Battles / military campaigns Books
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Arab Storm: Politics and Diplomacy Behind the
Book SynopsisPresents unique insights from key player in first Gulf War, who continues to have an extremely high profile. There is renewed interest in diplomacy of first Gulf War in wake of current Iraq crisis. As Iraqi troops surged into Kuwait in 1990, British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Alan Munro played a vital role in both forging and maintaining a formidable coalition to evict them. Never before had Western and Arab states fought side by side against another Arab country. He reveals here all the behind-the-scenes manouevring that made this possible. He recalls with verve and candour the frantic phone calls, the diplomatic interplay, the confusion of the battlefield, and the difficulties of dealing with the international media. Munro surrounds his revelations with a thoughtful and informed analysis of the international politics of the Middle East. With Western armies once more deployed in the Gulf, this new updated paperback edition of Munro's book provides a timely reminder of the pressures, pitfalls and potential of international diplomacy in the region.Trade Review"An authoritative account......impressive and valuable" - The Spectator "A frank and entertaining book" - Patrick Seale "Superbly chronicled" - The Wall Street Journal"
£21.99
John Murray Press The Manner of Men: 9 PARA's Heroic D-Day Mission
Book SynopsisIn June 1944, an elite unit of British paratroopers was sent on a daring and highly risky behind-the-lines mission, which was deemed vital to the success of D-Day. Dropping ahead of the main Allied invasion, 9 PARA were tasked with destroying an impregnable German gun battery. If they failed, thousands of British troops landing on the beaches were expected to die. But their mission was flawed and started to go wrong from the moment they jumped from their aircraft above Normandy. Only twenty per cent of the unit made it to the objective and half of them were killed or wounded during the attack. Undermanned and lacking equipment and ammunition, the survivors then held a critical part of the invasion beachhead. For six bloody days, they defended the Breville Ridge against vastly superior German forces and bore the brunt of Rommel's attempt to turn the left flank of the Allied invasion.The Manner of Men is an epic account of courage beyond the limits of human endurance, where paratroopers prevailed despite intelligence failures and higher command blunders, in what has been described as one of the most remarkable feat of arms of the British Army and the Parachute Regiment during the Second World War.Trade ReviewDeftly captures the agonising way in which everything went wrong * The Spectator *Told in elegant and evocative prose . . . The Manner of Men is one of those rare books - one that actually manages to bring to life the reality of a desperate mission behind enemy lines. This former soldier writes superbly well * Damien Lewis, author of Zero Six Bravo *If you have any interest in military history this is a must - I'll be reading it more than once. A fascinating story - couldn't be any less than five stars * Soldier Magazine *
£12.34
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Wabash 1791: St Clair’s defeat
Book SynopsisThe battle of the Wabash, or St Clair's Defeat, was the greatest ever victory of American Indians over US Army forces. In 1791, Revolutionary War commander Arthur St Clair led a hastily recruited American army into Ohio in an attempt to wrest control of the area from its Indian inhabitants. Hindered by geographical ignorance, difficult terrain, bad weather, and a lack of supplies, the Americans advanced slowly through the wilderness. After a month, they reached the Wabash River, where an Indian army awaited them. On a cold November morning, the Indians attacked at dawn and three hours later the Americans fled, having suffered more than 60 percent casualties. In this book, author John F. Winkler re-examines the US Army's frontier disaster, analyzing what they did wrong and how the Indians achieved their crushing victory.Table of ContentsOrigins of the campaign /Chronology /Opposing commanders /Opposing armies /Orders of battle /Opposing plans /The campaign /Aftermath /The battlefield today /Further reading /Index
£15.19
Edinburgh University Press The Jacobite Wars: Scotland and the Military
Book SynopsisThe Jacobite Wars is a detailed exploration of the Jacobite military campaigns of 1715 and 1745, set against the background of Scottish political, religious and constitutional history. The author has written a clear and demythologised account of the military campaigns waged by the Jacobites against the Hanoverian monarchs. He draws on the work of recent historians who have come to emphasise the political significance of the rebellions (which had been dismissed by earlier historians), showing the danger faced by the Hanoverian regime during those years of political and religious turbulence. The Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and 1745 occurred within the context of the 1707 Act of Union, acquiring the trappings of a national crusade to restore Scotland's independence. James Edward Stuart promised consistently to break the Union between Scotland and England if he became King. The rebellions also had great religious significance: the Jacobite cause was committed to restoring a Catholic dynasty to the throne and was therefore supported by the small number of Catholics in the country, and also the Episcopalians, who were together set against the Presbyterians. The failure of the rebellions, culminating in the Battle of Culloden, coincided with the national identity of Scotland becoming associated with Presbyterianism and North Britain. John L. Roberts presents the view that the political vulnerability of Hanoverians would explain the strength of Government reaction to the 1745 rebellion, especially in the Scottish Highlands, and the ferocity of its retribution, which has long been lamented in popular Scottish culture. The Jacobite Wars will appeal to anyone with an interest in the military history of this key period in Scotland's past.Trade ReviewDrawing on contemporary sources and the work of later historians, Roberts sustains a clear and persuasive narrative to produce a much-needed military and political re-assessment of this much-mythologized episode of Scottish history. -- Trevor Royle Drawing on contemporary sources and the work of later historians, Roberts sustains a clear and persuasive narrative to produce a much-needed military and political re-assessment of this much-mythologized episode of Scottish history.Table of ContentsPreface; 1. Origins of the Jacobite Movement; 2. Outbreak of the 1715 Rebellion; 3. March South to Preston; 4. Battle of Sherrifmuir; 5. End of the 1715 Rebellion; 6. Jacobitism in the Doldrums; 7. 'A Rash and Desperate Undertaking'; 8. March South to Edinburgh; 9. 'Masters of Scotland'; 10. Nemesis at Derby; 11. Retreat to Scotland; 12. The Highland Campaign; 13. Prelude to Culloden; 14. Battle of Culloden; 15. Aftermath of Culloden; 16. Escape of the Prince; Select Bibliography.
