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Coronation of Napoleon I
The Coronation of Napoleon I as Emperor of the French took place on Sunday 2 December 1804, in the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral. A sacred ceremony held to legitimize Napoleon's reign, the coronation signaled the birth of the First French...
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The Siege of Cusco in 1536-7
The two sieges of Cusco in 1536-7 were the last great military actions by the Incas as they tried to reclaim their empire from the Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro (c. 1478-1541). The European cavalry proved all but invincible...
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Assassination of Marat
The assassination of revolutionary activist and Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat on 13 July 1793 was one of the most iconic moments of the French Revolution (1789-1799), immortalized in Jacques-Louis David's painting Death of Marat. Marat's...
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Fall of the Girondins
The fall of the Girondins, which occurred during the Paris insurrections of 31 May-2 June 1793, marked the end of a bitter power struggle between the Girondins and the Mountain during the French Revolution (1789-99). It was significant for...
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The Alamo - The Mission, The Fortress, The Shrine
The poster for John Wayne's The Alamo (1960) celebrates its history with the line, "The Mission That Became a Fortress…The Fortress That Became A Shrine…," which is a concise and accurate summary of the story of the structure famously known...
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Eyewitness Account of the Battle of the Alamo - The Tragedy of an Unnecessary Assault
Colonel José Enrique de la Peña (1807-1840) was an officer in the Mexican army during the Texas Revolution in 1836 and was present during the siege of the Alamo, participated in the Battle of the Alamo, and retreated from Texas after President/General...
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Battle of Wagram
The Battle of Wagram (5-6 July 1809) was one of the largest and bloodiest battles of the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). It resulted in a pyrrhic victory for French Emperor Napoleon I (r. 1804-1814; 1815) whose army crossed the Danube River...
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Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino (7 September 1812) was a major battle fought during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. It saw the French Grande Armée of Emperor Napoleon I (r. 1804-1814; 1815) narrowly defeat an imperial Russian army under Mikhail Kutuzov...
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The Price of Greed: Hannibal's Betrayal by Carthage
Hannibal Barca (l. 247-183 BCE), the brilliant Carthaginian general of the Second Punic War (218-202 BCE), had the military talent, expertise, and skill to have won the conflict but was denied the resources by his government. The Carthaginian...
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Battle of Marston Moor
The Battle of Marston Moor near York on 2 July 1644 was one of the most important engagements of the English Civil Wars (1642-1651). The Parliamentarians won the battle which, involving over 45,000 men, was the largest of the First English...