Battles / military campaigns Books

Book SynopsisThe messy, dirty, bloody reality of Operation Overlord comes alive in Sword, Hastings's portrait of the individual soldiers who risked their lives on the beaches of Normandy. He brings these men to life with sensitivity and beautiful prose'' THE TIMESOn 6 June 1944 when the Allied armies landed on D-Day, the Second World War had already lasted almost five years. Yet many of the British and American troops who invaded Normandy were virgin soldiers, never before committed to battle. They quit England in summertime to face within hours a storm of machine-gun and mortar fire. They witnessed scenes, above all of sudden death, such as no exercise had prepared them for.In Sword, veteran chronicler of war Max Hastings explores with extraordinary vividness the actions of the Commando brigade and Montgomery's 3rd Infantry and 6th Airborne divisions on and around a single beach. He describes their frustrations, hopes, loves and fears through the apparently interminable years training and preparing in England, then their triumphs and tragedies on the beach and beyond. Here are the airborne assaults on the Caen Canal bridge and Merville Battery, the battles on the shoreline and against the German strongpoints inland, narrated and explained with all the insights that Hastings' decades of study, veterans' interviews and new archive research enable him to deploy.The book offers a searching analysis of why British troops did not reach Caen on 6 June, as Montgomery had promised Churchill that they would and the story of the brigadier who was sacked for that failure. There is also a host of personal portraits of key figures from Commando leader Lord Lovat, famously brave but supremely arrogant, to Colonel Jim Eadie, whose tanks of the Staffordshire Yeomanry repulsed a panzer division in the last hours of 6 June, and some of the humbler participants to whom extraordinary things happened.This is the story of D-Day as you have never read it before, with the blend of narrative, analysis and human insight that made Max Hastings' last book Operation Biting, like many of his earlier works, a Sunday Times No. 1 bestseller.

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Book SynopsisFrom the Sunday Times No. 1 Bestselling Author

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Book SynopsisAn exhilarating hour-by-hour portrayal of an iconic battle, drawing on the eye witness accounts of those who fought it

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Book SynopsisMichael Dudley studied history at Warwick University and has written widely on World Wars I and II. Nigel Cawthorne studied at University College, London, where he gained an Honours degree in Physics, before turning to writing as a career. He has written, contributed to and edited more than 100 books, including Fighting Them On The Beaches: D-Day, 6 June 1944, The Battle of Britain, Vietnam: A War Lost and Won, Stalin, and The Story of the SS. His work has also appeared in over a hundred and fifty newspapers, magazines and partworks on both sides of the Atlantic - from the Sun to the Financial Times.Richard Dargie was Senior Lecturer in History and Head of the Faculty of Humanities at Moray House in Edinburgh. Latterly, he lectured in History Education at the University of Edinburgh.Over the past three decades, he has been a historical consultant for the BBC, the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, and Euroclio, the international history organization based in The Hague. Author of more than 40 books, Richard has also written a large number of television and radio programmes for the BBC and other broadcasters in Britain and North America.Al Cimino is the author of over 100 books. His other historical titles include: The Bamboo Cage, The Empress of South America, Daughter of Heaven, World at War, Victory in World War II, Vietnam, a War Lost and Won, History's Greatest Battles, Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great, and Sex Lives of the Great Dictators.Alexander Macdonald is a military historian and the author of The Battle of the Somme and The Gallipoli Campaign. He was also consulting editor on Turning the Tide: Decisive Battle of the Second World War, The Story of the SS and History's Greatest Battles: Masterstrokes of War. He lives in London.

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR MILITARY HISTORY MATTERS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024Includes all the key individuals that inspired the final season of Netflix''s Vikings: Valhalla and the brand-new BBC drama King and Conqueror. Bloody battles, political intrigues and dynastic marriages all played a part in shaping a nascent England. Battle for the Island Kingdom is a rich history of the violent six decades when Vikings, Anglo-Saxons and ultimately Normans vied for the English crown before the seismic Battle of Hastings determined the fate of England for centuries. Discover the defining personalities of the age, from the English king Aethelred and his nemesis Viking Svein Forkbeard to Cnut who forged an empire across England and Scandinavia only for his Norman queen Emma and Saxon consort Aelfifu to pit his sons against each other. We discover how the power-hungry Earl Godwin plays all sides until his own son Harold eventually seizes the crown and why Harold''s brother Tostig chose to betray both him and his people for the Norman William the Bastard, who would become William the Conqueror. This is a gripping tale of divided loyalties, treason and military might by master storyteller Don Hollway, author of the critically acclaimed The Last Viking.

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Book SynopsisAn accompaniment to the best-selling guide to the area, now sold separately.

