The April/ May 2026 issue of Military History Matters, the British military history magazine, is out now.
The best way to access the magazine is to subscribe. Click here to find out more. To read the digital archive, click here. You can also access the magazine online (as well as exclusive extra content) at our new website, The Past.
IN THIS ISSUE
Charlemagne: king, conqueror, emperor
The bridge that saved a city
Continuing our series on the Cold War, Taylor Downing examines the first major confrontation with the Soviets.
Judgement at Nuremberg
Eighty years on, Ben Goodlad reveals how the trials of 24 high-ranking Nazis shaped mod-ern attitudes to war crimes.
A world upside down
In the final part of our series on the American Revolution, Fred Chiaventone describes how independence was finally won.
The Tsar’s last victory
It was Imperial Russia’s greatest triumph of World War I – but the Brusilov Offensive also sowed the seeds of revolution, as David Porter reports.
Also in this issue:
The latest in our series on classic military history books, War Classics, Book Reviews, Museum Review, Listings, Competitions, and more.
From the editor:
Many centuries after his death, Charlemagne (c.742-814) has become a byword for modern notions of European harmony – lending his name to all manner of peaceful initiatives, and even to a prize awarded annually for ‘work done in the service of European unification’.
In reality, of course, his monumental achievement – in bringing together more than a million square kilometres of Western Europe and creating a Christian empire that would last a thousand years – came about largely not through peaceful means, but as a result of bold military leadership and the decisive use of force.
In our special feature for this issue, Stephen Roberts examines the life and career of this towering figure – an extraordinary commander who was a visionary man of culture, too – and reveals how a key victory over his Lombard rivals at the Siege of Pavia helped to establish the foundations of the Holy Roman Empire.
Elsewhere, to mark the 80th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials, Ben Goodlad explains how the 20th century’s most celebrated court case broke new ground in its approach to serving justice to 24 high-ranking Nazis, and how it shaped modern attitudes to punishing war crimes.
Also in this issue: as Americans prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Fred Chiaventone concludes his fascinating series on the Revolutionary War by tracing the conflict’s final stages; and Taylor Downing continues his survey of the early days of the Cold War by looking at the Berlin Airlift, the dramatic first major confrontation between the Soviets and the West.
And finally, 110 years on, David Porter analyses the brutal 1916 advance known as the Brusilov Offensive, and outlines how the huge cost in human life of Tsarist Russia’s greatest victory of World War I sowed the seeds of the coming revolution.
We hope you enjoy the issue!
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