The October/ November 2025 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:
From World War to Cold War
In the first part of a new series, Taylor Downing examines how the Iron Curtain descended on post-war Europe.
Napoleon’s Turncoats
In the final part of his series on treachery, Nigel Jones profiles the generals who turned traitor to revolutionary France.
King of the Vandals
Tim Newark reveals how one of the greatest barbarian warlords humbled the Roman Empire.
Battle for Magna Carta
Stephen Roberts looks at how a civil war during King John’s reign brought about one of the most important agreements in English history.
Last Stand of the Ottomans
Continuing our series on Imperial Germany’s Great War allies, Graham Goodlad explains how disastrous defeat led to the end of an empire.
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:
This summer, memorial services have been held, and tributes paid around the globe, to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War – which came first in Europe on 8 May 1945, and then in Japan a little over three months later.
Eighty years ago, however, the celebrations and sense of euphoria that accompanied the Allied victory proved short-lived, as a dangerous new schism quickly became apparent. Less than a year after VE Day, on 5 March 1946, this emerging threat to Europe’s hard-won peace was summed up memorably, when Winston Churchill warned that ‘an iron curtain has descended across the continent’.
In our cover story for this issue, Taylor Downing introduces a new series in which MHM examines the rapid transition from World War to Cold War, and looks at the newly forged rivalry between the ‘West’, led by the United States, and the ‘East’, led by the Soviet Union, that would dominate military thinking for the next 50 years – and beyond.
Elsewhere, in the final part of his compelling history of treachery, Nigel Jones focuses on the French Revolution, shining a light on the military commanders who turned their backs on the country’s new political leaders, and who gambled everything to take on Napoleon.
Also in this issue: Graham Goodlad continues his study of Germany’s Great War allies, revealing how defeat for the Central Powers in 1918 brought about the break-up of the once-powerful Ottoman Empire; while Stephen Roberts delves deeper into history to analyse the chaos of the First Barons’ War of 1215-1217, and to understand how the disastrous reign of King John gave birth to one of England’s most important agreements.
Finally, Tim Newark travels still further back in time to tell the extraordinary story of Gaiseric, the Vandal warlord who in AD 455 humbled the world’s greatest empire, sacking Rome of its treasures, and even living to tell the tale.
We hope you enjoy the issue!
To subscribe to the magazine, click here. To subscribe to the digital archive, click here. You can also access the magazine online (as well as exclusive extra content) at our new website, The Past. Find us on Facebook, Twitter (X), and Instagram.