Description
In this issue:
– Forget Balaclava, says military historian Patrick Mercer. The battle that really mattered – the one that decided the outcome of the Crimean War – was Inkerman.
– Operation Barbarossa – Hitler’s Ultimate Gamble. It was one of the biggest military operations of all time -and the ultimate test of German blitzkrieg strategy.
– Gallipoli – Carnage at the V Beach Landings. Peter Hart, a leading oral historian at the Imperial War Museum takes us into the inferno of the Gallipoli landings.
– The First Redcoats. A look at the origins of the British Army in Medieval England and the evolution of a very English way of war.
– War Artists. Dave Sloggett explores the transition of British war-art from idealistic to horrific during WWI.
Plus: news, reviews, museums, opinion columns, and much more!
From the Editor:
Everyone knows about the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava. Yet, the decisive battle of the Crimean War was not Balaklava, but Inkerman. That is the view of military historian Patrick Mercer in a major article describing this ferocious ‘soldiers’ battle’ in the fog.
Was Hitler’s invasion of Russia doomed as Napoleon’s had been? Mark Corby thinks not. On the 70th anniversary of Operation Barbarossa, Mark analyses one of the biggest military operations ever mounted, arguing it could have been the most spectacular blitzkrieg victory of them all – except for the bungling interference of Hitler himself.
Also in this issue, we celebrate the publication of Peter Hart’s latest book. Peter is a renowned oral historian based at the Imperial War Museum who specialises in the First World War. He offers a visceral description based on first-hand testimony of the landing on Y Beach at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915.
A different approach to the First World War is taken by Dave Sloggett in his article about war art. Reviewing a selection of key artists and images, Dave shows how 1916 was a turning-point, as propaganda art gave way to surreal and deeply disturbing depictions of trench-war attrition.
Finally, we herald our major new series, A History of the British Army in 25 Battles, with an introduction exploring the roots of the British military tradition in the armies of Edward III, Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I. The series proper launches next month with a focus on Naseby, the New Model Army, and the role of Oliver Cromwell – the father of the British Army.
Cover Date: Jun-2011, Volume 1 Issue 9