The shock of the early Zeppelin raids initiated a host of unconventional countermeasures, including Professor Archibald Low’s project for a small radio-controlled pilotless aircraft carrying a 40kg command-detonated explosive charge.
WWI
Back to the Drawing Board: Tsar Tank
One of the earliest attempts to design an AFV that could cope with First World War battlefields was the bizarre Tsar Tank.
REVIEW – The Fortress: the Great Siege of Przemysl
I had thought I knew a lot about the First World War. Until I read this book. Then I discovered a yawning gap in knowledge and understanding.
Allied war graves restored in Iraq after decades of disrepair
After decades of instability, nearly 200 World War Two graves in Iraq have been restored to their former character.
War Reporters: William Beach Thomas
Seema Syeda recalls the journalism of William Beach Thomas – who came to regret peddling WWI ‘fake news’.
BEHIND THE IMAGE: The Unknown Warrior, 1920
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 […]
REVIEW – A Supernatural War: Magic, Divination, and Faith During the First World War
The First World War created new experiences of pain and suffering, and had profound consequences for the shape of wars to come. But in one respect the Great War of 1914-1918 was curiously old-fashioned and traditional – and that was in the realms of spirituality, superstition, and religious faith.
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.
The sinking of the Lusitania
Anthony Richards uses first-hand testimony to recreate the dying moments of the stricken Lusitania on 7 May 1915.
The Hundred Days Offensive: did the British win it for the Allies?
While admitting that Haig was no genius, revisionist historians have argued that by 1918, he was able to co-ordinate successfully all elements of military force – artillery, armour, airpower, and infantry – to achieve a decisive victory in the series of operations known collectively as ‘The Hundred Days’. Does this argument stand up to critique? Chris Bambery tests the case.
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