MHM142

Napoleon: Rise of a military colossus

In our special two-part feature in this issue, Graham Goodlad explores, first, the part played by Napoleon’s generalship in his progress from unknown artillery officer to ruler of France. Then he analyses in depth two battles Napoleon fought in his 1796-1797 Italian campaign.

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.

The last of the Romans

Flavius Aetius is little known today, unlike his nemesis Attila the Hun. But, says Tim Newark, it was the Roman general who triumphed over his notorious adversary in a battle that decided the fate of the Roman Empire.

War Classics – Flashman

Any novelist approaching a publisher with an idea for a series of stories centred around a cowardly, bullying racist, who is also a serial philanderer, would nowadays be very quickly shown the door. Yet George MacDonald Fraser achieved celebrity and surprising academic respect for just such a series, which consisted of 12 books published between 1969 and 2005.

German prisoners, France, August 1918

This image shows a huge crowd of German soldiers captured by British forces during the Battle of Amiens on 27 August 1918, less than three months before Armistice Day. Taken at the town of Abbeville, well behind the frontline, the…