Latest film club is the Maya epic from Mel Gibson. With a cast of unknowns, it put the civilisation overshadowed by the Aztecs back on the map.

Boudicca, Cleopatra, Artemisia and Olympias are just a few if the many women of the ancient world that we know about, but it’s significant that we know about them from male writers. That gives a certain perspective, not necessarily inaccurate, but it can be.

On 20 November 1917, after a bombardment of the trenches near the town of Cambrai, German troops prepared for an attack by their British opponents. Out of the gloom emerged steel mechanised vehicles. The tank. Within minutes the Germans were overrun and the Mark IV tank had achieved its first stunning victory, a major milestone for this military innovation.

In March 1992 in Vilnius, Lithuania, an old man walked into the recently established British Embassy, holding a bag containing sausages. But those sausages were concealing documents liberated from the KGB archives in Moscow, and the old man was Vasili Mitrokhin, chief archivist of Russia’s secret police.

May’s Film club double bill is The Report, Scott Z. Burn’s movie on the Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation into the CIA’s torture program

In April 1945, during Operation Howard in enemy occupied territory, troops of the SAS were ambushed by German Panzerfausts. Several were pinned down and they suffered heavy losses. Along came Paddy Mayne who, in an act of suicidal bravery, drove along an open road to reach his men, all the while giving and taking fire.

Film Club for May is Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow’s controversial film of the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.

Early in the morning of 25th June 1950 the Korean People’s Army – the North Koreans – crossed the 38th parallel and the Korean War had begun.

On 15 March 1877 play began between England and Australia in Melbourne. So began an extraordinary tradition of the finest form of sport: the Test Match.

On 6th June 1944 the British 3rd Division landed on Sword Beach, Normandy, as they joined Canadian, American and other allied troops in the liberation of Europe. Progress was not easy for the British troops as they suffered heavy loss

In early May of 1941, in the deserts of Iraq that had seen the armies of Alexander battle Darius, a force of 9000 Arabs and Iraqis descended on the small British airfield of Habbinayah.

At 1830 hours on 4th May 1945, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery accepted the unconditional surrender of German forces in northwestern Europe from Admiral Hans Georg von Friedeberg.

On the afternoon of 6 March 1988 in Gibraltar on the southern tip of the Iberial peninsular, Mairead Farrell and two other Provisional IRA volunteers of were shot dead by members of the Special Air Service.

At the end of the Second World War Asian colonies were desperate for independence: India, Burma, Indochina, Malaya and the Dutch East Indies all boasted independence movements that now demanded autonomy.

On 8 June 1982 the Sir Galahad troop ship was about to offload the Welsh Guards at Bluff Cove in the Falkland Islands. As the guardsmen were waiting, an Argentine Skyhawk attacked and the Galahad was hit. 48 men were killed, and 97 wounded, among them Simon Weston.

This month’s movie is Downfall, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel and starring Bruno Ganz, the depiction of the last days of Adolf Hitler as we reach the 80th anniversary.

In August 1941 Army Group North of the Wehrmacht approached the suburbs of Leningrad, as St. Petersburg was called. Within days the city was surrounded, and would remain so for nearly two and a half years.

On 25th December 1941, General Alan Brooke was appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the commanding officer of the British Army during the Second World War. His new boss, Winston Spencer Churchill was a hard taskmaster with high standards who had no problem with sacking generals. But, he had a helping hand in the form of General Pug Ismay, soldier, statesman and diplomat.

Today’s guest is Helen Lederer, actress, comedian, writer and the author of Not That I’m Bitter, her life’s memoir which includes the 1980s comedy scene, and her family story during the Second World War

On 17 March 1821 the Greek Revolution began in the small town of Areopoli, part of the Mani Peninsula in the Peloponnese.

Welcome to Aspects of History’s film club. Every month we pick a historical film and chat about it with myself, filmmaker Tim Hewitt and historian Roger Moorhouse. This month it’s Cross of Iron starring James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason and David Warner. We chat about the movie then it’s our awards including the much coveted Simon Baker award for best performance. Links Cross of Iron on Wikipedia Cross of Iron on IMDB Ollie on X Tim on X Roger on X Latest Issue out - Annual Subscription to Aspects of History Magazine only $9.99/£9.99 Aspects of History on Instagram Get in touch: history@aspectsofhistory.com

During March we’ve had Women’s History Month, and in that vein I invited two Aspects of History authors on to discuss.

In around 108AD, the Legio IX Hispania, or the Ninth Legion, a unit of just over 5,000 men, was last recorded at York in Britannia, and possibly heading north towards Caledonia, modern day Scotland.

On the morning of 24th March 1945 the British and Canadian 6th Airborne Division and the American 17th Airborne Division began parachuting into German held territory on the eastern side of the River Rhine.

As the Vietnam War progressed, discipline among US troops began to deteriorate, to the stage where incidents of ‘fragging’ – the practice of killing officers and NCOs with grenades – became more widespread, as did the shooting of officers when out on patrol or during contact.