DUCE

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Paratroopers leap from Dakota aircraft during the Allies’

NELSON’S WRECKED FLAGSHIP

© Alamy June 1897 An 80-gun Royal Navy

THE RUINS OF REIMS 1917

© Getty French soldiers clear rubble in Reims

PRICKLY CUSTOMERS 1943

© Getty Australian soldiers take shelter behind a

FRENCH AIR FORCE

France pioneers military aviation in the early 20th century, with the Armée de l’Air fighting in conflicts ranging from the World Wars to the War on Terror

FLEDGLING EAGLES

The French contribution to the air battles of WWI was unmatched. A world leader in aviation, its pioneers and factories readily turned to supporting the war effort

LAFAYETTE ESCADRILLE

During WWI, the burgeoning French Air Force formed a squadron of volunteer American pilots who served France with distinction over the Western Front

REARMAMENT & THE BATTLE OF FRANCE

France entered Second World War while still suffering the effects of the First. Out-thought as much as out-fought, the Armée de L’Air was left ill-equipped in both mindset and aircraft

COLD WAR

After the defeats and divisions of WWII, the Armée de L’Air struggled for aircraft and a role for them. Ironically, breaking away from NATO united the force behind a single aim

BATTLE FOR SICILY

THE ‘SOFT UNDERBELLY’

THE SHORES OF SICILY

A massive undertaking, the seaborne landings saw the disembarkation of hundreds of thousands of soldiers along the island’s southern coast

RACE TO MESSINA

The rivalry between Bernard Montgomery and George S Patton saw a competitive Allied campaign to complete the invasion of Sicily

SAS IN SICILY

How the elite unit emerged from chaotic beginnings to spearhead the Allies’ 1943 invasion of the Mediterranean island fortress

GETTYSBURG

The embattled Union forces finally succeed in repulsing the second invasion of the northern states by Robert E Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, in the turning point of the US Civil War

PREPARING FOR KURSK

Dr Ben Wheatley of the University of East Anglia reveals the huge German and Soviet preparations for the largest tank battle in history

AUBREY COSENS

In February 1945, as the Allies began a renewed push into Nazi Germany, a Canadian sergeant single-handedly cleared three enemy-held buildings to earn the Commonwealth’s highest military honour

VICKERS MEDIUM MKI TANK

The Vickers Medium tank was an inter-war tank developed by the British, and a few saw action in 1939-40

V- 2 HEIST

In the summer of 1944, a daring mission was launched to retrieve an intact German rocket, recovered by the Polish Home Army, to analyse and counter Hitler’s devastating vengeance weapon

BATTLE OF JINGXING

Strategic brilliance and an audacious plan ensured victory for the underdog in this legendary clash in ancient China

MUSEUMS & EVENTS

Discover the Imperial War Museum’s new exhibition on the Troubles, Jersey’s largest castle and the Welsh regiment that inspired WWI poets

JUNE 1943

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 each month of the conflict

A NEW HISTORY OF THE WORLD’S LARGEST SEA BATTLE

THIS FRESH EXAMINATION OF THE BATTLE’S MAJOR DECISIONS CHALLENGES LONG-HELD ASSERTIONS

TO THE MOUNTAINS

A FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT OF THE AFGHAN-SOVIET WAR AND ITS ROLE IN RALLYING ISLAMISTS FROM ACROSS THE WORLD – BY A JIHADIST WHO TOOK PART

HITLER’S PANZER GENERALS

PREVIOUSLY UNPUBLISHED MATERIAL PROMISES TO SHED NEW LIGHT ON SOME OF THE TOP COMMANDERS IN HITLER’S WEHRMACHT, WHO WERE CRITICAL TO THE DOOMED INVASION OF THE SOVIET UNION

THE BATTLE OF THE BEAMS

REVEALING THE SECRET SCIENCE OF RADAR THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF WWII

HMS ROYAL CHARLES STERN CARVING

Captured by the Dutch during their famous raid on the Medway, this British royal coat of arms is the only surviving piece of King Charles II’s flagship