The Central Powers by numbers
Infographics: Calum Henderson
Military History
Bombing Venice: The Allied attack on one of the world’s most beloved cities
In a new book, Jonathan Glancey tells the inside story of Operation Bowler, the audacious WWII plan to destroy German strategic outposts around Venice’s port, while leaving the legendary city unscathed.
Switching sides: Military turncoats, a traitorous history
In the second part of his series on military turncoats, Nigel Jones profiles more commanders who changed allegiance, from Benedict Arnold to Friedrich Paulus.
The Anarchy: The first English civil war, 1135-1153
A bloody succession crisis that tore England apart also gave rise to a dynasty that would rule for 300 years. In the first of two pieces about early civil wars, Stephen Roberts examines one of the country’s darkest periods.
MHM 147 Competition
Put your military history knowledge to the test with our competition.
War Classics – The Donkeys
‘Good-morning, good morning!’ the General said
When we met him last week on our way to the line.
Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of ’em dead,
And we’re cursing his staff for incompetent swine.
These lines from Siegfried Sassoon’s poem ‘The General’ were written in 1917.
Jewel of the Med: The 18th-century struggle for Menorca
Edmund West traces the history of the small island with an outsized natural harbour that played a critical role in the battle for naval superiority in the Mediterranean.
War on Film – Riefenstahl
Taylor Downing reviews the latest film releases.
Iain MacGregor
The MHM award-winning author and publisher on meeting Hilary Mantel, and why Abraham Lincoln is his hero.
MHM 147 Letters – July
Your thoughts on issues raised by the magazine.
Trove of helmets from World Wars I and II uncovered on site of former German barracks
A trove of helmets dating from the First and Second World Wars has been discovered by archaeologists in Poland. Road-construction workers found more than 50 helmets lying just beneath the surface on Koszarowa Street in the city of Wrocław. The…
Remains of ‘world’s first’ prisoner- of-war camp to open to visitors
The site of what is believed to be the world’s first purpose-built prisoner-of-war camp will soon be open to visitors. The Norman Cross Camp, just south of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, was established by the British government during the Napoleonic Wars.…
New London spy museum appoints its first director
A new museum dedicated to the spies who uncovered many enemy secrets during the Second World War has appointed its first director. Giuseppe Albano was recently named as the head of Trent Park House of Secrets, which is due to…
Final resting place of Captain Cook’s ship Endeavour confirmed 250 years after sinking
More than 250 years after she was sunk, the final resting place of the vessel commanded by Captain James Cook on his first voyage of discovery has been confirmed. HMS Endeavour, which Cook used to map the Pacific Ocean and…
Hereford to host the UK’s first military history festival
The first UK festival dedicated to military history will take place in Hereford this autumn. Tickets have gone on sale for the three-day event in late September, which organisers say will include ‘a rich and varied programme of talks, panel…
Life after Liberation
Reviewing the best military history exhibitions with Simon Coppock.
War of Words – ‘Sabotage’
With Marc DeSantis
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…
No More Napoleons: How Britain managed Europe from Waterloo to World War I
REVIEW BY GRAHAM GOODLAD Andrew Lambert has earned a reputation as the leading naval historian of his generation with a series of books on Nelson, the Anglo-American War of 1812-1814, and the Crimean War. In 2018, his Seapower States chronicled…
The Siege of Tyre: Alexander the Great and the gateway to empire
REVIEW BY MARC DeSANTIS Alexander the Great of Macedonia is one of the best-known figures of ancient history. Comparatively large amounts of written material concerning his short but extraordinarily eventful life have survived from ancient times. This is a boon…
Thunderbolt of the North: Harald Hardrada, Viking King
REVIEW BY JEFFREY JAMES King Harald III of Norway’s sobriquet Hardrada conjures up an image of a resolute, ruthless, no-nonsense leader, yet may in fact be a corruption of the Norse word harfagri, meaning ‘the fine or fair haired’. Nevertheless,…
In Brief
MHM’s round-up of the latest military history releases.
UK news in brief
Rare photographs of Second World War filmmaking revealed To mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Historic England’s Archive has released a collection of photographs capturing behind-the-scenes stills of RAF film productions. The collection was put together by Dorothy ‘Knicky’…
A battlefield burial
A mass grave recently unearthed in Austria is believed to be associated with a Roman battlefield. In autumn 2024, construction workers carrying out renovations of a playing field in Simmering, a district of Vienna, had unexpectedly come across a large…
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
Was it necessary to drop the atom bombs to defeat Japan?
In the last part of our series marking the 80th anniversary of World War II’s final months, Taylor Downing asks whether the Allies had any choice but to use their devastating new weapon to end the war.
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.
War Classics – The Influence of Sea Power Upon History 1660-1783
Nick Spenceley reconsiders Alfred Thayer Mahan’s The Influence of Sea Power Upon History.
MHM Book Awards 2025
The ballots have been cast, the votes counted, and we are delighted to announce the winners of the MHM Book Awards. We curated a list of 2024’s best military history titles, and asked you, our readers, to vote for your…
War on Film – Warfare
Taylor Downing reviews the latest film releases.
Operation Downfall: The planned invasions of Japan, 1945-1946
What would have happened if Japan hadn’t surrendered? David Porter examines the Allied plans for the largest amphibious assault of all time.
Phillips Payson O’Brien
The American-born writer and academic Phillips Payson O’Brien on an admirable dictator, and his fascination with failure.
MHM 146 Competition
Put your military history knowledge to the test with our competition.