Latest Features
Military History – June 2012
The June 2012 issue of Military History Monthly, the British military history magazine, is on sale today.
Pirates! – the Royal Navy’s trade routes
British trade routes were plagued by pirates during the 19th century, but where were the most dangerous and densely-populated pirate havens?
Warrior – Rogers' Rangers
Using Ed Dovey’s beautiful illustrations as a visual guide, Robin Smith reports on an early British special-forces unit that operated in the 18th century American wilderness. In the annals of British military history, there are few greater stories than the desperate expedition mounted by Captain Robert Rogers and his command through miles of unforgiving North… [Continue Reading]
Latest Articles
The Shakespeare-Class Destroyer
A cut-away diagram of this WWI British destroyer, the specialised hunter-killer of German U-boats
SEISMIC BOMB – Back to the drawing board
A ground-breaking device from Barnes Wallis that nearly worked
CANADA GENERAL SERVICE MEDAL — 1866-1870
The Canada General Service Medal was not awarded until 1899, though it related to campaigns fought in Canada between 1866 and 1871, including resistance to raids by American Fenians in 1866 and 1870-1871, as well as the more famous Red River Expedition discussed here. The dominant consideration in military operations in the Canadian hinterland was,… [Continue Reading]
Predator Drone Specifications
The Predator system was designed in response to a Department of Defence requirement to provide persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance information combined with a kill capability to the war-fighter. In April 1996, the secretary of defence selected the US Air Force as the operating service for the RQ-1 Predator system. The ‘R’ is the Department… [Continue Reading]
War Culture – Maritime Tattoos
Tattooing in Western culture owes its popularity to the sailors of the 1700s, who were inspired by the tattooed indigenous people they encountered when visiting the islands of Polynesiain the South Pacific. The word itself is believed to have derived from the Tahitian ta-taw – an onomatopoeic word mimicking the sound of Polynesian tattooing tools.… [Continue Reading]
WMD – THE FERRET SCOUT CAR
Eric Bryan recalls a long-serving stalwart of British military reconnaissance. In 1949, the British Army approached Daimler to upgrade its World War Two light armoured vehicles. Having previously designed the Dingo Scout Car, Daimler created the Ferret. The Ferret was a development of the Dingo design, but it had more interior space for the crew,… [Continue Reading]
Pirates: the Royal Navy and the suppression of maritime raiding 1620-1830
How did the Royal Navy deal with pirates in their 17th century heyday?
Pirates! – the Royal Navy’s trade routes
British trade routes were plagued by pirates during the 19th century, but where were the most dangerous and densely-populated pirate havens?
British South Africa Company Medal, 1896-1897
In our monthly study of the conflicts that lie behind treasured campaign medals, this month, we examine the conflicts behind the British South Africa Company Medal, 1896-1897. In 1888, King Lobengula of the Ndebele (or Matabele) tribe, whose capital was at Bulawayo (in modern Zimbabwe), was persuaded to cede all mineral rights in his territory to a group of… [Continue Reading]
Warrior – Rogers' Rangers
Using Ed Dovey’s beautiful illustrations as a visual guide, Robin Smith reports on an early British special-forces unit that operated in the 18th century American wilderness. In the annals of British military history, there are few greater stories than the desperate expedition mounted by Captain Robert Rogers and his command through miles of unforgiving North… [Continue Reading]
Waterloo – map of troop manoeuvres
This map explains the movements of the French, British, and Prussian forces from the 15 to the 18 June, 1815. Napoleon seized the initiative in the Hundred Days campaign by marching his army across the frontier and into Belgium on 15 June. He struck Blücher’s Prussians with his main force at Ligny on 16 June, but his… [Continue Reading]
The India Medal of 1896
In our monthly study of the conflicts that lie behind treasured campaign medals, this month, we turn to the India Medal awarded for campaigns fought on the North-West Frontier between 1895 and 1902. The India Medal, approved in 1896, was issued for a series of campaigns fought on the North-West Frontier of British India. Though the intensity… [Continue Reading]
Spies in the Sky – how they did it
One of our features this month deals with the importance of aerial photo-reconnaissance during the Second World War. To help explain exactly how this vital task was carried out, we included two illustrations demonstrating the modifications which had to be made to the aircraft, and the methods they employed in order to ensure maximum accuracy.… [Continue Reading]
Falklands – troop manoeuvres
To help you visualize the action in Major General Julian Thompson’s lead feature for MHM on the Royal Navy’s triumph during the Falklands, we created this map and timeline listing troop movements from 12 May to 10 June; from the SAS raid, to the arrival of the Ghurkas at Fitzroy.
Back to the Drawing Board — EXPLODING RATS!
Exploding Rats By 1941, Germany had already subjugated half of Europe, the Luftwaffe was raining bombs down on the cities of Britain, and U-boats were inflicting terrible losses all along the Allied shipping routes. Britain needed a new weapon, a way to hinder the increasingly threatening Germans in any way possible. The cat bomb had… [Continue Reading]
Jutland — fleet movements
In our Jutland — the combat experience feature this month, Peter Hart reconstructs the action of the battle using personal accounts of men who were there. This map has been designed to aid you place the movements of the battling fleets geographically, and shows the clashes during the battle between 31 May-1 June 1916. To read… [Continue Reading]
Alliances
Andy Lawrence continues his series discussing the major themes of military history. This month, alliances. With friends like these… Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt all sat together at Yalta. Why do many see this as the iconic photograph of World War II? Possibly because it encapsulates the key reason for the Axis defeat in 1945. We… [Continue Reading]
Music of the Great War
For our War Culture regular this month we featured popular music of the First World War. Follow the links below to get a feel for the sort of songs played to troops on leave and the loved ones they left behind. From the excitement of We’re Going Over, the knees-up jollity of When the Kaiser Does the Goosestep… [Continue Reading]
The Anatomy of Military Incompetence
Indecision Breeds Defeat Failure to make any decision is almost as bad as making a poor decision. Decisiveness, one way or another, is a quality generally valued on the battlefield, whereas ditherers seldom get a good press. The heat of conflict can often turn previously clear-minded men into stumbling wrecks. Napoleon’s mastery of the battlefield in the early years of the 19th century needs… [Continue Reading]
MHM 16: CAPTION COMPETITION [Closed]
Welcome to the MHM Caption Competition! Think of something appropriate for this picture and leave your caption as a comment below. The best caption will be judged by the editorial team and published in the next issue of Military History Monthly!