£28.49
30 Degrees South Publishers Anglo-Boer War (South African War) 1899–1902: A
Book Synopsis
£25.16
The University of Chicago Press Custerology
Book SynopsisOn a hot summer day in 1876, George Armstrong Custer led the Seventh Cavalry to the famous defeat in US military history. Outnumbered and exhausted, the Seventh Cavalry lost more than half of its four hundred men, and every soldier under Custer's direct command was killed. This title takes readers to each of the important places of Custer's life.Trade Review"Elliott is an approachable guide as he takes readers to battlefields where Custer fought American Indians... to the Michigan town of Monroe that Custer called home after he moved there at age 10... to the Black Hills of South Dakota where Custer led an expedition that gave birth to a gold rush." - Steve Weinberg, Atlanta Journal-Constitution "By 'Custerology,' Elliott means the historical interpretation and commemoration of Custer and the Indian Wars in which he fought not only by those who honor Custer but by those who celebrate the Native American resistance that defeated him. The purpose of this book is to show how Custer and the Little Bighorn can be and have been commemorated for such contradictory purposes." - Library Journal "Michael Elliott's Custerology is vivid, trenchant, engrossing, and important. The American soldier George Armstrong Custer has been the subject of very nearly incessant debate for almost a century and a half, and the debate is multicultural, multinational, and multimedia. Mr. Elliott's book provides by far the best overview, and no one interested in the long-haired soldier whom the Indians called Son of the Morning Star can afford to miss it." - Larry McMurtry"
£18.58
Yale University Press Passchendaele
Book SynopsisNo conflict of the Great War excites stronger emotions than the war in Flanders in the autumn of 1917, and no name better encapsulates the horror and apparent futility of the Western Front than Passchendaele. By its end there had been 275,000 Allied and 200,000 German casualties. Yet the territorial gains made by the Allies in four desperate months were won back by Germany in only three days the following March. The devastation at Passchendaele, the authors argue, was neither inevitable nor inescapable; perhaps it was not necessary at all. Using a substantial archive of official and private records, much of which has never been previously consulted, Trevor Wilson and Robin Prior provide the fullest account of the campaign ever published. The book examines the political dimension at a level which has hitherto been absent from accounts of Third Ypres. It establishes what did occur, the options for alternative action, and the fundamental responsibility for the carnage. Prior and Wilson
£18.57
MP-KAN Uni Press of Kansas Operation Dons Main Attack The Soviet Southern
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewGlantz brings to life a crucial period on the Eastern Front often overshadowed by the more famous battles of Stalingrad and Kursk. . . . of tremendous value to historians of World War II.""- Armor Magazine
£52.00
Robert Hale The Mythical Battle
Book Synopsis
£17.95
Pluto Press Into the Long War
Book SynopsisAssesses security in Iraq and the wider Middle East - and the possibility of war with IranTable of Contents1. The Context for a Long War 2. US Options in Iraq: May 2005 3. Iraq, Afghanistan and US Public Opinion: June 2005 4. London, Sharm al Sheikh and the al-Qaida Movement: July 2005 5. Gaza in Context: August 2005 6. The US Military and the 'War on Terror': September 2005 7. Iraq in a Wider Perspective: October 2005 8. The Politics of War: November 2005 9. Control without the Consequences: December 2005 10. Iraq, Afghanistan and now Iran Once Again: January 2006 11. Iraq - Three Years On: February 2006 12. Iran - Sliding to War? March 2006 13. From Cold War to Long War: April 2006 14. Endless War? Index
£72.25
John Wiley & Sons General Crook and the Western Frontier
Book SynopsisGeneral George Crook was one of the most prominent soldiers in the frontier West. General Crook and the Western Frontier, the first full-scale biography of Crook, uses contemporary manuscripts and primary sources to illuminate the general’s personal life and military career.
