One hundred and sixty years ago this summer, the largest battle ever fought on US soil proved to be the turning point of the American Civil War. Following his recent, stunning victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville, in Virginia, General Robert E Lee had by 1 July 1863 moved his Confederate army more than 120 miles north to the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania \u2013 taking the conflict towards the population centres of the Union.<\/p>\n
What happened next \u2013 as Lee\u2019s forces collided over three days with the Federal Army of the Potomac \u2013 would not only change the course of US history, but also give rise to any number of spurious myths and legends about what really took place.<\/p>\n
In our cover story for this issue, the American historian Fred Chiaventone addresses some of the more common misunderstandings about this crucial engagement.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, in our latest two -part special, Graham Goodlad analyses the career of Andrew Browne Cunningham, the WWII commander-in-chief of Britain\u2019s Mediterranean Fleet \u2013 known to his peers as \u2018A BC\u2019, and believed by many to be the country\u2019s most gifted admiral since Nelson.<\/p>\n
In this issue too, David Porter reveals how the roots of the war in Ukraine are deeply entwined with the nation\u2019s turbulent history; and Tim Newark goes in search of the real V lad Dracula, a 15th- century warlord just as terrifying as any fiction.<\/p>\n
Finally, to mark the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of The World at War, Taylor Downing celebrates the enduring popularity of the most comprehensive television series ever made about the Second World War.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In this issue: <\/strong><\/p>\n – Cunningham and Cape Matapan: taking on Mussolini\u2019s battle fleet
\n– Gettysburg: the five key myths about America\u2019s greatest battle
\n– Battlefield Ukraine: lessons from history
\n– The real Vlad Dracula: in search of a terrifying 15th-century warlord
\n– The World at War: fifty years of a television classic<\/p>\n