CATEGORIES

EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

Crime historian Dr Nell Darby answers key questions about the evolution of law and order in the British Isles

TO HELL AND BACK AGAIN A POLAR EXPLORER'S TALE OF TRAGEDY AND SURVIVAL

Douglas Mawson is not the most famous hero of Antarctic exploration, but, as Nige Tassell reveals, the Australian overcame the odds in one of the age's most disastrous expeditions...

THE GREAT BRITISH 'BOBBY'

We explore a selection of surprising facts about the history of British policing - from Robert Peel to the present day

GODLY BUTCHERY

In medieval England, the crime of treason was so heinous that it required a punishment that would horrify as much as it would deter. Dr Rebecca Simon discusses a method of execution reserved only for the worst of the worst

BANISHED TO A LAND DOWN UNDER

Rather than fill the prisons or issue the death penalty, judges chose to ship tens of thousands of convicts to Australia

A BLOODY NEW CHAPTER

After decades of discord, the lawmakers of early modern England took drastic new measures to make sure that citizens stayed in line

ROBERT L HOWARD

On 30 December 1968 this colonel was fighting in Southeast Asia, facing an overwhelming force of North Vietnamese troops, all while severely wounded

NORMAN CONQUESTS

The fearsome knights of Normandy did not stop at the successful invasion of England: they forged a dynasty that changed the face of Europe

ATATÜRK’S TRIUMPH

The last major action of the Greco-Turkish War resulted in a Turkish victory – but the suffering was far from over for civilians on both sides

WOLF HOUND

THE STRANGE HISTORY OF THE KG 200 LUFTWAFFE UNIT THAT FLEW CAPTURED ALLIED AIRCRAFT GETS EVEN MORE SURREAL

GREEK OFFENSIVES 1920-21

After the seizure of Smyrna, Greek forces moved further into Anatolia with the aid of their allies

SMYRNA LANDING 1919

The regional tension in the wake of the Ottoman defeat broke out into a fresh conflict as Greek forces seized the coastal city and surrounding areas

LESSONS LEARNED?

Treated by the Combined Operations Headquarters as a dress rehearsal for D-Day, were the so-called ‘lessons learned’ worth the sacrifices at Dieppe?

UKRAINE’S WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE

From 1917-21, against the backdrop of the end of the First World War and the Russian Civil War, Ukraine fought for its sovereignty against Bolsheviks, Germans, Polish… and even itself

MUSEUMS & EVENTS

Learn about restoration work to a Dunkirk painting at Churchill’s former house, the UK’s top WWII festival, an exhibition on children of service personnel, and the opening of the Wrens Museum

CANADA'S NINE HOURS IN HELL DIEPPE RAID

In August 1942 an Allied force made up largely of Canadian soldiers raided the French seaport of Dieppe, with disastrous consequences

HITLER'S NAVY

AN ENCYCLOPAEDIC OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF THE KRIEGSMARINE BEFORE AND DURING WWII

THE SOLEBAY TAPESTRY

This 17th-century artwork, part of a series of tapestries, depicts the dramatic climax of the first battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War

WINSTON BEFORE THE WAR

Before leading Britain through the Second World War as Prime Minister, Churchill was a soldier, journalist and a seasoned member of parliament

RUSSIA REVOLUTION AND CIVIL WAR - INTERVIEW WITH SIR ANTONY BEEVOR

The leading historian spoke with Anthony Tucker-Jones about the Russian Revolution and Civil War, and how the brutal upheaval still shapes the world today

AT WAR IN NELSON'S NAVY

The sailors who triumphed at Trafalgar are often portrayed as press-ganged stooges forced to serve in a brutal world of strict discipline and harsh punishment. But what was it really like to live and fight on the waves?

Heroes of the Victoria Cross - CECIL MERRITT

In August 1942, as the Dieppe Raid fell apart, a youthful Canadian CO rallied his men across a heavily defended bridge, clearing pillboxes and sacrificing his freedom to cover the Allied withdrawal

THE SIEGE OF CHARLESTON

The most significant British victory in the Revolutionary War threatened to undermine the entire American war effort

JUNE 1942

To commemorate 80 years since the Second World War, History of War will be taking a look at some of the key events taking place during each month of the conflict

Alexander I - NAPOLEON'S RUSSIAN NEMESIS

Moulded from early childhood to be Russia's greatest emperor, the mysterious Alexander I spent almost his entire life lurking behind a series of masks

48 Hours in... Bath

How to spend the perfect weekend in one of the UK's prettiest cities

Advertising is Immoral

Peter Gildenhuys says many adverts are saturated with sophistry.

BATTLE OF MIDWAY - TURNING POINT OF THE PACIFIC WAR

Just six months after Pearl Harbor, Japan launched another attack on the US Navy. James Holland explains how this time the US was prepared and the resulting clash turned the tide of the war

THE SAS FRAUD?

Heralded as the founder of the Special Air Service, a new study alleges that David Stirling might not have been the military genius of legend. Historian Gavin Mortimer unravels the truth behind Britain's famed special forces officer

TIMELINE OF...NATO

With the Soviet threat looming over Europe, the United States moves to contain Moscow's influence with a new and more potent alliance between the continent's leading democracies