In this issue

FIRST MILITARY RAILWAYS
Early rail networks were critical for transporting men, materiel, and even mounting artillery.

SECOND BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN
Inside the critical missions that made Eighth Army’s desert victory possible.

THE HITLER WHO FOUGHT FOR THE ALLIES
The story of an estranged nephew who turned his back on ‘Uncle Adolf’ to join the US Navy..

TIMELINE OF... MILITARY RAILWAYS

Rail transportation and artillery played an important part in military planning from the mid-19th century to the Cold War

3 mins

FIRST MILITARY RAILWAYS

Some of the earliest railway networks became critical to conflicts around the world, transporting men and materiel

3 mins

WWI ON RAILS

The outbreak of the Great War saw the rapid development of armoured trains - formidable weapons that played a pivotal role in the conflict

5 mins

HOSPITAL TRAINS

These long military medical trains were first developed in the 1850s and reached the zenith of their effectiveness during World War I

3 mins

WWII SUPER GUNS

In the second great global conflict, railways were mounted with some of the biggest artillery pieces the world had seen

2 mins

AN END TO THE BEGINNING - THE SECOND BATTLE OF EL ALAMEIN (23 OCTOBER - 11 NOVEMBER 1942)

Eighty years ago, the Allied 8th Army launched a decisive offensive against the Axis forces in North Africa. It saw the tipping point of a long struggle for dominance over the region and precipitated the Axis collapse in the Mediterranean

10+ mins

EYES ON THE SAND THE LONG RANGE DESERT GROUP AT EL ALAMEIN

Watching and reporting enemy movements, the LRDG served as Monty's eyes and ears in the build up to the decisive battle

8 mins

THE HITLER WHO FOUGHT FOR THE ALLIES

The estranged half-nephew of the Nazi leader, William Patrick Hitler led his own wartime crusade against his half-uncle across the ocean. William's story is one of family drama, FBI investigations and eventually the taking up of arms against the Axis

7 mins

Heroes of the Victoria Cross NEVILLE HOWSE

During a fighting retreat at Vredefort, in the Orange Free State, this medical officer rescued a severely wounded man and carried him to safety, despite fierce enemy fire

6 mins

HOW EDINBURGH CASTLE DEFIED THE JACOBITE REBELLION

During the rebellion of 1745, Jacobite forces took control of Edinburgh - but the city's iconic castle would not surrender

10+ mins

Read all stories from History of War

History of War Magazine Description:

Discover the politics, mechanics, strategies and machines of war.

From the conquering legions of Ancient Rome to the thunderous tank battles of World War II and beyond, History of War takes you deeper inside the minds of history’s fighting men, further under the bonnets of some of the world’s most devastating war machines, and higher above the battlefield to see the broad sweep of conflict as it happened.