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 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.
The Causes of the Second World War
From the flawed peace of 1919 to the invasion of Poland in 1939, this story traces the interlocking causes of the Second World War across two decades of crisis, ideology, and failed deterrence.
D-Day and the Liberation of Europe
From Operation Overlord to the Rhine crossing, this story traces how the western Allies opened a decisive front, liberated occupied Europe, and helped defeat Nazi Germany.
