Military history

The 'Alexander Mosaic' showing Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great: all you need to know about the empire builder and military genius

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Michael Goodman responds to your questions on the decades of geopolitical tension that shaped relations between east and west in the second half of the 20th century. (Image by Getty Images)

The Cold War: everything you wanted to know . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

A photograph of the battle of Moscow, 1942, first printed in Signal, a magazine published by the German Third Reich from 1940 to 1945. (Photo by Art Media/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Second World War

Operation Barbarossa: why Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union was his greatest mistake

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Mary Hollingsworth discusses her new book, Princes of the Renaissance, which charts the wars and alliances between the powerful Italian families of the 15th and 16th centuries. (Image by Getty Images)

Formidable dynasties of the Italian Renaissance . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Spitfires under construction at the Vickers Supermarine works in Southampton, around 1940

The difficult birth of the Spitfire – and how the WW2 fighter almost missed the battle of Britain

An engraving of the thin Red Line, depicting the 93rd Regiment at the battle of Balaklava

Q&A What was the Thin Red Line?

US marines advance up Iwo Jima's beaches

Second World War

The battle for Iwo Jima: why did it happen and why was it so hard fought?

A decoy rubber tank such as those used by the Allies during WW2.

Masters of disguise: the story of the Allies’ WW2 ‘Ghost Army’

A scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Norman invasion of 1066. The tapestry was most likely embroidered by women in Norman England in a workshop setting using four embroidery stitches – stem stitch; split stitch; chain stitch; and laid work, sometimes called ‘Bayeux Stitch’, says Dr Alexandra Lester-Makin. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The Bayeux Tapestry: what is it, why was it made and what story does it tell?

Illustration of Despite being outnumbered, the Greeks gained vital supremacy at sea over the Persians at the battle of Salamis in 480 BC

The Peloponnesian War: Athens fights Sparta for dominance in ancient Greece

Otto von Bismarck, pictured on horseback, was instrumental in the creation of a unified German state and was among the most influential politicians of late 19th-century Europe.(Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Otto von Bismarck: a brief guide to the ‘founder of modern Germany’

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Margaret MacMillan gives a lecture on the reasons for conflict throughout history – and how warfare has shaped the human story (Photo by Getty Images)

Why do we fight wars? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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World leaders (l-r) Georges Clemenceau, Woodrow Wilson and Lloyd George after signing the treaty of Versailles at the end of the First World War. (Photo by Hulton-Deutsch/Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis via Getty Images)

Quiz How well do you know Year 9 history? . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

This second-century AD column shows Romans beheading German nobles. Armed with the lethal gladius (short sword), Roman soldiers were feared throughout the empire. (Image by Bridgeman)

A guide to the Roman army, plus 10 facts about life in the legions

Speech of Adolf Hitler to the Reichstag inthe Kroll Opera in Berlin after the Declaration of war to the USA, in addition to the lectern to the right: Press Chief Otto Dietrich and the personal adjutant of Hitler Albert Bormann the Brigade Commander o

Second World War

“One of the most puzzling decisions of WW2”: Ian Kershaw on why Hitler declared war on America