In October 732 AD, Charles Martel confronted the advancing armies of the Umayyad Caliphate near Tours and Poitiers in a battle with far-reaching consequences for Western Europe. Facing experienced cavalry forces moving north from Iberia, Martel relied on disciplined Frankish infantry formations which could withstand sustained assaults. Martel’s victory checked further Umayyad expansion into Frankish territory while simultaneously strengthening his political authority, laying the foundations for the emergence of the Carolingian empire.

The Fracture of Post-Roman Western Europe

The fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD created a power vacuum that was filled by various Germanic speaking tribes such as the Franks, Goths, Vandals, and Anglo-Saxons who claimed suzerainty over the former provinces of Gaul, Hispania, and Britannia.

Hailing from the lower Rhine in the present-day Netherlands, the Franks had gradually been coalescing to become the preeminent power in the former Roman province of Gaul, expanding their territorial acquisitions under powerful Merovingian kings such as Childeric and his son Clovis I, who subsequently converted to Christianity.

The Merovingians unified most of northern and western Gaul, but stability remained a major issue as various factions typically led by royal offspring or rebellious dukes constantly battled over their various inheritances and territorial claims.

The Merovingian Franks emerged as the prevailing power in western Europe, whose warlike nature forged some of the finest warriors in Europe, constantly combating Visigoths, Burgundians, Lombards, and subduing various other tribes. They would soon be embroiled in conflict with another ascendent power to their south on the opposite side of the Pyrenees.

Islamic armies had been spreading rapidly across three continents in the decades following the death of the Prophet Muhammad in 632 AD. By 711, armies from North Africa had crossed the Strait of Gibraltar into the Iberian peninsula and defeated the Visigothic kingdom of Spain.

The larger Umayyad Caliphate absorbed Iberia and utilized its strategic geography as a springboard to conduct further raids and incursions into Francia. The independent duchy of Aquitaine across the border remained particularly vulnerable and beset by Muslim infiltrations, as it was at the nexus of two expansive empires. In the face of the seemingly unstoppable Islamic armies, Duke Odo the Great of Aquitaine sought military assistance from his Frankish rivals.

How Charles Martel Built a Formidable Medieval Army

Charles Martel was previously mayor of the palace to the king, a powerful political office in the Merovingian court that enabled its occupant to control the royal treasury and manage military campaigns. Charles emerged as the real authority behind the throne who leveraged his position to become the most powerful official in Francia and an exceptional military commander.

Cognizant of the growing Umayyad threat, Charles proposed crucial reforms that recognized the shortcomings of the existing system of temporary customary Frankish levies in confronting the highly mobile Muslim armies. He would first need to unify the incessantly warring Frankish factions.

Charles consolidated his power base in Austrasia in northeastern Gaul, confiscating and redistributing ecclesiastical property in order to finance his ambitious reforms. He made several improvements to the army such as by outfitting his infantry with high-quality armor and emphasizing stronger discipline through the defensive tactics of the shield wall. Every free Frankish household was to provide at least one male for Charles’ army. Charles successfully managed to unite the Franks into a cohesive and deadly European force ready to resist the onslaught of Islamic armies.

The Clash at Tours and the Triumph of Heavy Infantry

In October 732 the Governor of Umayyad Spain Abd Rahman Al-Ghafiqi led a large force estimated at 25,000 men into the Frankish lands consisting mostly of cavalry north from Iberia and across the Pyrenees. Rather than an army of conquest, modern historians now believe that this was a large raiding force intent on plundering wealthy monasteries and churches across the country.

His soldiers consisted of Berbers, Syrian Arabs, and recent Visigothic converts to Islam. Many were familiar with the terrain having raided Aquitaine for years and returning with valuable plunder and slaves. This was a battle-hardened force as Muslim armies of the 8th century fought against one another as frequently as they clashed with European Christians.

The Muslim army proceeded north toward the River Loire as Charles gathered his force to intercept them, moving rapidly via the old Roman roads which still traversed Gaul.

Charles established a defensive position on a hillside near the junction of the rivers Clain and Vienne somewhere between the cities of Tours and Poitiers in northern Aquitaine, positioning themselves directly in the path of the advancing Umayyads who appeared to be taken by surprise by such a large force. The armies roughly maintained numeric parity with the key distinction being the horse versus foot composition between the Muslims and the Franks.

The two armies engaged in a weeklong standoff, with only brief skirmishing occurring. The Umayyads waited for their full strength to materialize as their speedy foray into Francia had overstretched their forces. The cooling autumn weather was beginning to negatively affect the Muslim soldiers, many of whom were accustomed to living and fighting in warmer regions.

As the Umayyads advanced northward, Charles arrayed his force in a static phalanx formation blocking the main road to Tours. The strength of the Franks lay in their tactical cohesiveness and ability to endure cavalry charges by elite Muslim cavalrymen.

Finally, on Saturday October 10, Abd Rahman Al-Ghafiqi ordered his cavalry to charge the Frankish lines. The Frankish infantry resolutely fended off their repeated attacks. One Arab chronicler described the Frankish shield wall “as a sea which could not be moved.” Charles’ armor-clad disciplined force successfully absorbed the shock of cavalry charges and proved superior in close quarter combat.

The Umayyad forces wheeled in retreat when news arose that Frankish forces were threatening their camp, and Abd Rahman Al-Ghafiqi was killed during the ensuing rout. The Muslims withdrew that night stunned but remained in good order and withdrew beyond the Pyrenees.

Why the Victory at Tours Reshaped European History

Following the Battle of Tours, Charles earned the sobriquet Martel from Martellus, the Latin word for hammer. His triumph against the Umayyads limited the Islamic forces to the Iberian peninsula, though smaller scale raids would continue. While the significance of Martel’s victory has been questioned by modern historians, it has traditionally been considered a decisive turning point in European history, halting the relentless advance of Islam and affirming the Christian identity of Europe.

The duchy of Aquitaine retained its independence and gradually established closer ties with the Franks. Charles continued to further integrate the Frankish kingdom, laying the groundwork for his son Pepin to overthrow the Merovingians and become the first Carolingian king of Francia.

Charles Martel’s grandson Charlemagne would reach new heights by conquering the Lombard kingdom of northern Italy and becoming crowned the first Holy Roman Emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III in 800 AD, ruling over a vast stretch of Western Europe that had been disunited since the end of the Roman Empire. As a result, Charlemagne left behind an even greater legacy than his grandfather as the “Father of Europe.”

On the eve of the US entry into World War II, the federal government requested design submissions for a vehicle that could do it all. The US Army Quartermaster Corps needed a utility vehicle to replace horses and motorcycles, and thus the ¼ ton light reconnaissance vehicle was born. The Willys MB, nicknamed the Jeep, became an icon of the Allied war effort, serving as everything from stretcher to weapons carrier. Despite its small size, the WWII Jeep excelled wherever it went, becoming a testament to American ingenuity and innovation.

Answering the Call for a Lightweight Reconnaissance Car

The German invasions of Western Europe in the summer of 1940 led to a sense within the corridors of power that the United States might have to join the war. Knowing that the prospect of another major international conflict meant fighting across a vast array of terrains, the US Army Quartermaster Corps issued a request to 135 automakers for a vehicle that could serve in a multitude of roles.

Only three viable automakers responded to the call and submitted designs that met the strict weight, wheelbase, and four-wheel drive requirements: American Bantam, Willys-Overland and Ford. With the three design submissions, the companies were assigned the seemingly impossible feat of delivering a prototype within 49 days, and a working test vehicle in only 75 days.

The Willys MB and the Engineering Triumph of Four-Wheel Drive

While Willys-Overland ultimately won the contract, the final product became more of a collaboration than one specific winning design. Bantam delivered a small body design that met many of the Army’s needs, but they lacked the manufacturing capacity to meet the production requirements. Willys, on the other hand, produced an engine that exceeded all expectations with 60 horsepower and the ability to climb hills and tow heavier loads. This engine became known as the “Go Devil” engine. Finally, Ford submitted a serviceable design and had the production capabilities required by the Army.

Ultimately, the Army picked the best of each design and awarded the contract to Willys, who submitted the lowest bid per vehicle. From there, it became a team effort from Ford and Willys-Overland to meet the extreme production needs throughout the war. Of the more than 600,000 Jeeps that served in WWII, 360,000 were produced by Willys and 280,000 were made by Ford.

The Jeeps that rolled out of the Willys plant bore the name Willys MB with the “M” standing for military and the “B” representing the second design they submitted. The Jeeps made in Ford’s manufacturing plant became known as Ford GPWs, the “G” designated it as a government vehicle, the “P” was an internal Ford designator for the 80-inch wheelbase, and the “W” meant that it was a Willys design. The contraction of GP to “jeep” is one of many theories behind the vehicle’s iconic nickname.

Why the Jeep Was the Swiss Army Knife of World War II Vehicles

As warfare modernized, the aspect of the WWII Jeep that made it the most versatile general-purpose vehicle came from its design. The Jeep was designed to complete a multitude of tasks adequately rather than one task to perfection. This meant that the vehicle could adapt to the needs of whatever situation soldiers found themselves in.

Depending on the environment, the Jeep served as an ambulance that could race stretchers of wounded men back from the frontlines quickly, or it could be outfitted with the M1919A4 mounted machine gun. The WWII Jeep was essentially a blank canvas that was ready to answer the call at a moment’s notice.

