The June/July 2021 issue of Military History Matters, the British military history magazine, is out now.
The best way to access the magazine is to subscribe. Click here to find out more. To read the digital archive, click here. You can also access the magazine online (as well as exclusive extra content) at our new website, The Past.
In this issue:
ON THE COVER:
Barbarossa – the biggest invasion in history
Eighty years ago this June, the Nazis mounted the greatest invasion in history. Despite ultimate failure, the German military achievement was extraordinary, especially when set against the Soviet Union’s massive military lead as late as 1936. Our guide to this most momentous of military campaigns is David Porter. He first explores the pre-war build-up to Barbarossa and then analyses the key factors that determined its outcome between June and December 1941.
Crusader strategy: a contradiction in terms?
Medieval warfare was not just a matter of crude feudal violence, argues Steve Tibble.
Debacle in the wilderness: Braddock at Monongahela, 1755
‘A volley fired by a young Virginian in the backwoods of America set the world on fire.’ So said Horace Walpole. Fred Chiaventone tells the story.
A case of nerves, the moon, and mistaken identity: the Butterfly Effect at war
John Lock looks at a small incident during the Battle of Chancellorsville that had major historical consequences.
The last French invasion of Britain: Fishguard, February 1797
In the first of an occasional series, Patrick Mercer takes a look at one of history’s less well-known battles.
Also in this issue:
The first in a new series on classic military history books, Behind the Image, War Culture, Book Reviews, Museum Review, Back to the Drawing Board, Listings, Competitions, and more.
To subscribe to the magazine, click here. To subscribe to the digital archive, click here. You can also access the magazine online (as well as exclusive extra content) at our new website, The Past. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
From the editor:
It was the biggest invasion in history: Operation Barbarossa – Hitler’s blitzkrieg attack in June 1941, designed to overrun Russia before the winter. We know the outcome. We know this proved a fatal decision. We know that war against the Soviet Union, with its vast distances and massive reserves of manpower and industrial capacity, sealed the fate of Nazi Germany.
But Barbarossa came close to success, thanks to the gaping self-inflicted wound of the Stalinist terror. Military historian David Porter marks the 80th anniversary of Hitler’s invasion of European Russia with an in-depth analysis in our special this time.
Also this issue, we look back before the 20th century. Medieval specialist Steve Tibble challenges stereotypical views of the Crusaders – as crude feudal brawlers – to argue there was clear strategic thinking in the 200-year struggle against the odds to defend the Crusader states.
Fred Chiaventone returns with a critical assessment of a famous British disaster in the American wilderness – Braddock’s defeat at Monongahela in 1755 – while Patrick Mercer takes a look at the last French invasion of Britain (in 1797). And John Lock opens a new series on ‘the butterfly effect’ with an assessment of the military impact of the accidental shooting of ‘Stonewall’ Jackson at Chancellorsville in May 1863.
To subscribe to the magazine, click here. To subscribe to the digital archive, click here. You can also access the magazine online (as well as exclusive extra content) at our new website, The Past. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.