There were many “unbeatable” fighting forces throughout history, each in its own day. It is really impossible to objectively say which was the most formidable of all time. Especially as your question isn’t what army, but what UNIT was the most formidable. I’ll give a list of some throughout the ages, in chronological order, any of which could fit the bill, in the inimitable style of “Bad Ass of the Week’s Ben Thompson: The SEA PEOPLE SHARDANA/SHERDEN SWORDSMEN – Who were these badass Bronze Age Vikings of the Mediterranean, who kicked butt from Sardinia to Syria and brought down the Hittite E ..read more

This excellent presentation gives, in my humble opinion, the best representation of how ancient battles (at least with the Romans) were really fought ..read more

George Armstrong Custer rode to immortality (or infamy, depending on one’s view point) when he led the 7th Cavalry down into the valley of the Little Bighorn River, on June 25, 1876. By the next day he was one of 268 men of the 7th lying dead among the grassy hills above the river. But George wasn’t the only Custer who died that day. With him were two of his brothers and a nephew, as well as a brother-in-law. One of those brothers was the first man to ever win the Medal of Honor not once, but twice. He is the “Other Custer” few Americans know about. Thomas Ward Custer was the younger brother ..read more

Unique among the territories of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, Britain succeeded in holding back and even reversing the tide of Germanic conquest for nearly two centuries. This was an age of heroes… It was the Age of Arthur! This is the twentieth-part of our discussion of Britain in the 5th though the mid-6th Century A.D. It is a fascinating period, with the Classical civilization of Greece and Rome giving way to the Germanic “Dark Ages”; the sunset of Celtic-Roman culture in Britain. (Read Part Nineteen here. Or start from the beginning, with Part One!) ________________________ ..read more

There are very few periods of history which surpass the Napoleonic Era for the variety and splendor of the uniform of its combatants. This is particularly striking, counterpoised against the brutal and sanguine nature of battles in this period. For fans of this period (and of my ongoing series, Napoleon’s Last Campaign), here is a visual presentation of the uniforms of this splendid period. FRANCE NEXT: BRITAIN ..read more

  Unique among the territories of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, Britain succeeded in holding back and even reversing the tide of Germanic conquest for nearly two centuries. This was an age of heroes… It was the Age of Arthur! This is the Nineteenth-part of our discussion of Britain in the 5th though the mid-6th Century A.D. It is a fascinating period, with the Classical civilization of Greece and Rome giving way to the Germanic “Dark Ages”; the sunset of Celtic-Roman culture in Britain. (Read Part Eighteen here. Or start from the beginning, with Part One!) ARTHUR RETURNS S ..read more

Unique among the territories of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, Britain succeeded in holding back and even reversing the tide of Germanic conquest for nearly two centuries. This was an age of heroes… It was the Age of Arthur! This is the eighteenth-part of our discussion of Britain in the 5th though the mid-6th Century A.D. It is a fascinating period, with the Classical civilization of Greece and Rome giving way to the Germanic “Dark Ages”; the sunset of Celtic-Roman culture in Britain. (Read Part Seventeen here. Or start from the beginning with Part One!) A GATHERING OF WOLV ..read more

Unique among the territories of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, Britain succeeded in holding back and even reversing the tide of Germanic conquest for nearly two centuries. This was an age of heroes… It was the Age of Arthur! This is the Seventeenth-part of our discussion of Britain in the 5th though the mid-6th Century A.D. It is a fascinating period, with the Classical civilization of Greece and Rome giving way to the Germanic “Dark Ages”; the sunset of Celtic-Roman culture in Britain. (Read Part Sixteen here. Or start from the beginning, with Part One!) In the previous chapter ..read more

Deadliest Blogger’s historical articles organized in a chronological order, to help my readers place them in some sort of historical timeline. My ever-loving girlfriend pointed out that it would be uber-useful to have a reference guide to all of the various pieces Deadliest Blogger has written over the years; placing each in it historical order. Well, her wish is my command! Here is a list of all of my historical pieces, placed within a chronological timeline: ANCIENT WORLD   The Artwork of War – Heroes of Troy and Mycenae: 15th-12th century BC. Bronze Age Greek world, in the Age of Heroes ..read more

A millennium-and-a-half before Frederick the Great, Epaminondas of Thebes changes the face of warfare with the oblique attack and forever destroyed the myth of Spartan invincibility ! The Peloponnesian War indisputably established Sparta as the paramount power in the Greek World. Though that long conflict had been waged, ostensibly, by Sparta to free the Greek city-states of the Delian League from Athenian dominance; the Spartan victory merely replaced Athenian hegemony with Spartan. Though superb soldiers, the Spartans were educationally and temperamentally ill-equipped to deal with the su ..read more