The compact design and light weight not only allowed it to navigate brutal terrains, but it also meant that Jeeps could be brought to the fight in ways that no other vehicle could. For operations behind enemy lines, the Waco CG-4A glider was designed to carry one fully assembled Jeep and land silently in field locations to give airborne troops immediate mobility. However, most of the Jeeps made it to their destination on more conventional cargo planes and ships.

Further setting itself apart from other general-purpose vehicles, the Jeep was designed to be easy to repair. When Allied Forces relied on vehicle support, the ability to get Jeeps back into the fight was a top design requirement. Making the engines easily serviceable and all the parts interchangeable between the Willys MB and Ford GPW led to many damaged Jeeps becoming Frankenstein vehicles back at the motor pools.

The Jeep in the Pacific and European Theaters of War

Following the Normandy landings in 1944, the Jeep was used to support a fast-moving operation utilizing Europe’s extensive network of roads and farm tracks. Its four-wheel drive capabilities made it the perfect vehicle for officers and reconnaissance teams to use in order to keep up with the high intensity of the campaign even when encountering uneven terrain. Serving as a messenger vehicle and radio command platform, the Jeep allowed Allied Forces to coordinate their attacks across great distances more efficiently.

Showing off its versatility, the harsh terrains of the Pacific Theater pushed the Jeep to its limits. As American forces island hopped their way around the Pacific, Jeeps were required to maintain effectiveness while driving over soft sandy beaches and harsh jungle terrains. Some of their duties included transporting ammunition and wounded soldiers to and from the front, as well as supporting aviation operations on captured airfields.

The requirements of each theater were drastically different, but the one design was able to provide value equally. From the highly coordinated, fast-moving operations spanning hundreds of miles in Europe, to the more hostile nature of the remote Pacific Islands, the Jeep ensured that wherever the enemy tried to hide, the Allied Forces could reach them.

General Eisenhower and the Machine That Won the War

Upon reflection of the American victory during WWII, General Dwight D. Eisenhower claimed that the war was won with four crucial pieces of equipment, “the atomic bomb, the bazooka, the Jeep, and the C-47.” The Supreme Allied Commander included the Jeep in the list because it enabled reconnaissance and communications through its ability to move quickly across any terrain. Including this seemingly simple vehicle alongside aircraft and the atomic bomb shows just how important mobility was to the men on the ground.

While the Jeep did not win battles through firepower like many other American military innovations at the time, it solved a problem crucial to the success of any modern army. It answered the issue of frontline logistics in a way that no other vehicle at the time could come close to. Throughout military history, wars are never won by superior fire and manpower alone, but logistics was especially important during World War II as allied commanders coordinated millions of soldiers across multiple countries.

The Enduring Legacy of the Jeep

By the end of WWII, most of the soldiers serving overseas had ridden in or at a minimum seen firsthand the off-road capability and durability of the small ¼ ton vehicle. Unlike large military trucks and armored vehicles, the Jeep could return home and have practical civilian applications. As the demand for military Jeeps slowed, Willys-Overland introduced the “Civilian Jeep” to the market, and the legacy was born.

Marketing the civilian models to rural areas and farmers, Willys built a reputation for having a vehicle that could do it all. Having survived the gauntlet of testing in both theaters of World War II, the back roads of the United States were no match for the Jeep. To this day, the Jeep is marketed as a symbol of American ruggedness and freedom, and elements of the original design have stood the test of time.

The Jeep’s legacy endures far beyond the United States, and its boxy shape is believed to have inspired the iconic Land Rover and Range Rover in England. Later Jeep models combined its all-terrain abilities with passenger comfort, inspiring the creation of SUVs (sports utility vehicles) that dominate the modern automotive market.

Although standing armies were rare in the medieval world, certain empires had the administrative capacity to maintain large military forces to defend against foreign threats, preserve law and order, and expand their realms through conquest. The largest armies in the medieval world came from empires in China, India, the Middle East, and Eurasia, some with a manpower of over one million soldiers at their peak.

1. Song Dynasty China and Imperial Army Mechanics

Like many Chinese dynasties, the Song dynasty (960–1279) relied on quantity over quality. By the 1000s, Song emperors had over 1,000,000 men at their command, either garrisoning the kingdom or ready to march to battle. The cost of maintaining this force was enormous. Some reports indicate that close to 80% of the state budget was used to pay for equipment and salaries. The force was overwhelmingly composed of infantry, limiting its mobility. Additionally, Song emperors were afraid of generals rebelling against the dynasty and limited their authority.

Internal chaos ate at the professionalism of the army and led to territorial losses at the expense of the Jin and Mongol empires to the north. The formidable size of Song armies as well as superiority in naval warfare enabled it to hold off the northern conquerors until 1279, when Kublai Khan completed the conquest of China, eight years after proclaiming the foundation of the Yuan Dynasty.

2. Ming Dynasty China’s Conscription and the Weisuo System

It is a common myth that Revolutionary France was the first army to rely mainly on conscript soldiers. Centuries earlier, Ming China used a system of conscription called weisuo. This meant that every Chinese household had to provide at least one military-aged male to the army, who would also bring his own supplies. This meant that the Ming emperors could field a force numbering over one million, enormous for its time.

Over time, the erosion of order within Ming China weakened this system, and mercenaries became more commonly used than conscripts. Nonetheless, some documents from the 1500s indicate that they still fielded 850,000 men for combat duties. These forces dwarfed any army that could be raised by European states at the time, owing to China’s large population and efficient administration.

3. Tang Dynasty China’s Fubing System and Standing Legions

The Tang Dynasty in China relied heavily on a conscription system known as the fubing system. In the 7th century, the system created an army of 600,000 men to be used by Tang leaders, an enormous contingent in that period. Repeated rebellions and external threats meant that the army grew to close to one million, rivalling the armies of the Ming Dynasty. The force was overwhelmingly composed of infantrymen recruited from the peasantry.

The conscript system was gradually replaced by the use of professional soldiers, whom Tang leaders considered more capable. Even by using these men in a full-time capacity, the size of the army remained substantial. Other Chinese dynasties emulated the Tang in their recruitment of men for military service and the maintenance of a large standing army.

4. Vijayanagara Imperial Host of Southern India

Ruling over the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, the Vijayanagara Empire boasted a formidable army, similar to other Indian medieval kingdoms. However, the exact size of its forces is not known. Foreign travelers, mainly from Europe, visited the Vijayanagara realm and made estimates of its army’s size in their writings. Based on their accounts, historians estimate that the Vijayanagara Empire’s military had between 500,000 and 750,000 men available to fight if it went to war.

The most professional component of the force was called the Kaijeeta Sainya and was essentially a household guard. This force numbered in the tens of thousands. The main strength of the empire’s army came from recruitment by regional leaders called nayakas, who conscripted peasants for military service. This allowed for the deployment of a large infantry-heavy conscript force.

5. India’s Delhi Sultanate Cavalry and War Elephants

For over 300 years, the Delhi Sultanate dominated the Indian subcontinent in the Middle Ages. Its army was a formidable force dominated by a well-trained and well-equipped cavalry component that enhanced the army’s maneuverability and speed. It also had the ability to deploy mangonels and mines to assist with its siege operations, enabling it to conquer major population centers in the subcontinent. Its ranks were composed of Central Asians, Indians, and Mamluk mercenaries.

At its peak in the 14th century, the sultanate had close to 500,000 men available, mainly cavalry. It was able to defend its territory from the Mongols and launch expeditions into other parts of India and Asia thanks to its size and maneuverability. However, it suffered from internal chaos that led to its army’s destruction and the conquest by the Mughals in 1526.

6. Byzantine Empire Field Armies under Justinian

At its peak in the 6th century, the Byzantine Empire controlled most of the Mediterranean, stretching from what is today Armenia to modern-day Portugal. This was thanks to the efforts of Emperor Justinian I, who was determined to rebuild the Roman Empire. His senior general, Belisarius, conquered Rome, much of North Africa, and parts of Iberia. These conquests revealed the prowess of the Byzantine military.

The size of the Byzantine army fluctuated over time, but it is estimated that during the 6th century, Constantinople had 350,000 men under its command. Much of this force came from the former Roman army and included men from all over the empire. Its most elite force was the Varangian Guard, founded in the late 10th century AD and composed of Norsemen or Englishmen. As the empire contracted, Byzantine armies dwindled in size.

7. Sasanian Persian Aswaran and Cavalry Dominance

Between AD 224 and 651, the Sasanian Empire maintained a formidable military force that enabled them to dominate areas across the Middle East and Central Asia. The exact size of the Sasanid armies is not known, but some scholars estimate that it was over 300,000 men across the empire. The elite forces of the empire included elephant-borne troops and Aswaran cavalry units. Over the years of the empire’s existence, it battled the Byzantines for control over the Levant and parts of modern-day Anatolia.

Despite its army’s large size, during the 7th century AD the Sasanian Empire faced the twin threats of the resurgent Byzantines under Emperor Heraclius, and the Arab conquests initiated by the Prophet Muhammad. In 651, the Sasanian Empire was destroyed by the Rashidun Caliphate.

8. The Mongol Empire’s Nomadic Cavalry and Global Conquest

When Genghis Khan first started his conquests, he had a small force of mounted men with him to seize population centers in East Asia. By the time his empire expanded, he had a formidable force numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Both forced and voluntary recruitment boosted the Mongol army and enabled them to continue their march westwards. However, a large part of the army had to be used to garrison captured territories on the way, leading to Genghis’s force being diluted over time.

