Military history

Spitfires under construction at the Vickers Supermarine works in Southampton, around 1940

Second World War

The difficult birth of the Spitfire – and how the WW2 fighter almost missed the battle of Britain

An engraving of the thin Red Line, depicting the 93rd Regiment at the battle of Balaklava

Q&A What was the Thin Red Line?

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?

A decoy rubber tank such as those used by the Allies during WW2.

Second World War

Masters of disguise: the story of the Allies’ WW2 ‘Ghost Army’

A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Norman invasion of 1066. The tapestry was most likely embroidered by women in Norman England in a workshop setting using four embroidery stitches – stem stitch; split stitch; chain stitch; and laid work, sometimes called ‘Bayeux Stitch’, says Dr Alexandra Lester-Makin. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The Bayeux Tapestry: what is it, why was it made and what story does it tell?

Illustration of Despite being outnumbered, the Greeks gained vital supremacy at sea over the Persians at the battle of Salamis in 480 BC

The Peloponnesian War: Athens fights Sparta for dominance in ancient Greece

Otto von Bismarck, pictured on horseback, was instrumental in the creation of a unified German state and was among the most influential politicians of late 19th-century Europe.(Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Otto von Bismarck: a brief guide to the ‘founder of modern Germany’

Margaret MacMillan gives a lecture on the reasons for conflict throughout history – and how warfare has shaped the human story (Photo by Getty Images)

Why do we fight wars?

World leaders (l-r) Georges Clemenceau, Woodrow Wilson and Lloyd George after signing the treaty of Versailles at the end of the First World War. (Photo by Hulton-Deutsch/Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images)

How well do you know Year 9 history?

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This second-century AD column shows Romans beheading German nobles. Armed with the lethal gladius (short sword), Roman soldiers were feared throughout the empire. (Image by Bridgeman)

A guide to the Roman army, plus 10 facts about life in the legions

Adolf Hitler photographed with British politician Henry Vane-Tempest Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry (left) and Joachim von Ribbentrop (right), minister of foreign affairs of Nazi Germany from 1938 to 1945. (Photo litzy ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Making friends with Hitler: Britain’s pre-war admiration for the Nazi dictator

Speech of Adolf Hitler to the Reichstag inthe Kroll Opera in Berlin after the Declaration of war to the USA, in addition to the lectern to the right: Press Chief Otto Dietrich and the personal adjutant of Hitler Albert Bormann the Brigade Commander o

Second World War

“One of the most puzzling decisions of WW2”: Ian Kershaw on why Hitler declared war on America

Did Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler (pictured) ever meet? (Photos by Getty Images)

Second World War

Q&A Did Churchill and Hitler ever meet?

A fanciful engraving imagines Peter the Hermit presenting Pope Urban II (centre) with a letter from Simeon II

Launching the First Crusade

Alphonse de Neuville's 1880 painting 'The Defence of Rorke's Drift'. The battle was to become a

The battle of Rorke’s Drift: a stand still clad in the “myths of empire”