History glossary
garrison
a group of soldiers stationed to defend a fort, town, or other military position.
- Category
- Military term
- Region
- Global
- Date range
- Varies
What it means
A garrison is a body of troops assigned to defend a specific place. At the Bastille, the garrison guarded the fortress and surrendered after fighting with the crowd on 14 July 1789.
Stories using this term
The Abbasid Golden Age
From revolution and Baghdad to the House of Wisdom, science, medicine, trade and the fall of the city, the Abbasid Golden Age reshaped global knowledge.
The Rise of Islam
From Muhammad's first revelations to the early caliphates, Islam grew from a Meccan message into a civilisation spanning Africa, Asia and Europe.
The American Revolution and Early Republic
From colonial tensions to independence, this traces the birth and early struggles of the United States of America.
The Anglo Boer Conflict
A war between Britain and Boer republics that exposed imperial costs and reshaped South Africa.
The Aztec Empire
From migrants to empire, the Aztecs built a powerful civilisation before collapsing after Spanish conquest.
The Russian Revolution
From the 1905 crisis to the creation of the USSR, the Russian Revolution transformed imperial collapse into a new one-party socialist state.
The Vietnam War
From decolonisation to Cold War conflict, the Vietnam War reshaped Southeast Asia and global politics.
The American Civil War and the Abolition of Slavery
The American Civil War determined the survival of the Union and led to the abolition of slavery, fundamentally reshaping the United States.
