All articles in Military
2nd February, 2017 in Military, Society & Culture
Bread: A slice of First World War history
On 28 June 1914, the assassination in Sarajevo of the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria started the chain of events that led inexorably to the declaration of war on 4 August. Neither the British government nor the Germans expected the war to last long. ‘Home before the leaves fall’ w…
23rd January, 2017 in Military
St. Ermin’s Hotel and the origins of SOE’s Section D
Each night the Luftwaffe’s incessant bombs fell on London, from the East End to the junction of Caxton Street and Broadway, only yards from St Ermin’s Hotel. Staff of the various intelligence agencies who occupied the hotel would have been working night shifts to maintain SOE’s p…
18th January, 2017 in Local & Family History, Military
Zeppelins on the East Coast
At the beginning of 1915 the Kaiser sanctioned the use of Zeppelins to bomb military and industrial targets in England. So on 19th January 1915 three Zeppelins, L3, L4 and L6 took off from their bases in Germany, each with 16 men, armed with 8x110Ib high explosive and 11x25I…
12th January, 2017 in Military
Timeline of the 1842 retreat from Kabul
The siege and fall of Kabul, November 1841–January 1842, represents not only the culmination of the first major military campaign of Queen Victoria’s reign, but one which resulted in one of its greatest and most tragic disasters. After a forlorn, largely incompetent defence of Ka…
10th January, 2017 in History, Military, Society & Culture
King Shaka’s Zulu
The Zulu nation was founded by King Shaka kaSenzangakhona (the prefix ka meaning ‘son of’), who reigned from 1816 to 1828, and whose nephew Cetshwayo kaMpande was on the throne in 1879. Outside South Africa Shaka has long enjoyed a reputation as a tyrant, a monster of cruelty who…
21st December, 2016 in Military, Society & Culture
The road to rationing: Preparing to feed Britain in WWII
By the time the war broke out in September 1939 the British government had already been planning the distribution of food in wartime for several years. This was not a rare example of forward thinking on the part of the authorities, but rather a reflection of the lessons learned f…
9th December, 2016 in Military
Colonial disasters you (probably) haven’t heard of
Isandlwana was the best known disaster to befall the British Army in Africa in the era of colonial conquest before the First World War, but it was not the only one, and other European powers suffered their defeats too. Here are a few you might not have heard of. Intombe Drift, 12…
8th December, 2016 in Military, Transport & Industry
The British Army’s vehicles: From tanks to transporters
The roads in Britain in the 1930s were seeing increasing numbers of motorised vehicles, particularly cars that were being driven at speed. At the same time, the storm clouds of war were once again gathering over Europe as ever more aggressive noises came out of Germany. The polic…
7th December, 2016 in Military
The Roosevelts address Pearl Harbor
At 7:48am on 7 December 1941 the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii. The surprise attack was intended to prevent the US fleet in the Pacific from interfering with Japan’s next attacks on the Philippines, Guam, British Malaya, Singapo…
16th November, 2016 in Military
The Great War debate
Over half a million British troops lost their lives in the First World War and it continues to shape much of the way we live our lives today. Yet, many young people know little about this watershed moment in our history. Using the centenary to create a new sense of connection bet…
10th November, 2016 in Military
Ask the author: Tania Szabó answers our questions about the world of espionage
The world of espionage is shrouded in mystery, secrecy and lies. Author Tania Szabó breaks down the truth behind espionage and how things have changed in the industry over the years. What is espionage? Espionage (from the French word ‘espion’ meaning ‘spy’) can be defined as…
9th November, 2016 in Military, Women in History
Seven of the bravest female secret agents
Forget the abundant spy fiction, espionage is not just a boys’ game. In occupied Belgium and northern France 1914-18 there were several thousand women actively working against the Kaiser’s troops. In the Second World War, women of many nations fought the Nazis, risking the firing…