The August/September 2022 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:
WARFARE & THE WALL: THE GENESIS OF A ROMAN FRONTIER
It is 1,900 years since the Roman emperor Hadrian made landfall in Britain. Though we know nothing of his motive for visiting, the island was convulsed by unrest during his tenure, leading to severe Roman troop losses. So what caused these casualties, and what light can they shed on Hadrian’s Wall, the most significant legacy of his entanglement with Britain? Matthew Symonds looks at the latest thinking on one of the greatest of all military fortifications
Case Blue: Between Barbarossa and Stalingrad
Marking its 80th anniversary, David Porter analyses Germany’s plan to launch another great offensive in the summer of 1942
A fraud, a criminal, and a politician: the worst commanders in history
What makes a truly bad military leader? Three historians explain their choices of the most disastrous generals down the centuries
The BBC at war: how the broadcaster came of age during WWII
To mark the centenary of the Corporation, Taylor Downing looks at the evolution of the BBC through the Second World War
Sideshow: the red and the blue
William Stroock recalls the Trent Affair, the tense moment in 1862 when Britain and the US almost went to war
Also in this issue:
The latest in a new series on classic military history books, 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 acting editor
Nearly 2,000 years after its construction, Hadrian’s Wall remains Britain’s most impressive military fortification. Stretching more than 80 Roman miles (117km) from coast to coast, it provides a vivid reminder of Roman occupation. But the question of why exactly it was built is still a matter of debate. Was it, as some have argued, designed as a way of repulsing full-blown barbarian armies?
Or was it, as others contend, simply a means to control and tax the peaceful movement of people? In our special this issue, Matthew Symonds examines evidence of earlier clashes between Britons and Romans that raises a fascinating new possibility: that Hadrian’s great legacy was conceived instead as a radical solution to a guerrilla threat that was in danger of spiralling out of control.
Also in this issue, you’ll find two features linked to the Second World War. In the first, David Porter analyses Case Blue, Hitler’s doomed attempt to launch a major new offensive on the Eastern Front in the summer of 1942. In the second, Taylor Downing celebrates the 100th anniversary of the BBC by looking at the Corporation’s finest hour, when it came of age during the conflict of 1939-1945.
Elsewhere, we ask: what makes a truly terrible military commander? Is it just a matter of winning and losing in battle, or does character also count? In an extract from a new book, three historians put forward their nominations for the most disastrous generals down the ages.
And finally, William Stroock recalls the Trent Affair, taking us back to the moment in 1862 when Britain and the United States nearly went to war
Laurence Earle
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.