£18.86
MP-SIL Southern Illinois Uni The Vicksburg Campaign March 29May 18 1863
Book Synopsis
£24.26
University of Pennsylvania Press Shayss Rebellion
Book SynopsisProvides a picture of Shays' Rebellion, capturing the spirit of the insurgency, the reasons for the revolt, and its long-term impact on the participants, the state of Massachusetts, and the nation as a whole.Trade Review"A carefully argued and spiritedly told account." * Boston Globe *"Serves a valuable purpose by fleshing out a crucial period when the fate of the American democratic experiment hung in the balance." * American History *"Recommended for all library collections at every level." * Choice *Table of ContentsPreface Prologue 1. Defiance 2. Crackdown 3. Oath Takers and Leaders 4. The Revolutionary Government and Its Beneficiaries 5. Banner Towns and Core Families 6. Reverberations 7. Climax Notes Index
£17.99
The University of Alabama Press Outpost Kelly A Tankers Story Alabama Fire Ant
Book SynopsisIn the second year of the Korean War, Jack Siewert commanded a platoon of five M-46 tanks. Temporarily assigned to provide fire support for an infantry battalion on the front, he eventually found himself in the midst of intense fighting for a relatively unknown and unimportant hill, code named Outpost Kelly. This work is his memoir.Trade ReviewIn Outpost Kelly: A Tanker's Story, Jack Siewert provides a gripping tale of three weeks in July 1952 when his tank platoon finds itself performing an uncharacteristic task. While frequently undergoing enemy mortar attack, they are plagued by monsoon conditions and play a crucial role in the struggle against the Chinese for control of an important outpost. - M. K. Barbier, author of Kursk: The Greatest Tank Battle 1943
£19.76
The University of Alabama Press Time in the Barrel
Book SynopsisOffers an authentic firsthand account of the daily nightmare that was Con Thien. An enticing and fascinating read featuring authentic depictions of combat, the book allows readers to fully grasp the enormity of the fierce struggle for Con Thien.Trade ReviewA vivid, compulsively page-turning and often gut-wrenching narrative." - Arizona Daily Star"Con Thien certainly has been re-created here. I have read few personal narratives from the Marine war in Vietnam that get as close to the sheer sacrifice and misery that I have always suspected to be their lot." - Philip D. Beidler, US Army Vietnam War veteran and author of Beautiful War: Studies in a Dreadful Fascination, The Victory Album: Reflections on the Good Life after the Good War, and American Wars, American Peace: Notes from a Son of the Empire"James Coan provides a clear description of the battlefield cutting through the fog of war. His gritty realism creates a riveting experience for the reader….The book is a good read, flows wells and clearly articulates the story without distracting expletives" - Bob Borka, Semper Fi"Time in the Barrel brings to life a significant and often overlooked event in America’s war in Vietnam: the siege of the Marine firebase at Con Thien during the critical months of September–October 1967. James P. Coan has delivered a gritty and impassioned book, one that will enlighten general military history readers as well as Vietnam War and Marine Corps specialists." - Gregg Jones, author of Last Stand at Khe Sanh: The U.S. Marines’ Finest Hour in Vietnam, winner of the 2015 General Wallace M. Greene Jr. Award for distinguished nonfiction from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation
£26.96
University of Missouri Press MeuseArgonne Diary
Book SynopsisDuring America's participation in World War I, 1917-1918, only a single commander of a division, William M. Wright, is known to have kept a diary. In it, General Wright relates his two-month experience at St. Mihiel and especially the Meuse-Argonne, the largest and most costly battle in American history.Trade ReviewAs our only document of its kind, Wright's diary shows in detail how a division headquarters operated and what its commander did day by day, how he kept informed about the qualities of his principal subordinates, assessed their performances, and guided and sometimes dismissed them. While Wright was an assertive individual, the diary is informative also in showing how limited were the decision-making options of even such a character in the highly structured American Expeditionary Forces. . . . The diary also candidly reflects the weaknesses of the young American Army of 1918."" - Russell Weigley
£23.85
John Wiley and Sons Ltd A New History of the Peloponnesian War
Book SynopsisThis stimulating new study provides a narrative of the monumental conflict of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, and examines the realities of the war and its effects on the average Athenian. The book offers an original interpretation of how and why the war began, and challenges the approach of Thucydides in his account of the war.Trade Review"Tritle's overall aim is to make the content and context of the Peloponnesian War more accessible to those unfamiliar with classics, and on the whole I believe he succeeds. His tone throughout is quite relaxed...but for those unfamiliar with classical Greek history and/or the Peloponnesian war Tritle's book is a good starting place." (Bryn Mawr Classical Review, December 2010) "He has produced a major new account of the Peloponnesian War that will allow readers of Thucydides to feel what it was actually like to be at war and to understand the breakdown of legal, moral, and political principles that caused prolonged human suffering on such a colossal scale. We are in his debt.." (Michigan War Studies Review, 2 October 2010) "Recommended. Undergraduate libraries and above". (Choice, 1 November 2010)Table of ContentsList of illustrations viii List of maps x List of abbreviations xi Chronology xiii Acknowledgments xix Preface xxi Prelude – a band of brothers 1 1 ‘From this the Corinthians developed their bitter hatred for the Athenians’ 4 2 ‘Give the Greeks their freedom’ 25 3 ‘Our city is an education to Greece’ 44 4 ‘War is a violent teacher’ 67 5 ‘Spindles would be worth a lot’ 85 6 ‘Weeping for joy’ 111 7 ‘The strong do what they have the power to do’ 132 8 ‘What of us then who for our children must weep?’ 144 9 ‘The whole of Greece against Athens’ 165 10 ‘Ships gone . . . don’t know what to do’ 186 11 ‘Athens is taken’ 205 12 ‘Here’s to the noble Critias!’ 223 Epilogue 241 Appendix A: A note on sources 243 Appendix B: Who’s who in the Peloponnesian War 248 Appendix C: A Peloponnesian War glossary 258 Bibliography 263 Index 275
