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Charlemagne: King, conqueror, emperor
In the first part of our special feature for this issue, Stephen Roberts traces the life of this extraordinary individual; while in the second part, he looks in more detail at Charlemagne’s victory at Pavia, which helped him establish the foundations of the Holy Roman Empire.
The Siege of Pavia: Defeating the Lombards, 773-774
In the second part of our special, Stephen Roberts reveals how a key victory helped Charlemagne establish the foundations for the Holy Roman Empire.
Russia: Revolution and Civil War 1917-1921
Over a career as one of Britain’s most prolific military historians, Sir Antony Beevor has produced some of the most compelling narratives of 20th-century conflict. Perhaps most famous for Stalingrad, Beevor has
Campaign launched to commemorate biggest loss of female army life in British history
Nearly 80 years on, the Women’s Royal Army Corps Association is working to ensure that the names of the victims are included in war memorials across the country.
Hitler’s Airborne Elite and the Battle for Crete
Neil Faulkner introduces an elite Nazi strike-force and sets the scene for the epic Battle of Crete in May 1941.
The Battle for Crete: 20 May-1 June 1941
Neil Faulkner analyses one of the Second World War’s most curiously asymmetrical battles.
Resistance: The Underground War in Europe, 1939-45
REVIEW BY DAVID PORTER. This is a highly detailed (936 pages!) study of resistance across Europe during the Second World War, from its tentative beginnings in 1939 to the large-scale partisan warfare
The Battle of Sluys
Edmund West reports on a medieval naval battle that is little known but was of decisive significance.
WAR ON FILM – Operation Mincemeat
The newly released, star-studded British movie Operation Mincemeat is, on one level, about the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. On another, more profound level, it is about how people deceive one
The New Model Army: Agent of Revolution
REVIEW BY DAVID FLINTHAM. Created in 1645, the New Model Army was a truly formidable fighting force: in the first six years of its existence, it crushed Royalist resistance in England, Ireland,
Aerial photography reveals wartime role of Belhus Park
Visible in the photograph are more than 300 small circular bell tents, most likely soldiers’ accommodation.
German civilians gather around a British tank, Hamburg station, May 1945
This photograph, showing soldiers lounging on their tank and citizens going about their daily business, was taken outside Hamburg railway station in May 1945.
‘I never saw braver men’: black soldiers in the American West
Fred Chiaventone recalls the service of the US Army’s first black regiments.
University partners with Tank Museum to preserve historic vehicles
Many of the tanks on display and in storage are examples of British engineering heritage.
The King’s culprits: what became of the prisoners of 1798?
Inspired by the American and French revolutions, the Irish Rebellion of 1798 saw thousands take up arms against against British rule. But though it would inspire future generations of republicans, the rising was quickly crushed and many of the rebels were taken prisoner. Patrick Mercer looks at what happened next.
1945: Victory in the west
REVIEW BY GRAHAM GOODLAD. Over the past decade, Peter Caddick-Adams has established himself as a leading historian of land warfare in the second half of World War II. 1945: Victory in the
War of words – ‘SIEGE’
‘Siege’ derives from the Old French sege and had appeared in English by the 14th century.
Room where Nelson’s body lay in state reopens to the public
The Nelson Room at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich was unveiled in late March following a year-long conservation project.
Churchill’s darkest hour: the Fall of Singapore and the military disasters of 1942
The bleakest moment for Britain’s wartime prime minister came not in 1940 – when his popularity soared and he was convinced a German invasion was impossible – but in 1942, as Taylor Downing explains.
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HMS Victory marks a century in Portsmouth harbour
This year sees the beginning of the next stage of conservation. This work will include the removal of rotting planks and their replacement with new oak, repairs to the ship’s structural framework, and a full re-rigging.