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Book SynopsisThe international million copy bestseller recounting the epic turning point of the WW2______________In October 1942, an officer wrote ''Stalingrad is no longer a town . . . Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure''.The battle for Stalingrad became the focus of Hitler and Stalin''s determination and its citizens endured unimaginable hardship as a result. But the eventual victory of the Red Army, and the failure of Hitler''s Operation Barbarossa, was the first defeat of Hitler''s territorial ambitions in Europe, and the start of his decline.An extraordinary story of tactical genius, civilian bravery, obsession, carnage and the nature of war itself, Stalingrad will act as a testament to the vital role of the soviet war effort.______________''He reveals the full awfulness and human cost of the conflict with scholarly verve and deep sympathy'' Ben Macintyre''A superb re-telling. Beevor combines a soldier''s understanding of war''s realities with the narrative techniques of a novelist'' Orlando Figes, Sunday Telegraph''A brilliantly researched tour de force of military history'' Sarah Bradford, The TimesTrade Review'Captivating . . . Jingoistic statues never pay a proper tribute to the dead, but honest books, like this one, certainly do' -- Vitali Vitaliev * Guardian *Antony Beevor gained access to the unplumbed records, and he reveals the full awfulness and human cost of the conflict with scholarly verve and deep sympathy. The pity of war has seldom been rendered so well -- Ben MacintyreA brilliantly researched tour de force of military history -- Sarah Bradford * The Times *Antony Beevor's account of this historic turning-point is truly powerful, written with a compelling narrative drive . . . This is a fine achievement -- David Pryce-Jones * Daily Mail *A superb re-telling. Beevor combines a soldier's understanding of war's realities with the narrative techniques of a novelist . . . This is a book that lets the reader look into the face of battle -- Orlando Figes * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book Synopsis''Deighton has a desire, unobtrusive but inflexible, to see the truth ... Blitzkrieg is full of insights'' Financial TimesThis is the story of the Nazi conquest of western Europe, from Hitler''s rise to power and ''lightning-fast war'', to his fatal mistake in halting the German advance on Dunkirk in 1940. Drawing on technical mastery and interviews with both Allied and German participants, Blitzkrieg sets out the technical thinking behind the attack and the weapons that made it possible. It is a compelling, detailed account of Europe''s darkest hour. ''What Deighton did for the Battle of Britain in Fighter he has done for the land-war here ... A rattlingly good yarn'' GuardianTrade ReviewWhat Mr Deighton did for the Battle of Britain in Fighter he has done for the land-war here ... A rattlingly good yarn. * Guardian *Deighton has a desire, unobtrusive but inflexible, to see the truth ... Blitzkrieg is full of insights, quietly expressed but as a rule uncomfortably true. * Financial Times *Contains some gems of research and some arresting conclusions. * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE 2013''As taut and richly embroidered as a great novel . . . a masterpiece'' Sunday Telegraph''Dazzling'' Sunday Times ''Magnificent'' Guardian ''Sparkling'' Daily TelegraphA towering history of the first Afghan War by bestselling historian William Dalrymple.In the spring of 1839, Britain invaded Afghanistan for the first time. Nearly 20,000 British and East India Company troops poured through the high mountain passes and re-established on the throne Shah Shuja ul-Mulk.On the way in, the British faced little resistance. But after two years of occupation, the Afghan people rose in answer to the call for jihad and the country exploded into violent rebellion. The First Anglo-Afghan War ended in Britain''s greatest military humiliation of the nineteenth century: an entire army of the then most powerful nation in the world ambushed in retreat and utterly routed byTrade ReviewThis sorry saga has been recounted many times, but never that I can recall as well as by Dalrymple. He is a master story-teller, whose special gift lies in the use of indigenous sources, so often neglected by imperial chroniclers -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *Enchantingly written . . . In Dalrymple’s usual happy style of historical narrative, applied to a fascinating, neat and highly suggestive series of events, this long and involved book will be a great success, and bring the famous story to a large new audience -- Philip Hensher * Spectator *Of the books swooped into being by his scholarship (to which he himself has applied the adjective “obsessive”), this one is the most magnificent . . . His account is so perceptive and so warmly humane that one is never tempted to break away . . . This book would be compulsive reading even if it were not a uniquely valuable history, which it is, because Dalrymple has uncovered sources never used before -- Diana Athill * Guardian *Brilliant . . . Those who have read his White Mughals and The Last Mughal will know what to expect: a readable style, a deep humanity and, above all, an extraordinary skill in evoking the lost worlds of Mughals and Afghans . . . His pen-portraits are a masterpiece . . . Return of a King is much the fullest and most powerful description of the West's first encounter with Afghan society -- John Darwin * New York Times *A major contribution to the historiography of south-west Asia and of the British empire . . . Return of a King will come to be seen as the definitive account of the first and most disastrous western attempt to invade Afghanistan. Dalrymple's afterword should be put on college syllabuses on both sides of the Atlantic -- Sherard Cowper-Coles * New Statesman *Splendid and absorbing . . . William Dalrymple tells this tragic story with verve, skill, and - unexpectedly in the circumstances - some humor. Using unknown or underused sources from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, he recounts the tale from both sides, shifting the scenes, using eyewitness accounts, quoting at length heroic epic poems . . . A fine book -- David Gilmour * New York Review of Books *William Dalrymple is a master storyteller, who breathes such passion, vivacity and animation into the historical characters of the First Anglo-Afghan war of 1839-42 that at the end of this 567-page book you feel you have marched, fought, dined and plotted with them all: once I had finished I turned straight back to the beginning * Independent *Brilliant . . . even 170 years later, the events described in Return of a King still have the power to shock - and so they should. It is to be hoped that any future British leader contemplating intervention in Afghanistan, or any other part of the Muslim world, will read Dalrymple's book * Financial Times *Mr. Dalrymple's writing is sly, charming and clever. His histories read like novels . . . This latest book delights and shocks as he points the finger at both sides for their deceit treachery and cruelty . . . Magnificent * Wall Street Journal *Definitive . . . Return of a King, like a great classical tragedy, grips the reader's attention from start to finish . . . not just a riveting account of one imperial disaster on the roof of the world; it teaches unforgettable lessons about the perils of neocolonial adventures everywhere -- Piers Brendan * Literary Review *By turns epic, thrilling, suspenseful, and utterly appalling, at once deeply researched and beautifully paced, Return of a King should win every prize for which it's eligible * Bookforum *Dazzling . . . Dalrymple is a master storyteller, whose special gift lies in the use of indigenous sources, so often neglected by imperial chroniclers . . . Almost every page of Dalrymple's splendid narrative echoes with latter-day reverberations -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *Outstanding . . . Dalrymple has emerged as a superb historian of the British Raj . . . He excels at character, scene setting, and shifting between multiple points of view . . . His use of sources is stunning, particularly the trove of Persian-language material - epic poems, court histories and other accounts - he found in Kabul. No other western historian has given such a complete account of the other side * National *William Dalrymple's phenomenal achievement is to combine a steady overview of his broad canvas with a magpie's eye for detail and a film-maker's sense of when to shift the mood and focus. His writing is ebullient, but his conclusion is timely and grave. Any attempt to subjugate Afghanistan must, as one witness of that first invasion noted, be 'temporary and transient and terminate in catastrophe' * Intelligent Life *A powerful account of Britain's deluded occupation . . . A superlative achievement * Scotland on Sunday *Dalrymple is something of a secret national treasure; a travel writer and narrative historian of Britain's relations with India . . . an enthralling, definitive account * The Lady *Masterful . . . Dalrymple makes an important contribution by including recently discovered Afghan accounts of the war * Washington Post *This hefty and extraordinary book may be [Dalrymple's] masterwork . . . Dalrymple's assiduous scholarship and travel-writer's ease with language makes this not only an incredibly well-researched book, but something of a page-turner * Big Issue *This is vintage Dalrymple: warp-speed historical narrative, meticulously researched . . . My only regret reading this wonderful history is that it was not published a decade earlier * Evening Standard *Dalrymple is a writer who can make the most recondite historical issues come alive and with each successive book he becomes a more entertaining and enlightening companion . . . Return of a King is simply quite brilliant -- Alexander McCall Smith * New Statesman, Books of the Year *Probably the best known British historian of India . . . this is the book he was born to write * Economist *Sensationally good . . . Dalrymple writes the kind of history few historians can match . . . Drawing on Afghan, Russian, and Indian sources, [Dalrymple] tells a truly epic story of imperial ambition and hubris with profound lessons for our own times . . . I doubt that I'll read a better written or more important history book all year * Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisExplore the world''s most famous battles by their geography as you uncover the most ancient, medieval and modern combats in history.If you''re interested in finding out more about the biggest battles fought throughout the ages, then this war book is perfect for you. Battles Map by Map puts you in the seat of famous generals and commanders such as Rameses II, Napoleon, and Alexander the Great who expertly planned their attacks by studying the plains on which they would take place. So what are you waiting for? Journey back in time to learn more about wars such as the Battle of Alesia, Napoleonic Wars, and World War II and follow the geography of these epic battles in this brilliant book on the history of the world. Journey into past like never before as you explore: - 80 easy-to-follow maps showcasing the most famous battles in history- Timelines that showcase battles in chronological order, ideal for visual learners- Informative easy-to-read text explains the events of the battles- Features provide additional contextual information on key technologies, leaders, armies, and moreBursting with striking illustrations and full of fascinating detail, this history book is the ultimate gift for map lovers, military history enthusiasts, and armchair generals everywhere. Battles Map by Map takes you right to the heart of the action, where you can discover the profiles of famous commanders and military leaders and reveal the impact of groundbreaking weapons and battlefield innovations. Additionally, historic maps, paintings, photographs, and objects take you to the heart of the action whereby the impact of groundbreaking weapons and battlefield innovations is revealed. Broadcasting journalist and historian, Peter Snow, provides a foreword for this marvellous history book for adults. From ancient to modern battles, he provides context for the world''s most famous wars, both won and lost. See for yourself how tactics, technology, vision, and luck have all played a part in the outcome of wars throughout history.At DK, we believe in the power of discovery.So why stop there? The Map by Map series includes other titles such as History of the World Map by Map and World War II Map by Map, each detailing historical events and placing them in the context of geography. DK''s luxurious Map by Map books are fantastic history gifts, packed with fascinating facts, high-quality photography, and detailed profiles and descriptions of people and events.

