William Wallace – How The Rebel Scottish Commander Won at Stirling Bridge
On 11 September 1297, an outnumbered Scottish army defeated the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. The most spectacular victory of William Wallace, the…
7 Types of Medieval Armor – From Quilted Cloth to Full Steel Plate
More than any other artifact of war, armor dominates visual images of medieval Europe. From the chainmail carefully stitched onto each warrior in the Bayeux…
From the Vikings to Vietnam – Five Wars in Which Drugs Fuelled the Fighting
Drugs have a long history as part of war. These days, their main role is a medicinal one, but down the centuries they have often…
An Age Of Brutal Conflicts – The Vikings and The Franks
Two great military forces dominated Europe in the 9th century. On the mainland was the Frankish Empire, a kingdom covering modern France and much of…
Operation Barbarossa – Hitler’s Invasion of the Soviet Union
A quick look at the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany in 33 facts: 1. The invasion of the Soviet Union was the most…
Great British Code Breakers of the First World War
The incredible work of Britain’s World War Two code breakers at Bletchley Park is widely celebrated. But its precursor – the naval intelligence of Room…
Fromelles: The Worst 24 Hours In Australia’s Military History – July 19th 1916
Horrifying loss was the defining feature of the First World War. For much of 1916, the focus of that horror on the Western Front was…
The Most Impressive Roman Construction in Britain – Hadrian’s Wall
Though long since reduced to ruins, the line of Hadrian’s Wall is still visible through the countryside of northern England, from Bowness on the west…
A Force to be Reckoned With – Mercenaries in the Hundred Years War
There have always been soldiers motivated more by pay than by their cause. In the Hundred Years War, many of these men fought in freelance…
The Battle Of Britain, The Most Famous Aerial Battle In History
The most famous aerial battle in history, the Battle of Britain was a hard fought and desperate struggle to hold back Nazi Germany. Having launched…
Operation Sealion: Hitler’s Doomed Plan to Invade Britain
Great Britain’s success in holding out against Nazi Germany has become the stuff of national legend. The only country in Western Europe to successfully stand…
The Battles of El Alamein – The Beginning Of The End Of Rommel’s Africa Corps
In the summer of 1942, things were looking bleak for British and Commonwealth soldiers fighting in North Africa. The forces of Nazi Germany under General…