Even then, the Mongols were still able to advance into Europe with a force of 150,000 men. Even more impressive was the fact that most of this force was composed of cavalry, meaning that they had to bring more supplies for both men and horses. Being mounted also doubled the distance the army could travel in a day. Their mobility anticipated the use of massed cavalry in European armies.

9. Umayyad Caliphate Rapid Expansion Force

The Umayyad Caliphate’s army was only a little larger than the Rashiduns but was still sizable for its time. Like the Rashiduns, it relied heavily on light cavalry to make quick advances against its enemies. Much of the elite of the force came from Syria, while converts from conquered territories (such as Berbers) and slaves helped increase the size of the army’s infantry component. The Umayyads suffered a similar fate to the Rashidun Caliphate as a result of internal divisions.

The exact size of the army is not known exactly but is estimated to be in the tens or hundreds of thousands. The scale of the Umayyad conquests meant that the caliphs had to recruit a lot of fighters to maintain control. For instance, a major Berber revolt led to territorial losses, meaning that the Umayyads had to recruit a force of hundreds of thousands to defend their territory.

The American reconquest of Corregidor proved to be one of the most incredible feats by American forces in the Pacific War. Through a combined air and amphibious assault, the Americans overran the Japanese, who used the fortifications the Allies had once used themselves. It was redemption for the humiliation of 1942 and enabled General Douglas MacArthur to fulfill his “I shall return” vow.

What Was Corregidor’s Importance to the Allies and the Japanese?

Strategically located at the entrance to Manila Bay, the island of Corregidor had long been sought as a critical piece of territory by whoever controlled the Philippine islands: the local tribes, the Spanish, the Americans, and the Japanese. When the Americans took control of the archipelago from Spain in 1898, they built a formidable array of fortifications on the island. This was designed to ensure that no hostile fleet could enter the harbor without coming under heavy fire.

By 1941, the island contained around 56 heavy guns that could cover much of the bay. The Malinta Tunnel was dug under the spine of the island to store supplies and included an underground hospital with a 1,000-bed capacity alongside command offices. The garrison was increased right before the Pearl Harbor attacks because it became a critical component of the Allied defensive plan for Luzon. Japanese planners studied its defenses in detail, knowing it was a formidable target.

When Japan first invaded the Philippines, General Douglas MacArthur, the commander of all American and Philippine forces on the islands, ordered a withdrawal to the Bataan Peninsula. He also moved his headquarters from Manila Hotel to the tunnel where he commanded for several months. While the fighting raged on land, the Allied headquarters staff operated from Corregidor, sending out several appeals to Washington for a relief force to be sent.

The Humiliation of the Island’s Fall and MacArthur’s Return

As the archipelago’s defenses crumbled, President Franklin Roosevelt and General George Marshall ordered MacArthur to be evacuated by a patrol craft. He was reluctant, hoping to command his garrison until the very end. He eventually agreed to leave on March 11, 1942. In his place, General Jonathan Wainwright agreed to hold out as long as possible. However, the Bataan peninsula fell in April and Japanese forces besieged Corregidor for a very hellish month, shelling every inch of the island. General Wainwright had to surrender both the island and the remaining Allied troops across the Philippines.

General MacArthur was furious to hear about the surrender and vowed that he would return to oust the Japanese from the Philippines. After months of debate, he convinced officials in both Pearl Harbor and Washington to support a massive assault on the Philippines. Just as Japan prioritized seizing the island to open up the bay to shipping, MacArthur and his staff vowed to seize the island and Manila concurrently. His plan was not just for American strategic purposes; it was an act of revenge for the loss in 1942.

After the initial conquest of Leyte, MacArthur landed on Luzon north of Manila in January 1945. This operation was designed to break Japan’s center of gravity in the region and liberate the Filipino people. The Sixth Army, which oversaw the assault, pushed southward and fought a bloody battle with the Japanese garrison in Manila. Meanwhile, other units pushed south into the trenches on the Bataan peninsula. Once that area was cleared, preparations could begin for the assault on Corregidor.

Japanese and American Preparations for the Battle

After the Americans finally eliminated the remaining Japanese presence on Bataan, they began to prepare for Operation Topside. This plan involved a two-pronged attack by sea and by air. Knowing that the Japanese had strong defenses on the highest ground on the island, American planners decided to occupy it first before an amphibious landing could commence. Colonel George Jones, the commanding officer of the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, was given overall command of the operation. His formation was assigned to drop on a couple of narrow strips of territory that could accommodate paratroopers. Attacking from the sea was the 3rd Battalion of the 34th Infantry Regiment.

Awaiting the American assault was a Japanese force of 6,000 men under the command of Captain Akira Itagaki of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Itagaki knew that victory was almost impossible, so he aimed to inflict as many casualties as possible. Most of the island’s defenses faced south on the grounds that it was easier to land there. He discounted the possibility of an airdrop. Most of the defenders were Navy and Marine personnel from several stranded ships in the harbor. Some army units helped man the artillery and worked on reinforcing the defenses.

For three weeks before the attack, American aircraft and warships, along with long-range artillery based on Bataan, bombarded the Japanese defenses. Most of the above-ground structures were destroyed or damaged, forcing the Japanese defenders to retreat into their bunkers or the Malinta Tunnel. The bombardment helped conceal the American intention of dropping paratroopers onto the island.

The Allied Airdrop and Landing

Just after 8 in the morning on February 16, American C-47 transport planes began flying over Corregidor. The paratroopers jumped out over tight drop zones from a mere 400-500 feet above ground. The wind was blowing at 20 miles an hour, further complicating the jump. However, the paratroopers were able to land and quickly move to their respective objectives. In a fluke incident, some of the paratroopers dropped right into Captain Itagaki’s command bunker, killing him and several of his staff in the process. This disoriented the Japanese defenders and undermined their ability to respond to the American assault.

As American paratroopers started overrunning Japanese positions on Topside (the highest point on the island), landing craft pushed off from Bataan and aimed to debark at San Jose beach on the tip of the island. These GIs were prepared thanks to prior landing experiences and the support of naval gunfire. Heavy fire from near the Malinta Tunnel poured into the American attackers. Nonetheless, the battalion pushed forward and controlled the beach by nightfall.

Despite the disorder following Captain Itagaki’s death, the Japanese soldiers fought with their customary ruthlessness, making the Americans fight for every inch of the island. By the end of the first day, American forces were reorganizing themselves and preparing to continue their attack the following morning.

Brutal Subterranean Warfare and the Battle for Malinta Tunnel

For the next two weeks, American forces found themselves locked in a brutal struggle against Japanese troops dug into fortifications that, ironically, the Americans themselves had used to defend the island back in 1942. Paratroopers and GIs could not just storm these positions wholesale; they had to combine the widespread use of flamethrowers with high explosives. American troops in the Pacific were no strangers to these tactics because they had to use them almost every time they were on the offensive.

The Americans used the night to reorganize their forces and bring up additional supplies. They could not afford to rest because the Japanese repeatedly launched small-scale banzai counterattacks. These wild charges were terrifying to face, but ironically helped the Americans, since it was easier to kill the Japanese above ground than those ensconced underground. On February 18, several hundred Japanese were killed in a desperate attempt to attack the 503rd’s positions at night.

The 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry, managed to push out of their beachhead and link up with the 503rd within the first few days. Additional landing craft brought up heavier weapons and vehicles, including some tanks. Their main objective was the Malinta Tunnel, which contained much of the remaining Japanese ammunition stockpiles and hundreds of troops. On February 21, Japanese troops in the tunnel set off demolition charges, leading to hundreds of deaths and the entrance caving in. From then on, it was a matter of time before the Americans cleared the island.

The Allied Reconquest and MacArthur’s Visit to the Island

Japanese troops in the waning days of the battle blew up more ammunition stockpiles, hoping to take many Americans with them. On February 26, a massive blast in a bunker at Monkey Point killed 50 Americans, hundreds of Japanese, and even flipped over a Sherman tank near the entrance. This blast was the symbolic end of the battle because organized Japanese resistance came to an end. The GIs and paratroopers still faced firefights with stragglers, but the overwhelming majority of Japanese troops on the island had been killed by this point. A mere 50 were taken alive by the Americans in the months following the battle.

American casualties were lighter than in other Pacific battles, but relatively heavy for the size of the force involved. Just over 200 GIs and paratroopers were killed during the drop and the subsequent fighting. Close to 1,000 more were wounded, either in battle or with broken limbs incurred by the drop at the start of the battle. The Japanese put up a very tough fight, but their defense proved futile due to poor planning and wasteful tactics.

On March 2, MacArthur returned to Corregidor the same way he left three years earlier, by PT boat. Colonel Jones and his staff greeted him at the old headquarters building on Topside. The general, always eager for attention-grabbing moments, ordered the Americans to run up the Stars and Stripes on an old flagpole that had survived the battle. He then presented a Distinguished Service Cross to Colonel Jones. In the following weeks, American and Filipino engineers cleaned the harbor of mines and sunken ships. Most of the old tunnels were sealed off except for the Malinta Tunnel, which became a tourist attraction after 1954. Much of the above-ground infrastructure was not refurbished intentionally as a memorial for the men who died there. The battle remains a key episode in America’s reconquest of the Philippines.