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Book SynopsisThe soldiers receive the best service a historian can provide: their story is told in their own words - Guardian''For some reason nothing seemed to happen to us at first; we strolled along as though walking in a park. Then, suddenly, we were in the midst of a storm of machine-gun bullets and I saw men beginning to twirl round and fall in all kinds of curious ways'' On 1 July 1916, a continous line of British soldiers climbed out from the trenches of the Somme into No Man''s Land and began to walk towards dug-in German troops armed with machine-guns. By the end of the day there were more than 60,000 British casualties - a third of them fatal.Martin Middlebrook''s now-classic account of the blackest day in the history of the British army draws on official sources from the time, and on the words of hundreds of survivors: normal men, many of them volunteers, who found themselves thrown into a scene of unparalleled tragedy and horror.Trade ReviewThe soldiers receive the best service a historian can provide: their story is told in their own words * Guardian *A particularly vivid and personal narrative * Times Literary Supplement *Pioneering and hauntingly eloquent -- Peter Parker * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisBy July 1940, Britain stood alone in Europe. Hitler's troops had reached the French coast after storming their way across northern Europe and, following the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk in June, it was assumed that the next battle of the Second World War would be fought on the beaches of southern England. The fear of German forces launching an invasion that summer was very real, and all that stood between Britain and Hitler was the English Channel. Almost every generation of Sussex men and women had learnt to live with the threat of attack from across the water. This time, though, the threat came not just from the sea but also from the sky and for the first time in history a battle would be fought, and won, almost exclusively in the air - for their invasion to succeed, the Germans needed to achieve air supremacy over both the Channel and the beaches of the south-east. Throughout July 1940 the Luftwaffe's attacks intensified, with the 10th now being considered the first day of the Battle of Britain. When Goring's aircraft launched their assault on the United Kingdom, many parts of the country found themselves quite literally on the front line - and no more so than the county of West Sussex. Drawing extensively on records held in local and national archives, Eddy Greenfield provides a detailed and comprehensive day-by-day account of activity in and over West Sussex throughout the campaign from 10 July to 31 October 1940\. It is not only a story of how the RAF and other defenders battled the Luftwaffe's relentless onslaught, but also how the residents in the county's towns and villages played their own part in the national war effort.

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Book SynopsisHighly illustrated history of the Italian Front during the Great War with over 130 rare archive photographs of the campaign and the battlefields.

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Book SynopsisGraphic, contemporary images show the bitter fighting in harsh terrain and winter conditions.

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Book SynopsisThe battle is for a city. The war is for history. In autumn 2016, Iraqi forces began operations to recapture Mosul from the Islamic State. Millennia-old, Mosul was a birthplace of Western culture but also infamous for its cruelty, from the Assyrians to Saddam Hussein. Through the eyes of soldiers and families and jihadis, award-winning reporter James Verini chronicles the combat that followed. Among the most devastating urban conflicts since World War II, the battle for Mosul was both archaic and modern. Troops and jihadis fought house by house, block by block, matching bullet for bullet, while co-ordinating their movements on WhatsApp and uploading execution videos. Verini describes how this viciously contested patch of earth came to represent a war for the soul of a country, for its history and its future.Trade Review‘One of the strengths of Verini… is his eye for detail… A poignant and detailed profile, beautifully written, of people in war… They Will Have to Die Now is an exceptional study both of modern war and of the most significant battle in the war against Islamic State. I read each page with relish and gratitude, and on several occasions drummed my heels with delight at the sheer ludicrousness of the horror of it all.’ * Times *‘A necessary book… Verini’s front-line reporting is exhilarating… He brings each scene to life and, crucially, knows when to absent himself from the story. Verini has a novelist’s eye for the telling detail’ * Daily Telegraph *‘When war isn’t being loud and boring, most modern accounts agree, it’s being loud and surreal. Verini’s book is exceptionally rich in this vein…. An extraordinary portrait of domestic lives stewing in desperation and rage... They Will Have to Die Now entirely transcends its genre.' -- Spectator‘An eloquent, awesome account of the destruction of the Isis-held city of Mosul.’ -- Robert Fisk, Independent‘Verini’s firsthand account of the Battle of Mosul is a thing of terrible beauty.’ -- Jonathan Franzen‘This is such an important and deeply nuanced book. Verini paints absolutely convincing portraits of the Iraqi soldiers trying to take their broken country back, and in humanizing them, he joins the ranks of Liebling and Pyle and Gellhorn – American journalists able to embed so selflessly with soldiers, to listen first and theorize rarely, to tell a story as it happened.’ -- Dave Eggers, bestselling author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and The Circle‘They Will Have to Die Now is the story of what happened after most Americans stopped paying attention to Iraq. It’s a small miracle that a writer as good as James Verini witnessed the Battle of Mosul. His book is erudite, humane, bleakly funny, and unbearably sad. It will take its place among the very best war writing of the past two decades.’ -- George Packer, author of Our Man and The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq‘James Verini plunges you into the heart of the climactic battle of the Iraq War and won’t let you leave. He seems to be everywhere, gets to know everyone, vividly chronicles everything he sees and hears—and never once calls attention to himself. The weapons may be new—drones and iPads and executions on YouTube—but the blood and confusion and betrayal are as old as war itself. They Will Have To Die Now is an astonishment.’ -- Geoffrey C. Ward, co-author of The Vietnam War‘They Will Have to Die Now is a vivid, captivating, compelling, and graphic account of the major battle against the Islamic State in Iraq, the Battle for Mosul—site of the Biblical Nineveh and capital of the province where I was privileged to serve in the first year of the war in Iraq. James Verini conveys brilliantly the often tragic ancient and modern history of Iraq, and he captures superbly the brutal reality of one of the most intense urban battles since World War II. In so doing, he describes the terrible hardships experienced by the Moslawis and both the worst and the best of mankind in war, contrasting the barbaric actions of the jihadists with the desires of those who tried to rescue and to rebuild—but who nonetheless had to inflict enormous damage on the city they sought to liberate.’ -- General David Petraeus‘This is a stunning book, brave in its reporting and beautiful in its writing. It is funny and sad and seared into me, and I can’t recommend it highly enough, not just to people interested in the truth of a war but to anyone in search of the truth of humanity.’ -- David Finkel, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter at the Washington Post and author of The Good Soldiers‘James Verini’s book stands comparison with the pathbreaking works of modern war journalism that meld into great literature. One has to go back to the Vietnam War and Michael Herr’s Dispatches to find such a vivid, poignant, and historically grounded narrative of an appalling war; a war caused no little by the misdeeds, missteps, and malevolence of the myriad powers and forces that have tried to dominate the Middle East.’ -- Ali Allawi, former minister of finance, defense, and trade of Iraq‘The definitive account of one of the most pivotal and bitter military campaigns of the modern era… This isn’t typical military history, though, but an eyewitness account of what happens to ordinary people who find themselves living on the battlefield, the compromises they must make to stay alive… This is war reporting at its very best.’ -- Scott Anderson, author of Lawrence in Arabia‘Tough, smart, and vivid, this is a book that renders war and battle with the deft hand of a fine writer. It will haunt you, engage you, and stay with you.’ -- Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author of The Orchid Thief‘An urgent, scalding, hallucinatory work of war reportage, in the tradition of Michael Herr and Philip Gourevitch. His account…captures the horror, the nobility, and the sheer grinding absurdity of twenty-first-century warfare… A significant achievement.’ -- Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Say Nothing, winner of the Orwell Prize

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Book SynopsisContinuing his examination of the events of the Spitfire Summer, in Battle of Britain: The Breaking Storm Dilip provides a day-by-day chronicle of the Battle of Britain s first phase the so-called Kanalkampf which was fought over the Channel-bound convoys between 10 July and 12 August 1940.

