It was the biggest invasion in history: Operation Barbarossa \u2013 Hitler\u2019s blitzkrieg attack in June 1941, designed to overrun Russia before the winter. We know the outcome. We know this proved a fatal decision. We know that war against the Soviet Union, with its vast distances and massive reserves of manpower and industrial capacity, sealed the fate of Nazi Germany.<\/p>\n
But Barbarossa came close to success, thanks to the gaping self-inflicted wound of the Stalinist terror. Military historian David Porter marks the 80th anniversary of Hitler\u2019s invasion of European Russia with an in-depth analysis in our special this time.<\/p>\n
Also this issue, we look back before the 20th century. Medieval specialist Steve Tibble challenges stereotypical views of the Crusaders \u2013 as crude feudal brawlers \u2013 to argue there was clear strategic thinking in the 200-year struggle against the odds to defend the Crusader states.<\/p>\n
Fred Chiaventone returns with a critical assessment of a famous British disaster in the American wilderness \u2013\u00a0Braddock\u2019s defeat at Monongahela in 1755\u00a0\u2013 while Patrick Mercer takes a look at\u00a0the last French invasion of Britain\u00a0(in 1797). And John Lock opens a new series on \u2018the butterfly effect\u2019 with an assessment of the military impact of the accidental shooting of \u2018Stonewall\u2019 Jackson\u00a0at Chancellorsville in May 1863.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In this issue:<\/strong><\/p>\n – Nazi strike: Barbarossa, the biggest invasion in history
\n– Disaster in the wilderness: Braddock at Monongahela, 1755
\n– The Butterfly Effect at war: how small events have big consequences
\n– Crusader strategy: a contradiction in terms?
\n– The last French invasion of Britain: Fishguard, February 1797
\nPlus: War Classics, Behind the Image, War Culture, Book Reviews, Museum Review, War on Film, Back to the Drawing Board, Listings, and more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2926,"template":"","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"","site-sidebar-style":"","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[60],"product_tag":[29],"class_list":{"0":"post-1857","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-back-issue-military-history-matters","7":"product_tag-military-history-matters","8":"product_shipping_class-back-issue","9":"desktop-align-center","10":"tablet-align-center","11":"mobile-align-center","12":"ast-product-gallery-layout-first-image-large","13":"ast-product-gallery-with-no-image","14":"ast-magnify-disabled","15":"ast-product-tabs-layout-distributed","17":"first","18":"instock","19":"taxable","20":"shipping-taxable","21":"purchasable","22":"product-type-simple"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/MHM122_cover_x1000.jpg",1000,1305,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/MHM122_cover_x1000-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/MHM122_cover_x1000-230x300.jpg",230,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/MHM122_cover_x1000-768x1002.jpg",768,1002,true],"large":["https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/MHM122_cover_x1000-785x1024.jpg",785,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/MHM122_cover_x1000.jpg",1000,1305,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/MHM122_cover_x1000.jpg",1000,1305,false],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/MHM122_cover_x1000-300x400.jpg",300,400,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/MHM122_cover_x1000-600x783.jpg",600,783,true],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-content\/uploads\/MHM122_cover_x1000-100x100.jpg",100,100,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/author\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"In this issue: - Nazi strike: Barbarossa, the biggest invasion in history - Disaster in the wilderness: Braddock at Monongahela, 1755 - The Butterfly Effect at war: how small events have big consequences - Crusader strategy: a contradiction in terms? - The last French invasion of Britain: Fishguard, February 1797 Plus: War Classics, Behind the…","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/1857","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=1857"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=1857"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/currentpublishing.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=1857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}