The Germans, convinced that their communications were now secure, planned to destroy a portion of the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet by manoeuvring them into the North Sea, off Denmark’s Jutland Peninsula. This was part of a strategy intended to end the British blockade of German ships. If successful, the Germans... More
At 5.30 pm, having withdrawn from the Germans in the first phase of the Jutland engagement, the remaining British battlecruisers, tailed by German battleships, headed northwards towards the British Grand Fleet. The German squadron, led by Vice-Admiral Scheer, did not know that at 6.16 pm, Admiral Jellicoe, commander of the... More
Pitted against one another near Kadesh in Syria were the dominant imperial powers in the Middle East of the time, the Egyptians and Hittites. Having deceived their foes with false intelligence, the Hittites were able to launch a devastating surprise attack, their heavy chariots scattering the Amun and Re corps... More
On 7 November 1863, the Union I, II and III Corps, under Major General William French, moved against Kelly’s Ford, a convenient point to cross the Rappahannock River in eastern Virginia. The plan was that they would then push on towards Brandy Station, and join further Union forces. Confederate General... More
In March 1862, ‘Stonewall’ Jackson was patrolling the Shenandoah Valley with c. 4,000 troops, ordered to tie up Union forces there and prevent their reinforcement of the main eastern theatre. When he learned of a major Union troop withdrawal, which ran counter to this brief, he sent his cavalry commander... More
By winter the German forces in eastern Ukraine were severely weakened and depleted in number following the defeat of the 6th Army in Stalingrad. The Soviets enacted a dual attack to push the Germans towards the city of Kharkov whilst they still held momentum. Operation Star, headed by the Voronezh... More
After the success of Operation Star, Soviet forces now occupying Kharkov were significantly depleted and were suffering resupply issues due to their quick advance. Intelligence allowed Field Marshal von Manstein to deploy his forces in positions of numerical superiority during the offensive, even though Soviet troops outnumbered the Germans significantly.... More
The Japanese advance on Kohima came as a surprise to the British military command in Burma. It was only after the Battle of Shangshak, where documents were found detailing the size of the advancing Japanese division, that defensive preparations kicked into action. A small force of Allied troops were trapped... More
The Battle of Kursk saw a clash between German and Soviet ground forces resulting in the largest tank battle of the entire war, involving over 6,000 tanks. The Germans had recently received hundreds of new Tiger heavy tanks and the newly developed Panther tank, which suffered from high rates of... More
When a corpulent German missionary visited the bear-worshipping Ugaunians of Estonia, they drew lots to decide whether to sacrifice him or an ox to their gods. He was lucky; but his successor, warrior-bishop Herman Buxhoeveden, needed no luck, using force of arms to establish the bishopric of Dorpat. Meanwhile, the... More
Mary, Queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate in 1567, in favour of her infant son, James VI, with the Earl of Moray appointed his regent. Imprisoned in Loch Leven castle, Mary managed to escape, and her campaign to recover the throne attracted the support of a cross-section of Scottish... More
The Battle of the Frontiers at the commencement of World War I quickly evolved into a series of reversals and retreats for the Allied forces. On 26 August 1914, General Smith-Dorrien of II Corps tried to stem the tide by ordering his troops to deliver a ‘stopping blow’ to the... More