For most of the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key wanted no part of the dispute between Great Britain and her former colonies. But then the British went and wrecked his hometown.
Robert Bateman taught military history at the United States Military Academy, George Mason University and Georgetown University. He is currently working on a book about doctrine, technology, and the culture of the US Army officer corps in the Interwar Period for Knopf. He can be reached at R_Bateman_LTC@hotmail.com
How French hubris determined the fate of North America.
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Verdun had served the French well as a defensive outpost in the past, but in WWI it became synonymous with insensible tactics that claimed 250,000 lives.
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