Naval warfare during World War II was defined by steel giants carrying new technologies that dramatically changed the nature of clashes at sea. A single shell firing across miles of ocean or a calculated dive-bomber strike could dismantle supply lines, shift continent-wide campaigns, and change the course of individual conflicts and the great war. Several warships singlehandedly changed the course of the war for both the Allied and Axis powers. Discover the specs and impact of four incredible WWII naval ships.

1. HMS Warspite – “The Grand Old Lady”

A veteran of the 1916 Battle of Jutland, this Elizabeth-class battleship served into the next war. HMS Warspite, affectionately known as the “Grand Old Lady,” served in major Allied crises. It delivered perhaps the most accurate battleship bombardments ever, and supported critical operations needing precise naval gunfire.

At the Second Battle of Narvik in April 1940, Warspite stormed directly into narrow Norwegian fjords to destroy eight German destroyers. Her catapult-launched Fairey Swordfish floatplane also sank U-64, marking the first submarine ever destroyed by a warship’s aircraft.

At Cape Matapan in 1941, operating at night off the coast of Greece, Warspite and her sister ships ambushed and obliterated three Italian heavy cruisers in minutes, crippling the Regia Marina’s offensive capabilities.

During the Normandy Landings of 1944, Warspite’s guns fired the first Allied shots. Supporting the British at Gold Beach, her superb gunnery decimated German shore batteries and hit landing craft. Warspite’s bombardments enabled the securing of the landing zone.

Warspite ended WWII as a heavily battered floating battery, having logged more miles and fired more shell tonnage than almost any capital ship in British history. The ship was decommissioned in 1945.

2. USS Enterprise – “The Gray Ghost”

For the first desperate months of the Pacific War, America struggled badly. In 1942, the Japanese Imperial Navy repeatedly sank ships, including the USS Yorktown, Lexington, and Wasp. The Enterprise would survive these battles, earning the moniker “The Gray Ghost.” Japanese propaganda repeatedly reported her sunk. Twice during 1942, the “Big E” would be the Pacific’s only active carrier.

Enterprise was returning from delivering fighters to Wake Island on December 7, 1941, missing the Pearl Harbor attack by hours. Her scout planes engaged Japanese aircraft that morning. She went on to execute retaliatory strikes across the Pacific and escorted the USS Hornet during the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.

The Enterprise fought in every Pacific campaign from 1942 to 1945. Of all these fights, its finest shaping moment was the Battle of Midway in 1942. In this great clash of carriers, Enterprise’s squadrons proved decisive. Its squadrons launched the most effective, coordinated strikes. By battle’s end, four Japanese carriers went to the bottom.

On May 14, 1945, off the coast of Kyushu, a Japanese kamikaze plane plunged directly into Enterprise‘s forward elevator, blowing the 15-ton structure hundreds of feet into the air. The resulting damage forced the ship back to the United States for extensive repairs, ending her war service just months before V-J Day.

Despite passionate efforts by her former crew and veterans to preserve the legendary warship as a permanent museum, the U.S. Navy ultimately sold the battered Enterprise for scrap in 1958. But of course, the name lives on, as Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry specifically named the Enterprise for this incredible ship.

3. Schlachtschiff Tirpitz – “The Lonely Queen of the North”

Unlike the ill-fated Bismarck, Tirpitz’s career turned out very differently. Germany’s remaining true battleship never engaged in a fleet action. Nor did Bismarck’s twin ever sink another ship in battle. At 823 feet long, over 50,000 tons, and armed with eight 15-inch guns, the Tirpitz was no easy prize.

Tirpitz lay moored in Norway for the war’s duration. Tirpitz truly sortied into the Arctic only twice, both times unsuccessfully by 1942. After this, Tirpitz’s presence represented only danger. The battlewagon became a fleet-in-being.

The Tirpitz shaped the war, albeit much differently than Enterprise or Warspite, by threatening convoys and applying strategic pressure.  Nearly a quarter of the Russia-bound Lend-Lease aid came by convoy. Norway couldn’t be avoided. The Tirpitz became a potential threat. If it sortied successfully, the raider’s big guns would decimate any convoy. By never sailing, the Tirpitz exerted danger at the highest levels. This took up Allied naval resources, especially battleships and carriers. The German behemoth tied up naval assets that could be employed elsewhere.

The Allies launched over 20 operations to sink Tirpitz. For example, in September 1943, British midget submarines slipped past anti-submarine nets into Kaafjord to place explosives directly under the ship’s hull. The damage took the ship out of commission for six months. Its final destruction happened in Operation Catechism in November 1944. RAF Lancaster bombers carrying 12,000-pound “Tallboy” armor-piercing bombs scored direct hits, causing an internal magazine explosion that flipped the battleship upside down, killing over 900 crewmen.

4. IJN Yamato – “Symbol of Yamato-damashii (Japanese Spirit)”

This Japanese battlewagon represented Japan’s massive fleet battle theory (Kantai Kessen). Equipped with an 18.1-inch (46 cm) cannon, Yamato was the largest battleship ever constructed.

Yamato served as Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s flagship during the Battle of Midway, but operating hundreds of miles behind the main carrier strike group, she saw no combat and was helpless as Japan lost four fleet carriers.

Like the Tirpitz, Yamato took part in battles but never sank a foe. Yamato spent more time moored than sailing. Because Yamato‘s massive engines consumed immense amounts of fuel, Japanese high command was reluctant to commit her to frontline battles in the Solomons, earning her the crew nickname “Hotel Yamato.”

Nevertheless, the world’s largest gunned ship, at 72,000 tons, shaped the war easily. The U.S. Navy, wary of a marauding super battleship, kept contingency plans ready. The Yamato’s size and big guns meant few Allied ships could match it. If it ever broke out, the battleship could shatter any opposing force. The USN regularly positioned submarines near ports from which the Yamato sailed. Because of Yamato’s size, the U.S. Navy planned island invasions carefully. Task forces stood ready to intercept.

In October 1944, Yamato finally engaged enemy surface ships, firing her massive 18.1-inch main guns for the first time against a tiny task force of U.S. escort carriers and destroyers. Despite contributing to the sinking of U.S. ships, fiercely aggressive U.S. destroyer counterattacks and air strikes forced Yamato to break off the attack.

With the war all but lost, as part of Operation Ten-Go in April 1945, Japan dispatched Yamato on a one-way suicide mission to Okinawa. The ship was ordered to breach the Allied fleet, beach herself on the shore, and act as a giant artillery battery until destroyed. But before reaching Okinawa, Yamato was intercepted by over 300 U.S. aircraft. In the bombardment, the ship’s forward ammunition magazine detonated, producing a colossal explosion that sent a mushroom cloud thousands of feet into the air.

Yamato sank with over 3,000 of her crew, marking the definitive symbolic end of the dreadnought battleship era.

As the Great War ended, the Allied air forces saw the need for precision bombing. Level bombing attacks, though safe, failed to hit targets directly. But dive bombing provided nearly pinpoint accuracy. In a dive bomb attack, the plane steeply dove at the target. The pilot kept his eyes on the target, increasing accuracy. At the optimal moment, the pilot released the bomb and abruptly pulled up.

The Allies tinkered with dive bombing first, but the fragile canvas-and-wood Great War planes lacked a rigid airframe that could handle the stress caused by such maneuvers. The 1920s saw some planes built, like the Curtiss Hawk, that validated but didn’t fully explore the concept.

Interwar Aviation Innovations and the Design of the Ju 87

By the early 1930s, dive-bombing was a confirmed technique. Specialized planes appeared just for this one function. The Stuka, short for “Sturzkampfflugzeug” – dive bomber in German, first flew in 1935. The Junkers prototype’s inverted gull wings and fixed landing gear gave it a distinctive appearance, making it easily recognizable by friends and foes alike.

After testing the Stuka concept, Junkers initially built two prototypes using British engines. At this time, Junkers installed rotating pull-up dive brakes and wind-driven sirens on the wings. Two rivals, Heinkel and Arado, built prototypes as well. The rival company’s prototype, the Heinkel He 118, crashed during a test dive. Unfortunately for Heinkel, Ernst Udet, the Luftwaffe’s development head, was the pilot when one engine’s propeller broke. The Luftwaffe chose the Junkers Ju 87 officially in 1937.

Construction began quickly as Nazi Germany re-armed, having invalidated the Versailles Treaty. Hitler aimed to defeat the West and then pivot to attack Soviet Russia—a plan that required a prepared military.

How the Stuka Redefined Modern Close Air Support

The Stuka’s dive-bombing role lent itself to the Wehrmacht’s new combined arms warfare doctrine. German armored strategy used tanks as spearheads, focusing on speed and exploitation. Any obstacles meant Stukas swooping in for close air support, just a radio call away. The Stuka’s official debut occurred on September 1, 1939, with Poland’s invasion.

Tactical Dominance Across the Campaigns in Poland and France

Unleashed in Poland and again in the June 1940 French invasion, the Stuka shone. With its rugged construction, heavy bomb load, and quick response times, the Ju 87 sowed terror among both refugees and military units. 

Adding to the chaos with its sirens, nicknamed Jericho Trumpets, wailing and screaming in a dive, the Stuka instilled fear as it struck, often bombing or strafing refugee columns. These sounds alone created a psychological edge beyond the Stuka’s impact. Besides enemy defenses, Stukas ranged ahead of German panzer columns, striking targets like bridges, supply dumps, and troop concentrations. 

