History of War

Painted: c.1422 Fought on 25 October 1415 during the Hundred Years’ War, the Battle of Agincourt is one of the most famous battles in English history. King Henry V’s unlikely victory against a numerically superior French army was immortalised by Will

The accolade ‘fighter ace’ is much debated by military historians, and one that takes a broad sweep at categorising the best, or ‘deadliest’, pilots who flew predominantly during the world wars. It’s a term that, while instantly understood, glosses o

1943 A worker wearing a red bandana and blue overalls, ‘Rosie the Riveter’ became one of the Second World War’s most iconic poster images. ‘Rosie’ represented the millions of female American labourers who worked to keep industry going in the US. Whil

20 August 1970 The cast of the BBC comedy series Dad’s Army pose during filming for a feature film of the same name. Of the seven actors, five were military veterans. Arthur Lowe, John Le Mesurier and Clive Dunn all served in the Second World War, wi

Two-hundred Anti-Treaty IRA militants occupy the Four Courts – Ireland’s most prominent judicial building – in Dublin. Michael Collins delays retaking the Four Courts to prevent civil war. 14 April 1922 6 December 1921 The British Government and repr

One of the first and most significant assassinations during the Irish Civil War was that of Sir Henry Wilson on 22 June 1922. Wilson was an Anglo-Irish MP for North Down who had previously been a field marshal in the British Army during the First Wor

I was used to losing men; that was war. But Marseille was special, like a small boy playing war. He never took it too seriously, and his smile, which was less evident as time progressed, was infectious when present.” Oberst Eduard Neumann’s recollect

The Irish Civil War was bloody and brutal, but it was the personalised nature of this brutality that made the war such a dark moment in Irish history. Members from both sides had been comrades fighting side by side against the British during the Iris

A‘truce’ to the bloody and violent Irish War of Independence emerged in July 1921, as the British Government under David Lloyd George and the Irish Republic under Éamon de Valera both began to explore their options for peace and the future. Both men,

During the Second World War, the Luftwaffe counted history’s highest-scoring pilot aces, or Experten, among its ranks. Prior to the outbreak of the war, under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was forbidden from having an air force, whic

The man who was to become Field Marshal Sir William Slim was not born for military grandeur or the acclaim of the battlefield. He found it, nevertheless, through the vicissitudes of two great wars. We know much about his triumph over the Japanese in

On 14 April 1922, approximately 200 Anti-Treaty IRA militants occupied Dublin’s Four Courts. The main seat of Ireland’s judiciary, the Four Courts was considered a symbol of British authority and the militants hoped to provoke the remaining British t

If one man can be said to have been instrumental in the creation of the Delta Force, it’s Colonel Charles Alvin Beckwith, nicknamed Chargin’ Charlie. In 1952, after graduating from the University of Georgia, he turned down a chance to play profession

The armed forces of the United States comprise one of the most formidable military powers in the modern world. Of course there are the Marines and the Navy Seals, but, like a number of countries, the US also has need for military units that can condu

Brigadier-General Stand Watie, a prominent Cherokee politician, was the last Confederate general in the field to surrender to the Union, over two months after General Robert E Lee, and one month after General Edmund Kirby Smith. The Cherokee Nation w

For several minutes, with German bullets and shells shredding the wavering Canadian lines, it seemed that much of the advance toward Passchendaele hinged on three men. In front of Lieutenant Hugh McKenzie, Lieutenant JM Christie and Sergeant George H

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THE RIVER GRANICUS (THE BIGA ÇAYI, ÇANAKKALE PROVINCE, NORTHWESTERN TURKEY) LATE SPRING/EARLY SUMMER 334BCE In spring 334 BCE, the 22-year-old Macedonian king, Alexander III (reigned 336-323 BCE), invaded the vast Achaemenid Persian Empire with a sma

The T-72 main battle tank is the most commonly employed armoured fighting vehicle in the world today – a relic of the Cold War that is still in frontline use in war zones such as Ukraine. Emerging from Soviet design instructions that would leverage e

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Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome is the best-preserved First World War airfield in the UK, with many listed buildings and replica aircraft Located deep in rural Essex, Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome is an historic airfield that was used by the Royal

Conducted during 17-18 August 1943, Operation Hydra was an RAF Bomber Command attack on a German scientific research centre at Peenemünde. Located on Germany’s Baltic coast, Peenemünde was one of five German military proving grounds that developed gu

Author: Andrew Quilty Publisher: Bloomsbury Price: £20 (Hardback) Released: Out now There is a popular belief that Afghanistan is an unconquerable country. This is a complete myth. For more than 2,000 years, from Alexander the Great onward, the count

Author: David Joseph Publisher: Amberley Price: £25 Released: Out now A DEEPLY MOVING, WELL-RESEARCHED LOOK AT THE ORIGINS OF THE HOLOCAUST David Joseph’s new book Burgenland: Village Secrets and the First Tremors of the Holocaust is a deeply moving

Authors: Jonathan Krause & William Philpott Publisher: Pen & Sword Price: £25 (Hardback) Released: Out now Written by eminent historians, this is an excellent, thoroughly researched book, documenting the lives, strategic war aims and careers of 12 Fr

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The most famous British soldier of his day, Field Marshal Earl Kitchener of Khartoum was the embodiment of British imperial military might. Appointed as secretary of state for war in 1914, Kitchener organised the largest volunteer army ever seen in B