Painting of a European marketplace

Europe

Clash between the English Temeraire and the French Redoutable ships during the Battle of Trafalgar, October 21, 1805. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

The battle of Trafalgar. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Dornier 217 bombers of the Luftwaffe bomb London during the Battle of Britain. "The crucial role of the RAF in denying the Germans control of the air in 1940 and therefore persuading Hitler to abandon his invasion plans is so well known that it might seem almost sacrilegious to question it, " says Sean Lang. "But was it solely responsible for saving Britain from invasion? Not quite." (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)

9 of the most overrated battles in history (and one underrated one). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Professor Dame Janet L Nelson has published extensively on early medieval Europe. She is professor emeritus at King's College London, a fellow of the British Academy and a former president of the Royal Historical Society. Her previous books include 'Charles the Bald' (1992) and 'The Frankish World' (1996). (Photograph by Frank Monks)

Books interview with Janet Nelson: "The only way this huge regime could work was by Charlemagne trusting his own instincts". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Winner takes all: A painting shows the French ship 'Redoutable' clashing with the British 'Temeraire'. "Regardless of the victory off Cape Trafalgar, it was another decade before Britain and her allies defeated Napoleon. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

Trafalgar, a futile victory? Why Nelson's triumph didn't turn the tide on Napoleon. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A medieval European union: why the Hanseatic League still matters. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Back on Planet Earth: what world did Neil Armstrong leave behind in 1969?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration of the battle of Agincourt. By attacking over unsuitable ground, Charles d’Albret “doomed his army”, says Rupert Matthews. (Photo by Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The top 10 military blunders in history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

AC Grayling on the history of philosophy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Repton Stone with detail of mounted warrior.

The problem with the Anglo-Saxons. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Construction of a medieval church

Bravado or blunder? Architectural fails of medieval church builders. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The four-month Siege of Malta.

The Great Siege of Malta, 1565: the crusaders' last stand

Appeasement and the road to World War Two. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte fleeing from the battlefield of Waterloo (18 June 1815) after his defeat by the British under Wellington and the Prussians commanded by Blucher. A print from 'Le Patriote Illustre'. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

What is the significance of Waterloo?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

9 eccentric monarchs through history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Members of the Home Guard train racing pigeons as messengers in Blackburn, July 1940. Soon, carrier birds like this would be supplying vital intelligence on German arms factories and troop movements in occupied Europe. (Photo by Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The pigeons’ war on Hitler. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The story of Madame Tussaud. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Anna WhitelockConfronting slavery’s legacy. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Mary Fulbrook and Richard J Evans. (Photo by Fran Monks)

"Many of the Holocaust's perpetrators got away with it": why Nazi crimes went unpunished. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The life of Saladin. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Tom Hanks, Matt Damon and Edward Burns in 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998), directed by Steven Spielberg. (Photo by Dreamworks LLC /Paramount Pictures)

Second World War

D-Day on screen: 5 TV and film depictions of the Second World War operation

A new view of D-Day. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Troops from the 48th Royal Marines at Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer on Juno Beach, Normandy, France, during the D-Day landings, 6 June 1944. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Second World War

Your guide to D-Day: what happened, how many casualties were there, and what did it accomplish?

10 photographs that made history

A painting depicts a 14th-century sea battle

Medieval inspiration: what the fantasy genre owes to the 14th century. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

To the point: soldiers prepare themselves for hand-to-hand combat by learning bayonet skills. (Photo by Fox Photos/Getty Images)

The road to D-Day: the masterplan. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Members of a British parachute regiment consult their maps during a training exercise just weeks before D-Day. Training was intensive – and dangerous. (Photo by Haywood Magee/Picture Post /Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The road to D-Day: getting ready for action. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Allied troops on the landing crafts did not know if they would survive D-Day, but they knew the beaches had to be taken. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

D-Day: the WW2 battle through the eyes of the men who were there. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Live Aid stage at Wembley, London, in 1985

When Live Aid rocked the world. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Charlton Hetson races a chariot in Ben-Hur

Wacky races: 10 weird and wonderful contests through history. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Lucrezia Borgia with her father Pope Alexander VI

Lucrezia Borgia: is her bad reputation deserved?