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Book SynopsisWalk in the tank tracks and footsteps of Major General Stanislaw Maczek and his 1st Polish Armoured Division (1PAD) soldiers who fought, fell or were wounded liberating the town of Ypres on 6th September 1944. Also revealed is the great support offered by local Resistance groups who supplied topographical assistance, information concerning enemy strong points and troop numbers, offered limited engagements, and finally assisted with the temporary gaoling of the many German prisoners of war. The book also commemorates those townsfolk including children who lost their lives over this period of short but intense fighting. Such was the cost of freedom for the beleaguered citizens of Ypres during WW2. Also remembered are those Czechoslovak officers attached to 1PAD from the Independent Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade Group commanded by Brigadier General Alois Liška, whose HQ was located at nearby Wormhout, France, in preparation for his own Battlegroup's Siege of Dunkirk' deployment.

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Book SynopsisWhen Hitler attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941, he intended to capture Leningrad before turning on Moscow. Soviet resistance forced him to change tactics: with his forward troops only thirty kilometres from the city''s historic centre, he decided instead to starve it out. Using newly available diaries and government records, Anna Reid describes a city''s descent into hell - the breakdown of electricity and water supply; subzero temperatures; the consumption of pets, joiner''s glue and face cream; the dead left unburied where they fell - but also the extraordinary endurance, bravery and self-sacrifice, despite the cruelty and indifference of the Kremlin.Trade ReviewA masterpiece of modern historical writing. With a clear, unsentimental eye and in calm prose, she describes the horrors of the most lethal siege in modern history ... A terrible story, superbly researched and beautifully told * Anthony Beevor, Daily Telegraph Books of the Year *Magisterial * Orlando Figes, Daily Telegraph Books of the Year *An admirable retelling of the extraordinary story of the 1941-44 siege ... The author has assembled the testimony of many unfamiliar witnesses, and vividly portrays what some of us consider the most dreadful saga of the Second World War * Max Hastings, The Times Books of the Year *Impeccably researched, well-paced and beautifully written, Leningrad marks a new benchmark in the study of the subject and a more nuanced, objective interpretation for a new century * Financial Times *A moving and breathtaking examination of the terrible price extorted by unfettered political power on both sides -- Sally Moris * Daily Mail *

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Book Synopsis"A must read for all Damien Lewis fans" Compass ---------------------------------------------------------The most explosive true war story of the 21st Century It is the winter of 2001. A terror ship is bound for Britain carrying a horrifying weapon. The British military sends a crack unit of SAS and SBS to assault the vessel before she reaches London. So begins a true story of explosive action as this band of elite warriors pursues the merchants of death from the high seas to the harsh wildlands of Afghanistan. The hunt culminates in the single greatest battle of the Afghan war, the brutal and bloody siege of an ancient mud-walled fortress crammed full of hundreds of Al-Qaeda and Taliban. Fighting against impossible odds and bitter betrayal, our handful of crack fighters battle to rescue their fellow soldiers trapped by a murderous, fanatical enemy. ---------------------------------------------------------"The most dramatic story of a secret wartime mission you will ever read" News of the World "The author has been given unprecedented access" Zoo "Gripping" Eye Spy Trade ReviewThe most dramatic story of a secret wartime mission you will ever read. * News of the World *A gripping account that follows the exploits of British and American special forces involved in a secret, deadly dual in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan. * Eye Spy magazine *A must read. * Compass magazine *

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Book SynopsisJohn Prebble was born in the UK in 1915 but spent his boyhood in Canada. He became a journalist in 1934 and went on to become an historian, novelist, film-writer and the author of several highly praised plays and dramatised documentaries for BBC TV and Radio. He became interested in Culloden when he was a boy in a predominantly Scottish township in Canada. He died in January 2001.Trade Review[Culloden] is romantic and tragic, and helped me, as a London boy, to develop a love of Scotland that lasted my whole life. -- David Aaronovitch * The Week *Prebble and Scotland down the years have become as inseparable as oatcakes and whisky. He has...succeeded in giving the Scots a fresh awareness of their past. * Daily Telegraph *One of Prebble's great strengths is his ability to empathise with his subject matter. * Daily Mail *Marked by formidable research and passionate commitment to the cause of the poorest. * Spectator *One of our leading historians, whose works...are as scholarly as they are readable * Observer *

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Book SynopsisA highly illustrated history of the Wars of the Roses based on the medieval art of Graham Turner.The period of civil strife in the second half of the 15th century now known as the Wars of the Roses was one of the most dramatic and tumultuous in English history. Since first being inspired by a visit to Bosworth battlefield nearly 30 years ago, renowned historical artist Graham Turner has built a worldwide reputation for his depictions of this colourful and troubled era, his paintings and prints prized by historians and collectors for their attention to detail and dramatic and atmospheric compositions. This new study contains a detailed history of the wars alongside a unique and comprehensive collection of over 120 of his paintings and drawings, many created especially for this book. It provides meticulously researched details of arms, armour, settings and countless other aspects of the period, while bringing to life the human stories behind the turbulenTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Preface Introduction Chronology CHAPTER 1: Henry V – A Formidable Legacy CHAPTER 2: Henry VI – King of England and France CHAPTER 3: Descent towards Civil War CHAPTER 4: The Armies CHAPTER 5: First Blood CHAPTER 6: Uneasy Peace CHAPTER 7: Open War Returns CHAPTER 8: The Wheel of Fortune Turns CHAPTER 9: Two Kings of England CHAPTER 10: Edward IV – Consolidating his Crown CHAPTER 11: A New Queen CHAPTER 12: The Overmighty Subject CHAPTER 13: Great Troubles CHAPTER 14: Return of the King CHAPTER 15: Our Sovereign Lord King Harry the Sixth CHAPTER 16: Rightful Inheritance CHAPTER 17: Relative Peace CHAPTER 18: Richard III CHAPTER 19: Henry VII Painting Diary Bibliography Endnotes Index

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Book SynopsisIn the last 2,000 years there have been a number of bloody battles on Essex soil, but there too have been several conflicts that although sometimes violent didn't involve the loss of life. In many cases these conflicts have been hyped in contemporary media as a 'battles' and the term has stuck. Reprinted 2023 and 2024

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Book SynopsisNew full colour, excellent value guide from the unrivalled Battlefield touring experts. The book will help you discover how to find an ancestor's resting place or memorial. Many current battlefield guides refer to it as 'The Bible'.

