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As 2025 comes to an end, we at War on the Rocks reflect on the stories and events that our readers found most compelling in a year marked by fresh conflicts, long-standing rivalries, cutting-edge military technology, and the ongoing importance of learning from the past. Our most-read pieces show the variety of our interests and the complexity of our world, from geopolitical conflicts in the Indo-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East to the change in how the United States views itself and interacts with allies and adversaries. As discussions about military modernization, drone warfare, and force structure unfolded in our pages, this year’s top stories showed a persistent focus on the linkages between strategy, technology, and war. They also emphasized a deep curiosity about the tug of history and how it impacts today’s concerns.
1. Jakub Jajcay, “I Fought in Ukraine and Here’s Why FPV Drones Kind of Suck”
2. Rick Landgraf, “Ten Jolting Takeaways from Trump’s New National Security Strategy”
3. Choong-Koo Lee, “Putting the Screws on the Partnership Between North Korea and Russia”
4. Brandan R. Schofield and Andrew C. Edwards, “Flood the Zone: III Marine Expeditionary Force’s Mobility Mandate”
5. Bret C. Devereaux, “The Importance of the Battle of Cannae”
6. Richard Maass, “The 51st State That Never Was: Why the United States Didn’t Annex Canada”
7. Lindsay Powell, “Rethinking Rome’s “Most Reluctant” Emperor”
8. Peter Briggs, “When It Comes to Submarines, Australia Is Going to Be Left High and Dry”
9. Jeffrey Michaels and Michael John Williams, “A Wargame to Take Taiwan, from China’s Perspective”
10. Collin Meisel and Mathew Burrows, “Russia Can Afford to Take a Beating in Ukraine”
11. Arzan Tarapore, “Operation Sindoor and the Evolution of India’s Military Strategy Against Pakistan”
12. Ben Connable, “We Need a Marine Corps, Part I: A Corps in Crisis”
13. Jack Watling and Michael Kofman, “Willpower, Not Manpower, is Europe’s Main Limitation for a Force in Ukraine”
14. William DeMarco, “Marching to Different Drums: The Army’s Birthday Parade as Seen from China”
15. Richard Fontaine, “The Superpower Has Left the Building: Munich 2025”
16. Bilal Y. Saab and Darren D. White, “Lessons Observed from the War Between Israel and Iran”
17. Christopher T. Costello, “The Importance of the Battle of Lake Champlain”
18. Gregory Poling, “Beijing’s South China Sea Campaign of Intimidation Has Run Aground”
19. Mike Shekleton, “The Importance of the Battle of Antietam”
20. Aaron Brady, “Greenland’s Military Possibilities for the United States”
21. Liborio F. Palombella, “Shallow Waters, Big Lessons: What the Falklands War Reveals About Submarine Warfare”
22. John Polga-Hecimovich, “Weak in Battle, Dangerous in Resistance: Venezuela’s Military Preparedness and Possible Responses to U.S. Action”
23. Cheng Deng Feng and Tim Boyle, “Exposing China’s Legal Preparations for a Taiwan Invasion”
24. Tommy Jamison, “The Importance of the Battle of the Yalu”
25. Alexander Burns, “The Importance of the Battle of Leuthen”
