Military History Matters 151
The comprehensive website for archaeology, history, heritage and the ancient world. Find out more about us here
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.
War of Words – ‘ARMAGEDDON’
‘Armageddon’ came to English, via Greek, from Hebrew har megiddo, meaning ‘mountain of Megiddo.’
The Spartans
Ancient historian Paul Rahe, whose monumental history of Sparta is just out, analyses the origins of the feared Spartan hoplite phalanx.
The Viking Great Army and the Making of England
Whether you like this book will depend on whether you like archaeology. If you do – as well as liking military history – and you therefore choose to read it, you will
Military History Matters 124
RAF pilot’s uniform preserved as parcel for 70 years
The uniform, consisting of jacket and trousers, was found in a house in Rolleston-on-Dove, East Staffordshire, during a home clear-out.
Stalin’s War
This book convincingly argues that Stalin’s war began long before the German invasion of Russia in June 1941, and can really be said to have begun in the late 1920s. Initially, this
Alexander the Great
Graham Goodlad surveys the remarkable career of ancient history’s most successful warlord.
The Battle of Gaugamela, 1 October 331 BC
Neil Faulkner analyses one of history’s greatest tactical triumphs.
Hitler and Stalin: the tyrants and the Second World War
In the autumn of 1939, after they signed a pact agreeing to carve up Poland, Hitler and Stalin were depicted in a cartoon as a newly wed couple walking down the aisle.
Monty ‘thoroughly enjoyed’ his first fight with Rommel, letter reveals
The letter is dated 6 October of that year, just weeks before the battle that marked a turnaround in Allied fortunes in the war.
Back to the Drawing Board: the Paris Gun
Although the design was an amazing technological achievement for its day, it was little more than a very expensive propaganda weapon.
Military History Exhibition – The National Memorial Arboretum
MHM’s Calum Henderson reviews the best military history exhibitions. This month, he explores The National Memorial Arboretum.
Churchill versus the men of 1940
Nigel Jones explored the vexed relationship between President Lincoln and General McClellan in the first year of the American Civil War last issue. This time, he takes a look at Prime Minister Churchill’s relationship with the British generals in WWII.
The Shortest History of War
Heinrich Severloh was a good soldier. On 6 June 1944, the 20-year-old Wehrmacht private manned a machine-gun overlooking Omaha Beach. He did his job without complaint: mowing down American soldiers as they
Plans of new home for National Museum of the US Navy revealed
Initially commissioned in 2020, the new NMUSN campus will be in the vicinity of the historic Washington Navy Yard, allowing easy access to the public.
The best military history events, lectures, and exhibitions (September 2021)
MHM’s round-up of the best military history activities to explore this September, which includes an exhibition featuring 50 portraits of Holocaust survivors, and the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.
War on film: Tunisian Victory
Talk of the war in North Africa and most Brits will think of Tobruk or El Alamein, while most Americans will think of Operation Torch, the Kasserine Pass, and Tunisia. The victory
Operation Anthropoid: killing the Hangman of Prague
Graham Goodlad describes the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, one of the Third Reich’s most sinister figures, and its bloody aftermath.