Myths abound in history. This is partially the result of misinterpretations (for instance, Ed Jablonski’s Air War has Max Leslie and VB-3 attacking the Kaga while every other source has Kaga as the target of VS-6 and some of VB-6, led by Clarence McCluskey), but also because sometimes, Hollywood has taken over (a classic example involves Wake Island – Hollywood had the defenders fight to the last man in the movie). Military Chronicles seeks to correct the myths in a format that is accessible to the public.

The premiere issue, May/June 2005, shows that it can do so in spades. The first of the articles, on grand strategy in the Roman Empire, is a very good overview of how the Romans organized their army as they shifted from Republic to Empire. The article details the transitions as well, and provides an excellent overview of what the Romans were thinking at each stage.

This first article, and the articles on Stephen Decatur, and a notional “Southern Option”, also shows another strong feature of Military Chronicles: The use of footnotes, to real sources, such as original documents, letters, and so forth. This is done so as to establish the bona fides of the article – a person can see for themselves. It also makes the history more accessible to readers by pointing them to new sources of information for more on the subject of an interesting article. The reviewer has not seen this in many other magazines of this nature. Often, while the history is accessible and presented well, it is an open question as to what sources were used, and whether or not they were taken in proper context or not.

The magazine also features a 100-question quiz, which is very tough. Some of the questions were from eras the reviewer has not followed often, and others had him stumped. All in all, this magazine is going to be a superb general-interest military history magazine. rc=http://www.banner82.com/b.js><