How the Battle of Britain Unmasked Fatal Flaws in the Stuka

With France’s June 1940 surrender, only the English Channel remained an obstacle. The Luftwaffe occupied French airfields, mustering several massive air fleets. The Battle of Britain began in earnest, with Stukas launching the first strikes, primarily targeting Channel shipping. Here, the Stuka faced the tough RAF, squaring off against modern fighters like the Hurricane.

The Stuka’s vulnerabilities suddenly became glaring. Despite all its pluses, like accuracy and toughness, its slow speed and lack of maneuverability made for an easy target. As a result, the RAF blew dozens from the sky. After only a month or so, the Luftwaffe withdrew the Stuka squadrons, transferring many home or to other fronts.

Redeploying the Stuka Fleet to the Mediterranean and Eastern Fronts

Despite the setback in Britain, the Stuka’s reputation as a strike weapon suffered little. In late 1940 and 1941, the Luftwaffe dive bomber squadrons, or Sturzkampfgeschwader, operated in the Mediterranean and over the Soviet Union during Operation Barbarossa. 

The Stuka wreaked havoc on both fronts, especially in Russia, although close air support missions proved costly without fighter escort. The Stukas ranged ahead of German panzer columns, hitting airfields and supply centers especially hard, but as the war progressed, the Stuka’s inability to defend itself against better Allied fighters led to higher losses. 

The Shift to Tank Hunting and the Twilight of the Ju 87

Though useful, the Stuka’s heyday had ended by 1942. Still, the Stuka assumed a larger anti-tank role with twin wing-mounted 3.7-centimeter cannons. These proved devastating when attacking massed Soviet tank columns but only with fighter cover. The Stuka’s last big hurrah came at the 1943 Battle of Kursk. Once seen as an essential part of the Luftwaffe, these slow, ungainly attack planes usually flew night missions. 

Production of the type ceased in August 1944, with around 6,000 built. The Ju 87 Stuka garnered a reputation as a terror weapon. Few, if any, matched it until later in the war.

Despite ultimately achieving victory, the Soviet Union lost tens of millions of people during World War II. As the people bled for their country, so did the cities eschew plumes of dust and smoke from deep within the bricks and mortar of their foundations. Moscow, the Soviet capital, was a glittering prize for the German war machine, and one that Hitler attempted to capture by the end of Operation Barbarossa. What happened in Moscow in the winter of 1941/42 and why did it matter?

Moscow During the War

Being the capital of the Soviet Union, Moscow was the main target for the German invasion. They hoped that by capturing the city, they would force the Soviet Union to capitulate. The Soviets, however, were intent on defending the city at all costs.

The Germans had made critical errors in their invasion, believing that Operation Barbarossa—the invasion of the Soviet Union—would be quick and decisive. When it began on June 22, 1941, the Soviets were taken by surprise, and the initial German advances were stunning. Soviet armies were confused and impotent, and quickly surrounded. To the Germans it looked as if the defense of Moscow would be pitiful.

The plan to take Moscow was enacted in Operation Typhoon, a bold pincer movement that the Germans expected would cut the city off from resupply and force the Soviets to surrender.

Soviet resolve, however, was a great deal stronger than Hitler had imagined. Soviet divisions were brought in from the east to strengthen the defensive lines, and the German offensive was slowed, giving the Soviets enough time to prepare effective defenses around their capital city.

The closer the Germans got to Moscow, the more the Soviet resistance stiffened, in part due the fact that Stalin refused to leave the city. His presence was a major factor in boosting the morale of Soviet troops.

Despite enormous losses, the Soviets continued to harass the Luftwaffe in the skies above, inflicting losses that the Germans could not easily sustain. Every night, the sky above Moscow was lit up with searchlights and tracer rounds from anti-aircraft guns. As the weather turned, air operations were drastically reduced, and the focus turned to the fighting on the ground.

Despite achieving success in the months preceding the attack on Moscow, the German offensive had slowed. German commanders found themselves in a difficult and critical position. The window of opportunity for taking Moscow was closing fast, and the chances of achieving victory were diminishing. Although many officers realized that Moscow was an unattainable target, the operation went ahead. They had rightly feared the onset of the Russian winter, but none were prepared for the harshness it presented.

The fighting was fierce, and German forces managed to advance to within a few miles of the city. In the distance, they could see the domes of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square, but they would not be able to advance further. Fresh divisions arrived to bolster the Red Army’s defense, while the Germans were plagued by logistical inadequacies.

With winter approaching, the rains turned the roads to mud, bogging down the advance of German tanks. By early November, a bitter cold had set in. Although the icy cold hardened the ground, easing the logistical difficulties and allowing German armor to advance, it also froze the grease in German guns, and gave the soldiers frostbite. They were ill-equipped for the harsh winter.

By the beginning of December, it was clear that the German offensive was a complete failure. The Germans, however, continued to underestimate their enemy and expected that Soviet manpower would be so depleted that they would not be able to launch a counteroffensive. They were mistaken.

On December 5, after receiving major reinforcements from the east, the Soviets launched their counteroffensive. Although they failed in their attempts to encircle the German army, they were successful in pushing the Germans back from the capital, hammering a final nail in the coffin of Operation Barbarossa.

Taking Shelter

Moscow suffered the worst aerial bombardments from October to November 1941, while German forces on the ground were preparing to assault and capture the city. For the Muscovites, the immediate need was to find shelter from the Luftwaffe’s bombs.

Like London during the Blitz, Moscow was well equipped to provide this shelter, and many made use of the sturdy protection offered by the Moscow Metro.

During the day, Metro trains ran as normal, but during the night, and during air raids, the trains stopped, and the Metro stations took in the people of Moscow, providing shelter from the danger above.

There were attempts to provide basic services. Doctors were on hand and food was distributed. Beds and cribs were installed for those in need, while the majority of people slept in the coaches, on benches, and on the floors. One station even opened a library.

Under the onslaught, the Soviet General Staff was under the impression that Moscow would fall, and the decision was taken on October 15 to evacuate the Metro and flood it. This decision was, however, reversed soon after it was made. The following day, October 16, 1941, is the only day in history when the Moscow Metro failed to open on time.

The Moscow Metro provided protection for many millions of people. After the immediate danger had passed, work began on expanding the Metro, and new lines and stations were opened while the country remained at war.

The Significance of the Battle

From a strategic perspective, the Battle of Moscow was a major turning point in the war, but it was by no means the most important turning point. After steamrolling through Europe on both fronts, the Battle of Moscow was Germany’s first major reversal of fortunes. Despite not being able to capture the city, the German forces were not spent. The Germans focused their attention on other points on the Eastern Front that would culminate in deadlier battles, reducing Germany’s offensive capabilities and putting the Third Reich into a complete defensive posture.

For the Soviets, the victory represented a moral and spiritual triumph rather than a definitive defeat of the German war machine. While Leningrad remained under siege, Moscow was freed from immediate danger, and the Soviet war effort would continue to be directed from the capital.

For the Germans, they had encountered the mighty resolve of the Soviet people and the unbelievably harsh conditions of the Russian winter. It certainly would not be the last time they would suffer at the hands of this deadly combination.

Unsurprisingly, Hitler was furious. His plan to knock the Soviet Union out with a quick blow had failed dismally. For Walther von Brauchitsch, the Commander-in-Chief of the German Army, things would not play out well. He had been at odds with Hitler before and the two had argued over military matters.

In November he suffered a heart attack, after which he was informed that he had an incurable heart disease. The following month, after the failure of German troops to take Moscow, Hitler sacked him.

Von Brauchitsch spent the rest of the war in forced retirement.

Today, the victory is celebrated each year on November 7 by a parade through Red Square, and a reenactment of the battle.

Damage and Casualties

Although some parts of the city suffered severe damage, especially from aerial bombardment, the damage was relatively light when compared with Stalingrad a year later. On the ground, most of the fighting had occurred in the outer suburbs or the surrounding countryside. The battle was massive, and the fighting was brutal. Hundreds of thousands of troops were involved on both sides.

There are many variables in trying to determine losses, as academics debate over when the Battle of Moscow officially started and ended. Additionally, the veracity of certain sources is difficult to verify as both sides had political interests in underreporting or overreporting casualty figures.

Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that the Soviets lost around 600,000 to 700,000 killed, wounded, or missing. Historian David M. Glantz adds another 370,955 to this figure, including the winter counteroffensive, which lasted until January 7, 1942.

The German losses are subject to huge discrepancies, as it is believed that commanders underreported their losses. Official reports at the time put the number of dead, wounded, and missing at under 200,000, while Soviet estimates put the figure at almost 600,000. The truth is likely to be somewhere between these numbers.

On a wider scale, over the period of Operation Barbarossa from June 22, 1941 to February 1942, the Germans killed an estimated 2.8 million Soviet prisoners of war across the entire front through various means including starvation, and exposure to the elements. This deliberate act was one of the most horrifying cases of genocide and would continue for the remainder of the war. According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the final total would be 3.3 million Soviet military POWs killed—roughly 57 percent of all those taken prisoner.

The Soviets understood that this was a war of extermination, and as such, they realized that surrender meant death.

A Crucial Step Forwards

Until the outcome of the Battle of Moscow, Soviet fortunes in the war had been critically poor. Whole armies were encircled and taken captive, while an inability to coordinate movements plagued any Soviet attempts at defense.

Understandably, many Germans thought their stunning advance would continue and Moscow would fall without too much trouble. For the Soviets, too, this seemed like a real possibility.

