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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD: Martin Brown Archaeological Advisor, Defence Estates, Ministry of Defence Mark Corby Military historian, lecturer, and broadcaster Paul Cornish Curator, Imperial War Museum Gary Gibbs Assistant Curator, The Guards Museum Angus Hay Former Army Offi cer, military historian, and lecturer Nick Hewitt Historian, National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth Nigel Jones Historian, biographer, and journalist Alastair Massie Former Head of Archives, Photos, Film, and Sound, National Army Museum Gabriel Moshenska Research Fellow, Institute of Archaeology, UCL Colin Pomeroy Squadron Leader, Royal Air Force (ret ’d), and historian Michael Prestwich Emeritus Professor of History, University of Durham Nicholas Saunders Anthropologist, University of Bristol Guy Taylor Military archivist and archaeologist Julian Thompson Major-General, Visiting Professor at London University Dominic Tweddle Director-General, National Museum of the Royal Navy Greg Bayne American Civil War Round Table UK

The event that brought France’s most successful and charismatic general to a position of supreme power took place 225 years ago this November. Often described as the ‘end of the French Revolution’, the militar y coup known as 18 Brumaire also marked the beginning of Napoleon’s despotic reign, which at it s height saw him ruling directly or indirectly over 40% of the population of Europe.

In our special feature to introduce a new series tracing Napoleon’s rise and fall, Graham Goodlad reveals f irst how the son of an impoverished Corsican nobleman transformed himself to become his countr y’s undisputed leader, and then looks in more detail at Lodi and Arcola – two early clashes that cemented his reputation as a commander of genius.

Elsewhere, Tim Newark travels further back in t ime to examine how the v ictor y of the Roman general Flav ius Aetius over the notorious Attila the Hun decided the fate of the 5th- centur y Roman Empire.

Also in this issue, Stephen Roberts uncovers the forgotten stor y of the ‘native lev ies’ who ser ved alongside British forces during the British colonial era, while David Porter analyses the part played by armoured vehicles in some of the most critical engagements of WWII in Asia and the Pacif ic.

Finally, in the last part of our series marking another anniversar y of signif icance, the 150th birthday of Winston Churchill, Taylor Downing examines the wartime PM’s relationship with some of the maverick scientists who helped the Allies achieve ultimate v ictor y in the Second World War.

We hope you enjoy the issue!

LAURENCE EARLE

MILITARYIssue 142 • October/November 202 4

FLASHMANScoundrel or hero?

M H M

New series

NAPOLEON AT WAR NAPOLEON AT WAR

The rise of a military colossus

WINSTON

AT 150

Churchill and the

code-breakers

THE LAST ROMAN

Flavius Aetius versus Attila the Hun Flavius Aetius v Flavius Aetius v Flavius Aetius v Flavius Aetius v THE LAST ROMAN

Flavius Aetius versus Attila the Hun

October/November 2024 • £5.95

ON THE COVER: Napoleon at the Battle of Arcola, 15-17 November 1796. Credit: Bridgeman Images

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CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE’S EXPERTS

GRAHAM GOODLAD has taught history and politics for more than 30 years. Educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, he

is a freelance writer and a frequent contributor to MHM.

TIM NEWARK is the author of Medieval Warlords and numerous other military history titles.

He was editor of MilitaryIllustrated magazine for 17 years.

STEPHEN ROBERTS is a former history teacher and historian, who has written several times for MHM, including

cover stories on Edward III and the Siege of Leningrad.

TAYLOR DOWNING is a historian and a bestselling author, as well as being MHM’s film critic. His latest book is

The Army that Never Was: D-Day and the Great Deception.

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