The Military History Club

Welcome 

Founded in 2021 by historian and broadcaster Saul David – described by Simon Heffer in the Daily Telegraph as ‘peerless now among our military historians’ – the MHC is an exclusive club for lovers of military history with various tiers of membership to suit different levels of involvement.

The benefits include:

• Guest lectures and dinners with celebrated military historians and practitioners at a top London venue
• Invite to the founder’s book launches
• The opportunity to write articles for the MHC’s publication Militaria
• Monthly newsletter with book recommendations
• Ten classic military history titles in eBook format
• Monthly podcast interview with a leading military historian
• Monthly video discussion of ‘Great Battles in 10 Minutes’
• Subscription to Aspects of History magazine
• An invite to the MHC’s annual history tour

Location: The Caledonian Club, 9 Halkin Street, Belgravia, London, SW1X 7DR. Tel. 020 7333 8726.

The lectures take place in the Stuart Room, followed by dinner in the Selkirk Room. Dress code: lounge suit or tailored jacket and tie, and the equivalent dress for women.  The use of mobile phones in the Club is forbidden except in certain designated areas.

A limited number of bedrooms are available at the Caledonian Club – on a first come, first served basis – for those MHC members who would like to stay overnight. To book a room, please contact: Reception (recp2@caledonianclub.com).

Members have first access to the MHC Podcast, a monthly interview with a leading military historian. The first episode, released to members on 1 January 2022, features founder Saul David in discussion with Professor Richard Overy, one of the world’s leading authorities on the history of Nazi Germany and the Second World War. His many critically-acclaimed and prize-winning books include Russia’s War, The Dictators, The Bombing War and, most recently, Blood and Ruins. Other historians who will appear on the MHC Podcast in 2022 include Patrick Bishop, James Holland, Sir Hew Strachan and Richard B. Frank.

Members have exclusive access to a monthly video of club founder Saul David discussing a ‘Great Battle in Ten Minutes’. The battles covered in 2022 will include Isandlwana, The Charge of the Light Brigade, Teutoberger Wald, Bannockburn, Blenheim, Quebec, Waterloo, Custer’s Last Stand, the First Day on the Somme and Stalingrad.

Saul will analyse each battle by answering five key questions: When? Where? Why? What happened? What was the outcome?

Members have exclusive access to the MHC’s annual history tour. 

The Military History Club Battlefield Tour to Normandy – 13-17 July 2022 

Introduction:

The tour will visit the battle sites of the battle of Normandy. On 6 June 1944, the largest armada the world had ever seen appeared on the shores of northern France to open the “second front” and defeat the Wehrmacht. The fighting was hard and bloody for both sides, and it was not until August that the German defensive line could be broken.  Allied material superiority was facing a numerically weaker German force which, however, often showed a fanatical will to fight – and die. In contrast to most tours, which concentrate very much on the Allied experience of the campaign, we will be looking at “both sides of the hill” and analyse both the Allied and German armies, their strategies and operational plans, and we will see how these played out on the (tactical) ground for the GI, the Tommy, and the Landser in Normandy in the summer of 1944.

The tour will be led by Prof Matthias Strohn, Visiting Professor of Military Studies at the Humanities Research Institute at the University of Buckingham, and, as Senior Associate Fellow, Head of Historical Analysis at the British Army’s think tank, CHACR. Matthias holds a commission in the German Army and has, among other deployments, served on the defence attaché staffs at the German embassies in Paris, London and Madrid. He has led over 100 battlefield tours and staff rides. In a previous deployment at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he was responsible for Normandy Scholar, a joint academic-military exercise, which takes about 750 Army cadets to Normandy.

Day One:

Meet at Ashford International station, travel on Coach via Eurotunnel to Bayeux. Walking tour of Bayeux and introduction to the Normandy campaign  

Day Two:

The British Sector:

We explore the airborne attacks on Merville Battery and Pegasus Bridge. We then move on to Gold Beach to analyse the British landings and German counter-measures, and hear about the only VC won on D-Day. We finish the day at the new British D-Day memorial

Day Three:

The British Sector:

We visit the German radar station at Douvres, which held out against British attacks until 17 June. We explore the German battery at Longues sur Mer and the Mulberry harbour at Arromanches before moving inland and analysing the battles at Hill 122, the ‘Verdun of Normandy’. Visit the Bayeux Tapestry Museum

Day Four:

The American Sector:

Travel to Omaha beach where we learn about the difficult landings and “the beast of Omaha”. Visit the US cemetery before moving on to Pointe du Hoc to learn about the US Ranger attack on the formidable German defensive position. We visit the German military cemetery at La Cambe and finish the day at the Bayeux Battle of Normandy Museum

Day Five:

Return to England

Throughout the tour we will be staying in the Hotel Churchill in Bayeux (http://www.hotel-churchill.fr/en/). We considered booking a chateau hotel in the countryside. But the Churchill has the advantage of being situated in the centre of Bayeux, which makes it easy to explore the city on foot. All meals (including non-alcoholic drinks and one alcoholic drink per meal) and entrance fees are included in the tour price of £1,550 for single occupant, and £1,400pp for two sharing a room.

Praise for Saul David and Matthias Ströhn’s previous tours

Madrid and The Battlefields of the Spanish Civil War, 20-24 October 2021:

Jeremy Archer: ‘Rack my brain as I might, I cannot think of a single thing that I would have done differently. Our trip was a truly excellent balance between warfare, culture and rest and recuperation. Matthias, I really don’t know how you manage to remain completely unflustered, “keeping your head when all about you are losing theirs …” Thank you particularly for making, re-making and then re-re-making the arrangements under such challenging circumstances. I am already looking forward to Northern Italy next year.’

Jim Ferguson: ‘Thank you again for another excellent tour. Battlefield tours just would not be the same without your knowledge, perspective and unerring instinct for an excellent restaurant! Already looking forward to 2022.’

Jonathan Skan: ‘Seeing the places where actual events took place really brought everything to life and I shall always remember standing on the Republican start-line overlooking Brunetta and viewing the countryside where all-arms warfare was put into practice for the first time.  I can only imagine how many hours you had to spend organising our four days in Madrid, but I enjoyed it hugely and look forward to next year’s adventure.’

If you have a query about any aspect of the Military History Club, or would like help with the application form, please fill in your contact details and leave a message. Don’t forget to click the red ‘Submit’ button. Saul or one of his assistants will respond as soon as they can.