£78.26
John Wiley and Sons Ltd A New History of the Peloponnesian War
Book SynopsisThis stimulating new study provides a narrative of the monumental conflict of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta, and examines the realities of the war and its effects on the average Athenian. The book offers an original interpretation of how and why the war began, and challenges the approach of Thucydides in his account of the war.Trade Review"Tritle's overall aim is to make the content and context of the Peloponnesian War more accessible to those unfamiliar with classics, and on the whole I believe he succeeds. His tone throughout is quite relaxed...but for those unfamiliar with classical Greek history and/or the Peloponnesian war Tritle's book is a good starting place." (Bryn Mawr Classical Review, December 2010) "Recommended. Undergraduate libraries and above". (Choice, 1 November 2010)Table of ContentsList of illustrations viii List of maps x List of abbreviations xi Chronology xiii Acknowledgments xix Preface xxi Prelude – a band of brothers 1 1 ‘From this the Corinthians developed their bitter hatred for the Athenians’ 4 2 ‘Give the Greeks their freedom’ 25 3 ‘Our city is an education to Greece’ 44 4 ‘War is a violent teacher’ 67 5 ‘Spindles would be worth a lot’ 85 6 ‘Weeping for joy’ 111 7 ‘The strong do what they have the power to do’ 132 8 ‘What of us then who for our children must weep?’ 144 9 ‘The whole of Greece against Athens’ 165 10 ‘Ships gone . . . don’t know what to do’ 186 11 ‘Athens is taken’ 205 12 ‘Here’s to the noble Critias!’ 223 Epilogue 241 Appendix A: A note on sources 243 Appendix B: Who’s who in the Peloponnesian War 248 Appendix C: A Peloponnesian War glossary 258 Bibliography 263 Index 275
£35.10
Johns Hopkins University Press A Bloodless Victory
Book SynopsisThus, a close look at the Battle of New Orleans offers an opportunity to explore not just how events are collectively remembered across generations but how a society discards memorialization efforts it no longer finds necessary or palatable.Trade ReviewIn A Bloodless Victory, historian Joseph F. Stoltz III investigates the different ways white Americans created, contested, and eventually monetized public memory of the Battle of New Orleans. He explores the ways in which narratives are created and recreated and how selective memory of events changes with new political contexts... I applaud Stoltz for his ability to take on such a large topic in such a short space—Patrick Blythe, Seminole State College of Florida, H-Net ReviewsStoltz's book is a comprehensive study of the battle of New Orleans's presence in the American historical imagination and will serve as the definitive book on the topic.—Thomas A. Chambers, Niagara University, Journal of Southern HistoryWell researched and presented in clear, precise, and robust prose, Stoltz's engaging read reminds us that interpretations of history are often subject to the eyes of the beholder.—Samuel C. Hyde Jr., Southeastern Louisiana University, Journal of American HistoryTable of ContentsPrefaceAcknowledgments1. "By the Eternal, They Shall Not Sleep on Our Soil"2. "Half a Horse and Half an Alligator"3. "Under the Command of a Plain Republican—an American Cincinnatus"4. "The Union Must and Shall Be Preserved"5. "True Daughters of the War"6. "Not Pirate . . . Privateer"7. "Tourism Whetted by the Celebration"8. A "Rustic and Factual" AppearanceConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex
£31.50
The University of North Carolina Press A Field Guide to Antietam Experiencing the
Book Synopsis
£20.36
The University of North Carolina Press A Field Guide to Gettysburg Experiencing the
Book SynopsisThis second, updated edition of the acclaimed A Field Guide to Gettysburg will lead visitors to every important site across the battlefield and also give them ways to envision the action and empathize with the soldiers involved and the local people into whose lives and lands the battle intruded.
£22.06
University of Massachusetts Press Captive Histories: English, French and Native
Book SynopsisThis volume draws together an unusually rich body of original sources that tell the story of the 1704 French and Indian attack on Deerfield, Massachusetts, from different vantage points. Texts range from one of the most famous early American captivity narratives, John Williams' ""The Redeemed Captive"", to the records of French soldiers and clerics, to little-known Abenaki and Mohawk stories of the raid that emerged out of their communities' oral traditions. Evan Haefeli and Kevin Sweeney provide a general introduction, extensive annotations, and headnotes to each text. Although the oft-reprinted ""Redeemed Captive"" stands at the core of this collection, it is juxtaposed to less familiar accounts of captivity composed by other Deerfield residents: Quentin Stockwell, Daniel Belding, Joseph Petty, Joseph Kellogg, and the teen aged Stephen Williams. Presented in their original form, before clerical editors revised and embellished their content to highlight religious themes, these stories challenge long-standing assumptions about classic Puritan captivity narratives. The inclusion of three Abenaki and Mohawk narratives of the Deerfield raid is equally noteworthy, offering a rare opportunity not only to compare captors' and captives' accounts of the same experiences, but to do so with reference to different Native oral traditions. Similarly, the memoirs of French military officers and an excerpt from the Jesuit Relations illuminate the motivations behind the attack and offer fresh insights into the complexities of French-Indian alliances. Taken together, the stories collected in this volume, framed by the editors' introduction and the assessments of two Native scholars, Taiaiake Alfred and Marge Bruchac, allow readers to reconstruct the history of the Deerfield raid from multiple points of view and, in so doing, to explore the interplay of culture and memory that shapes our understanding of the past.
