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Military history

Lost Generation
With an emphasis on the battle of the Somme, the information on this large site – including history articles and a unique database of the names of soldiers on World War I memorials in Britain – provides an opportunity to turn those lost during the war into real people.

The War of the World
According to historian Niall Ferguson, from the Russo-Japanese war of 1904/5 to the aftershocks of the Cold War, the 20th century was by far the bloodiest in history. In this website, Ferguson explains why this came about, and there is an extensive chronology of the events that made this the ‘age of hatred’.

• The Airships
  The story of the largest and most romantic aircraft ever conceived – from the flight of the first Zeppelin in 1900 to the Hindenburg disaster of 1937 and beyond – and its role in intercontinental air travel, exploration and warfare.
• The Archaeology of Black Britain
  Archaeological evidence of an early black presence in Britain in a Roman military garrison.
• Battle Stations I
  The machines that played a crucial role during World War II.
• Battle Stations II
  The machines and structures that helped the world's superpowers achieve mastery of the battlefield – from World War II, the Korean, Cold and Vietnam wars and some from more recent conflicts.
• Battle Stations III
  Four magnificent examples of machines that won the day on the battlefield, all US aircraft.
• The Belgrano controversy
  The sinking of the Belgrano by HMS Conqueror during the Falklands War sparked off a needless political controversy whose major casualty was, according to Dr Eric Grove, a senior British civil servant.
• Blitz: Bombing and total war
  An examination of the huge influence that aerial bombing campaigns have had on the conduct and aims of modern warfare – from World War II to 'shock and awe' in Iraq.
• Blitz: The diary of an air raid
  29/30 December 1941: when German bombers launched on London their most devastating attack yet. Accompanied by computer reconstructions.
• Boy Soldiers
  Historian Richard van Emden tells how at least 250,000 of the soldiers who fought in World War I were 17 years old or less, too young to join up legally.
• Britain's Cold War Super Weapons
  How Britain's entries in the Cold War arms race - nuclear bombs, jet aircraft and ballistic missiles - ultimately failed to fulfil their initial promise to turn the tide of history.
• The Charge of the Light Brigade
  Military historian Saul David reviews the 1969 film.
• Charles de Gaulle
  A concise biography of the French wartime leader and president of France, whose contradictory nature – and championing of France against all comers – made him more enemies than friends.
• Children and war
  The history of child warriors extends from the youths of ancient Sparta and the youngsters below decks in Nelson’s navy to the young people engaged in military activity in the 21st century.
• Classic Weapons of World War II
  This database catalogues nearly 100 machines and tools of war that shaped the outcome of the 20th century's defining conflict and laid the foundations for the world we know today.
• Dirty Hands: Atrocities of World War I
  According to Dr Alan McDougall, the Germans were guilty of atrocities, but the Allies' hands weren't clean and the Turks were responsible for the worst crimes.
• Dogfight: The mystery of the Red Baron – Interviews
  Interviews with historians Philip Sabin and Norman Franks and with the Red Baron's nephew Baron Hermann von Richthofen.
• Douglas Bader
  Loved and loathed, Bader became a national hero after losing his legs in an air crash only to rejoin the RAF and become the most famous of ‘the few’ in the Battle of Britain.
• Dwight D Eisenhower
  The World War II general who, as president, oversaw the post-war development of the US.
• Escape to the Legion
  This site about an experiment that challenged young men to endure a month of French Foreign Legion training contains a section on the history of this unique institution.
• The First World War
  An exploration and dissection of some of the war's most controversial features.
• Going Critical: HMS Coventry
  The sinking of HMS Coventry during the Falklands War, which killed 17 men, and the science behind what went wrong.
• Great Escapes
  Thousands of prisoners of war escaped from Allied and Axis prison camps during  World War II. Here is a selection of their stories.
• The Holocaust
  An umbrella website covering all aspects of the Holocaust of World War II, including a chronology (1923 to present) and information on victims and survivors, war crimes trials and later controversies.
• The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
  While it caused a furore in wartime Britain, the 1943 film’s portrayal of a section of the European military caste was scrupulously accurate and it has grown in stature with each passing year.
• Lost Generation
  With an emphasis on the battle of the Somme, the information on this large site – including history articles and a unique database of the names of soldiers on World War I memorials in Britain – provides an opportunity to turn those lost during the war into real people.
• Mary Seacole: The real angel of the Crimea
  The extraordinary life of the Caribbean-born nurse Mary Seacole, who became famous for her pioneering work in caring for British troops during the Crimean War. Why was she so swiftly forgotten after her death?
• Nelson’s Navy
  While ‘rum, sodomy and the lash’ might be the stereotype of life at sea in in the 18th and early 19th century, it is far from the reality.
• The Nuremberg Trials
  Examines the origins of the Nuremberg trials and their counterparts in Tokyo, how they were carried out, the sentences they passed and their legacy.
• The Other Band of Brothers: Execution on the Home Front
  How the racism in the American and British armies impacted on the black and Asian soldiers who fought in them.
• Saving Private Ryan
  With only a few reservations, Matthew Reynolds gives the thumbs-up to this story of the D-Day landings and beyond.
• The Sinews of War
  The curator of the Bank of England Museum reflects on the Bank's role in funding Britain's wars.
• Sink the Bismarck
  If you want an accessible version of the dramatic pursuit of the Bismarck in May 1941, this 1960 film is, according to Dr Eric Grove, as good a place to start as any.
• Tit for tat
  Acts of vengeance and their consequences – including such ‘triggers’ as the murder of Genghis Khan’s envoys in 1218, the murder of the Israeli athletes in Munich in 1972 and the storming of the Golden Temple of Amritsar in 1984, as well as other examples of retribution from Japan, Czechoslovakia and Korea.
• U-571
  It may be have the right period details, but this purely imaginary tale purporting to show that the Americans, and not the Brits, captured a vital Enigma codebook in 1942 fails to win over Daniel Lee.
• UFOs: The secret evidence
  The last 60 years of UFOs, close encounters and alien abductions.
• War against Napoleon
  The facts and figures about the wars fought between Britain and France during 1793-1815, plus the main players and an outline of the war of ideas.
• The War of the World
  According to historian Niall Ferguson, from the Russo-Japanese war of 1904/5 to the aftershocks of the Cold War, the 20th century was by far the bloodiest in history. In this website, Ferguson explains why this came about, and there is an extensive chronology of the events that made this the ‘age of hatred’.
• Warlords
  World War II was a series of private psychological battles waged between Hitler, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill. This website examines the lives of these four leaders and compares eight significant psychological traits.
• Weapons that Made Britain
  Details of three weapons – the sword, longbow and lance – and two types of protection: the shield and armour. Plus information on the development of each, the results of scientific tests on them and accounts of some of the major battles in which they featured.
• Weapons of War
  This C4 Learning website charts the development of weapons technology from World War I to the present.
• What Happened at Jutland?
  Article by maritime historian Bill Jurens gives the reasons why the battle of Jutland went so disastrously wrong for the British fleet.
• When Britain Went to War
  Facts and figures of the war in the Falklands, plus a discussion of the role of the media during various conflicts.
• World War II: A chronology
  Every aspect of the conflict, including all the major events and personalities and all theatres of war, accompanied by links to relevant  websites.
• Zulu Dawn
  Anglo-Zulu War expert Ian Knight reviews the 1979 film about the 1879 battle of Isandlwana.

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