This month we extend our First World War content ahead of next year's centenary commemorations with a look at some key battles. As well as a summary page listing these key events, we look at Amiens in 1918, Cambrai in 1917, Caporetto in 1917, Jutland in 1916, Messines in 1917 and Mons and the First Battle of the Marne in 1914.

Irish soldiers who left their army to join the fight against Hitler and Nazism and suffered a lifetime of ostracism are being pardoned, as the Irish parliament has passed an amnesty on the thousands of troops. Defence Minister Alan Shatter is quoted by the Belfast Telegraph as explaining "These individuals contributed in no small part to the allied victory against tyranny and totalitarianism... Their efforts, in an indirect way, also contributed to the safety of their home country... If the United Kingdom had fallen to the forces of Nazi Germany, the same fate would almost certainly have been visited on this island, with all of the consequences that would have gone with it." The article gives some telling figures: 60,000 Irish citizens fought for the anti-Nazi allies, five thousand were found guilty of desertion to do so (Ireland was officially neutral), and laws persecuted them.

Former British Royal Navy ship HMS Caroline is the only surviving vessel from the Battle of Jutland, a clash of the British and German fleets in 1916. Before World War One a great, conflict changing naval battle was expected, but the closest they came was the ultimately fruitless Battle of Jutland. The Heritage Lottery Fund have promised £12 million to transform the Caroline into a floating museum about the conflict.

This story combines my love of history with my fascination for abandoned structures. During the Second World War a number of sea defences were built on stilt like legs, and they're now in various states of decay, with a charity fighting to preserve them. If this sounds interesting to you, best go to this Londonist article and see the pictures, and then read on from there. I found the images evocative, others may just see an industrial mess!