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Britain At War Magazine

Britain At War Magazine - The UK’s best selling military history title

As the UK’s best-selling military history title, Britain at War Magazine is dedicated to exploring every aspect of the involvement of Britain and her Commonwealth in conflicts from the turn of the 20th century through to the present day. Edited by John Ash and Tom Baker, and with at least 116 pages in every issue, Britain at War prides itself on well-researched and eye-catching designed historical

content, aiming to provide new and fresh perspectives on Britain’s wars. Subscribe here:
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10/07/2025

In Focus: On December 18, 1941, a small force of RAF bombers ranged out to bomb the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. The pair were in dry dock in Brest, France (left side of image) while the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen was also in port (right). The raid involved six Halifax bombers from No.35 Squadron, two of which are seen here. Another 11 bombers from No. 10 and No. 76 Squadron participated in the daylight raid. The force struck from 16,000ft, enduring heavy flak while a smokescreen obscured the targets.

Brest was well within the range of British bombers, with dozens of raids targeting its facilities and moored warships. Despite the port being one of the most heavily defended locations in occupied Europe, consistent damage dealt by air raids, while not fatal to the ships, formed part of the thinking to return the three to Germany via the Channel Dash.

Credit: IWM (C 4109)

03/07/2025

In Focus: On December 27, 1941, as part of Operation Archery, British Commandos watch from a quay on the island of Vågsøy, Norway, as a German-occupied fish-oil production plant burns before them. The raid was the first ‘true’ tri-service amphibious operation in World War Two, combining naval gunfire from HMS Kenya and accompanying destroyers, RAF fighter support, and amphibious commando landings.

Over 570 troops were split into five assault parties to secure Måløy and its island. They were tasked with silencing coastal batteries and destroying strategic installations, including fish-oil factories crucial to German nitro-glycerine production. Fierce German resistance followed, with Gebirgsjäger veterans from the Eastern Front engaging in brutal house to house combat.

By early afternoon, the Commandos withdrew, having destroyed four factories, stockpiles of fish oil, fuel, ammunition, a telephone exchange, and ten vessels.

Credit: IWM (N 459)

01/07/2025

They thrilled crowds in Australia, South Africa and Argentina; giants of the rugby pitch selected to wear the British & Irish Lions jersey. Yet, when the world was plunged into war, these sporting heroes answered a different call, and many never returned home.

In the July issue of BAW, as the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia kicks off, John Ash follows the Lions who fought in the Second Boer War and both World Wars, at least 14 of whom never returned. Some were already soldiers, like try-scoring forward Frank Stout, while others, such as Sidney Crowther, were among the first to volunteer. Others, meanwhile, are well known today – SAS legend Paddy Mayne among them, who survived World War Two.

Two Lions would earn the Victoria Cross, the most prestigious of the many decorations awarded to them. However, as we reveal, the total number of Lions killed in the World Wars may be considerably greater.

Get your copy of the July 2025 issue today at newsagents, supermarkets, WHSmiths or direct from the Key Publishing Shop at a reduced price and with FREE postage! https://bit.ly/4l54932?utm_source=Facebook

Image: The Lions team before the 4th test match against Argentina in August 1927. Among that tour’s squad were servicemen Lion #207 Robert Kinnear and Lion #230 Sir Carl Aarvold Credit: Unknown Photographer

26/06/2025

NEW ISSUE OUT NOW! The latest issue of Britain At War is on sale now!

Featuring:
✔️THE PATHFINDERS’ MASTER BOMBER
How the RAF’s forgotten ‘flying tramp’ came to be in a class of his own

✔️FALLEN LIONS
The elite rugby players who gave their all on the pitch and the battlefield

✔️CHIEFTAIN’S BREW
The add-on armour that could have stopped the Red Army

✔️DOUBLE WHAMMY
The day HMS Javelin ate two torpedoes and asked for more

✔️FROM SCRAP BAIT TO GLOBAL ASSET
How Britain’s disposable giants became the world’s aircraft carriers of choice

✔️THE LIFE (AND MYSTERIOUS DEATH) OF CANADA’S FIRST VC RECIPIENT

Get your copy of the July 2025 issue today at newsagents, supermarkets, WHSmiths or direct from the Key Publishing Shop at a reduced price and with FREE postage! https://bit.ly/4l54932?utm_source=Facebook

24/06/2025

20,000 people arrived at Stage Fort Hill Park, Gloucester, MA, at the weekend to watch the British land and on Half-Moon Beach and then move inland to attack (and eventually capture) a faithfully recreated Bunker Hill redoubt to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the battle.

More than 1,000 reactors from 100 groups participated in the two-day mock battle, making the event the largest reanctment of its kind in New England history. Gloucester schooners stood in for British warships and the city itself become historic Charlestown for the weekend, as US National Park Service regulations do not allow such events to take place on the historic site of the battle, some 35 miles away.

Nevertheless, it looks like quite the spectacle. It’s well worth checking out some of the videos posted by the organisers.

20/06/2025

In Focus: Brigadier-General John Vaughan Campbell VC addresses men of the 137th Infantry Brigade, 46th (North Midland) Division from the Riqueval Bridge over the St. Quentin Canal on September 29, 1918. Earlier that day, Campbell’s men had forced a crossing of the canal – part of the formidable Hindenburg Line – in an assault generally recognised as one of the finest British feats of arms in World War One.

