Events Early Julian Calendar (before Augustus’ leap year correction): 42 BC – The Roman Senate posthumously deifies Julius Caesar. Julian Calendar: 193 – The Senate chooses Pertinax against his will to succeed Commodus as Roman emperor. 404 – Saint Telemachus tries to stop a gladiatorial fight in a Roman amphitheatre, and is stoned to death… Read More
Introduction A cantonment is a military or police quarters. The word cantonment, derived from the French word canton, meaning corner or district, refers to a temporary military or winter encampment. For example, at the start of the Waterloo campaign in 1815, while the Duke of Wellington’s headquarters were in Brussels, most of his Anglo-allied army… Read More
Introduction The ballista (Latin, from Greek βαλλίστρα ballistra and that from βάλλω ballō, “throw”), plural ballistae, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an ancient missile weapon that launched either bolts or stones at a distant target. Developed from earlier Greek weapons, it relied upon different mechanics, using two levers with torsion springs instead of a tension… Read More
Introduction The agōgē (Greek: ἀγωγή in Attic Greek, or ἀγωγά, agōgā in Doric Greek) was the rigorous education and training programme mandated for all male Spartan citizens, except for the firstborn son in the ruling houses, Eurypontid and Agiad. The training involved cultivating loyalty to the Spartan group, military training (e.g. pain tolerance), hunting, dancing,… Read More
“The foundation of leadership is character.” General Alexander M. Patch (1889 to 1945) Alexander McCarrell Patch was a senior US Army officer who fought in both WWI and WWII, rising to rank of general. During World War II he commanded US Army and US Marine Corps forces during the Guadalcanal Campaign, and the US Seventh… Read More
Research Paper Title The Impact of Military Service Exposures and Psychological Resilience on the Mental Health Trajectories of Older Male Veterans. Background The researchers examine the impact of exposure to the dead, dying, and wounded (DDW) during military service on the later-life depressive symptom trajectories of male United States veterans, using psychological resilience as an… Read More
Events 406 – Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gaul. 535 – Byzantine general Belisarius completes the conquest of Sicily, defeating the Gothic garrison of Palermo (Panormos), and ending his consulship for the year. 870 – Battle of Englefield: The Vikings clash with ealdorman Æthelwulf of Berkshire. The invaders are… Read More
