Many centuries after his death, Charlemagne (c.742 814) has become a byword for modern notions of European harmony – lending his name to all manner of peaceful initiatives, and even to a prize awarded annually for ‘work done in the service of European unification’.
In reality, of course, his monumental achievement – in bringing together more than a million square kilometres of Western Europe and creating a Christian empire that would last a thousand years – came about largely not through peaceful means, but as a result of bold military leadership and the decisive use of force.
In our special feature for this issue, Stephen Roberts examines the life and career of this towering figure – an extraordinary commander who was a visionary man of culture, too – and reveals how a key victory over his Lombard rivals at the Siege of Pavia helped to establish the foundations of the Holy Roman Empire.
Elsewhere, to mark the 80th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials, Ben Goodlad explains how the 20th century’s most celebrated court case broke new ground in its approach to serving justice to 24 high ranking Nazis, and how it shaped modern attitudes to punishing war crimes.
Also in this issue: as Americans prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, Fred Chiaventone concludes his fascinating series on the Revolutionary War by tracing the conflict’s final stages; and Taylor Downing continues his survey of the early days of the Cold War by looking at the Berlin Airlift, the dramatic first major confrontation between the Soviets and the West.
And finally, 110 years on, David Porter analyses the brutal 1916 advance known as the Brusilov Offensive, and outlines how the huge cost in human life of Tsarist Russia’s greatest victory of World War I sowed the seeds of the coming revolution.