Description
In this issue:
– Isandlwana, 1879. Ian Knight reassesses the greatest British defeat of the Victorian colonial wars
– Wives, Sweethearts & Waterloo – Those that were left behind. What is it like to love a soldier? What is it like to be a soldier in love?
– Surviving Arnhem – Machine guns at Arnhem bridge, taken prisoner by German soldiers. An eyewitness account.
– The battle for Hougoumont. Leading military historian Richard Holmes describes the struggle for Hougoumont during the Battle of Waterloo.
– Techno-War: Submarine. We kick off our new series on technology in war, charting the development of major weapon systems.
Plus: news, reviews, museums, opinion columns, and much more!
From the Editor:
It was one of the greatest imperial defeats of the 19th century. An army of native warriors with spears surrounded and annihilated a British force of 1,500 men armed with modern rifles. How did it happen? With a new book just out, we asked Zulu War expert Ian Knight to reassess the Battle of Isandlwana for our lead feature this month.
The historic farm complex at Hougoumont on the Waterloo battlefield is under threat, and top military historian Richard Holmes is leading the campaign to save it. We have his account of its importance in the battle and why it must be preserved.
The First World War created a new paradigm of modern industrialised warfare. As we approach the centenary, we begin a new occasional series looking at how technology has transformed war over the last century.
Keith Robinson launches the ‘techno-war’ series with an account of the development of the submarine.
What is it like to love a soldier? Or to be a soldier in love? A new exhibition at the National Army Museum, Wives and Sweethearts, is devoted to the relationship between soldiers and their women over the last 200 years. Curator Francis Parton gives us a preview.
Our eyewitness account this time is a gut-wrenching account of one paratrooper’s experience of the Battle of Arnhem. Private Bryan Willoughby of the 1st Parachute Battalion spent 19 September 1944 trying to fight his way through German lines to link up with the beleaguered 2nd Battalion. By the end of the day, he was one of the few survivors. We print his full account.
Cover Date: Mar-2011, Volume 1 Issue 6