Military History Matters 129 – Letters
Your thoughts on issues raised by the magazine.
mhm129
Warfare and the Wall: the genesis of a Roman frontier
Matthew Symonds examines the resistance that Roman forces faced as they strove to conquer Britain.
Case Blue: the Eastern Front between Barbarossa and Stalingrad
Eighty years on, David Porter analyses Germany’s plan to launch another great offensive in the summer of 1942.
The Restless Republic: Britain without a crown
The execution of King Charles I in January 1649 and the subsequent abolition of the monarchy turned Britain into a republic, which it would remain until the Restoration of Charles II 11 years later. Yet it is a period of…
Backs against the Wall, AD 117-113
In the early years of Hadrian’s reign, the military situation in Britain was in danger of spiralling out of control. The emperor hit on a radical solution, as Matthew Symonds describes.
The Casco-class Monitors
Following the success of USS Monitor – the ground-breaking ironclad warship, designed by Swedish-born engineer John Ericsson, that played a central role in the US Civil War Battle of Hampton Roads on 9 March 1862 – the US Navy issued…
Military history events, exhibitions and experiences in 2022
A round-up of some of the best military history events, lectures, and exhibitions.
Victory at Sea: naval power and the transformation of the global order in World War II
REVIEW BY GRAHAM GOODLAD The Second World War at sea has been the subject of several outstanding overviews in recent years. Phillips Payson O’Brien’s innovative How the War was Won (2015) argued for the critical importance of sea (and air)…
British soldiers whose remains were excavated in Dutch city died of illness, not injury, research finds
Located in the centre of the Netherlands, Vianen saw two wars in the 18th century, the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) and later the Flanders campaign of 1793-1795.
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.
The worst commanders in history?
What makes a good or bad military leader? Is it just the winning and losing of battles, or does personality also play a part? A new book looks at some of the most disastrous commanders down the centuries. Here, three historians explain their choices.
MHM 129 Crossword
Put you military history knowledge to the test!
MHM129 competition: win a copy of At the Gates of Rome!
Put your military history knowledge to the test with our competition, and be in with a chance to win a copy of Don Hollway's At the Gates of Rome.
Review: Fort George
Open 9.30am-5.30pm daily (April to September) and 10am-4pm daily (October to March)Ardersier, Inverness, IV2 7TDwww.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/fort-george/+44 (0) 1667 462 834 Fort George is an imposing reminder of a turbulent period in British history. Its commanding position on the Moray Firth in…
War on film – Enemy at the Gates
As the Russian army commits appalling atrocities in Ukraine, it might not feel like the best time to recall the heroism of the Red Army in the Second World War. But this year marks the 80th anniversary of the titanic…
The Facemaker: one surgeon’s battle to mend the disfigured soldiers of World War I
REVIEW BY CALUM HENDERSON. William Vicarage was just 20 years old when he sustained severe cordite burns aboard HMS Malaya during the Battle of Jutland in 1916. As well as extensive wounds to his hands and upper body, the able…
New gallery explores the Queen’s relationship with the armed forces
It draws on the museum’s extensive image archive to chart the monarch’s experiences of war, from growing up in the early 1940s to her continuing official duties as Head of the British Armed Forces.
![The assault ration pack dating from the Second World War [right]. X ray scans [far RIGHT] revealed its contents, including meat blocks, biscuits, and latrine paper.](https://i0.wp.com/the-past.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/post-1_image0-7.jpg?fit=561%2C421&ssl=1)
Last surviving D-Day ration pack discovered
Originally found in 2006, the sealed ration pack was mistakenly identified as an artefact from the 1950s.
The Red and the Blue: when Britain and the US almost went to war in 1862
Britain and the US have not always enjoyed a ‘special relationship’. During the 19th century, relations between the two were often tense. William Stroock looks at a moment when war came close.
Research project announced into royal shipwreck discovered off Norfolk coast
Due to her age and prestige, the condition of the wreck, and the accident’s political context, the discovery has been described as the most important British maritime find since that of Mary Rose in 1971.
Roland Penrose, ‘camouflage evangelist’
‘The tendency in warfare up to very recent times,’ wrote Roland Penrose in his 1941 book The Home Guard Manual of Camouflage, ‘has been to rely on sheer strength and even ostentation rather than concealment.’ Be it the shining armour…
The BBC at war
This year marks the centenary of the birth of the BBC. To celebrate, Taylor Downing looks at how the Corporation came of age during the Second World War.
Berlin: life and loss in the city that shaped the century
Covering the period from the end of the Great War to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War, this is a well-researched and very detailed book from a well-known author, whose previous similar book…
War of words – ‘Bazooka’
A signature piece of kit for American GIs in World War II, the bazooka was a tubular, shoulder-fired, 2.36-inch rocket launcher. It fired a projectile bearing a shaped-charge warhead, which contained a hollow cavity lined with metal. On contact with…
Ancient ceramic vessels were used as hand grenades, analysis suggests
Four pot sherds found between 1961 and 1967 in the Armenian Garden, located within the walled Old City of Jerusalem, were studied as part of the research.