Description
In this issue:
– Operation Sealion – Was it a bluff? Military historian Mark Corby argues forcefully that Operation Sealion, Hitler’s planned invasion of Britain, was always a bluff.
– Dan Snow writes about his Grandfather. The publication of Dan Snow’s grandfather’s war memoir reveals an intelligent and candid critic of British military incompetence during the First World War.
– Was Imperial Germany really responsible for WWI? Germany’s blame was claimed during the war and by many historians today – we look at whether European rulers were equally culpable.
– Epaminondas of Thebes. From the ancient world, we bring you the story of Epaminondas of Thebes, the little-known military genius whose tactical innovations destroyed the power of Sparta and inspired the victories of Alexander the Great.
Plus: news, reviews, museums, opinion columns, and much more!
From the Editor:
We are courting controversy this issue. First, military historian Mark Corby argues forcefully that Operation Sealion, Hitler’s planned invasion of Britain, was always a bluff. Even if the Germans had won the Battle of Britain, he says, any attempted invasion would have been defeated by either Channel weather or the Royal Navy.
Second, Nigel Jones and myself lock horns on the origins of the First World War in an extended Opinion piece. Was Imperial Germany responsible – as claimed during the war and by many historians today – or were all European rulers equally culpable?
Also challenging is broadcaster Dan Snow’s piece on his grandfather, a Western Front general during the First World War. Instead of a bone-headed ‘donkey’, the publication of his war memoir has revealed an intelligent and candid critic of British military incompetence.
From the ancient world, we bring you the story of Epaminondas of Thebes, the little-known military genius whose tactical innovations destroyed the power of Sparta and inspired the victories of Alexander the Great.
Finally, we have two contrasting articles on Islamic holy war. We rediscover the first modern jihad with an in-depth analysis of the Mahdist Revolt in the Sudan in 1881-1885. Then we fast-forward to the present, as Victoria Schofield concludes our mini-series on British interventions in Afghanistan by looking at the conflicts in the country since 1979.
Cover Date: May-2011, Volume 1 Issue 8