CATEGORIES

THE RUHR POCKET

The world's largest industrial complex, the Ruhr was where Nazi Germany's war machine was forged. If the Allies could capture it the conflict in Europe would effectively be over

HITLER'S 'ALPINE FORTRESS

With the Rhine crossed and the Ruhr taken, Allied Supreme Commander Dwight D Eisenhower had to decide what came next. His orders would help shape the fate of Europe for decades to come

BLUNTING THE SULTAN'S SPEAR

During his 1532 invasion, Suleiman the Magnificent faced a seemingly simple obstacle in the small fortress of Koszeg, Hungary. What ensued was a bloody struggle between Ottoman firepower and imperial grit

BATTLE OF THE NILE NELSON vs NAPOLEON

In 1798, Britain's most celebrated admiral pursued the French across the Mediterranean, attempting to thwart General Bonaparte's mission to Egypt. The pursuit culminated in what was arguably the most strategically important naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars

FREDERICKSBURG

The Confederate invasion of the north had been repulsed in Maryland by the Army of the Potomac. President Abraham Lincoln now urged his military to seize the initiative and crush the Confederates in the east and capture their capital Richmond. It would culminate in another catastrophic defeat

REMAGEN GATEWAY TO THE REICH

On 7 March 1945 the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine at Remagen was still standing - capturing it intact was vital to the Allied advance into Nazi Germany

A13 MK III CRUISER COVENANTER TANK

Plagued with mechanical issues, the Covenanter was envisioned as an improved cruiser design but never deployed for overseas service

INSIDE PICKETT'S CHARGE

On 3 July 1863 a Confederate regiment – the 19th Virginia Infantry – marched into the jaws of Hell in one of the most infamous events in American military history

Heroes of the Victoria Cross: MILTON FOWLER GREGG

On 28 September, 1918, this Royal Canadian Regiment officer led his men through uncut barbed wire into enemy trenches

MARCH 1945

To commemorate 80 years since the Second World War, History of War will be taking a look at some of the key events taking place during each month of the conflict

THE ANGELS OF BASTOGNE

In the middle of Germany’s final major offensive, a young nurse risked her life to help treat wounded American soldiers

REICH TO REPUBLIC

INTERVIEW WITH FRANK TRENTMANN From defeat and division to democracy, the historian examines Germany's struggle with post-war guilt, memory and reconciliation

THE SPARTACIST UPRISING

The fledgling democratic republic of Germany was forced to immediately fight for its existence against communist insurgents bent on its destruction

WHAT IF...MEXICO DEFEATED THE UNITED STATES?

Could Mexico have claimed vast swathes of territory, including the potentially gold-rich California, in a huge blow to US expansion?

THE MARCH ACTION

The final rising of the radical left during the Weimar period was followed by the sharp decline of communist influence in Germany

BALTIMORE

In the War of 1812, the Royal Navy launched an assault on the economic hub of Maryland, prompting an inspired American defence against the old enemy

THE RUHR UPRISING

After the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch, radical left-wing workers united in a violent bid to establish a Soviet-style government

THOMAS J HUDNER

This US Navy aviator fought a desperate battle against time, flames and the brutal North Korean winter in an attempt to rescue his trapped wingman

GHOSTS OF DYNAMO

Armed with the British Admiralty's battle summary, firsthand accounts and a 2023 seabed survey, it's now possible explore a number of Operation Dynamo wrecks to understand what was lost at Dunkirk

1944-45 BATTLE FOR EUROPE SNIPERS

These elite sharpshooters led the Allied advance in Normandy and eventually beyond the frontier of the Third Reich

THE KAPP-LÜTTWITZ PUTSCH

When in 1920 nationalists attempted a coup, a nationwide strike in a mass popular demonstration against them

GODFATHER OF THE SAS? T.E. LAWRENCE

Nearly 90 years after his death, the famously unorthodox officer deserves to be remembered as an early inspiration for the British special forces

Heroes of the Victoria Cross - KEITH PAYNE

Under monsoon conditions in the Central Vietnamese Highlands, this Australian soldier ignored his injuries to hold back a communist attack and ensure that no man was left behind

FORGOTTEN FACES OF THE BLITZ

Andy Saunders reflects on whether Steve McQueen's new wartime movie casts some uncomfortable light onto the popular history of Britain's ‘darkest hour'

COLD WAR - BATTLE FOR BERLIN

In the tense nuclear stalemate, the Western Allies hatched drastic plans to defend against Soviet invasion, which meanwhile was being plotted in the East

ATTACK ON THE TIRPITZ MEDAL

The Conspicuous Gallantry Medal was awarded to the helmsman of a midget submarine for his part in a mission that seriously damaged the German battleship

HITLER'S BOMBERS

Today, countless European cities still bear scars from the Luftwaffe's bomber crews. But with bombers constituting one-third of all German aircraft lost in WWII, such devastation didn't come cheap for the Kampfflieger

NELSON-CLASS BATTLESHIP

A necessarily smaller design based on a battlecruiser, these vessels served with distinction in multiple theatres of the Second World War

ROLLS-ROYCE MERLINS TO MISSILES

After building the RAF's war-winning engines, the iconic British firm began designing cutting-edge propulsion systems for NATO

RAIDS ON THE NORTH

Although the pirates were most active in the Mediterranean, they also ventured further afield for their spoils