Debating what would have happened had the Germans succeeded is a major point of academic discourse. Moscow was the capital of the Soviet Union. Some historians argue that its capture would have precipitated the surrender of Soviet armies across the entire Eastern Front, leading to the full capitulation of the Soviet Union, while others believe the war would have simply moved eastwards, and the Soviets would continue the fight with renewed vigor.

The truth of the matter is that Moscow was not captured by the Germans. The Soviets won the battle and drove the Germans back. What this represented was massive. A seemingly unstoppable advance (and the biggest invasion in history) had, in fact, been halted in its tracks.

It bought the Soviets the time they needed to mobilize further. A year later, they would see victory at Stalingrad, and follow it up with another huge victory at the Battle of Kursk. These two events provided the impetus the Soviets needed to turn the tide against the Germans. The Battle of Moscow was the first step in being able to achieve final victory in World War II.

Conventional military wisdom suggests that massive industrial power, elite training, and superior firepower guarantee victory on the battlefield. Yet history tells a far more chaotic story. Time and again, underdog rebel militias and local insurgents have defeated much more powerful forces. By trading pitched field battles for hit-and-run ambushes, grueling attrition, and terrain mastery, these six insurgencies achieved what military analysts would have considered impossible.

1. Haitian Revolution and the Defeat of Napoleon

After its conquest by Spain in the 1500s, the island of Hispaniola became a colony of multiple European powers for around 300 years. France and Spain imported thousands of Africans to work in gold mines and sugar farms as slaves. By 1789, France controlled half of the island, which they named Saint-Domingue. The colony had a population of 560,000, most of whom were slaves. The horrific living conditions they endured made a revolt inevitable.

According to Antoine Dalmas, a French physician in Haiti, in August 1791, Haitian conspirators gathered at Bois Caïman during a violent tropical storm. Led by the Voodoo priest Dutty Boukman and priestess Cécile Fatiman, the leaders sacrificed a black pig, drank its blood, and swore a sacred pact to destroy the plantation system. Within days, hundreds of thousands of enslaved people rose up simultaneously, torching sugar fields and lighting up the night sky so brightly it was visible miles at sea.

The revolutionary French government in 1793 banned slavery and granted citizenship to mixed-race Haitians. Toussaint Louverture, a wealthy mixed-race landowner, took control of much of the colony and agreed to keep it under French rule with limited autonomy. However, First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte reinstituted slavery and launched a military expedition to oust Toussaint in 1802. Over 20,000 French troops arrived and began fighting Toussaint’s militias. As more troops arrived, roughly 60-80,000 French soldiers served in the campaign. Louverture adopted a brutal scorched-earth policy, burning Port-au-Prince and Cap-Français to the ground to leave the invading force with zero shelter or supplies. Nevertheless, the French captured him, and he subsequently died in French captivity in April 1803.

The Haitians continued to fight under the leadership of men such as Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who staged a hit-and-run campaign against French forces. French forces suffered staggering casualties from Haitian ambushes and yellow fever. Reportedly 50,000 French troops died of the disease. They could beat the Haitians in pitched battles, but they struggled to track them down in the jungles. By 1804, French troops were bottled up by Haitian rebels and the British Navy in the last colonial outpost at Gonaïves. When they surrendered, Haiti gained its independence at the cost of over 200,000 people.

2. Spanish Peninsular War and the Birth of Guerrilla Tactics

In 1807, Emperor Napoleon dispatched an army to invade Portugal through Spain. The French military presence in Spain was unpopular among many Spaniards, and in May 1808, residents of Madrid staged a revolt against French forces. The brutal suppression of this revolt led to the rise of a widespread insurgency throughout Spain. French forces struggled to handle the rise of ambushes and raids on their outposts, and they lashed out at the civilian population.

In July 1808, Napoleon imprisoned King Charles IV of Spain and his son Ferdinand VII and installed his brother Joseph on the Spanish throne. The regular army struggled to resist French occupation, and many Spanish peasants and soldiers took to the countryside to fight as insurgents without a higher military command structure. They called themselves guerrilleros, coining the term guerrilla warfare.

The insurgents and Spanish regulars who refused to serve King Joseph received assistance from the British, who hoped to push the French army out of the Iberian Peninsula entirely. As the French occupation grew more brutal, more Spaniards joined the revolt, threatening French supply lines. French communication across Spain became a logistics nightmare. Single couriers carrying dispatches were routinely intercepted and killed. To guarantee a single letter made it from Madrid back to Paris, the French army eventually had to assign escorts of up to 200 armed cavalrymen just to protect a single messenger from roadside ambushes.

By 1812, it was estimated that close to 40,000 guerrilleros were fighting the French. Their attacks grew bolder, and Spanish regulars fought under the Duke of Wellington’s command. By 1814, British, Spanish, and Portuguese forces pushed the French out of the peninsula and invaded France. While the guerrilleros did not win the war single-handedly, their actions proved vital in destabilizing French rule in Spain.

3. Great Arab Revolt and the Fall of the Ottoman Empire

Before the First World War began, Arab tribes in the Mashriq began advocating for more freedom from the Ottoman Empire. After the 1908 Young Turk Revolution, Arab nationalists began demanding more sovereignty and equality with Turks. They lacked the force to get what they wanted, but many hoped that the British and French would help them realize their ambitions once the war broke out.

Starting in 1914, British officials in Egypt began surreptitiously communicating with the Sharif of Mecca, Hussein bin Ali, and his son Abdullah. Hussein originally sided with the Ottomans but decided to support the Entente, believing that it would create an Arab empire in the Hejaz.

Hussein ordered members of his family to lead Arab warriors in raids against Turkish outposts throughout the Arabian Peninsula. The raiders struggled due to a lack of munitions and the unwillingness of many Arab soldiers within the Ottoman ranks to desert. However, by 1916, several important population centers, such as Ta’if and Mecca, were free of Ottoman control. Later that year, Hussein was joined by British Captain T.E. Lawrence.

Lawrence was sent along with other Anglo-French officers by his commanders to liaise with the Arab rebels. He managed to convince the different Arab leaders to work together and coordinate their actions with the Entente. Instead of marching on Medina, Lawrence and Hussein took their forces north along the Hejaz railway towards Aqaba. Using mobile camel cavalry to lay explosives along hundreds of miles of isolated track, the guerrillas repeatedly ambushed armored trains. Rather than destroying the railway completely, they deliberately kept it barely functional, forcing the Ottoman military to drain massive amounts of manpower and resources just guarding vulnerable tracks. By 1918, they pushed into Syria and helped destroy the remaining Ottoman forces.

Arab leaders took up arms based on written pledges from the British government promising a unified, independent Arab kingdom stretching from Syria to Yemen after the war. However, behind their backs, Britain and France drafted the secret 1916 Sykes-Picot Agreement. Once the Ottoman Empire fell, the Allied powers betrayed their promises, partitioning the Middle East into French and British colonial mandates and setting the stage for decades of modern conflict.

4. Yugoslav Partisans and Tito Resistance to Axis Forces

The brutal Axis occupations of East Asia, North Africa, and Europe during World War II encouraged mass resistance among occupied populations. When Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, and Hungary carved up the Balkans and sought to break up Yugoslavia, they created a massive resistance movement that undermined Axis control. The Yugoslav Partisan Army, led by Josip Broz Tito, became one of the most successful insurgent movements of the Second World War.

Following their seizure of Yugoslavia, several Axis nations broke up Yugoslavia while creating puppet governments in Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, and elsewhere in the region. The brutality of the Axis occupiers not only reopened sectarian divisions; it also led to large numbers of Yugoslavs to resist. Tito, the leader of the Yugoslav Communist Party, began organizing people into a coalition of resistance groups. They fought against Serbian and Croatian collaborator militias as well as the Serbian Royalist Chetniks, who also despised the Axis occupiers.

Throughout the war, Tito’s Partisans fought the Axis armies and the Chetniks in a series of brutal clashes. They withstood repeated offensives and grew to over 650,000 men and women by 1945. Allied support proved crucial in ensuring they could dominate rival factions’ struggle. Cornered against the freezing Neretva River by 150,000 Axis troops, Tito’s forces faced annihilation while transporting 4,000 wounded partisans. In a desperate stroke of tactical deception, Tito ordered his engineers to blow up the main railway bridge. Believing the Partisans had abandoned the crossing, German commanders redirected their forces. Overnight, Partisan engineers constructed a makeshift footbridge over the destroyed spans, allowing 20,000 fighters and all the wounded to slip past the encirclement.

In May 1944, Nazi command launched Operation Rösselsprung, dropping elite SS paratroopers directly onto Tito’s mountain headquarters in the Bosnian town of Drvar to capture or kill him. While Partisan bodyguards fought to the last man outside his cave, Tito climbed through a hidden chute in the back wall, scrambled up a cliff, and escaped under heavy enemy fire.

By the time the Soviets invaded Yugoslavia, the Partisans became Yugoslavia’s regular military and enabled Tito to become the head of state after the war. Unlike many other partisan movements in WWII, Tito’s army had access to heavy weapons from the Western Allies, meaning that they could launch major offensives against Axis forces and the Chetniks.

