The June issue of Military History Monthly, the British military history magazine, is now on sale.
In this issue:
SPECIAL: The Matabele Wars
This issue, our special feature explores the fatal collision between the British South Africa Company and the ‘other’ Zulus of southern Africa, the Matabele.
In our first feature, US military historian Fred Chiaventone analyses the Matabele military system and the First Matabele War (1893-1894), focusing on the last stand of the Shangani Patrol. In the second, MHM Editor Neil Faulkner recaps the native revolt of both Matabele and Shona people – the Second Matabele War (1896-1897).
ON THE COVER: Churchill – a conflicted legacy
Churchill is revered as a national hero, but does he deserve such acclaim? Patrick Mercer and Seema Syeda debate the issue.
Edward I in Scotland
The brutality of Edward I’s attempts to subjugate Scotland earned him the nickname ‘Hammer of the Scots’. But how successful were his campaigns? David Santiuste reports.
Gettysburg reassessed – was the second day decisive?
Many argue that Pickett’s Charge was the climactic moment of the Battle of Gettysburg. MHM Editor Neil Faulkner begs to differ.
Regiment – ‘Thunderbirds’ at Anzio, 1944
Patrick Mercer relives the bitter but heroic action of the US Army’s 157th Infantry Regiment at Anzio in 1944.
Also in this issue:
War on Film; Women at War; War Culture, Behind the Image, Book Reviews; Museum Review; Event Listings; Competitions; and much more.
To subscribe to the magazine, click here. To subscribe to the digital archive, click here.
From the editor
The Zulus are renowned largely because of the hugely successful 1964 film Zulu, depicting the Battle of Rorke’s Drift.
It portrayed the Zulus – accurately – as a great African warrior people. It is less well known that a major tribal split earlier in the 19th century had created a Zulu offshoot: the Matabele. Using the same military system, the Matabele subjugated other African tribes to create an empire in what later became Rhodesia (and then Zimbabwe).
Our special looks at the historic struggle in the 1890s between the Matabele impis and Cecil Rhodes’ British South Africa Company. Rhodes employed a private army to seize Matabele territory, resulting in a brutal military collision.
Also this issue, marking the success of the new film Darkest Hour, former British soldier and military historian Patrick Mercer goes head-to-head with MHM Assistant Editor Seema Syeda on Winston Churchill’s historic legacy. Was he a great leader or a ruthless imperialist?
We also have my reassessment of Gettysburg: based on a two-day walking tour of the battlefield, I argue that the battle had been won by the end of the second day. Completing the issue, we have David Santiuste’s analysis of Edward I’s Scottish Wars, and our regular Regiment series – this time focusing on the fierce fighting that followed the US 157th Infantry’s daring amphibious landings at Anzio in 1944.
To subscribe to the magazine, click here. To subscribe to the digital archive, click here.
My father, Alvan Markle III, had the best vantage point to witness Operation Cobra at Normandy from the top of a tall tree the Germans had converted into an OP, and his observations contradict General Bradley’s and most historians accounts of how the 8th Air Force conducted that operation (parallel vs perpindicular to the St Lo road)). This was perhaps the worst friendly fire incident for the US in WWII! Pop is100 and still sharp as a tack. He was a battery commander of 240mms at the time under General Collins. Please advise me promptly on how he can submit an article on this topic.
Dear Alvan,
Many thanks for your interest in submissions to Military History Matters. Pitches should be sent to editorial[at]military-history.org, and should include a writing sample, ideally published, a brief description of the unique and original angle of the article topic, and outline the writers’ experience/relevant qualifications.
Many thanks, MHM