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Book SynopsisOn April 2, 1982, Argentine armed forces invaded and captured the Falkland Islands, a British dependency in the South Atlantic long claimed by Argentina. In this comprehensive account, renowned naval historian Dr Edward Hampshire takes advantage of new sources to examine the Naval campaign that saw Britain eventually retake the islands. The Falklands Conflict was remarkable for many reasons: it was a hard fought, bloody and short conflict between a leading NATO power and one of the most capable armed forces in South America; it demonstrated the capabilities of a range of cutting-edge technologies including nuclear-powered attack submarines, Exocet missiles and Sea Harrier VSTOL aircraft; and it was fought many thousands of miles away from the Royal Navy''s home bases.In this illustrated study, renowned naval historian Dr Edward Hampshire draws upon the latest available sources to offer a comprehensive examination of the Falklands naval campaign. Blow-by-blow aTable of ContentsOrigins of the Campaign Chronology Opposing Commanders Opposing Forces Opposing Plans The Campaign Aftermath The Battlefield Today Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisArrian's account of Alexander's life and campaigns, published as the Anabasis and its companion piece the Indica, is our prime source for the history of Alexander, told with great narrative skill. This edition features a new translation of both texts, introduction, notes, guide to military systems and terminology, maps and a full index.Trade ReviewMartin Hammond's new translation of the Anabasis and Indica of Arrian is another triumph for Oxford University Press' World's Classics ... it forms a perfect, handy paperback of the works that tell the modern world more about Alexander than any other source material ... It's an exceedingly well-done volume. * Open Letters Monthly *Hammond has done Arrian - as he did Thucydides in the same series in 2009 - proud a truly serviceable classroom edition at a very reasonable price. * Paul Cartledge, The Journal of Classics Teaching *Table of ContentsIntroduction ; Select Bibliography ; Chronology ; THE ANABASIS ; THE INDICA ; Appendix I: The Macedonian army: structures and terminology ; Appendix II: The Macedonian and Persian courts and Imperial administration ; Appendix III: Finance and linear measures ; Explanatory Notes ; Notes on the Greek text ; Index ; Maps

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Book SynopsisThe Price of Glory: Verdun 1916 is the second book of Alistair Horne''s trilogy, which includes The Fall of Paris and To Lose a Battle and tells the story of the great crises of the rivalry between France and Germany. The battle of Verdun lasted ten months. It was a battle in which at least 700,000 men fell, along a front of fifteen miles. Its aim was less to defeat the enemy than bleed him to death and a battleground whose once fertile terrain is even now a haunted wilderness. Alistair Horne''s classic work, continuously in print for over fifty years, is a profoundly moving, sympathetic study of the battle and the men who fought there. It shows that Verdun is a key to understanding the First World War to the minds of those who waged it, the traditions that bound them and the world that gave them the opportunity. ''Verdun was the bloodiest battle in history ... The Price of Glory is the essential book on the subject''  Sunday Times ''It has almost every merit ... Horne sorts out complicating issues with the greatest clarity. He has a splendid gift for depicting individuals''  A.J.P. Taylor, Observer ''A masterpiece''  The New York Times ''Compellingly told ... Alastair Horne uses contemporary accounts from both sides to build up a picture of heroism, mistakes, even farce''  Sunday Telegraph ''Brilliantly written ... very readable; almost like a historical novel - except that it is true''  Field Marshal Viscount Montgomery One of Britain''s greatest historians, Sir Alistair Horne, CBE, is the author of a trilogy on the rivalry between France and Germany, The Price of Glory, The Fall of Paris and To Lose a Battle, as well as a two-volume life of Harold Macmillan.Table of ContentsLa debacle; joffre of the marne; Falkenhayn; operation Gericht; the waiting machine; the first day; the fall of Colonel Driant; breakthrough; Fort Douaumont; De Castelnau decides; petain; the take-over; reappraisals; the Mort Homme; widening horizons; in another country; the air battle; the crown prince; the triumvirate; "May Cup"; Fort Vaux; danger signals; the secret enemies; the crisis; Falkenhayn dismissed; the counterstrokes; the new leader; aftermath;

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES #1 BESTSELLERThe great airborne battle for the bridges in 1944 by Britain''s Number One bestselling historian and author of the classic Stalingrad''Our greatest chronicler of the Second World War'' - Robert Fox, Evening Standard______________On 17 September 1944, General Kurt Student, the founder of Nazi Germany''s parachute forces, heard the growing roar of aeroplane engines. He went out on to his balcony above the flat landscape of southern Holland to watch the air armada of Dakotas and gliders carrying the British 1st Airborne and the American 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions. He gazed up in envy at this massive demonstration of paratroop power.Operation Market Garden, the plan to end the war by capturing the bridges leading to the Lower Rhine and beyond, was a bold concept: the Americans thought it unusually bold for Field Marshal Montgomery. But could it ever have worked? The cost of failure was horrendous, above all for the Dutch, who risked everything to help. German reprisals were pitiless and cruel, and lasted until the end of the war.The British fascination with heroic failure has clouded the story of Arnhem in myths. Antony Beevor, using often overlooked sources from Dutch, British, American, Polish and German archives, has reconstructed the terrible reality of the fighting, which General Student himself called ''The Last German Victory''. Yet this book, written in Beevor''s inimitable and gripping narrative style, is about much more than a single, dramatic battle.It looks into the very heart of war.______________''In Beevor''s hands, Arnhem becomes a study of national character'' - Ben Macintyre, The Times''Superb book, tirelessly researched and beautifully written'' - Saul David, Daily Telegraph''Complete mastery of both the story and the sources'' - Keith Lowe, Literary ReviewTrade ReviewMasterly...illuminated by a host of hitherto unpublished anecdotes and quotations, together with the fruits of his own labors in Dutch archives. A meticulous, wonderfully vivid, and justly angry account of one of the great cock-ups of World War II -- Max HastingsThis absorbing new account of the battle with the eye for telling detail which we have come to expect from Antony Beevor. . . this time, though, he turns his brilliance as a military historian to a subject not just of defeat, but dunderhead stupidity. * Daily Mail *Beevor tells a story that is more human and complex than what he calls "the great myth of heroic failure", a tale of vanity, hubris, occasional incompetence, human frailty and remarkable grit. . . In Beevor's hands, Arnhem becomes a study of national character. * The Times *Antony Beevor's magnificent account. . . Beevor's skill lies in his ability to recreate the tumultuous brutality of battle. . . With stark honesty, Beevor describes the terrible panoply. * The Times *The analysis he has produced of the disaster is forensic. Aficionados of military history will revel in Beevor's microscopic detail, with every skirmish given its rightful place. . . Beevor's prodigious research has nevertheless unearthed many treasures, particularly his record of the sufferings of Dutch civilians who risked their necks by nursing wounded allied soldiers. * Sunday Times *Complete mastery of both the story and the sources. The beauty is in the details. . . . This gripping book, with its tightly focused timescale and subject matter, shows him once again at his very best. * Literary Review *Another masterwork from the most feted military historian of our time. . . Does the story need to be retold? Beevor is such a good writer, with a gift for clarity and a knack for the telling personal portrait, that the answer is undoubtedly yes. * Prospect Magazine *Our greatest chronicler of the Second World War . . . The drama of manoeuvre and counter-thrust, the courage and cowardice of soldier and civilian, the follies and vanities of commanders, which are especially rich in this story, are deployed with colour and humanity. His fans will love it. * Evening Standard *As Antony Beevor showed in Stalingrad, he is a master of his craft as a military historian. . . We have here a definitive account of one of the most painful episodes of the Second World War. * The Tablet *It is, in short, a chapter of the Second World War that was crying out for the storytelling talents of Sir Antony Beevor, arguably the finest narrative historian of his generation. This is the result - and his many fans will not be disappointed . . . Beevor's particular skill is his ability to unearth new sources that articulate the experience of war felt by ordinary people: soldiers and civilians, men and women. . . Beevor has produced another superb book, tirelessly researched and beautifully written, that will long be the benchmark for this subject. * Daily Telegraph *Beevor's superlative new book . . . Arnhem sees him return to Stalingrad form. Forensic is too soft a word to describe the breadth of detail he brings. * Daily Express, ***** *The compressed time scale and limited strategic scope of Market Garden ideally suit the author's testimony-rich approach . . . Beevor is a highly accomplished architect of what the American literary scholar Samuel Hynes calls 'battlefield gothic': the nightmarish horrors and absurdities of combat * Wall Street Journal *On holiday I read and am wholly absorbed by Antony Beevor's Arnhem. Though I am defeated by much of the military detail, the human side of the action, the troops in the gliders, their fears and all too often their fates, are beautifully told, with some of the bloodshed and killing unbearable * Diary 2018 *This is destined to be a World War II military history classic . . . Beevor's superb latest offering, in keeping with his established record of excellence, is a must-read * Publishers' Weekly *Arnhem brings a wealth of new detail to a major World War II disaster . . . Beevor brings to the familiar story a vast amount of research in German, British, American, Polish, and Dutch archives. As usual, his narrative bristles with specifics, including countless observations gleaned from eyewitnesses to every stage of Market Garden. Devoted readers of military history will enjoy the wealth of details * The Christian Science Monitor *With devastating command of his subject, Antony Beevor shows how one commander's hubris destroyed an army . . . No one beats Beevor at recreating the bewildering cacophony of war * The Times, History Book of the Year *Arnhem was one of the most epic engagements of WW2 and Antony Beevor gives it his usual excellent and fascinating big battle treatment, which makes for a gripping read

