Painting of a European marketplace

Europe

A view of Valletta during the Second World War, showing its harbour filled with naval hardware. (Photo by Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The LibraryBritain's island weapon: Malta in the Second World War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Winston Churchill, former prime minister of the United Kingdom, gives his 'victory' sign while making a polling day tour of his constituency during an election. (Getty Images)

Are these the most overrated people in history?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

George Frederick Handel married opera's passion with the respectability of biblical texts, says Tim Blanning. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)

10 milestones in the history of western music. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries by Jacques-Louis David

Napoleon's great cultural charade. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

"Pope Urban II’s address at the Council of Clermont, the moment that triggered the First Crusade, has gone down as perhaps the most influential speech in history," writes Sandbrook. (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

A big day in history: The day Pope Urban II exhorted Christians to go on crusade. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Nelson mortally wounded at Trafalgar in 1805

Nelson: the unhappy admiral. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

British political cartoonist David Low. His caricatures of political figures including Hitler resulted in him being placed in the Nazi 'Black Book' – a list of prominent Britons who were to be arrested in the case of a successful invasion of Britain. (Photo by Felix Man/Picture Post/Getty Images

My history hero: Sir David Low (1891–1963). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A vintage map of Europe. One of the hardest things for small nations to accept is that they're not in control over their own destinies, says Mark Mazower. (Getty Images)

The LibraryA little history of the world: the importance of small states in global politics. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Herbert 'Blondie' Hasler (left) pictured with Bill Sparks and Mary Lindell. It was "his ability to take ordinary men and give them the confidence and skills to do extraordinary things" that made him a hero, says Paddy Ashdown. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

My history hero: ‘Blondie’ Hasler (1914–87). This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Second World War

The dark charisma of Adolf Hitler

A relief showing Emperor Constantine's over Maxentius at the battle of Milvian Bridge. (Prisma/UIG/Getty Images)

A big day in history: “A cross of light” leads Constantine to victory. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Illustration by Jonty Clark.

Ye olde travel guide: Dublin AD 1000. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The "hauntingly beautiful" Elisabeth, Empress of Austria, was never at ease in Vienna's stuffy court. (Getty Images)

A big day in history: a royal icon is stabbed through the heart. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

‘Portrait of a Lady’ by Netherlandish painter Rogier van der Weyden, c1460. From the collection of the National Gallery, London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Art Media/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Medieval underwear: bras, pants and lingerie in the Middle Ages

Detail of a column showing Norman soldiers, c12th century. (CM Dixon/Print Collector/Getty Images)

In search of the Normans: who were they?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Bruges 1386. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

An illustration depicting medieval pilgrims. (Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

The LibraryMedieval tourism: pilgrimages and tourist destinations. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Industrial might: Blenheim bombers in production in England, late 1939. The Allies’ combined industrial strength proved too much for the Axis. (Getty Images)

Second World War

The LibraryThe world in flames

The Fire of Rome, by Hubert Robert (1733-1808). "It was the worst possible place for a fire to break out, and fear turned into outright panic," says Dominic Sandbrook. Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

The LibraryA big day in history: the Great Fire of Rome

William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne and British prime minister from 1782–83, was instrumental in the Genevan exiles’ move to southern Ireland. (Getty Images)

The watchmakers of Waterford. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Flight of Bonaparte from the Battle of Krasnoi, 1815. Artist: Sutherland, Thomas (1785-1838)

How Napoleon was humbled. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hitler greets admirers when he was still enormously popular. (Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Dear Mr Hitler. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A contemporary view of the river Seine and Notre-Dame de Paris. (Getty Images)

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Paris 1802. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

(Illustration by Jonty Clark for BBC History Magazine)

Ye olde travel guide: Hedeby AD 950. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The RMS Titanic. (Image by Perspectives/Getty Images)

Where history happened: The Titanic disaster. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Painting depicting medieval nuns. (Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

17th-century nuns on the run. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

'Tirpitz' hiding in a Norwegian fjord in 1942. “She outclassed anything in the British fleet,” says Patrick Bishop. (Getty Images)

The Second World War: sinking the Tirpitz. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

German scientists Dr Carl Eisenmann, Dr Mersch, Dr Trabat and Dr Stocklin. (Express/Getty Images)

The intelligence war for German scientists. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in the centre of Florence (Getty)

A big day in history: Florence's bonfire of the vanities. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Ye Olde Travel Guide: Corfu 1864. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.