Head of Historical Analysis

Professor Matthias Strohn, M.St. (Oxon), DPhil (Oxon), FRHistS is the Head of the Historical Analysis Programme at the CHACR. He is also a Visiting Professor in Military Studies at the Humanities Research Institute at the University of Buckingham.

Matthias was educated at the universities of Münster (Germany) and Oxford. He holds a Master’s degree and a Doctorate from Oxford, and he was also awarded a level 7 degree in Strategic Management and Leadership from the Chartered Management Institute. Matthias is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Prior to joining the CHACR, he worked in the War Studies Department at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, and he also held a lectureship in Modern History at Oxford.

Matthias is an expert in the history of war in the 20th century, with special interest in the World Wars, the inter-war period, command and leadership, the development of doctrine, and the application of military history in today’s military context. He has written and edited more than 20 books and numerous articles, and his works were chosen as the core readings for Operation Reflect, the British Army’s commemoration of the First World War. Matthias is a frequent commentator on military history and current military affairs, and he has appeared on a wide range of media, ranging from TV documentaries and news channels to Europe’s largest tabloid newspaper. He is also a keen battlefield studies guide, and he has led military and civilian groups all over Europe, from Madrid to Stalingrad.

Matthias holds a commission in the German Army, and, with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, is a member of the military attaché reserve, having served on the defence attaché staffs in London, Paris and Madrid. He also serves regularly with the German Military Delegation in the UK. Prior to this, he served as the Military History Instructor at the German Staff College in Hamburg where he also attended the German Armed Forces Staff Course (R). In 2019, he attended the Advanced Command and Staff Course (R) at the British Defence Academy as the second German Army officer ever selected. Matthias has got operational experience; he deployed to Iraq (with the British Army) and Afghanistan (with both the British Army and the German Bundeswehr). In 2022, Matthias was awarded the highest (non-combat) decoration of the German Armed Forces, the Golden Cross of Honour, in recognition of his services to the German Army and to Anglo-German defence relations.