Vital to the success of the secondary phase of the D-Day landings was the ability of ground forces to move east to engage the Germans. Two bridges provided the only crossing over the Caen Canal/River Orne in the area, so it became the 6th Airborne Division’s responsibility to engage the... More
General Marshall, the British commander in chief in Mesopotamia, returned to the offensive in spring 1918. He determined upon a change in tactics; lines of advance were along the Rivers Euphrates and, several miles to its north, the Tigris. He calculated that, as he advanced, the enemy would simply retreat,... More
After a winter of relative inactivity, the British commander in Mesopotamia, General Marshall, resumed the offensive on his eastern flank in March, defeating the Ottoman forces. On 27 April, he ordered his western flank to march on Kirkük in northern Iraq. Their first enemy encounter was at Kulawand, meeting little... More
Germany and its Ottoman allies had first attempted to seize the Suez Canal, and block this vital Allied supply route, in January 1915. A surprise attack in April 1916 at Bir Qatia demonstrated the continuing threat in the area. In July 1916, the German commander, General Kressenstein, managed to move... More
As fellow European countries, Britain and the Soviet Union had their own self-interested motivations for the proposed division of Germany. Britain was keen to secure administration of the northernmost sector of the country, which would allow it to oversee the dissolution of the German Navy. The Soviet Union pushed for... More
By 1917, the Allies badly needed a success on the Southern European front. Italy had expended large amounts of manpower and munitions in the Isonzo valley to negligible effect. Both Serbia and Romania had been overrun and virtually eliminated (albeit temporarily) as combatants. Accordingly, the British were nominated to launch... More
After the first attack at Lake Dojran on 24 April had been repelled, the Bulgarians immediately repaired their breached and damaged defences. Accordingly, when the British infantry were ordered to attack again on 8 May, they were facing essentially the same obstacles that had defeated them two weeks earlier. Preceded... More
In 1600 the East India Company was established to run British trading operations in the Indian Ocean. It established numerous coastal trading posts and factories against competition from its Dutch, Portuguese and French counterparts. British influence was extended after victory against the Nawab of Bengal at the Battle of Plassey... More
The Pax Britannica (1815–1914) was enforced directly by the global supremacy of the Royal Navy and indirectly by its commercial pre-eminence. Amassing an empire over which ‘the sun never sets’ was only one aspect of this dominance. Through the imposition of imperial free trade, Britain effectively controlled the economies of... More
In 1914, The Prime Minister H.H. Asquith created a committee to oversee the war effort. By 1916, it was perceived as ‘vacillating’ and lacking an effective command structure. David Lloyd George who replaced Asquith in 1916, tried to create a more effective chain of command. He put together the first... More
Between 1806 and 1826 the East India Company continued its policy of expansion and control in India. After the Anglo-Nepal War of 1814 the Company annexed Kumaon and Garhwal , together with a collection of small states formerly allied to the Maratha Confederacy. In 1817 a large Company army invaded... More
The East India Company’s policy was to maintain direct and indirect control through agreements with local rulers. However, the situation relating to control was always subject to review; for instance Mysore came under direct British rule in 1836, which continued until 1881 when it reverted to the control of a... More