The Lens of History on Substack. I cover military history on Substack. Find book reviews, manoeuvre warfare and more.

Joined October 2015
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My latest book review is @jamesmscott3 Empire of Ashes: Truman, Hirohito, and the descent into Total War open.substack.com/pub/thelen…
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Luke Herbert retweeted
I'm really sorry to the people who are sick of seeing me post about Stargate. But I'm not stopping. I love Stargate and I refuse to see it be turned into another garbage franchise without a fight. #savestargate
I see people posting they sick of seeing #savestargate trending on here, complaing the show is canceled it get over it Funny thing, they said the same thing about #justiceleague & the studio heard us & gave us the true @ZackSnyder vision of the movie never give up, never quit
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Luke Herbert retweeted
I see people posting they sick of seeing #savestargate trending on here, complaing the show is canceled it get over it Funny thing, they said the same thing about #justiceleague & the studio heard us & gave us the true @ZackSnyder vision of the movie never give up, never quit
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The latest addition to my physical media collection.
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Luke Herbert retweeted
“Off Campus” is based on a popular book series. It doesn’t reach a broader audience than it’s already ‘dedicated fan base’ 😱 #SaveStargate
Good morning to #OffCampus fans only. 📸 Stephen Kalyn
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Luke Herbert retweeted
Baghak village, 2009. We never knew what the mission in Bamiyan would ever amount to. Rory Malone and Pralli Durrer would were killed here during the Battle of Baghak in 2012.
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Luke Herbert retweeted
What a day- At the Toy Story 5 premiere my son-in-law, Divighn (who sang on The Voice) said to me “I’m going to send you an early birthday present”. He knew I was fascinated by the dude Roy Orbison. He just sent me his studio cover version of “You Got It” by Roy Orbison. He was singing it, thinking about my daughter. What a talent he is. Turn up the volume and enjoy. #Divighn
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Luke Herbert retweeted
Corbyn is the sort of character that argues against wasteful lifeboats on the cruise liner, then pushes women and children aside once the boat hit the iceberg.
We do not need to spend more money on bombs and bullets. We need to spend more on housing, schools and our NHS instead. A roof over your head. Enough food to feed your children. A public health service you can rely on in your time of need. That is what real security means.
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Luke Herbert retweeted
This, right here! 👇👇👇#SaveStargate
Doesn't @AmazonMGMStudio know that Stargate is already the most diverse sci-fi show ever? I mean, just look at the cast! They didn't even brag about it. They literally just picked the best people. Your "broad audience" already watches and enjoys Stargate. They're already global!
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Luke Herbert retweeted
Faced with a choice between a Defence Secretary who wanted to spend more on our armed forces, a Chancellor who wouldn’t, and an Attorney General who enjoys suing them, the Prime Minister decided he could do without … the Defence Secretary.
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Luke Herbert retweeted
Because there hadn’t been a genocide in Gaza…
John Healey resigns as Defence Secretary over Keir Starmer's lack of defence funding. He didn't resign over Keir Starmer and the Labour government's arming, intelligence-sharing and enabling of the genocide in Gaza.
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Luke Herbert retweeted
An honourable exit. Healey has sounded a strategic alarm. When a defence minister resigns because the prime minister won’t adequately fund the defence of the realm, the PM is on borrowed time. But this should really trigger a more fundamental question around national priorities.
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RT @JAParker29: The 🇬🇧 lack of investment in defence spending & its impact on capability & preparedness has been flagged by many, including…
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Luke Herbert retweeted
Good to see that the principle of falling in one’s sword is alive and well, even in the cesspit of politics
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🚨Defence Secretary John Healey resigns because he believes the Prime Minister and the Chancellor are leaving the country at risk and military personnel in danger because of their refusal to increase defence spending fast enough. Extraordinary and also courageous
My letter to the Prime Minister
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Luke Herbert retweeted
Just trying to #SaveStargate ma’am 🫡
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Shoebridge is making a fool of himself. Submarines aren't a platform designed to clear choke points. Nor does Australia's geography match the Straits of Hormuz.
Senator Shoebridge’s response is long on personal attacks & short on substance. The issue is actually quite simple. 🇦🇺 is an island trading nation dependent on maritime supply chains for fuel, fertiliser, ammunition & countless other essentials. Serious people can disagree on the best way to protect those supply chains. What they cannot do is pretend the problem does not exist. I’ve spent much of my adult life at sea actually doing the job of protecting our trade. I’ll continue focusing on how 🇦🇺 protects its maritime interests rather than trading personal attacks. Have a great day, Senator.
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Luke Herbert retweeted
That was on its last legs by then anyway, its was down to 33% of the British Army officers were of an Aristocratic or Landed Gentry background. Even Wellington’s army 100 years earlier had up to 10% of officers promoted from the ranks westernfrontassociation.com/…

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Blind hatred of the British Empire overrides historical accuracy with some people. One such fallacy is directly comparing British rule over India with Māori's fate after the Treaty of Waitangi.
This is ahistorical rubbish I’m afraid. There were many motivations for joining the Indian Army, but a prominent one was a desire to prevent the Japanese from entering India. My final chapter deals with this question. By 1944 most Indians who thought about such things (and there were many who didn’t, as in every society, not bothering themselves with issues of civic & political governance) knew the empire was finished and wanted to fight to secure a different future, free from the depredations of totalitarians of any stripe. amzn.eu/d/0hcHPKQ4
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Luke Herbert retweeted
This… all of this… 👇👇👇👇#WeWantStargate
Amazon axing the new STARGATE series because it was supposedly too niche is such a frustrating executive decision. This is STARGATE. The original movie launched in 1994. STARGATE SG-1 ran for 10 seasons. STARGATE ATLANTIS ran for five more. Fans have kept this franchise alive for decades. Martin Gero, who wrote on SG-1 and ATLANTIS, was developing the new series. Brad Wright and Joe Mallozzi were consulting producers. People who understood the franchise were involved. And Amazon apparently got nervous that the show would appeal too much to STARGATE fans. That is insane. Die-hard fans are not the problem. They are the bridge. They tell friends to watch. They explain the premise. They build word of mouth before casual audiences ever show up. Studios keep wanting legacy IP without the people who actually love it. But that “baggage” is the audience. STARGATE does not need to be sanded down for everyone. It needs to be good enough that fans bring everyone else in.
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Luke Herbert retweeted
Amazon axing the new STARGATE series because it was supposedly too niche is such a frustrating executive decision. This is STARGATE. The original movie launched in 1994. STARGATE SG-1 ran for 10 seasons. STARGATE ATLANTIS ran for five more. Fans have kept this franchise alive for decades. Martin Gero, who wrote on SG-1 and ATLANTIS, was developing the new series. Brad Wright and Joe Mallozzi were consulting producers. People who understood the franchise were involved. And Amazon apparently got nervous that the show would appeal too much to STARGATE fans. That is insane. Die-hard fans are not the problem. They are the bridge. They tell friends to watch. They explain the premise. They build word of mouth before casual audiences ever show up. Studios keep wanting legacy IP without the people who actually love it. But that “baggage” is the audience. STARGATE does not need to be sanded down for everyone. It needs to be good enough that fans bring everyone else in.
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