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

Our pick of the latest military history books

Over a long career, John Hardman has specialised to great effect in teasing out, from speeches, decrees, minutes, memoranda, letters, diaries and unsent drafts, the varied moods of French political de

ORTONA, ITALY 20-27 DECEMBER 1943

Uncover the all-conquering Hun king whose nomadic horde terrorised Rome

He knew the layout of the nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, the source of the water that cools its reactors, and the high-voltage cables that move its electricity. He knew where a shell had rec