New research reveals secrets of the Ardennes offensive

Researchers have uncovered new information about one of the largest and bloodiest engagements of World War II. The Battle of the Bulge was fought between the Allies and Nazi Germany in the Ardennes region between December 1944 and January 1945, and was the last major German offensive of the war.…

Baseball and britain: Aerial reconnaissance of the USAAF

Between 1943 and 1944, reconnaissance units from the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) trained for combat deployment over the skies of England. They flew over airfields, radar installations, and ancient monuments, as well as major settlements, in order to learn the English radio procedures and flying regulations – and,…

In View

MHM’s round-up of the latest military history titles.…

The Savage Storm: The battle for Italy 1943 

REVIEW BY JONATHAN EATON James Holland has established a firm reputation as one of the leading British historians of the Second World War. He has published a series of books that have transformed our understanding of the conflict, most recently Brothers in Arms: one legendary tank regiment’s bloody war from…

Pax: War and Peace in Rome’s Golden Age

REVIEW BY MARC DESANTIS Over several centuries, Rome met and bested every other organised state of the Mediterranean basin. By overcoming all rivals, Rome extinguished the ability of other states to make war, which was now its monopoly. It was an empire the likes of which had never been seen…

Women in Intelligence: The hidden history of two World Wars

REVIEW BY CALUM HENDERSON Mata Hari was the ultimate femme fatale. The Dutch-born exotic dancer and courtesan was famously beautiful and enigmatic, and equally notorious for her many affairs – often with military officers. But Mata Hari led a double life, spying for the French in the early part of…

Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt: An eyewitness history

REVIEW BY PATRICK MERCER When I joined the army there were sphinxes all over the place: on cap badges, collar badges, sporran badges, embroidered on Regimental Colours… The Gloucesters even wore two, one fore and another aft, to commemorate fighting back-to-back in the desert sands of Egypt. That was such…

Military History Matters 135

• Nelson and the Nile: The Battle of Aboukir Bay, 1798
• Europe 1943: turning the tide of WWII
• Cromwell and Fairfax: how the English Civil War was won
• Terror in Tuscany: the cruel siege of Siena
• American Patriot: Paul Revere’s ‘midnight ride’…

Location of long-lost British submarine identified off Greek coast

The British submarine HMS Triumph was lost in mysterious circumstances off the coast of Greece in 1942. Now she has been located, after a search lasting more than 25 years. The submarine, which was involved in various special operations during the early years of the Second World War, was found…

Menin Gate memorial undergoes two-year restoration project

A two-year restoration project on one of the most recognisable memorials of the First World War has begun. The Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, is dedicated to British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed during fighting in the nearby battlefields over the course of the war. The memorial, on the…

Rare Second World War bomber unveiled after decade of conservation

An exceptionally rare bomber from the Second World War is back on public display after undergoing more than ten years of conservation work. The Vickers Wellington bomber, one of only two remaining in existence, is the centrepiece of the Bomber Command exhibition at the RAF Museum Midlands, which opened in…

War Classics: The Red Badge of Courage

Just over 30 years after the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863, a young reporter who had never heard a shot fired in anger managed to produce a literary classic that not only captured the intensity and confusion of the bitter fighting, but also explored for the first time the huge…

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