Cover Story
Endgame WWII – The key questions: Could the Allies have won in 1944? In the first part of a new series marking the 80th anniversary of World War II’s final months, Taylor Downing asks whether hopes of an early defeat of Nazi Germany were ever realistic. Features
Clive in India: A legacy of controversy In our special feature for this issue, Stephen Roberts first traces the life of this highly effective but undeniably divisive commander, then looks in more detail at the Battle of… 
A victory of significance: The Battle of Plassey, 23 June 1757 Stephen Roberts analyses the engagement that helped launch Britain’s empire in India. 
The East India Company: A military history Infographics: Calum Henderson / Images: Wikimedia Commons 
Reaching the zenith In the second part of our series on Napoleon’s rise and fall, Graham Goodlad analyses his extraordinary run of military successes in the decade between 1800 and 1810. 
The keys to victory: Supplying the armies of the British Civil Wars (1639-1653) The great military encounters of the British Civil Wars have been well documented. But, as David Flintham reveals, issues beyond the battlefield would also prove crucial. 
Germany’s ‘Little Dunkirk’: Operation Hannibal, January-May 1945 The Kriegsmarine’s last major military undertaking was the evacuation of more than a million German troops and civilians trapped around the Baltic, as David Porter explains. News
Japanese atomic bomb survivors awarded Nobel Peace Prize This year’s Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Nihon Hidankyō, a group that represents survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945. The organisation received the award… 
Uniform of British escapee from Napoleonic prison goes on display In 1809, a young Royal Navy midshipman, Charles Hare, made a daring escape from a Napoleonic prison – with a French uniform as his disguise and a dog in tow.… 
Arrowheads shed light on one of Europe’s oldest battlefields It is one of the oldest and most mysterious battlefields in Europe. But new research into arrowheads dating from the 13th century BC has revealed more about who was involved.… 
New names to be added to Bomber Command archive A further 9,000 names are to be added to the Bomber Command archive, in a project that has been described as a ‘labour of love’ by its head. The Losses… Views
MHM 143 Competition Competitions Put your military history knowledge to the test with our competition. 
Old Fort Erie Museum, What's on Reviewing the best military history exhibitions with Christopher Warner. 
James Holland People The best-selling historian on his obsession with World War II, and why he wouldn’t invite Monty to dinner. 
New discoveries at Waterloo’s ‘unique’ burial ground The Picture Desk This image shows the remains of a horse excavated recently from a trench at Mont-Saint-Jean Farm in Waterloo, Belgium. The farm was the site of a field hospital for the… 
War Classics – Old Soldiers Never Die Comment Frank Richards holds a unique place in military writing, for several reasons. His book Old Soldiers Never Die is reckoned to be among the finest war memoirs ever produced, and… Reviews
Oliver Cromwell: Commander in Chief REVIEW BY GRAHAM GOODLAD It is now three years since Bristol University historian Ronald Hutton’s The Making of Oliver Cromwell appeared. That earlier volume took Britain’s first commoner head of… 
The Vietnam War: A military history REVIEW BY JONATHAN EATON The legacy of the Vietnam War continues to haunt American policymakers for the example it provides of a major power drawn gradually yet inexorably into a… 
Alexander at the end of the world: the forgotten final years of Alexander the Great REVIEW BY MARC DESANTIS Alexander of Macedonia is known as the Western world’s greatest conqueror. Not for nothing has he been given, since antiquity, the appellation ‘the Great’. In just… 
Winston Churchill REVIEW BY TAYLOR DOWNING The military historian Peter Caddick-Adams has written this witty and enjoyable political biography of Winston Churchill. Unlike the multivolume authorised biography written mostly by Sir Martin… 
From the editor
As Allied troops took control of the invasion beaches of Normandy in the aftermath of D-Day, their commanders had every reason to feel confident. With the landings of 6 June 1944 deemed a success, many – including General Bernard Montgomery, Commander in Chief of Allied Ground Forces – believed that victory must now be near at hand, and that the greatest war in human history would finally be over by Christmas.
Of course, things did not turn out that way, and World War II would grind on until May 1945. In our cover story — the first part of a series to mark the 80th anniversary of those tumultuous final months — Taylor Downing asks whether an early defeat of Nazi Germany was ever a real possibility.
Elsewhere, in our latest two part special feature, Stephen Roberts explores the controversial history of Robert Clive in India, and reveals how his landmark victory at the Battle of Plassey on 23 June 1757 helped launch Britain’s empire on the subcontinent.
Also in this issue, Graham Goodlad continues his fascinating series on Napoleon by examining his extraordinary military successes in the first decade of the 19th century; David Flintham reveals how issues beyond the battlefield affected the British Civil Wars; and David Porter returns to the last days of WWII, to tell the largely forgotten story of Germany’s ‘Little Dunkirk’.
And finally, as you may have noticed, MHM has a smart new masthead, and a cleaner, fresher, more modern look. We have taken the opportunity as well to introduce some new features, including a podcast guide and ‘My Military History’, a regular interview slot.
We hope you like our new appearance — but do rest assured: we have also worked hard to ensure that the style and content of the magazine remain largely unchanged, with the same mix of news, features, and reviews that have helped over the years to make MHM the leading publication for anyone interested in the history of warfare.
As always, we hope you enjoy the issue!
LAURENCE EARLE
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