Three months after German forces captured Fort Douaumont in February 1916 (see issue 1 of Iron Cross) a calamity befell the occupiers, predominantly comprising troops from the Prussian Brandenburg reg

On a beautiful summer’s morning almost 110 years ago, men of the British Army stepped out into no-man’s land at 7.30am. It was 1 July 1916, and the start of what was then called ‘The Big Push’. With h

On 11 September 1940, during the late afternoon, between 20 and 30 Messerschmitt Bf 110C/Ds from I. Gruppe of Zerstörergeschwader (ZG) 26 were assigned to fly as part of the fighter cover protecting a

On a frosty New Year’s Day in 1944, a young soldier from Newcastle married the love of his life with barely four hours to spare. My father, Corporal George Bell, a conscript with the Royal Electrical

There are many myths and plenty of confusion about the Panther II tank. Because of its name, people wrongly believe that it was the natural successor of the Panzerkampfwagen (PzKpfw) V Panther Ausf G,

During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, German troops faced an unexpected threat. The French Army used hot-air balloons, or Montgolfiers, for the first time for reconnaissance and intelligence purp