Military

An illustration by cartoonist Jean Veber depicts British Army troops rounding up South African Boer civilians

Concentration Camps Existed Long Before Auschwitz

From Cuba to South Africa, the advent of barbed wire and automatic weapons allowed the few to imprison the many

Testing football gear

Could This Strange Fluid Prevent Concussions and Twisted Ankles?

Army researchers, academics and industry have been using shear thickening fluids for body armor, better football helmets, rehabilitation tools and more

Photo of the world's first atomic explosion at the Trinity Site in New Mexico.

Trinity Site Offers a Rare Chance to Visit Ground Zero of the World’s First Atomic Bomb Explosion

The detonation site is only open to civilians twice a year

Thousands of women tirelessly worked in close quarters throughout the war breaking codes for the Army and Navy. Vowed to secrecy, they have long gone unrecognized for their wartime achievements.

How the American Women Codebreakers of WWII Helped Win the War

A new book documents the triumphs and challenges of more than 10,000 women who worked behind the scenes of wartime intelligence

The aluminum nano-powder reacts in the lab.

Army Scientists Put the "Pee" in Power

By combining urine and aluminum powder, soldiers may be able to produce energy in the field

The Moment Lincoln Realized the Military Power of Railroads

Following victory for the South in the battle of Bull Run, President Lincoln reached an inescapable conclusion

The H.L. Hunley, a confederate Civil War era submarine, sits in its water tank at the Hunley Lab in North Charleston, SC.

One Scientist May Have Finally Figured Out the Mystery of Why a Civil War Submarine Sank

A Navy engineer used creative modeling and her knowledge of underwater explosions to tackle the century-old Hunley conundrum

Chick Parsons (center and top) was the toast of prewar Manila, a convivial, polo-playing expat businessman with an eagle tattooed across his chest.

Without Chick Parsons, General MacArthur May Never Have Made His Famed Return to the Philippines

The full story of the American ex-pat's daring feats has not been told—until now

Chinese laborers comprised the largest non-European workforce during World War I, and were tasked with everything from digging trenches to manning factories.

The Surprisingly Important Role China Played in WWI

In turn, the peace talks that ended the war had an enormous impact on China's future

Plotting a route out? German prisoners in Britain during WWII.

This Newly Excavated Underground Tunnel Reveals How 83 German Officers Escaped a World War II Prison Camp

The POWs burrowed to freedom from a Welsh encampment in 1945

Alcatraz Island as it looks today.

Alcatraz Wasn't Always 'Uncle Sam's Devil's Island'

Though it was a prison for more than a century, it didn't become the famous maximum-security penitentiary until 1934

Soldier’s Patchwork with Incredible Border, artist unidentified, India, 1855 (pre-1881)

The Centuries-Old Tradition of Military Quilting Is Getting Its First Exhibition in the U.S.

The display celebrates the art and craft of soldiers at war and offers insight into life in the military

U.S. senators Ben Nighthorse Campbell, dressed in ceremonial Northern Cheyenne regalia, and Daniel K. Inouye, a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, stand with Native American Vietnam veterans during the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in 2004.

A New Memorial Will Soon Honor the Heroism of Native American Veterans

For design ideas and funding, the National Museum of the American Indian turns to its community

North Korean soldiers carry flags and a photo of late leader Kim Il-sung during a military parade on Saturday, April 15, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Why North Korea Needs an Enemy Like America to Survive

The nation’s complicated history hinges on three words that explain the totalitarian regime's behavior

More than 300,000 Allied troops were rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940, with help from ships like the "Medway Queen."

The True Story of Dunkirk, As Told Through the Heroism of the “Medway Queen”

Retrofitted by the British Navy, the paddleboat saved 7,000 men over many dangerous trips across the Channel

As he led his troops into the mountains, Hannibal vowed: “You will have the capital of Italy, the citadel of Rome, in the hollow of your hands.”

How (and Where) Did Hannibal Cross the Alps?

He pulled off one of the greatest military feats ever. Now new scientific evidence points to Hannibal's legendary route to Rome

In this June 13, 1917 file photo, U.S. Army General John J. Pershing, center, inspects French troops at Boulogne, France

“I Hope It Is Not Too Late”: How the U.S. Decided to Send Millions of Troops Into World War I

The Allies were desperate for reinforcements, but the U.S. wasn’t quite ready to provide them

Israeli supplies are air dropped to troops in the Sinai, June 1967, during the Six-Day War.

What the Six-Day War Tells Us About the Cold War

In 1967, Israel launched a preemptive attack on Egypt. The fight was spurred in part by Soviet meddling

How a Downed U.S. Plane Almost Caused a Nuclear War

When the Cubans accidentally shoot down a U.S. U-2 aircraft, the threat of nuclear war becomes a serious possibility

"We saw kids who created hands that had solid, non-moving opposable joints," says Tim Pula (left) from the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation .

The Next Generation of Military Prosthetics Is Breaking New Ground

At the Smithsonian’s Military Invention Day, visitors experienced how military innovation is helping society

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