The February issue of Military History Monthly, the British military history magazine, is now on sale.
In this issue:
ON THE COVER: SPARTAN LAST STAND
American military historian Fred Chiaventone recounts the Spartan defence of the Hot Gates at Thermopylae, 480 BC.
SPECIAL: LEE AND JACKSON
This month, our 15-page special looks at the partnership between two military greats: Robert E Lee and Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson.
The two generals together brought the Confederate Army to the brink of success – developing a military strategy that managed, in the early days of its implementation, to keep Union forces at bay.
Graham Goodlad analyses the key elements of the partnership, whilst MHM Editor Neil Faulkner homes in on the Battle of Second Manassas, a strategic and tactical masterpiece of the Lee / Jackson partnership.
The Battle of the Coral Sea, 1942
Stephen Roberts looks back on the first sea battle in which aircraft-carrier fought aircraft-carrier, transforming naval warfare.
Shell Shock Cover-up at Passchendaele
WWI saw nothing less than a shell shock epidemic on the Western Front. Taylor Downing reveals how military authorities covered up mental illness during the later years of the war.
Regiment: Grenadier Guards at Inkerman, 1854
Patrick Mercer reports on the central role of British Guards in the Crimea’s toughest battle. Featuring original 19th-century maps.
Exclusive: Mark Bowden on Hué
Mark Bowden, the journalist and acclaimed author of Black Hawk Down and Killing Pablo, talks to Fred Chiaventone about his new book, Hué 1968.
Also in this issue:
Jane Austen: a wartime writer
We look at the hidden military context of Jane Austen’s work.
War on Film; Book of the Month; Book Reviews; Museum Review; Event Listings; Competitions; and much more.
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From the editor
What is the role of the individual in history? It seems possible that the American Civil War could have ended in the summer of 1862 but for the appointment of Robert E Lee to the Confederate command in Virginia. It seems equally possible that, without his partnership with Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson, he would not have succeeded in turning the war around.
Our special this time looks at this remarkable military collaboration between two very different men. Graham Goodlad charts the year-long partnership, and I offer an in-depth analysis of the Battle of Second Manassas, second only to Chancellorsville as a Lee-Jackson masterpiece.
Also this issue, Stephen Roberts returns with an account of the Battle of the Coral Sea, the dress rehearsal for Midway a month later. This was history’s first unequivocal ‘carrier battle’ – one in which no shots were exchanged between the rival fleets’ big guns. Fred Chiaventone, meantime, recalls the epic Spartan last stand at Thermopylae, arguing firmly that it may have been heroic, but it was certainly futile.
We also have Taylor Downing exposing the British military cover-up of a ‘shell shock ‘ epidemic during the Battle of Passchendaele, and Patrick Mercer celebrating the role of the Grenadier Guards at Inkerman in November 1854.
To subscribe to the magazine, click here. To subscribe to the digital archive, click here.
