It was headline news on 8 April 1942: ‘One of the Navy’s most famous destroyers, a ship which survived bombs, torpedoes and full scale battles, has been wrecked’. That destroyer was HMS Havock, descri
At 18.57 hours on Sunday, 26 May 1940, the Admiralty issued the directive which instigated the start of Operation Dynamo. This was the order to rescue the British Expeditionary Force from the French p
The United States Marine Corps was one of the phenomena of the Second World War. Greatly expanded from its prewar order of battle of scattered defense battalions, overseas garrisons and ship detachmen
When the US Marine Commandant, Major General Thomas Holcomb, announced the formation of what became the US Marine Corps’ Women’s Reserve, legend has it that the portrait of the fifth Commandant, Archi
The Crimean War saw the introduction of the Victoria Cross, which was awarded to 111 men. Whilst the history of the Crimean War has been related many times, never before have the stories of those indi
During October 2016 Paul Dawson visited French archives in Paris to continue his research surrounding the events of the Napoleonic Wars. Some of the material he examined had never been accessed by res
One of Churchill’s most controversial decisions during the Second World War was to switch SOE support in Yugoslavia in 1943 from the Cetniks loyal to the exiled Royal Government to backing Tito and hi
At the start of the Spanish Civil War the nationalists sought help for their cause from Germany, following which volunteers from the German Air Force and Army formed what was called the Condor Legion.
In this vivid and spirited account the author evocatively sets his love of the skies and flying against his bitter experience of the horrors of war, as we follow his progress from France and the battl
Drafted into the Nazi Wehrmacht's 68th Infantry Division at age 19, Bruno Sutkus quickly became known as one of Germany's best snipers. German snipers were required to carry log books to record every
In 1071 Muslim Turks crushed the Byzantine Emperor's Anatolian army at Manzikert. The Crusades, the West's response to this catastrophe, are well known as are the names of the European nobles who foug
Wednesday 22 January 1879 was one of the most dramatic days in the long and distinguished history of the British Army. At noon a massive Zulu host attacked the 24th Regiment in its encampment at the f
Nicolaus von Below was a 29-year-old pilot when Goering selected him for the position of Hitler's Luftwaffe adjutant. He was with Hitler at every stage as the Second World War unfolded. His observatio
Kurt Baron von Plettenberg (1891-1945) was the descendant of Westphalian aristocratic family, and a soldier in both world wars. The expectations, which he along with many of his later fellow conspirat
‘A magnificent biography which finally provides recognition to one of Bletchley's and Britain's lost heroes.’ Michael SmithThe Official Secrets Act and the passing of time have prevented the Bletchley
Officers led and men followed; all were expected to do their duty without thought of reward. Enlisted men rarely penetrated the officer ranks and promotion owed more to money than merit. Then came the
“The last few days have been days of intolerable tension... we have done nothing but pack our belongings and store them in bombproof sites. Danger threatens from all sides. The Americans are using pho
The Anglo-Boer War in 100 Objects brings the victories and the tragedies – and the full extent of the human drama behind this war – to life through 100 iconic artefacts.While a Mafeking siege note hel
Following repeated visits to the Crimea over a number of years, Dr David Jones, with the help of local guides, was able to identify and photograph every important location related to one of the ninete
In November 1998, Alexander Litvinenko, a former Lieutenant Colonel of the Russian security service or FSB, along with several former colleagues, publicly stated that their superiors had instigated an
They knew it was the end. Weakened by four years of war, the reality had finally dawned on the Germans that their armies could never stop the combined might of the Allied forces, now bolstered by the
