MHM October 2018

Andrew Mulholland argues that Tunisia may have been a greater defeat for the Axis than Stalingrad. Not only was the whole of North Africa cleared
of Italian and German troops, but the haul of prisoners and captured equipment was greater than that with von Paulus’ surrender on the Volga.

This issue, our special looks beyond the triumph of William the Conqueror at Hastings to the Anglo-Saxon’s last victory: the lesser-known Battle of
Stamford Bridge. Fred Chiaventone recaps the campaign that culminated in the battle, and Neil Faulkner reconstructs the character of the Anglo-Saxon army. Together, they question how far this era – often seen as a turning point in medieval warfare – marked the end of the dominance of heavy infantry.

Robin Smith recalls a gallant little action during the American War of Independence.

David Porter traces some of the most spectacular uses of explosives in warfare from the 15th century onwards.

Patrick Mercer returns to a gruelling mountain assault during the Italian campaign.

The Battle of Hastings established ‘the supremacy of the feudal horseman’. So argued Charles Oman in his monumental The Art of War in the Middle Ages in 1924. The noble lords of the 12th century would have agreed. So have generations of romantics since. But was it really so? Or was ‘the age of chivalry’ – which hinges on the supposed battlefield dominance of heavy horse – more aristocratic myth than historical truth?

In our special this issue, we take a close look at military events in England in 1066. Our twin focus is the Battle of Stamford Bridge – an English victory over a Viking invasion less than a month before Hastings – and the composition and character of King Harold’s army. We find little to support Oman’s conclusion.

Elsewhere this issue, Andrew Mulholland argues that Tunisia may have been a greater defeat for the Axis than Stalingrad. Not only was the whole of North Africa cleared of Italian and German troops, but the haul of prisoners and captured equipment was greater than that with von Paulus’ surrender on the Volga.

David Porter charts the history of great explosions on land, sea, and air, Robin Smith recalls the gallant action of the ‘Maryland 400’ on Long Island in 1776, and Patrick Mercer’s regiment is the 6th US Armored Infantry at Monte Porchia in the winter of 1943/44.