£21.80
University of South Carolina Press The Southern Strategy: Britain's Conquest of
Book SynopsisThis book presents a reexamination of major Southern battles and tactics in the war for independence. A finalist for the 2005 Distinguished Writing Award of the Army Historical Foundation and the 2005 Thomas Fleming Book Award of the American Revolution Round Table of Philadelphia, ""The Southern Strategy"" shifts the traditional vantage point of the American Revolution from the Northern colonies to the South in this study of the critical period from 1775 to the spring of 1780. David K. Wilson suggests that the paradox of the British defeat in 1781 - after Crown armies had crushed all organized resistance in South Carolina and Georgia - makes sense only if one understands the fundamental flaws in what modern historians label Britain's 'Southern Strategy.'In his assessment, he closely examines battles and skirmishes to construct a comprehensive military history of the Revolution in the South through May 1780. A cartographer and student of battlefield geography, Wilson includes detailed, original battle maps and orders of battle for each engagement. Appraising the strategy and tactics of the most significant conflicts, he tests the thesis that the British could raise the manpower they needed to win in the South by tapping a vast reservoir of Southern Loyalists and finds their policy flawed in both conception and execution.Trade ReviewWilson's survey of operations is grounded in an impressive mass of data, which allows him not only to question the fine detail of previous accounts but also to challenge broader interpretations of the war itself.... His book displays deep local knowledge, a strength apparent in his own excellent maps. - Journal of Southern History
£999.99
Texas A & M University Press A Dark and Bloody Ground: The Hurtgen Forest and
Book SynopsisThis work examines the ominous prelude to the Battle of the Bulge and reveals one of the US Army's bloodiest nightmares of World War II. In late 1944, the American army had pushed through Belgium almost unopposed. As small units advanced into the hilly woods south-east of Aachen, Germany, they encountered a forest bristling with German troops. The face-off took place in some of Germany's most rugged territory and in rain, sleet and freezing temperatures. For weeks US commanders ordered units of as many as seven divisions into the woods to be chewed up by German infantry and artillery. The book's description of the battle is based on government records, a large selection of first-hand accounts from veterans of both sides, and the author's visits to the battlefields.Trade Review... deserves a place on every soldier's bookshelf. - Army magazine
£18.36
Texas A & M University Press The Defense of Vicksburg: A Louisiana Chronicle
Book SynopsisThe Defense of Vicksburg: A Louisiana Chronicle is the story of the Louisiana soldiers who fought at Vicksburg, as told through their letters, diaries, and remembrances. Most histories of this famous Civil War siege have been written by the victors; this one presents a day-by-day account from the Confederate vantage point. Indeed, these long-dead men come to life as we read their experiences and perceptions told in their own voices, which ring clear and without apology. In 1862 the Dixie Rebels of DeSoto Parish left for New Orleans. They and other Louisianians were formed into regiments and dispatched for Vicksburg. In the year that followed, the troops witnessed the shelling of Vicksburg by Union gunboats, the outbreak of disease, the lonely heroics of the Confederate ironclad Arkansas , the daily drudgery of camp life, and Jeff Davis’s visit to the beleaguered city. With immediacy and in intriguing detail several correspondents describe daily life in the trenches from their individual perspectives during each of the forty-seven days of the siege. Yet their stories do not end with the capitulation of the city, but continue in an epilogue as the troops return home and then continue their service for the balance of the war. Their experiences transcended their own worlds. These young men of Louisiana still have something important to tell us.
£26.96
University of Tennessee Press Decisions of the Maryland Campaign: The Fourteen
Book SynopsisThe Maryland Campaign represented Gen. Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the North. Opposing Lee was Gen. George B. McClellan, who had just retreated from Lee’s onslaught during the Seven Days Battles. While Lee and McClellan fought a preliminary battle at South Mountain, and a final engagement with Lee’s rearguard at Shepherdstown as the Confederate Army withdrew across the Potomac, the full force of both armies would meet at Antietam, and the subsequent battle would prove to be the bloodiest single-day battle of the war.Decisions of the Maryland Campaign introduces readers to critical decisions made by Confederate and Union commanders throughout the campaign. Michael S. Lang examines the decisions that prefigured the action and shaped the contest as it unfolded. Rather than a linear history of the campaign, Lang’s discussion of the critical decisions presents readers with a vivid blueprint of the campaign’s developments. Exploring the critical decisions in this way allows the reader to progress from a sense of what happened in this campaign to why they happened as they did.Complete with maps and a guided tour, Decisions of the Maryland Campaign is an indispensable primer, and readers looking for a concise introduction to the campaign can tour this sacred ground—or read about it at their leisure—with key insights into the campaign and a deeper understanding of the Civil War itself.Decisions of the Maryland Campaign is Lang’s second contribution and the thirteenth in a series of books that will explore the critical decisions of major campaigns and battles of the Civil War.
£24.71
University of Tennessee Press Decisions at Shiloh: The Twenty-Two Critical
Book SynopsisThe Battle of Shiloh took place April 6–7, 1862, between the Union Army of the Tennessee under General Ulysses S. Grant and the Confederate Army of Mississippi under General Albert Sidney Johnston. Johnston launched a surprise attack on Grant but was mortally wounded during the battle. General P. G. T. Beauregard, taking over command, chose not to press the attack through the night, and Grant, reinforced with troops from the Army of the Ohio, counterattacked the morning of April 7th and turned the tide of the battle.Decisions at Shiloh introduces readers to critical decisions made by Confederate and Union commanders throughout the battle. Dave Powell examines the decisions that prefigured the action and shaped the contest as it unfolded. Rather than a linear history of the battle, Powell’s discussion of the critical decisions presents readers with a vivid blueprint of the battle’s developments. Exploring the critical decisions in this way allows the reader to progress from a sense of what happened in these battles to why they happened as they didComplete with maps and a guided tour, Decisions at Shiloh is an indispensable primer, and readers looking for a concise introduction to the battle can tour this sacred ground—or read about it at their leisure—with key insights into the battle and a deeper understanding of the Civil War itself.Decisions at Shiloh is Powell’s second contribution and the fourteenth in a series of books that will explore the critical decisions of major campaigns and battles of the Civil War.
