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 soldiers had fought with gritty determination and most of them were rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk. So Britain would survive to fight again. […]
Articles
Prince Albert and reform of the Victorian Army
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 of the Crimean conflict. ‘Russia is not to be conquered,’ he wrote to his brother Ernest in Germany, ‘but financially she can be […]
What is the significance of the Dambusters legend?
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 BBC radio air-waves on 17 May 2013, the 70th anniversary of Operation Chastise, the famous bouncing-bomb raid on the Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe dams. We both agreed […]
Churchill: ‘Blood, toil, tears, and sweat’
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 from Churchill’s first speech to the House of Commons, which he gave on 13 May 1940. Delivering his speech during the Battle […]
Theatre: The Wipers Times by Ian Hislop and Nick Newman
‘The War is not funny, Sir.’ – Colonel Howfield. ‘I’ve a feeling that may be the point.’ – General Mitford. Seema Syeda reviews Ian Hislop and Nick Newman’s hit sensation, The Wipers Times. Lovers of satire, puns, and slap-stick comedy will delight in this new gem of a play from writers Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, The Wipers […]
WWII Berlin in photographs
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 total of 363 air raids during the war. By May 1945, 1.7 million people had fled the city. Here, MHM takes a […]
10 things you didn’t know about the Norman conquest of Ireland
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 spring of 1169, a small band of Normans set sail from South Wales bound for Ireland, landing in May of that same year. This […]
5 key reasons Churchill lost the 1945 general election
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 astonishing political events in British history. Churchill’s approval rating was 83% just months prior to his loss, but in an unexpected landslide victory Clement Attlee’s Labour party swept to power […]
Rare Bronze Age Weapons Hoard Discovered
Excavations at Carnoustie, Angus, have revealed a set of elaborate Bronze Age weapons, dating back to c.1000-800 BC. The finds include a Bronze Age sword complete with pin and wooden scabbard, alongside a bronze spearhead embellished with a golden socket. GUARD Archaeology made the discoveries while excavating land in Angus, prior to its […]
Churchill’s Great Escape
Patrick Boniface examines the lives of history’s most daring wartime captives. In November 1899, the 25-year-old Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill was travelling in an armoured train transiting between Frere and Chieveley, in the British colony of Natal in South Africa. The soldiers were making a fast reconnoitre of the territory, and Churchill was there to send […]
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