Cover Story
The Jacobite Wars In the first part of our new series, Graham Goodlad explores the Jacobite movement’s early attempts to overthrow Britain’s ruling Protestant monarchy. Features
An unequal contest? In the second part of our series, Graham Goodlad reviews the organisation, tactics, and weaponry of the two armies. 
Road to Culloden Onwards and upwards a timeline tracing the developing fortunes and many incarnations of America's air force in the 2oth century. 
Approaching Armageddon: When the Cold War turned hot – Part 1: Korea, 1950 Just before dawn on Sunday 25 June 1950, following a brief bombardment, the 150,000-strong army of the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea, backed by Soviet Russia, crossed the border… 
How Albert Speer fooled the world He was Hitler’s favourite architect and the man responsible for Germany’s wartime production – yet Albert Speer tried to portray himself as the ‘Good Nazi’. Sixty years after his release… 
‘Fighting Bob’ and the ‘Grenadier in Petticoats’ Major-General Sir Robert Sale and his wife Lady Florentia were Victorian celebrities, famed for their bravery on the Indian subcontinent. Patrick Mercer goes in search of a couple who became… 
The constants of warfare In his new book, Iain MacGregor examines some of the most significant battles of the past 3,000 years. Here, he reveals the five key factors that shaped victory, from Marathon… News
Letters shed new light on the Napoleonic Wars The National Army Museum has obtained three important archival collections containing soldiers’ first-hand accounts of the Napoleonic Wars. The first is an account of the Waterloo campaign by Lieutenant and… 
WWI military cemetery found in the Carpathian Mountains Researchers from the Warsaw University of Technology and the Jagiellonian University Institute of Archaeology have located a military cemetery containing the remains of soldiers killed during battles in the Carpathian… 
Excavations reveal traces of the fight for Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill, which took place in Charlestown, Massachusetts, on 17 June 1775, was one of the bloodiest conflicts of the American Revolutionary War. On the night of… 
Archaeologists uncover rare Roman military camp in Slovakia A Roman marching camp covering c.7.4ha has been found near the town of Šurany, in south-western Slovakia. The discovery – which came about through an extensive ongoing archaeological project carried… Views
MHM Book Awards 2026 Competitions The ballots have been cast, the votes counted, and we are delighted to announce the winners of the MHM Book Awards. We curated a list of 2025’s best military history… 
War Classics – Sagittarius Rising Comment For a baby boomer brought up on the Biggles stories of Captain W E Johns, the opening pages of this classic memoir of World War aviation seem eerily familiar. Cecil… 
MHM 154 Competition Competitions Put your military history knowledge to the test with our competition and crossword. 
Drawn on the Western Front: Paul Sarrut and the Indian Army Museum, What's on Reviewing the best military history exhibitions, with Peter Popham. 
Tessa Dunlop People The winner of MHM’s 2026 Book of the Year award on time travel, iconic women, and the complexity of conflict. 
Reviews
German Aircraft Weaponry When the Second World War broke out in 1939, the Luftwaffe was almost as heavily dependent on rifle-calibre machine-guns as the Imperial German Air Service had been in 1918. The… 
Information at War: a communication history of the Ministry of Information 1939-1946 The Ministry of Information was one of the most remarkable government creations of the Second World War. It was given a global remit to spread information, essentially propaganda, to allies… 
Spectre of Invasion: the Royal Navy and the defence of Britain’s coast 1900-1918 Steve Dunn is the author of 15 books, mostly on specific aspects of World War I at sea, from the Dover Patrol to the defence of the Western Approaches. In… 
Nineteen Days in Autumn: a new history of 1066 It’s a rip-roaring start, with three deaths in five pages as Harald Hardrada (or Haraldr Sigurdarson as he’s termed here), Tostig (wayward brother of Harold Godwinson), and an unnamed farmer… Drawn on the Western Front: Paul Sarrut and the Indian Army Reviewing the best military history exhibitions, with Peter Popham. 
From the editor
No visitor to the Scottish Highlands can escape the Jacobite Risings of 1689 1746. From the Pass of Glencoe to Culloden Moor, the conflict’s ghosts still hang heavy in the air, while, from west coast to east, an extraordinary network of government built roads and fortresses provides a more solid reminder of the rebel challenge.
But who were the Jacobites? And how close did they really come to changing British history? In our cover story, Graham Goodlad begins a fascinating new series, first by looking at the origins of the movement and its abortive early attempts to bring back England’s exiled Catholic king James II (James VII of Scotland); and then by considering the opposing government and Jacobite armies, to understand how evenly matched they were.
Elsewhere, in the first part of another new series, Taylor Downing begins his exploration of Cold War flashpoints by revealing how conflict in Korea threatened the outbreak of World War III; while Iain MacGregor, the bestselling author of The Lighthouse of Stalingrad and The Hiroshima Men, makes a welcome return to the magazine by uncovering the key elements of victory down the ages, from Marathon to Midway.
Also in this issue, to mark the 60th anniversary of Albert Speer’s release from Spandau prison, Nigel Jones examines the role of Hitler’s favourite architect in the atrocities of the Nazi regime; while Patrick Mercer travels to the Indian subcontinent in search of Major-General Sir Robert ‘Fighting Bob’ Sale and his wife Lady Florentia, the intrepid married couple whose adventures made them a byword for gritty colonial glamour.
And, finally, it’s that time of the year again: the ballots have been cast, you have had your say, and we are very pleased once again to announce (on p.55) the winners of the coveted Gold, Silver, and Bronze prizes in the Military History Matters Book Awards 2026.
We hope you enjoy the issue!
LAURENCE EARLE
