Cover Story
The road to independence In our latest four-part series, marking the 250th anniversary of US independence, Fred Chiaventone examines first the genesis of America’s Revolutionary War, how discontent exploded into open warfare, and then traces the history of a conflict whose repercussions are still… Features
A very bloody summer: The American Revolution: Part 2 – a game of cat and mouse In the second part of our series, Fred Chiaventone looks at how the conflict escalated as the two sides struggled to gain the upper hand. 
The American Revolution by numbers £133 million - Britain's national debt after the Seven Years War. This enormous deficit prompted the introduction of unpopular new taxes in North America. 
Balkan breakdown: The Central Powers at war: PART 4 – BULGARIA Concluding our series on Imperial Germany’s Great War allies, Graham Goodlad examines Bulgaria’s belated and ultimately disastrous entry into the conflict. 
Under the heel: The Iron Curtain falls – Part 3: the crushing of Eastern Europe In the third part of our series on the coming of the Cold War, Taylor Downing reveals how Stalin consolidated military and political control over a new Soviet bloc. 
Assault on Shaizar: How the Assassins met their match They were the world’s most feared killers. But, in 1114, the Assassins were thwarted – not by elite bodyguards, but by a group of middle-aged women who weren’t prepared to… 
Lest we forget: A history of Britain in ten war memorials Tessa Dunlop uncovers the stories behind some of the UK’s most fascinating monuments to conflict, and reveals what they tell us about changing attitudes to war. News
Second-century soldier’s tombstone found in a New Orleans backyard In March 2025, the owners of a house in the Carrollton neighbourhood of New Orleans came across a flat marble slab while clearing undergrowth in their backyard. The unusual object… 
Exploring the wreck of HMHS Britannic Investigations have been carried out at the wreck site of the RMS Titanic’s sister-ship, which was sunk during the First World War. HMHS Britannic was the last of three ‘Olympic-class’… 
Roman helmet from the First Punic War discovered by deep-sea divers Underwater excavations around the Aegadian Islands, off the north-west coast of Sicily, have discovered a 2,200-year-old bronze helmet of the ‘Montefortino’ type. This style of Roman helmet, which has a… 
Second World War shrapnel found in German Tiger tank A routine inspection of the famous Tiger 131 German tank on show at the Tank Museum in Dorset has unearthed a piece of shrapnel that has remained hidden inside one… Views
War Classics – The Right on the Line Comment Nick Spenceley reconsiders The Right of the Line by John Terraine 
Ian Knight People The winner of MHM’s 2025 Book of the Year award on redcoats, distant battlefields, and the film that started it all. 
Beyond Burma: forgotten armies Museum, What's on Reviewing the best military history exhibitions, with Peter Popham. 
MHM 149 Competition Competitions Put your military history knowledge to the test with our competition. Reviews
War on Film – Goebbels and the Führer Taylor Downing reviews the latest film and television releases. 
Battle of the Arctic: the maritime epic of World War Two REVIEW BY NICK HEWITT Developing a fresh interpretation for a well-charted subject area is always a challenge, as this reviewer knows only too well. I therefore approached Hugh Sebag-Montefiore’s reconsideration… 
Mavericks: empire, oil, revolution and the forgotten battle of World War One REVIEW BY JONATHAN EATON Despite the vast literature on the First World War, there remain important aspects of the conflict that have yet to be fully explored. In recent years,… 
Soviet Secret Police Chiefs, 1917-1953: commissars of fear REVIEW BY ANDRÉ VAN LOON To get straight to the point: the strength of Soviet Secret Police Chiefs lies in its weakness. It is an engrossing read and yet a… 
V-Force: Britain’s nuclear bombers and the Cold War REVIEW BY GRAHAM GOODLAD Growing up near RAF Scampton at the height of the Cold War, in my formative years the delta-winged Avro Vulcan was a familiar sight. Soaring overhead… 
From the editor
In 2026, to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, millions of Americans will remember a conflict that has been described as one of the most consequential in all history.
Famously, it began as an argument between two groups of British subjects over trade and taxes in the 13 North American colonies – but it would end in the birth of a bold and fast-growing new democracy, destined to eclipse its former colonial master, and eventually to become the world’s most powerful nation.
In our cover story for this issue, historian Fred Chiaventone begins a major new four-part series charting the tumultuous course of the American Revolutionary War – from initial discontent and rising tension, via opening skirmishes and the formal Declaration of Independence, to George Washington’s final battlefield victory at Yorktown, Virginia, and the subsequent British surrender.
Elsewhere, Tessa Dunlop, the author of a fascinating new book about the UK’s monuments to conflict, takes us on a timely guided tour, from the south of England to the Scottish Highlands, as she relates the history of Britain in ten war memorials.
Also in this issue of MHM: continuing his analysis of the coming of the Cold War, Taylor Downing reveals how the Iron Curtain fell so quickly on Europe after 1945, and how Stalin brutally consolidated control over a new Soviet bloc; while, in the final part of his series looking at Germany’s Great War allies, Graham Goodlad examines Bulgaria’s belated and ultimately disastrous entry into the conflict.
And finally, Steve Tibble, the author of a new book about the legendary, death-dealing Assassins, tells the extraordinary story of how the medieval world’s most feared killers were thwarted not by massed armies or superior weaponry, but by a group of middle-aged women who refused to be pushed around.
We hope you enjoy the issue!
LAURENCE EARLE
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