Military History Matters

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Military History Matters magazine
March 2020 is out now

Defeating Hannibal

More than 2,000 years after his death, the name of Hannibal continues to resonate with modern audiences. Yet today, few recall the commander who finally vanquished him, ending the Second Punic War and making possible Rome’s emergence as a great imperial power. This was Scipio Africanus.

Latest features

Documents from occupied Jersey released for the first time

Due to exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act, the documents were closed to public access until January this year, just as the island prepares to commemorate 75 years since its liberation on 9 May 1945 ...

REVIEW – The song of Simon de Montfort: England’s first revolution and the death of chivalry

Simon de Montfort was a colossus in English affairs during the 13th century, as this biography skilfully explains. What is revealed is a man who was shaped by the mores of his times ...

Roman fort on Hadrian’s Wall given to the nation

Carrawburgh is one of 16 forts along the 118km Hadrian’s Wall. The frontier, built around AD 122, was responsible for defending the Roman Empire from northern tribes ...

MHM Caption Competition: March 2020

Can you think of something appropriately witty for this image taken from our article on Defeating Hannibal, from the March issue of Military History Matters? Leave your caption as a comment below. The best caption will be judged by the editorial team ...

Gold bar was abandoned Spanish loot, tests show

Now, new scientific analysis has confirmed that a large gold bar found in Mexico City was part of the plunder Spanish conquistadors abandoned during a retreat ...

Behind the Image

BEHIND THE IMAGE: Wind tunnel testing, Messerschmitt Bf 109, 1940

It may look like a scene from a movie shoot – Germany’s answer to The Dam Busters, perhaps – but this strikingly modern photograph from 1940 offers instead a real-life glimpse behind the scenes of a top-secret aeronautical project. The state-of-the-art wind tunnel at the Herman Goering Aviation Research Institute, near Braunschweig (or Brunswick) in Lower Saxony, was one of Germany’s most closely shrouded military sites. Spread over 1,000 acres, the Institute’s 60 buildings were low-rise, nestling under the treeline, and well camouflaged from the air. As a result, until the end ...
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BEHIND THE IMAGE: The Unknown Warrior, 1920

The coffin of the unknown warrior is carried into Westminster Abbey. On 11 November 1920, the largest funeral ever held in London took place – and yet the deceased was a man unknown to the hundreds of thousands of mourners who turned out in his honour. Described as the greatest outpouring of grief the country had ever known, the event was the burial of the Unknown Warrior, whose remains lie at Westminster Abbey alongside kings, princes, and other assorted dignitaries ...
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BEHIND THE IMAGE: Spectators at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, 28 June 1919

Perched on sofas and peering in from every angle, these Allied officers were obviously desperate to catch a glimpse of the momentous events unfolding next door. The Great War was finally coming to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in the dazzling surroundings of the Palace of Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors. After the German surrender of November 1918, hostilities had ceased — but between January and June 1919, the representatives of 21 nations had met in ...
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