Hazel Blair

Niccolò Machiavelli: the father of Renaissance warfare

Jun 21, 2017 Hazel Blair 16th Century, Articles, Early Modern, Slider 0

Iain King examines the relationship between war and thought in the writings of Niccolò Machiavelli. “Men rise from one ambition to another; first they seek to secure themselves against...

Simon de Montfort, the Battles of Lewes and Evesham, and the birth of parliamentary democracy

Jun 15, 2017 Hazel Blair Articles, Medieval, Slider 0

Henry III was a believer in the absolute right of kings and did not care for Magna Carta or any early concepts of ‘the king in parliament’. This, coupled with an immense tax burden, led to...

The myth of the invincible Vikings

Jun 09, 2017 Hazel Blair Articles, Medieval, Slider 0

The Vikings have a formidable military reputation. But much of this, argues Martyn Whittock, is hype. We need some serious analysis. In AD 866 there were four independent Anglo-Saxon kingdoms...

Interwar policy and the disaster at Dunkirk, 1940

Jun 04, 2017 Hazel Blair Articles, Slider, WWII 0

Outgeneralled, the British Army crashed to defeat before the German Blitzkrieg in May 1940. The greatest defeat in British imperial history, it was the price of interwar conservatism. But the...

Prince Albert and reform of the Victorian Army

May 24, 2017 Hazel Blair 19th Century, Articles, Slider 0

Queen Victoria’s husband was not a military man. But the Crimea turned him into a zealous army reformer. As an armchair strategist, Prince Albert displayed an acute insight into the basic realities...

What is the significance of the Dambusters legend?

May 16, 2017 Hazel Blair Articles, Slider, WWII 0

MHM Editor Neil Faulkner analyses the RAF’s controversial strategic bombing campaign. What is the real significance of the Dambusters legend? James Holland and I clashed on this question on the...

Churchill: ‘Blood, toil, tears, and sweat’

May 13, 2017 Hazel Blair Articles, Slider, WWII 0

What’s that quote on the new £5 note? The phrase ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat’ is featured under the portrait of Winston Churchill, and it is a quote...

WWII Berlin in photographs

May 02, 2017 Hazel Blair Articles, Slider, WWII 0

The Battle of Berlin, fought between 16 April and 2 May 1945, was the last major European offensive of the Second World War. The 17-day Soviet assault centred on the German capital, which suffered a...

10 things you didn’t know about the Norman conquest of Ireland

May 01, 2017 Hazel Blair Articles, Medieval, Slider 0

Most people are familiar with the tumultuous events of England in 1066, but how much do you know about ‘the other Norman conquest’, launched a century after the Battle of Hastings? In...

5 key reasons Churchill lost the 1945 general election

Apr 18, 2017 Hazel Blair Articles, Slider, WWII 1

Despite a succession of victories during the Second World War, Conservative leader Winston Churchill faced a crushing defeat in Britain’s 1945 general election – one of the most...