£24.71
Liverpool University Press An Army of Tribes: British Army Cohesion,
Book SynopsisThis is the first such study of Operation Banner, the British Army’s campaign in Northern Ireland. Drawing upon extensive interviews with former soldiers, primary archival sources including unpublished diaries and unit log-books, this book closely examines soldiers’ behaviour at the small infantry-unit level (Battalion downwards), including the leadership, cohesion and training that sustained, restrained and occasionally misdirected soldiers during the most violent period of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It contends that there are aspects of wider scholarly literatures – including from sociology, anthropology, criminology, and psychology - that can throw new light on our understanding of the British Army in Northern Ireland. It also offers fresh insights and analysis of incidents involving the British Army during the early years of Operation Banner, including the 1972 ‘Pitchfork murders’ of Michael Naan and Andrew Murray in County Fermanagh, and that of Warrenpoint hotel owner Edmund Woolsey in South Armagh. The central argument of this book is that British Army small infantry units enjoyed considerable autonomy during the early years of Operation Banner and could behave in a vengeful, highly aggressive or benign and conciliatory way as their local commanders saw fit. The strain of civil-military relations at a senior level was replicated operationally as soldiers came to resent the limitations of waging war in the UK. The unwillingness of the Army’s senior leadership to thoroughly investigate and punish serious transgressions of standard operating procedures in Northern Ireland created uncertainty among soldiers over expected behaviour and desired outcomes. Overly aggressive groups of soldiers could also be mistaken for high-functioning units – with negative consequences for the Army’s overall strategy in Northern Ireland.Trade Review'An excellent, engaging and provocative study that addresses a crucial period during 'the Troubles' and examines patterns of behaviour within the British army as well as wider issues within Northern Ireland during this time.' Dr David Murphy, Maynooth University'Based on rich and original research, this is a well-researched and sophisticated study on the British Army in Northern Ireland.'Professor Richard English, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Internationalisation and Engagement, Queen's University Belfast'An Army of Tribes is a rigorous work of painstaking scholarship that places the security dimension of the Northern Irish Troubles in much greater tactical and operational context than ever before.' Aaron Edwards, War on the Rocks'As a critical examination of the role of the 'green army', the ordinary uniformed soldiers in Northern Ireland, this is a work that will be hard to surpass.' Tom Griffin, Spinwatch'In addition to being high-quality academic history for the connoisseur, this [final] chapter is a beautiful piece of writing that evokes the intimacy and tragedy of the Northern Ireland conflict. It draws the book [...] together excellently.'Thomas Tormey, 20th Century British HistoryReviews ‘In An Army of Tribes, Burke has produced a piece of work on the Northern Ireland conflict unlike any other. The range of face to face interviews with those actively engaged on both sides of the Troubles in Belfast and South Armagh during the height of the conflict provides real depth to the analysis, while simultaneously adding value to our understanding of small unit leadership and cohesion.’ Christian Tripodi, RUSI Journal
£109.50
Historic England Operation Diver: Guns, V1 Flying Bombs and
Book SynopsisOperation Diver is the story of a battle: its action, people, landscapes, and remains. The battle was Anti-Aircraft Command’s attempt to defeat the V1 flying-bomb, the first of Nazi Germany’s `retribution’ weapons, whose attacks dominated the home front in the final year of the Second World War. Beginning in the week of D-Day, the flying bomb battle lasted for nine months. In that time the men and women of AA Command became a massed, mobile army, shifting a vast carpet of guns to meet the V1’s changing lines of attack. Beginning in Kent and Sussex, their journey took in the Thames Estuary, East Anglia and eventually the Yorkshire coast. Along with the RAF’s fighter aircraft and the larger air defence system, their mission was to prevent a single flying bomb from reaching London, or any other British city. The battle was won; but not before many technical and human obstacles were overcome. Published to mark the 75th anniversary of the flying bomb campaign, Operation Diver is also an essay in landscape history, and shows for the first time in detail how hundreds of guns and thousands of gunners were deployed across the fields and farms of Britain, from the south-east to Flamborough Head. Published with a full gazetteer of gunsite positions, it also documents Historic England’s work in assessing the survival of Operation Diver’s fragmentary remains. Table of ContentsPart I: On the Horizon 1. Signs and signals 2. Cherry Stone 3. Squaring up 4. Crossbow 5. Overlord Part II: Eighty Days 6. `A complete and sudden dive’ 7. Orchard fields 8. Realities 9. Diver shuffle 10. Light blue world 11. Conflicts 12. Decisions 13. Clear horizons 14. Getting to grips 15. Beside the sea 16. `Only one goal’ 17. End of term Part III: Diver East 18. Night Heinkels 19. `Not without toil’ 20. Winter 21. Diver north Part IV: Afterwards 22. `The brightening years ahead’ 23. No abiding city
£55.00
Rydon Publishing The British at War
Book SynopsisThis is a fascinating collection of stories exploring the less well-trodden byways of Britain's long history of conflicts. From the Romans vs Britons to the war on terror, "Amazing & Extraordinary Facts: the British at War" uncovers the heroic, tragic and often peculiar facts behind some of the best-known battles in British history. Brief, accessible and entertaining pieces on a wide variety of subjects makes it is the perfect book to dip in to. The amazing and extraordinary facts series presents interesting, surprising and little-known facts and stories about a wide range of topics which are guaranteed to inform, absorb and entertain in equal measure.Table of ContentsContents to include Amazing Facts from: Roman Britain Norse and Viking invasions The Norman conquest The Napoleonic Wars Battle of Agincourt The Spanish Armada The Crimean War The Civil War World Wars I and II The Korean War The Suez Crisis etc.
