The charge of the light, battle illustration

Military history

A recruitment poster used during the First World War, c1915.

Why Britain was right to go to war in 1914. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

First World War

Gary Sheffield on First World War debate: 'A German victory would have been a disaster for Britain'

First World War

Niall Ferguson: “Britain should have stayed out of First World War”

Paxman on World War One. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Pillage of Jerusalem

Crusading for God and gold. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Troops on a night raid during the First World War

Jeremy Paxman: "The war finished Britain off in many respects". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Is Blackadder bad for First World War history?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Khudadad Khan

My history hero: Khudadad Khan (1888-1971). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

This detail from the Gundestrup Cauldron – a richly decorated silver vessel thought to date from the second-century BC – depicts a Celtic god or druid surrounded by beasts. (Werner Forman/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

The genius of the Celts. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Chinese irregular cavalry and infantry from the north-western provinces move towards the front during the 1894–95 war

China's wars

Renewed debate over battle of Hastings location

Sport offered the two sides the perfect stage on which to get one over on the 'enemy', says Dominic Sandbrook. Pictured here is a queue for a football match between Arsenal and Dynamo Moscow. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The Cold War in your living room. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

"Nobody could have held their nerve in Normandy like Monty did," says Al Murray of the wartime general. (Photo by Mark Kauffman/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

My history hero: Bernard Montgomery. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Books interview: Margaret MacMillan on the First World War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

© Imperial War Museum

Q&AHow old was the youngest known soldier to fight in WW1?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

First World War

Slang and swear words 'helped soldiers survive the First World War'

1914: Why Britain had to go to war. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

My history hero: Robert Baden Powell (1857–1941). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Cold War culture and the path to the First World War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Were the pulverised bones of soldiers and horses who died at the battle of Waterloo sold as soil fertiliser?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Diary of the judge who hated Hitler to be published for first time

First World War

First World War drama The Wipers Times an instant hit with viewers

Researchers go into battle to test Bronze Age weapons

First World War

Your 60-second guide to Ypres

First World War

Telling jokes in the trenches: First World War newspaper The Wipers Times celebrated in new BBC drama

Flodden 1513: the biggest ever Anglo-Scottish battle. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, displayed remarkable leadership of the British army at the battle of Waterloo. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Waterloo: the historians' verdict. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

BBC History Magazine

Excavation search for soldiers killed on Flodden battlefield

Second World War

Churchill’s wartime speeches are overrated, claims academic

Q&A: When and where was the trebuchet invented?