Military History
Understanding how the military instrument of power has been used is a core part of RUSI’s mission and legacy with profound lessons and implications for today’s decisions and tomorrow’s policies.
A core part of RUSI’s work and mission is its appreciation and acknowledgement of military history as an integral element of our values, the Institute’s own history, and our legacy. In establishing RUSI, the founders explicitly accepted and acknowledged how an understanding and analysis of military history was essential in shaping contemporary policy and decision-making. This is as true today, as it was in 1831.
This topic page draws together journal articles, commentary and seminars on warfare and the armed forces from a historical perspective. We also showcase resources from the RUSI Library of Military History and recent winners of the Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History and Trench Gascoigne Essay Prize. The themes, subjects and spread of analysis that we cover under the umbrella of military history is unavoidably and unapologetically wide.
Our experts
Professor Justin Bronk
Senior Research Fellow, Airpower & Technology
Military Sciences
Dr Sarah Ashbridge
Affiliate Expert
Dr Jack Watling
Senior Research Fellow, Land Warfare
Military Sciences
Fellows
Ali Ansari
Senior Associate Fellow; Professor of Iranian History and Director of the Institute for Iranian Studies, University of St Andrews
Gill Bennett OBE
Senior Associate Fellow; Former Chief Historian, Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Richard Bennett
Associate Fellow - Expert in utilising archaeology and heritage to promote wellbeing
Michael Codner
Senior Associate Fellow for Military History
Beatrice Heuser
Senior Associate Fellow
Professor Valur Ingimundarson
Senior Associate Fellow; Professor of Contemporary History, University of Iceland
Professor David Kirkpatrick
Senior Associate Fellow
Dr Sarah Lockyer
Senior Associate Fellow; Casualty Identification Coordinator for Canada’s Department of National Defence
Major General Mungo Melvin CB OBE MA
Senior Associate Fellow
Professor Alessio Patalano
Senior Associate Fellow; Professor of War and Strategy in East Asia, War Studies, KCL
Professor Peter Roberts
Senior Associate Fellow
Events
A military history-themed event is hosted every month
RUSI Library
The RUSI Library of Military History includes monographs, maps, journals, magazines and more. The collection forms a unique repository of books on military history with a strong emphasis on nineteenth and twentieth century works.
The RUSI Library of Military History is home to over 30,000 volumes. You can search what is available using this online catalogue.
Awards and prizes
Celebrating excellence in the writing of military history
This Medal is awarded on an annual basis to the best English language writing on military history.