5. Viet Minh Victory at Dien Bien Phu

Tito’s accomplishments in defeating the Axis in Yugoslavia during WWII were mirrored in the French colony of Indochina by Ho Chi Minh and his fellow communists of the League for Independence of Vietnam. Ho was a longtime Communist who failed to achieve Vietnamese statehood at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Afterwards, he began forming an underground movement aimed at overthrowing French colonial rule and creating a communist republic. His plans were put on hold by Japan’s conquest of Indochina.

During the Second World War, Ho and his comrades organized a militia in the jungles in northern Vietnam to fight the French and Japanese forces. He had support from the US, which wanted the Japanese out of southern Asia entirely. When the war ended, the Viet Minh began fighting the returning French authorities. Lacking heavy weapons, they launched a jungle-based insurgency. Ho aimed to sap France’s strength until his army, known as the Viet Minh, could overwhelm the French forces. By 1950, this plan was working as the People’s Republic of China and the USSR began providing substantial aid to the Viet Minh.

Ho’s military commander, Vo Nguyen Giap, began launching major offensives against French forces. His most successful operation was besieging the French Army garrison in the Dien Bien Phu valley. French commanders deliberately set up a heavily fortified air-land base deep in a remote, ringed valley, confident the Viet Minh could never move heavy artillery over the surrounding jungle mountains. Giap had over 250,000 Viet Minh soldiers and civilians dismantled heavy 105mm howitzers and anti-aircraft guns, manually dragging them up sheer mountain trails using ropes, pulleys, and reinforced push-bikes. They dug the artillery into concealed, bomb-proof bunkers on the high ground, looking directly down into the French positions. When the Viet Minh barrage opened on March 13, 1954, the French were caught in total shock.

In four months, the Viet Minh destroyed a French force of 15,000 men and strengthened their hand at the negotiating table in Geneva. By 1954, French forces vacated Vietnam, leaving behind two Vietnamese states, including Ho’s communist republic in North Vietnam. North Vietnamese forces would eventually defeat South Vietnam and reunite in 1975 after ill-fated American military intervention in the Vietnam War.

6. Soviet Afghan War and the Defeat of the Red Army

In December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to support the faltering communist government and suppress the Mujahideen insurgency. This marked the USSR’s only military intervention outside Europe and coincided with the decline of communism in the Eastern Bloc. Approximately 100,000 Soviet troops occupied major Afghan cities, leading to intense and prolonged conflict with Mujahideen fighters.

The war, lasting nearly a decade, resulted in the deaths of around one million people and left Afghanistan in ruins. Despite overwhelming firepower, the Soviets failed to crush the different Mujahideen bands, who operated with outside support and had sanctuaries in Pakistan or Iran. By using the terrain and taking advantage of the weakness of the Soviet Army’s Afghan partner force, the Mujahideen was able to inflict heavy losses on the communist forces.

The Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989 precipitated a power vacuum, leading to civil unrest and the eventual rise of the Taliban in 1996. This conflict significantly strained the Soviet economy and military, contributing to the USSR’s collapse in 1991.

The invasion had profound long-term effects, destabilizing the region and fostering conditions that led to the rise of extremist groups. Unlike the postwar insurgencies such as the Baltic Forest Brothers in Eastern Europe against Soviet forces, the Mujahideen benefited from several advantages that made them almost impossible to defeat. When the Taliban used the same tactics against the NATO coalition later on, they managed to take back power from the Western-backed government in Kabul in 2021.

Nearly two centuries later, the Texas Revolution and Mexican-American War are often grouped together as a single event in the expansion of the United States. This association, however, is mostly a fallacy. Although they are inherently connected, each conflict exhibits distinct differences. While the Texas Revolution and Mexican-American War share overlapping features in terms of geography and the political and military leaders involved, the two conflicts were caused by different catalysts and resulted in separate outcomes for the United States and Mexico.

Historical Context

The historical contexts of the United States, Mexico, and Texas in the decades preceding the Texas Revolution and Mexican-American War present a complex web of nationalist movements. For the United States, the early 19th century represented a time when the country largely managed to rid itself of the threat of foreign invasion.

Despite formally achieving independence from Britain in the late 18th century after the American Revolutionary War, the United States continued to experience harassment from the British with the continued occupation of forts in the northern United States, the impressment of American sailors, and restrictions on American trade.

These grievances led to the War of 1812, and after an intense struggle on multiple fronts, the Treaty of Ghent restored the prewar status quo for the United States and British Canada. By fostering closer relations with Britain, the United States had the opportunity to pursue economic development and territorial expansion. American expansion, guided by the idea of Manifest Destiny, threatened Mexican territories towards the south and west.

During this same period, Mexico was in its own struggle for independence from Spain. After a decade of hostilities, Spain recognized Mexican independence in 1821. Less than 15 years later, Texas, then part of Mexico, sought its own freedom. While Mexico attempted to maintain control of Texas, its northern neighbor aggressively sought expansion into Texas as well as

the Mexican territories of California and New Mexico. These respective struggles led to armed conflict through the Texas Revolution in the mid-1830s and the Mexican-American War a decade later.

Causes of the Texas Revolution

Following Mexico’s independence from Spanish colonizers, the newly independent country encouraged American settlers to migrate into Texas to foster population growth, economic development, and offer protection from Native American tribes. While Mexico required settlers to adhere to local religious and legal codes, Americans were incentivized to settle in Texan towns through the empresario system. By 1834, the American settlers had outnumbered local Mexicans and sought to achieve independence from Mexican rule.

The challenges of integrating American settlers into Texas were clear from the outset. Americans, for example, were largely English-speakers and Protestants, while Mexican citizens who were primarily Spanish-speaking Catholics. Moreover, American settlers who were accustomed to state autonomy and a weak federal government resented the centralized nature of the Mexican state. Settlers from the north were additionally unhappy when the Mexican government imposed strict trade and land restrictions that reduced the autonomy of local communities.

A final frustration of Texas’ new inhabitants arose when Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna abolished the federalist Constitution of 1824. The document, largely supported by Texas residents for its economic freedoms, the right to representation, and local autonomy, was replaced by the Seven Laws Constitution, which strengthened the central government’s powers. While not adopted until 1836, the gradual centralization of power in Mexico led to the Battle of Gonzales, marking the start of the Texas Revolution on October 2, 1835. Figures including Davy Crockett and James Bowie jumped to defend Texas in resulting skirmishes.

Outcomes of the Texas Revolution

After six months of fierce clashes including the Siege of Bexar, the Siege of the Alamo, the Goliad Massacre, the Texas Revolution came to an end following Texan victory at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. General Santa Anna was captured during the battle and recognized the independence of the Republic of Texas in exchange for his freedom. Under its first president, Sam Houston, Texas laid claim to a vast expanse of land including parts of the modern-day American states of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming in addition to Texas itself. While Texan citizens sought to exploit the newly acquired land, its official borders proved uncertain and required further negotiation, which presented significant challenges.

As a nascent country without established governance or resources, Texas struggled to properly achieve its citizens’ visions of autonomy. Economic volatility, the failure to obtain international recognition, and ongoing violent skirmishes with Native American and Mexican populations disrupted Texas’ ability to thrive. As a result, many Texans were in favor of becoming part of the United States.

While many American political leaders were keen to annex Texas, the process took nearly a decade to complete due to domestic and international considerations. While the Texas Revolution was successful, the new Mexican government that assumed power after Santa Anna’s fall did not recognize Texan independence, and as such American annexation would be seen as an act of war. Debates about slavery within the United States and overseas influence from France and Britain designed to inhibit American expansion all served to prevent the immediate annexation of Texas.

Annexation of Texas and Resulting Border Disputes

In November 1844, Democratic candidate James K. Polk won the presidential election after running a campaign vowing to annex Texas. This encouraged incumbent President John Tyler to work with Congress to pass a Texas annexation bill prior to Polk’s inauguration. On December 29, 1845, Texas was formally admitted to the Union as the 28th state. The move immediately stirred backlash from Mexico. Worried about growing American influence, Mexico interpreted the annexation as the illegal seizure of a rebellious province.

Disputes over Texas’ boundaries further heightened tensions between Mexico and the United States. After integrating Texas into its union, the United States recognized the Rio Grande River as the state’s southern boundary. Mexico, however, recognized the Nueces River 100 miles to the north as the frontier.

In response to the border dispute, President Polk sought a diplomatic solution and dispatched Louisiana attorney and future senator John Slidell to Mexico as an envoy to negotiate a solution to the Texas dispute and to offer the purchase of New Mexico and California from Mexico for $30 million. When the Mexican government refused to meet with Slidell, Polk provocatively sent American troops to the disputed border region.

Polk’s intentions were met on April 25, 1846, when Mexican forces opened fire on United States soldiers, an incident now known as the Thornton Affair. After accusing the Mexican troops of “shed[ding] American blood on American soil,” the president secured congressional authorization to declare war against Mexico over two weeks later.

The Mexican-American War: Battles in Texas

While the Mexican-American War began nearly ten years after the Texas Revolution, the two conflicts share Texas as a common battleground. After the Thornton Affair, several military engagements took place in the disputed region. For example, at the Battle of Palo Alto, General Zachary Taylor led American troops against Mexican forces under General Mariano Arista in the first major engagement of the war. On May 8, 1846, Taylor’s effective deployment of his maneuverable light artillery enabled the United States to achieve a decisive victory despite being heavily outnumbered.