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Book SynopsisThis is the story of the Anglo-American amphibious assault and subsequent battle on the Italian west coast at Anzio which was launched in January 1944 in a bold attempt to outflank the formidable German defences known as the ''Gustav Line''. ANZIO - THE FRICTION OF WAR outlines the strategic background to the offensive before detailing the landing, the development of an Allied defensive position, the battles in and around the perimeter, the stalemate, the breakout and the capture of Rome on 4 June 1944. While assessing the events at Anzio with the eye of an experienced military historian, Lloyd Clark also examines in detail the human response to the battle from high command to foot soldier. He also emphasises the German story - the first time this has ever been done.Trade Review'Lloyd Clark's lucid, elegantly written book is well overdue... Absolutely first class' * Alex Kershaw *

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Book SynopsisBy early August 1944 the Germans fighting in Normandy had been worn down by the battles around Caen, while to the west, the American breakout was finally gaining momentum. Now was the time to launch II Canadian Corps south towards Falaise. With much of the German armour having been stripped away for the Mortain Counter-Attack, hopes ran high that the Corps, reinforced with British tanks, the 51st Highland and the Polish Armoured Divisions, would repeat the success of their predecessors in the Battle of Amiens. An innovative change of tactics to a night armoured assault and the conversion of seventy-two self-propelled guns to armoured personnel carriers for the accompanying infantry was very successful, but up against their implacable foes, 12th Hitlerjugend SS Panzer Division, the pause for bombing allowed Kurt Panzer' Meyer to deploy his division. Consequently, when the 4th Canadian and Polish Armoured Divisions were launched into their first battle they made frustratingly little progress. As the Canadians advanced over the following days, the battle degenerated into a costly fight for ground as the Hitlerjugend struggled to contain the inexperienced Poles and Canadians. Operation Totalize is renowned for the death of SS panzer Ace Michael Wittmann at the hands of Trooper Joe Ekins and the destruction of Worthington Force, the result of a navigational error.

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Book SynopsisWorld War II is one of the first conflicts to be extensively recorded in detail by both combatants and journalists, and many iconic photos of the fighting and battlefields have been passed down to us today. But how do these battlefields look now, following the extensive rebuilding of the postwar era? Featuring 75 battlefield sites divided by wartime theatre, World War II Battlefields allows the reader to explore well-known battle locations today and compare them to images captured during the height of the conflict. Examine the huge concrete bunker at Fort Eben Emael, Belgium, captured by German glider troops in May 1940 and still intact today; see the beaches at Tarawa atoll, a scene of fierce fighting between the US Marines and the Japanese defenders in 1943; or the streets of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, the centre of a bloody battle between the II SS Panzer Korps and the Red Army; explore the Norman village of Villers-Bocage, where a few German Tiger tanks halted the advance of the British 7th Armoured Division a week after the D-Day landings; see the twin-medieval towers of the bridge at Remagen on the Rhine river, made famous in photos and movies; see the dozens of Japanese ships sunk in Truk Lagoon following comprehensive American air attacks, and today a popular dive site; and examine Monte Cassino monastery in Italy, destroyed by Allied aerial bombing and since completely rebuilt as a place of pilgrimage.Table of ContentsContents include: Western Europe Dunkirk beach, France Atlantic Wall, France St Nazaire, France Omaha Beach, Normandy, France Pont du Hoc, Normandy Carentan, Normandy, France Villers-Bocage, Normandy, France Operation Dragoon, landings in Southern France Fort Eben Emael, Belgium Ardennes forest, Belgium Bastogne, Ardennes Offensive Ludendorff Bridge, Remagen, Netherlands Arnhem Bridge, Netherlands Führerbunker, Berlin, Germany Trondheim, Norway Eastern Europe Ruins at Westerplatte, Gdansk, Poland Gleiwitz Radio Station, Poland Kaunas Bridge, Lithuania Pripet marches, Belarus Old Steam Mill, Volgograd (Stalingrad), Russia Pavlov’s House, Volgograd (Stalingrad) Kharkiv, Ukraine Sumska Street, Kharkiv, Ukraine Prokhorovka, Russia Seelow Heights, Germany Oder River Warsaw Berlin Reichstag and Brandenburg Gate Mediterranean, Africa & Middle East Tobruk, Libya Bir Hakeim, Egypt El Alamein, Egypt Catania, Sicily Monte Cassino Monastery, Italy Crete Battle of Malta – defences Operation Torch landings, Oman, Algeria Kasserine Pass, Tunisia Gothic Line defences, Italy Anzio beach Asia and the Pacific Pearl Harbor / USS Arizona Johor Causeway, Malaysia Bukit Chandu/Kent Ridge, Singapore Midway Island Kokoda Trail, New Guinea Tarawa defences Saipan landing beaches Mt Suribachi, Iwo Jima Landing beaches, Okinawa, Japan Macarthur wades ashore, Leyte Gulf, Philippines Truk Lagoon, Micronesia Mitsubishi Ki-21, Rabaul, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea US Amphibious LVT, Bloody Nose Ridge, Peleliu, Palau Islands Hiroshima, Japan

