Military

The Nuclear Taboo

The need to preserve alliances was a compelling reason not to use nuclear weapons in Vietnam.

Kut Losses

Two imperial ventures, in the same Middle East town a century apart, reveal the similarities – and differences – in the exercise of power.

Who Were the Mamluks?

How the Mamluks, the slave-warriors of medieval Islam, overthrew their masters, defeated the Mongols and the Crusaders and established a dynasty.

Fighting for the Enemy

European powers sought to colonise the world. They could not do so without the support of indigenous peoples.

Saving Lives on the Front Line

The work of military nurses at Passchendaele transformed the perception of women’s war service, showing they could perform life-saving work and risk their lives at the front.

War in History and Memory

Since the Iliad, war has inspired stories – mixing fact and fiction – which reveal as much, if not more, about the realities of conflict as academic studies. John E. Talbott examines writing about ‘the human condition at its most extreme’.