History of War

From the conquering legions of Ancient Rome to the thunderous tank battles of World War II and beyond, History of War takes you deeper inside the minds of history’s fighting men, further under the bonnets of some of the world’s most devastating war machines, and higher above the battlefield to see the broad sweep of conflict as it happened.

HOW KEY WWII MOMENTS COULD HAVE CHANGED THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT • World War II was the biggest and bloodiest conflict the world had ever seen. We all know how things turned out in the end, but have you ever stopped to think about what might have been if key battles, decisions or events had taken a different course? Discover the answers inside.

Welcome

CONTRIBUTORS

WAR IN FOCUS

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY: JULY • In this issue’s Frontline, read how the modern world is “infinitely more complex” than the Cold War and how new Chinese weapons are threatening the US Navy’s Pacific dominance; plus, an expert’s insights into decades of crisis in Sudan, and how two controversial territories continue to create instability

KALININGRAD ORIGINS OF RUSSIA’S EXCLAVE • Formerly the Prussian stronghold of Königsberg, since 1945 this region has been a Soviet, then Russian, foothold in Eastern Europe

“INFINITELY MORE COMPLEX” • Renowned historian challenges comparisons between the Cold War and the modern world, where the stakes, players and rules of engagement are multidimensional

EAST AFRICA’S FORGOTTEN WAR • Why Sudan has suffered seven decades of conflict and military coups

LAST FRONTLINE OF FREE CHINA • In this first of a two-part series, read how when faced with total defeat, China’s Nationalists held on to a small island off the Fujian coast and defended it at all costs

CARRIER KILLERS • Is the US Navy still dominant in the Pacific, or is its era of ascendancy under threat?

SUBSCRIBE TODAY & SAVE 50%

KING TIGER • The Tiger II was the largest tank used by Nazi Germany in WWII, but the behemoth was problem-prone and never had the impact on the battlefield its creators had sought

OPERATOR’S HANDBOOK

A TALE OF TWO TURRETS • The pervasive myth of the ‘Porsche turret’ and ‘Henschel turret’ has long confused Tiger spotters

CLASH OF THE CONTRACTORS • Two of Germany’s finest manufacturers were tasked with designing concepts for the ultimate armoured beast

HEROES OF THE VICTORIA CROSS ALI HAIDAR • In WWII’s final weeks, this British Indian Army sepoy was severely wounded in Italy while silencing multiple German machine gun nests

THE NAME OF TREASON VIDKUN QUISLING • Though his name became a byword for treason, this Norwegian Nazi collaborator maintained his innocence right to the end

MINSK 1941 DEATH IN THE POCKET • During the early days Operation Barbarossa, Army Group Centre’s rapid advance surrounded hundreds of thousands of Red Army soldiers in the Białystok-Minsk area. What ensued was a catastrophic defeat for the Soviet defenders

DEFENDING BRITAIN • In the event of a Nazi invasion, Britain would have deployed a network of deadly defences to impede the enemy at every turn

THE DEFENCE OF FOLKESTONE • AN EXAMPLE OF DEEP LAYERED, CO-ORDINATED DEFENCE IN PLACE DURING THE SUMMER OF 1940

WHAT IF… RUSSIA SIGNED A SECOND PACT WITH GERMANY? • With casualties mounting and citizens starving, what effect would Stalin striking another deal with Hitler have had?

THE PAST

THE POSSIBLE

COLD HARBOR • By the late spring of 1864, Ulysses S Grant’s Army of the Potomac was battering its way south towards Richmond, but his forces would reach their nadir along a crossroads north of the Confederate capital

TIMELINE 5-31 MAY

ACTION ON 1 JUNE 1864

TIMELINE 2-3 JUNE

SAME QUALITY...