When the First World War broke out in 1914, Germany had a massive problem. The alliance between France and Russia left them totally surrounded, with only Austria Hungary on their side. Outnumbered, Germany's chances in a long war were slim.French and British forces counterattacked at the Battle of the Marne and forced the Germans back. Leaving their plan …

The invasion of northern France in 1944 was the most significant victory of the Western Allies in the Second World War. American, British and Canadian forces established a foothold on the shores of Normandy, and, after a protracted and costly campaign to reinforce their gains, broke out into the French interior and began a headlong advance.

As the Allies advanced across Europe at the end of the Second World War, they came across concentration camps filled with sick and starving prisoners. The first major camp to be liberated was Majdanek near Lublin, Poland in July 1944.

During the First World War, millions of soldiers saw the poppies in Flanders fields on the Western Front. Over 100 years later, the poppy is still a world-recognised symbol of remembrance of the First World War, and millions of people choose to wear a red poppy in November. But when did this tradition start? Find out in our film.

During the First World War, on 24 April, 1916, Irish republicans seized notable buildings in Dublin and proclaimed an Irish Republic in what became known as the Easter Rising.The British Army clashed with rebels in the streets of Dublin and buildings in the city centre, including the General Post Office, were all but destroyed by British artillery.

Three days later, just after 11 on the morning of 9th August, a second atomic bomb nicknamed `Fat Man’ exploded above the city of Nagasaki. Although it was even more powerful than `Little Boy’, the destruction caused by this bomb was less than at Hiroshima due to the nature of the terrain (the original target had been the city of Kokura, but the B29 carrying the bomb had …

RMS Lusitania was a British passenger liner that was sunk off the coast of Ireland on 7 May 1915 by the German U-boat U-20. RMS Lusitania sank in just 18 minutes. Of the 1,960 passengers on board, just under 1,200 people lost their lives. IWM Curator Ben Dickens explores what happened to RMS Lusitania and Germany's policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.

The Supermarine Spitfire is one of the most iconic aircraft of all time. Between 1932 and 1947 over 20,000 of them were built and in those 7 years, Spitfire's changed dramatically from the Mk 1 to the Mk 24. Graham Rodgers looks at how the Spitfire evolved by taking us through just a few of Duxford's collections.

The Third Battle of Ypres - also known as Passchendaele - has shaped perceptions of the First World War on the Western Front.Fought between July and November 1917, both sides suffered heavy casualties and endured appalling conditions.

The Gallipoli campaign (25 April 1915 - 9 January 1916) was the land-based element of a strategy intended to allow Allied ships to pass through the Dardanelles, capture Constantinople (now Istanbul) and ultimately knock Ottoman Turkey out of the war.But Allied plans were based on the mistaken belief that the Ottomans could be easily overcome.