a total of […]
Warfare
Posted inSecond World War
The Last Cavalry Charges in History Happened During World War II
Although it seems more characteristic of earlier times, cavalry remained active until the mid-20th century. We’re not referring to the modern concept, in which the name has been adopted by tank and/or attack helicopter units, but to cavalry in the strict sense, where combat was fought on horseback. In fact, cavalry was used more in […]
Posted inModern Era
Operation Argus: The U.S. Project to Create a Radiation Belt in Space to Prevent a Soviet Missile Attack
In 1958, at the height of the Cold War, the U.S. carried out an experiment in the South Atlantic aimed at testing an innovative defense system. This system involved creating a radiation belt in the outer layer of the atmosphere, over the country, so that missiles launched in a potential Soviet nuclear attack would have […]
Posted inAntiquity
Cataphracts, The Armored Warriors of Heavy Cavalry in Antiquity
But as soon as the first light of day appeared, the gleaming chainmail, girded with steel bands, and the shining breastplates, seen from afar, showed that the king’s forces were near. This is how Ammianus Marcellinus, a Roman historian who also served as a soldier in the legions of Emperors Constantius II and Julian in […]
Posted inModern Era
The Seafloor of Bikini Atoll is the World’s Only Simulated Underwater Nuclear Battlefield
An international team of researchers has recently completed the first comprehensive mapping of the seafloor of Bikini Atoll, the site of the infamous nuclear tests of Operation Crossroads in 1946. The results, published in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology, provide an unprecedented view of the only simulated underwater nuclear battlefield on Earth, revealing not only […]
Posted inMiddle Ages, Science
Greek Fire, the Byzantine Empire’s Secret Incendiary Weapon That Survived Until the 19th Century
They began to blow with blacksmiths’ bellows into a furnace where there was fire, and from it came a great noise. There was also a brass [or bronze] tube, and from it came much fire against a ship, which burned quickly so that it all turned into white ashes… This excerpt is from the Yngvars […]
Posted inBronze Age Archaeology
Iliad-inspired Combat Tests Reveal 3,500-year-old Mycenaean Armor so Good it Could Protect for 11 Hours of Battle
A recent study has revealed that a 3,500-year-old Mycenaean armor, previously believed to be purely ceremonial, was actually suitable for use in combat. This discovery has significant implications for our understanding of ancient warfare and its role in societal transformations during the prehistoric era. Researchers conducted experiments with Greek military volunteers who wore a replica […]
Posted inAncient Greece, Culture
Pyrrhic, the War Dance of Ancient Greeks with which Spartans Trained their Sons
The ancient Greeks had a series of rituals related to war and combat. Among them are war dances, of which the oldest and best known, thanks to sources and art, is the Pyrrhichios (πυρρίχιος, Pyrrhic Dance). It was a war dance, probably of Dorian origin, commemorating bravery and skill on the battlefield. It began to […]
Posted inStone Age Archaeology
5,000-year-old Warrior Grave in Spain Shows Evidence of Large-scale Warfare 1,000 Years Before the First Known Conflict
A new analysis of over 300 sets of 5,000-year-old bone remains excavated in a Spanish site suggests that many individuals may have been victims of the earliest period of warfare in Europe, occurring over 1,000 years before the first known larger-scale conflict in the region. The study, published in Scientific Reports, indicates that both the […]