The attack had relied on an “all arms” combination of air support, long-range heavy artillery fire, creeping artillery barrages, standing machine gun barrages and the extraordinary courage of the Brigade’s foot soldiers.

Image Credit: Imperial War Museum (Q 9535)

17/06/2025

Sneak peek: In the early 2000s, Canadian peacekeepers on patrol in Eritrea were approached by local children shouting a single word – “Canada”. Cautiously following them, the soldiers found a weathered headstone in an overgrown cemetery. It bore a curious inscription: A R DUNN VC. COL. Baffled, they contacted Ottawa. A week later, the reply stunned them: they had rediscovered the lost resting place of Alexander Roberts Dunn, hero of the Charge of the Light Brigade, and the first Canadian to receive the Victoria Cross.

How this Crimean War hero met his end in such a remote location remains one of the era’s enduring mysteries. Official reports claimed a tragic accident, but whispers of su***de or of something more sinister have persisted for more than a century.

In BAW's upcoming July issue, Alex Zakrzewski pieces together Dunn’s life, career, and untimely end, tracing his path from Balaclava to a forgotten hillside in Eritrea, and asks whether the truth about Canada’s first VC recipient has ever really come to light.
Once you’ve read the article, let us know your thoughts. Was Dunn’s death a tragic accident? Or was there something more sinister going on...

BAW Issue 219 (July 2025) hits shelves on Thursday, June 26, 2025.

For now, the June issue is still on sale! Get your copy today at newsagents, supermarkets, WHSmiths or direct from the Key Publishing Shop at a reduced price and with FREE postage! https://shop.keypublishing.com/collections/britain-at-war/products/britain-at-war-june-2025?utm_source=Facebook

Image Credits: The Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News/NAM

09/06/2025

Vessels of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships leave Ramsgate Harbour on May 21, 2025, destined for the French coast. The 66 small craft, which took part in the 1940 evacuation of Allied troops from the continent, received an es**rt from patrol boats of the Royal Navy Coastal Forces Squadron. The small craft remained in Dunkirk until the end of the commemorations on Monday, May 26, after which they returned to Ramsgate.

Credit: LPhot Edward Jones/MOD Crown Copyright

06/06/2025

Today, June 6, 2025, we mark 81 years since the D-Day Landings.

From 0630, H-Hour, almost 156,000 Allied soldiers and airborne troops, supported by a vast armada of some 7,000 ships and 12,000 aircraft, waded ashore on the beaches of Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword and at drop zones over Normandy. We remember their bravery, efforts, and sacrifice.

Photo: Sappers of 84 Field Company, Royal Engineers at Queen Red area, Sword Beach, circa 0845 hrs, June 6, 1944. Credit: IWM

03/06/2025

ICYMI: We all know the poster – the piercing eyes, the pointed finger, and the call to arms: “Your Country Needs You”. But, how well do we really know the man behind one of history’s most iconic images?

In Britain at War's June issue, Dr Graham Goodlad marks the 175th anniversary of Lord Horatio Kitchener’s birth by examining the life and legacy of the Empire’s go-to troubleshooter. From campaigns in the Sudan to his leading role as War Secretary, Kitchener’s career was defined by strategic brilliance and no small measure of ruthlessness – qualities that earned him both admiration and criticism. Yet, despite the complexities of his legacy, Kitchener’s likeness remains a powerful and instantly recognisable symbol, so much so that the imperial strongman ranks 14th on a list of the most famous faces in history – higher even than Elvis, President Obama or Martin Luther King Jr.

But does the legend of Kitchener match the reality? Share your thoughts below: Was Kitchener a national hero, or does he represent something far more complicated?

Get your copy of BAW Issue 218 (June 2025) today at newsagents, supermarkets, WHSmiths or direct from the Key Publishing Shop at a reduced price and with FREE postage! https://shop.keypublishing.com/.../britain-at-war-june?utm_source=Facebook...

Image Credit: Official Photograph

29/05/2025

NEW ISSUE OUT NOW! The latest issue of Britain At War is on sale now!

Featuring:
✔️THE MAN BEHIND THE POSTER
Lord Kitchener of Khartoum’s rise from imperial strongman to cabinet war secretary

✔️WAR WALK
Touring the Waterloo battlefield

✔️MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION
Is Britain’s Boxer IFV fit for the future?

✔️WHAT? WHEN? WHY?
The allied invasion of Iran

✔️GERMAN GIANT
What did Britain make of Adler’s super-heavy E-100 tank?

✔️WINGED WONDERS
The British aviation craze and the early pioneers of the Royal Flying Corps

✔️MIRACLE SHOT
Did Brit sharpshooter scupper a German airborne raid?

Get your copy of the June 2025 issue today at newsagents, supermarkets, WHSmiths or direct from the Key Publishing Shop at a reduced price and with FREE postage! https://shop.keypublishing.com/products/britain-at-war-june-2025?utm_source=Facebook

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Published monthly, Britain at War prides itself on well-researched and eye-catchingly designed historical content, aiming to provide new and fresh perspectives on Britain’s wars. Subscribe here: https://shop.keypublishing.com/subscription/view/publication/BAW Purchase or subscribe to your digital issues here: https://pocketmags.com/britain-at-war-magazine Purchase back issues here: https://shop.keypublishing.com/issue/list/publication/BAW Check out our range of special bookazines here: https://shop.keypublishing.com/department/productList/department/SPEC STORE FINDER: To find a stockist near you: http://www.britainatwar.com