Capturing the immediacy of fighting and the writhing bodies of soldiers, as well as keeping narrative clarity, proved enormously difficult for painters depicting battles before the advent of photography. Michael Hall reveals how they rose to the challenge

ORTONA, ITALY 20-27 DECEMBER 1943

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In 1945, the Allies were ready with a daring amphibious operation to liberate Jersey and Guernsey by force

The summer of 1791 was an exceptionally busy period, even by Mozart’s habitually hardworking standards. He was, to begin with, composing a new opera, Die Zauberflöte (‘The Magic Flute’). Then, in June

The jungle warfare in the Far East was both a tactical and political challenge for British forces in WWII