Military

The American Civil War transformed the nature of conflict. Its opening salvos harked back to Waterloo; its end anticipated the industrial warfare of the 20th century, writes David White.

Ian Friel argues that popular ideas of the nature of Elizabethan seapower are distorted by concentration on big names and major events. Elizabethan England’s emergence on to the world stage owed much more to merchant ships and common seamen than we might think.

John Spiller surveys race relations in the United States during Reconstruction and constructs a balance sheet.

Patrick Williams provides us with the results of the latest research on the Armada

Graham Goodlad examines the controverisal reputation of Napoleon Bonaparte as a military commander.

A.J.P. Taylor gives a decidedly mid-20th century view of a mid-19th century war, its aims, and legacy. 

Jeremy Black examines A.J.P. Taylor’s account of the Crimean War, published in February 1951.

The messages sent by British soldiers of the First World War to their loved ones back home have long been valued for what they tell us about daily life in the trenches. But their authors were often at pains not to reveal too much of the horror they endured. Anthony Fletcher considers what these documents reveal about the men’s inner lives.

Graham Goodland assesses the impact of developments in non-military technology on the conduct of war in the modern era.

John Matusiak pricks the imperial pretension of the monarch who came to the throne 500 years ago