Naval battles

US marines advance up Iwo Jima's beaches

Second World War

The battle for Iwo Jima: why did it happen and why was it so hard fought?

The destroyer USS Shaw explodes in a massive fireball at Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941. The attack led almost immediately to Germany declaring war on America, and so brought Stalin an unexpected ally of colossal potential power, says Laurence Rees. (Bettmann/Getty Images)

Second World War

Why December 1941 was the most important month of the Second World War

The battleship USS California following the attack at Pearl Harbor

Second World War

12 things you (probably) didn’t know about Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor sparked an aircraft-manufacturing drive – and, for the first time, allowed US women to perform jobs previously held only by men. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Pearl Harbor aftermath: the fallout from the attack

Lauren Bruner and Iyozo Fujita

Second World War

Pearl Harbor: 5 frontline stories from people who were there

Mixed signals: A shortwave radio listening post in California, set up to report and translate broadcasts from Asia. (Photo by AP/Shutterstock)

Second World War

Caught off guard: why didn’t America see Pearl Harbor coming?

A young American woman gazes at a human skull, sent to her by a boyfriend during WW2

Second World War

Opinion: Midway’s treatment of the Japanese enemy highlights the power and limits of empathy

The American aircraft carrier USS Yorktown is being bombed in the Battle of Midway, June 1942. (Photo by Corbis via Getty Images)

Second World War

Midway: the Pacific War on screen

'Yorktown' sustains a hit during the battle of Midway. The US aircraft carrier sank three days later but, by then, the Japanese had accepted that their attempt to land a war-winning blow had failed. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Second World War

How miraculous was the battle of Midway?

The 1993 film ‘Schindler’s List’. (AF Archive/Alamy Stock Photo)

Second World War

7 must-see Second World War films

The Pearl Harbour attack

Second World War

The 11 most significant battles of the Second World War

The HMS Victory in Portsmouth

A visit to HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship at Trafalgar

An episode of the naval battle at Trafalgar: the ship Redoutable (French) against the vessels Victory (British), Téméraire (British) and Thunderer (British). (Photo by Fototeca Gilardi/Getty Images).

Britain didn’t “rule the waves” after the battle of Trafalgar, says historian Sam Willis

Clash between the English Temeraire and the French Redoutable ships during the Battle of Trafalgar, October 21, 1805. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

The battle of Trafalgar

Dornier 217 bombers of the Luftwaffe bomb London during the Battle of Britain.

9 of the most overrated battles in history (and one underrated one)