Military History Matters 138

Description

Highlights:

From the Editor:
Over the year to come, MHM will be marking the 80th anniversaries of some of the epic battles – from D-Day onwards – which together made 1944 the decisive year of the Second World War in the West.

In this issue, however, we are reminded of the conflict’s global reach, as we look back on another crucial engagement in that year, which would also change the course of the war – but which took place thousands of miles from the Western Front.

In our two -part special feature for this issue, Graham Goodlad analyses the Battle of Imphal and Kohima – considered by many to be the ‘Stalingrad of the East’ – and profiles Bill Slim, the inspirational commander who led his ‘Forgotten Army’ of British and Commonwealth troops to victory on the India–Burma border.

Elsewhere, our military technology expert David Porter investigates the development of the Kaiser’s U-boats during World War I, and reveals how this new submarine threat changed the rules of naval warfare.

Also in this issue, Duncan Cameron travels further back in time to understand how repeated attempts by France to invade England at the end of the 14th century came to end in failure; while William E Welsh examines the 1870 Battle of Mars-la-Tour, famous as the site of perhaps the last successful cavalry charge in Western European warfare.

And finally, Taylor Downing continues his fascinating ser ies on the use of deception in World War II by telling the extraordinary story of the double agents Brutus and Garbo, and MI5’s top – secret XX Committee.


Cover Date: Feb / Mar 2024, Volume 12 Issue 6

Cover Story

Burma ’44: From disaster to triumph In our two-part special for this issue, Graham Goodlad first profiles Slim and then looks in detail at Imphal and Kohima.

Features

Imphal & Kohima: Turning point in Burma Graham Goodlad analyses Slim’s crucial victory, which dispelled the myth of Japanese invincibility.
The spies who never were In the third part of our series on deception in World War II, Taylor Downing uncovers the true story of…
1385 and all that: The failed French conquest of England The Norman Conquest of 1066 remains one of the best-known events in English history – but French attempts to invade…
The last charge: The Battle of Mars-la-Tour and Von Bredow’s ‘Death Ride’, 16 August 1870 One of the crucial battles of the Franco-Prussian War was also the scene of perhaps the last successful cavalry charge…
The Kaiser’s U-boats At the outbreak of the First World War, a terrible new weapon changed the rules of naval warfare. One hundred…

Comment

War Classics: The Cruel Sea Nick Spenceley recalls one of the great works of military history.

News

Views

MHM 138 Letters – January Your thoughts on issues raised by the magazine.
MHM 138 Competition Put your military history knowledge to the test with our competition.
Back to the drawing board: The M551 Sheridan David Porter on Military History's doomed inventions.
Fort Stanwix National Monument Reviewing the best Military History Exhibitions with Christopher Warner
Remains of a radar station, Craster, Northumberland More than 200 radar stations were dotted throughout Britain during the Second World War, although very few survive intact today.…

Reviews

War on Film – Napoleon TAYLOR DOWNING reviews the latest film releases.
In View MHM’s round-up of the latest military history titles.
Luck of the Draw: My story of the air war in Europe REVIEW BY COLIN POMEROY Luck of the Draw, which has just been adapted by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks into…
Mirrors of Greatness:  Churchill and the leaders who shaped him REVIEW BY PATRICK MERCER I thought I knew a fair bit about Winston Churchill, but I have just discovered that…
Warriors in Scarlet: The Life and Times of the Last Redcoats  REVIEW BY GRAHAM GOODLAD Ian Knight has gained a deserved reputation as an expert on the Anglo-Zulu War. In Warriors…
A Nasty Little War: The West’s fight to reverse the Russian Revolution REVIEW BY CALUM HENDERSON Throughout the Cold War, various American presidents liked to say that the West and the Soviet…

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