Explore artefacts and sources on the causes and treatment of injuries and illnesses on the Western Front during the First World War, and assess the impact of these innovations.
On 9 July 1915, enemy forces in German South-West Africa (now Namibia) surrendered to the Allies. This marked the final stage of a short but successful campaign of manoeuvre fought in extremely harsh conditions.
In 1918, the British assembled a handpicked unit to carry out a daring secret mission to the Caucasus. Their aim was to unify into an effective force the various anti-Bolshevik and anti-Turkish groups fighting there.
In 1845-46, the British fought a war against the Sikh Empire in the Punjab. After several bitterly fought battles, the conflict ended with the British taking partial control of the Sikh territories.
The German Spring Offensive saw mobile warfare return to the Western Front. Despite early gains, the Germans exhausted themselves, setting the stage for a successful Allied counter-offensive.
In May 1918, Lance-Corporal Talbot Mohan and his comrades were resting in a quiet sector of the Western Front when the Germans launched the third phase of their Spring Offensive. Mohan's unpublished war diary offers a unique eyewitness account of the chaos of the subsequent Allied retreat.
In August 1914, the British Expeditionary Force was sent to France. While relatively small, it would play a role out of all proportion to its size. But the cost was huge, and by December 1914 it had almost been wiped out.
On 15 August 1945, the British government broadcast news of Japan’s unconditional surrender. This date was declared Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day) and people from all walks of life celebrated the official end of the Second World War.
Fought between 1642 and 1651, these wars were primarily disputes between Crown and Parliament about how the British Isles should be governed. But they also had religious and social dimensions, and witnessed the creation of the first national standing army.
In the summer of 1945, the Second World War came to an end. After Victory in Europe was declared in May, the final surrender of Japan was secured by mid-August. But the British Army’s work was far from over.
During the Second World War, Abram Games produced a series of posters for the Army Bureau of Current Affairs. These aimed to remind soldiers what they were fighting for, while also offering a glimpse of the post-war society to which they could aspire.
