Prokhorovka: the greatest tank battle in history?
Bill Purdue takes a look at recent critical reappraisal of this famous clash of Soviet and Nazi armour in the summer of 1943.
MHM119
Facebook steps in to save struggling Bletchley Park
It played a crucial role in World War Two and is considered the birthplace of computing. Now, the struggling museum at Bletchley Park has been given a bailout by Facebook.
Rare medieval equestrian armour goes on display for first time in a century
It is one of only three complete medieval equestrian armour displays in the world. Now, the 15th-century masterpiece can be viewed by the public for the first time in over 100 years.
Communists spied on Orwell during Spanish Civil War, new book claims
George Orwell’s writing on mass surveillance has left an enduring legacy. Now it has emerged that the author was himself spied on during the Spanish Civil War.
Warlord discovery throws new light on Anglo-Saxon history
He lay undisturbed on a hilltop for centuries. Now, the uncovered remains of an Anglo-Saxon warlord may change historians’ understanding of Britain’s ancient history.
Wreck off Norwegian coast confirmed as long-lost German warship
It was hit by Norwegian artillery and torpedoed by a British submarine before finally being scuttled by its own captain. But now, the long-lost wreck of the German light cruiser Karlsruhe has been identified off the coast of Norway.
Spies of WWII commemorated with blue plaques
Two spies who worked for Britain during the Second World War have been honoured with blue plaques outside their London homes.
Museum: the American Airpower Museum
Reviewing the best military history exhibitions, with Marc DeSantis
In View
MHM's round-up of the latest military history titles
The Genesis of Air Power, 1909 – 1916
Neil Faulkner begins a short series on the history of airpower and its impact on the evolution of modern warfare.
Letters from MHM December 2020/January 2021
I commend Alexander Izza on his excellent article on Okinawa (MHM 119, October/November 2020) but would take issue with a couple of points.
Turner’s Modern World
All great artists need great subjects. Joseph Mallord William Turner was no exception. Although extremely talented, he was especially fortunate to have lived through stirring times.
War of Words – ‘trench warfare’
Combat on the Western Front during World War One is justly infamous for its grim lethality. Soldiers on both sides dug deep trenches in the earth to escape murderous enemy fire.
Lancaster: the forging of a very British legend
Penned by former RAF Navigator and Gulf War veteran John Nichol, Lancaster is one of the most enthralling aviation history books I have read. But its succinct title does not do it justice. Its pages narrate not only the history of the legendary bomber but also of those who flew her.
Allenby: making the modern Middle East
Edward Henry Hynman Allenby was born in 1861 in Brackenhurst, Nottinghamshire in comfortable circumstances – a Victorian squire perhaps destined to help govern the British Empire on behalf of the Queen-Empress.
The Glamour Boys: the secret story of the rebels who fought for Britain to defeat Hitler
To oppose the Munich Agreement of 1938 was once considered something close to treason. The prime minister of the day had met an intimidating opponent and had extracted from him a pact that would save the world from war. Who could possibly object to that?
Crucible of Hell: Okinawa: the last great battle of the Second World War
In this year of reflection on the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, too often our Western gaze falls solely on events in Europe. We rightly mourn those who died in the final, catastrophic battles in Nazi Germany and celebrate the final end of war in Europe on VE Day. But when the guns fell silent in Europe, the desperate fight between the Allies and the Japanese raged on. In Crucible of Hell, Saul David takes the reader on a journey to Okinawa, ‘the last great battle of the Second World War’.
War Athletes: Clem Lewis
At the turn of the 20th century, the first ‘Golden Era’ of Welsh rugby ushered in the national team’s rise to dominance and infused ‘rugger’ into the country’s lifeblood. Lewis, for his part, embraced the game body and soul.
Back to the Drawing Board: Vasa
The early 17th century marked a period of rapid growth in warships as the galleons of the previous century began to give way to the ship-of-the-line, which would dominate naval warfare for the next 250 years. One of the first such vessels was the English 55-gun Prince Royal, completed in 1611, which remained in service until her destruction in 1666 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
Medieval Irish Warriors
It was as aggressors that the Irish first made their impact on European history. The quasi-legendary Irish warlord Cormac mac Airt, from the 3rd century AD, not only subdued almost all of Ireland, he also launched destructive attacks on Roman Britain. Another who did so, the following century, was Niall of the Nine Hostages.
Wartime Christmas
Christmas at the front was about making do. Here, for instance, British soldiers have gathered in a shell hole around a makeshift table. Some are sitting on the ground, others on what appears to be rolled-up sheets of wire.
How the Franco-Prussian War changed Europe
The Franco-Prussian War overturned the balance of power in Europe
Fleming’s War
With the latest James Bond blockbuster out next year, MHM assistant editor Calum Henderson explores the life of the man who created him: Ian Fleming, whose wartime adventures rivalled those of 007 himself.