Description
In this issue:
– The Battle of Okinawa: endgame in the Pacific
– The rise of Germany: the wars that forged a nation
– Trenches, ramparts, and blockades: English Civil War siege warfare
– History of war: the myth of chivalry
– Mutiny in the Duchy: an anti-racist revolt in WWII England
Plus: news, reviews, museums, opinion columns, and much more!
From the Editor:
The Second World War ended in the Pacific 75 years ago. Though very different, the exceptional savagery with which it was fought matched anything in Europe. Japanese Militarism proved every bit as bestial as German Nazism, and Japanese soldiers, imbued with the bushido cult of the samurai, usually fought to the death.
The war reached its terrible climax in the Battle of Okinawa, a medium-sized island honeycombed with hidden bunkers and tunnels, from which Japanese defenders had to be winkled out using explosives and flamethrowers.
Alex Izza is our guide to this last stand of the Japanese Empire in summer 1945, with complementary articles on the battle itself and the tactics of the opposing sides.
We mark another anniversary – that of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870-71 – with an article by David Porter analysing the rise of Prussia as a military power in the mid 19th century. A follow-up special next time will look at the culminating war that transformed Prussia into the German Empire.
Also in this issue, we have 17th century expert David Flintham’s explanation of siege-warfare techniques during the British Civil Wars, my own attempt to dispel what I call ‘the myth of chivalry’, and Kate Werran’s highly topical account of a ‘hidden history’ clash between black American soldiers and white American military police in a small Cornish town in 1943.
Cover Date: Oct / Nov 2020, Volume 10 Issue 10