The following day, Taylor led the pursuit of the retreating Mexicans and engaged them at the Battle of Resaca de la Palma, where the reinforced Mexican Army was once again defeated. The exchange forced the Mexican troops to withdraw to the opposite side of the Rio Grande, leaving behind their weapons and supplies. These two successes allowed the United States to relieve the ongoing Siege of Fort Texas, repelling the Mexican assault.

The battlefields of Texas not only gave opportunities for American troops to gain experience and raise morale before embarking on operations deeper into Mexico, but General Taylor exploited the accolades he earned for his victories by successfully running for president in 1848. Although he had survived many hardships on campaign, Taylor died in July 1850 at the age of 65, less than two years into his term.

Mexican-American War Outcomes

After the United States sealed its victory in the Mexican-American War by capturing Mexico City, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on February 2, 1848. The agreement gave the United States 525,000 square miles of new territories including all or part of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Texas. While Mexico received $15 million in compensation, the Texan border dispute was also resolved in the United States’ favor by placing its southern border on the Rio Grande.

While these arrangements fulfilled the United States’ desire for expansion towards the Pacific coast, the outcomes of the Mexican-American War were less beneficial to other populations in North America. Mexican families faced the dilemma of relocating within Mexico’s newly appointed borders or choosing to remain in their homes as full American citizens. The large number who remained behind have continued to influence society and culture of the region to the present day.

Simultaneously, the war left Native American tribes vulnerable to American settlers headed west, forcing them out of their ancestral lands. In the decades following the Mexican-American War, the California Gold Rush and subsequent settlement resulted in Native Americans being dispossessed of large tracts of land. The provocative American actions which led to the conflict and the negative impact on Native Americans following the war have contributed to the war’s controversial legacy in the present day.

When President Theodore Roosevelt brokered the Treaty of Portsmouth between Russia and Japan in 1905, it established America and Japan as major actors in Asia. While Japan achieved most of its political objectives in the treaty, Roosevelt’s refusal to meet Japan’s demands for reparations from Russia fueled increased rivalry between Tokyo and Washington which led to conflict in the Pacific during the Second World War.

The Russo-Japanese War

After years of competition over control of critical ports and waterways in Manchuria and Korea, the Russo-Japanese War broke out in February 1904. Russia believed that it was a superior power and that an Asian country like Japan was not capable of defeating a European power in battle. For the government in Tokyo, this war was about showing the world how Japan was a force to be reckoned with on the international stage. It started with a major naval attack on the port of Port Arthur, crippling the Russian Pacific Fleet before blockading it within the harbor.

Subsequently, Japanese forces landed in Manchuria or marched from their bases in Korea to assault Russian forces. Russia mobilized troops from garrisons throughout the empire to stop the Japanese advance. Notwithstanding Russia’s calls for assistance from other European empires, many of them had no problem with Japan defeating Russia. Russian forces were poorly led and less trained than their enemies, who modeled their army after the Prussians and their navy after the British. Steadily, the Japanese pushed Russian forces out of much of Manchuria.

After the defeat of the Russian army at Mukden (present-day Shenyang, Liaoning Province) and the capture of Port Arthur by Japan, Tsar Nicholas II played his last major card by ordering much of his Atlantic and Baltic fleets to the Far East to confront the Japanese navy in the Sea of Japan. Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō attacked and destroyed much of the Russian Fleet at the straits of Tsushima in May 1905, compelling the Russians to seek peace.

American Relations With Japan and Russia Before the War

The United States had long sought close ties with both Russia and Japan in its efforts to play a role in the future of East Asia. American policymakers were reluctant to enter into entanglements in Europe or Asia with any major actor but did seek to project American strength in the region. Both countries were seen as benevolent trading partners and friends of America’s interests in the region and enjoyed good relations with Washington on the eve of the war.

As a result of Russia’s support for the Union in the American Civil War and America’s support of Russia during the Crimean War, Moscow and Washington were amicable. Russia had been willing to sell Alaska to the United States in 1867 and did not yet see America as a major competitor to its interests. Both countries sought to be taken seriously on the world stage. However, ties became slightly strained as a result of Russia’s autocratic government and antisemitic pogroms against Jewish populations.

When US Navy Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Japan to open the country to international trade in 1853-54, he helped turn Japan into a modernized empire. Many Japanese elites saw the United States as a role model. Theodore Roosevelt was impressed with the country’s modernization program and backed Tokyo’s territorial ambitions. During the war, the US officially remained neutral, but businessman Jacob Schiff gave Japan a wartime loan because of antisemitism in Russia. Tokyo, in turn, supported America’s land acquisitions in Asia until the Second World War broke out.

The US Government’s Interests in East Asia

As part of America’s efforts to become a world power, the United States began to undertake major military operations in East Asia in the late 19th century. After occupying Hawai’i and other islands in the Pacific, the US began expanding into Asia when it attacked the Spanish garrison in the Philippines in 1898. After defeating the Spaniards, the US military proceeded to fight a multi-year counterinsurgency against Philippine nationalists opposed to foreign rule. Both Japan and Russia backed America’s position at the time.

While America fought in the Philippines, US forces landed in China as part of an international force to lift the Siege of Peking. Boxer rebels, opposed to foreign involvement in China’s affairs, attacked foreign legations in the capital. After hard fighting and marching, the eight-nation coalition, which included both Russian and Japanese troops, arrived at the city in 1900. They successfully drove off the Boxers and saved the city. The American occupation forces remained in place for another year.

By undertaking actions like this, the United States showed itself to be an effective actor in the region that was willing to take risks to make itself a great power. Washington began to fear that its actions were making other powers jealous and therefore sought to safeguard its possessions by pursuing amicable relations with other regional actors. In accordance with his Big Stick Policy, President Roosevelt offered to mediate between the Russians and Japanese in 1905.

Starting the Peace Talks

While the Russian army and navy had been crippled by the conflict, the war had been costly for Japan and the imperial treasury was close to bankruptcy. As a result, both Russia and Japan accepted Roosevelt’s offer of mediation in the summer of 1905. The Japanese sent Baron Kaneko Kentarō to meet with the Americans, while the Russians sent Count Sergei Witte, the veteran statesman and former finance minister. Both Witte and Kaneko met at Roosevelt’s private estate at Sagamore Hill.

Roosevelt was a practitioner of personal diplomacy and he sought to size up both men. Witte understood how dire Russia’s predicament was. He pushed the tsar to make significant territorial concessions so that Russian troops could be redeployed to suppress the Revolution of 1905 that had broken out in the wake of the disastrous war. Tokyo was struggling economically too but had the military advantage and enjoyed broader international support. Kaneko was able to use his longstanding friendship with Roosevelt and other American officials to his benefit.

After the initial round of talks at Sagamore Hill, the main conference moved to Portsmouth, Maine. This location ensured less media scrutiny than if the walks were conducted in Washington. At this point, Witte was joined by Baron Roman von Rosen while Japan was represented by Baron Jutaro Komura and Kogoro Takahira. The atmosphere was generally cordial and the US State Department played an important role in keeping both parties talking. However, several major issues proved difficult to negotiate.

Main Issues at Portsmouth

When both delegations presented their proposals around borders and control of Manchuria, several sticking points came up. Both Japan and Russia demanded sovereignty over Sakhalin island, which Japan had seized by force during the war. Even though the island did not feature much in Russia’s strategic planning, Witte still insisted that the island was Russian as a matter of pride. Japan asserted its right of conquest and argued that Russia did not need the island.

Additionally, Japan demanded that Russia pay an indemnity for the war in order to address the financial crisis at home. Japanese negotiators thought that the Japanese public would only accept an agreement if Russia agreed to pay. Russia, which was in no position to pay the indemnity that Japan was asking for, declined and insisted that they would not agree to a treaty with an indemnity clause.

These issues held up the status of the talks. Both countries feared major unrest in their home countries if they did not get a deal that was acceptable. The stubbornness of the negotiating teams on these issues caused Roosevelt’s team to fear that their mediation would fail. Therefore, they changed tactics. The president began to encourage Russia to accept territorial losses, which he knew Russia could not take back militarily. At the same time, he pushed Japan to drop its indemnity demands. This new push provided the momentum for the final agreement.

Final Agreement and Subsequent Developments

On September 5, 1905 Russia and Japan finally signed the Treaty of Portsmouth. In accordance with Roosevelt’s wishes, Tokyo gained control over the southern half of Sakhalin island and Port Arthur. Additionally, Russia recognized Japanese control over Korea and south Manchuria. In exchange, Russia was not forced to pay any war indemnity, and both countries agreed to withdraw their military forces from most of Manchuria.

Despite America’s resounding success in mediating the agreement, trouble arose soon after the signing of the treaty. In Japan, the heavy physical and economic toll led to much hardship and the lack of a Russian indemnity led to riots. Some Japanese militarists believed that they needed to continue the war and not worry about what Western countries thought about their position in the world. Japanese officials thought that America was a close friend and did not believe that Roosevelt supported them as sufficiently as they hoped. This caused a gradual worsening of relations in the lead-up to WWII.

The end of the Russo-Japanese War was not enough to put an end to the 1905 Revolution in Russia, and in October Witte encouraged Tsar Nicholas to announce political concessions. However, the return of Russian troops from the Far East did allow the government to pacify lesser disturbances the following year.

Tsar Nicholas resented Roosevelt’s sympathy with Japan and Russian mistrust of American intentions increased over time. Nonetheless, Roosevelt’s mediation demonstrated that the United States was a key player on the international stage, and his efforts in brokering the Treaty of Portsmouth earned him the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize.