The February/March 2025 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:
A NATION DIVIDED
With North and South pitted against one another, the beginning of the American Civil War saw a country tear itself apart, as Fred Chiaventone explains.
Bridging the ‘Great Barrier’
As we continue to mark the 80th anniversary of World War II’s final months, Taylor Downing looks at why the Allies found it so easy to cross the Rhine in the spring of 1945.
Seizing the Crown
Henry Bolingbroke was the rebel leader who inspired Shakespeare and – as Henry IV – founded the Lancastrian dynasty. Stephen Roberts examines the military campaign that brought him to power.
The end of the affair
In the final part of our series on the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte, Graham Goodlad analyses the reasons for his decline and eventual defeat.
Race for the skies
William Robinson Clarke made history during World War I as Britain’s first Black combat pilot. Clive Webb reveals how a chance discovery in an archive allowed his story to be told.
Also in this issue:
The latest in our series on classic military history books, War Culture, Book Reviews, Museum Review, 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 (X), and Instagram.
From the editor:
It began on the morning of 12 April 1861 – when Southern artillery batteries opened fire on Fort Sumter, off the coast of South Carolina – though few observers at the time believed they were witnessing the start of a conflict that would end up tearing the country apart.
Four years on, as we discover in our cover story for this issue, things would look very different – as Robert E Lee’s surrender at Appomattox on 9 April 1865 formally concluded what had become a long and bitter struggle that claimed more than 750,000 soldiers’ lives, along with those of countless more civilians.
In the first part of a new series to mark the 160th anniversary of the end of the American Civil War, historian Fred Chiaventone begins his analysis of this unparalleled cataclysm – which would come to be regarded as perhaps the single most important event in US history.
Elsewhere, Stephen Roberts looks at another period of violent unrest – this time at the end of the 14th century – as he pieces together the extraordinary sequence of events by which Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV) seized the throne of England.
Also in this issue, Clive Webb traces the life of William Robinson Clarke, the young airman who during World War I became Britain’s first Black combat pilot; Taylor Downing explains why the Allies found it easier than they feared to cross the mighty Rhine in 1945; and Graham Goodlad concludes his survey of Napoleon’s career by examining the great commander’s decline and fall.
And finally, it’s that time of the year again, as we unveil the titles shortlisted for the Military History Matters Book Awards 2025. As always, we have selected the 12 books that we think have had the most impact over the past year – but with gold, silver, and bronze prizes all still up for grabs, we now need your help to choose the winners.
We hope you enjoy the issue!
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 (X), and Instagram.