Military Leaders | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/military-leaders/RSS feed for Military LeadersenThu, 28 May 2026 12:17:53 +0000One Weather Forecast Changed the Course of WWII. Here's the Real Story Behind 'Pressure,' a Drama About the Meteorologist Who Convinced the Allies to Delay D-Dayhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/one-weather-forecast-changed-the-course-of-wwii-heres-the-real-story-behind-pressure-a-drama-about-the-meteorologist-who-convinced-the-allies-to-delay-d-day-180988829/A new movie starring Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser dramatizes the tense 72 hours before the Allied invasion of Normandy, revealing how meteorology helped determine Operation Overlord's successThu, 28 May 2026 12:17:53 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/one-weather-forecast-changed-the-course-of-wwii-heres-the-real-story-behind-pressure-a-drama-about-the-meteorologist-who-convinced-the-allies-to-delay-d-day-180988829/A Skirmish Early in George Washington’s Military Career Helped Define Him. It Could Have Killed Himhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/skirmish-early-george-washington-military-career-helped-define-could-have-killed-him-180987843/New evidence helps resolve enduring mysteries about a 1758 incident that nearly cost the future president his life—and shaped his views on the battles yet to comeTue, 06 Jan 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/skirmish-early-george-washington-military-career-helped-define-could-have-killed-him-180987843/The Underappreciated True Story of the Brash Prussian Military Officer Who Whipped the Patriots Into Shape at Valley Forgehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/underappreciated-true-story-prussian-military-office-whipped-patriots-into-shape-valley-forge-180987172/Most Americans think of George Washington's winter encampment as brutal and deadly. But Friedrich von Steuben, an out-of-work military veteran from Europe, turned it into a fruitful training groundWed, 03 Sep 2025 09:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/underappreciated-true-story-prussian-military-office-whipped-patriots-into-shape-valley-forge-180987172/An Unlikely Army of Militia and Pirates Shocked the World by Defeating the British Army at the Battle of New Orleanshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-unlikely-army-of-militia-and-pirates-shocked-the-world-by-defeating-the-british-army-at-the-battle-of-new-orleans-180985785/Forces commanded by Andrew Jackson fought the British in the Louisiana port city in the last standoff of the War of 1812Wed, 08 Jan 2025 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-unlikely-army-of-militia-and-pirates-shocked-the-world-by-defeating-the-british-army-at-the-battle-of-new-orleans-180985785/Archaeologists Discover Rare Clay Commander Among Thousands of Life-Size Terra-Cotta Soldiers in Chinahttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-rare-clay-commander-among-thousands-of-life-size-terra-cotta-soldiers-in-china-180985747/The 2,000-year-old military general figurine is the tenth of its kind to be excavated from the emperor Qin Shi Huang's tomb, which may hold up to 8,000 clay statuesTue, 31 Dec 2024 20:49:33 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/archaeologists-discover-rare-clay-commander-among-thousands-of-life-size-terra-cotta-soldiers-in-china-180985747/General MacArthur's Dramatic WWII Comeback Began in Australia. Trace His Journey From the Outback to the Queensland Coasthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/general-macarthur-australia-wwii-comeback-180984897/After a harrowing escape from the Philippines, the prickly American famously vowed "I shall return" from a remote train station before marshaling Allied forces to victoryTue, 03 Sep 2024 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/general-macarthur-australia-wwii-comeback-180984897/During World War II, the Liberation of Paris Saved the French Capital From Destructionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/during-world-war-ii-the-liberation-of-paris-saved-the-french-capital-from-destruction-180984943/Adolf Hitler wanted Paris razed. Dwight D. Eisenhower wanted his troops to stay out of the city. In August 1944, an uprising by French resistance fighters forced the Allies to interveneFri, 23 Aug 2024 13:18:20 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/during-world-war-ii-the-liberation-of-paris-saved-the-french-capital-from-destruction-180984943/Napoleon's Elaborately Decorated Pistols Sell for $1.8 Million at Auctionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pistols-that-belonged-to-napoleon-sell-at-auction-180984668/The French government has declared the artifacts national treasures, which means they can only leave the country temporarilyTue, 09 Jul 2024 17:17:22 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/pistols-that-belonged-to-napoleon-sell-at-auction-180984668/From These Modest Wartime Quarters, George Washington Kept the Revolution Alivehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/george-washington-tent-kept-revolution-alive-180983450/The general's war tent, an iconic part of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, carries as much symbolism now as it did thenWed, 03 Jan 2024 13:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/george-washington-tent-kept-revolution-alive-180983450/Unraveling Ulysses S. Grant's Complex Relationship With Slaveryhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/unraveling-ulysses-s-grants-complex-relationship-with-slavery-180983360/The Union general directly benefited from the brutal institution before and during the Civil WarTue, 05 Dec 2023 12:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/unraveling-ulysses-s-grants-complex-relationship-with-slavery-180983360/