Why History and why Illustration?
The Prussian Guard at Ypres, 11th November 1914
On the morning of 11th Nov 1914, German forces launched a final attempt to capture Ypres and the Channel ports. After a two hour artillery bombardment, thousands of troops came out of the mist and attacked a thin Allied line stretching from Polygon Wood to Messines. During the attack, four regiments from the elite Prussian…
129th Baluchis at Hollebeke, 31st October 1914
In October 1914, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was bolstered by reinforcements from the Indian Corps. These included the 129th Duke of Connaught’s Own Baluchis – part of the Ferozepore Brigade of the Lahore Division – which was quickly deployed around Ypres in western Flanders. The town became the centre of a major German attempt…
Ambush at Mtsensk, 6th October 1941
Four days into the main phase of Operation Typhoon – the German offensive to capture Moscow – Kampfgruppe Eberbach moved up the Orel-Tula highway. With the Lisiza River bridge quickly captured, Eberbach sent across five tank companies and a battalion of motorcycle infantry to secure a nearby ridge. The crossing site would be held by…
Arrival at Marathon, September 490 BC
After suppressing the Ionian Revolt in Anatolia, the Persian King Darius sent an invasion force to punish the Greek states of Athens and Eretria for supporting the rebels and for burning down the administrative capital at Sardis. In early-September 490 BC, the Persian fleet of 600 ships arrived in the Bay of Marathon near Athens,…
Casteau, 22nd August 1914
Soon after the arrival of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in Belgium, C Squadron 4th Dragoon Guards was tasked with scouting north of Mons in order to make contact with the advancing Germans. At around 06.00 hrs on 22nd August, the squadron moved northeast along the Mons-Brussels road. While watering their horses, the dragoons spotted…
Parker’s Battery at San Juan Hill, 1st July 1898
By 1898, support for Cuban independence from Spanish rule ran high in the United States, fuelled by extensive press coverage. After an explosion sank the USS Maine in Havana harbour, war was declared and an expeditionary force of over 16,000 US regulars and volunteers set out from Florida to Santiago – the second largest city…
Guderian’s meeting, Barbarossa, June 1941
Colonel-General Heinz Guderian, commander of the Second Panzer Group, meets with senior officers during the invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa). He is shown here wearing the regulation general’s greatcoat, with gold and silver braid shoulder straps identifying his rank. In the background can be seen a Horch Kfz. 21 staff car marked with…
Air assault on Maleme, 20th May 1941
As part of the German invasion of Crete (Operation Merkur), two waves of airborne troops would land around Hania and Maleme on the morning of 20th May, followed by drops at Heraklion and Rethymnon in the afternoon. Landing in the first wave, the Luftlande-Sturmregiment was tasked with capturing the airfield at Maleme – a target…
Night attack on Tobruk, 30th April 1941
On the night of 30th April 1941, Axis forces launched their second major assault on the port of Tobruk. If it fell, Lt General Erwin Rommel would gain a vital forward base for his advance towards Egypt. With heavy artillery support, German troops and elements of the Italian Trento Division moved forward against the southwest…
Siege artillery at Constantinople, 1453
With the Byzantine empire in decline and growing Italian influence in the Aegean and Black Seas, the young Ottoman sultan Mehmed II besieged Constantinople in order to secure his position and prevent the city from falling into rival hands. From 6th April 1453 the Byzantine capital faced constant land and sea attacks before the defences…
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Empire of History 