Cover Story
Clash in the Pacific: the fight for Guadalcanal Eighty years on, Graham Goodlad analyses the brutal battle that brought an end to Japanese expansion in the Far East. Features
Spain at war: a country divided Chris Bambery traces the history of the Spanish Civil War and sets the scene for the conflict’s bloodiest battle. 
Spanish Civil War: the Battle of the Ebro Chris Bambery examines how the deadliest engagement of the Spanish Civil War paved the way for Republican defeat. 
Ignorance in war: from Balaclava to Vietnam In his latest book, the distinguished historian Peter Burke considers the many ways that misunderstandings, arrogance, and lack of knowledge can affect events on the battlefield. 
Fighting the pirates: the dark side of privateering Pirates or privateers? The buccaneers who haunted the high seas in the 17th and 18th centuries sailed a fine line between fighting Britain’s enemies and profiting themselves. Tim Newark looks… 
‘For battle it was none’: the murder of Evesham, 1265 It was a battle that changed the course of English history – at which the royalist forces of King Henry III won a famous victory over the rebellious barons led… News
Extremely rare inscribed sling bullet from 2nd century BC found in Israel It bears the Greek inscription ‘Victory of Heracles and Hauronas’, signifying the bullet’s use as both a physical and psychological weapon 
Postcards from WWI uncovered in roof of railway station The discovery was made during renovation work at Stirling station in 2021, offering a fascinating snapshot into the experiences of serving soldiers. 
Home of Chelsea Pensioners to open to the public for the first time A Grade I- and Grade II-listed building, designed by King Charles II and Sir Christopher Wren, the hospital was opened in 1692 as a retreat for veterans. 
Location of Revolutionary War prison camp finally identified The camp housed hundreds of English, Scottish, and Canadian privates and non-commissioned officers during the Revolutionary War of 1775-1783. 
British nuclear test veterans to receive new medal The Nuclear Test Medal has been announced to commemorate the ‘Plutonium Jubilee’, the 70th anniversary of Britain’s first nuclear test. Views
MHM 132 January Competition: win a copy of The Last Viking! Competitions Put your military history knowledge to the test with Our competition and crossword 
Military History Museum and Gallery January Listings Museum, What's on SOME OF THE BEST MILITARY HISTORY EVENTS, LECTURES, AND EXHIBITIONS TO CHECK OUT THIS YEAR 
MHM Book of the Year 2023 Competitions The MHM Book Awards recognise the best military history titles, as voted for by you. 
‘Captured but not conquered’ at the National WWI Museum and Memorial Museum, What's on Calum Henderson explores how a new exhibition at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Missouri is illuminating the experiences of prisoners of war. 
War of Words – ‘samurai’ Ideas ‘Samurai’, meaning ‘one who serves’, derives from the Japanese verb samurau, ‘to wait on’. These warriors were the elite military class of feudal Japan, akin to the knights of medieval… 
The wreck of Södermanland, Sweden The Picture Desk In this photograph, a diver explores the wreck of Södermanland, an 18th-century Swedish ship of the line now resting in the waters off Karlskrona, on the country’s southern coast. Built… 
Back to the Drawing Board: the M11/39 Medium Tank Ideas DAVID PORTER ON MILITARY HISTORY’S DOOMED INVENTIONS 
War Classics: Crucible of War Comment Venturing beyond the ultimate British victory in North America, Anderson delves into parallel conflicts in Europe, Africa, the Caribbean, and India, as well as a subsequent uprising by Native Americans… 
Reviews
Military History Museum and Gallery January Listings SOME OF THE BEST MILITARY HISTORY EVENTS, LECTURES, AND EXHIBITIONS TO CHECK OUT THIS YEAR ‘Captured but not conquered’ at the National WWI Museum and Memorial Calum Henderson explores how a new exhibition at the National WWI Museum and Memorial in Missouri is illuminating the experiences of prisoners of war. 
On a Knife Edge: How Germany Lost the First World War REVIEW BY ANDREW MULHOLLAND It is a mistake to approach this book simply as a ‘German perspective’ on the history of the First World War. It is actually much more,… 
Review: The Museum of Flight Open 10am-5pm (closed Christmas and Thanksgiving)9404 East Marginal Way South, Seattle, WA 98108-4097www.museumofflight.org+1 206 764 5700 Long before the advent of computer-generated imagery, better known as CGI, filmmakers relied on… 
Napoleon: The decline and fall of an empire, 1811-1821 Michael Broers REVIEW BY ANDRÉ VAN LOON Napoleon: the decline and fall of an empire is the compelling, if partial, closing volume of Michael Broers’ Napoleon trilogy. It marks the end of… 
The Commanders: the leadership journeys of George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and Erwin Rommel Lloyd Clark REVIEW BY GRAHAM GOODLAD This is not the first joint biography of George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and Erwin Rommel, arguably the three outstanding battlefield commanders of World War II. Terry… 
Rome: strategy of empire REVIEW BY MARK CORBY This fine book seeks to overthrow the current academic consensus that the Romans were incapable of strategic thought, had little understanding of their frontiers, lacked the… 
From the editor
It was the brutal six-month slugging match, marked by extraordinary levels of suffering and horror, that helped turn the tide of World War II in the Pacific – prompting one Japanese general to call it ‘no longer merely a name of an island’ but ‘the name of the graveyard of the Japanese army’.
The Battle of Guadalcanal, from August 1942 to February 1943, was fought out across three dimensions, with US and Japanese air, land, and sea forces all intensively involved. For those fighting desperately on the ground in remote, jungle-clad territory, additional hazards included hunger, tropical disease, mosquitos, and even crocodiles.
In our cover story, timed to mark the 80th anniversary of this landmark campaign, Graham Goodlad analyses the action that finally brought a halt to Japanese expansion in the Far East.
Elsewhere, in our latest two-part special, Chris Bambery traces the history of the Spanish Civil War, and reveals how its longest and bloodiest engagement, the Battle of the Ebro, paved the way for ultimate Republican defeat.
Also in this issue, Peter Burke considers the many ways that misunderstandings, arrogance, and lack of knowledge have affected events on the battlefield, from Balaclava to Vietnam; Stephen Roberts reappraises the ‘murder of Evesham’ on 4 August 1265, a battle that changed the course of English history; and Tim Newark takes to the high seas to examine the fine line between piracy and privateering sailed by two notorious buccaneers in the 17th and 18th centuries.
And finally, Taylor Downing celebrates the return of a movie classic by delving into the military history behind Casablanca.
We hope you enjoy the issue!
