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. 

MHC Tour 2023: Airborne forces in North-West Europe 1940-44 

Introduction:

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. 

6 Sept:

0900 Meet at Ashford international Station and board coach

Eurotunnel to France

Visit Grave, discuss the “Garden” (i.e. ground operations) part of the overall plan and discuss the US contribution to the “Market” (airborne) element of the operation. Analyse how the US forces seized the bridge at Grave. 

Approx. 1800 arrive in Arnhem

Welcome drinks and dinner

7 Sept: The airborne landings

We discuss the landings of 1^st Airborne Div and the drop zones to the west of Arnhem. We analyse the German counter-measures, including the block line established by the SS and the German ambush which forced a recce force to withdraw. We visit the Arnhem Oorlogsmuseum. We follow Col Frost and his men to Arnhem bridge and analyse the fighting there and in other parts of the city, including the episode of Gen Urquhart going missing.

Lunch and dinner in Arhem

8 Sept:

We analyse the fighting in Oosterbeek, where the British HQ was located. We visit the Hartenstein museum (if you have not had enough of Matthias by this stage, make sure you use the German audio guide – he is the narrator!) and walk the airborne perimeter. We follow the evacuation route from the Hartenstein hotel to the river Rhine and visit Driel to discuss the Polish relief attempts. We finish the day with a visit to the CWGC cemetery.

Lunch and dinner in Arnhem

9 Sept:

We drive to Eben Emael in Belgium to analyse the 1940 German airborne attack on the strongest military fortress in Western Europe. We visit the bridges across the Albert Canal at Vroenhoven and Veldwezelt and learn about the German attacks there before visiting the fortress itself. After a guided tour of the fortress, we make our way to the top to discuss the German attack and explain how 82 German paratroopers could seize a massive fort with a garrison of 1,200 men in a few hours.

Lunch in Eben Emael, dinner in Arnhem

10 Sept.

0900 depart hotel

Arrival at Ashford International at approx. 1500

Throughout the tour, we will be staying in a four-star hotel in Arnhem. As usual, food and drinks with lunch and dinner are covered by your fees. Matthias is currently booking restaurants, but, as usual, we aim for good quality locations and food. For this trip, this includes, amongst others, the Restaurant Schoonord in Oosterbeek for lunch and the Moulin Loverix at Eben Emael.

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.