Somme, 1916
In the first part of our special, Stephen Roberts marks the 110th anniversary of the offensive that saw the bloodiest day in Britain’s military history, before looking in more detail at the Battle of the Boar’s Head in the second part.
battles
Into the Reich: The Red Army’s Advance to the Oder in 1945
REVIEW BY DAVID PORTER In January 1945, the Red Army launched a powerful operation that was intended to go all the way to Berlin. The Vistula–Oder Offensive, as it was known, is the subject of this new book by Prit…
Korea: war without end
REVIEW BY TAYLOR DOWNING General The Lord Dannatt, once Chief of the General Staff, has teamed up with military historian Robert Lyman to provide a fascinating new take on the Korean War of 1950 to 1953. Their book has three…
The Nine Years War: 1688-1697
Graham Goodlad analyses Britain’s role in the long-running struggle against French domination of the Low Countries.
The last warrior monarch
Graham Goodlad reviews the military career of a ruler who gained the British throne in a bloodless coup but had to fight to retain it and then analyses in detail his part in the battle against French domination of the Low Countries.
England’s warrior kings
Infographics: Calum Henderson
Turncoats: When commanders swap sides
In the first of three articles about celebrated military figures who changed allegiances, Nigel Jones looks at shifting loyalties in English civil conflicts.
A new way of war: The road to Appomattox – Part 4: Technological revolution
In the final part of our series on the American Civil War, Fred Chiaventone examines the impact of devastating new weaponry and technology that emerged courtesy of the Industrial Revolution.
A long shadow: The road to Appomattox – Part 3: 1864-1865
In the third part of our series on the American Civil War, Fred Chiaventone traces the conflict’s bloody final months.
From Trenton to Yorktown: Turning points of the Revolutionary War
REVIEW BY FRED CHIAVENTONE The American Revolutionary War of 1775 to 1783 had plenty of ‘turning points’, as might be the case with any war that lasted for the best part of eight years, but have they not all been…
War Classics – The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: From Marathon to Waterloo
Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy’s The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World was so significant a book in its day that it would have sat in the libraries of middle-class households alongside the Bible, Shakespeare’s Complete Works, and Milton’s Paradise Lost.
The Civil War by numbers
Infographics: Calum Henderson / Images: Wikimedia Commons
Lodi and Arcola: making the myth
Graham Goodlad analyses the clashes that made Napoleon’s name as a soldier of genius.
Hidden figures
The use of ‘native levies’ has long been a feature of foreign wars – but their employment and their sacrifice reached a peak during the British colonial era. Stephen Roberts uncovers a forgotten story.
An armoured Balaklava: Lessons from the Gothic Line
Less well-known than the invasion of Normandy, the Allied campaign in northern Italy saw some of the bloodiest fighting of the Second World War. Eighty years on, Patrick Mercer looks in detail at one action to understand how things went wrong.
The shock of the new
Marshal Turenne’s bold Winter Campaign of 1674-1675 defied the norms of 17th-century warfare, says William E Welsh. It also sealed his reputation as one of France’s greatest commanders.
Operation Overlord – What happened next: from D-Day to Paris
6 JUNE 1944: D-DAY 12 JUNE (D+6) Carentan, a small town on the Cherbourg Peninsula, is captured by American troops. All the Allied bridgeheads in Normandy are now linked up. The following day, British troops attempt to advance through the…
Imphal & Kohima: Turning point in Burma
Graham Goodlad analyses Slim’s crucial victory, which dispelled the myth of Japanese invincibility.
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.
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 in Western European warfare, as William E Welsh explains.
Ramesses The Great: Egypt’s Kings of Kings
REVIEW BY CATHIE BRYAN Ramesses II is notorious for his self-promotion and propaganda, rather than being famous for his many achievements and cultural advances. To adjust the balance, Wilkinson addresses what Ramesses, the only king of Egypt known as ‘the…
Victory in Iberia: The Peninsular War, 1808-1814
Graham Goodlad assesses the events that led to the defeat of Napoleonic France in the Peninsular War.
Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz: A tale of two sieges, January-April 1812
Graham Goodlad describes the capture of two key frontier fortresses, whose fall opened Spain to the advance of Wellington’s army.
Arminius: Hitler’s barbarian hero
The Germanic warlord who led the massacre of three Roman legions in the Teutoburg Forest would later provide inspiration for both the Kaiser and Adolf Hitler, as Tim Newark explains.
Master of the dark arts
In the first part of a new series on deception in World War II, Taylor Downing tells the story of Lieutenant-Colonel Dudley Clarke, Britain's flamboyant pioneer of misinformation.
The British Templars: A new warrior elite
The Knights Templar were renowned for their extraordinary feats of bravery in defence of the Holy Land. But the British contribution to their story is often overlooked, argues Steve Tibble.
Menin Gate memorial undergoes two-year restoration project
A two-year restoration project on one of the most recognisable memorials of the First World War has begun. The Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, is dedicated to British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed during fighting in the nearby battlefields…
It was just meant to be a night out
John Lock resumes his occasional series on the ‘Butterfly Effect’ by examining another event that would have unforeseen consequences. This time, he turns his attention to Paul Revere’s ‘midnight ride’ and the events that became known as the ‘shot heard round the world’.
Turning the tide in the north: The Battle of Marston Moor, 2 July 1644
Graham Goodlad analyses the events that enabled Parliament to win control of northern England.
Winning the Civil War
Graham Goodlad examines the relationship that broke the Royalist cause in the English Revolution.
Military history crossword #134
Test your military history knowledge with our crossword!
Gettysburg: the five key myths
The greatest battle in American history took place 160 years ago this summer, in July 1863. Fred Chiaventone identifies some common misunderstandings about this crucial engagement.
The Peloponnesian War: the Battle of Mantineia
In the second part of our special feature, Paul Rahe reveals how Sparta won the largest land battle fought within Greece during the Peloponnesian War.
Military History Matters Crossword 133
Across 5 Soviet general instrumental in the defeat of Finland in 1940 (10) 7 Battle of WWI fought in August 1914 (4) 9 Battle fought in Castile in April 1367 (6) 10 Country invaded by Japan in December 1941 (8)…
Win a copy of Angus Konstam’s ‘100 Greatest Battles’!
Put your military history knowledge to the test with our competition, and win a copy of '100 Greatest Battles'!
The Battle of Baugé, 1421: when the Scots saved France
One of the bloodiest encounters between Scottish and English armies took place not on British soil – but in northern France, as part of the Hundred Years War. William E Welsh describes the events that lead to the Battle of Baugé, on 22 March 1421.