History of War

In 1941, Britain and her allies began launching a series of special operations along the Norwegian coast, with the aim of disrupting and destroying any resources or facilities being used to fuel the Nazi war economy. These hit-and-run raids were carr

Unrest grows against the DRA, who kill thousands of political prisoners and fight among themselves. A loose collection of Afghan opposition groups (known as the mujahideen) rebel, which causes the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev to deploy the 40th Army

Members of the French Foreign Legion train in the Saudi desert in preparation for the coalition intervention in the Gulf after Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. The Iraqi forces were known to have possessed and deployed chemical weapons in recent

Having come to power through a coup and imposing martial law, General Zia-ul-Haq’s foresight never anticipated the Soviets getting so close to the Pakistani border. This put immense pressure on Islamabad as it did not have the resources to defend its

Shrouded in mystery throughout the Cold War, the actual role of the spetsnaz in the Soviet armed forces was as vanguards for an invasion force. Being a special operations branch, however, meant their exact place in the Soviet army’s structure was har

Even before the shock of the Soviet invasion settled, a consensus view emerged in American policy circles, and later on with the press and politicians, that Afghanistan could serve as a springboard for impending Soviet plans to reach ‘warm water’. Th

The Soviet 40th Army existed in two very distinct phases during its 20th century history. It was first formed in 1941 after the German invasion of Russia during Operation Barbarossa and almost immediately suffered heavy casualties at the Battle of Ki

The capital of a province with the same name, Khost is the largest city in southeast Afghanistan. Before the 1980s it already had a tradition of warfare and was the location for three rebellions between 1856-1925 against ruling Afghan emirs. However,

On the evening of 24 April 1940 a Royal Navy submarine departed Rosyth in Scotland bound for Norway on what was codenamed ‘Operation Knife’. On board HMS Truant were seven men described by the vessel’s captain, Lieutenant Commander Christopher Hutchi

The closing months of the Second World War saw the first combat flight of the jet fighter, with the deployment of Nazi Germany’s Me 262 – a milestone in aviation history that changed air warfare forever. However, jet fighters would not truly come int

It is good to remember how we felt in time of war; To feel all the hatred for the misery and gore; To relive our thoughts and feelings at the evil that we saw; And still be determined to prevent it all once more. Remembering, means we don’t forget,

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for the year 991, that summer, Olaf Tryggvason (later king of Norway) sailed with a fleet of 93 ships and raided the English coast. He began in Kent, raiding Folkestone and then Sandwich, and then moved on

In July and August 991, a fleet of 93 Viking longships ravages Hampshire, Kent and Ipswich before heading up the River Blackwater to Northey Island, near Maldon. This location offers a safe harbour for their ships and is protected from the mainland b

When the Empire of Japan launched its pre-emptive strike on Pearl Harbor at the end of 1941, a young Virginian called Desmond Doss was working at the Newport News shipyard. Though he was entitled to request a deferment, he felt a duty to serve his co

Designed in the 1920s as a general purpose trainer, crop duster and light transport aircraft, the Polikarpov U-2 (later reclassified the Po-2) saw distinguished service during World War II. It was old, basic and slow, but it found a niche as a reconn

Though President Roosevelt had recently won re-election on a promise of non-intervention in what was perceived as Europe’s war, the Lend-Lease Act was passed by the US Congress on 11 March. This was a critical moment in the build up to the US partici

Director: Vadim Shmelyov Cast: Artyom Gubin, Lubov Konstantinova, Igor Yudin Released: 8 March 2021 (DVD) It’s October 1941 and the relentless Wehrmacht is closing in on Moscow, every attempt to halt the German tide ruthlessly crushed beneath the bo

The Museum of Military Medicine is moving from Surrey to a new home in the Welsh capital The Museum of Military Medicine tells the story of military healthcare disciplines including medicine, nursing, dental, veterinary and allied health professions

Author: Roland Philipps Publisher: The Bodley Head Price: £20.00 Sometimes a story comes along that really is stranger than fiction, one that would test the patience of any reader sitting down to enjoy a spy novel or cinemagoer hoping to lose themse

Certificate: 12 Director: Simon Stone Cast: Carey Mulligan, Ralph Fiennes, Lily James Based on the book of the same name, The Dig is a retelling of the events around the discover of the Sutton Hoo archaeological site, one of the most extraordinary f

Author: Myra MacDonald Publisher: Hurst Price: £25.00 For nearly four decades, Pakistan and India have been embroiled in a bloody struggle for dominion of the Siachen glacier high in the Karakoram mountain range. This forbidding tract of ice demarks

Author: Katja Hoyer Publisher: The History Press Price: £14.99 Katja Hoyer covers the 47 years from the unification of Germany in 1871 to the November Revolution of 1918 with impressive ease. Her well-illustrated book is based on considerable resear

Catherine II (r.1762-96) was the most accomplished empress in Russian history. Better known as Catherine the Great, she began life as a minor German princess but became empress of Russia after overthrowing her husband Tsar Peter III in a coup d’état.

Tasked with supplying weapons, ammunition and equipment to the British Army, the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) had medieval origins. First set up as the “Office of Ordnance” in 1414 during the reign of Henry V, Britain’s system of logistical suppl