The charge of the light, battle illustration

Military history

Two overlapping circular portraits on a green background. The left circle contains a black‑and‑white photo of a person in a military-style uniform sitting at a desk and speaking on a telephone. The right circle shows a colour photo of a person with medium-length hair looking toward the camera.

Churchill called him the greatest British general of the war – so why isn't he better remembered?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Four women in military uniform celebrate VE Day by waving Union Jack flags from an open-top jeep surrounded by cheering crowds. The joyful scene takes place in a city street lined with large stone buildings, as onlookers smile and gather around the vehicle.

Second World War

A brief guide to VE Day

Relief sculpture showing a Roman triumphal procession with figures, horses, and a chariot carrying a central leader.

2,000 years ago, ancient Roman forces annihilated Jerusalem. Was its destruction inevitable?

A drawing depicting a German monoplane dropping bombs on Paris in 1914

Creating fake Paris: why did one man build a hoax French capital?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Attila the Hun: life of the week. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Illustration of the last Anglo-Saxon king, Harold Godwinson, crowned and holding a scepter and orb, with scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry in the background.

One of medieval history’s biggest mysteries has just been solved – and it rewrites 1066

A large statue of a man in a long military-style coat and cap, standing on a pedestal in a forest. Tree trunks in the foreground partially obscure the figure. The statue shows the man with a stern expression, one hand holding the lapel of his coat. Tall trees and undergrowth surround the statue, giving the scene a secluded, wooded setting.

I’ve just been to Europe’s weirdest theme park – and came face to face with Josef Stalin. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Composite image showing a portrait of a Nazi leader overlaid with handwritten documents and a concentration camp entrance with railway tracks.

How Nazi investigators used secret tools to create Hitler’s Holocaust ‘hitlist’. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 3Napoleon: hero or “Little Boney”? | Alice Loxton on the world of the Georgians. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portion of the Bayeux Tapestry showing long ships with people fighting on them

Conquest? What conquest? The other dramatic events that really mattered in 1066. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The SAS played a vital role in defeating Hitler – so why did Britain disband them?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black and white photograph of a man and a woman close together. The man has his arms around the woman and they are both in stage dress: her in a long dress and him with a ruff and feathered hat

Keep calm and carry on singing: why Britons fell in love with opera during World War Two. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black and white photograph of a plane with Japanese characters written on its side

He shot down 3 planes in 4 minutes: meet the WW2 pilot you won't have heard about. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An image of Roman ruins, including tall structures with 6 columns in the background. There is a large curved wall in the foreground

Think you know everything about ancient Rome? These 25 facts will prove otherwise. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

This late 15th-century illustration shows crusader forces besieging Damascus during the ill-fated Second Crusade in 1148. The armies of King Baldwin III of Jerusalem, Emperor Conrad III of Germany, and King Louis VII of France converge on the city, only for the campaign to collapse in defeat. Likely produced in Bruges for a chronicle of the Crusades, the image reflects how later medieval artists interpreted one of the crusading movement’s most damaging failures.

Who won the crusades? The causes, death toll, and number of medieval holy wars explained

After Franco: Spain's miraculous transition to democracy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

On 27 May 1954, Sir Winston Churchill addresses a meeting of the Women’s Conservative Association. Nearly a decade after leading Britain through the Second World War, the prime minister remained a commanding figure in British politics and public life.

Second World War

It was Operation Unthinkable: Churchill's "impossible" plan to start World War 3

Defendants at the Nuremberg Trials listen to proceedings in 1946. In the front row sit Hermann Göring, Rudolf Hess, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Wilhelm Keitel, and Ernst Kaltenbrunner; behind them are Karl Dönitz, Erich Raeder, Baldur von Schirach, and Fritz Sauckel. Together they represent the senior leadership of the Nazi regime held to account for its crimes.

Second World War

“I hope I would have defended the Nazis at Nuremberg”

Hermann Göring in his office at the Reichstag, where he served as a leading figure of the Nazi regime. As Hitler’s deputy and head of the Luftwaffe, Göring wielded immense power during the Third Reich, later facing prosecution for war crimes at Nuremberg.

Second World War

Who was Hermann Göring? The truth about Hitler’s drug-fuelled enforcer who met his downfall at Nuremberg

Hermann Göring testifies in his own defense at the Nuremberg Trials in 1946. Once a leading figure of the Nazi regime, Göring faced prosecution alongside other high-ranking officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Second World War

The Nuremberg Trials: the real history behind the post-WW2 tribunal that brought Nazi leaders to justice

Episode 3Was Henry V really DESTINED for greatness?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black and white photograph of a large, smoky explosion on the sea

Terror in the deep: how Hitler's U-boats pushed Britain to the brink. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A tapestry scene showing a small figure dressed in a gold robe holding a large needle and thread. Below him, another man rides on the back of a black horse

Just how many Bayeux Tapestries were there?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 2BORN to be king!? Dan Jones and Helen Castor anatomise Henry IV. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A pair of swords in a cross shape, on top of an orange background that features warriors fighting on horses

The assassins' reign of terror: how these 12th-century killers spread fear in the Middle East. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Episode 1Was Richard II really a TYRANT?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Four small terracotta masks in a line. The two in the middle have black hair and beards, one with a white face and the other with an orange face. The ones on either end are plain beige faces.

The making of Rome's monster. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A black and white photograph of three men in military uniform. The man in the middle, is holding his arm out pointing to something in the distance and to his left, is a man using binoculars

The Stalingrad of Africa: the story of the battle for Tunis. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

After Hiroshima: the atomic plague. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A montage of images showing a man standing in the ruins of Hiroshima; a man dressed smartly wearing circular glasses; and a Japanese family with two parents sitting down with five children around them

Senkichi Awaya: the lost mayor of Hiroshima. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.