History Today

The Siege of Mafeking

“A game of bluff from start to finish,” said Robert Baden-Powell, British commander during the Second Boer War. Nicholas King describes the seven-months’ siege, that took place in present day South Africa.

The Russians in Central Asia

The economic and cultural transformation of Russia’s vast possessions in Central Asia is still rapidly going forward. Geoffrey Wheeler describes how she began to enter this field during the first half of the eighteenth century.

The Reoccupation of the Rhineland

In deciding on the Reoccupation of the Rhineland, writes D.C. Watt, Hitler said that he went forward “with the assurance of a sleepwalker...” His practical calculations proved to be “entirely justified.”

The Princess Mathilde

Joanna Richardson describes how the gifted cousin of the Emperor Napoleon III acted as an all-powerful intermediary between the studio and the palace.

The Miracle of Independence

Arnold Whitridge explains how a group of instinctively conservative, wealthy gentlemen led the American people to an unlikely victory in war and a miraculous nationhood.

The Independence of Norway

Cyril Falls describes the dissolution of the union of Norway and Sweden, and the subsequent ascension of a Danish Prince to the Norwegian throne.

The Grand Tour 1814-1815

During the last grim stages of the Napoleonic struggle, writes Jane Aiken Hodge, a gay young Englishman and his genial employer made an adventurous journey around Europe.