1642 - 1651: The Complete Story Of The English Civil War

In October 1642, the forces of King Charles I descended on Edgehill to fight the parliamentarian army of the Earl of Essex. This battle brought a shattering end to more than 130 years of peace.

The English Civil Wars comprised three wars, which were fought between Charles I and Parliament between 1642 and 1651. The wars were part of a wider conflict involving Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The human cost of the wars was devastating.

The Battle of Marston Moor on July 2nd, 1644 was one of the most important of the entire English Civil War. It was here that a force of some 27,000 Parliamentarian and Scottish troops routed an army of just 18,000 Royalists. Crucially, the Royalist stronghold of York was lost and King Charles' cause in the north virtually collapsed. It was a defeat from which the King would never recover.

From camouflage and covert reconnaissance to stealth bombers and radar-defying aircraft, this episode explores the technology that transformed modern warfare. Discover how militaries learned to hide from the enemy—and the cutting-edge systems developed to detect them.

In late 1643, the fate of the English Civil War hung in the balance. With King Charles I on the defensive, both the Royalists (Cavaliers) and Parliamentarians (Roundheads) scrambled for foreign allies to deliver a decisive blow. While Charles sought recruits in Catholic Ireland, Parliament struck a game-changing alliance: The Solemn League and Covenant with Scotland. In January 1644, Alexander Leslie, Earl of Leven, led an army of 20,000 Scottish Covenanters across the border. What followed was a brutal northern campaign that culminated on July 2, 1644, at the Battle of Marston Moor - the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil. Watch this documentary to explore how religious division, political brinkmanship, Oliver Cromwell's Ironsides, and the desperate march of Prince Rupert collided to crush the Royalist hold on the North and set King Charles I on the path to inevitable defeat. 💚 Join the Absolute History club to get access to exclusive member benefits! 📺 You can now become a History Hit member right here on the original video platform! Join for access to a new exclusive

Discover unpublished and rarely seen photographs from the Battle of Berlin in 1945, brought together in an exclusive collection for history enthusiasts. More than 200 historical photographs take you through the final days of the Third Reich and reveal scenes rarely shown in documentaries. During World War II, the armed forces of Nazi Germany developed an extensive hierarchical structure designed to organize millions of men distributed among different branches and units. The Wehrmacht was mainly composed of the Heer (the army), the Kriegsmarine, and the Luftwaffe, each with its own ranks and particularities. In parallel, there were organizations such as the SS and, within it, the Waffen-SS, which featured a different hierarchy. Understanding these ranks allows an understanding of who gave the orders, who led the units, and how the massive military machine of the Third Reich operated. ​In the Heer, the structure began with private soldiers and lower ranks, such as Schütze and Gefreiter, and continued with different categories of non-commissioned officers, including Unteroffizier, Feldwebel, and Oberfeldwebel. These men formed a fundamental piece in the daily operation of units