History of War

From the conquering legions of Ancient Rome to the thunderous tank battles of World War II and beyond, History of War takes you deeper inside the minds of history’s fighting men, further under the bonnets of some of the world’s most devastating war machines, and higher above the battlefield to see the broad sweep of conflict as it happened.

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WAR in FOCUS

TIMELINE OF OPERATION WESERÜBUNG • Urgently needing to open supply routes to import resources from neutral Sweden, Germany launches a treacherous operation to conquer Denmark and Norway

PLOTTING THE STRIKE NORTH • Ahead of his push west, Hitler launched a pre-emptive assault on neutral Scandinavia to secure iron ore supplies and Nazi control of the North Sea

SCANDINAVIA UNDER ATTACK • Hitler’s forces smash through Denmark and Norway in a grim foretaste of the terrible fate awaiting the rest of Western Europe

ALLIED FIGHTBACK • Britain and France race to Norway’s aid as the two nations suffer their first defeats and score their earliest victories of the war

DEFEAT & OCCUPATION • Nazi victory in the north ushered in five years of occupation characterised by collaboration and brutal retribution

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FORTRESS BRITAIN HOME GUARD •  Beginning as veteran volunteers in Britain’s ‘Darkest Hour’, the nation’s defence forces grew to take on a range of dangerous and secretive roles

Heroes of the Medal of Honor LUCIAN ADAMS • Armed with a Browning Automatic Rifle and hand grenades, this lone sergeant silenced three enemy machine gun emplacements in the mountains of northeastern France

Great Battles TALI-IHANTALA • Outnumbered and outgunned, the Finns’ spirited defence of a natural choke point turned back the Red Army during the largest battle in the region’s history

BATTLE OF TALI-IHANTALA

HITLER’S GUNS IN FINLAND • The Wehrmacht kit that held back the Red Army tide

BRITS BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN • At the beginning of the Cold War, a peculiar military mission began its work officially, and unofficially, gathering intelligence inside Soviet-occupied East Germany

TOUR VEHICLES

BATTLE CLASS DESTROYER • The Royal Navy’s formidable vessel was the pinnacle of decades of design developed to meet the rigorous demands of the Pacific Theatre

ENGLAND VS SCOTLAND The FIRST BATTLE • At the end of the 7th century, a battle you’ve probably never heard of took place between two emerging nations, soon to be historic rivals. The fighting settled a border that still endures over 1,300 years later

Serpent swords

RUSSIAN ROULETTE Q&A WITH ANNA REID • As WWI reached its bloody crescendo, a foolhardy intervention was launched into Russia’s civil war – a move that descended into sinister complicity and defeat

CHURCHILL AND THE INTERVENTION • His reputation shattered by the First World War, Winston Churchill tried to use the chaos in Russia to save face

‘HANDS OFF RUSSIA’ • After the Armistice, popular resistance to intervention in the East grew in Britain

HOW ‘FORTRESS EUROPE’ FELL AND THE WAR WAS WON • History of War: D-Day discovers how brave Allied soldiers landed on the shores of Northern France, and fought a formidable nemesis, poor weather, and the forces of nature to succeed in the most definitive battle of World War II.

HOMEFRONT

BATTLE FOR FRANCE A TANK SPOTTER’S GUIDE

MUSEUMS & EVENTS • Poignant D-Day artwork on display in Buckinghamshire, immersive exhibits at Newhaven Fort and the world’s only running Tiger I

WWII THIS MONTH… AUGUST 1944 • To commemorate 80 years since the Second World War, History of War will be taking a look at some of the key events taking place during...