History of War

From the conquering legions of Ancient Rome to the thunderous tank battles of World War II and beyond, History of War takes you deeper inside the minds of history’s fighting men, further under the bonnets of some of the world’s most devastating war machines, and higher above the battlefield to see the broad sweep of conflict as it happened.

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WAR IN FOCUS

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY: AUGUST • In this issue’s Frontline: read about the hunt for Russia’s most notorious gun runner; strategist Mick Ryan’s assessment of Ukrainian drone warfare; the military importance of Aden; two crises over the Taiwan Strait’s islands; and the death of the helicopter assault tactic

RAIN OF ARTILLERY, ROAR OF JETS • The first and second crises over the Taiwan Strait’s small islands were crucial battles in a decade of relentless fighting

LESSONS FROM THE SPIDERWEB • Drone warfare expert and former Australian Army officer Mick Ryan explains what Ukraine’s audacious drone operation mean for the future of war, and how Western militaries should respond

ADEN A STRATEGIC HISTORY • For centuries, this critical yet tiny city has sat at a crossroads of world trade, and has suffered under numerous conflicts to the present day

LAST FLIGHT OF THE AIR CAVALRY? • Originally supplanting paratroops as a means of delivering soldiers precisely onto the battlefield, air assault became the standard for strategic planning in the Cold War. But as air threats have escalated, has peer-on-peer conflict made the tactic obsolete?

“THE GAME WAS UP FOR THE MERCHANT OF DEATH” • In March 2008, US authorities pulled off a remarkable sting against Russia’s most infamous arms dealer. We spoke to his biographer to find out how

VICTORY IN BURMA • Lieutenant General Bill Slim had a cunning plan to unstitch the Japanese defence of Burma in 1945

FORGOTTEN MEN • The reconquest of Burma was carried out by the 14th Army and 15th Corps, comprising British, Indian, West and East African troops and indigenous troops, including those of Aung San’s Burma Defence Army, which swapped sides to fight with the Allies

PRISONERS NO MORE • The Allied victory in Burma saved surviving Allied POWs from their brutal Japanese captors

JUNGLE WARRIORS SOE IN BURMA • The final victory in Burma came in no small part thanks to a series of special operations behind enemy lines, and in particular the actions of one British Army officer

UP ROOTING THE VIET CONG • CORDS – Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support – was a US programme to galvanise anti-communist sympathies in South Vietnam and saw ordinary Vietnamese placed on the frontline

BOB HANDY: A CIVILIAN CASUALTY OF WAR

NO WAY BACK THE GREAT WAR’S OPENING WEEKS • Millions from around the world were plunged into a war without limit, while their commanders clung to woefully inadequate plans

WARS THAT TRAINED EUROPE’S ARMIES • European powers had experienced half a century of instability before 1914 that guided how they approached the Great War

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THEODORE ROOSEVELT • The veteran of the Spanish-American War and future President of the United States waged a battle for the Medal of Honor that went unresolved for a century

LOOS • Known as ‘The Big Push’, the British launched their first massive offensive of the war, deploying thousands of new recruits

FLETCHER CLASS DESTROYER • Named after Medal of Honor recipient Admiral Frank Fletcher, this class became the most prolific and longest-serving of any naval destroyer

HOME FRONT

MUSEUMS & EVENTS • A groundbreaking exhibition in the capital, a tribute to an iconic war photographer and 19th century military masterpieces

LEONARD MCCOMBE: THROUGH THE LENS OF WAR • The Isle...