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Book SynopsisIllustrated with detailed artworks of combat aircraft and their markings, Aircraft of World War I: The Essential Aircraft Identification Guide is a comprehensive study of the aircraft that fought in the Great War of 1914–18. Arranged chronologically by theatre of war and campaign, this book offers a complete organizational breakdown of the units on all the fronts, including the Eastern and Italian Fronts. Each campaign includes a compact history of the role and impact of aircraft on the course of the conflict, as well as orders of battle, lists of commanders and campaign aces such as Manfred von Richtofen, Eddie Rickenbacker, Albert Ball and many more. Every type of aircraft is featured, including the numerous variations and types of well- known models, such as the Fokker Dr.I, the Sopwith Camel and the SPAD SVII, through to lesser-known aircraft, such as the Rumpler C.1, and the Amstrong Whitworth FK8. Each aircraft profile is accompanied by exhaustive specifications, as well as details of individual and unit markings. Packed with more than 200 colour profiles of every major type of combat aircraft from the era, Aircraft of World War I 1914–1918 is an essential reference guide for modellers, military historians and aircraft enthusiasts.Table of ContentsChapter 1 Opening Moves Chapter 2 Air Combat Turns Deadly Chapter 3 Strategic Bombing Chapter 4 Maritime Aviation Chapter 5 The Eastern Front Chapter 6 The Italian Front Chapter 7 The Middle East Chapter 8 Air Combat Comes of Age Index

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Book SynopsisNo one has done more than Michael Livingston to revive memories of the battle, and you could not hope for a better guide.' BERNARD CORNWELL Bestselling author of The Last Kingdom seriesLate in AD 937, four armies met at Brunanburh. On one side stood the shield-wall of the expanding kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons. On the other side, a remarkable alliance of rival kings at least two from across the sea who had come together to destroy the Anglo-Saxons once and for all. The stakes were no less than the survival of the dream that would become England. The armies were massive. The violence, when it began, was enough to shock a violent age. Brunanburh may not today have the fame of Hastings, Crécy or Agincourt, but generations later it was still called, quite simply, the great battle'. For centuries now, its location has been lost but after an extraordinary effort, uniting enthusiasts, historians, archaeologists and linguists the location of these bloodied fields may well have been ideTrade ReviewThis is a terrific introduction to a mysterious battle, by a writer who embraces puzzles, admits when he is speculating and finds ingenious ways to shine a light into one of Britain’s darkest ages. -- Dan Jones * The Sunday Times *Written with both the critical gaze of a military historian and the dramatic verve of a historical novelist, this book brings to vibrant and bloody life the momentous battle of Brunanburh in AD 937. * Robert Woosnam-Savage, FSA, Curator of Armour and Edged Weapons, The Royal Armouries *Never Greater Slaughter raises the bar for what narrative history can do… This book will wow you as it educates you on the fascinating story of one of the most important battles in British history. * Myke Cole, Author of 'Legion versus Phalanx' *Only the most adept of military historians, of writers, can combine combat with context and not lose their readers’ interests. Michael Livingston is one of those. Never Greater Slaughter tells the whole story of the birth of England, from Alfred the Great to Athelstan and Brunanburh. No one tells the history better. * Kelly DeVries, Professor of History, Loyola University Maryland *Combines archaeological detective work and forthright battle narratives to fill a hefty gap in readers' knowledge of England's Dark Ages. * Soldier *Table of ContentsForeword by Bernard Cornwell Preface List of Illustrations List of Maps Introduction: A Field of Death, 937 1. The Birth of England, to 865 2. The Vikings Arrive, 837–66 3. Alfred and the Viking Conquest, 866–99 4. The Gathering Storm, 900–24 5. The Rise of Athelstan, 924–34 6. The Great Alliance, 934–37 7. Reconstructing Battles 8. The Search for Brunanburh 9. The Ships and the Saga 10. The Day England Came of Age, 937 11. Wirral Archaeology 12. England, Come of Age Appendix: Objections and Alternate Sites Suggested Reading and Acknowledgements Endnotes Index

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Book SynopsisWINNER OF THE SOCIETY FOR MILITARY HISTORY''S DISTINGUISHED BOOK AWARD 2021SHORTLISTED FOR THE GILDER LEHRMAN PRIZE FOR MILITARY HISTORY AND THE BRITISH ARMY MILITARY BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD A BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2019, AND FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020''A masterpiece. It deserves to become a classic of military history'' Lawrence James, The TimesFrom the prize-winning author of Ring of Steel, a gripping history of the First World War''s longest and most terrible siegeIn the autumn of 1914 Europe was at war. The battling powers had already suffered casualties on a scale previously unimaginable. On both the Western and Eastern fronts elaborate war plans lay in ruins and had been discarded in favour of desperate improvisation. In the West this resulted in the remorseless world of the trenches; in the East all eyes were focused on the old, beleagTrade ReviewThe vividly written and well-researched The Fortress is a masterpiece. It deserves to become a classic of military history. -- Lawrence James * The Times *If you read one military history book this year, make it Alexander Watson's The Fortress. -- Tony Barber, Financial Times Summer Books of 2020Superb, revelatory, haunting ... he brings the suffocating, cataclysmic siege burningly alive ... It is excellent history, a marvellously readable, though tragic, story of its time and of how the clock can be made to turn backwards under siege conditions. -- Julian Evans * Daily Telegraph *Alexander Watson tells this story beautifully, giving the reader a vivid sense of the city ... His exposure of the breathtaking incompetence of the Austrian high command is both shocking and hilarious; his wit and keen sense of the ridiculous alternate with his evident compassion in describing this black farce ... This is a hugely enjoyable book that anyone seeking to make sense of the dark side of 20th-century Europe would do well to read. -- Adam Zamoyski * Literary Review *Brilliantly researched and superbly written ... Pryzemysl offered a bleak preview of what was coming: nationalism, anti-Semitism and a whirlwind of hatred. Grim stuff, but magnificently done. -- Dominic Sandbrook * BBC History Magazine *Marvellous ... Watson uses the fortress city like a jeweller's glass to show how war distorted and transformed the pre-war civilian world ... Watson's splendid book combines great evocative power (and flashes of sharp humour) with the ethical authority of the best history writing. -- Christopher Clark * The Guardian *Gripping ... Watson's book is an impressive telling of a story almost entirely unknown, and it makes clear how much we have yet to learn about the first world war away from the western front. -- Mark Mazower * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisA compilation of memorable photographs commemorating D-Day and its aftermath

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Book SynopsisThe Battle of Britain

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisHighways of Britain. The M1, the M6 and M25. How did we end up in this position? Chris Cooper takes us through the evolution of our road system starting with iron age track ways and moving on via Roman roads, medieval roads, turnpikes and the coaching era to something we might recognise today. We go from trying to plot a trackway from one hill fort to another, to following the entire course of a Roman road. We use a coaching era timetable to get from London to rural North Yorkshire and we follow the course of a 17th century strip map. Turnpike toll booths, stagecoaches and coaching inns all feature. Up to more modern times, what to look for to tell if your road was once different. This book also gives detailed explanations of many of the things we see on many of today's roads.

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Book SynopsisA balanced overview of this ill-fated venture.

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Book SynopsisMeets the requirements of school parties, visitor groups and others at a time of unprecedented interest (Centenary). The book is concise and informative. Offers easy-to-follow tour programme with all necessary historical background and advice.

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Book SynopsisThe defeat of Napoleon's French army by the combined forces of Wellington and Blucher at Waterloo on 18 June 1815 was a turning point in world history. This was the climax of the Napoleonic Wars, and the outcome had a major influence on the shape of Europe for the next century and beyond. The battle was a milestone, and it cannot be properly understood without a detailed, on-the-ground study of the landscape in which it was fought-and that is the purpose of David Buttery's battlefield guide. This thoroughgoing, lucid, easy-to-follow guide is a fascinating introduction for anyone who seeks to understand what happened on that momentous day, and it will be an essential companion for visitors to the battlefield in Belgium.