£8.99
NUS Press Guns of February: Ordinary Japanese Soldiers' Views of the Malayan Campaign in 1941
Book SynopsisGuns of February shows the Fall of Singapore and Japan's 1941 military campaign in Malaya through the eyes of Japanese soldiers who took part, based on interviews, memoirs, war diaries, and other Japanese-language sources. Although an enormous number of books have been published on Japan's wartime advance into Southeast Asia, few books in English make much use of Japanese sources, and they reveal little of what happened on the Japanese side. In the words of the author, the Japanese"'advance by brigade groups', 'outflank the defence', 'sustain many casualties', and remain altogether a largely faceless mass bicycling their way down to Singapore." In Guns of February some of the voices of these soldiers are finally heard, and they tell a fascinating story. A few of them were professional soldiers who served their country with commitment and dedication, but many were conscripts hoping to stay alive, curious and apprehensive about the countries they entered, and moved by the plight of the people whose cities and towns they sometimes destroyed. Many were young men, interested in girls and in the sights and sounds of Southeast Asia, but also missing their families and the familiar world of Japan. It is a picture far removed from the staple view of the remorseless and fanatic Japanese soldier totally devoted to his Emperor and determined to die for his country. In writing this account of the Japanese advance on Singapore, the author attempted to show the universal humanity of the actors concerned.
£999.99
Caliber Comics Knights of the Skull
£13.29
TROYA
Book Synopsis
£21.41
Taylor & Francis Ltd The Falklands War
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£28.99
Taylor & Francis The Falklands War Lessons for Strategy Diplomacy and International Law Routledge Library Editions Pos
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£99.75
Taylor & Francis Ltd Caporetto 1917 Victory or Defeat Military History and Policy
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£51.29
Taylor & Francis The Maryland Campaign of September 1862 Ezra A Carmans Definitive Study of the Union and Confederate Armies at Antietam
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£128.25
Taylor & Francis The FrenchIndian War 17541760 Essential Histories
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£128.25
Taylor & Francis Ltd Maritime Strategy and Continental Wars Cass Series Naval Policy and History
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£137.75
Taylor & Francis Ltd Caporetto 1917 Victory or Defeat 08 Military History and Policy
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£137.75
Cambridge University Press Combat and Morale in the North African Campaign The Eighth Army and the Path to El Alamein Cambridge Military Histories
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£98.15
Cambridge University Press The FrancoPrussian War The German Conquest of France in 18701871
Book SynopsisThe Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1 violently changed the course of European History. Digging into many European and American archives for the first time, Geoffrey Wawro's Franco-Prussian War describes the war that followed in thrilling detail, from political intrigues to the bloody battles at Gravelotte and Sedan.Trade Review'… a clear reminder that military history still needs lively and well researched accounts of wars and campaigns … what Wawro has done is to provide a history of the war which exploits to the full the available archive material. With consummate skill he has woven together diplomatic developments before and during the war, the decisions and motives of the key political and military figures on both sides, and military operations with detailed accounts of the fighting in the different battles … Part of the value of this book is that the movements of hundreds of thousands of troops are explained clearly, while the battles are brought to life through the diary and memoir material the author exploits … In addition to its highly readable style, another merit of The Franco-Prussian War is that its author has managed to pack so much material into the 314 pages of text without ever slackening the pace of his narrative … Wawro has written not only an extremely good book, but one which will quickly take its place as the standard single-volume account … university teachers will probably prefer to recommend Wawro's book to their undergraduates. Geoffrey Wawro is to be congratulated on his Franco-Prussian War. It deserves to be in the library of everyone interested in German, French, and European military history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.' German Historical Institute London'His skills as a battle historian are patent. He has a grasp both of detail and outline. His prose is crisp and clear. He constantly enlivens the technical analysis with the worm's-eye perspectives of the soldiers - a great attraction of the book.' Time Literary Supplement'Wawro's account of the conflict is brief, to the point and extremely well written … While not neglecting the general picture, Wawro obviously enjoys presenting details of battlefield events, and this is also where his account really adds a new twist that was largely missing from earlier histories of the war … Wawro's history of The Franco-Prussian War has all the ingredients to make it the relevant account of this conflict for the English-speaking world for some decades …'. War in HistoryTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Causes of the Franco-Prussian War; 2. The armies in 1870; 3. Mobilization for war; 4. Wissembourg and Spicheren; 5. Froeschwiller; 6. Mars-la-Tour; 7. Gravelotte; 8. The road to Sedan; 9. Sedan; 10. France on the brink; 11. France falls; 12. The peace.
