Military history

An illustration of ancient Greek thinker Archimedes

How Archimedes took on the Romans

Vanguard-class submarine HMS Vigilant, the top above water

Britain’s nuclear deterrent: a brief history

A Hawker Hurricane of Fighter Command on its way to intercept German bombers as they crossed the south coast of England during the Battle of Britain, 1940. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Second World War

6 Battle of Britain myths

Two Hitler Youth who have surrendered to Allied Forces, Germany, 1945. (Photo by © CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

First World War

Innocence under fire: how children were used in warfare of the past

Allied convoy PQ 17 is attacked by a German torpedo aircraft on its way across the Arctic Ocean, c1942. (Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Second World War

“The worst journey in the world”: the Arctic convoys of the Second World War

Soldiers disembark a landing craft with a battle on the beach beyond

How to win a 20th-century battle

Partnered content Gaijin War Thunder

A portrait of Lady Emma Hamilton

Nelson’s sensational mistress: how Emma Hamilton took Europe by storm

German troops on horseback cross a bridge during the Poland campaign

Second World War

The brutal blitzkrieg: the 1939 invasion of Poland

John F Kennedy with US Army officials during the Cuban missile crisis

“We are eyeball to eyeball, and I think the other fellow just blinked”: how the Cuban Missile Crisis escalated

Portrait of English admiral Lord Horatio Nelson

Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson: a rebel with a cause

A plaque which decorated the palace of the Benin Obas, The Obas butchers sacrificing a cow, the most prestigious animal sacrifice

Benin: a kingdom cast in bronze, brought to ruin by Britain

The Byzantines and a flamethrower

General ancient history

Q&A What was Greek fire?

Brazilian peacekeepers under UN command in Haiti during general election 2006

When should countries intervene in others’ affairs?

Concerned that Russia was expanding its influence in the region, Britain invaded Afghanistan in 1839, ousting ruler Dost Mohammad and replacing him with Shah Shuja, who had been king from 1803–10. (Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Britain’s first war in Afghanistan: what happened and why?

A panel of eyewitnesses recall their memories of the divided city and the dramatic events of November 1989. (Image by Getty Images)

Witnesses to the Berlin Wall