geopolitics

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The road to independence

In our latest four-part series, marking the 250th anniversary of US independence, Fred Chiaventone examines first the genesis of America’s Revolutionary War, how discontent exploded into open warfare, and then traces the history of a conflict whose repercussions are still being felt 250 years on.

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From World War to Cold War

In the first part of our series examining the transition from World War to Cold War, Taylor Downing looks at how the end of the fighting in 1945 sowed the seeds of the conflict to come; while in the second part he explains how the defeat of the Nazis brought new division to the Austrian capital.

The road to Armageddon: Central Powers at war

In this new mini-series, we examine the wartime record of Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Turkey, and Bulgaria. We begin with a ‘special’ centred on Austria-Hungary’s army, which struggled to make an impression against its Russian, Serbian, and Italian foes. In this first part, Graham Goodlad assesses the performance of the Habsburg army in the war that culminated in the empire’s collapse.

The Coalitions Against Napoleon

REVIEW BY ANDRÉ VAN LOON The subject of The Coalitions Against Napoleon is fascinating and rich in potential. Moving beyond the well-trodden path of personality-based writing (such as Napoleon versus Wellington, biographies of Napoleon’s marshals, or the career of Horatio…

Rome: strategy of empire

REVIEW BY MARK CORBY This fine book seeks to overthrow the current academic consensus that the Romans were incapable of strategic thought, had little understanding of their frontiers, lacked the will to develop a coherent defensive system due to the…

War Classics: From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow

More than half a century after its publication, it is widely regarded as the inescapable starting point for scholars working on early 20th-century British naval history. What made Marder such an outstanding historian? Above all, it is his command of the primary sources.

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This week: Christianity in the Caucasus

These days, the rugged and beautiful Caucasus Mountains – which stretch almost 800 miles between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea – are sadly perhaps most closely associated with the vicious series of ethnic and territorial disputes that have flared up along Russia's troubled southeastern border since the break-up of the Soviet Union.

Stalin’s War

‘I trust no one, not even myself.’ So the merciless dictator of the Soviet Union reportedly once said. In this new book, Sean McMeekin explores the Second World War from Joseph Stalin’s perspective. From his complex relations with both Winston…

The Shortest History of War

From slings and arrows to cyberwarfare, conflict is innate to human nature despite the peace much of the modern world now enjoys. In the latest addition to the bestselling ‘shortest history’ series, historian Gwynne Dyer summarises the story of conflict…

ABOVE Persian warriors of the Great King, as depicted on a frieze formed of glazed brick in the Pergamon Museum. The Persian Empire was the largest yet known, with vast resources of manpower and treasure. But the Greek military system, based on the hoplite phalanx, proved superior to the Persian army.

The Persian Wars

In his second article, Paul Rahe analyses Sparta’s response to the mortal challenge posed by the Persian invasions of the early 5th century BC.