The following update has been inspired by an article I read by Nicholas Vincent (University of East Anglia) regarding the year 1260 and the incredibly important consequences that this date had for Europe and the Mediterranean world. Vincent declared this to be a dramatic year which is often overlooked despite the serious political change it … More 1260: From Mongol to Mamluk Control in the Near East
Just a couple of months ago Netflix released The Outlaw King, their historical action drama about the life of Robert the Bruce in early 14th Century Scotland. Chris Pine is the big name here starring as the Bruce himself. Overall the film has received exceedingly average reviews, with around a 60% aggregated score. This is … More The Outlaw King – A Medieval Movie Review
This post will feature the newly opened, Battle of Britain Bunker and Visitor Centre on the former site of RAF Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It is the only Second World War bunker to be preserved and open available to the public. The former RAF site was sold off for a new housing … More The Battle of Britain Bunker, Uxbridge
My aim with this topic is to examine the development of European swords through the Medieval period and into the Renaissance, along the way looking at all the details that change throughout that timeframe. I also intend to look at the possible reasons behind the gradual transformations of the sword, be they caused by changes … More The Evolution of European Sword Design – From the Romans to Normans
As this month is African History month, I decided to take my historical specialty; warfare, and see how it worked in Africa. While there is plenty of information out there, warfare in Africa isn’t a generally well known topic, at least outside of Egypt, Carthage, and post-colonial periods. So my goal is to take a … More Warfare In Precolonial Africa
This week in Asian history month I will be covering one of the important events in the history of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) – the Long March. The Long March ensured the survival of the CCP and capitulated Mao Zedong to the front of the party’s leadership. Due to this importance, the events of … More China’s Long March: The Facts and the Myths.
With the Korean Peninsula being ever present in current media I feel it is necessary to understand some background of both North and South Korea. The Korean War is perhaps the greatest level of tension the world has experienced since World War II. As Malkasian argues it was the closest the world has ever been … More The Korean War
The battle of Caporetto also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo River was fought between the Central Powers, Austro-Hungarian and German forces and the 2nd Italian Army. The ultimate result of the battle was a disastrous loss of life, organisation, equipment and territory for the Italians. Yet it was several factors which resulted … More Italy goes down at Caporetto
This post will document the Czech/Slovak resistance to Nazism in Czechoslovakia during the Second World War. It was a time of great struggle for the people of Czechoslovakia under the Munich Agreement of 1938 the area of Sudetenland (today in the Czech Republic) on the borders of Bavaria, Saxony and Lower Silesia now Poland was … More The Path to Operation Anthropoid
Today I bring you an idea I borrowed from a history magazine I found at work (I am not sure if it was BBC history or History Extra, but it must have been one or the other). There were a few pages dedicated to armed conflicts with some pretty silly or bizarre names. Now their … More Conflicts with Funny Names