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Book SynopsisIn early 1940, a battle raged to control the ice-free, iron-ore port in northern Norway with changing fortunes until the very end. This highly detailed book covers both the naval battles and the individual Norwegian, British, Polish, French and German units that fought the land campaign over northern Norway. Highly detailed maps guide you step by step through the events. Few other books on Narvik give you as much detail on the forces of the fighting five. From Gebirgsjägers to Guardsmen, Fallschirmjägers to Foreign Legionnaires, it offers you an impressive level of tactical detail, even down to company command, whilst also helping you understand the strategic confusion surrounding the whole Allied expedition to the north too. Among the naval clashes covered in this action-packed story are the destroyer battles in the fjords, the sinking of the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious and the roles the famous battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau played in the fighting. No less dramaticTrade ReviewThe author has done a great job of covering this topic in great detail, looking at both sides of the conflict covering tactics, commanders, troops on the ground and equipment. He also takes a detailed look at some of battles which includes some of the naval skirmishes. Anyone thinking of recreating parts of this conflict on the tabletop, then this is an ideal companion to pick up. You’ll definitely find plenty of background information that will provide a plethora of ideas to re-create. -- Jason Hubbard * Irregular Magazine *Table of ContentsORIGINS OF THE CAMPAIGN CHRONOLOGY OPPOSING COMMANDERS Allied German OPPOSING FORCES Allied German Orders of battle OPPOSING PLANS Allied German THE BATTLE OF NARVIK The German landing and the naval battles, 10–13 April 1940 German deployments and tactics The Allied landings at Narvik Gratangen, 24–25 April 1940 Beisfjord Gressdalen and Roasme, 1–13 May 1940 The Bjerkvik landing, 13 May 1940 Stautner on the Litlebalak position, 22 May 1940 Kuberg The Orneset landing and Beisfjord, 28 May 1940 Defending the ore railway Point 620 and Haugfjell Bodø Stien, 17–18 May 1940 Pothus, 25–26 May 1940 The Allied evacuation AFTERMATH Conclusion BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

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Book SynopsisWednesday 22 January 1879 was one of the most dramatic days in the long and distinguished history of the British Army. At noon a massive Zulu host attacked the 24th Regiment in its encampment at the foot of the mountain of Isandlwana, a distinctive feature that bore an eerie resemblance to the Sphinx badge of the outnumbered redcoats. Disaster ensued. Later that afternoon the victorious Zulus would strike the tiny British garrison at Rorke's Drift. How Can Man Die Better is a unique analysis of Isandlwana - of the weapons, tactics, ground, and the intriguing characters who made the key military decisions. Because the fatal loss was so high on the British side there is still much that is unknown about the battle. This is a work of unparalleled depth, which eschews the commonly held perception that the British collapse was sudden and that the 24th Regiment was quickly overwhelmed. Rather, there was a protracted and heroic defence against a determined and equally heroic foe. The author reconstructs the final phase of the battle in a way that has never been attempted before. It was to become the stuff of legend, which brings to life so vividly the fear and smell the blood.

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Book SynopsisUsing specially commissioned artwork, this is the engrossing story of the victory at Kulikovo in 1380 that heralded the birth of Russian statehood.The 13th-century Mongol conquest of the Rus''--the principalities of Russia--was devastating and decisive. Cities were lain waste, new dynasties rose, and for a hundred years the Russians were under unquestioned foreign rule. However, the Mongols were conquerors rather than administrators and they chose to rule through subject princes. This allowed the Rurikid dynastic princes of Moscow to rise with unprecedented speed. With the famed ''Mongol Yoke'' loosening, Grand Prince Dmitri of Moscow saw in this an unparalleled opportunity and rebelled. On September 7 1380, his 60,000 troops crossed the Don to take the battle to Mamai''s 125,000, which included Armenian and Cherkessk auxiliaries and Genoese mercenaries.Table of ContentsOrigins of the campaign /Chronology /Opposing commanders /Opposing armies /Orders of battle /Opposing plans /The campaign /Aftermath /The battlefields today /Further reading /Index

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Book SynopsisCaen, a D-Day objective on 6 June 1944, did not fall to the British and Canadian troops of Second Army until 6 August, by which time much of the city had been reduced to rubble. The two-month struggle was a crucial stage in the Normandy campaign and, as Simon Forty demonstrates in this photographic history, one of the most controversial. His detailed, graphic account gives the reader a fascinating insight into the opposing forces, the conditions, the terrain, the equipment and weaponry deployed-and it illustrates just how intense and protracted the fighting was on the ground. The reasons for the slow Allied advance have been hotly disputed. Deficiencies in British and Canadian equipment and tactics have been blamed, as has the tenacity of the German resistance. Ultimately a sequence of Allied operations sapped the defenders' strength, and it is these operations-Perch, Martlet, Epsom, Windsor, Charnwood, Jupiter, Atlantic, Goodwood-that feature strongly in the striking photographs that have been selected for this book. They record in the most dramatic fashion the character of the fighting and show how even the SS divisions and heavy tank battalions were eventually defeated.

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Book Synopsis"Yes you have beaten us; you had the best guns, but we have the best men . . . But we'll fight again in two or three years' time." - Prince Dabulamanzi kaMpande (who led the Zulu at Rorke's Drift) On 22 January 1879, during the final hour of the Battle of Isandlwana - one of the greatest disasters ever to befall British troops during the Victorian era - a very different story was about to unfold a few miles away at the mission station of Rorke's Drift. A Zulu force of more than 3,000 warriors had turned their attention to the small outpost, defended by around 150 British and Imperial troops. The odds of the British surviving were staggeringly low. The British victory that ensued, therefore, would go down as one of the most heroic actions of all time, and has fascinated military history enthusiasts for decades. In this classic work, Anglo-Zulu War experts Lee Stevenson, Alan Baynham-Jones and Ian Knight examine a wide range of personal testimonies from those present at Rorke's Drift, while also presenting a clear overview of the battle in its entirety. By reading this account, readers will gain an impressive, unique breadth of knowledge about one of the most epic battles in British history. This updated edition includes even more first-person accounts from the combatants on both the British and Zulu sides. Providing personal, microscopic accounts of events, while at the same time presenting a clear overview of the battle in its entirety, this second volume completes the collection of accounts of the defenders of Rorke's Drift and also includes contemporary accounts of those who saw the immediate aftermath of the battle.

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Book SynopsisWhen the dying Alexander the Great was asked to whom he bequeathed his vast empire, he supposedly replied to the strongest". There ensued a long series of struggles between his generals and governors for control of these territories. Most of these Diadochi (Successors) were consummate professionals who had learnt the art of war under Alexander or even his father, Philip. Few died a peaceful death and the last survivors of this tough breed were still leading their armies against each other well into their seventies. Colourful characters, epic battles, treachery and subterfuge make this a period with great appeal to anyone interested in ancient history and ancient warfare in particular. The wars shaped the map from the Balkans to India for the next couple of centuries. This first volume introduces the key personalities - characters such as Antigonos Monopthalmus" (the One-eyed) and his son 'Demetrius 'Poliorcetes' (the Besieger), Seleucus 'Nicator' ('the Victorious') and Ptolemy Soter" ("the Saviour") - and gives a narrative of the causes and course of these wars from the death of Alexander to the Battle of Corupedium (281 BC) when the last two original Diadochi faced each other one final time.

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