Description
In this issue:
– Torres Vedras. With Napoleon at the height of his power in 1810, how did Wellington turn the tide at Torres Vedras without a shot being fired?
– The Malayan Emergency. With harsh lessons learnt from previous counterinsurgency wars, what went right for the British in Malaya from 1948-1960?
– Rome Sleepwalking to Disaster. MHM explores how Rome fell to a barbarian army, and the subsequent collapse of the greatest empire in antiquity.
– Vassili Zaitsev, Red Sniper. Based on the memoirs of Vassili Zaitsev, MHM discusses the real story behind one of the most feared snipers of WWII.
– Afghan War – Imperial Pomp and Afghan Nationalism. Jules Stuart analyses the events of 1919
Plus: news, reviews, museums, opinion columns, and much more!
From the Editor:
Napoleon’s disastrous 1812 invasion of Russia led directly to his fall from power two years later. Less well-known is that the tide had already turned against him on the opposite side of Europe. In the winter of 1810-1811, a small Anglo-Portuguese army was holding a line of forts in the hills north of Lisbon. The defences were so strong that a mighty French army was first brought to a standstill, then lost a third of its men to starvation. The French had come up against a master of defensive tactics – the Duke of Wellington. In our cover feature this issue, we analyse the first major defeat of Napoleon’s empire, at the Lines of Torres Vedras.
Enemy at the Gates, starring Jude Law as a Red Army sniper at the Battle of Stalingrad, is one of the best war movies of recent years. The film is based on the memoirs of true-life sniper ace Vassili Zaitsev. A new English translation has just appeared. We take the opportunity to explore the grim art of sniper warfare in an urban battleground.
With Afghanistan bogged down in intractable guerrilla warfare, we take a timely look at a rare counter-insurgency success: the Malayan Emergency of 1948-1960. Keith Robinson explores what went right for the British in their jungle struggle against Malay Communist insurgents.
Also this issue, in the third of our mini-series on the Anglo-Afghan Wars, Jules Stewart offers a detailed description of the conflict in 1919. Unlike the two previous wars, it was a short, sharp, easy victory for the British. Is there a lesson there? About not getting embroiled?
Finally, we mark the 1,600th anniversary of the fall of Rome to Alaric and the Goths. Ancient historians Sam Moorhead and David Stuttard recall the death-knell of the Western Roman Empire.
Cover Date: Jan-2011, Volume 1 Issue 4