Cover Story
Barbarossa – the biggest invasion in history David Porter analyses the tense relationship between the two most powerful dictators in Europe during the countdown to the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Features
Crusader strategy: a contradiction in terms? Medieval warfare was not just a matter of crude feudal violence, argues Steve Tibble. 
Chancellorsville, 1863: A case of nerves, the moon, and mistaken identity John Lock looks at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863 in the first of a series of articles looking at the Butterfly Effect – where small incidents have significant consequences. 
Debacle in the wilderness: Braddock at Monongahela ‘A volley fired by a young Virginian in the backwoods of America set the world on fire.’ That was the judgement of Horace Walpole. Fred Chiaventone tells the story. 
Fishguard, February 1797: the last French invasion of Britain Patrick Mercer begins an occasional series looking at some of history’s less well-known battles. News
Bid launched to secure Culloden battlefield as world heritage site To coincide with the battle’s 275th anniversary, which fell earlier this year, the National Trust of Scotland (NTS) has published a manifesto, which it hopes the Scottish parliament will back,… 
Legendary ‘Flying Sikh’ to be commemorated with statue He became known as the ‘Flying Sikh’ because he wore a specially designed helmet that fitted over his turban. 
Filming begins on new Spielberg WWII miniseries The series is based on Donald L Miller’s non-fiction book of the same name on the American 8th Air Force. 
Exhibition on Nero promises to shed new light on Roman emperor The British Museum claims it will present Nero, who was also widely admired for popular policies, extravagant games, and building projects, in a balanced light and allow visitors to make… 
World’s ‘deepest-known shipwreck’ surveyed in the Pacific Ocean Heavily outnumbered and outgunned, she nonetheless fought valiantly against her larger opponents, allowing time for the escort carriers she was protecting to escape. Of the ship’s 327-man crew, only 141… Views
Back to the Drawing Board: Heinkel He 177 GreIf Ideas Frantic redesign efforts were made, but in 1942 the aircraft finally entered production still plagued with the same engine problems. 
War of Words – ‘Grenade’ Extras, Ideas ‘Grenade’ derives from the Old French pome grenate, on account of the bomblet’s similarity in shape to the pomegranate fruit. 
Napoleon’s tomb The Picture Desk Finally completed in April 1861,Napoleon’s remains were transferred into this huge object of red aventurine quartzite from a quarry in northern Russia. 
Military History Events, Lectures, and Exhibitions – May Museum, What's on The best military history events, lectures, and exhibitions in May 2021, including an online course delving into the discovery of King Richard III in a car park, and an exhibit… Reviews
Museum – 1066 Battle of Hastings Abbey and Battlefield Reviewing the best military history exhibitions with Calum Henderson. 
Special Forces in World War II Elite units played an essential if often obscure role during the Second World War. In this new illustrated book, with more than 120 colour and black-and-white images, Michael E Haskew… 
At Close Range: life and death in an artillery regiment, 1939-45 The direct experience of the gunners has long been a neglected aspect of World War II history. We have had plenty on life in a tank unit, or a fighter… 
Blood and Iron: the rise and fall of the German Empire 1871-1918 Just over halfway through her excellent new book on Germany between the Franco-Prussian War and the First World War, Katja Hoyer tells the story of the ‘Captain of Köpenick’ incident.… 
The Spitfire Kids Despite depictions of the Battle of Britain as a campaign waged by grown-up men and women, the average age of an RAF fighter pilot at the height of the Second… 
Jet Man: the making and breaking of Frank Whittle, genius of the jet revolution This is a fine, deeply researched book, with Frank Whittle’s story beginning with a lad of humble origin who, aged just 16, entered the RAF as an apprentice fitter, already… 
Nuclear Folly: a new history of the Cuban Missile Crisis A crisis over a small island south of the mainland United States in the autumn of 1962 was the closest the world ever came to a devastating nuclear war. Award-winning… 
HARRIER 809: Britain’s legendary jump jet, and the untold story of the Falkands War In 1982, Britain went to war in the Falklands, relying for the last time on an aircraft that was entirely made within the country: the Harrier Jump Jet. Not only… 
Facing the Mountain: the forgotten heroes of the Second World War The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor of 80 years ago not only brought the United States into a war, but provoked a wave of hostility to Japanese immigrants and their… 
Why We Fight – The Battle of Russia Like all the Why We Fight films, it is a highly charged, emotional account, always looking to create maximum impact. 
From the editor
It was the biggest invasion in history: Operation Barbarossa – Hitler’s blitzkrieg attack in June 1941, designed to overrun Russia before the winter. We know the outcome. We know this proved a fatal decision. We know that war against the Soviet Union, with its vast distances and massive reserves of manpower and industrial capacity, sealed the fate of Nazi Germany.
But Barbarossa came close to success, thanks to the gaping self-inflicted wound of the Stalinist terror. Military historian David Porter marks the 80th anniversary of Hitler’s invasion of European Russia with an in-depth analysis in our special this time.
Also this issue, we look back before the 20th century. Medieval specialist Steve Tibble challenges stereotypical views of the Crusaders – as crude feudal brawlers – to argue there was clear strategic thinking in the 200-year struggle against the odds to defend the Crusader states.
Fred Chiaventone returns with a critical assessment of a famous British disaster in the American wilderness – Braddock’s defeat at Monongahela in 1755 – while Patrick Mercer takes a look at the last French invasion of Britain (in 1797). And John Lock opens a new series on ‘the butterfly effect’ with an assessment of the military impact of the accidental shooting of ‘Stonewall’ Jackson at Chancellorsville in May 1863.
