The charge of the light, battle illustration

Military history

A German soldier captured during the battle of Kursk, July–August 1943. Germany’s last major offensive on the eastern front ended in crushing defeat (Photo by STF/AFP/ GettyImages)

Second World War

Bitter end: Hitler's downfall and the end of the war and the Third Reich

Grave of a fallen soldier in World War I

“Their name liveth for evermore”: the difficult task of locating, identifying and honouring the dead of WW1. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

King Henry V (left) in a late-16th- or early 17th-century portrait by an unknown artist; and his son Henry VI (right) in a c1500s portrait (Photos by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

Why Henry VI’s reign was such a disaster

A still from a new adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front shows actor Felix Kammerer as a WW1 soldie

All Quiet on the Western Front inspiration: “As Remarque said, war is not an adventure. There’s nothing glorious about it”. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Jan Žižka: one of history's greatest military leaders, who was blind but undefeated

Photo of the SAS in North Africa

Second World War

How the early SAS became heroes of the Second World War

War and Conflict, Malaya, pic: 1953, British troops of the Special Air Service (SAS) with a helicopter, having been dropped off in the jungle in search of bandits (Photo by Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)

In a nutshellThe history of the SAS

The Battle of Lipany or Lipan, also called the Battle of Cesky Brod, on 30 May 1434 virtually ended the Hussite Wars (Picture by Alamy)

In a nutshellThe Hussite Wars

Afghan fighters on top of a destroyed Soviet helicopter, 1980 (Photo by Alain Dejean/Sygma via Getty Images)

War without end: conflict in Afghanistan, from the Cold War Soviet invasion to the Taliban. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The Mary Rose shown in the Anthony Roll (1546), a record of Henry VIII’s navy

Six theoriesWhat caused the Mary Rose to sink?

Russian men called up to fight attend a ceremony to mark their departure

Russia-Ukraine conflictHow the latest developments echo the Second World War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

WW2’s most daring raid. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

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

A missionary preaches to the Native Americans of Massachusetts, c1650. By now, colonists were imposing their values on the indigenous population, encouraging them to dress like the English – and worship the English God. (Photo by Ian Tyas/Keystone/Getty Images)

Britain's nuclear fearsHow has the UK prepared for Armageddon?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Charles V of Spain depicted on a 16th-century gold coin

Kwasi Kwarteng"Wars are bloody expensive – so the only way nations can buy what they need is by printing their own money". This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

The USSR showcases its military might at the 1961 annual May Day parade in Red Square, Moscow. (Photo by Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images)

Nuclear fall-out: how the USA & USSR became bitter enemies

Why we should remember…the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent

Victims of the February Revolution are carried through the Field of Mars in Petrograd

Russia's Civil WarWhy the 1917 uprisings descended into disaster. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Troops engaged in street fighting in the battle of Stalingrad,1942 (Photo from akg-images)

Second World War

The battle of Stalingrad: a German officer's account of WW2's bloodiest battle

President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev together

What brought a thaw in the Cold War?. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Mongol and Mamluk cavalry clash in a 14th-century manuscript

How to repel a Mongol invasion: the success of Egypt’s Mamluk empire

Second World War allies Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin (left to right) at the Yalta Conference in February 1945. East and west would soon become bitter rivals, however

The Cold War: 9 key questions

President Truman, seen here in 1948

What was the Truman Doctrine?

Painting of the Battle of Blenheim

The battle of Blenheim: how did the Duke of Marlborough triumph on the Danube?

Pompey flees after the battle of Pharsalus

The battle of Pharsalus: how Julius Caesar defeated Pompey

First World War poets: everything you wanted to know. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Stalingrad: a soldier’s testimony. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Hannibal: Rome’s greatest nightmare. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Paratroopers over Dien Bien Phu

Dien Bien Phu: the battle that split Vietnam

The first Vietnam War. This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.