£47.49
Cambridge University Press Return to Gallipoli Walking The Battlefields Of The Great War
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£36.10
Cambridge University Press The Fall of Napoleon Volume 1 The Allied Invasion of France 18131814 Cambridge Military Histories
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£43.70
Cambridge University Press Combat and Morale in the North African Campaign The Eighth Army And The Path To El Alamein Cambridge Military Histories
Book SynopsisMilitary professionals and theorists have long understood the relevance of morale in war. Montgomery, the victor at El Alamein, said, following the battle, that 'the more fighting I see, the more I am convinced that the big thing in war is morale'. Jonathan Fennell, in examining the North African campaign through the lens of morale, challenges conventional explanations for Allied success in one of the most important and controversial campaigns in British and Commonwealth history. He introduces new sources, notably censorship summaries of soldiers' mail, and an innovative methodology that assesses troop morale not only on the evidence of personal observations and official reports but also on contemporaneously recorded rates of psychological breakdown, sickness, desertion and surrender. He shows for the first time that a major morale crisis and stunning recovery decisively affected Eighth Army's performance during the critical battles on the Gazala and El Alamein lines in 1942.Trade Review'[This] book is a tremendous work of scholarship. It is an archivally driven study that impresses the reader on nearly every page with the breadth and depth of its analysis. In many respects it sets a new standard for the study of the British and Commonwealth armies in the Second World War and the study of morale more generally in the twentieth century.' James Kitchen, English Historical Review'[A] path-breaking study … Through heroic labour in the archives in the UK and overseas, Fennell has constructed a richly detailed picture … This is an important book by a very promising historian.' Gary Sheffield, BBC History Magazine'A groundbreaking study … This is a major contribution to the historiography of the war in the desert.' Book Review Supplement, National Army Museum'… a model of primary investigation into a subject extensively wrapped in supposition and myth … The book makes a significant contribution not only to the history of the desert war but also to the methodology of military morale.' Dan Todman, Twentieth-Century British History'A fine piece of scholarship … The success of Fennell's work rests on … the scholarly effort and rigour poured into it through extensive archival investigations carried out in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.' Craig Stockings, Journal of Military History'[Fennell] marshals a considerable amount of evidence … [and] has made a major contribution to the debate over the desert war in this valuable study of the significance of morale in warfare.' Martin Kitchen, Cercles: Revue Pluridisciplinaire du Monde Anglophone'… Fennell has made a decided contribution to the literature of military history.' Stuart McClung, H-War (h-net.org/~war/)Table of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Morale crisis and recovery; 2. Technology, firepower and morale; 3. Quality of manpower and morale; 4. Environment, provisions and morale; 5. Welfare, education and morale; 6. Leadership, command and morale; 7. Training and morale; 8. In search of a theory to explain combat morale in the desert; Conclusion.
£29.44
Hachette Books Crucible of Hell
Book SynopsisFrom the award-winning historian, Saul David, the riveting narrative of the heroic US troops, bonded by the brotherhood and sacrifice of war, who overcame enormous casualties to pull off the toughest invasion of WWII''s Pacific Theater -- and the Japanese forces who fought with tragic desperation to stop them.With Allied forces sweeping across Europe and into Germany in the spring of 1945, one enormous challenge threatened to derail America''s audacious drive to win the world back from the Nazis: Japan, the empire that had extended its reach southward across the Pacific and was renowned for the fanaticism and brutality of its fighters, who refused to surrender, even when faced with insurmountable odds. Taking down Japan would require an unrelenting attack to break its national spirit, and launching such an attack on the island empire meant building an operations base just off its shores on the island of Okinawa.The amphibious operation to capture Okinawa was the largest of the Pacific War and the greatest air-land-sea battle in history, mobilizing 183,000 troops from Seattle, Leyte in the Philippines, and ports around the world. The campaign lasted for 83 blood-soaked days, as the fighting plumbed depths of savagery. One veteran, struggling to make sense of what he had witnessed, referred to the fighting as the crucible of Hell. Okinawan civilians died in the tens of thousands: some were mistaken for soldiers by American troops; but as the US Marines spearheading the invasion drove further onto the island and Japanese defeat seemed inevitable, many more civilians took their own lives, some even murdering their own families. In just under three months, the world had changed irrevocably: President Franklin D. Roosevelt died; the war in Europe ended; America''s appetite for an invasion of Japan had waned, spurring President Truman to use other means -- ultimately atomic bombs -- to end the war; and more than 250,000 servicemen and civilians on or near the island of Okinawa had lost their lives. Drawing on archival research in the US, Japan, and the UK, and the original accounts of those who survived, Crucible of Hell tells the vivid, heart-rending story of the battle that changed not just the course of WWII, but the course of war, forever.
£18.04
Presidio Press The Battle Of Mogadishu Firsthand Accounts from
Book Synopsis“No matter how skilled the writer of nonfiction, you are always getting the story secondhand. Here’s a chance to go right to the source. . . . These men were there.”-MARK BOWDEN (from the Foreword)It started as a mission to capture a Somali warlord. It turned into a disastrous urban firefight and death-defying rescue operation that shocked the world and rattled a great nation. Now the 1993 battle for Mogadishu, Somalia-the incident that was the basis of the book and film Black Hawk Down-is remembered by the men who fought and survived it. Six of the best in our military recall their brutal experiences and brave contributions in these never-before-published, firstperson accounts.“Operation Gothic Serpent,” by Matt Eversmann: As a “chalk” leader, Eversmann was part of the first group of Rangers to “fast rope” from the Black Hawk helicopters. It was his chalk that suffered the first casualty of the ba
£13.41
WW Norton & Co Killing Custer
Book SynopsisThe classic account of Custer's Last Stand that shattered the myth of the Little Bighorn and rewrote history books.Trade Review"The Great Spirit must have created James Welch so that he could tell of the Little Bighorn from the viewpoint of the tribes that fought there." -- Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
£13.29
