Alexander the Great’s Battle of Issus (333 BC)

In 334 BC, Alexander the Great launched his invasion of the Persian Empire, which stretched from northwestern India to Egypt and modern-day Turkey. Alexander routed a Persian force at Granicus, just south of the Hellespont. He quickly took the coastal cities along the Mediterranean, then marched into central Anatolia.
By November of 333 Alexander reached the coastal city of Issus, located east of modern-day Adana and northwest of Aleppo. He knew Persian King Darius III was leading a large army to this region. Darius planned to link up with the Persian Mediterranean fleet and cut Alexander’s supply lines.
A large number of Alexander’s men became sick at this time. Alexander left them in Issus and marched into Syria, searching for Darius. The Persians outflanked Alexander and took Issus, massacring the Macedonian contingent there.

Read the complete article and see the maps at Hampton Roads Military History

Army Officer in Iraq Discovers WW II Armored Vehicle

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Aug. 6, 2008 — The cavalry has always played an integral role in the world’s militaries. Traveling and fighting on horseback gave them an advantage to regular ground troops, as it made them faster, more mobile and a more lethal force.

Throughout the years times changed and cavalry units eventually gave up their horses and replaced them with armored vehicles.

One of those armored vehicles, an M8 light armored car used in WWII was found on Camp Taji, northwest of Baghdad, in a vehicle boneyard.

Maj. John Highfill, a native of Otis, Kan., and previous executive officer 2nd Battalion, 14th Cavalry Regiment, “Strykehorse,” 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team “Warrior,” 25th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, a self-proclaimed history buff, discovered the antique while researching his unit’s history.

“After doing some research on the 14th Cavalry, I found that the 14th Cavalry Group, as it was designated during WWII, used this piece of equipment in the European Theater of Operations,” he said.

As Highfill continued his research of the vehicle he came across a picture of an Iraqi soldier in Camp Taji standing next to a Greyhound, and as a history enthusiast, he eagerly shared this information with his Soldiers and went out to the boneyard to search for the vehicle. He eventually found it among the tons of old, discarded and broken down Soviet equipment. Read Lyndsey Dransfield’s entire report at “The Tension”

Bulgaria Archeologists Unearth 1900-Year-Old Thracian Chariot

A team of Bulgarian archeologists has discovered a unique, fully preserved four-wheeled Thracian chariot, which is more than 1900 years old.

The discovery was made close to the village of Borisovo, Yambol District in southeast Bulgaria by a team of the Archeological Institute of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The expedition is led by the leading Bulgarian archeologist Daniela Agre. The chariot is unique because it is the only one found in Bulgaria in the very way the ancient Thracians laid it in the tomb of a wealthy aristocrat. Read the full report at Novinite